What did you do in the garden today?

[GardenTillers44]

NorthTexasWink: "Yesterday I got pics of the okra in bloom. Photos don't capture the delicate yellow of the blossoms. Lovely!"

Mmmmm...fried okra, one of the many things I miss from our life in Texas! BBQ, Chicken-fried steak & chicken, Black-eyed peas, properly cooked grits, jalapeno corn bread, Bluebell ice cream and real Tex-mex.....time for a road trip!

 

[chickmom3941]

IMG_9980

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 17, 2017

Sweet Sugar wrecking my desk to get attention.

IMG_9978

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 17, 2017

Sugar loves to knock everything off my desk so I'll talk to her.

Sugar is a needy girl this morning. Playing fetch with a hair doober (pony tail elastic) after she's knocked everything off my desk. She's one of our Snowshoe x alley cat crosses, from when her Mom was a loose young lady. It's wet and thundering, so no outdoor gardening. Just planning and later work on the grow room move. Yesterday I got pics of the okra in bloom. Photos don't capture the delicate yellow of the blossoms. Lovely!

IMG_9938

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 16, 2017

IMG_9936

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 16, 2017

Nice pics! Those okra blossoms are beautiful, and your kitty is so cute!

 

[CapricornFarm]

CapricornFarm: "I never tasted one before. They are interesting."

Overripe banana on steroids....it's an acquired taste

Oh my, don't say that, i hate bananas!

 

[CapricornFarm]

My cat loves those elastic hair ties! Runs after them when you toss them and retrieves them. She is an expert at knock things off dressers. Picture of two of her babies

 

[GardenTillers44]

CapricornFarm: "Oh my, don't say that, i hate bananas!"

You may not get past the smell of a ripe pawpaw, so I won't tell you about the slimy consistency . You don't have to eat to enjoy...pawpaws are a cool plant related to many tropical species and is the primary foodplant for the larvae of the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. Pioneers found them edible if not delectible mainly due to a necessity of subsistance living. I see a lot of the yucky face at pawpaw events, so I think lore and nostalgia drives a lot of the infatuation for pawpaws. Then again, I think most folks don't know when to pick them or how to prepare them. They can be delicious in many recipes (like pawpaw bread or ice cream!) Enjoy your riverside patch, it's cool that you have it!
Here's a nice article for those who want more info about pawpaws.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/...ruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws.html

 

[NorthTexasWink]

I love pawpaw bread And ice cream! The bread makes excellent French toast too. It also works in "pawpaws Foster" in place of bananas, but the pawpaws need to be a bit firm and not quite ripe.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

Oh! And pawpaw fig preserves!

 

[GardenTillers44]

NorthTexasWink: "Oh! And pawpaw fig preserves!"

 

[CapricornFarm]

CapricornFarm: "Oh my, don't say that, i hate bananas!"

You may not get past the smell of a ripe pawpaw, so I won't tell you about the slimy consistency . You don't have to eat to enjoy...pawpaws are a cool plant related to many tropical species and is the primary foodplant for the larvae of the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. Pioneers found them edible if not delectible mainly due to a necessity of subsistance living. I see a lot of the yucky face at pawpaw events, so I think lore and nostalgia drives a lot of the infatuation for pawpaws. Then again, I think most folks don't know when to pick them or how to prepare them. They can be delicious in many recipes (like pawpaw bread or ice cream!) Enjoy your riverside patch, it's cool that you have it!
Here's a nice article for those who want more info about pawpaws.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/...ruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws.html

Interesting read. Too bad they don't keep better. I am sure the bears will be down there eating them.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

I had decent luck freezing them. Treated them like bananas, mashing with a little lemon juice to prevent browning, freezing in ice cube trays, then storing the cubes in zip or food saver vac bags. Then I could use them in ice cream, baked goods, sauces for pound cake or pancakes/waffles/French toast. Or for pawpaw doughnuts!