h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My father's barber refuses to buy eggplants that were grown in Mexico. Something about the bad stuff in the soil, I think.

This is California.

People often bring in surplus garden produce for distribution at my church.

I am familiar with the weird and wobbly mode in which the first desire is just go horizontal. With congestive heart failure, it seems pretty common.

I do not have a problem with any person's nationality when it comes to gardening. It's the force-fed grown stuff that travels for ages from Mexico and California to us that I find over sized and void of natural true flavour.

My garden veggies get watered daily, and I use organic fertilizers on them. The seeds tend to be heirloom varieties.

( Correcting the subject, and . . . )

Sunday supper provided a little amusement before preparation. Local meat market, the roast was crudely labelled and could read as beef, beet or beer. A mystery meal?

The crock-pot was used and surprisingly, the beef was a little tough to the cut and chew. But so full of flavour, and a natural effect of that was a helluva fine gravy. The shaved off corn from the day before was yummy, the mashed taters and the simmered carrot sticks nice. So in all, about a 95% success.

I'm still in my my motel heat shelter and living on takeouts.

Strangely, my appetite is strong.

I'll be having a fajita salad* on a bed of steamed white rice with mild hot sauce, half a dozen tacos and a soft drink on ice.

*Mexican stir fry.




Most Mexican imports locally come from the Mexican part of the Colorado delta, averaging about 100 miles away, so we get them locally fresh.

Sounds like shipping standards need to be beefed up for Canada.

I will probably get a can of Chickarina and use it as a base for minestrone tomorrow. I've picked an 8th zucchini (with two more on the vines), and also have some beans from my garden. This will be for tomorrow, which is actually today, the early hours of.....

Our deep fryer got something of a work-out. A good load of breaded scallops, and a small mountain of hand-made potato chips (crisps).

Turkey cobb salad and a pint of potato salad.

Coming Monday is a "bank holiday" for us. Weather permitting, we try to do up a supper on the propane BBQ / grill. Since I was already shopping for a tidy sirloin steak - I bought two very generous ones. Maybe 2/3 of one will be our supper . . . they rest will become beef jerky.

Tonight I will likely buy some beef and add it to pasta and tomato sauce for American Chop Suey. I picked a zucchini (the tenth one of the season) this morning. That will be added.

Progress report on my Heat Emergency NDE:

I've taken the motel I'm using for a heat shelter for a sixth day, will be (tentatively) going home tomorrow afternoon.

I have an important church date coming up tomorrow morning, here in town, anyway.

Contractor assures me he's making good progress, should have the new and higher powered AC (going to 220V from 110V) in and running in plenty of time.

I have lived in some really summer-humid places, but either my age or reality ? This town whupped them all. Once I finally bought a home, I have ensured that the air conditioning is dependable.

On that note, currently about 34C here (92F) and humidity feeling like 41C (105F). A very good day to stay indoors, and make a simple mac'n'cheese from scratch for supper. To me, simple includes minced onion, thin sliced frankfurters, a little seasoned salts and some garlic powder - - - and maybe a little thin sliced kielbossa? And loads of hand grated medium cheddar cheese, of course.

...something sweet, halva, sesame seed marzipan...

They've got it at many of the local supermarkets.

Even on the hottest days, the huge oak tree behind my house casts enough shade to cool down my back yard. There's also a nice breeze much of the time, so I spread a towel on the ground, bring out some books and snacks and reading glasses, and sit there reading. The vegetation along the back of my house is lush because it soaks up the rainwater that falls from the eaves. That moisture makes it seem even cooler.

I have some shade-loving perennial sunflowers there, and they are in full bloom now -- perfect yellow blossoms, delicate like he Cosmo blossoms but obviously not the same color.

Here's a link with pictures of the type of sunflower I have
http://www.pinterest.ch/pin/515802963545026032/

A bright and cheerful appearance.

The goosefoot leaf is suggestive that it's hypoallergenic.

Native to the northern tier of Florida counties.

It does have the look of something moisture and shade loving.




P.S. Thanks for the ton of ice.

Supper at Mario's....

Rather than wear myself out on a detailed study of their Italian menu, when I saw that they offered a 4 piece fish and chips... ...with an extra serving of coleslaw...

It has a vast range, from Florida up to Labrador. I bought four plants in 2016. The rhizomes have spread out, so there are at least 50 now. It's genetically very similar to Jerusalem Artichoke, which I've also grown in the past (in containers, so as not to let them get out o control.)

I've tried the Jerusalem Artichoke* (girasol) locally.

I've succeeded in getting them to flower, but never gotten them to fruit or go perennial.

Ditto my sister in her garden.

You may have what may be a viable alternative.




*The commercial artichoke is not only grown here commercially, there are bone fide wild varieties, mainly interesting for the oily, pine nut like seed.