Mary Mary

Back in the early Spring my wife decided that we were going to have some of the best vegetable gardens in the neighborhood. She planned her lay outs of all available space, comparing sun levels, watering needs and work required and matched them up to the types of veggies and herbs she was going to plant.

Along the front walkway she built wire supports for Snap Peas and Tomato plants.

The Snap Peas are coming in nicely although the yield is light due to Jackson. He keeps eating them right off the vine.

Lauren built a raised bed with protective fencing in the back yard for radishes, onions, carrots, lettuce, peppers and a few other plants.

Off of our front porch and down the side of the house, Lauren built a small stone containment wall as well as a stone path which she lined with an herb garden.

She made signs for each plant so we would know what was what. Part of her gardening process was starting some plants in pots and then transferring them to the ground. At one point Lauren told me that there were a few herbs, like Spearmint, still in unlabled pots that she was not sure where to plant in the garden.

The other day Lauren was running errands and I decided to make a special dinner using some of the fresh herbs. I made my "Best Chicken Ever" recipe with a warm mango peach salsa topping. From the garden I clipped Parsley, a small sprig of Dill and some Cilantro to mix into the salsa and give it the extra layers of flavor.

It was a beautiful bright sunny afternoon and I decided I would also surprise Lauren with a pitcher of Frozen Mojito drinks to go along with our dinner. I pictured us drinking the refreshing concation on the back porch while I grilled the chicken. I clipped a good portion of fresh Spearmint from one of the pots and threw it into the blender with the Rum and other ingredients.

Lauren was happy to see the meal, the frozen drinks and even happier that her hard work in the garden was paying off in the form of fresh ingredients. She took a sip of the Mojito and made a face.

"What's in this?" She asked.

"Mint." I said. "I took it from one of the pots."

"Oh. I already planted the mint. What pot did you take this from."

I told her.

"Oh. That is not mint. That is Basil."

I made a whole pitcher of  Basil-coladas.

Needless to say it was a lot of wasted Rum.