September got here fast, and slow, if I am being honest. August was hot, hot, hot. And very dry! We had almost no rain with 100+ temps, day after day. July, August and the first part of September are not gardening months in East Texas due to the heat. And I am adjusting my gardening schedule, desires and workload to that fact. Here we are September 1, 2026. A little side note, 52 years ago at this very time I am pecking out the words to this post, I was in active labor, getting ready to deliver my first born. Whew, so many memories! And now it is time to join Sherry for In My Kitchen!
I think most of us are ready for the adventures of autumn to begin, even those across the pond, where it is your springtime! A change of season is just that, a change of season for everyone, it might be a different season, than the one you are enjoying however! Things cool down here considerably in autumn so in some ways we have a second springtime to enjoy.
Across the bottom, L to R: orange flesh sweet potatoes growing out of the ground, purple flesh Japanese sweet potatoes, rooting before being planted. And a purple flesh Japanese sweet potato I am hoping to get a couple more starts from before it is past it's prime.
The only thing that grows well this time of year is sweet potatoes.
So I went in big time and currently have three types in various stages of growth. Standard orange flesh, about ready to harvest. Tan flesh Japanese Sweet Potatoes that are doing well, and I hope will begin growing tubers soon. And purple flesh Japanese Sweet potatoes that are rooting in a jar on the dining table. I hope to put these starts into the ground after the rains that have been promised for a couple of days now. I have also used this time to weed and tidy up the garden. And Man O Mister, we have had a boatload of weeds this year!
And not to brag but also two thick seasons of "lovebugs" flying around. The above photo was from a 200 mile day trip...
Our kids were away for nine days on a cruise to celebrate their 24th wedding anniversary.
And oh my gosh, did we miss them! And the grandson of course! Their first night back we all visited for several hours, with my grandson in my lap or our playing together quietly on the floor as the conversations continued.
My daughter presented me with this lovely gift upon their return. A little diary page complete with photos and a summary of the day, in a card. One card for each day of the cruise. I loved reading these and no doubt will read them again...she is so creative and thoughtful!
And because of the heat, I was much busier in the kitchen, if you can believe that!
We still ate every breakfast, lunch and dinner at home. But I got back into the rhythm of cooking, taking photographs and writing up a blog post. It was helpful that the garden did not need as much attention. Nor did the now older chickens. Who are still not laying eggs due to the heat, most likely. But that is a complaint for another time, LOL!
This is how I kept busy with the kids away, the bug invasion, the weeds, the chickens and the garden...
My husband is a smoothie lover! We have begun changing our spending habits to be able to travel more. One change is making everything we can, ourselves. And this even bigger change, not heading to Costco each month. We now make our own Smoothie Packets, and honestly they are so easy, no reason not to DIY!
I am working through The Blue Zones of Happiness personally as well as sharing this book (and some finding about myself) for a monthly book review I participate in each month. I was pleased that I had, already on my own, taken on several ideas that were gathered from the Blue Zones Countries.
Potatoes storage is a real problem here in East Texas. They keep about 6 days before sprouting out! While I could store them in my root cellar in Montana, no such animal exists here in Texas. So I decided to be proactive and get them cooked and into the freezer or fridge to avoid waste. And I love this new way of having potatoes ready to go, this is my new process when potatoes come home!
It was time to come up with a tasty cookie for my husband, but honestly it also needed to be easy, and small batch as well. Looking around did not provide a new recipe, so I turned to this old standby and added a couple of new ingredients, and we now have a new chocolate cookie for him to enjoy!
More and more we turn to natural sweeteners, and I realized that molasses often gets the short end of the stick. Currently molasses is getting a bit of a revival for the nutritional values. Yep! Most natural sweeteners also contain trace minerals. Also at the same time, I noticed we tend to use a lot of molasses, so it only made sense to show molasses a little bit of love!
We also eat a lot of green beans. Green beans are a humble vegetable but they contain silicon, which is needed for bones and connective tissue. With that said, I don't think you can eat too many of them, so a lot of different recipes seems like a really good idea! This one also has a bit of bitter to it, not medicine bitter, umami bitter. We loved this dish and no doubt it will be on regular rotation.
And that my friends brings August kitchen fun, to a close! Thanks so much for dropping by, I appreciate it so much!
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