Roswell Adventures

We are suffering from a condition known as "Holy cats! What are we going to do with all this squash?!?!" Having lived here more than 3 years, I figured it was time to venture into the realm of Calabacitas, a New Mexican dish that has as many variations as Grandma's Chicken Soup. I hunted around, compared recipes, then played around, and this is what I came up with... Chop your onions and saute them in olive oil until soft. I don't measure the olive oil. I just swirl some into the bottom of my 12" cast iron skillet until it looks like it will be enough. Medium to medium high heat will work to start. I used zucchini and another summer squash. In the past I have used patty pan. Any type of summer squash will work just fine. If there are large seeds, however, you may want to get rid of them. Add the squash to the skillet. Turn the heat down to medium low. Add in the green chiles and garlic. Stir well and cover. Somehow I missed a picture with the chi...

Heading east on I-10 on the way into Las Cruces, the road-weary traveler has an opportunity for a stretch break at a rest stop that overlooks the Mesilla Valley and the striking backdrop of the Organ Mountains. On a stormy day with the flashes of lightning brightening the sky, the view is awe-inspiring. On a partly cloudy day, it is uplifting. On a clear day, it can take your breath away. On this partly cloudy Tuesday afternoon, we are rolling into Cruces on our way home from semi-annual dental visits in Tucson. We don't need a stretch break, we had just finished an amazing meal at El Mirador in Deming and would be stopping for gas shortly, but we do have a compelling reason to exit. On our way west we had noted an old friend was back, and we needed to stop for a visit. We can't see him from the east-bound freeway until we pull off, and then yup... there he is. We follow the parking lot around, anxious for a better view, and then we pull into the closest parkin...

Last year we quickly went from "Oh, look, a squash" to "Holy cats! What are we going to do with all of them?!?!" When we were visiting a winery in Nebraska last summer, we bought a jar of squash pickles and thoroughly enjoyed them. So, I set out to hunt down a recipe I liked. After more than a little tweaking, I came up with these beauties...  As you can easily see, there is more in there than just squash :) I add in red & yellow (or orange) bell peppers, onions, and jalapenos.  Now to get started...   Slice your squash and onions, put them in an enamel-lined pot. Sprinkle with pickling salt, cover and let sit for an hour. These are our dried chiles from last year's harvest. I rinsed the dust off a couple then tore them into strips - totally guessing about how much to use. If they are too spicy for me, Chuck will still love them :)   I use about a half a bell pepper and 3-4 jalapenos for each batch. The ja...

It has been a crazy-busy summer filled with travels - both for fun and work - as well as a busy work schedule. Thanks to some buddies at work (Thanks, Desi, Jazz & Lauren!) our garden is going great. A picture paints a thousand words, so I'm going to shut up now... Our large front section of bales. We had some interesting setbacks concerning a couple of the bales, and the beans didn't like their location much. Have added in some rainbow chard and beets.   Cabbage worms have attacked...but we're trying to get on top of the situation by picking off eggs and 'pillars every day.   Our front bales. Squash and some beans are doing well...   ...others didn't do so great, so I planted beets and some onions :)   Onions in the back bales are coming along nicely. We started them from sets...and this is a first for us.   Squash against the back fence are producing lots of foliage, but not as much fruit as you would think...but I'm sure tha...

Believe it or not, most neighborhoods are not used to seeing gardens in front yards...especially gardens planted in straw bales. Since we want to be good neighbors (and I will be honest - we are so done with coming in from watering with a couple dozen goats heads stuck in our shoes) we decided we should spruce things up a bit.   Our front bales are planted with a variety of squash and beans. The ground between those bales, however, are filled with gravel and goats heads - vile weeds that bear seeds with thorns that are happiest when they dig deep into your flesh. After we have stepped between the bales to water, we sound like we are walking with golf cleats on, and we have to stop and pull those nasty seeds out before coming inside, lest we find them later with our bare feet. Something needed to be done!   The goats heads in this area have not started growing much yet, but with the water running off the bales, they soon will be. Enough is enough! ...