Author: Julz

Every morning, I head outside to greet each of my gardens and give them a good watering if they need it.

I start with the front porch, then make my way to the veggie garden, and lastly, the morning glories.

I am so happy with how the perennials I planted in the spring are doing. They are beautiful and are blooming.

The edging work I spent almost three days on was 100% worth the effort. Weeding is minimal, a five-minute job.

I am so proud of my veggie garden! I love how it’s like a jungle. I work in the beds every few days.

You can’t have beautiful garden beds without upkeep.

I didn’t have time for that when the kids were young, but now I do, and I enjoy keeping the beds clean.

After I water, I harvest whatever is ready. This morning, I cut green beans, beet greens, and a small amount of lettuce.

I can’t tell you how peaceful it is tending my garden. Then I water the morning glories, and I instantly feel angry, sad and deflated.

It doesn’t matter how much I tend to my flower beds; looking at the place next door makes me depressed. It’s awful.

It makes me sad that an old historic home in the village of Arlington is so neglected and uncared for.

I thought the morning glories would help, but they don’t. Watering them makes me even sadder. What a shame.

I a found windscreen privacy fencing online, but we cannot afford it at this time.

I’ll save money over the winter and hopefully be able to purchase at the end of winter.

After I finish watering the morning glories, I visit the wildflowers and look for new flowers that seem to have bloomed overnight.

This usually improves my mood, and I shake it off and move on with my day.

I enjoy gardening too much to let the negative stuff ruin my joy or rain on my parade but it does get old.

After all the hours of hard work, determination, studying, imagination, and with Marty’s help, I really have the garden of my dreams.

Even though it’s mid-July, I am already thinking about next year’s garden. ☺️

I’m still on a cherry kick, eating as many as possible before their season ends.

I had some friends over for an afternoon visit and made cherry clafoutis, a classic French dessert.

This is a French dessert that is not made with any butter! Wow!

It’s a simple custard baked in a pan with any fruit you’d like to use, but cherry is the OG.

I have made a Julia Child version, but I didn’t want to use heavy cream. I read through a dozen and came across one by David Lebovitz.

I’ve used many of Lebovitz’s recipes and have always liked how they turned out, and the clafoutis was no different.

It was perfect on a hot afternoon, and when I considered it, it was really not bad for you.

I used pan spray instead of butter for the pan, but I followed his recipe.

Cherries, milk, eggs, a little flour and sugar, vanilla and almond extract; that’s it. Simple.

As I mentioned, you can use any seasonal fruit during any season.

Right now, any kind of berries would be perfect especially if you don’t have the patience to stem and pit a bunch of cherries.

I had cherries on hand and don’t mind putting them. Nothing beats fresh cherries baked in anything.

Here is the recipe I used, it’s a keeper.

https://www.davidlebovitz.com/cherry-clafoutis-recipe/

M€ta keeps updating and changing Facebook, which has affected my blog to the point that I am just short of having a hissy fit. Okay, I had one.

My blog will no longer automatically post on my Julzie Style FB page and has removed those readers from my total readers count.

Its not a big deal to anyone but me, but I am happy I have 419 readers and not just 155. I

t’s hard to even acquire new reader so please share if you know someone who likes reading blogs like mine.

I work hard to keep my readers interested even after losing about 100 when I wrote about my psychic gifts.

Some people just couldn’t hack the authentic me and my life, which really is fine with me.

I just wanted to say thank you to my readers for sticking with me and to those of you who support my blog.

Every penny helps maintain the blog since it isn’t free for me, in fact it’s quite pricey paying for the host site and other things needed.

All things aside, I love writing each blog post and sharing my life with my readers.

I never knew how many people love my blog until they tell me when I see them in person. I am always humbled and overcome with joy whenever I hear this.

End of rant. Thank you, my friends! I appreciate each and every one of you. 💜

I hinted a few weeks ago that we were starting another backyard project—the last one, for now, anyway. Here are the before photos.

We got a lot of bang for our buck with mulch we ended up getting for free using our old Chase credit card’s bonus points.

Marty and I realized by early summer that I overplanted my Vegtrub raised garden beds and would need to expand.

I have to give credit where credit is due; Marty is one lucky son of a bitch when it comes to finding sales, deals, and markdowns.

I always joke that we don’t pay full price for anything. He found leftover small Vegtrub beds for a ridiculous price.

He also found these gorgeous metal beds, where we will grow a year’s worth of garlic and a big root vegetable patch next spring.

This is the time to look for end-of-season garden items. It’s also a great time to rescue some poor veggie plants and flowers.

Long story short, I thought I got 2 San Marzano Roma tomato plants. It turns out one is an heirloom variety; I was really upset😫

How in fucks name was I supposed to make sauce now, especially since my one San Marzano plant was growing miniature tomatoes! Ugh!

Even though it’s late in the planting season, I decided to search for some or any Roma tomato plants, even if they were not true San Marzanos.

I picked up a 6-pack of Roma tomatoes called Health Kick for $1. I also got a 6-pack of cabbage which was also $1 just for the pure hell of it. I’m learning to garden after all.

I also saved two sad-looking superbena plants that were on sale which I picked off the dead leaves.

I finished off my purchase with a six-pack of parsley since mine had already gone to seed.

I love how our lower garden came out complete with an outdoor shower!

We had one when the boys were young and have really missed it.

The outdoor shower is perfect after outdoor projects or swimming since I always shower anyway to get the chlorine out of my hair.

Oh, how we love the outdoor shower! I just have to remember to look up at the sky while showering.

I’ve always wanted a rain showerhead, and this one is amazing! They sell outdoor shower plumbing kits, and many are on sale.

I am very lucky Marty is so handy and that we are both hard workers. We completed this project in less than three afternoons.

Marty used every piece of leftover wood and decking he had tucked away, dug up pieces of slate to create stairs, and picked up some simple cement slate-looking pavers to complete the paths.

I laugh and call him a packrat, but the things he keeps are always used for some kind of a project.

He did an amazing job making my vision a reality. Thank you, Hunny. 🩷

The rest of the beautiful blue and tiny natural cedar beds will be used for end-of-summer fall crops. I’m so excited to plant more things!

I’m heading outside to water my garden this morning. I love the tranquility early in the morning listening to the birds chirp away.

Have a great day guys! ☀️

One of the greatest joys of growing peas was watching Sam, as a young boy, pluck pea pods off the vine and eat them right in the garden.

I’ve experienced that same joy last week when I harvested peas from my garden. I planted two types sugar snap and English shelling peas.

I made a stir fry with the snap peas and a simple dish of pasta and peas as a side for garlic shrimp.

Yes, we are noodle makers, but most of the time, we don’t have any Spätzle on hand for us to eat. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.

After I had harvested the peas and separated them, I began shelling the English peas. I sat on the front porch while shelling, Nelly was very interested.

I wonder if other gardeners feel the same way I did while shelling. I marveled at how beautiful the peas were grown in their perfect package.

I wanted to have the peas in the most simple way. There wasn’t enough to have as a side since Sam was here, so I decided to pair them with pasta.

Our meal came out exactly as I imagined it would. Although I’ve reduced my carb intake, I still enjoy a bowl of pasta or simple, luscious, buttered potatoes once a week.

I checked a couple of days ago, more peas are ready to harvest! 💚

“Surround yourself with strong women, women more beautiful than you, smarter than you, and don’t envy them, admire them.

Surround yourself with good women who know how to listen, who know how to care, from whom you learn to relate to the world, women who teach you their power.

Surround yourself with women to weave an invisible web, a web for other women, so you don’t let them fall, so they feel the collective hug, so they don’t feel alone or crazy.

Surround yourself with women who embrace their shadow, who don’t apologize for being light, who are aware of their beauty and that they are alive.

Surround yourself with irreverent and brave women, women fighters who open the way and tear down walls, women of reference, women who do not ask for permission, who build their homes with the same hands, with which they cradle and caress.

Surround yourself with women who help you live as you are, who give you confidence and affection, who remind you that they are all one.”

Written by Roy Galán artist unknown.

Last night, we had our annual Sisters dinner, the women performing in our troupe. They are the core of the organization.

These women have been coming to dance class virtually every Wednesday for years. They are dedicated and are the ones who keep the organization afloat.

We have been having these “Sister of the Shawl” annual dinners since the mid-2000s.

It’s a special night for me because I get the night off from teaching and get to know what’s going on in their lives, what they’ve been up to, and what they want to share.

I talk at them for two hours every Wednesday night, so it’s nice to sit back and listen for a change.

Teaching every week can be draining sometimes, so this special night with my dance sisters recharges my batteries.

One thing in our small dance sister circle is we all love cooking and eating food. We do a potluck dinner and this year I hosted it last night.

It’s a chance to wear real-life dresses, gab, and eat. We chew with our mouths full, telling each other about recipes and other food-related things.

It was a hot day so I planned to eat indoors in our dining room. I had an amuse-bouche waiting for everyone.

What is an amuse-bouche you may wonder? The direct translation is mouth amused.

“Amuse-bouche, otherwise known as amuse-gueule, is the French term for ‘mouth amuser’. They are a type of small, bite-sized hors d’oeuvre. Chefs serve amuse-bouche to diners to enjoy while waiting for their food orders to arrive. It is a way of saying ‘welcome’ to guests and pampering them with something special. At the same time, amuse-bouche whets the appetite, satisfies initial hunger, and prepares guests for the courses ahead. Amuse-bouche are different to appetisers in that they are served complimentary and chosen by chefs to demonstrate their cooking style.” Chef in.com

I have wanted to try making tomato water and serve it in a mini flight glassware set I’ve had for years.

The photos and video below show the slow process, but it is worth the wait.

I also made some cute marinated mozzarella stuffed grape tomato tulips that I saw on Instagram a few months ago. I was giddy about making and serving them.

Kat made this incredible Middle Eastern layered salad, which was not only stunning but also different and tasty!

Trish made a unique green potato salad with cubed zucchini, pesto, chives, and a few other ingredients. Yum!

Callie was right on the money with this watermelon and feta salad, which was super refreshing on such a hot day.

Kathleen made the highly requested secret childhood cornbread that she makes every year. It’s unlike any cornbread anyone has ever tasted. It’s incredible!

Maria made a scrumptious cold cucumber soup! Let me tell you how refreshing this was on a hot day! I will be making this often as soon as I have cucumbers in my garden.

I made a couple of small platters of hand-held Caesar salads and eggplant rollatini stuffed with spinach and cheese. I was happy how it came out.

Everyone’s dishes were made with love you could taste and were all well seasoned and delicious.

After a quick tour of my garden and our production kitchen it cooled off enough to sit outside on the lower deck.

We relaxed and chatted. It was so nice. We finished off our dinner with some black raspberry ice cream that Kathleen brought for dessert.

We were missing Emily, who was unable to come, which was really too bad. We all missed her at the annual dinner.

I am so lucky to be surrounded by strong, supportive women like them.

When the passage at the beginning of the post popped up on my newsfeed this morning I knew immediately that was how I was going to begin writing about our amazing evening.

Three of us have been together for 21 years, others for more than 15 years, and the newest sisters joined our group 7 years ago. Has it been that long?

We are a unique bunch of women brought together by dance and have been through a lot together.

During good and bad times, through losses, illnesses, and plenty of successes, we have each other’s backs, lift each other up, and support the hell out of each other.

We are a rare breed and continue to blossom even in such a toxic, turbulent world that we block out every Wednesday night. 💜

It all started with a card I received from my biological mom. She is a polar opposite of my adopted mother for sure.

I purchased a frame for the card and put it on display on the shelf in my kitchen where I can see it every time I prep food.

A month ago, while I was up in Rutvegas, aka Rutland, with Marty on a delivery run, I found two tiny cactus plants for under $2.

On Monday, while shopping at the Aldi in Bennington, I was they also had the tiny cactus. I chose three.

I gave them a good watering since who knows when they were last watered and set them up on the same shelf as the framed card.

It looks so stinking cute that I can’t stand it!

In other news—well, not really news—yesterday I made a sandwich I saw on Instagram for lunch.

It was easy and pretty tasty. I made bbq tofu on a GF bun with pickled red onions, a little homemade coleslaw, and dill pickle chips.

It tasted like a bbq sandwich, and the soft texture of the tofu didn’t throw either of us off.

Next time, I’ll keep the tofu on the nonstick grill pan longer before brushing with bbq sauce.

Here’s how easy it was to make:

Drain extra firm tofu and press the moisture out. Brush with olive oil and season with kosher salt and pepper.

Place carefully on the grill pan until the underside has grill marks. Flip over and do the same thing as the first side.

This is where I should have let both sides cook longer. Brush with your favorite bbq sauce-we use Sweet Baby Ray’s and flip over.

Let it cook, and then do the same with the other side. Trust me, you will know when it’s ready.

Put it on a bun or bread and top with whatever you like with bbq. That’s it.

While I am writing about food, last week I bought a bag of avocados, which stressed me out all week. Lol.

Avocados have such a small window of ripeness that you have to get it right. Luckily, this time, I did! All five were perfect when I cut into them. Whew.

This kind of shit really does make me stressed a little because I hate wasting food.

I used the last two on Sunday morning for a delicious breakfast. I made toast, spread a little veggie cream cheese on it, and topped it with mashed avocado, kosher salt and pepper, and poached eggs.

It was filling and held us over for most of the day. I couldn’t finish my second piece and Marty was too full to finish it.

I wanted to pass on some easy ideas since, as I always say, “The hardest part of cooking is figuring out what to make.”

We are starting another outdoor project, and Marty is helping me this time.

On Sunday, we picked the hottest time of day, grabbed some garden tools, and got to work.

When I wrote about the eyesore next door, I forgot about this wasted prime piece of land in a sea of gray gravel and our driveway.

This area is completely wasted space after we moved our walk-in refrigerator to the end of the driveway last year during the unexpected and expensive septic project.

We figured out what that space would be like when some supplies were delivered in just a few days.

Creating a V trench for edging in packed-down crushed bluestone was much harder work than the other edging I’ve done.

We worked as a team, dug the trench, and leveled out the area in about an hour.

It was hotter than hell and humid, I went into the pool twice again to cool off. It works like a charm. Yes, I had my clothes on again.

So, stay tuned while another project unfolds. I am excited to see our vision come to life.