Can you feel it? HOT, HOT, HOT!!! Can you feel it? HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

You guessed it, its hot.  And beginning to get humid.  Earl is tracking towards the East Coast, but hopefully all we will get are red flags at the beach, and a night of rain.  BUT- if not we will be ready for the worst case scenario, because I plan on having my heiney at the beach for the next couple of days where it should be about 5 degrees cooler.  So hurricane preparation is happening today.  Mostly consists of stocking up on water since we are on a well, and filling up the propane tanks for the grills.  Then we need an extra extension cord or two to run the fridge/freezers, and a computer to the generator.  Oh, and gas for the generator.

In the garden I did lots of watering this morning, and a bit of harvesting.  Tomatoes, potatoes, beans (bumper crop), a few raspberries, and an apple.  The apple smells so good we don't want to eat it.  It would be such a shame for it to not taste delicious when smells better than a Yankee Candle.

One of my neighbors was kind enough to ask another neighbor if I could have a fig tree.  The next day a fig arrived, and I could not be happier.  I have ordered figs twice in the past.  The first time they ended up being out of stock.  The next year one made it all the way to my house, only to have been destroyed in shipping.  It spent the next year trying to come back only to be plucked of any new leaf growth by my beastie dogs.  Eventually it gave up.  So the irony is that I finally have a fig tree, and came from right across the street.  Life can be funny that way.

In other news we have been raising monarchs, here is a picture or two of the critters:

Here is what we like to call "a hanging J"- this was taken last night, and it is the position a caterpillar assumes when getting ready to morph.  This morning this caterpillar was shedding its skin to reveal the turquoise coloring of the eventual chrysalis.  Below you can see the black bit with the old antennae just about ready to drop from the transforming caterpillar.

It now looks like the chrysalis in the picture below.   The caterpillars go through 4 skin sheds before assuming the hanging J position, and some of our little friends have a shed or two still to go.

I have been spending very little time in the garden, or on the blogs of late as I concentrate on getting the new school year running successfully for us here at home.  Fall is just around the corner and I am going to do my best to savor the gorgeous, ripe Black Krim tomato I pulled today, who knows?  It could be my last.

Happy Gardening!!

Well, I don't have much to say about the garden because we have been getting rained on for days now.  Hoping the potatoes aren't rotting.  Wondering what kind of shape everything will be in after a string of rainy days and cold nights.  That is a disease promoting scenario for so many garden inhabitants, in fact it is a bit of a flashback to last year, to 'the summer that never was'.

We have also been busy gearing up for our school year....meeting w/the Superintendent before getting approval, adding the finishing touches to the kid's curriculum, hashing out the calendar (all of those extra classes & activities, always way more than we can fit in a week), putting binders together, buying pencils, all you parents know the drill.  It is the same with homeschooling, only I can add in my own personal mini-nervous breakdown as I feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of educating my children.

In addition to all of this I have been trying to add in daily exercise to my routine, and am contemplating giving up sugar.  And possibly flour.  And alcohol.  I know, it sucks right??  But the thing is I REALLY need to lose 'the baby weight'.  Twenty pounds hanging around from each pregnancy, and my youngest is three. And there was the extra ten I was carrying before I had my children.   Need I say more?  (Except that you all know how much I cook, and experiment with new recipes, and mostly just plain love food.  This is a difficult proposition since I will still need to cook for my family, and they have NO intentions of going along on this crazy life change with me.)  Sigh.  So that is what I have been up to.  Not gardening.  Panicking, exercising, and threatening the removal of many things in my diet.

Lunch today is 2 zucchini, some garlic & herbs, and a handful of oven-dried tomatoes.  Oh, and butter of coarse!  It is delicious, but not very filling.

Happy Gardening!

Whats Cookin'

It has been another day tethered to the kitchen range.  But again, I don't quite mind.  Luckily the weather is gray and cool.  It was a perfect day to oven-dry tomatoes, and simmer some vegetable soup on the stove-top.  The soup has tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, green beans, onions, and garlic from the garden.  WOO-HOO!  I will also be using some veggies from the freezer to make some Spinach & Artichoke Dip to go along with the Vegetable Soup for dinner this week.  Mmm- Mmm, good.  Good eats, and good for my freezers, cause I am running out of room folks!

Yesterday was a baking day.  Ground Cherry Squares, and Zucchini Brownies.  The squares are OK, nothing to write home about, though once brushed/glazed with a bit of Peach Butter, and topped with some cinnamon sprinkles, they are Mom, and kid approved.  Here they are before going in the oven, and again just after coming out.  (This is before my additions.)  They just seem to be lacking something....but they are unusual, check them out:

Then there are those brownies.  We have put quite a dent in them already, though that is not unusual in this house.  Baked goods just don't last long, especially when there is chocolate involved.

ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

from Simply in Season

1 C flour

3/4 C whole wheat flour
(I used King Arthur's "white whole wheat")

1/3 C baking cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Combine in large bowl.

2-3 C shredded zucchini

Stir in to flour mix.

1 egg

3/4 C sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C plain yogurt 

(I used full fat sour cream)

1/2 C oil

1 tsp vanilla

Combine in a separate bowl and beat with fork.  Stir in zucchini mixture.  

Spread evenly into greased 9 x 13-inch pan.

1/2- 1 C semisweet or mint chcoclate chips

1/2 C nuts (chopped; optional)

Sprinkle on top of batter. Bake in preheated oven at 350F 35-40 minutes.

** My notes:  I did not bake this nearly as long as the recipe called for, I would say start checking after 20 minutes if your oven runs like mine.  Secondly, I used a bar of semi-sweet chocolate that I chopped up in place of chips.  No nuts.  Now, I am going to show you a picture of what I used for "baking cocoa", it is sweetened.  Not sure if this is exactly what the recipe called for, but when made with it, the results are good so I am going to go with it on all future z.b. bakes.

Also, I should plug this Simply in Season book.  I love it.  If you have room for one more cookbook on your shelf, run out and buy this one.  

Harvest Monday (Hosted by Daphne's Dandelions)

Happy rainy Monday here in Massachusetts.  It is a welcomed rain, everything is quite parched!

On to the harvest....all of this was picked yesterday.  I was feeling the urge to clean up the garden a bit so I emptied the remaining potato bags.  The details of that harvest can be found in yesterday's post, but the pictures are below.

I have a few pounds of green beans, a bowl of peppers, a Magda Squash, and some other riff-raff to deal with today.  Oh- and tomatoes. ☺ It will be another creative day spent in the kitchen.  Yesterday the remaining peaches were sliced and frozen, Zucchini was grated and bagged for making a newly tried (and loved) recipe for Zucchini Brownies, Ground Cherry Squares were made, and freezer pizza sauce was portioned and bagged.  Slowly but surely every bit from the garden and market is being put to good use.  What have you been cooking up in your kitchen with all the garden bounty?

Downhill From Here

I realized today that sadly, my garden has peaked.  The big heirlooms are practically non-existent in 'Tomato Alley'.  The beans are overgrown, and the beetles have discovered them.  The dang rabbits continue to eat my seedlings, and the dog hair is unfortunately doing little to discourage the little beasts.

As of today, all of the potato bags have been emptied.  (I still have fingerlings in the ground, and sweet potato vines.  I say vines because I have yet to find a tuber when nosing around in there, it has been so dry......wishing I could rewind and water that bed on a regular basis.)  The good news is there are still plenty of fruits and veggies to harvest over the coming months.  Cucurbits are behind for me this year, so they are just getting warmed up.  The cool nights of late may put a stop to all of that though.  Ground Cherries, Blackberries, and Raspberries are fruiting and ripening - good stuff there.  Chard is continuing to provide in this otherwise barren garden greens period. I finally smartened up and put some woven seed trays over my latest sowings, the stuff that is covered is still there, the stuff that is not is being eaten by the bun-buns.  I need more of those trays!!  Spinach and all but 2 head lettuce sowings are gone.   Some of the Chard has been eaten as well.  Carrots and loose-leaf lettuce are protected.

One of my melons is sizing up.  I am so afraid a dog, rabbit, mouse, or slug will get to it before it has a chance to ripen and be enjoyed by us.

I made an attempt to shield it from critters, but it certainly isn't perfect:

The little watermelon does not appear to be getting any larger,  hoping it will surprise me with it's girth one of these days.

Today's harvest, minus the potatoes.....I will save those for tomorrow.

The true potato yields aren't know yet, but the grow bags delivered a mediocre harvest.  If an ideal harvest is 10:1, I was hoping for a 5:1 out of the bags.  Purple Viking performed the best, giving me a 4:1 ratio; the Red Gold would have been right up there if hadn't robbed them so early in the season.   It came in at 3.5:1.  Keuka Gold was a real disappointment.  This potato is very similar in character to a Yukon, yet it is said to be a high yielder.  That was not my experience.  2.5 lbs of seed yielded 4 lbs of potatoes.  Overall I need to find a way to up my overall yields.  Better soil fertility and increased spacing is probably the answer.

 Stuffed Squash recipe for Annie's Granny, and anyone else who may enjoy it:
(recipe courtesy of The Victory Garden Cookbook)

6 med. Summer Squash

1 med. onion, chopped
1/4 pound munster, in 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 lb sweet sausage, casings removed*
3 T butter
1 C fresh bread crumbs
2 T fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
1 T fresh tarragon (optional)
1/2 C sour cream

Halve squash and hollow out seeds/center.  Reserve and chop this scooped out bit.
Blanch squash, about 5 minutes.  (Optional ice bath to follow)
Brown sausage, remove from pan.  Cook butter & onions until soft.  Combine with reserved squash, meat, and remaining ingredients.  Fill squash and bake @ 375 for approx. 20 minutes in a greased dish.

* We always use Chicken & Apple Sausage in this recipe.  Whatever cheese & bread I have on hand goes in as well.

Just Peachy

It was a toss-up between Peach Salsa, Peach & Pepper Relish, Lavender-Peach Jam, or Peach Butter.  After being tantalized by the smell of ripe peach juice all over my fingers while peeling and pitting, I went for the instant gratification (in the canning world anyway) of Peach Butter.  Spiced.  Delicious on scones, english muffins, or any other form of baked goodness.

PEACH BUTTER

~Courtesy of Ball Blue Book~

4 - 4.5 lb. peaches (about 18 med.)
4 C sugar
Optional: spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg; up to 1 tsp in total.

Wash, peel, and pit peaches.  Combine peaches and 1/2 C water in a large saucepot.  Simmer until peaches are soft.  Puree using a food processor food mill, being careful not to liquify.  (I used my trusty immersion blender.)

Measure out 2 quarts of pulp (being the rebel that I am, I skipped this step); return to saucepan and add sugar and spices if using.  Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon.  Stir frequently as mixture thickens to avoid sticking.  Ladle hot butter into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rim, and cap.  Process 10 minutes in boiling water canner.  Savor at a later date.

Yesterday's Lunch

I spied this recipe for Grilled Eggplant with Yogurt Tahini sauce over at Our Happy Acres and knew I had to try it.  The Villager based this recipe on one by Nigel Slater.  (These are not my own eggplant, they came from the farmer's market.  A petite or baby eggplant is best for this recipe, The Villager recommends a specific variety in his post.)  I used my favorite Pampered Chef grill tray for the grill, veggies come out perfectly every time.  As for the sauce I just happened to have all ingredients already on hand, I love that!  I served it with a Caprese Salad, it made for a light, refreshing lunch.  Below is the recipe, I will be making this again very soon.

2 tbsp tahini paste
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 dash salt
1 ea medium eggplant (12 oz, or several small eggplants)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground cumin

1. Combine tahini paste, lemon juice, yogurt, garlic and salt to taste. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Slice eggplant into 1/4″ thick slices. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with cumin and salt.
3. Grill eggplant over high heat for 8-10 minutes, until soft and done.

The August Garden

I snapped a few pictures while I was out watering and harvesting in the garden today.  Everything is overgrown, it is getting difficult to walk between some sections of beds.  I was delighted to find a surprise waiting for me in the cucurbit bed.....

By golly its a MELON!  And just when I had given up all hope.

The Magda squash are finally starting to bloom in plenty, a big one in front with a few newbies in the back there.  I ❤ this variety for stuffing. 

(I should share that recipe.)

This tangled mess of greenery is the result of left-over tomato plants being left sitting in the grass while waiting for an adoptive home to show itself.  Well, one never did, and I didn't have the heart to just throw them away.  That turned out to be a great thing because 2 or 3 out of the 5 seedlings took hold and sent down roots into the earth below.  They are happy and are even putting out ripe fruit!

  (San Marzano and Sungold.)

The first ripe Baby Bell:

Here we have the back right corner of the garden.  Tomato Alley, sweet potatoes, and beans are in the back along the fence.  The straw covered bed used to house onions and kale.  Now there is a succession sowing of beans, some remaining Chard & basil, and newly transplanted strawberries.  The bed in the forefront contains potatoes, herbs, and recently sown peas.  Hubby just finished washing the trucks, look how shiny!  (Mine gets washed about twice a year, sad but true.)

Some overlap in this next photo (the garden is just not that big, lol) - the bed in rear corner has cukes, melons, ground cherries, and more recently sown peas.  At a minimum we can eat the greens, and with any luck there will some pods to harvest before the weather turns too cold.  The two side-by-side beds in the front house the beans & strawberries shown above, and on the right we have garlic chives, onions, basil, and some recently sown carrots (under the burlap), spinach, chard, and lettuce mix.  Oh, and my determinied-to-live-on-tomato plants in the front there.

Peppers, leeks, and merigolds.

The other 2 garden beds not shown are filled with asparagus and bug-foraged kale, chard, and mustard/mesclun mix.  

For the third time I have sowed Claytonia or Miner's Lettuce and had nothing come up. #@%^

And finally, a full garden shot:

A circa 1909 heirloom Dahlia called 'Little Beeswings'.

The humble bumble hard at work:

HAPPY GARDENING!!

Mixed Bag

(This is my second post of the day, the one that got this whole grated veggie thing motivated is found below, you may want to go there first.)

Last year I bagged up plenty of grated zucchini for bread making.  I like to portion my freezer bags with the amount of oil called for in the recipe as well, this keeps the keeps the zucchini free from freezer burn.
I will often add in various accouterments when making my zucchini bread (other than the obvious nuts and raisins), anything from candied ginger to grated coconut.  One my favorite add-ins in pureed pumpkin.  Doesn't pumpkin just make everything better?

Anyway, I am digressing from the topic at hand.  This year I decided to add everything but the kitchen sink into my grated zucchini.  Well, not really.  But everything else that was of vegetable matter in the fridge.  And an apple for good measure.  So here it is, grated zucchini, beets, carrots, and an apple all ready to be oil-packed and stuck in the freezer for house warming Winter breakfasts & snacks:

It is a colorful lot, one that almost looks too pretty to cook into a brown mushy loaf of bread.  Its all those Chioggia and Golden Beets.  They are a first for me, I hope they go un-noticed in the future 'Mixed Bag Zucchini Bread'.  Here is the link to my Put Away For Another Day Zucchini Bread if you are interested in socking away some partially prepped zucchini bread for future use.  (The frosting only occurs on rare occasions in my house.  ☺)

How are you all squirreling away your garden bounty?

The Fridge Challenge

Erin and AG, here you go (in response to a fridge challenge):

This was June 25th.  I had greens and currants from my garden in stock, but most other produce was from the grocer or farmer's market.

This is from today.  I have green beans, carrots, some bitter lettuce, and beets from the garden in there.  Also, some much needed donated zucchini.  As you will notice I have lots of "stuff" in fridge......sauces, oils, mustards, jams, seeds, and nuts.   So even when there is very little actual 'food' to eat my fridge is at least half full.  And, I labeled the shelves (back in June, thus the photograph).  It is actually turning out to be a good thing.  It helps me clean the fridge out more often in an effort to keep things in their proper spot.

***

I made some oven-raosted potatoes with a mustard, lemon, and oregano coating a few nights ago, they were quite tasty:

(Keuka Gold, Red Gold, and Purple Viking)

My husband like the Keuka Gold best (as he always does, these are a Yukon Gold-like variety); I prefered the Vikings in this dish as they were rather plain tasting on their own, not as rich and buttery as the other variety so in my opinion better complimented the coating.

The full recipe can be found here.  Ingredients are as follows:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

• 3 pounds 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter mixed unpeeled red-skinned and white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mustard-Roasted-Potatoes-240694#ixzz0vpaatYhT

Edit:  I should add in some of the other garden storage around here.  I was amused to see Annie's Granny keeps her potatoes in the fridge.  It seems as though she bucks the system and keeps her potatoes crisp and fresh.  Who knew??  (AG did!)

Here is how mine are being stored so far this year, along with other alliums that are not braided and hung:

In a hall closet, with pantry items, bird, and dog food.

The potatoes are in one of the mesh drawers:

Garlic and shallots:

Tomato Traits

For anyone that has been following along since Winter, you may remember the troubles we had with a certain pesky canine tearing my neatly labeled, and happily growing tomato seedlings to shreds after a fish feed.  (More than once.)  Some containers were left unscathed, a few plants were a total loss, but most fell somewhere in between....they required re-potting and were now re-lableled to my best ability, or left as 'variety unknowns'.  Later in the season it became clear something was amiss as a plants labeled "Green Zebra" and "Cherokee Chocolate" were turning out lots of red tomatoes.  Clearly I had jumped to conclusions when cleaning up one of the tomato messes.  These plants have turned out to be determinate varieties.

I spent a good portion of yesterday evening going back through my sow list, and comparing that to my harvests in an effort to iron out the mistaken and mystery identities.  And by golly, I think I may have it!!  And it just so happens I had a question or two about the varieties I have growing waiting for me this morning under a previous post.  (Thanks for giving me the extra nudge I needed to sit down and put this all on paper. )  So here is my original sow list with updates on the specific varieties status and traits.  Any variety with a line through it was destroyed by the hairy beast or otherwise failed.  The motivation behind yesterday evening's tomato list was in effort to make suggestions to myself for next year.  What varieties to keep?  Which new seeds to try?  (I have seeds for 42 varieties.  See why I feel the need to make heads and tails of what I grew this year?)  In my opinion the best time to make decisions about tomatoes for next year's garden is when you have piles of tomatoes from this years garden sitting around to mull over.

ORIGINAL 2010 SOW LIST, UPDATED:

1. Mortgage Lifter- this is not cranking out tomatoes in my garden.  Have not done a taste test.
2. Moonglow- I like this tomato for the color it adds to salads or bruschetta.  The flavor is said to the best of the yellow/orange category, and it was a SSE 2007 Heirloom Taste Test winner.
3. Amazon Chocolate- delicious.  Rich, and dark tasting.  Is said to have wine-y notes....I would agree.  Belongs with bacon.
4. Green Zebra- one of my favorites for it's bright, citrusy flavor.  I will always grow this variety for fresh eating.
5. Cherokee Chocolate
6. Black Krim- a bit more floral and sweeter tasting than the Amazon Choc. in my opinion.  I prefer the aroma of this tomato, however, when it comes to taste Amazon wins.  Black Krim is said to have a hint of saltiness.
7. Sungold- simply amazing.  If you have never grown this variety, you must try it.  Early and prolific with tropical tomato taste.  YUM!
8. New Yorker (DTM)- ? Not sure which plant is which for my 2 unlabeled determinates, this and Rutgers variety below.
9. Rutgers (DTM)- ? 
10. Polbig (DTM)- heavy producer of uniform tomatoes. Have not taste tested. 
11. Sibirskiy Skorospelyi (DTM)- medium red globes.  Have not taste tested.
12. Isis Candy
13. Black Cherry
14. Green Cherry
15. Bupree's Big Boy Hybrid- have not taste tested.
16. Pink Brandywine- wonderful tomato flavor.  When I slice this I just want to eat it as is, forget the bread!
17. Costoluto Genovese- this scalloped fruit has full tomato flavor, and it is the prettiest tomato I have ever seen!  I have read this tomato requires heat to develop it's true flavor.  (Without it may disappoint.) 
18. Juliet- a garden champion.  Early, disease resistant, and delicious.  This my go-to tomato for drying or caramelizing.  Also delicious sliced on nachos, salads, pizza, and just about anything else one could think of.  Has a permanent place in my garden, and each year I say I need to grow more.  If I could only grow one variety of tomato, this would be it for it's ease and endless possibilities.
19. Principe Borghese
20. San Marzano- have not taste tested.
21. Amish Paste - nice flavor for fresh eating.  This will be my future salsa tomato.

Next year I think I will try Pineapple, Paul Robeson, Woodle Orange, Principe Borghese, and Cherokee Chocolate for new varieties.  This year's favorites will make a return appearance.  I will grow more than 2 Juliets....3, or maybe even 4.  The tomatoes chosen will be for fresh slicing & salsas, and also for drying.  (I don't plan on doing any sauce or canning next year).  What about you all, what has been your favorite, and what would you like to try?

Harvest Monday (Hosted by Daphne's Dandelions)

The gardening season is closing in fast, can't believe it is already August.

Happy Gardening!!

More Garden Cooking and Our "Summer Vacation"

The tomato harvest has been just wonderful this year.  I have them coming out of my ears (no complaints), so I have been experimenting with different methods of putting them up.  So far I have done some bruschetta preserves (canned), caramelized (then frozen), oven-dried, frozen whole, and a fresh sauce on the stove-top.   I used the oven-dried and caramelized Juliet tomatoes in a recipe that caught my eye over at Thy Hand Hath Provided.   The recipe is for a Pesto Tort.  There are many variations of this tort out there, but most others utilize store bought ingredients, and none that I saw look so beautiful when served.  The thing that I loved about this particular recipe was the opportunity to use home-grown garden goodness- but it was a time consuming endeavor, let me tell you!  First one must dry some tomatoes in order to make a dried tomato pesto.  Then one must make a basil pesto.  Once these two concoctions are made the tort goes together easily with some grocery store cheeses (cream cheese and ricotta, with a tad of butter thrown in).  We had a sliver with lunch today and it was well worth the effort.  The best part about this tort is the amount I have put away in the freezer for future use......we will be enjoying this stuff for some time to come.  I see a wedge being brought to our friend's house for Thanksgiving, and another set out at Christmas.  A nice bottle of red and some water crackers are all you need to make an impression with this tort.  Here are some of my portions wrapped and ready for the freezer:

This is good stuff folks, if you are feeling adventurous give it a try, I think you will be quite happy you did!!

***

On a separate note we took a day trip (our big "Summer Vacation") to Block Island, RI on Friday and it was a blast.  We said we were going to do it for the last 2 years, and yet somehow it escaped us.  But we were determined to make it happen this Summer, so following is a picture intensive diary of our day.  I won't be upset if you decide to skip it.  ;)  (We left the house at 7:00 am and didn't get home until around 10:00 that evening....we were whipped but full of good memories.  It was good to be home again, going away for vacation is just not our thing.....in our minds the day-trip is king.) Here are some pictures from our little island adventure:

We had breakfast in Point Judith before boarding the ferry.  Down below the boats were unloading the day's catch.  Our view was of skate being off loaded, most likely about to head right back out to sea as bait.

Ferry boarded, and we are off!  My son was all stressed out over the horn blowing.  Then he thought the boat might sink (maybe because we have been studying the Titanic?!?).  He got himself so worked up he became nauseous and held a bad to his face for half the trip.  Luckily some members of the U.S. Coast Guard were on board and we assured him they would not let the ferry sink.  Crisis averted.  

Once on island we went straight to Ballards for some lunch (and much needed beer) on the beach.

The morning quickly turned into afternoon, and we were off to the "Great Salt Pond" to meet our captain for the day sail...

This was an interesting vessel.  Captain Larry and his wife live on board in 'the pond' during the summer months, running their charters when the weather permits.  They spent two years building this boat, which is a "trimaran" (3 hulls) while living and homeschooling in rural Virginia.  Their two grown children are also living on boats in the harbor for the Summer, their daughter was crew for our sail.

The three hulled vessel:

Dinner at Beachead Tavern.....the captain's wife recommended this spot for their fried clam strips- and they were delicious.  It is hard to find "strips" around here, all the clams come with bellies intact.  (Yuck.)

This boat table was pretty cool, there was lots of pirate treasure under the lacquer for the kids to seek out.  And of course the view was tranquil.

Lastly, some views of the island from the departing ferry and the sun setting into the Atlantic as we headed for home.  Hope you enjoyed the lengthy (but scenic) tour of our Block Island adventure.