What to do with all those lovely peppers coming in? Pickled peppers? Yes! Fermented hot sauce? Yes!

The orange and yellow Jalapeno peppers are being fermented. The green Jalapenos will be quick-pickled for the "picklefridge" in the garage.

How are you putting up peppers?

What do you think about hot sauces? Are you a hot-as-you-can-get person?

A random mix of chili peppers, destined for fermented hot sauce this week. I will end up chopping them up (wearing gloves!), adding a ton of garlic, and then making a 3% salt brine and letting them ferment on the counter for just a few days. In our current heat, fermentation goes faster. Any Kahm yeast gets gingerly removed with a paper towel. I don`t normally get much of it (I use a really cool fermentation lid) but again I think it`s a heat thing.

She was afraid of nothin`, this swallowtail butterfly.

It`s squarely butterfly season here. They seemed to be late this year but now we are flush with them. And they are not afraid of me so I can get up close to take a photo.

I like to think she`s showing off her loveliness for us to enjoy, but really I think she was hungry. I get that.

My friend, @mytownhomestead, has many of these swallowtails in her garden too and takes lovely photos of them.

Is it butterfly season for you, too?

Every summer, we grow a ton of sun gold tomatoes - productive, less likely to split, and really delicious. The way we preserve them is making tomato confit -- very slowly roasted tomatoes, olive oil, bits of rosemary. Then frozen in deli cups for winter.

I served this to guests recently and they said it was like eating a bit of summer.

Are you preserving your summer tomatoes? @deannanakada does the most beautiful job of it! Just gorgeous.

Dehydrating "sun dried" tomatoes for winter today. It`s a bit of a labor of love as you must pierce them or slice them so they dry properly. And (learned the hard way) weighing them before and after is the best way to make sure you get enough water out of them. Leave too much water in them and they could mold or worse.

But the little sweetness they give to winter salads makes up for all the effort. I will miss summer. So much.

How are you preserving summer?

Somehow I missed Tomato Tuesday. I read somewhere it`s Wednesday currently.

We love fried green tomatoes here in the southern US. But I am too lazy to do all that. Instead, I slice them, toss in olive oil and a little salt. Then I top with parmesan cheese and garlic and broil them.

They come out tender, tangy and with a nice crust --- sans the standing over a hot pot of oil, thankyouverymuch. I don`t fool with that.

Do you eat green tomatoes too? How do you prepare them?

This is not what you want to see in your garden! Although, I kinda think this pest is interesting....

This photo was from 2 seasons ago when my pepper plants were hijacked by these guys --- hornworms.

My garden has evolved since then.

Now I have a lot of birds. Perhaps because I always have things going for them --- little protected spaces, plants going year round, a little run off from the drip irrigation. I do not set out food for them for lots of reasons.

And the birds preen my plants and take the bugs away.

During my morning swim today, I spotted a little wren that has taken up residence behind the giant cucumber. He sipped water out of a terracotta saucer, sang, and hopped up the steps to the upper terrace. I respected his privacy and didn`t film him. We are a mutual aid society. ❤️

How has your own garden evolved?

I have been boasting about my cucumber hauls lately, but some days it`s just a single overgrown pickler.

I think it`s time to succession plant another set of plants. This is my clue the plants are tired....

How are yours?

Growing bell peppers has always challenged my gardening skills and patience. I am about done for the year - they are lovely to grow, but finicky little things! Too hot, they won`t produce. Too cool, they won`t set flowers. My garden outlook report has really helped me understand this as a gardener.

And of course, the hornworms.

Thankfully, we now have a tremendous number of birds visiting our terraces and they eat the critters that eat my produce.

These got sliced and put into the freezer for wintertime fajitas.

Are you growing bell peppers?

Fermented hot sauce has been bottled and stored for the year. This is from the lemon and orange spice Jalapeño peppers and I think the color is lovely. What do you think?

Peach season is upon us! I guess I could buy canned peaches but husband Eric can`t eat sugar, so I can mine without sugar or with only a scant amount of "good" (no such thing, really) sugar.

But really, this is all I am doing this year. I am trying to just eat more seasonally and enjoy each fruit as they come in. This month, peaches. Next month, pears. And so on....

How do you feel about putting up vs. eating seasonally? Do you do both?

A little harvest basket this morning. Kaffir lime leaves for Thai curries, a bit of lime basil, some lemon balm. The Thai chilis take center stage with a couple of the pink Okinawan okra settled next to.

The lime leaves go to the freezer, the lime basil and lemon balm get air dried along with the chilies. And the okra goes in our dinner. 🙂

Growing cucumbers is so much fun. The giant cucumber is still producing armloads full of juicy cucumbers!

We love growing slicing cucumbers. They are a part of nearly every meal in summertime here.

And growing cucumbers in succession has been so rewarding. I have several successions of cucumbers growing currently.

Are you growing cucumbers in succession? If yes, how`s it going? If not, why not?

A small harvest of red okra for tonight`s supper of Thai red fish curry and roasted okra. We love okra when it`s home grown because the texture is much improved over commercially grown okra (seeds and slime much diminished). This was harvested from two big plants - @blackgirlcitygarden and @soiled_again are both growing lovely okra as well!

Are you growing okra? What`s your favorite way to prepare them?

Basil pesto for destined freezer camp. @ford.hobby.farm.2024 is growing some lovely basil and asked what we all are doing with it! I thought I`d answer!

This is very simple pesto from this past week --- I learned from a chef once to make your pesto in a bowl, layering in one element at a time. It makes it easier to adjust --- a little more cheese a little less nuts, etc.

I use whichever nuts are freshest because this is going into freezer for winter time. This time, pistachios.

I like to put the pesto into tiny cups because we are just two people and that`s all we need in one meal as it is potent. I will throw in a larger container in case of dinner guests.

Topping it with olive oil and an extra dose of salt keeps it a bit fresher. And the leaves will remind me in January that summer still exists. 🙂

How do you preserve your basil?

Growing jalapeño peppers is a never-ending road. I spotted these today at the farmers’ market - Lemon Spice and Orange Spice jalapeño peppers.

They’re not just green jalapeño peppers left to ripen. The yellow ones actually turn red first, then yellow! I didn`t know!

When I told the farmer I ferment hot sauce every year, he lit up. These are headed straight for a ferment and a bottle in a few weeks. I told him I’d bring some back to share.

He’s got some other interesting peppers on the way. Peppers really thrive in 65°F to 85°F (18°C to 29°C) - which is exactly where we are right now. I’m expecting great things at our local markets over the next few weeks.

I love learning stuff like this. Don’t you?

It was a beautiful morning, so I gathered from the garden for a delicious salad we could eat après swim.

Cucumber, red Torpeda onion, sun gold tomatoes, basil and the purslane that has taken up residence --- all from the garden this morning. Chickpeas make it hearty (thanks @palouse_brand for growing these!).

I find that this salad fills me up and keeps me going through the afternoon.

Do you have a salad you love and go to often? Tell us all about it!