Friday, June 22, 2012

Weeding through the Kitchen


You promised me a rose garden!

Something or another put me in a deep sleep and when I awoke much later than I am used to, my body felt like it had taken a trip through the garbage disposal. A tiny bite on my hand that wasn’t there yesterday could be the cause. Too much sun and sweat while working my way through the weeds of what used to be my beautiful garden could also be the cause. Renovating our house has cost my garden dearly. The other day we spent hours putting our outdoor sitting area together. When we were done and finally sat down with a cup of coffee to enjoy our handiwork, the view of the garden suddenly became clear. 

Living outdoors
What had happened to my beautiful garden? For a couple of years now, I have been in denial. When we started building an extra addition on to the house, trees were cut down, the bushes and flowers that survived were moved, and the lawn was replaced with gravel and building materials. Weeds and creepy crawlers took over what little was left! There is no way I want to relax in a weed garden, so it is time to tackle the unwelcome invaders. 

Runaway Garden
Weed Attack


Wouldn’t you know that with my elbows up to weeds full of unseen spiders, snakes, and insects, I am taking the easy way out today when it comes to making dinner? What's for dinner Mom, that’s right; it is left-over time. We have been eating a lot of Mexican food lately so I am taking all of it, putting it in a big pan and calling it Mexican casserole. Chicken, rice, beans, spring onion, corn, bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic, salsa, tomatoes and a dash of extra seasonings. What is so great is that this tastes good warm or cold. Serve it with some good bread or tortillas and not only is the fridge cleaned out but a good and easy meal is ready when you are. May not look so pretty, but it tastes amazing. If you don't like your food too spicy, sour cream on the side, does the trick. NEVER throw away left-overs, unless they start to crawl around by themselves. Usually everything you have eaten for the past 5 days can be stuck together in a casserole or on a pizza.

Mexican Casserole

Enjoy your week-end everyone. Have you been ignoring your garden? How about left-overs, what do you do with yours? Next Friday, Minnie and her Gibberish, so make sure to come back and play!

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sorry the weeds took over. Your sitting area will look really nice when you are finished though.

Roland D. Yeomans said...

I know your rose garden will look lovely ... but wear gloves and long sleeves. Some spider bites are lethal! I don't want you pushing up those roses!!! Thanks again for the lovely Eye Spy on END OF DAYS, Roland

shelly said...

Sometimes weeds can be just as pretty as the real flowers. And your Mexican concoction sounds great.

Danielle L Zecher said...

I love the idea of throwing all of the left-overs into a casserole. That seems better than the hodge-podge of a bite of this, a couple bites of that we sometimes resort to.

I'm new to gardening, but it's very slowly coming together.

Lynn Proctor said...

there are always weeds, it seems--you make mexican sound so easy--we love mexican food--but it always sounds so complicated--you made me think i can do it--thanks--enjoy the heck out of your weekend :)

liz young said...

The quote is "I beg your pardon - I never promised you a rose garden", so perhaps you can be forgiven for being lax.
And your Mexican dinner was known by my children as "One of Mum's mix-ups". Fry an onion and some garlic, then add anything you can find in the fridge, a good dollop of chopped tinned tomatoes and some herbs. Done.

Botanist said...

Why is it that weeds are always the easiest plants to grow?

We are a big fan of leftovers in my household. They usually get thrown into portion-sized boxes to become lunches through the week.

Summer Ross said...

Honestly, I have a black thumb. My girls have learned at an early age not to give me plants for mothers day- they always die and when I move in with my Fiance- My shadow is not even allowed in the garden. Good luck with yours!

Juli said...

I have been here 8 years and finally I have the backyard under control. Well, Tony has it under control. I just point and tell him what to do, and bring him water. :)

I am highly allergic to spiders and bees. It's not pretty. So, while I love to be outside, I leave most of the weeding through the weeds to him.

Susan Kane said...

I started wearing garden gloves recently, and now know why others wore them. Save a lot of scratches, etc.

Your casserole looks similar to ones I have made, but I cover the top with cheddar cheese and salsa.

Andrew Leon said...

Thanks for stopping by and championing me today! It was much appreciated!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Siv .. all things in moderation - gardening, cooking from scratch, adding space to the home .. weeds have their space too - useful little plants .. now we're foraging for them ... going back to our roots.

I've always used my left overs - hate throwing food away .. your Mexican mix sounds delicious ..

Good luck with bringing the garden into some form of control - roses are such generous givers ..

Cheers Hilary

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Unknown said...

I hate weeds, but never really bothered about them until I moved into my new place. My brother and nephew handled all that. Now, I'm waging my own war. LOL

You have a gorgeous sitting area, though. I wanted crawl into the picture and sit awhile. :)