I'm 'Posted Up in Here

 This is a picture of my leftover food - tops/bottoms of onions, apple cores, eggshells, onion "skins," banana peels, stem ends, etc.  Yes, this is my compost bin.
I did take this picture right after I threw some leek remains in there, so I spared you the funk that was underneath (what I think is) the pretty green and white "leftovers."  And believe me, it can get pretty funky in the bin.  And not funky in a fun, 1970's-esque way.  Funky in an "EWWWWWWWW!" sort of way.
You see, our compost bin is a large plastic container that lives on our kitchen counter:

Now, the objective of most compost pails is to put them in a "real" compost bin.  But I'll be honest - I am terrified enough of scorpions (and we do that have them - in spades - here in AZ) to err on the side of caution and NOT have one.

Oh, the Bounty of the Harvest!

I had my first harvest today:

• four cherry tomatoes
• two (and the only) jalapeños

I know - amazing, right?  Aren't you jealous of the amazing bounty that the Arizona desert offered me?

Thank goodness for our CSA!  Otherwise, we might end up on that Freaky Eaters show on TLC!

Last night we had a belated birthday dinner for my husband  at his mom's.  We had steaks, and there were plenty left over (all of us only ate half a steak), so we devised a plan that incorporated that as well as plenty of fresh veggies.

The red cherry tomatoes and the jalapeños were from the garden.
Everything else, save the large tomato, was from our CSA.
The large tomato came from my mother-in-law's garden.

Blueberry Blues

Our poor crisper bins.  After a week-long absence, which meant no veggies being picked up, they were nearly bare; only a few beets and turnips, as well as a (store-bought - shhhhhh!  Don't tell!) onion remained.

Thus, I had to figure out something to make with them for dinner.  I had also thawed the salmon I bought earlier in the week, and I really wanted to do something with a few of the blueberries I had picked up at Sprouts.

Hmmmmm....

Thus, we had a roasted root veggie and onion salad (room temp - not sure if that qualifies as warm or cold) as a bedding for salmon baked in foil and a blueberry vinaigrette.

I'm glad I didn't put the dressing on the salmon;
the flavors didn't go that well together.

I Like to Move It, Move It

One of the blogs that I follow is Food Wise Nutrition; Autumn is a nutritionist in Seattle and a friend of my dear friend Katie.  This month, she has challenged her followers to make a commitment to move each day. I gladly accepted the challenge, as while I regularly run or walk with Zooey the Devil Dog, there are always nights each week that I'm "too tired," or when Scott gets home "too late."  These are LIES!  I just posted the other day that I haven't done any yoga, even though apparently I want to start including it into my weekly routine more.  Thus, I am viewing Food Wise's Movement Project as an opportunity to make good on my promise to myself.

Today, I dug out two bushes, planted four to replace them, and potted some new rhubarb (I really really really hope that this takes; rhubarb in Arizona is a major gamble, but I love rhubarb pie enough to risk it), not to mention haul in two bags of compost.  Tonight, I took Zooey for a walk, although we ran a little bit when Zooey started going nutters about the black lab that was on its nightly stroll as well.  But hopefully I can run tomorrow.

This week is go time for the cucumbers HRH "helped" me plant; our pumpkin seeds are sprouting, so I've got my fingers crossed we have home grown jack-o-lanterns for Halloween this year.

But I really want to make pickles.

Do you see what I see?????

Pumpkin sprouts!!!!!!

Post-Script (Monday) - I'm sure some people might notice that I didn't mention the major news that happened in Pakistan late last night.  It is not my intent to diminish world events or to imply that my need to start yoga or my garden are the items around which the sun revolves.  That being said, while I am eternally grateful for all the men and women in uniform who protect my freedoms each and every day, I find it difficult to rejoice in the death of a person - even though he was responsible for the deaths of thousands of others.  However, I can rejoice that my life that I treasure is able to continue, basically uninterrupted, and I can further hope and pray that our troops may be able to come home soon.

Weather is Beautiful, Wish You Were Here

We had had the AC on for a while now, but today, we turned it off and threw the windows open, as it's supposed to stay in the low 80s.  I wish it could stay like this all summer - it's PERFECT!
After HRH went to bed last night, I put together my new "gazpacho garden," a.k.a. whiskey tub with two tomatoes and two chiles, and planted my replacement lavenders and impulse buy - a pineapple sage.  This morning, I was able to actually see them (it was almost 10PM when I came in last night), so that was a bonus.

I got this idea from Sunset; the original suggestion was
a galvanized steel tub, but I love whiskey tubs.
I also only put in chiles and tomatoes; the magazine included
basil (ew) and chives (already somewhere else).

Corned Beef, Cabbage, and a Day at the Farm

I had fully planned on a detailed report of our St. Patrick's Day feast, but I'll be honest - we were so busy eating, I completely forgot to take any pictures!

However, here is the menu.  It was amazing.