Fooled by the Mal

All last week, our 50-pound tank of a mutt, Malcolm, grazed on the leaves of our sweet potato leaves. We thought it was cute. Malcolm grazing like a cow on sweet tater leaves. Awwww.

Monday rolled around and Mal seemed lethargic, and this is saying something. He holds the couch down like nobody. But this was a new level of low energy, even for our lazy brown hound//pit bull/beagle mix.

I called Karen at work and she read up on sweet potato leaves and dogs and told me to take him to the vet. They're toxic to dogs, we learned. Though I'm not sure how good our sources were. I wrangled an appointment out of the vet for that afternoon, no mean feat given the time of my call: 4 p.m.

But I knew what the vet was going to say as soon as I held up Malcolm's leash. I knew he was going to be OK. I knew I had been had. He took one look at the leash and stood up, bounded around the living room and pawed at my legs.

Dog wasn't sick. He was just bored. He just wanted to go somewhere.

Slow-roasted tomato bliss

Don't you just love produce-left-in-the-office season in East Tennessee? A kind News Sentinel farmer left a load of Roma tomatoes in our office "please take" spot and I scooped them up. Along with a haul from Maryville's Horn of Plenty, Darren and I had a ton of beautiful tomatoes to eat up. 

One of my most favorite ways to use up a bumper crop of tomatoes is the "aromatic slow-roasted tomatoes" recipe from Cooking Light, available on the My Recipes site. Basically, you toss tomatoes halves with oil, sugar and spices, then spread out on a baking sheet and roast at a low heat for several hours.

I'm not a super tomato lover --- I'm quite picky about them and have never been the "bite into raw one" type. Slow roasting chars and caramelizes the flesh and the sweet and sour pungency is soooo addicting. The first time Darren and I made this recipe, we stood in the kitchen and ate them one by one from the pan. This time, I made twice as many and I'm saving half to make a pasta sauce with roasted garlic. 

You will be very happy with the results. Let me know if you try this recipe!

Coming soon: roasted tomatoes

I woke this morning to the smell of roasting tomatoes. Karen bought a pound of romas last week and set to roasting them early this morning. 

More on that, with photos, later.

Hang'em High -- a sunflower tale

I know, I know. What the heck is it? An art project? These are hanging sunflowers. I lopped off their droopy heads this morning and punched a couple of sticks through the stalks to hang and dry. The one in the foreground is only about 8 inches in diameter. The one in back is about twice that size, though. Looking forward to some fresh sunflower seeds. Unless my rigging doesn't hold up while I'm gone.

Apps, apps, apps

There's a phone app for gardeners who want to identify pests. Could have used this weeks ago. 

The University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture unveiled it a few days ago. Check out this release at the UTIA website.

Beating the heat: sunflowers and okra plants standing tall

Karen's right. The heat did a number on the garden, particularly while we were at the beach last month. The green beans look shriveled and ragged, the golden zucchini appears beyond saving, and the tomatoes are rotting.

What a difference two weeks make. 

Too bad we can't eat sunflowers. We have three that are about 7-8 feet tall. They look as strong and stout as small trees. The okra, too, is a hardy survivor but I'm not really a fan of that vegetable. I suppose I will have to learn to like the stuff because we have plenty coming in. Okra and sunflower salad, anyone?

July is time to recover from June

Whew! June was so busy for me, but in great ways. My dear friends, Sally and Rachel, came to visit with their two daughters and we had such fun together. I hope the girls remember their trip to Tennessee fondly. Then, Darren and I were running Scrappy to the vet for his puppy shots and a neuter (he did great; he was running around wild the next day), plus getting him acclimated to Meadowbrooke Kennel with short visits. Meadowbrooke is where we take our pack when we're on vacation, and we love the staff there. They've been a lifesaver!

Next, it was on to Memphis where I helped conduct copy editor and designer training for the Commercial Appeal staff ahead of their switch to Saxotech and InDesign. When I got back from Memphis, we took a day to pack and sleep before heading to Seacrest Beach, Florida, for a week with my family. It was a wonderful month, but I am glad to be home with no pressing plans to make and plenty of time to read in my pajamas.

Our garden (and yard) looks terrible after a month of neglect and record-high temperatures. Today I got out there and yanked the fried plants and emptied pots full of debris, and gave everything a good watering. While I was busy, the little devil decided to play in the mud puddles around the beds. I looked over and he was joyously splashing and jumping in the water. Ugh! Had to add a dog bath to my list of chores today!

Scrappy jumps up to get a closer look at the camera.

This picture doesn't do his dirtiness justice. Don't you just love those paws?!

The Prednisone Predicament

Usually I post about gardening and cooking, but the introduction of Prednisone into our house this past week and its effect on poor old Malcolm warrants a mention for any pet owners who might discover this entry.

Malcolm, our 5-year-old mixed breed pit bull, got sick after a recent kennel stay. His bordetella vaccine was eight months old and he came back with a nasty cough and runny, mucousy eyes. We thumbed through the phone directory early Sunday morning and found a vet clinic that was open.

Along with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds, the vet prescribed a steroid, Prednisone, to boost his immunity system. Well, it worked. It also made him aggressive and prone to quick changes in behavior. He snarled at Scrappy a lot, baring his teeth every time the 20-pound puppy got near Karen. I had to keep the little one behind a baby gate for a few days to limit their interaction and the chance that Malcolm might snap him in two.

When he wasn't staring down Scrappy, Malcolm curled up and slept. He stopped playing in the yard and wouldn't go outside. He gave me the big saucer eyes every time I came in the room. We took him off Prednisone after five days. Two days later his moods returned to normal. We'll never give him that stuff again.

Friends in town

I'm back at work after several days off. Two of my friends that I've known since high school brought their daughters to East Tennessee to visit. We had a lovely time, and I showed them a lot of my favorite places, including the Biltmore estate in Asheville, N.C.

UT Farmers' Market

The next UT Farmers' Market is scheduled for June 20. Actually, there's one scheduled for tonight, but I can't make that one. Been meaning to go for weeks.

Fresh from the garden

Last night I picked fresh green beans and golden zucchini. Dined alone. Sigh. It made for a tasty, fresh addition to dinner, though.

The Invaders

Something is eating our okra! The invaders have left their mark on the green beans, too.

The only flower in our vegetable gardens

We have about half a dozen sunflowers in our vegetable gardens. In the last week, they seem to have shot up a foot or so.

Testing our rocky, rocky soil

We live in a place with rocky soil. Every time I dig, my shovel turns up so much rock that I think someone built our house over a lot full of gravel. I'm considering using the University of Tennessee's soil testing service to learn how that affects our vegetable gardens.

This excellent video by Chuck Denney of UT's Institute of Agriculture explains the service.

The Wildsmith potato crop arrives

Alcoa resident and good buddy Steve Wildsmith already has produce to share. This week he gave me a generous heap of red new potatoes from his garden. We'll make good use of these Monday or Tuesday, at the latest. 

Big 'maters on the horizon

We have high hopes for these robust Brandywine tomato plants. We have about 10 of these plants, which have survived the early summer heat better than most of our vegetables. I snapped this picture on Friday.


Brandywine tomatoes get big -- up to two pounds each. I plan to make my first pizza sauce using these tomatoes. 

Karen and I are not surprised to see that the golden zucchini plants are growing faster than the other plants. The sunflowers are running a close second, though. 


Notice how the zucchini leaves reach for the sun. The way they shift and turn toward the light, their leaves like cupped hands, makes me think of Scott Smith's horror novel about vines called "The Ruins."

Try kale chips -- seriously

Last night we put olive oil on kale leaves and baked them. I got the idea from a Cooking Light recipe earlier this year and wanted to try it. Kale chips are wonderful and easy to make.

Hydrangea blue

My hydrangeas blooming (and still blue!) makes me so happy!

Distraction, thy name is Scrappy

This tiny mongrel is completely in charge of my life right now. 

Don't his back legs look like perfect fat drumsticks?

This morning's haul at the Farmer's Market

Twenty bucks goes a long way at the Maryville Farmers' Market.


Karen and I got there at about 9:20 a.m. on Saturday, which is almost too late. The market opens at 9 a.m. and you should get there early if you want first choice of the good stuff. We filled our bag with onions, garlic, two big crowns of broccoli (you see one above) and a bunch of kale. We also bought fresh spinach and arugula. 


As expected, the lines for the bakery booth were long. Blackberry Farms wasn't present, however. Usually, BF draws a good crowd. Tempting as the baked goods are, that's not why we go.


The Maryville Farmers' Market is held every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. through sell-out.  The Saturday market is located in the heart of downtown Maryville on Church Avenue near CBBC Bank.