Whew. Got back from the Tenth Annual BlogHer conference in San Jose feeling a bit nervous. I mean, I called everyday to say hello to the hubby and kids, and remind Clo Clo to water the plants. A lot. Because the heat was well into the 90’s, and since I’m growing in containers and raised beds, the water demands are a little higher than the stuff I have growing in the ground.

First off, three days away from my favorite place in the world had reaped (ha ha) amazing results. It’s starting to look like Jurassic Park out there. Seriously, the aggressiveness of my pumpkins is a little reminiscent of that book, The Ruins. I saw a colony of aphids that have been my bane of my existence since spring, and the powdery mildew on my melons are making an appearance. Time for the heavy duty organic pesticides.

But hey! Three days away and I came home to this…

You’re looking at cucumbers, tomatoes, white and purple eggplant, and sweet peppers. There’s so much here (a few pounds) that I need to figure out something creative to do with all of it. Note that I’ll probably be pickling and canning the  cucumbers, so don’t spend too much time on those. Everything else needs a recipe. But I’ve got some restrictions. Nothing with bread, rice, or potatoes, please! I can and do eat cheese. I don’t care if the caveman didn’t eat it so it’s not palo–I’m not giving up cheese.