August 19, 2026
I don’t know if summer is
waning or not. I do know that we are mid-way through August and I’m not certain
what the weather is going to be like from day to day.
I don’t usually care overly
much, because I don’t spend a lot of time outside. It’s just not something I
tend to do anymore. I remember past years, long walks, visits to beaches and
parks. Raking the leaves in October and earning red chilled cheeks for my
efforts and loving it. Enjoyed every bit of outdoor time I got to spend with my
family. I don’t dwell on the limitations I have now, they are what they are. So,
I don’t generally care if the day is sunny or not, sweltering or not.
Except, of course, when I am
waiting for the tomatoes that are on the vines to start ripening. They really
do need sunlight to do that, and we haven’t had a whole lot of sun over the
last couple of weeks.
Here I sit with my stuffed
tomato recipe ready to go, but I need ripened beefsteak tomatoes and so far,
while we’ve had some of the cherry tomatoes to nibble, the larger ones are
still green. Those I live with seem to be on the same page with me, here. They’ve
both begun wondering aloud if there was something wrong with the plants we got
this year, that they seem to be taking their damn time to ripen.
And because I tend to be a
teeny bit perverse at times, their echoing of my thoughts got my attention.
The last summer that we had a really good bumper crop of tomatoes was the
summer of 2023. And I do recall at that time, I was so tickled with the bounty
of fat juicy red fruit I picked in one day, that I took a few (well, maybe more
than a few) pictures of them.
So in theory it was a simple
matter to access my camera download file. These photos are stored digitally,
and they show the date that the pictures were taken.
I am relieved to report that
those pictures were taken between late August and well into September. Hopefully
that means there’s time yet for me to eat my fill of fresh picked tomatoes.
Having worried a little about them,
my mind skipped ahead to autumn and so has our daughter’s. We have enjoyed
several meals of green beans from our garden so far, but we already know we won’t
likely have enough from our own garden to freeze and enjoy through the winter.
We don’t grow corn but always
get enough from our local farms to freeze. We’ll add a few baskets of beans to
that plan, and we thought we’d also buy a few butternut squash—the last more
for the convenience of having it on hand when we have a hankering for a supper side
dish—or a soup.
I make several soups in the fall
and winter, and they are almost always gobbled right up. The family’s favorite
by far is cream of potato, or potato/leek, or even potato/bacon. I actually get
special requests from our “second daughter” for that, and I usually make it for
her. My family also likes a hearty squash soup, and all those soups are easy
enough to make. I’ve also made mushroom soup, and a few times I’ve served cream
of broccoli, too.
But I’ve always loved a good
home-made chicken soup. Chicken noodle, and chicken with rice. And those I make
from pure chicken stock.
We purchase packages of
boneless/skinless chicken breasts which we then cook up and put through the
food processor. Thus ground, we serve it as a supplement meal to the dogs. They
get kibble, but at night they each get a quarter cup of ground white chicken
meat. Low fat, good protein and the dogs love it.
How I cook the chicken varies.
In the summer months, I slow simmer the pieces on the stove top in a bit of
water. But in the cooler weather I place the meat in a lidded casserole dish and
bake it. There is always a good amount of “juice” remaining, and since I don’t
add any water to the casserole, that juice is pure chicken stock. And my how
good that tastes compared to anything from a can or a package. I very rarely
need to add anything other than salt, some chicken, and either rice and
carrots, or noodles.
Daughter and I will schedule
the gathering of the veggies for stocking our freezer for either September or October.
We considered going to a very large and amazing outdoor market here in our neck
of the woods in a community called St. Jacob’s. But I know myself and would be
tempted to buy more than I can easily process if we did so.
So we’ll shop very local. Daughter
has promised to help because, despite my desire to just do it all myself, I’m
no longer able to manage the chore alone.
But those stuffed tomatoes? Mine
to make, certainly. And mine to eat, too—as I’m the only one in the house who
enjoys them.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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