Late summer pleasures

 

 Chili relllanos made from scratch with our Anaheim peppers. A labor-intensive project but oh my goodness delicious. 

No complicated Mexican heritage recipe-- just a thrifty fritter batter from my 1967 Betty Crocker cookbook. Reminds me of mom, who used to make delicious apple fritters fried in shortening (or lard) dusted with powdered sugar. 

Simple: 2 egg yolks blended with a cup of flour and 2/3 cup milk. Teaspoon of salt.  Beat the 2 egg whites until stiff and then fold together. A tidy recipe with nothing wasted. 

I used a pricey fry combination of olive and avocado oil that mom would have found strange, along with these "battered" hot peppers. Incredible as it seems, we didn't eat Mexican food until Taco Bell came along in the late 1960's.

In other local news, Mr. Nguyen Oriental Gardener trimmed the laurel hedge again. This is the second year his helper? partner? slave? accomplished the job in a few hours with no muss, no fuss. We've had some real drama queens over the years so I feel lucky. 

He even did a complimentary edging on the sidewalk (which bothers him more than it does us) so I gave him a big tip. I might seek his help this fall with the massive fall clean up.

The garden is still attractive for August, I guess because there are more mature plants and shrubs now. I have pictures from 20 years ago that would blow your mind, the flowers in this bed were so incredible. How did I do it?  Well, I was younger then and you could always count on summer rain. 

We've coming up on 2 months now without any watering moisture. With these dry summers, it would be impossible to grow giant gunneras and 10-foot lilies.

When all is said and done, I like how things have naturally evolved. Very little about this garden was ever planned. It's like plant archaeology, one layer on top of the other, survival of the fittest. Everything must adapt, and along with it, our expectation of what is beautiful. It is beautiful sitting outside on a warm dry early evening, which used to be a rare treat in Seattle. You always needed a jacket on summer evenings. Preferably a rain jacket. 

Have you noticed how the mornings are getting darker? The starlings starting to gather in groups, which means fall is around the corner. 

I'm driving to Twisp early tomorrow morning, and John plans to join me later in the week for a couple of days. Another carload to take over to the house. This is the last week before the girls go back to school, so we'll hang out by the river while Amanda is working.