My Favorite Knife

G purchased this for me one Christmas and it was backordered for months and months.  I think I actually got it last July.  And it's been the one I use everyday. I love the Wusthof classic knives and have used them since the early 1980's.  I add a new knife whenever I see one that looks "useful".

I have been this the knife quite a bit for this Elimination process.  Chopping pineapples, zucchini, carrots, onions & leeks, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, whole watermelons, and kale and more kale, etc each and every day it seems.  Most of July.  All of July.

This week's smoothie was strawberries, pineapple and kale with mint leaves.  Sweeter but still a dirty green in color.  Pond scum.  G tasted it and said it tasted much better than it looks.  High praise, indeed.  One taste was all he wanted. I have a large bag of mixed frozen fruit to add to the next smoothie. Cherries, peaches, strawberries etc.  I found it in the freezer section of my grocery.  I have a few frozen bananas still in the freezer to thicken a watery smoothie and avocados.  And all the kale in the garden. And a quarter of the pineapple still in the fridge.  The Vitamix has never been this busy.

The citrus test ends today and tomorrow I begin to test the nightshade family.  Nightshades are tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes.  I plan to begin with a vegetable soup which will include tomato and perhaps some potato alongside the usual onion, carrot and kale.  But I could decide to use green beans instead of the potato for the first test meal.  I am really looking forward to soup with a tomato base.  But today I will be having a chopped salad for lunch (from the Plan) and sautéed kale with garlic and onion with a side of steamed broccoli with lemon oil for dinner (also from the Plan) and perhaps some grilled carrots.  

Right now I am going out to water the vegetable garden.  We are expecting rain later this evening, but it's hot and sunny right now (and it might not rain) and the garden is just starting to be productive so needs water.  I "harvested" five good sized zucchini yesterday and a basket full of blueberries (I think the birds are eating them also).  I have a great deal of kale ready also.  The beets are still too small.  The garlic may be ready to pull and dry.  I still have bean seeds to plant.  There are nice sized tomatoes (green) on the Early Girl plants.  I am optimistic.  A gardener has to be optimistic.  So many things can go wrong.

I have a recommended book to pick up at the library "It Starts With Food" and I am reading "Keep You Close" by Lucie Whitehouse.  Supposed to be as good a thriller as "Girl On The Train".  So far, it has me a bit nervous--a good sign.