Gardening Blah-Blah and New Recipe Tease!

So today I figured I'd better get my butt outside and start tackling some of my Garden Chores. Fruit trees were supposed to have been sprayed with dormant oil + copper last month (and again, this month - and yet AGAIN, in February). Our peach-trees *do* have leaf-curl and the spraying is necessary to *slow* it's progression.

I also need to give some serious thought (hell, more than "Thought" - let's try "ACTION") to pruning these bad-boys! But morning temps have been in the low-30's, and I still have a touch of snively-ness! So I'm hesitant to venture out in the morning.

Okay, let's kill some time in the kitchen then, shall we? (I actually *wanted* to kill some time in the Tiki Shack - but I knew if I did that, NO Garden Chores would get-done!!!)

So, okay... Let's tackle the Farm-Share, instead!

I have discovered, yet, *another* New Love: Shallots! Kind-of almost a cross between fresh-garlic and onions. They have the onion tanginess/sweetness, with a touch of garlic pungency (at least that's my interpretation!). They seem like they'll make a very nice addition to today's recipe...

Yummy Shallots!

I think I may have purchased shallots, once, at the grocery store - when I had a recipe that called for them, specifically. And I felt like a complete Doofus because I had to ask the produce dude what/where shallots were!

Shallots will be playing a "supporting role" in today's recipe, but I thought I'd make mention of the fact that I think I really do love them.

And, I said it before (and I'll prob'ly say it again!), I really-really love the Farm-share because it's making me get all SUPER creative in the kitchen. It's almost become a "Game" - trying to stay ahead of the deliveries and figure out New and Exciting Ways to dispose of all these [delicious and healthy] Veggies!

Also - according to Friend-P's Facebook post - it's "National Soup Month" (Who decides these things, I wonder - or maybe I really don't wanna know!), so let's just combine all sorts of good things and try to come up with some MEGA goodness, 'k?!

So TODAY I am "going solo" and will be creating my Very-Own Brandy-New Recipe withOUT consulting ANY other recipes, okay? (Aack! Flying without a net!!!)

Here's what I started out with: Baby pumpkin-pie pumpkin (that I bought, back in October!, thinking I was gonna make pumpkin soup); a small Butternut Squash that came from the Farm-Share about a month ago; Shallots (from yesterday's Farm-Share); some excess onion slices (leftover from the Bacon-Onion Jam); a bunch of carrots; some old, limp celery; and some almost-squishy small red potatoes (I cut off the eyes and I'm gonna plant 'em in the backyard!).

Later, I will post the Final Recipe. Not sure if it will include pics (since I don't want to clutter-up my hard-drive 'til I get a new computer), but I WILL post the recipe later - after I assess it's palatability!

Now, it's early-afternoon and I *hope* the yard has warmed-up enough for me to tackle my garden-chores!

Later................................