Christie C. “”I’m no Cinderella, but I know that pumpkins are magical.” —
Anonymous
Here’s a little slice of like for the week!
Surprise Pumpkin Plant
The garden is a bit wild this year. This extremely hot summer has made it difficult to stay motivated to garden. A few hours outside, and heat exhaustion rears its ugly head. Despite this, there are some awesome wonders this year.
One of the coolest surprises in the garden this season, is the random pumpkin growing in the ground! I’m not sure what kind of squash, but it’s definitely some variety of field pumpkin. I usually decorate the front of my house with pumpkins during the fall, so a seed or fifty was probably left behind.
It’s a beautiful plant, and it creates the most precious curly vines! The buttery flowers are lovely to look at going to and from home. It gives the front of my house an almost fairy tale vibe. Cinderella, anyone?
Slow Cooking Tepary Beans
Some time ago, I bought tepary beans from Ramona Farms. Ramona Farms is an Indigenous American owned farm that cultivates heirloom crops in Arizona. These tepary beans are delicious heirloom beans from the Sonoran Desert that have been cultivated by the Akimel O’odham and Tohono O’odham Indigenous American groups.
It comes in a white, brown, and black variety. My favorite of the three are the white beans, so I’ve had to get creative in cooking the brown and black ones. So far, mixing and slow cooking the three has proven to be a delicious endeavor. I slow cooked them in cedar branches, crushed juniper, and smoked salt. It’s simple, yet delicious. Will have a recipe soon.
Spur of the Moment Tomato Sauce
I was in the mood for pasta after running out of tomato sauce. But, I did own a bunch of kumato tomatoes. I eyeballed the concoction, but it’s pretty much four to five kumato tomatoes, a few sprigs of lemon thyme, rosemary, and marjoram, some chopped garlic and onions, and a splash of water, honey, and the homemade vinegar I recently made using old wine.
I put the sauce on top of some cellentani pasta with vegan meat balls and a sprinkle of grated parmesan. Super delicious!
