Garden Update: July 2013

The garden theme for July has got to be "bountiful and beautiful." This month, we've been reaping the rewards of our hard work. The garden is flourishing and providing us with lots good food. We are spending less at the grocery store and eating a whole lot better, which makes us really, really happy.

There are always tomatoes,

okra,

clusters of okra flower

and peppers waiting to be picked.

(L to R: jalapeno, thai dragon chili, serrano)

The eggplant takes a little longer, but they seem to be doing good too.

And as a special surprise, the wild strawberries that we planted in the spring, have flowered and sprung some mini fruits too!

This month, we've also taken note of the many flowers on our cucumber plant (so far we've harvested one delicious cucumber!),

and that our roma tomatoes are finally changing color.

And we planted beets and more carrots in anticipation of fall.

We'll wait and see what happens in August!

the Queen of Cute

So after my successful attempt at sewing some flags for the upcoming County Fair show, I sewed myself a little stuffed dolly! If you're thinking she looks familiar, it's because you've seen her before from this earlier post.

I gave her an embroidered crown and some dots in her heart.

She's called the Queen of Cute for now because we haven't decided on a real name for her. We're looking for suggestions, so please help us!!! :) Email us or leave us a comment on our Facebook page. We'll be eternally grateful!

from the studio: 7.27

a new crazy stencil for this installation.  this took 12+ solid hours to draw and cut out all those little tiny spaces.  

today i worked most of the day at foam city, while mindy held down the print shop in the garage.  'county fair' is going to be exhibited again (install in a week), so i've been busy re-addressing some of its issues.  after showing in fort wayne, there were some broken parts i had to glue back together, fix, or just scrap.  plus there were some functional and aesthetic issues that i wanted to clean up and i just cannot resist adding new parts to this installation.  

here are some other things i've added or changed since that last time i installed county fair.

a little shameful advertising

the fair queens got a face lift via the lens from an overhead projector (thank you lorie amick).
it's pretty cool when you spin them around behind the lens.

the ducks now float in a wastewater pond, a la seurat's 'sunday on la grande jatte' (hence the french)

and there's a new tilty whirl.  not quite done yet.  there's a fun little addition that i haven't yet completed.

so while i was smashing, screwing, sawing, spraying, and scavenging, mindy was hard at work in the garage print shop turning out a new run of cards, using a new technique.  more on this tomorrow as we let the inks dry :).

{harvest} shishito peppers

Our shishito peppers are finally ready! The best way to eat these, is to grill them coated in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Get the peppers all nice and blistered, then serve alone or with a dipping sauce of some ponzu and lime juice. Delicious and simple! 

the intimidator

Zach and I got an awesome sewing machine for Christmas last year. We asked for one because we had envisioned lots and lots of fun projects that involve sewing. But since December, the machine has been sitting out in the garage collecting dust. Every time I've thought about using it, I've been intimidated. Sewing is hard, and sewing with a machine seems doubly challenging.

But 2 days ago, we finally brought the sewing machine into the living room. After a quick browse of the instruction manual, I set up it up, threaded it, and got it ready to go. Zach is showing County Fair again in August and as usual, he is busy working on several updates. Since we have lots of scrap fabric from the Franken-animals (that Zach's mom helped us sew!), I thought it would be fun and easy to make some colorful bunting too. That sounded like a feasible first project. And so I sewed.

After finishing the flags, I tried machine stitching on cardstock. It was slightly harder to do, but it adds a pretty cool dimension to paper. Perhaps we can add some stitching to our next batch of block print greeting cards?

Recipe of the Week: Summer Pizza from scratch

This week we are sharing Zach's recipe for the best summer pizza. It's a pretty time-consuming recipe, because you are making everything from the crust to the sauce from scratch. But trust me, the mouth-watering result is well worth the effort.

For the crust, you will need:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
a packet of active dry yeast (0.25oz)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, mix together yeast, sugar, and water.
Let stand at room temperature until creamy, about 10-15 minutes.
Stir in flour, salt, and oil. Knead everything together.
Set dough aside and cover with damp cloth.
Let it rise while you make the pizza sauce.

For the sauce,
2 lbs organic roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 tbsp olive oil
salt (to taste)

In a medium saucepan, cook garlic in olive oil until golden. Add tomatoes, oregano and salt.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
While waiting, return to the dough.

(to finish making pizza)
Preheat oven to 425F.
Turn dough out and roll it onto a pizza stone or onto a piece of aluminum foil (dusted with cornmeal to prevent sticking).
If you want a more flavorful crust, sprinkle garlic powder, grated parmesan, or other spices on crust.
Spread sauce, then layer your favorite pizza toppings.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

For a summer-inspired pizza, may we suggest toppings of generous chunks of mozzarella, prosciutto, mushrooms, an assortment of peppers, and freshly chopped basil.

hummingbird

Yesterday, I spotted our little hummingbird friend from the kitchen window. I was afraid of spooking it, so I took this picture from behind our window screen. It always makes my day to see this little fella. I thought hummingbirds are only drawn to red, tubular flowers, but this little birdie proves otherwise!

Mosey rObOt takes a tour

Remember the rObOts we set out for Mosey Down Main Street last weekend? Well, one of our followers on Facebook, Maggie L., picked up a robot and took it on a tour downtown à la Flat Stanley. She posted some photographs on our Facebook page but if you missed them, here's a look at her quirky pictures!

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures, Maggie!

{harvest} poblano peppers

Our first harvest of poblano peppers! 

Hot peppers seem to thrive well in our garden. They are low maintenance and adapt easily to being grown in containers. I love them! This is our first time growing poblanos. I can't wait to stuff and bake these with quinoa, beans, and cheese!

Franken-Animals

We're getting ready to head to Indy for the day. But before we leave, I thought I should formally introduce you to the franken-animals we have made for the Animal Farm pop-up show tonight at 3040 Indie.

Hippopotamus + Lobster = Hipster

Moose + Cow = Moo Cow

Cat + Turtle = Cattle

Frog + Penguin = Froguin

Fox + Owl = Fowl

Teddy Bear + Lamb = Teddy Bamb

Aren't they hilarious?