Garden Bounty

Last Friday two of my cousins, Shon and Becky (they're sisters) and my own sister, Jude came to visit. We had a grand time. We ate, we swam, we ate, we giggled, we ate, we talked about old memories, and of course, we had a bite to eat!

Several days before their visit we had emailed back and forth and then I finally had an actual telephone conversation with Shon. I said I was just going to grill some hamburgers and have stuff to go with those. She said she'd bring Brookville Cole Slaw (you'll notice that's capitalized....it DESERVES to be!!!! Wow...delicious!) I said then I'd make some baked beans. She said, "Oh...I make the best baked beans. I add chopped up pieces of bacon, and chopped onion, and some hickory sauce, and then put them in the smoker." I said, "I open a can and heat them." She cracked me up...she said, "Welllllll, aren't you just a wizard!?" Then without much hesitation, she said, "I'll bring the baked beans too!" Score one for me, huh?!!??!! (Jumping ahead here...but the baked beans were the best baked beans I've ever tasted!!) Then a few days later she emailed and said she also wanted to bring a dessert. This cooking out thing is getting easier and easier all the time!

Well, when she and Becky got here, it was good they'd brought a van. They brought cole slaw and baked beans and two kinds of delicious homemade pickles and a pina colada cake and this (pictured) big box of absolutely perfect tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes, and several kinds of peppers, and two huge canteloupe. Shon lives in the country and she has a huge garden. (Along with taking care of the garden [and she has even more varieties of veggies], she also is tending and bottle feeding 5 baby calves!) Everything was absolutely delicious! And we had a great visit and a great time laughing at times past. And I had it pretty easy...throw some hamburgers on the grill and open a bag of chips!! Oh...I did make Oatmeal Carmelitas too. Is it any wonder that the American population is so overweight?

Good friends, good food, good times!!