Veg Garden - Case of the Curious Peppers

First of all, can I bottle each one of you up? Your sweet comments on the last post made me beam from ear to ear! Thank you all so much for visiting and leaving thoughtful words (and thanks if you came by just to catch up). It meant a lot to this little mama-to-be! xoxo
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I'm not the only one growing these days. Check out our garden!

When I planted the first round of plants/seeds earlier this year, I thought I planted 2 bell pepper plants. As they grew, I noticed the leaves were slightly different. That was my first clue that we had two different brothers. The second, more obvious, clue was when these little guys appeared.

For a while I tried to pretend they were bells with slow pituitary glands. You know, they would grow into what I knew as sweet bell peppers just more slowly than I imagined. Then, Mr. Schalk took the plunge and cut one open. Then, his mouth emmitted violent flames and I hid in the dryer.

These are Thai chile peppers, my friend! I love Thai food but these are a far cry from my sweet bells. And to keep it real, I like Thai food when the nice people at Jasmine make it not-so-spicy for me. They are cool like that.

Luckily, a couple weeks later our bells starting growing. So, all is not lost. In related news, I'm having a crazy sale on Thai chile peppers. As in, they are free!

Our scarlet runner beans are growing...and growing...and growing. Pretty red flowers but no beans yet. I'm ready when you are jack!

Our tomatoes have been fabulous. We sliced a bunch on a thin crust boboli last Friday. Drizzled in olive oil with fresh mozzarella, garden basil and some prosciutto. It crisped up in the oven and was super yummy! Not to mention the easiest, cheapest Friday night meal ever. Score!

And wouldn't you know, Miss Bonnie is growing, as well. Growing more confident around our neighbors. Rick & Susan are the world's best neighbors (seriously, they are!) and adore Bonnie. Miss Bonnie has been a bit shy (understatement of the century) but is loosening up. She went to their house on her own to scout out treats. The little booger!

We are all growing these days. Mr. Schalk is just growing cooler, but that counts too. We have Mr. Schalk's sister and bro-in-law, Theresa & Nathan, coming in this weekend for a big tennis tournament. You may remember them coming down last year. We had lots of fun and this weekend will prove to be the same, I'm sure.

So may you all have great weekends and be blessed abundantly. See you next week!

xoxo, Rachel