The Last Week Of June In The Front Yard

It's two, two, two posts in one day.  I told ya I was backlogged in the plant picture department.

Not a whole lot new in the front since the last post, but I did take some pictures of the window box.  I know, I said I was gonna fill holes and touch up the paint first, but it still hasn't happened, so I figured I'd just snap some quick pics anyway.

But first, I'll start with the artichoke.

It only had one to start, so I figured I'd let it bloom.

He's got another buddy comin' off to the side now.

With a family of five, one at a time just ain't gonna cut it.

Okay, so here's the window box.

It's gonna be so cute when it fills in.
The plants are already quite a bit bigger since I took these photos, but still no trailing yet.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to dragging out the paint brush.

The area where I took out the Rhodies just got filled with mostly annuals for now.

I couldn't commit and I needed to do something with it for this year.

I'll take more pictures once it fills in a bit more, but here are a couple shots.

I've got two pots setting on the stumps, just to sort of fill in the blanks.

And that's it for today.

I have a veggie update post comin' in the next day or two.
And more recent yard photos behind it.

Shameless plug alert:  

Just a little reminder that you can purchase my floral photographs in my Etsy shop.

If you see one in a post that isn't in the shop, shoot me an email and I'll list it for ya.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RindyMae

Please see my sidebar for the parties I link up to.

The Last Week Of June In The Backyard

I've got a backlog of yard pictures.  I'll have to post all weekend to catch up.  I'll attempt to make this one short and sweet.

The kids are popping blueberries in their mouths every time they walk out back.

I love it.

With only two plants, I've had a small bowl goin' in the fridge for about a week now.

Smoothie heaven.

The Butterfly Bush is in full bloom.

The neighbor across the street, who has since passed, gave me a start of it years ago.

At the end of June, the Hydrangea under the big tree was just barely showing some color.

I planted these stupid things years ago.

Every year they come back and every year I don't have the heart to yank them all.

Morning Glory.

My mom gave me another piece of Phlox this spring and it just started blooming.

And last, I rearranged on the patio again.

Big surprise, eh?

I just can't get it right.

What I really want is to DIY an old farmhouse-style dining table for there and move the furniture back to the deck.

I just need to find some cool legs.

I also would really like to sew some new pillow covers.

These have seen their better days.

Just haven't made the trek to the fabric store.

You'll also see where I stashed the heater.

Anywho, this is how it's lookin' as of late.

My mom donated the coffee table - it was a freebie in her alley.

Front yard pics coming next.

Oven Baked Trout & Shaved Rhubarb Salad

A friend of ours had caught some trout and shared the wealth a while back, so I pulled it out of the freezer with the intention of brewin' it up on the grill like this one.  The weather wasn't exactly cooperating, so I figured I'd try somethin' new.

I roughly followed this Martha Stewart recipe: 

 Whole Baked Trout With Cherry Tomatoes and Potatoes

I added kale, more potatoes, and a ton more garlic.  

Surprise.

This is how it came together at my house:

Preheat your oven to 400.

First up, I layered the bottom of a baking dish with whole kale leaves.

I'd recommend chopping them up to make them easier to serve.

Chard would be yummy, too.

I doctored it up with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.

Next up, toss some sliced potatoes (I used Yukon Gold), halved cherry or grape tomatoes, and a whole head of peeled garlic cloves, with olive oil, fresh oregano, salt and pepper.

Layer the taters on top of the kale, then evenly distribute the tomatoes and garlic.

And FYI, just this alone, without the fish, as a side dish would be deeeeelicious.

My daily kitchen helper.

She's gettin' pretty good with a knife, for a six-year old.

Okay, now throw that in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until your taters are just barely tender.

(If you're following the Martha recipe, it won't take as long to bake because there's only one layer of potatoes.)

Now you can lay your fish out on top of the potato/tomato mix.

I had six small ones.

Drizzle everyone with some olive oil, then season them up, inside and out, with salt and pepper.

The recipe calls for lemon slices, but all I had was lime, so that's what I used.

Stick those inside the fish.

Throw it back in the oven for another 20 minutes, or until the fish are done.

It will depend on the size of your fish.

Here they are, all cooked up and ready to eat:

Now I'm not gonna lie, fish and I and finicky.

I didn't try a single bite.  

I just wasn't feelin' it.

But The Dad and Baby tore it up and The Kid ate two whole trout all to himself.

I can vouch for the garlicky potatoes and tomatoes.
They did not suck at all.

To go with, I tried another new recipe out of my, Cooking From The Farmer's Market, cookbook that was super tasty and a fun way to eat rhubarb.

That recipe is here:

Shaved Rhubarb Salad with Goat Cheese and Almonds

Here's dinner on my plate:

Please see my sidebar for the parties I link up to.