True Or False?

If you had a dollar for every trans woman playing college sports you would not be able to afford a gallon of diesel.

True or false? 

Ask any three AI agents I have bookmarked and you'll find general agreement with something like this...

The Garden Chronicles

Raised bed gardening this season was exceptionally successful. 

 

Just enough fresh produce on a regular basis for two adults. 

 

 

This was possibly the 5th sowing of radishes for the season. Geopolitically-speaking those are German beer radishes on the left and French breakfast radishes in the colander. 

 

Spinach started coming on line this week.

 

Feeling lucky I planted an addition row of all three.  Cool weather crops you know... 

Recipe Of The Day

This recipe has become a household favorite and as the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop this will warm you from top to toes.  If you have garden tomatoes and fresh basil put them to use.

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Autumn Shrimp, Sausage and Tomato Stew

This is the time of year that tomatoes are really coming on-line and if you’re like me you’re eating fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes multiple times every day. If you have an abundance of tomatoes from your garden or the farm market here’s a terrific recipe that is an easy-peasy meal to enjoy in a bowl by the wood stove accompanied by a chewy baguette.

Ingredients

4 cloves of garlic – finely chopped

1 pound smoked sausage of your choice (andouille, venison, chorizo, etc.) – cut into pieces.  I used smoked Conecuh from Alabama.

Olive oil

½ t fennel seeds

2 - 15 oz cans of garbanzos – drained and rinsed

4 C of garden tomatoes cut in chunks 

1 C dry white wine

24 jumbo shrimp (peeled and de-veined)

½ cup fresh basil leaves - chiffonade 

Fresh-cracked sea salt and black pepper to taste

Crusty baguette

Crushed red pepper (optional)

 

Instructions

 

In a stock pot brown your sausage in olive oil until it is brown and beginning to crisp. Add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant.

 

Add the garbanzo beans, tomatoes, wine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook (covered) until the tomatoes begin to break-down. 

 

Uncover, add the shrimp to the pot and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir-in the basil.

 

Serve with slices of baguette and that bottle of dry white wine. Fireside is best.

It’s acceptable to dunk your bread in the stew.

 

Recipe serves four. 

Oktoberfest

I pulled-out all the stops for the festivities here.

German beer radishes from the garden and a frosty lager from the Fatherland...

Friday Music

Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert -  Bert Kaempfert - was a German orchestra leader, instrumentalist, producer, arranger, and composer.  His music figured significantly in our household when I was a child.  

Bert made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including Strangers in the Night and Moon Over Naples, Danke Schoen, Blue Midnight, We Can Make it Girl, Sweet Maria, Sweet Caroline, Wooden Heart, That Happy Feeling and many more.  

Long before it was popularized by other latter-day artists the LP entitled A Swingin' Safari was heavily influenced by South African kwela style music containing versions of Zambesi, Wimoweh, Skokiaan, and Afrikaan Beat, as well as the title track. -Wikki

Take A Hike

From yesterday. 

By 10 am the rain stopped and skies cleared.

Bumble bees galore gorging on golden rod.

Great day for a hike.

Door County Land Trust: Bear Creek Nature Preserve   

 

Tourism Slide

 

U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman shared some illuminating tourism stats. 

Despite hosting the World Cup, the U.S. saw a decline in overseas travel this summer.

America's on pace for overseas visitors to drop by 2 million from last year — down 20% from the '19 peak.

"We're the only major country in the world losing visitation," Freeman says. "It's mind-boggling."

Travel from longtime allies has cratered — including from Canada (down 23% over two years), Germany (down 16% year to date) and France (down 15% year to date).

Two big winners from the U.S. tourism slide:

China, which has expanded visa-free entry.

Japan, where a cheap yen and rising reputation as a prime destination have driven a long-term inbound resurgence.

Any theories?