Camp Grandma

It's been Camp Grandma week!  My 7 year old granddaughter, Maggie, spent the last week with us.  We had a lot of fun, but there was very little down time, or computer time.  We held a yard sale, picked lots and lots of blueberries, played with cousin Brodie, swam in friends' pools, made some garden art, and had a camping sleep-over in the backyard.  Whew!  Maggie did great, but Grandma is beat! We returned her to her parents yesterday at our family reunion. 

As for the gardens, I'm hardly able to keep up.  Both my husband and I have picked berries every morning and evening for the last week, averaging 8 - 10 quarts per day.  Everything we pick flies off the stand; we can't keep up with the demand.  I had made blueberry jam from the last of frozen '09 berries, and that has disappeared also.  Then there's that prolific summer squash.  Everyday my granddaughter hunted for the squash, and what we couldn't eat that day, was added to the stand under the "FREE VEGETABLES" sign.  It too seems to find a home.  We tore out the pea plants, ate a few beets, and had the first couple crunchy cucumbers. Yum!

Maggie used the gardens for a couple cooking projects.  First she discovered the chives, and after she chewed on a few leaves, decided that they were quite tasty.  So she cut a handful, we brought them into the house, chopped them into 1/4 inch pieces and stirred them into cottage cheese.  She ate some right away, and declared it to be delicious.  However, I can tell you it was even better the next day after the flavors had time to blend. Simple, but good.

Second, she tried out the mint.  Yes, Maggie, it tastes like gum.  She cut some sprigs of mint, brought it in, and stripped off the leaves.  With help from Grandma, we boiled water and made some mint tea.  First she tried it warm and plain - not for her.  Then we added sugar and ice, and she loved it.  (By the way, mint is such an invasive plant that I first planted it in a plastic bucket before planting the bucket into the flower bed.  I was hoping to keep it from spreading.  Good thought, but it didn't work.  It has jumped right out of the bucket.  Now I regularly pull it like a weed to keep it under control. Hard to contain, but great as a flavor or garnish!)