Things That Make Me Go Yum

I'm still getting a kick of harvesting food from my garden. Tonight, I was being rather domestic (for me), cleaning, watering plants and veggies and cooking. Since the boy was out and about I had a rare opportunity to eat something he hates: veggies. My veg and couscous dinner sounded just okay though until I thought about one of my favorite rare treats: fried green tomatoes.


Why are fried green tomatoes such a rare treat when I have copious amounts of the raw ingredient in my garden for several months a year? Because I can't stand to cut short the life of my tomatoes and miss out on another delish ripe beauty. Usually I wait until the end of the season, when frost is imminent and start frying away. But tonight one early girl made the sacrifice and became the perfect slightly tart compliment to my veggie couscous. Yum, yum, yum. If you haven't tried one, you're missing out.

Dear Golden Girl (the tomato people, the tomato)

Dear Golden Girl,

As you may have noticed, I was nervous about tasting you. Which is why I kept you waiting on the kitchen counter for an entire 24 hours. You see, I only started eating tomatoes a few years ago. I have a very uneducated tomato palate. I've never even tried an orange tomato before. Oh the wasted years.

Tonight though, after a heavy Indian lunch buffet, I craved a light, refreshing dinner. I saw you lying there, with your little cherry tomato cousins. So I tried you. First alone, sliced. You were everything I love about tomatoes and more. You have no hint of acidity. I tried you with salt, too much at first, and then just the right amount. Frankly, I prefer you plain, without unnecessary accoutrements.



Then I sliced you and tossed you with hothouse cukes, your cherry tomato cousins, green onions pulled fresh from the garden and Italian dressing. I know I don't need to tell you this, but you were delicious. I paired you with a toasted, buttered bun topped with swiss cheese and cucumber slices and a glass of merlot. And, Golden Girl, you were even better.

In fact you may have been the highlight of my weekend (which I realize says more about me than you). I can't wait for more of your siblings to be ready for my plate.

Needless to say, you've earned a permanent place in my garden.

Until then, I'll be remembering you fondly.

-min hus

Lillies! for Green Thumb Sunday

My lillies have kindly showed up just in time to give me something new to show you for Green Thumb Sunday. Every time they bloom I think, those are really nice, I need more. But then I forget about them. If only they were repeat bloomers. I. must. have. lots. of. flowers.


But that's not the really big news from my garden. This week we had *insert drumroll here* the first cherry tomato and the first regular tomato - a golden girl. Hopefully it's ripe, I wasn't quite sure about that (it is more orange than it looks in the pic). Not only will this little golden girl be my first tomato season of the year, it'll also be my first orange tomato ever. Shocking, eh? I hope it tastes as good as it looks!

Gardeners, plant and nature lovers can join Green Thumb Sunday every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Friend or Foe?

Can someone help me out and tell me if this is a weed? The foliage looks like a weed to my untrained eye, but the flower is so pretty. I can't think what I could have planted that might look like this though. Almost every unexpected plant that pops up around these parts usually turns out to be a weed.

New Ceiling Fan: I'm Still Not Happy

I've been living with the ugliest ceiling fan in the world in my bedroom for three years too long. I resolved to replace it months ago during the Cure. So after scouring the ceiling fans at every store in the area many, many times, I finally found one at Home Depot that fit my criteria of no visible bulbs, white and nickle, and not hideously ugly.

The boyfriend, who is the only one who's been getting any DIY done around here for oh, months, put it up right away and replaced the monstrosity above with this.


Nice huh? But I'm still not happy. Now before you think this is solely my freakish perfectionist nature and my strong aversion to change, hear me out. When I first saw the ceiling fan, and better yet heard how it did not shake and quiver and give one the sense of impending doom when trying to sleep beneath it, I was thrilled. Then it got dark and I turned on the light. Ugh. The three wimpy 40W candelabra bulbs (the max you can use) give off the worst light and the frosted shade doesn't help of course. Forget about reading (there's no room for night tables or lamps), I can't even stand to be in the room when the light is on. Something about it makes me a bit seasick feeling.

So the boy and I have been "discussing" this for the last few days. He thinks I should be happy I finally found a fan that I (and he) like the design of and should install reading lights on the wall. I contend that a key reason for the ceiling fan light is missing if said light is too dim and makes my skin crawl. He immediately ordered CFLs online which came yesterday. They probably would have solved the problem, but of course they didn't fit; that would have been too easy.

So now, despite many, many discussions, we're at a standstill. Is my only choice a nice-looking ceiling fan or a fully functional one? Has anyone found CFLs that fit in an enclosed ceiling fan fixture? (and what happens when incandescents are all outlawed?) Why was it decided to stop making ceiling fan lights that accommodate regular light bulbs? I know people were installing bulbs with too high of wattage and causing fires, but why do I have to be punished for others stupidity? Whine, whine, whine.

Update (6/28/11): The lighting issue has been solved, courtesy of three new 60W equivalent micro-mini CFLs. Full story here.

Tuesday Pick Me Up: Christian the Lion

Ok, this isn't home inspiration; it's life inspiration. It might be because my kitty is sick (but improving), but this video made me cry and smile at the same time when I saw it on The Today Show this morning. I feel a bit better about the world after watching it.

More of Christian the Lion's story here.

July Blooms

Since I missed July's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I thought I'd expand today's Green Thumb Sunday post to showcase more of my July blooms that usual. While it's still a work in progress, I'm pleased with how my garden is coming along.

First cosmos of the season (from seed).

Balloon flowers

Self-seeded Rudbeckia. Is there anything better than free plants?

Coneflowers, daisies and another Rudbeckia

Liatris

Coneflowers

Also in bloom:

• Coreopsis (two kinds)
• Larkspur
• Lavender
  
• Pansies
• Poppies
  
• Scabiosa
  
• Sweet Alyssum
• Veronica Speedwell
  
• Zinnia

Gardeners, plant and nature lovers can join Green Thumb Sunday every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Ditch Lillies for Green Thumb Sunday

The ditch lillies are blooming. Aren't the colors vibrant in this pic? I have a love/hate relationship with these plants. First, they've grown in from the neighbors yard and taken over the back bed. I'm not ready to redo that bed anyway, so I leave them. They're pretty while they bloom, but once they're done,they're done and the bed looks rather boring.
Meanwhile I only have love for these wintersown larkspur. They're looking pretty delicate, but they're blooming profusely, especially for their first year and the colors are perfect.

Gardeners, plant and nature lovers can join Green Thumb Sunday every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Towel Racks for Tiny Spaces

I have a teeny, tiny bathroom. When you walk in the door you're surrounded by two walls only 34.5" apart. Even fitting towel racks in the room is a challenge. That's why I find Apartment Therapy's post today on the TowelTender so interesting. This could actually fit even my bathroom and at $30 the price is right too.


Currently a removable 3M hook holds up our hand towels. It's a temporary solution that is functional, but isn't quite the right look.

My dream solution would be a pedestal sink with a built-in towel bar. But it has to be a tiny sink. This American Standard combo I might actually fit and the package is around $320 at Home Depot, not including a faucet. Try Actually I just checked, this sink is even smaller than themy current one....hmmm... (see what blogging does? It creates more projects!)

This Sapho Lavatory Pedestal Sink by Porter would allow for his and her hand towels (bliss for us clean freaks!), but it's too deep and at over $500 it's a little more than I'd like to spend as well.

Pink Bloom Parade for Green Thumb Sunday

My coneflowers are blooming and they are wonderful. I planted these coneflowers last year and they barely bloomed before fall. This year is a different story, as you can see.

The blooms on these two coneflower plants appear different, don't they? Although they are cell-pack mates.

One of my blushing pink winter-sown poppies. I'm so glad to have these poppies, they're so pretty. I'm planning to try saving the seeds for the first time so I can enjoy these poppies in the future as well.

Winter-sown pink larkspur

Gardeners, plant and nature lovers can join Green Thumb Sunday every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Design Inspiration from Nestled In

I love Scandinavian design and especially all things Finnish (the country, the design, the architecture, Iitaala, the ice cream and especially my bestest friends Hanna and Netta). So of course I enjoy Finnish design/decor blogs and I found a delightful one last night.

dining area from Nestled In

Nestled In (via a comment in Nina in Vorm's blog) is a blog by Katja and Minna. These two gals live in northern Finland and are sharing their journey of turning their apartment into their home. I've been going through the archives and soaking in all the great eye candy and inspiration pics they've shared.

Visit Nestled In for much more, including great pics from their Midsummer day at Katja's grandparent cottage.

All images from Nestled In.