Robyn - Dancing On My Own

i'm obsessed with this song and video. i think i might dance to it tonight with a glass of wine.

A cool vid from my friend, Stacy.

THIS is a cool song.'

God spoke and the light shone down...

"Let there be Kettle Salt & Pepper Potato Chips... BAKED!"

I had some last night and today... and I'm here to tell you, they are fucking delicious! Haha!

All the taste, less than half the fat - bring it, Kettle, bring it.

Homemade Caprese, makin me a-crazy.

Soooooooo good.

6 feet tall and smells like dead bodies?

Me A FLOWER, Lois.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38376749

Garden Report: All is growing like mad. And very tasty.

Last night's Pasta Primavera with fresh zucchini and squash and a homemade marinara made from our homegrown tomatoes was... how do you say - DIVINE. I love yellow squash it was oh-so-buttery. Man, watering all those days has paid off into some yummy veggies. This is my first time dedicating myself to a vegetable garden so I'm extra excited.

We are having a heat wave in NYC right now. It's already 92 F outside and will get up to 94 ("but with the humidity it will feel like 103"). Ugh. I HATE heat and humidity like this. However, I am glad to see the sun and have my plants performing photosynthesis like it's their job.

Portulaca is a great succulent plant (aka "moss rose"), it is blooming like crazy now. I planted them in really sunny places on our terrace that will get sun most of the day. I highly recommend it if you have dry, rocky soil and want a bloomer without too much effort.

I bought some cone flowers yesterday and potted them along with some bushy little yellow flowers of which I can't remember the name right now. I am heading towards an English garden look on the terrace. I love love love my lavender. (I am partial to French lavender rather than English.) Last year's lavender is blooming like crazy this year! The one I bought this year looks great, but I know it won't bloom until next year. I love the breezy, airy flowers - it makes me feel like I'm in a field in the English countryside relaxing... and then I look over the side and remember I'm in Brooklyn.

Our hot peppers are finally appearing, although no sign yet of the habaneros they have grown a lot as plants and I expect to see them soon. We have yellow bell peppers and tons of different kinds of tomatoes. All the herbs are doing well - I cannot, for the life of me, keep cilantro going. I have tried twice and I give up. Curry, parsley, tarragon, chives, rosemary, chocolate mint (dear god, if you don't have it yet go get it now), sage, thyme, oregano... all of these are flourishing.

The challenge in weather like this is keeping up the water so they don't dry out and die. I'm having a lot of trouble with my cucumbers which I attribute to planting them in a too small pot. I will try transplanting to a larger one soon I think to see if I can rehabilitate the ones I have.

I have learned do not plant more than one zucchini or squash plant in a large pot. They will grow and produce much better when have tons of room to take over.

The peony plants are doing well but will not bloom until next year.

I am about to start composting (well, I have a full composter on my kitchen counter) and using that as fertilizer rather than the Miraclegro.

I think that's all for now. Any suggestions or comments are welcome!

Any thoughts on growing beets in containers? My thought is they are not worth the effort - you only get one beet per plant, right? And they are not super expensive.

Thunder! Lightening! Very very frightening!

Not really that frightening. We have a tornado watch this evening which has been very exciting to watch from our new terrace. Oooohhhh aaaahhhhh.

It's on its way out to Long Island now. But there are more storms coming our way from the Midwest as far as I can tell which is fine with me. Get some storms in here and maybe some of the humidity will drop.

Tonight we are making pasta primavera and a caprese salad for dinner. We gathered some tomatoes, zucchini, and squash from our garden tonight. My husband is making his excellent marinara sauce with fresh basil and tomatoes. I'm boiling up some quinoa spaghetti or soba noodles (can't decide) and slicing veggies.

For a moment, we have natural entertainment and good food. All is well.

Pasta Primavera

Boil water with a teaspoon of olive oil in it.
Add noodles and cook until al dente.
Slice zucchini, squash, and sautee in small amount of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Do not overcook. Veggies should still have a slight firmness. Remove from heat.

Strain noodles and put in large bowl.
Add marinara sauce (your partner's if you're lucky like me - add mushrooms, one thai chili, diced, kalamatas or capers and wine!) and stir.
Add veggies, another tsp of olive oil, grated parmsan & serve immediately!