Missing the Garden...

Last week, we woke up to temperatures of 8 degrees.  As much as I enjoy the seasons...starting the winter off in a vicious Polar Vortex is pushing my conviction....

After just two days of the bitter cold weather, I have a new understanding for the flocks of Snowbirds those-- otherwise-hardy-Midwesterners -- who go south for the winter.  I used to call them pussies.

But now I get it...

Hell...who are we kidding?  I envy them.

AND -- I am really missing the garden...

If you are a gardener, you know that every season comes with it's own gifts and pleasures. That's the whole point of having a garden, really.

This year, the first big mouth-watering crop was the asparagus. We picked it every-other-day for over a month. It was a GREAT year. Lilly loved looking for the asparagus (the weeds would hide it just enough to make it exciting), and we enjoyed eating it hot, with butter. Then cold, tossed with vinegar and oil. And sometimes creamed -- over toast.

One of the biggest rewards of the garden is, of course, the tomatoes. By the time we were sitting on the porch, eating BLT sandwiches made with the first tomatoes of the season...our mouths were watering. It is always one of the best moments of the year.

Every summer, I look forward to hearing from Linda Boothman when she makes her first mayo/peanut butter/tomato sandwich...

If you live in Iowa -- you can grow beautiful garlic, onions and lettuce, cabbage and cucumbers, green beans are very big here.

...but all that is just killing time until you can PICK THE SWEETCORN.

For our family, the big gardening victory is marked by Elliott's birthday. July 8, we ALWAYS have pesto for his birthday dinner. That takes two cups of basil -- and it is usually the first pick of the year. It is a mouth-watering, delicious Farro family tradition.

For his birthday dinner, Elliott always gets snow crab legs...and a big bowl of pesto spaghetti.

In the Fall, gardeners wait patiently for their squash and pumpkins. John dug buckets of Yukon Gold potatoes that will last us through the winter...

There is NOTHING better than fried potatoes...

This morning, on this bitter cold day, I opened the refrigerator and saw the final Garden Crop....tomorrow, I'll blog about it.

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P.S.  -- I know this bit of weather/whining is completely inappropriate, considering I don't live anywhere near Buffalo, New York...