Oh, wow! Looks beautiful! It has been a terrible year here too for nearly everything. Squash bugs and wilt got my 3 spring-planted Zucchini. So I replanted last month and "so far", even though there are bugs, there hasn't been an wilt, but of course they are just beginning to bloom. The Yellow bush beans and Italian bush beans just sat there and sat there. I mulched with wheat straw, and now they are making beans out the kazoo! The Purple beans have been blooming, and blooming, but not a beans yet. The blooms just fall off. What the...? (I planted them purple, yellow, purple, yellow, thinking they would look so pretty), especially with the purple cabbages. Then hens ate the cabbages. I managed to get the green early cabbages to maturity and shared them with Mother. So tender, juicy and sweet. The corn is making ears. Grasshoppers are gnawing the hell out of the leaves and I saw one or two of the tassels bent over (grrr). I've been capturing them and tossing them to the hens. No drastic damage, but I bought some liquid Sevin to use if push comes to shove. Getting okra now from the early planting and the June planting is starting to grow. Tomatoes: I've gotten a few from the 2 Early Girl plants, but few and far between, although they were delicious. The Cherokee Purple has ONE tomato now, and I picked the second Lemon Boy yesterday. Hey! That's two more than anyone else around here has. The locals here in town tell me their gardens burned up. Some guy in the store down at Chandler the other day told me the same thing and two other men shook their heads. Their mouths dropped when I told them my garden hadn't burned up. They said they would be coming to get tomatoes from me. (not with the puny production I'm getting dudes!) I got great lettuces this spring, but the broccoli didn't head. I got great cabbages, though. What in the heck? I ALWAYS get great Broccoli! I got about two cups of Snow Peas. Just about the time they started to put on, the heat wave hit Oklahoma and even with a shade over them, their dried up in three days. The pods were very tastey, but again, a puny amount for all the vines I had. Usually I have more than we'll eat. The wheat straw and the drip lines in the corn, the two larger tomato patches and watermelon saved the day. The rest I have been hand watering with good success. All the tomatoes are covered in blooms, but now the da** Blister Beetles are eating off all their leaves. I've been picking them off and squishing them and then washing off their poop (which attracts more beetles), but they are starting to get the better of the Roma tomatoes. So far, I haven't found any on the BeefMasters or Super Sweet 100s. Found a few on one of the two potted Cherokees (squish, squish), but none on the potted Lemon Boy next to them. Grasshoppers, beetles, blister beetles, squash bugs, and other kinds too, and Japanese beetles are devouring everything. My roses have been sick since June. First it was too rainy and too hot in early spring, then too cold in mid-spring and then in June it went straight into triple digit temps. Yesterday the promised rain storms moved into the state. Can you believe some areas ended up flooding? They got 7 inches in just a matter of minutes! We got a slight sprinkle yesterday, but temps never got above 95 here. Yeah! This morning I went out and found it POURING down! I set the plastic trash cans to catch the patio water and the 5-gallon buckets were already set up out in the garden, so I will have it for hand watering. It rained down hard and heavy. Just the five minutes I was out there it filled the cans to 1/4 full! Wow! It was a deluge! Everything is so green and refreshed this morning and the temperature is like early June should have been. Weird weather. Just flat out strange! I didn't have to water yesterday or today. Yippee! Ended up being up all night with my new kitten, 'Meeshka Moushka'. She is a beautiful tortoiseshell with white mittens and boots. About 6 wks old. Sweet, smart and VERY well behaved, but frisky and so cute. I thought she would die last night. High fever and respiratory difficulty. Poor baby. I sat on the sofa holding her all night. If I took my hand off of her and tried to nap, she would cry. So, I kept stroking her and telling her I loved her. Man, I'm tired. I finally got her to take some goat's milk from a syringe this morning at 6:30. She took about 3 CCs or more. Then went to sleep purring on my bed wrapped in a big warm towel. Maybe I can get some sleep since I don't have to water! :) I tried to upload pics to photobucket account a bit ago, but my computer kept kicking me off (grrr). Will try again later. And the drain is partly clogged somewhere in the basement. (good grief!) "When it rains, it ours!" But no complaints from me there! Thanks for sharing your garden pics with me (us). Hasta!

The corn has oxidized, hence the brown color. If it were to be canned, ascorbic acid could have been used to help keep it normal color. If you wanted a bit more yellow, tumeric can also be added in a small amount. Here, I found a big gallon bag of cut corn in my freezer that I had forgotten, it was dated 2000 and it was still a nice light color. I had forgotten why it was still in the freezer until I tasted it again. VERY SWEET, way to sweet to be corn. In fact, its so sweet there was virtually no corn taste, just a sugary sweet taste. I had grown some of the Sh2 variety that time and will never grow it again, due to the extreme sweeteness. With the rest of the bag, I plan to mix some with my recent yelow, less sweet corn when its cooked, in hopes it will dilute the extra sugar taste. Think of it as eating soldified corn syrup.. UGH! Creamed corn does not can well unless the anti-oxident is used.

I found this quick & easy recipe in "The Diabetes Snack Munch Nibble Nosh Book" by Ruth Glick and sent several batches to work with hubby on Halloween and it was a big hit. This recipe is a better choice for most diabetics than traditional caramel corn recipes, people watching their carbs, as well as a low-sodium diet. It's amazing how many batches you can make quickly if you have 2 containers for microwaving the syrup in, as well as a couple jelly roll pans to alternate for baking in. I used Kraft Caramels (cellophane wrapped cubes) since they were on sale, and also tried the recipe with the Kraft Caramel BITS (little balls of caramel - found near the chocolate chips in the baking department) and it works as well. It seems the cube- shaped Kraft caramels have now disappeared from store shelves after Halloween. -Grainlady EASY CARAMEL POPCORN Nonstick cooking spray 10 c. popped low-fat microwave popcorn (I used air-popped) 6 caramel candies, cut into small pieces (or 1/4 c. Kraft Caramel Bits and you won't need to cut them any smaller) 2 T. dark or light corn syrup (for syrup I've used Lyle's Golden Syrup, agave nectar, and Steen's Corn Syrup - all with good results) 1/2 T. water 1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray a large jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet with nonstick spray and set aside. Place the popcorn in a large ceramic or glass bowl and set aside. 2. In a 1- or 2- cup glass measure (cup) or similar microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramels, syrup, and water. Cover with wax paper and microwave on high power for 40-seconds. Stir. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds, or until caramels are completely melted. 3. Being very careful to keep fingers away from the hot syrup, slowly pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn, stirring with a large wooden spoon to coat evenly. Spread the popcorn evenly on the prepared baking pan. Bake the popcorn for 4 to 6 minutes until the syrup hardens slightly. 4. Cool before serving, or store tightly covered at room temperature. Leftover popcorn will keep for 4-5 days. [Grainlady note: I made several "flavored" versions of this recipe. To the hot syrup mixture add ONE of these: - Pumpkin Pie - 1 t. pumpkin pie spice - Apple Pie - 1 t. apple pie spice - Coffee Flavored - 1 t. Pure Coffee Extract (from The Spice House) On my to-try list: -Butterscotch flavoring -Cinnamon Oil (probably only 1/8 - 1/4 t.) -Maple Flavoring -Butter Flavoring Nutrition per 1-cup portion: Exchanges: 1/2 carbohydrate Calories - 53 Total Fat - 1 g Cholesterol - 1 mg Sodium - 59 mg Total Carbohydrate - 11 g Dietary fiber - 1 g Sugars - 6 g Protein - 1 g

We don't do any grilling in the winter but in summer, if someone's coming to dinner who I know is watching calories, I often make grilled fruit desserts: GRILLED STRAWBERRY SUNDAES 1/4 cup orange juice 1/4 cup strawberry spreadable fruit 1 tsp. cornstarch 2 pint strawberries, hulled 2 cups low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt Preheat the grill to a medium heat. In a medium saucepan, combine the orange juice, spreadable fruit, and cornstarch. Set aside. Thread the strawberries onto 4 skewers. Grill the kebabs, turning once, for 4 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the medium saucepan directly on the grill or on the stovetop over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove the strawberries from the skewers and stir gently into the sauce mixture in the saucepan. Divide the yogurt among 4 bowls, spoon the strawberry sauce over, and serve. Notes: Can substitute ice cream for the frozen yogurt if desired. Sauce is best when serve hot. Can also be served over sliced angel food or pound cake. GRILLED PEARS WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE serves 4 4 large firm-ripe Anjou or Bartlett pears 3 Tbs. fresh lime juice 2 Tbs. sugar 1/3 cup evaporated milk (can be evaporated skim milk) 2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar 2 tsp. butter (not margarine or spreads) 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract Peel the pears, halve lengthwise, and core. With a sharp knife, cut a very thin slice from the rounded side of each pear half so they will lie flat. In a bowl, toss the pear halves with the lime juice and sugar. Grill the pears over medium heat for 4 minutes. Turn them over, drizzle with any remaining lime mixture, and grill for 5 minutes, or until tender. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine remaining ingredients. Cook directly on the grill or stovetop over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Divide the pears among 4 plates, drizzle with butterscotch sauce, and serve hot or warm. GRILLED STUFFED PEACHES (serves 4) 4 large peaches 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats 2 Tbs. firmly packed brown sugar (light brown, preferably) 1 Tbs. finely chopped almonds 1 Tbs. butter, melted 1/2 tsp. cinnamon In a large pot of boiling water, cook the peaches for 30 seconds to make them easier to peel. Immediately remove and rinse them under cold water and carefully remove their skins. Halve and pit the peaches and cut a very thin slice from the back of each peach half so it will lie flat on the grill. In a medium bowl, toss the peach halves with the lemon juice and set aside. Preheat grill to medium heat. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Dividing evenly, fill the centers of the peach halves with the topping. Place filled peach halves on grill and cook, covered, for 5 or 6 minutes or until the peaches are tender. Serve hot or warm. Great with vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream.