a spider's web

the other day we went to rebecca's family lake house.  there were so many beautiful spider webs there that i was smitten over.  they create such lovely homes.

banana fig bread

when the figs start to ripen it seems like they ripen all at once.  this time of year i always find myself trying to figure out new things to do with them.  yesterday i was making some banana bread and i decided to add some figs and it turned out great!

ingredients

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup ripe figs, mashed

1/3 cup melted butter

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups of AP flour

directions

-pre- heat oven to 350 degrees

-grease a bread pan with butter

-mix all of the ingredients together

-bake undisturbed for 30 -50 minutes

bees

one of the most fascinating species...bees!

more figs

getting a second crop of figs now, so back to making fig food and fig art.  here’s some plates i made from studying the last round of figs.

beautifully curious

while cruising through atlanta, this vine covered building caught my eye.  i stopped to check it out and as i walked up to the building there was this wonderful 'beautiful' sign and some other interesting objects....  my curiosity was satisfied.

mass of blue

the last image from a series of beauty created by

susan

...

summer tomato chutney

this is one of my favorite things to do with fresh tomatoes from the garden.  this time of year we are getting loads of them and this chutney is a great versatile condiment for so many things.

i love to make omlets with it, toss it with some pasta, and top some fresh beans with it.

recipe follows

ingredients

olive oil

1 small onion

fresh tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

a dash of crushed red pepper

directions

-heat up a pan with some olive oil

-cut up the onion and toss in the hot pan

-continue to cook on high heat for a couple of minutes, until you get some color

-throw the tomatoes in and continue cooking on high for a couple of minutes, you want the tomatoes to get some color too

-add the garlic and stir for a minute

-add some salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper

***you can also vary this recipe by adding a little curry

it's never too hot to knit

in the south the last thing you think about is knitting a sweater or scarf in the heat of the summer.  the other day, my friend

gretchen

came by

my shop

and installed a big sweater on our sign.  this concept makes summer knitting a little more joyous.

purple millet

this is ornamental purple millet.  these seedheads appeared almost overnight, and are amazingly colored.  next year i will plant more, a whole thicket, with some mexican sunflowers mixed in.