Monday Musings: 05.18.2014 Edition

We’ve got another market trip behind us, and, you know, everything else aside, that bi-weekly trip to the public market reminds us, better than just about anything else, how quickly time marches on!

Two weeks ago, we brought home fresh ramps, the first of the truly local produce.  This week, we snagged some fresh asparagus and even some tomatoes (granted, they were grown in a greenhouse, but it was a local greenhouse!), as well as a pack of my Beloved Jet Star plants for the garden – regardless of what the weatherman says, spring is truly (finally) here.

Speaking of the garden . . . I finally had to get out and do a little cleanup in the herb garden (actually, a lot of cleanup!) – besides the weeds that have been trying to masquerade as various legitimate plants (I CAN tell the difference between chives and GRASS, thank you!) – I’m seeing signs of some attempted hostile takeovers.

Chives are moving in on the tarragon’s territory, the tarragon is trying to edge in on the garlic chives, the oregano keeps trying to jump ship and take over the rest of the yard, the dill has been re-seeding itself for 2 years, and the mint. . . well, the mint seems to just do whatever it darn well pleases.

So Peeps and I are out walking the dog, and we pass this house, in a neighborhood of houses with beautiful, well-kept yards.

This yard was no exception, except for one kind of odd thing, which I don’t know how well it shows up in this photo – behind the adorable pink tulips, this tree has multiple extension cords, tube lights, all plugged into (get this) a power strip that was hanging down out of the tree.

I mean, is that even safe?  I’m pretty sure those power strips aren’t meant to be kept and used outside, are they?

 So . . . I’ve been working in the garden, and it’s now officially planted!

Last fall’s garlic is up and doing well as are this spring’s peas (I’m going to need a taller fence!) and lettuce.

Peeps built the tomato “cage” last week, and everything else is now filled in – a row of chard, a row of carrots, a row of parsley (we use a LOT of parsley!) some broccoli,  NINE tomato plants, and a couple of basil plants.

I don’t know why I keep putting so many tomato plants in – I just can’t help myself, I guess.

 Did I mention last week that I had also picked up flowers for my window boxes?  I ended up with an entire “flat” of the little violas – that would be 8 six-packs of mixed colors.

I’m not really a flower person – I don’t know much about them, really, but  I just love these little guys, with their little pansy faces!

And once again, it’s time for the weekly menu plan.  As it happens, I’m on vacation for the entire week (can you believe it!) and, while I’ll have a bit of extra time, I do have plenty of things to do!  A meal plan, albeit a little looser than usual, should help keep me on track in that regard.

Monday – We had planned on chicken tenders last week, and I ended up getting home super-late, Peeps had had a lousy day, and he had a gift certificate to use, so, long story short, the chicken tenders are being pushed up to this week.  I’ll probably bread them and do something potato-y with them, along with some vegetable – broccoli maybe.

Tuesday – We picked up some farm-grown pork chops at the market – a bit of a splurge, but so, so good.  We’re just going to season them lightly and slap them on the grill, and we’ve got some sweet potatoes and that fresh asparagus that’ll be perfect.

Wednesday – We’ve got one bundle of ramps left from the last market trip, and I thought, since the forecast calls for rainy and chilly, a sort of leek-and-potato soup might be in order, only with ramps (wild leeks) and maybe even some green garlic (from my garden, guys!).

Thursday – Peeps’s uncle and aunt are driving through town Thursday and may be here at dinnertime.  I hope to prevail upon them to stay, but either way, we’ll roast some chicken on the grill (hopefully it won’t still be raining!) and some sort of potatoes and salad, I guess.

Friday – And as always, Friday is pizza night – I’m going to be doing some exploring in the freezer this week, and I’m pretty sure there may be a few packages of pizza toppings stuck away – something like roasted artichokes and/or caramelized onions.  We’ll see what turns up, I guess.

Be sure to click on over to The Organizing Junkie’s Monday Menu Plan post for loads and loads of other ideas.