A Semblance of Normality

It's been a week since my friend's boyfriend died. It's been a week since I've been able to take care of my own home, do my own dishes, cook my own food, care for my own animals, and do my own gardening.

I feel numb. If I feel numb I can only imagine what my friend feels.

Even though it feels too soon, even though it feels somehow disrespectful, I must get on with my life. And so I have started.

Saturday, the day started dark and cloudy. The sun came up so slowly.

Eventually, It got bright enough to see and I went to milk the goats.

After milking, my husband and I spent a lot of time in the garden. He watering and weeding. Me harvesting.

Once harvested, the veggies need to be washed, inspected, and put up or cooked.

First, I harvested some more dill weed. I love how it makes my kitchen smell when it is drying. I'll leave it hanging for a few days and then move it to a paper bag to finish.

I also harvested some beets, but they were tiny and dry and I fed them to the goats.

Between all the rain, and some neglect, the garden looked like a jungle. My husband harvested a couple of zucchini and a few tomatoes. The zucchini are so huge! I'll be making some roasted vegetable pasta sauce this time. Last zucchini harvest I made zucchini fritters.

Back out in the garden, it was hard to know where to start. I harvested a head of cabbage, but forgot to snap a pic. Sorry.

After the cabbage, I harvested all my carrots. Most were smallish, but there are some decent sized carrots in there. I'll plant more. Hopefully this time the rain won't push all the seeds to one side. I'll try to plant 3 rows.

I just trimmed the carrots greens off, snipped off the hairy root ends, and have the carrots a very cursory rinse. I must remember to wash them better before eating them.

The goats got the carrot tops. They loved them.

After the carrots, I harvested the black eyed peas. This is the first time I've grown them and I wasn't sure when to harvest. The bean pods looked good. They had little bumps in them. My husband was convinced it was time. So I picked the biggest bean pods.

It turns out it was a little early to harvest most of them. The ones that look more yellow are ready. The others were a little difficult to open. I didn't know that yet, though. I rinsed them and started shelling the bean pods.

I started collecting the "peas". I wasn't sure how many I would get. Some were big and some were tiny. Some barely had the black "eye".

To shell the peas, I would snap off one end of the pod and pull a strip down the rounded part. Then I would peel open the pod and run my thumb along the inside, dislodging the little beans.

The goats got the empty pods. They loved those, too.

As soon as I came back inside after giving the goats their treat, I put the black eyed peas in a pot. I added 2 Tbs butter, garlic salt, celery salt, and regular salt. Then I filled up the pot with water and set it over very low heat. I had more chores to do.

Back outside, I rummaged through the tomato plants to find any tomatoes that were still intact. The plants have gotten so big in the rain, they are falling over. The tomatoes that sat on the ground, in the rain water were rotten. We pulled them off and tossed them in a corner. They'll probably make volunteers next season.

I brought in a very few green tomatoes. I went to get the box of newspaper wrapped tomatoes. Most of the wrapped tomatoes were bright red.

I unwrapped all of the red tomatoes to make room for the green tomatoes to ripen.

Only one tomato got yucky. I don't know why this happens. Maybe it still had a little moisture on it from being rinsed.

I set aside the ripe tomatoes. I planned on using them and the too big zucchini to make pasta sauce on Sunday (today).

This morning, before the sun rose, I heard the dogs out in the front yard. I went to investigate all the noise. I heard squeaking. The big dog, Angus, was headed over to a spot next to a planter. I turned on my flashlight and went there, too.

Imagine my surprise when I figured out what those dogs were up to. I looked down into a little hole and found a baby rabbit.

The dogs had done what dogs will do and this little guy was the only survivor. Fortunately I know what to feed it and how much and how often. I hope it will take the little drops of milk from the syringe.

I got all the nesting material and made it a little tiny home.

Usually, I would not disturb a baby rabbit. Even though they look abandoned, I know they are not. Mama leaves them alone during the day but comes back to feed them at night.

But had I left this little baby in the nest, the dogs would've eaten it, too. I just couldn't leave it.

Unfortunately, only 10% of rescued bunnies will survive. I hope this little one is one of the 10%

The sunrise was glorious this morning. I was happy to go out to milk the goats and get to my pasta sauce before it got too hot.

I started with the tomatoes. I cut the tops off and made an X on the bottom with the knife. This makes it easier to take off the skin. I put them in a pot with some salt water and boiled them.

I diced up the smaller zucchini, leaving the skin on. Drizzled itwith olive oil and seasoned it with garlic salt, oregano, and terragon. Put it in the oven at 300°F (148°C) for 10 minutes.

While that is baking I cut up a bunch of garlic. Garlic burns easily when roasting so I wanted the zucchini to get a head start.

I took the zucchini out, added the garlic, and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, I took the tomatoes out of the salty water to cool.

Once they cooled down enough to handle, I peeled them and put them in the blender. By this time, the zucchini and garlic was finished. I added it to the blender. I hit liquefy. I let it blend for 5 minutes. It got really thick so I added some water.

I had more tomatoes and another huge zucchini. I worried that the peel on this one would be too thick and woody, so I peeled it.

All of our food disposal goes to the goats or the chickens. We have very little waste.

After peeling it I sliced then diced up the big zucchini.

I repeated the process as before, but added black pepper and subtracted the garlic. I left them in the oven about 20 minutes before blending them with the second set of tomatoes.

Finally, I put the sauce in a pot over very low heat to thicken and absorb all the flavors.

I'll leave it alone now, except for an occasional stir so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom.

We'll be eating it tonight over spaghetti noodles. The leftover sauce will go in a jar in the refrigerator until we have pasta again.

Cooking is an activity that grounds me. I don't think about life crap when I'm cooking. It's like an art form. I feel centered and connected and a semblance of normality.

Till next time.