One Potato
This potato was harvested from our garden yesterday. I show it here with a French one euro coin and an American quarter to help evaluate the size. Last year our potatoes got the blight and we harvested almost nothing. That patch was quite weedy so this spring my husband went over it well with the rototiller–three times. We were not expecting any sprouts from last year, but some did come up and that is where this lovely specimen was produced. The potatoes we planted this year have also gotten the blight in spite of treating with a copper solution called bouilli bordelaise but they were further along than last year’s so I think we will be able to harvest some for this winter.
Chou Daubenton
This spring at a plant exchange a lady gave me some branchy type things with cabbage leaves. She said just stick these in the ground and then you’ll have perpetual cabbages, just break off the side shoots and eat them. They are called chou Daubenton. Chou means cabbage, but I don’t know why the name Daubenton.
I stuck them in and they took and now they have grown so I was wondering should I cut the growing tip or wait until the side shoots get bigger and just eat them. I did some googling and found a very nice forum that is mainly for tomatoes, but they branch out into other things also. I was advised to cut them so that they will be compact and not break this winter.
So tonight was the great adventure on our plates. People compare them to asparagus or broccoli. A nearby farmer’s wife said she considers them to be for the rabbits. So I really didn’t know what to expect.
I decided to steam them and serve with vinaigrette. I didn’t know how far to go in preparing them. Should I pare the stems like I do broccoli? Will the leaves be tough?
Here they are, ready to be cooked. I took off some of the leaves and gave them to the chickens. I steamed them for about 10 minutes, then let cool a bit. They were very good, very much like broccoli and yes, I should have peeled the stems, but the leaves were delicious.
Brassica oleracea, var. ramosa
Garden – July 29, 2008
Some photos of our garden today.
Blather
I need to stop smiling when I’m outside—the wrinkles are staying white and showing up more on my tan face.
I only noticed this when I pushed my cheek out with my tongue. Tongue in cheek ?
Or else smile all the time so no one notices ?
Often when I am in the bathroom, I see a strange woman. My husband says this never happens to him.
Lunch
We had a half zucchini for lunch.
Each?
No, between us.
It’s the “gardener stepped away a few days” diet. 
Refilling at the Source
I will be away for about a week. Here is where I’ll be:
http://freesoulblog.net/pblshr/pgs/puse.htm#Susfb
This is my entry about it in 2006:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-EuUj92o1caIrYJG6AWg-?cq=1&p=304
and also:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-EuUj92o1caIrYJG6AWg-?cq=1&p=291
Art Work
I mostly work in watercolours, from time to time pastel sec (chalk) or acrylic. I still have a lot of progress to make, having started in fall 2002.
Painting
This is what I did today–a painting en plein air, with limited time. It is a contest but I just paint for fun and learning. I had a problem with the masking I used for the gate so as to be able to freely paint behind it. First it blobbed out of the bottle all over the paper, that I got cleaned up as soon as it dried, but when I was ready to uncover the gate and paint the blue, the masking wouldn’t come off. Oh, well, that is not the major fault of this painting. I need to somehow do more contrast, more darks.
Picture Perfect: I Spy "P"
I spy with my little eye several things we had for dinner that start with “P”–poulet (chicken), patates (pommes de terre, potatoes) and pie. Not shown, not beginning with “P” are carrots (in the Pan nevertheless) and salad. Bon appétit!
For more entries on this theme; go to Picture Perfect.
djdblogginghere 