See the Beauty in the Ordinary

Pick a Peck of Peppers!

Ah, the scents of fall. Wafting from the kitchen is the spicy scent of cinnamon and apples, or perhaps a Sweet Potato cake. Outside the air is crisp and there is the musty scent of fallen leaves with a touch of smoke in the air from a bonfire or fireplace. And yes, there is another scent as well. It's the distinct and pungent smell of roasting peppers.

Roasting peppers has become a part of my autumn ritual. As the garden winds down, peppers continue to thrive and add fruit to the plant. Overshadowing the season is the knowledge that it will not last long. Frost is coming and then the plants will be done. And so I'm picking peppers! Pecks of peppers.

Roasted peppers are a great addition to many recipes. If you have peppers, roast them and try this simple, but outstanding recipe for a great dip. Feel free to use any pepper. My favorite is the Annaheim which has a kick but is not overwhelmingly hot. Bell peppers would be milder and chili or jalapeno would be hotter.

Please don't be afraid of roasting peppers. It's not difficult and while it involves a little time, it goes relatively fast. I'll share my directions for roasting peppers after the recipe.

Here are the four simple ingredients needed to make the dip:

Monterey Jack and Cream Cheese, Mayonnaise and Peppers--that's all you need. Oh, and something to dip in it!

Roasted Pepper Dip
For a printable recipe click here.

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/2 cup diced roasted peppers (about 4)

1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: 1/2 cup caramelized onions

Mix together. Serve warm or at room temperature with crackers. This is a recipe where measuring is not of the upmost importance. A little more or less of any of these ingredients will still make a very good dip.

How to roast peppers:

1.--Fire up the grill. A gas grill works great. No grill? This can also be done in your oven.

2.---Place washed peppers on the grill. As peppers char on one side, turn over to the other side. Often there is a popping sound as the pepper air inside the pepper heats up. Turn when they begin to char. Please note that there is a difference between charring and burning to a crisp! That's what happened to my peppers when I tried to fix supper while roasting peppers. Don't get too far away when your roasting peppers! I usually just turn them once.

3.--When the peppers are cooked and have some charring on both sides, remove from the grill and place in a paper sack. Fill the sack about half full and roll the top down. This allows the peppers to steam and cool.

4.--When peppers are cool, remove from bag, slit open and remove seeds and membrane. Turn pepper over and remove skin. It should just slip off. If your peppers are very hot, you may wish to wear plastic gloves to prevent your hands from feeling very warm.

5.--Roasted peppers can be used immediately or frozen for later use. I usually freeze the peppers in a single layer on a tray and then break up and bag when frozen. I don't think it is possible to have too many roasted peppers on hand.

Other ideas for roasted peppers:

egg dishes
chili (outstanding!)
other soups, think potato or vegetable
pizza topping
Baked Potato Soup with Sausage and Roasted Peppers

A Kansas Country Garden: The Month of September

Autumn Joy Sedum line the front sidewalk.

Autumn Joy Sedum does bring joy. It's autumn floral display is the peak of its many good attributes, but from the moment the little round balls peek from the ground in early spring, through the heat of the summer and on into winter when its dried flower stalks add interest in the garden, it's always a great plant. Right now its the bees, butterflies and insects who may be singing its praises the loudest. They love this plant, too. Maybe more than I do.

I have placed Autumn Joy Sedum in many places throughout the garden,

There is a lot to love about fall. The cooler weather revives some of the plants. Others begin their bloom. As the leaves begin to change color, it's a poignant reminder of the temporary nature of the garden. Cherish these days of color and warmth. They will not last forever.

No longer on my "wish list", this bench was an anniversary gift.

Sweet Autumn Clematis is worth waiting for with its lovely scent and bloom.

Twining on the bridge, Morning Glories have a vibrant purple bloom.

As it ages, the bloom of the rose colored gomphrena elongates,

I have had volunteer Sweet Autumn Clematis plants come up and have placed them around the garden.

A lone rose blooms on this bush.

I have enjoyed this lantana this summer. I just learned that my mother-in-law overwinters her lantana inside. Should I bring this in? Maybe I'll take a few slips.

This Angel Wing begonia reminds me of my grandmother who had a similar plant.

I believe this is a Dragon Wing begonia which is always blooming. It will be coming inside soon.

This mum is in no hurry to bloom. Better get busy--it's getting colder!

Lonely No Longer: A Story of Our Guinea Fowl

I believe this story stands on its own, however if you would like the background of the stories of our guineas, click here: #1--It's a Bird, It's a Pain; #2--Parenting Problems; #3--All Good Things.

A lonely Edna patrols the lawn.

It was sad, really. Watching our guinea, Edna roam through our yard by herself just didn't seem right. Her entire life had been spent in the company of Hank, her companion and mate. Hank had met an unfortunate end in an encounter with a pickup on the road. Now she roamed the yard, searching as always for insects, but stopping now and then for a futile call to Hank. "Sorry, Edna, he's not coming back," I would tell her.

We wondered what to do. Was she going to be okay? Would she leave in search of another guinea or just keel over with grief? We wished we had not sold her offspring. After a week of contemplating we decided to get another adult guinea. We contacted the person who had purchased young guineas from us in the past. She told us to come by her farm about dark. She explained that many of her guineas roosted in the rafters of the barn where she milked her goats. After the guineas were settled for the night, we could turn off the lights, climb a ladder, shine a flashlight on the guinea we wanted and then grab it. And that's just what happened. Mike picked a pearl with a few stray white feathers from what appeared to be a row of young bachelors (he didn't want to split up any couples) and we had a young cockerel. The conversation about what to name him was brief. "His name is Hank, Jr.," said Mike, quite firmly. Well, okay.

Hank, Jr. and Edna had an uneasy first meeting.

Introductions took place soon after. We put Hank, Jr. in the chicken pen so he couldn't try to return to his former home. The chicken pen is about 7 feet tall and is covered except for a small opening in the roof. It contains the chickens very well. I guess we imagined that Edna and Hank, Jr. would get acquainted through the fence. While gardening the next morning, I heard a great guinea commotion coming from the vegetable garden. Hank, Jr. had somehow exited the chicken pen and a meeting was in progress. Like two people marooned on a desert island, they seemed to understand that they shared a common destiny. Perhaps it was not their first choice, or their second choice; but wait. They were each other's only choice.

Through the next few days we saw the guineas around the yard. Sometimes they were together, often they were not. It appeared that Hank, Jr. was going to stick around. One evening we noticed that Edna had not returned to roost in the cedar tree above the chicken pen. It kind of bothered me to think that she might be off somewhere else roosting with Hank, Jr. in another tree. But that wasn't the case at all. Edna was setting on a nest! She had picked a place in the daylilies next to the vegetable garden. It had not even occurred to us that Edna had been laying eggs for several weeks. A little bit of the original Hank still remained among the twenty or so eggs in the nest.

Only if you know where to look can you find Edna's nest in the daylilies.

During the four weeks that Edna sat on the nest, we occasionally saw Hank, Jr. We saw him often enough to know that he was still around, but who knew where he spent his days or for the matter, where he roosted at night. The gardens suffered from the lack of "bug patrols." And then, one marvelous day, success! Once again, Edna was able to hatch a clutch of keets.

Edna seemed enormously pleased with her babies.

Now what should we do? We had heard that guineas are not very good parents. One experienced guinea farmer says on her web site that in all the years she had raised guineas, she had "yet to have a guinea hatch a clutch of keets and bring any keets home alive on her own." Wet grass (which can chill and kill the keets), wildlife, neighborhood cats and an guinea parent that moves at a fairly fast pace all makes life precarious for tiny, vulnerable keets. They would be safer in a box in the garage.

Does this scare you? It scares me. Don't get too close to Edna's babies!

You could tell that Edna was thrilled to be a mother. She led them around the vegetable garden with pride. The vegetable garden seemed like it was a good place for them. The asparagus patch with its tall plants and shady hiding spots seemed ideal. If she would just keep them in the vegetable garden, maybe they would be alright. Then in swooped Hank, Jr. He wasn't riding a white horse, but perhaps he saved the day. Did he know that these keets were not his biological offspring? If he knew, he didn't care. He certainly took a vital interest in this little family. He sprang into action. A gentle chirp or cluck brought the chicks to him. Evidently he thought we were too close and he began to lead the chicks and Edna out of the garden, towards the neighbor's yard. I ran around to head them off and they returned to the garden. We backed off. There was no more discussion about taking the keets to raise them ourselves.

Always together--the family wanders through the yard in search of insects.

The little family seemed inseparable. They did not stay in the vegetable garden very long, but wandered throughout our yard and neighbors' yards. If you saw Hank, Jr., Edna and the little ones were not far behind. The only time I would see Hank, Jr. without his family was in the early evening when Edna evidently tucked her youngsters in quite early and Hank would wander around for awhile before heading for his own roost.

I'm feeling just a little snubbed--Hank, Jr. and Edna lead the keets away.

A few days after the keets hatched it began to rain. It was a fairly warm day and the rain was gentle. When you raise keets you keep the temperature at 90-95 degrees with heat lamps for its first two weeks. No way would they be that warm in the rain. And yes, Edna was leading them around in the rain, but she would stop occasionally and the keets would crawl underneath her and warm up. All the keets survived that day.

The guineas know every square inch of our property.

Hank, Jr., especially, did not allow the keets to get close to humans. Should we happen to meet, he would whirl around and head in the opposite direction, chirping and clucking his directions. He did not make it easy to get many good photographs of the family. But he was an excellent father and Edna was doing great as a mom, too. Mike watched from the barn on day while Hank, Jr. and Edna caught insects and brought them to the youngsters. Soon they would be catching their own meals and learning to fly. Looking out across the lawn you could see little birds popping up a few inches above the grass. Soon they were flying to the top of railroad ties, the middle rung of the fence, the picnic table and finally the top rung of the fence. Surely they are now roosting above the ground by now.

They can fly! Often the little guineas line up in a row.

They're growing up! The little guineas show up for grain and let me take a photo.

After about a month, I think we would consider the keets adolescents. They are fully feathered now. They move extremely fast. They come running along with their parents when Mike feeds them grain in the evening and eat enthusiastically. The family is always together, but I've noticed that now they spread a little further apart. Looking at the guinea family, I wish all children could be raised this way under the watchful eye and constant presence of both parents who teach them to get their meals and then to fly.

Thinking about the two Hanks reminds me of the two Susannas in our family's history. The first Susanna was married to Heinrich Benjamin Becker and the mother of four young sons when the family immigrated to the United States as part of the Mennonite immigration in the fall of 1874. Shortly before boarding the ship, she gave birth to a daughter. After a grueling voyage which included engine trouble, a near shipwreck and an outbreak of smallpox, they arrived in the United States and finally in South Dakota in the spring. Before them stretched a wide open prairie of green grasses. There were no towns or roads; no fences or plowed ground. Here they would start their new life from scratch. But Susanna died in September. She was 28 years old. Shortly afterwards the baby girl died, too.

Those were difficult days when families needed each other with a fierceness we don't understand. A few months later Benjamin remarried. Her name was also Susanna. She was perhaps 16 or 17 years old and an orphan. Let me hasten to add that I believe that 17 was much more mature in those days than in our current time of prolonged adolescence. Still, it is very young for so heavy a responsibilty. Benjamin was 31 years old and of course there were the four little boys. Almost 140 years afterwards it is not possible to know the heart and soul and emotions of people who are basically names in genealogical record to me. It's hard to believe that this was either one's first choice. Perhaps they were each other's only choice. Still they seemed to have made a good life for themselves. Eleven children were born to them (one died in infancy) and a farm was established. Toward the end of his life my great-grandfather, Jacob Becker, the oldest of the those little boys, looked back on the arrival of his stepmother and said, "With God's help things went better again."

Here's a salute to all the Hank, Jr.'s and Susannas out there who make the best of only choices and care for youngster that don't share your DNA. Thank you. I'm sure you've found that with God's help things do go better. The difference you make may impact generations.

A Kansas Country Garden: The Month of August

It took all summer for the Morning Glory to grow on the bridge and begin to bloom.

The month of August was tough for the garden. Its hot. A certain weariness sets in. The gardening enthusiasm of spring is hard to muster in August. Most perennials have finished blooming. We depend on annuals for a bit of color, but not all of them are in top form. Some plants are looking bedraggled. They need to be cut back. However, if you look closely you may notice that a patch of bermuda grass has crept in a place or two and taken hold. Can I just admit that gardening in August is not as fun as in June? Still, if we look at the garden through eyes that see what's good, instead of what's not so good, there is still beauty to be found.

Morning Glories reseed prolifically. Many years ago I purchased two kinds, the dark purple and this white. I love them both, but sometimes they crossbreed and the result is a washed out lavender.

Gomphrena have oval blooms and are ideal for drying.

Tansy is an aromatic herb with a lovely foliage and yellow "button blooms" in August.

Garlic chives are a useful and beautiful herb to have in the garden. As soon as they have finished blooming every single blossom should be cut off and removed or you will have far more plants that you want. I speak from experience.

Perhaps the longest bloom perennial, Russian Sage just keeps right on blooming.

The final hibiscus, this photo is from early in the month.

A few sweet peas bloom on a trellis.

A Kansas Country Garden: Thinking About Containers

A few thoughts on gardening in containers:

This grouping includes succulents, herbs and vines. All the containers are similar in color.

1. Containers are a great place to plant herbs. Not everyone wants or has the time or space to grow a full fledged vegetable garden, but a few herbs in a pot? Almost anyone can do that! In the photo above there are containers with parsley, basil, rosemary and thyme. I have lots of other herbs in various parts of the garden, but these are my "must haves" just a few steps out my back door. What they do for summer cooking is well worth the effort.

Morning glories climb on the arbor.This is a what-not-to-do photo.

2. When arranged in groups, the containers should be a similar color. They don't have to be the same size, shape or type. You can combine a variety of plants and flower colors (although be careful there, too) but the containers should be the same color. The photo on the right is from a few years back when I used several different colored containers (they don't all show). The grouping never felt quite right and I think that's why.

Similarly colored pots. The succulent in the middle blooms ALL the time. The side plants are a begonia and asparagus fern.

Only succulents could ever be happy in this very small terracotta planter. It dries out very quickly.

This ancient aloe vera plant is huge!

My last purchase at the end-of-season half price sale.

3. Plant what will be happy in your garden. If you're gardening in Kansas or anywhere else where temperatures are hot, hot, hot and it's dry, dry, dry, try succulents. By succulents, I am referring to plants with fleshy leaves which the plant uses to retain water. There are many kinds and I am no expert, just a admirer. Grown mostly for their foliage, they come in a variety of interesting shapes and colors. Some are true annuals while others are perennials that have graced my garden for many years by spreading and multiplying greatly. Then there are cold sensitive succulents which must come inside for the winter if you want to keep them (and I always do.) When other plants (and humans, too!) cower and cringe in the heat, succulents thrive. You have to water them often, of course, but make sure the soil drains well. Sitting in water will get them long before lack of water will.

Purslane comes in several colors including this cheerful cherry color.

I must mention purslane, an annual succulent which has become a favorite. The simple flowers open about mid-morning and they just keep on coming throughout the summer.

Speaking of happy plants--this aloe vera plant (left) had multiplied from one plant to this in about a year. Photo was taken in early spring when I was bringing my plants outside for the summer. I divided this into about 20 plants which I replanted (notice lots of aloe vera in all my containers and even in the ground) and I also gave many away.