And, Let There Be Rain?

Saturday Rains!

   Well, This is one reason why I want to be in the garden today, I thought this hummingbird was very happy to model for the camera! He posed for me in summer... He is spectacular huh?

Here I am, Where have you been?

Winking for the camera!

Where's my close up shot ?

This is my best side!

     One favorite flower of the hummingbird, is this one, "Penta".. I like using these flowers, but they really don't last...
     When the heat comes in the beginning of March and April, gone like dried out pages of a book...

      Since after I lost a fair amount of my bushes "Orange Jubilee's" that hummers love, I put out my feeder for a replacement... I usually have one out for them but, realizing that the "Orange Jubilee", was providing for them, I thought nature was better...

      So "the family" of hummingbirds made sure the feeder was the best restaurant on their route...

Just in case, for those that really don't know the simple syrup recipe for Hummers....

4 parts water
1 part sugar
Stir to dissolve sugar...

No food coloring, or preservatives... no need...

Store in the fridge,
probably about a week no more,  
and wash throughly the feeder everytime, so to not spread disease...


SEEDS, SEEDS, SEEDS,.....

I have ordered my seeds,  From Burpees...  
www.burpee.com

	Corn, On Deck Hybrid The first-ever sweet corn you can grow in a container. Item Number: 61000A - 1 Pkt. (50 seeds)
	Carrot, Kaleidoscope Mix Our exclusive blend of wild colors! Item Number: 53050A - 1 Pkt. (1000 seeds)
	Borage Young leaves used in salads and lemonade. Item Number: 61481A - 1 Pkt. (200 seeds)
	61481A Sunflower, Teddy Bear Soft, fluffy, cushion-like flowers on shorter  bushy plants. Item Number: 35378A - 1 Pkt. (150 seeds)
	Cucumber, Lemon HEIRLOOM. Lemon yellow cucumbers are tender  and sweet, excellent for salads and pickling. Item Number: 53561A - 1 Pkt. (50 seeds)
	Cucumber, Armenian Highly ribbed oriental. Item Number: 62505A - 1 Pkt. (100 seeds)
	Tomato, Black Cherry Plentiful clusters of juicy-sweet deep-red tomatoes with a blackish hue. Item Number: 64705A - 1 Pkt.(30 Seeds)
	Pepper, Hot, Hungarian Wax A Mexican favorite that's four to five times hotter than jalapeño: distinctive pungent flavor. Item Number: 52944A - 1 Pkt. (100 seeds)
	Eggplant, Early Midnight Hybrid Early, nearly seedless fruits are a gourmet treat  inside and out. Item Number: 62400A - 1 Pk.t (30 Seeds)
	Nasturtium, Alaska Mix Colorful, edible nasturtiums tolerate poor soils and heat or cold. Item Number: 46920A - 1 Pkt. (50 seeds)

     The excitement is unbearable, I can't wait to plant that corn in a container...

 
container corn

 If this works for me... The possibilities... Finally! 

Cocktail Garden Time
So the search  is continuing for and cocktails appetizers ...


MIDNIGHT MARGARITAS

Ingredients:

	For Each Serving
2 oz	Dark Rum
1 oz	Blue Curacao
½oz	Grenadine
4 oz	Lime Mix, see below
	Lime Mix: Blend Together 1 Cup Lime Juice & 1 Cup Sugar Until Sugar Is Dissolved.
	Keep Refrigerated Until Use.

Directions:

Fill a shaker with ice cubes, add all the ingredients and shake until well blended. Strain into a margarita glass filled with fresh crushed ice.

Helpful Tips:

You must use the exact ratios to result in this deliciously dark margarita that is perfect for any celebration...

What goes with Midnight Margaritas You may ask?

How About

Atomic Buffalo Jalapeño Poppers
 Appetizer...


recipesquickneasy.com

Ingredients

• 10 jalapeno peppers
• 10 bacon slices, cut in half
• 10 mini sausages or smokies (or 20 if they are very small)
• 1 cup cream cheese
• 1 cup grated monterey jack
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• 2 shallots, minced

Instructions

1. Slice the jalapenos lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and membrane. If using bell peppers, quarter them after they are seeded.
2. Mix the cream cheese, monterey jack, chipotle powder and minced shallots. Fill the hollowed out portion of the peppers with the cheese mixture.
3. Place the smokie on top of the cream cheese. Wrap the half slice of bacon around the jalapeno. If the bacon is not staying tightly wrapped, it may be necessary to use a toothpick to hold it in place.
4. Smoke the ABTs in the smoker, set at 225F, for 2-3 hours, or until the bacon is browned

Notes

*To cook on the grill: Cook on a medium heat grill until the jalapeno is tender and the bacon is browned. Keep the lid covered while cooking. 

* To cook in the oven: Bake the ABT’s in the oven, set at 425F, for 20-30 minutes or until the bacon is browned.

renewal

 From Life to....

 The recent desert freeze destroyed everything that Tangent was...

 I can't tell you how uninterested I am in this garden now...  Every time I walk out to evaluate it, I just sigh, turn around with head hanging low. 

Of course, I walk back inside and I feel the urge of renewal nudging me...  What is it about Renewal that keeps coaxing me? 

Is it the excitement of not knowing, or Is it the excitement of knowing? 

Is this the feeling of burning desire to create?  Because, it is flaming, right Now!

  

Transformation (A.K.A: Death)

eggplant, my favorite...

Jalapeno

My blood thirsty bougainvillea

( frost to this is like the sun to a vampire...)

The white eggplant.. with what was left on it, I didn't really know about!

Lettuce seems to be ok a little wilted but ok

Down Pepper Row.

     But desire or not, I am contemplating a new plan for the spring plantings, I realized that it is in the realm of Renewal!  I'm not sure how I feel about it.. I mean I have my concepts of what I want to do for the Cocktail Garden, but I never thought about what I wanted for the vegetable garden.

     Now! Do I want a Theme for it? Like only certain things, for example, a Salsa Garden, a Pizza Garden? or what?  I seems as if I make more salsa than anything, so that would be the likely thing Right? But would that just be expected?

     Isn't renewal another way of creating different experiences?  When I think of "Renewal" I think of reaching a new front, a point that is like the WOW Factor!

     I am devising a layout that will be a little different, and I hope to be able to achieve it, as most know... Mother Nature always does it her way, never my way, always her way, a little "Alice in Wonderland" coming out of me... My favorite childhood book... Always feeling like screaming "Off with their head".... Just in the garden you know...

     But when I finally get to the achievement point, Mother Nature steps in...  I guess that's all good, what is life with out transformation! It's just that I would like to have couple moments more of the whew, or awe factor...

Remnants of the Freak Freeze!!  

     Cocktail Garden area in dire straits.... We did all we could to keep the damage as less as possible, but it didn't curb much...

     The Cocktail Garden has been compromised too... much to my dismay I think that my garden won't be a secret for awhile, so I hope that HOA, won't have some sort of hissy fit for having seating and pots of pretty plants visible... Because that will just completely SUCK!!!!!!


     But the Coarse still migrates on... I am finding all kinds of Cocktail drinks and finger foods to have with friends...

Drinks and Eats to enjoy....

Cucumber-Rosemary Gin and Tonic – Recipe

Ingredients

2 oz of Gin
5 oz of Tonic Water
3 cucumber slices
1 sprig of rosemary
1 wedge of lime
Soda Water

How to make Cucumber-Rosemary Gin and Tonic

Place the cucumber slices at the bottom of the highball glass. Squeeze lime juice into glass and slightly muddle the cucumber. Add sprig of rosemary and fill highball glass with ice. Add Gin, tonic, and finish off with a splash of soda water. If you prefer a less sweet cocktail, add less tonic water and more soda water. Enjoy!

http://bestfoodcooking.com/cucumber-rosemary-gin-and-tonic-recipe/


Zucchini Parmesan Crisps



How To Make   Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
adapted from Ellie Krieger's recipe in The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

• 1 lb. zucchini or squash (about 2 medium-sized)
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (heaping)
• 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs (heaping)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray lightly with vegetable spray.
Slice zucchini or squash into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Toss rounds with oil, coating well.
In a wide bowl or plate, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper.
Place rounds in Parmesan-breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides of each round, pressing to adhere. The mixture will not completely cover each round, but provides a light coating on each side.
Place rounds in a single layer on baking sheets. Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumb mixture over the rounds.
Bake for about 22 to 27 minutes, until golden brown. (There is no need to flip them during baking -- they crisp up on both sides as is.)


http://blackjackbakehouse.com/home/2011/7/20/zucchini-parmesan-crisps.html

 I would for myself add a small hint of rosemary.... too...

enjoy!

Happy Gardening...

Question?

      A question was thrown out in an interview I've read, and it made me really think! I mean, really think, it bothered me to no end...  referring this question towards Gardening, (mainly @ Tangent).

     Why are you doing this?  (What a question, why do anything right? But, this one really made me restless.) I felt like I was five again, asking all the questions, trying to get the answers from my elders...
When that vision drifted, I envisioned myself as the elder, trying to answer these endless "ummm" questions, like the famous question that any child or my girls asked, "Why is the sky blue?" My response, I'm sure any thinking parent would say, Go ask Daddy!..... (or Mommy!)

      

      Well, I have thought about this before and all the puffy and simple reasons came up first!
Like, it's a hobby, I grow my own vegetables, it's quiet time,  it will be done, or die tryin', etc.... (there are a couple more but anyway!)

     I don't know why I became so engrossed on this thought! Maybe it's because it connects to the theory of anything I do in project style, I never complete.


     As the weather starts to put itself in check I can start back on some of last years projects, see if I can finish them . Or maybe any of my new thoughts or ideas, I will make sure to finish...

     Like this one, where my shed was going to become a type of green house, I had lamps and shelving and workspace all ready to use and couldn't bring myself to go in there to do anything.. I guess, the element of atmosphere is most important too.. Plus, well it was a shed, not a work space!

     Which comes project "cocktail garden" or whatever it becomes... I can vision sitting there with some unwinding old fashioned drink and taking in the atmosphere... It doesn't seem to unattainable... but as other things, like budgets, and time get in the way, of course ...
     I really plan on getting this particular project done, if anything to have a template for the next cocktail, garden I intend to create, when a slower pace of life starts calling... somehow I can hear a faint whisper in the wind telling me it's almost time... as I hear this, I hear the inner voice saying, I am so not prepared... I am ready for it, but, am not prepared...

Possibly having one of these might help.... (or not)



Vodka Thyme Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients

• fresh thyme
• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 oz. sugar
• ice

Fill a cocktail glass with ice and set aside.  Muddle 3 or 4 thyme sprigs in a cocktail shaker, then add ice, vodka, lime juice and sugar.  Close shaker and shake vigorously.  Strain over the ice in the glass and garnish with another thyme sprig.

By  http://theframedtable.com/2012/07/vodka-thyme-cocktail/
 *Also having other delish cocktails to refer to!
   
     As it stands, I am accumulating drink recipes and maybe even little tasty treats to go along with them... All based on what is growing and of course or what is available in the area...

    So based on the Question I asked!  What am I doing this for?    Still working on a theory,  but coming to the ultimate answer which could change as time keeps marching,


     So far, for the simple pleasures... like atmosphere and good company with drinks...

     Maybe asking yourself this question once in awhile puts it in to perspective...
 I think I will ask this question a lot just to keep a perspective! lol

       What are you doing it for?
    
Happy Gardening!

To Resolute or not to Resolute!

  

     A burning dislike of mine, is to have resolutions. Should I be this way?  I mean it is a good thing to work towards and have goals. RIGHT?
     What happens if the goals aren't reached?  I do feel like I let myself down, and not to mention anyone else down that know and support me, if not reached... I have such a huge list if I were to make resolutions..

    1)  Complete the cocktail garden
    2)  Tangent revamped
    3)  Eat healthier
    4)  Work out more
    5)  Tighten my spending
    6)  Keep my journals
    7)  Write a cookbook (?) Bahhhhaaa)
    8)  Get a more agreeable job
    9)  Be more forgiving   
  10)  Etc.... etc... etc...

Future Cocktail Garden!!!

        Well, I can keep going all day long, I mean who couldn't? My worst is to not complete my projects...  So really, if I were to choose to have a resolution...  I would probably say or go with, the thought of.... Be braver in the garden, I really get phobic about what will grow, what makes me think will grow and what won't... Like my row of carrots, peas, so many other unnamed under accomplishments...

      I have also come  across  a 20 question reflection list... I mean should I even try to remember what really happened through the months of 2012?  That would be  # 6) keep my journals!
Where I wouldn't really have to reflect so much.

      All in all I can say that the greatest thing that we decided on was to stay put in our Lakeview home.  

      Until, Yep! I said UNTIL, the deal we couldn't pass up, came at us of course at the most inconvenient time.
I don't know about you, but that is the life we lead everything comes at the most dreadful moments.  
      We have decided to purchase a nice little lot in Northern AZ, In the town of Show Low... Yes, we did it and now I have a challenge waiting for me when the time comes to move there, not for awhile, thank goodness, my mind is already overwhelmed.

*The true meaning of resolution for me!*

      So back to the original question, "To Resolute or Not to Resolute?"  For me, I think that I have a better thought. I feel looking back keeps me from moving forward, simple reason of all the hind-sights, and what ifs....
      Moving forward and be grateful for how far I've come, even if it is a step or two... It is a step or two Right? That accomplishes something!

     To all those who visits Tangent Gardening,  I hope that you have the most incredible coming year so much that it treats you with love and joy, plus some!

     Thank you for reading and visiting, 

Happy 2013 New Year!!! 

Heaven with Cocktails Anybody?

    Now that the Holidays are quite over, the time of getting back to a normal pace, and concepts for Tangent, as well as routines starts.  It is still in the low 30's in the a.m., highs of low 50's and high 60's, in the afternoons. I really can't plant much anyway, because I need to get out there and clean up my mess

     I think I have come up with the theme of the courtyard we are trying to create..  Now I have been toying with thoughts from one end of the spectrum, to the complete opposite end.  I didn't have an idea, even if my life depended on it.   There has been thoughts, oh yea! just thoughts, until guess what? Wish washy comes to play.. Oh! How I loath this dark matter of wasted energy...

     Tooling around on line the last couple of days, Garden Rant, threw out the concept of a Cocktail Garden... They, or I should say, Amy Stewart, wrote a book that is titled "The drunken Botanist", It isn't out yet but I really want to get it.. So when March comes around, guess who will be standing in line to purchase it! Yep, Me!

     So that got me on the thought of having one for my patio/courtyard/secret garden...
 
     Finding info on creating a Cocktail Garden is tough, there really isn't much out there for design or pictures, or ideas to emulate.  So this is really a start from scratch project...       I would think that to have a cocktail garden, the most important part would be the type of plants to be used.

Right?

    Where to plant and probably the thought of putting them in pots, big pots to have plenty to for everyone!

     So a list of some of the plants or herbs, in which can be negotiable, I came up with,.
Here are some of my thoughts to start ...



Mint:           Seems to be the first on the list, which I would have in a pot anyhow.

Thyme:        I have issues with this plant, so I guess I better figure it out.

Sage:           Is another complicated plant for me...

Chives:        Handled

Key limes:   Done

Lavender:    Hmmm... Really?

Basil:           Not a problem

Rosemary:  Matriarch still commanding as ever...



     Then other plants lemon, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red bell peppers, pomegranate, chamomile, and nasty's  plus other plants on hand in Tangent..

    Thats the beginning of  cocktails, then of course the environment comes next, you know the ambiance!  Of course,I need to find the recipes to put out with it so friends can make a drink..  Then of course, the time to sit in the courtyard and enjoy the company..

     Well,  it begins somewhere huh! Next will be the recipes for sure, research is such tasty work, huh?




 THE BEST NEWS!

     So browsing through the Burpee catalog that came to me yesterday, I found the most exciting news....


container corn

      Now I don't know how happy or if this news would make you happy, but there is a type of corn that can be grown in containers, yep that's right, I can grow corn... I am so anxious that want to get a couple packets of seeds to just to make a jungle out of  Tangent with it!    lol...

Guess who is making an order soon!?
I am, I am... 

That is the da da's for me so far,

How about you!

Is the start of 2013 a good beginning for you?

Hustle and Bustle with cheer!

       The Eve of Christmas Eve, Two days after the world was going to end, "o.0"  I feel blessed, don't you!  This year I feel rushed, I don't like that the Holiday landed on a Monday and Tuesday, I feel overwhelmed and that I didn't get anything finished. I did manage to though.. (some things)

       But I feel insanely cheery inside, rather if you met me on the street, you probably wouldn't think it... hahaha...

        I was to give a thought of what I was going to do to my garden when I posted next... Well, I spoke too soon. Because, you see... I really don't have a thought... I had a busy couple of weeks, if it weren't for work I think I would have a most easy time..  I work with a sped program at a school... The kids were so round up, I came home completely exhausted everyday...

        Managing to make Fudge and a Fruit cake,(which I felt like daily, lol) was all I could get accomplished...

Merry Christmas!

        I harvested the last of all my peppers before the crazy freeze watch came through during the week of last..  Thank-goodness. But now, not sure what to do with the rest, I gave a bit to some of my co-workers...
Also, a friend was to stop by and get some too, but that hasn't happened.

        So, here it is I have peppers coming out of my ears, What to do! I haven't a clue!
Any Ideas, Friends?

Bells, Jalapeños, and Bananas....

     The house is painted and decorated a little for Christmas!

     My Garden is in complete junk-yard mess, after the work of painting... We had to pull everything away from the house and walls. Now that the painting is finished, the junk needs a place to go. I don't think that I want the stuff back where it was.. so now, toss time or donate, and most of the stuff is just toss.

     My best companion ever is very ill, Piglet my princess, Kitty, with hands not paws, that has  hyperthyroidism is not doing well, I have to make it to the vet and see what the next thing to do is... The special food really was only doing so-so for her and the medicine was to much for her system. There are only two other things to try, and I don't think that she is well enough for surgery. Radioactive iodine therapy which is the most expensive, and I wouldn't even be able to come up with that type of money.

     The clinic is closed today, and probably on Christmas day... So, thoughts for tomorrow is really needed...
I hope that I can see them even if  for the blood work to be done.. (hopes and wishes for something!)


 HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!


     As Christmas approaches and enjoyment to be had with your family, hugs to everyone and wishes for the New year to be successful and treat you with love and happiness..

A revamp....

    I have not forgotten my favorite place to be... (you know! here!)...

    I have been a little side tracked with things around home... We are in the process of having the house  painted.. 

     Oh boy! What a dramatic difference... I absolutely love the way it looks so far..

     This has been a stressed process, especially for my Hubby! Calling making appt. to have them come out and give estimates... 
     Oh and we mustn't forget the pigeon problem... Thank goodness that is handled... This company has so far been great at really getting the job done.. Tell you about them once everything is complete...

     But, on a different note, I'm feeling the spirit this year and I actually got a live (dead) tree, and I put my Christmas town out..We will be putting lights out when the house is complete...

     All the while listening to the same old Christmas songs! Aren't there any new songs? I think that "they" play  five or six of  same songs, but all different singers... What gives? .... Too lazy to look for a new line up or something, scared to offend people with traditional song, like Silent Night, or Oh tannenbaum, ( not sure of the spelling?)... hmmm... Oh Well... Trying not to be grumpy here... lol!

    Well, that is the low down anyway, and I will be posting pics when it is complete! Along with a few other things I have been thinking about in the garden... Happy Gardening!

Traditions, Old and New!

    This past Thanksgiving weekend has truly been interesting to say the least.. I'm not sure how to bring anyone up to date, since my last post. 

   Let's see, I started off by having Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Thanksgiving is always done at my mothers home. It is always the same, that can be counted on. Dinner at 4'clock, eat and stuff self to oblivion, then immediately do the dishes for two hours, and then head home to be incredibly tired from all that instant fattening up and work, all wrapped into one experience.

   I usually make a thanksgiving  dinner for my family  the day after in my home.. This is usually an enjoyment... turkey, mash potatoes  & gravy, green beans, stuffing, dessert, left-overs etc..  I generally think this is the thing to do... But my mind has turned to new and inspired ways of things...

   Everything  as I know it to be... changed as of this year...

   This change is the most improved idea...  A new meaning for me to have a yearly tradition... of which... I don't have traditions yet.. some people go to "The Dunes" to ride quads and sand-rails for Thanksgiving, or go out of town to places such as Las Vegas, and some shop the infamous "Black Friday" sales .. by which have done all and well not something wonderful for me,
And just not what I'm in to these days... 

   The traditions mostly consist of going to my mothers to have a holiday dinner... Now, don't think that I am not appreciative by any means I am I love it ... But

   Traditions  are also meant to begin and continue...

   By which, I think it has been done!...


   I have lived in the southwest all of my life with an exception of a few years living in Florida...

   I am not a connoisseur in styles of cooking but I am a exceptional dabbler, I love to try new ideas and foods... Although,  Boils are not new, it is to me...
 

   This weekend, a Crab & Shrimp Boil commenced and I must say, "it was Brilliant!"  I have always desired to attend a real Louisiana Crawfish style Boil... Unfortunately, I have never had a chance.

   So "We" thought that having one for ourselves would be the next best thing... We invited all our friends and their immediate family, it couldn't have been too much better...

    The ambiance was sensational, the weather was in full agreement, the food and drinks were endless...

In short this was an incredible experience...
  

   When coming to Traditions,  This is one that I would like to continue every Thanksgiving weekend... have a boil of some sort, It is wonderfully easy entertainment for guests, (maybe more for very close friends, simply because of how cozy it really does get), this is it...

     This was the begining of the feast... in my apple bobbin bucket, we were still filling it up with good stuff...

    But.... by the nights end sittin' by the fire pit,

   The boil began to dwindle down into the wee hours of the night, friends leaving filled with food and drink. I was secretly thinking what am I going to do with the left over food,... (mmmm... all for us, to have left overs like the "traditional leftovers" as usual!) lol!

   I can honestly say this was the utmost amazing night, and feeling this incredibly short and stressful year wasn't all bad...