Bread and butter pickles, sliced tomatoes, and jalapeno poppers. I hope it doesnÂt rain the whole time!

Heather

Paula,

I'm having the same problem. Other than the already-planned homemade peach ice cream from home-grown peaches, I really haven't narrowed it down.

My choices from our garden are: FRESH--green beans, potatoes (if I go outside and dig them), tomatoes, onions, peppers (hot and sweet), summer squash, carrots, red or green cabbage, peaches and plums. In the FROZEN category we have peaches, Sugar Snap peas, broccoli, green beans, okra, onions, peppers, freezer slaw and sweet corn. In the 'cooked yesterday and in the fridge' category we have black-eyed peas with jalapeno bacon, and sweet corn. In the canned category, we have everything. (If you lived closer, I'd just tell you to hop in the car and come over and get some plum jelly.)

So, the big dilemma is which veggies to use tomorrow. I think it likely we'll have okra, sweet corn, black-eyed peas and something with tomatoes and peppers. The peppers probably will be in the form of some used in salsa and others turned into poppers. I also may dig up some red, white and blue potatoes and make Independence Day potato salad. Wouldn't that be cool? Since I'm canning some Annie's Salsa this afternoon, you can assume we'll have some Annie's Salsa tomorrow.

There are worse problems than having to figure out which fresh veggies to use!

I also have blueberries left over from jam-making a couple of days ago, so am thinking of making blueberry honey. That would be good with biscuits at breakfast (or any time).

We usually grill on the Fourth, but Tim works all night tonight and sleeps most of the day tomorrow, so we might save the grilling for Monday....weather permitting.

For a meat dish, it is likely we'll have some sort of grilled steaks or chicken.

I need to get into the kitchen and get busy plumming, salsaing and blueberrying so I can NOT can anything tomorrow.

Dawn

I think we're going to do sausage and peppers on the grill, and sliced tomatoes. I forgot to grow cucs this year, but a cucumber salad sounds delicious.

I think we've eaten all the blackberries, so I might think about making a peach cobbler.

YUM

Jo

Fresh okra, red bell peppers, pablano peppers, and tomatoes.

I obviously didn't get my garden in early enough. I just checked and it looks like I will get my first harvest this week. One small Fourth of July tomato is turning colors. Two yellow squash have appeared on the vine and I also saw two tiny cucumbers. It's not much, but I'll take it.

boomer - Is this the first of your Pablano peppers? Only a few of mine have fruit on them and it is still very small. I have other peppers but the Pablano seem to be taking their time. I didn't remember that they would be this late. Or maybe I should just remind myself that it is early July and just seems later because of all of the hot weather we have had.

Carol - I think Boomer is secretly feeding his garden steroids....=)

I'm envious of any of you that already have peppers. I have a few sweet bananas (thanks, Seedmama!) and I've harvested marconi's before they were red because I needed a bell for dinner. My Felicity (not hot jalepenos) is really putting on and one Healthy Sweet as well as one Chablis. My San Martins and Numex Sunrise are just now budding. I've only gotten one Mucho Nacho too. The Big Bertha's each have one pepper. Phooey.

Paula

soonergrandmom, yes this is my first Pablano pepper this year. However, I've been eating Jalepenos for a couple of weeks now.

All you pepperheads are soo blessed. My one huge desire this year, other than for Italian roasting peppers, was for poblanos and my worst fear came true, mislabled pepper plants. What was supposed to be was a couple of poblanos turned out to be Aneheims. That's part of the beauty of raising your own seedlings, you know what you're getting. However, as long as I can make Chili Rellanos with them, I'll still be a happy camper.

Anyway, on today's menu from the garden will be sweet corn picked just before dinner time, NY Strips with roasted garlic butter from garden garlic. (I'm definately off my vegetarian kick.) Then, a tomato, green pepper and cucumber salad. I was surprised I've been having tomatos for a couple of weeks now, but that due only to a few large tom plants I bought for starters. The biggest and prettiest ones have been Parks Whoppers from my raised bed.

Happy 4th to all,

Barbara

4th of July has been puttin' up corn day for DH, DD and family and me for years and this year it was the second planting that came off, the first having come off last week. So of course we ate corn.

Also dug the potatoes Friday and got an incredible harvest this year. From 12# of seed--equal parts Kennebic, Pontiac Red and Yukon Gold--we dug 218 # of potatoes. So had skillet fried potatoes with rosemary, sage, oregano, garlic and onions. Yummy. Tomorrow when the rest of the crowd gets here we will eat new potato salad.

Have been picking tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers for a couple weeks, so with a sliced onion--also from the garden--had a great salad with Zesty Italian Dressing.

Fried okra finished off the veggies.

Then DH grilled a home grown chicken to go with it all. Soooo GOOOD

Paula, I probably at least 10 Pablano plants (probably more) and they are just now starting so the peppers are still too small to eat. I have lots of hot peppers, several kinds, but I just haven't picked many. I have picked one Marconi, and three more peppers that look just like that Giant Marconi, so I still have to figure out what I planted. The Yummy that Dawn gave me has one pepper that has now turned yellow, but I haven't picked it yet. I have quite a few bell peppers that are medium size but most are Purple Beauty. I think I will have plenty of peppers.

I envy all of you who have eaten. We've been out at fires and now (finally!) are going to try to finish cooking dinner and maybe actually eat it before the fire pagers go off. I have the veggies reheating in the kitchen and Tim is reheating the steaks on the grill.

I don't know what the deal is with all the late peppers this year. We've harvested about 20 lbs. and are going to can more peppers tomorrow after I pick them. I wonder if all the rain y'all had in central/northern OK in May held back your pepper plants from growing/blooming/setting and maturing fruit? We even have habaneros turning from green to orange, and they're not real early most years. Maybe the heat has speeded them up. I don't think my peppers were quite as early last year as this year, but it is hotter this year.

Oh, oven timer is ringing....gotta go get food on the table.

Dawn

I bet everyone's garden is just lovely!

Lets see, I have bush beans, squash, I pickled cucumbers and some bush beans. I have eggplant coming in! I thought those plants were dead and gone but they have seriously bounced back! -> I am very happy about that!