Kitchen Window & A Cooking Update

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with my food blog. I was so excited a few months ago when I first started my garden. I was ready to share the photos, cook up a storm and post recipes. I was bragging horribly about how great everything was doing. Maybe that's it. I was bragging too much and Karma took over.

What happened? Well, my garden pretty much went by way of the compost pile. The two year old oregano and thyme did not survive the wettest May EVER in Arkansas. The next victims were the squash. Between the bugs, the rain and the unseasonably hot weather, by June I could hear them choking to death all the to my kitchen window. By July the grape tomato bit the dust. The heirloom tomato forced out two blooms, but never fruited so I just ripped that sucker out.

So this is what I have left:

The roma tomatoes are finally doing pretty well. I picked five this morning.



The chives are standing up again, sort of.



We use fresh rosemary nearly every day. Although the bush is in need of some weeding, it is doing fine.



After cutting back all the flowers from the basil a couple of weeks ago, more flowers have emerged. I think I will give them one more good cut before the first freeze sometime in October.



And the parsley. I suppose the third time is a charm. Planted initially in the ground in the garden, it died. I bought more and put it in the pot with the Texas tarragon and the thyme and it took off. But, one night while I slept, little black and yellow worms ate all the leaves and left nothing but bare stems. I picked off every single one of those slimy little suckers and mercilessly mashed each one to a bloody green pulp. It was so gruesome, others apparently decided not to follow their fate. The parsley is now growing back.



The mandevilla has finally started to do what it should have done in May...grow and climb.



The front of the house has fared much better. The crepe myrtle are still blooming like crazy.



And the pampas grass that I planted just over two years ago have grown from the 5 gallon pot size into these gi-normous beauties.



So what's my problem? I have no idea. I have been cooking up a storm, just not excited about posting the stuff. I think it is just time to clear the cobwebs from my head and simply jump in again with both feet.......maybe.