OrangeBalsam of Simmer

It was another lovely day. The night temperatures cooled down enough that we could actually open the windows. I went out in the morning and weeded the front flower bed. Then I went into the back yard and finished weeding around the back of the house. When I say "finished," I mean I pulled up all the tall leafy plants that the Sparrowhawk looked up and found were called "golden top." They're a type of aster that was formerly classified as a solidago along with goldenrod, but then got moved to a different category. After I pulled them all up, I had second thoughts and wondered if I should have let them go ahead and bloom. But nah--they were in the way. I still have to get a shovel and dig up the mint plants that are also in the way. It's interesting how every year seems to bring a proliferation of a different kind of intrusive plant. I will be intrigued to see if the golden tops come back next year, or if it will be something else. Last year, the wild columbine hardly came up at all, and this year there's a lot of it. I don't pull that up, though, unless it gets into the vegetable bed, because it's very delicate and pretty, and I like it. It's more of a wild flower than a weed. I must have spent a couple of hours out there, and I was very hot and dirty.

We sat in the back yard again, and I worked on my revisions. It's hard to say if I'm improving anything. I guess I'll just have to send it in when I'm done and see if the editor likes it better. After that, I finally tackled my grand project for which I pickled and simmered an entire brisket. I saw a recipe for a Reuben bake made with crescent rolls. The Sparrowhawk likes Reubens, and he likes crescent rolls, so I thought it would be fun for him. You spread out a package of refrigerator rolls flat in a pan, then layer it with the cheese, sliced brisket, sauerkraut and dressing, put another layer of rolls on top, brush it with egg white and caraway seeds, and bake it until it's golden brown. It's quite rich, so I served it with just some green salad. And we split a can of Brewery Vivant Farmhouse Ale, another perfect accompaniment. I'd say it was a success. And there's quite a lot left over for lunches. It's probably terrible for you, but since I'm unlikely to make it unless I find a brisket on sale, I think we're safe.

Last weekend, I found a couple of packets of bean seeds from 2012. I didn't know if they were still good, but there was only one way to find out. So I planted them. One packet has sprouted into a lovely row of little bean shoots! The other package hasn't shown up yet. But since it said 7-10 days for germination, I'll give it a few more days before giving up. After dinner I went out and watered them to make sure they'd stay healthy.