Student Walker - November 12, 1979

Word of the Day

Cranial flatulation - Condition of the brain to cease functioning mid-sentence, frequently occurring during important meetings where one must impress others, leaving the user of said brain with a blank stare.

No need to panic. Just because an end date has been decided doesn't mean that I need to start panicking. Besides....nothing has been engraved into stone as yet. The thing is that our weather is going to be turning decidedly cooler by next week...maybe even starting tomorrow, with highs reaching only into the lower 60's. It's time to recognize that my garden is not going to be able to produce much more this year. I already am noting that my tomato plants aren't really producing fruit anymore, though it looks like I'll be getting a few more zucchini and more beans. I won't even go into how many eggplant I've got out in my Earthboxes.

I used two of my eggplants and a handfull of green tomatoes (stolen from my garden) to start a batch of Italian eggplant/green tomato pickles. Last night I peeled and sliced and salted everything down and I just need to wait until tomorrow to continue on with the process. The eggplant and green tomatoes need to sit for at least 24 hours before I can drain them and finish up making the pickles. I suppose I could make them after supper but I'm not sure if I want to deal with a mess that late in the evening. These pickles are preserved in olive oil after a mere 3 minute soak in a boiling vinegar/water solution, which ends up being drained off before adding the remaining ingredients (olive oil, GARLIC, and hot pepper flakes). In the past, I've waterbath canned them and the olive oil seeps out EVERYWHERE. I'm actually thinking of skipping the canning process this time since I think these pickles will be eaten almost right away instead of stored on a shelf/preserved. We'll see. I'll probably end up having to make at least on more batch of these pickles in a few weeks when I put my garden to bed.

I'd rather make some piccalilli relish from my green tomatoes this fall. For some reason, I brought all my homemade relish to Arizona with me last fall. I suppose I'll have to wait until I see how many green tomatoes are left out there. Maybe my Mom will have some and we can combine and share our relish. I love this green tomato piccalilli relish. HTP's not fond of it but HE likes that awful sweet pickle relish that you buy in the store. YUCKO! Oh well...no accounting for taste. I end up buying mass quantities of that stuff and re-canning it into smaller, more manageable jars.

It looks like we might be getting some rain later tonight. Maybe. I hope. This summer has been exceptionally dry. Read drought. While I don't really mind doing the sprinkler dance (ok...I'm lying...I hate it), it really isn't something that I like doing on a regular basis. I did manage to keep my lawn and gardens watered but there wasn't much that I could do with the surrounding acres of forest. Sadly, my wild blackberries suffered to the extent that there will be no blackberry wine for Sis and me to make in the spring. Maybe next summer. Of course, Sis and I did make lots of other types of wine so at the end of the month we're going to be spending a great deal of time bottling our product. I'm guessing that we'll have to make another trip out to the wine shop for more bottles and corks.

Murphyism of the Day

Greib's Fightening Thought

Eighty percent of all people consider themselves to be above average drivers.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.

-- Aristotle