Harvest: small but sweet

This summer I half-lamented about not being able to put in a garden in time. Our move was at the end of June, somewhat past ideal planting season, so we could only hope for success with potted herbs.

About a week into July, I came across an opened packet of cantaloupe seeds from the previous year. Summer 2009 had been much too wet and cold for an amateur melon garden in Illinois, leaving us discouraged about the thought of ever attempting melons again, but I decided to take a chance on this old packet of seeds, a sunny spot in our yard, and the remaining Iowa summer. By September the melons were still not ripe, and it was looking as though the first frost might come and wipe out the plants before any were ready.

One day last week I was working on some cabinet doors on the deck while Ramona played in the yard. When I suggested that she check on the melons, she went over to our melon patch, picked one right off the vine, and brought it to me. I told Forest later that Ramona harvested our first melon, and he jokingly accused me of child labor.
We have since harvested several more, and found that they are actually pretty tasty, despite our wariness in trying the first bite. Perhaps we put our garden in in time, after all.

Scooby is here

It was time for the Dixons to purchase a new vehicle. Forest planned to use the old '97 Accord for his work commute, saying the next car would be all mine for excursions in the Iowa winter. Now, my whole life I've never really had my "own" car--but here it is: a light green minivan.
We actually had it delivered to us from a trusted dealer in Salt Lake City without test-driving it or even seeing it, so it truly was a bit of a mystery machine until we got it. I can't complain about the amount of space it offers, and Ramona enjoys it so much she threw a fit the first time I took her out of it. Welcome to the family, Scooby-van.

days of labor

When we first purchased our home, we knew that one of our larger projects was going to be re-decorating the kitchen. The grape-pattern wallpaper border and antique crackle faux finish paint was just not our style . . . not to mention the hidden dark purple INSIDE the cabinet doors.
So we eventually pulled down the grapes of wrath . . .

. . . removed some cabinet doors . . .
. . . and began stripping paint off of the doors.
Layer,
after layer. We discovered that before the purple + faux finish era, at some point these cabinets were painted blue, and before that they were beige.
You have to love this look of the stage when the doors are just partially stripped. Maybe we should have just stopped here and put the doors back on . . .
. . . or maybe not. At any rate, after many applications of paint remover, we reached the original wood . . .
. . . which Forest cleaned, sanded, scraped, and cleaned . . .
. . . until they looked something like this:
So, Labor Day weekend it was time to begin tackling the actual cabinets, which involved a very similar messy process--it just happened in the middle of the kitchen, instead of down in the garage:
Step 1: Strip paint
Step 2: Clean wood
Step 3: Sand, sand, sand

Step 4: remove 1960's decor . . .
. . . from here
Step 5: Primer-time
Hopefully we are not too far from our "new" Dixon kitchen . . . although it seems like there are still a lot of steps left to go . . .

Speaking of kitchen makeovers, you should see what my sister-in-law is doing with their home! Our project is nothing compared to theirs.

Ramonantics

This past summer, Ramona has taken up a few new hobbies and interests:

1. bracelets, or anything remotely in the shape therof
2. bras (I know, there are a couple of reasons why I should not have posted this picture, but perhaps it will make someone else laugh besides me)
3. shoes of any size, shape, or function
4. corn
5. naptime. true, naptime in and of itself is nothing new, but before this summer, she never napped like this:
(it would appear as though naptime is a lot more fun these days)
For example, there are even days when naptime does not even involve sleeping:
6. and, finally, pasta. all over the floor.

Dark Chocolate Orange Gelato

It's not over, yet. . . summer, that is! There is still plenty of time to utilize homemade ice cream as a refuge from lingering August heat.

When we made our move from Illinois to Iowa, it only made sense to assume that our ice cream making would come to an abrupt halt while we unpacked our kitchen and settled into our new home. My dad was confident, however, that the ice cream machine would resume its work within a week of the move. He was right. We were quick to crank out a couple of batches of mango sorbet (recipe courtesy of David Lebovitz), and blueberry gelato (recipe adapted from Daziano), as well as our own recipes for strawberry, chocolate, banana, and cookies and cream.

One flavor I've been contemplating but have not gotten around to this summer is dark chocolate orange gelato--a family favorite.

Dark Chocolate Orange Gelato

Ingredients:
-2 cups whole milk
-5 egg yolks
-3/4 cups sugar
-1/4 cup light corn syrup
-zest of 3 oranges
-4 oz of dark chocolate, chopped (it helps to put the chocolate in the freezer before chopping)
-1/4 cup cocoa


1. Combine egg yolks, sugar, corn syrup, and zest in a medium bowl and beat together until creamy.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan at about medium-high heat, preferably by using a double boiler or placing the saucepan in a larger pot filled with water, as this prevents the milk mixture from boiling.
3. Once the milk mixture is warm, temper the egg mixture by scooping small amounts of the milk and gradually adding to the eggs, stirring with each addition.
4. After adding about 2/3 of the milk to the eggs, pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
5. Stir for about 5 minutes until thickened. The custard will visibly stick to the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Remove saucepan from heat. Add chopped chocolate and sift in cocoa, using a whisk to mix until the custard is an even color.
7. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
8. Strain custard with a fine mesh strainer to remove scrambled eggs and orange zest.
9. Freeze according to individual ice cream maker instructions.

Wedding weekend

Last week we drove back to Illinois for the wedding of Forest's stepbrother/long-time friend, Dan. Carol invited us to come and stay at her house, so Ramona got to enjoy some quality Grandma time--which some might describe alternatively as "getting spoiled."
Saturday morning Ramona had a leisurely dip in the pool at Grandpa's house while others were busily preparing for the festivities. It was her first time braving water deeper than a bathtub.
There were some looks of concern and trepidation . . .

. . . but she managed to light up some smiles, too.

Monkey see . . .

Monkey do . . .

Wedding time was about 5pm

I got to provide the music for the ceremony, but once the knot was tied, Ramona got to strum a few notes of her own.

The newly wedded couple with one set of grandparents

Ramona spent some time experimenting with a golf cart before the dinner. Thankfully, she is still too small to reach the pedals.
At the dinner, her food of choice was watermelon, and her seat of choice was Grandpa's lap.

Congratulations, Dan and Christie!

Pneumonia in July

This past week Forest has been recovering from a bout of pneumonia, diagnosed after:

1. three days of high fevers (you know it's bad if the digital thermometer just reads: "HI," instead of giving you a number)

2. one trip to urgent care (where the doctor could only assume he had a bacterial infection)

3. and another trip to the ER (where Ramona made friends with all the nurses and an x-ray finally revealed the true cause of the problem)

Hopefully an antibiotic a day for just a little longer will keep all the doctors away.