Well, here's an update on teh garden. There has not been a whole lot ot harvest, at least not in quantity. A squash here and there, herbs, some cherry toms and both raspberry bushes seem to have a disease so there was essentially nothing harvestable from them. We've also been harvesting lots of green onions and scallion and more carrots. I honestly don't have the time to keep track of ti all but here's some pics of whats going on!! Mint and the left over onion seedlings we had which didn't grow much in this container. We've also harvested the mint pretty heavily and its beginning to flower: The strawberry bed: Fortex beans...what the baby bunnies didn't eat: Chard and celery, also been harvesting pretty heavy: Oregano getting ready to flower. Still any good after flowering? Big beef toms: Cherry toms: Bush beans (wax), parsley, and a couple cucumber vines that haven't produced anythign yet. The bunnies ate 2 of the vines already: More pole beans, had to be replanted.....twice....thanks bunnies!!! More toms: This bed has 4 toms, 4 peppers, salsify and some shallots and onions. I've reseeded more carrots where the straw is but its just too damn hot to get anythign to germinate: This bed has 4 toms, 4 peppers, and 3 honey bear squash that are just forming buds: Big beef nest to brandywines which so far are setting about the same number and size of fruit, just brandywine was slightly later: More toms and peppers, there are also basil plants between all the toms but they are hard to see, genovese and purple. THe genovese is definitely out producing the purple variety: More toms..... Closeup of two cherry plants pruned to a single stem: More peppers, I planted lipstick, poblano and a color mix and I honestly don't know which are which. So far only two have actually set fruti and they both appear to be lipstick peppers: Peppers in the next bed, I also seeded more carrots in both these beds...twice, zero germination :( : Whats left of the cippolinis, some have nice bulbs, some have not much and growth has been really varied, even in the same bed: San marzano toms, these are also pruned to a single stem, producing great: This bed gets the least sun and it shows, it has green zebra, cherry and san marzano toms and 4 eggplants which are just starting to bud as well as a second planting of zucchini and the rest of the leeks that we didn't harvest as babies: There are two honey bear and 3 zucchini here, all of which have been producing well. We've already had 3 acorn squash and a handful of zuc's: Mystery squash growing in the compost...: Kenearly beans (dry shell), mostly an experiment: Second planting of chamomile...and cosmos: Butternut, pie pumpkins, second planting of watermelons, and corn (and yes I know I'll have to hand pollinate) None of these have blossoms yet: Watermelosn and charentais: My little ones sunflowers and eggplant, he planted them all by himself!!! Tomatilloes that have me stumped. The larger one has not produced a single fruit. THe smaller one has a decent amount but also hasn't grown ahrdly at all and they were seeded at the exact same time: And the artichokes. I don't expect much here. I think its just too hot and something has broken off most of the leaves of 3 of 4: Other than that our crab apple is so loaded its leaning over so even though I'm not a huge fan we are going to pick as many as are easily reached and make some jam. So there is my super long update, hoep everyone elses summer is goign great!

Wow, still not tender? I thought maybe 200 was a bit low for that large a piece of meat, and brisket too, which takes a while to "fall apart". Hopefully it's perfect on time for guests... It's too late for any more suggestions, but I was going to suggest cutting it into smaller pieces and upping the temp a bit. I don't think 15 pounds of brisket would fit in a pressure cooker, it would take one of the big canners, which many people do not have. Annie

For Christmas Eve I made a 12 lb loin of beef. I have so much stuff going on that I bought a digital therm with a probe and program it to the proper temp, it beeps when it's done so I don't forget about the beef. I cut the beef in half to make it a little easier to handle and used Ina Gartens recipe. 1 (4 to 5 pound) fillet of beef, trimmed and tied 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place the beef on a sheet pan and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread the butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare. Remove the beef from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice the fillet thickly. Note: Be sure your oven is very clean or the high temperature will cause it to smoke.

At our Krogers, I just bought 2 bags of chicken hind quarters for 69 cents a pound in 10 pound bags. I have found hind quarters in such bags in a nearby IGA for as low as 49 cents a pound. Not organic, but perfect for what I wanted--dog food. This time, I cut off the thighs for DH and me (ending up with about 22 nice-sized thighs) and ground the raw legs and meaty parts of the backs (including the bones) for dog food. I freeze them in 1/3 cup balls and add one a day to our dog's dry food. She strongly approves. I seasoned our thighs and let them sit in the fridge for 24 hours, then, for the first time ever, I cooked chicken in the sous vide. Each thigh went into a cheapo fold over sandwich bag to help keep the vacuum bag clean and preserve the liquids with each thigh. Thanks, Dcarch for the verbal push! Most of them went into the freezer, but I kept enough out for two meals. They are delicious. Moist and flavorful. Before serving I will brown them quickly in a very hot skillet, add the drippings and some wine to the skillet and cook it down, pour it over the thighs, and enjoy. Or I may use the meat in a salad. Or. . . .?