In a Pickle

Boy do I have A LOT to talk about tonight!  First of all, I have a ton of energy for some reason!!! (couldn't be the nice cream with peanut butter and pretzels I just had...)  Anyways, I forgot to post about my newest recipe a couple of days ago...pickled watermelon rind.  I have been munching on it all week; it is just so good.  A perfect sweet, crunchy, salty, tart topping to just about anything.

Here is the recipe.  I only used the rind of 1/2 a watermelon and just tweeked the amounts of the other ingredients to suit my palate.  Considering I have made pickles before, I kind of knew what I was doing, but if you are unsure don't hesitate to ask as canning is one of my favorite things to do! (Speaking of...I can't wait for fresh peaches and apricots to make some jam-it's the only other jam I like besides strawberry and blueberry)

Just thought I'd show you my favorite book from Harper!  Haha, just kidding, this is my least favorite.  Microbiology is so much better!  We culture different strands of bacteria in lab every day.

 Here's the little princess.

 ...and news on the garden!!  I have carrots, spinach, leek, garlic, sunflower, and zucchini that I planted from seed. Today, I bought some baby plants from Whole Foods; basil, spearmint, and purple kale.

 This is the zucchini.  I am so excited that it is growing!  I have never had this much success with planting from seeds before!

 Here are the herbs.

 And the kale (planted especially for Gus, but we will eat some too)

 The little stems that look like sticks are garlic.  The ones that I planted got eaten or something because I went out there one day and they were gone.  So, Jackie's (my manager and friend) aunt gave me some of hers to plant.  Funny story about her garlic is that she didn't pull up last year's crop before rota tilling this season, so she has garlic everywhere.  I gladly accepted some.

 Dinner tonight was a spinach salad with avocado, mushroom, red pepper flakes, garlic, and sunflower seeds; all topped with fig vinegar and olive oil.  Andrew and I horked it down before going to where we needed to be:  he, a meeting, and I, school.

Finishing up online stuff, then reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle before tucking in for the night.

Luana ola!

www.peaceandaloha.weebly.com