August 12, 2018 - It is August

Greetings, from Iowa and from August.

Rain
For two days, early in the week, mercifully we had some rain. I think there was an inch total. That was enough that I did not have to water this week. I did have to water the morning glories. They seem to need a can full of water at least every two days. Those are planted at the end of the porch in pots. I had figured that pots might be easier to keep watered than in the ground, under the eaves. I now have to wonder about that.

Frogs
Here is the first picture of one of the frogs in the pond. It's in the middle of the picture looking darker than the water lily leaves. We got tadpoles the end of June. For a while I would just hear a plop or two when I approached the pond. Then I saw them. Now if I approach slowly I can get a picture.

Closing down the garden? I read somewhere, from a gardener I respect, that August 1 is the time to start shutting down the garden, preparing for next year. Certainly this is the time when many flowers are done for the year. I agree that it is time to think about next year.
But there is so much time left in the garden year. We have a long time before first frost.


Visiting other gardens
Last weekend, in the summer heat, we were in Chicago seeing Julia's family. We took a trip to visit a park called Cantigny, which is located out in the country about 30 miles from the downtown.

It is a big park, having been once owned by the McCormick family (farm implements and newspapers). It's a mixture of things - a stately home, a war museum dedicated to the First Infantry Division and nice gardens where you can pick up ideas.
Here are some pictures.

Elephant ears are found many places at this point. Black Elephant ears are also something to acquire. You can then mix them in pots with other things.

Warning- Elephant ears do keep getting bigger. They do well in the sun.

I have found them easy to store over the winter.

Sometimes in a public garden they can do things with color and full sun.
I admire this but do not think much about trying it at home.

When you visit one of these large public gardens you can get ideas. I have found zinnias to be something I like and will grow in my less than full sun garden.

Raspberry Ripple would seem to be a variety to watch for next year.








A few thoughts about this time of year:
The annuals, such as the zinnias, will continue to be better than ever, for at least another two months. Here some of the zinnias, planted in May, dance with the hosta.

This reminds me of an earlier time in the season when the hosta joined the bluebells in that garden dance.

Caladium
This is their time of year. They should do well until the temperatures get below 40. They actually are a good thing in the garden in September. They do not seem that affected by heat and a lack of water.

If what you are looking for is splashes of color, a clump of big red caladium is just the thing. The variety is called Red Flash.

More about Zinnias
       Each year for three years now, I have planted some zinnias from seed, somewhat late in the season (for planting things from seed). I have planted them late on purpose. I want the plants to be fresh and new after the high summer bloom is over.
       This year that was early June. Sometimes it has been the end of June. There is this space by the front sidewalk, where it seems the zinnias get enough sun to do well.
I tried a new variety. I forget the name. Now there are numerous flowers, all different and all rather wonderful.
        Enjoy these big pictures. When we have a picture contest in the winter I may have to include several of these.

Julia's Recipe

Zucchini baked eggs

The separate blog with all of Julia's recipes from this blog, is found at
https://mearskitchen.wordpress.com/

The farmer's market is full of zucchini in late summer, and so we make zucchini baked eggs. This is a variation on a recipe from the original Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas, a serious hippie cookbook from a serious hippie era.

I started with 2 medium-large zucchini, one green and one yellow because I thought it would be pretty. And it was. My zucchini were about 10-12" long and about 2-3" around.

I started by grating them coarsely into a big colander and mixing in 1-1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt. I had about 5-6 cups of coarsely grated zucchini. I then cleaned 3 medium scallions, sliced them in half lengthwise and then across. I ended up with about 1/2 cup of scallions. The scallions went into the colander too.

Next I set up the drain-the-vegetable rig, which I also use to drain liquid from cucumbers for cucumber salad. I set the colander in a big shallow bowl (a rimmed baking sheet would work too), put a flat disk (yogurt container lid or flat plate) on top of the zucchini shreds and topped that with a canister full of sugar for weight.

I let this sit for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, about 1 cup of liquid was in the bottom of the bowl, which I discarded.

Then I took the zucchini out of the colander by handfuls and squeezed it out, yielding about another cup of liquid which I also discarded. I ended up with about 3 cups of drained and squeezed zucchini/scallion mixture.

I put 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a big skillet. When the butter was melted, I added the zucchini mixture and cooked it for about 5-6 minutes.

The zucchini did not become goopy because it was, relatively speaking, dry. The resulting  product was soft, but with distinct zucchini shreds. I added maybe 1/2 teaspoon more salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. 

I turned the oven on to 350 degrees and lubed up an oval shaped baker with cooking spray. Butter or oil would be fine. I spread the zucchini into the baker, and I made 4 little depressions as shown. I broke 1 egg into each depression and sprinkled a little salt and pepper over each egg.

I set the baker on a rimmed baking sheet and inverted another rimmed baking (although it would not need to be rimmed) on top of the baker. The idea is to have a lid over the eggs so they cook faster. I put the baker on a rimmed baking sheet so I would have an easier time getting the whole thing in and out of the oven. Of course, I could have set the baker on the oven rack and then put the lid on. It hadn't occurred to me to do that all these years. Next time.

Here is the finished dish. After 15 minutes of bake time, the egg whites were still runny: too soon. After 25 minutes of bake time, the egg yolks were set. If you want soft yolks and set whites, I think 20 minutes is about right.

We serve this dish with hollandaise, which Philip makes from a recipe for blender hollandaise from the Joy of Cooking. I have investigated and can report that Knorr makes a hollandaise mix that is well thought of, and a company named Delouis makes hollandaise in a jar. I bet other companies make mixes or bottled products as well.  Hollandaise is important to this dish, but it need not be an obstacle.

You will note that this dish is vegetarian (but not vegan) and gluten free. And good cold for lunch if there are leftovers. Of course, everything is good with hollandaise sauce.

Odds and Ends

The other evening we had a quick rain storm. After it was over the clouds and the sun made that wonderful color that gave everything just this intense color. I took this little video along Fairview Street.

Some of the stars of the garden should bloom this week.
The cactus plants should bloom this week.
The night blooming cereus has 9 buds, the first of which should bloom in the next few days. Actually it will bloom one of the next few nights. The first bud just started to turn up yesterday late in the day.
Here was the bud yesterday morning.

That is it for this week.
August is hot, and often dry.
It is a time of change in the garden.
In August you can look back and forward at the same time.
It is a challenge.
It is still a time of wonder.
Be safe.
Better times are ahead.
Philip