Ripe Red Beauties

It's the end of August and if you've put in enough hours and the season has been kind to you, this means bountiful harvest days for the New England gardener. Our garden, thanks to the efforts of all of us and my mom's devoted watering, we are experiencing just this. But of all the veggies we've enjoyed throughout the summer, the most anticipated harvest has definitely been the tomatoes. My mom started many varieties inside from seed in the spring when Dylan and I were in Hawaii and at last, after months of watering, propping, pruning, and waiting, we have ripe, red tomatoes. The wait was 100% worth it.


Tomatoes aren't the only thing we've grown all summer.We have had so much kale this month, that I have been throwing it in just about everything. We cooked a batch of kale for brunch last weekend, shredded and sauteed in  buttery onions and tossed with quartered cherry tomatoes, one of my favorite ways to eat veggies for breakfast. Dylan had it accompany the bacon, maple sausage, and toad-in-the-hole style eggs and toast. We ate outside at the picnic table as a great blue heron circled above us in search of a good fishing spot down at the pond by the house where I grew up. The sun was shining, warm but not hot. It was a perfect morning for eating al fresco. I was so caught up in catching the elusive great blue heron of my childhood that by the time I thought of snagging a picture of our fanciful feast, everyone was already licking their plates. Next time...

We have also eaten our fair share of zucchinis, summer squash and crook neck squash, mostly sauteed and added to veggie and sometimes sausage stir fry, combined with kale, or pasta, or rice, or tossed in a casserole with cheese and bread crumbs, a recipe my mom has been using since I was a kid.

We also have tons of little banana peppers growing, my favorite variety and not something I imagined would fair well in our Vermont garden seeing how much the loved the heat and sun of Hawaii. The eggplants on the other hand did not share the peppers' fate. Only one plat flowered at all but never fruited, and none of them grew taller than a six inches in three whole months. We feared the same would be happen to our melons but just this afternoon as I was checking in on the peppers, I noticed this little guy hanging out behind them.

But of all our crops, it was the tomato plants that drew me out to the garden when my summer camp ended and I was out of work feeling purposeless and stuck at home with no car. Taking care of our tomato plants saved my sanity. I learned the grave importance of a strong tomato cage as we lost a few healthy plants to the weight of their own fruit. Some of our heirloom varieties were so large they broke their own stem and died before they ever ripened and no amount of tying to posts would hold them up--they really needed a cage. I also learned which branches (called suckers) to cut away so that the plants can devote more of their energy to the fruit rather than leaves. The ones to cut are the ones shooting down like from the main stem like the bottom half of the letter "K." I wasn't sure at first but the more time I spent pruning, the more I noticed that the flowers were always on the top shooting stem while the bottom ones always browned first and eventually fell off on their own. Each time I pruned, more and more tomatoes popped up the next day while others began to turn orange and then red. So day after day I checked in on them, removing the dead, damaged, and unnecessary branches and literally enjoyed the fruit of my labor.

I love fresh tomatoes, and there is nothing, I mean nothing, more rewarding than biting into one you spent months sweating over. Sure, the ones at the farmers market are far more beautiful and taste equally amazing, but there is something about a homegrown tomato. I have been eating them chopped or sliced with just a drizzle of tasty olive oil (a flavorful extra virgin), a sprinkling of chunky sea salt and some fresh ground black pepper, that is if I can wait till I get back from the garden before popping them into my mouth. I've also made a few tomato salads, most recently with chopped cucumbers, red onion, mint, and feta cheese, coated in some more olive oil, salt, and pepper, and perhaps a squeeze of lemon. Yep, tomato season is the best. There are so many varieties in so many colors and I love them all. And soon, the tomatillos will be ripe and I can tear into those little green paper lantern shells like they're Christmas presents and I'm that eight year old kid again who woke everyone up at 5am bouncing off the walls with excitement.

It's Thyme

Hello again! I can't believe how much time has lapsed since the last time I posted anything. The truth is, for a while there I didn't feel like there was anything particularly interesting to report and every time I sat down to write I was left with a blank screen looking back at me. Everyone goes through a little writers block once in a while so I took a break and just went to camp and played all day with the awesome group of kiddos and co-workers (including my sister!) I got to spend a month with.

Once camp ended, I started thinking about writing again, but I just wasn't feeling very inspired, I hadn't done much in the garden lately, and so much has changed since the beginning of the summer I wasn't sure what to write. But before I got overwhelmed and gave up again, the thyme, an herb I have become particularly well-acquainted with lately, the thyme patch next to the garden gate broke out with these beautiful clusters of tiny purple flowers. I wouldn't have noticed it except there were a handful of bees buzzing around as I went to open the gate to check on the tomatoes and pick some kale for dinner. The flowers, and the fuzzy bees that were so attracted to them, stopped me in my place. I didn't know thyme flowered at all, and I had no idea how pretty they look when they do. I learn something new every day.

Now it's already the middle of August and summer is quickly waning. There is so much happening in the garden right now and I am in for a busy next few weeks just trying to cook and preserve as much as I can so it doesn't get wasted, though all this extra compost and leaf litter will make wonderful compost for next year's garden. As I mentioned, I've taken a particular interest in using the herbs we have in the garden this year. I am plenty used to things like fresh basil, cilantro, and parsley, we used them almost every day in Hawaii, but I've done little with fresh tarragon, thyme, mint, and oregano, the herbs that are so plentiful in our current garden.

As I learn more about herbs, the more I am falling in love with them for their versatility and effortless growth, but also for their simple beauty and powerful fragrances. I have started to toss a handful of at least one of our regular fresh herbs in my saute pan to add some extra flavor and nutrients. At first I was transfixed by tarragon's licorice-like flavor and started trying it in my potato salad (delicious) and my egg salad (not so good). When I tried adding a huge handful of fresh thyme leaves along with the mayo and red onions and the remaining chicken I had roasted earlier in the week, I unlocked this pretty little herb's true potential. Get yourself a little thyme start for your kitchen window, if for no other reason than to make this chicken salad (seriously, no other ingredients, just chicken, thyme, red onions, and mayo, not even salt). Trust me, it's worth it. I'm in love. Over sixteen years I was a vegetarian and now I am in love with thyme chicken salad. But try it, you'll understand. Dylan did.

I have also found a handful of fresh thyme the perfect way to compliment a stir-fry of onions from the garden and bulk sausage we've developed a fondness for from the Dorset Farmer's Market (Lewis Waite Farm in Upstate NY), particularly when tossed with whatever green veggie (kale, zucchini, spinach, chard, broccoli, etc) and maybe a few halved cherry tomatoes atop a bed of rice or mixed with some pasta. Seriously, I can't get enough thyme. It's fresh and clean, yet earthy and almost minty fragrance, it's beautiful and perfect little green leaves, and it's many, many uses. Apparently it's often used to make mouthwashes and can help battle melancholy when used as aromatherapy. After nibbling on a few leaves, I definitely understand the oral health care benefits and whenever I am around thyme I do find myself feeling a bit more content. But honestly, even if that's all in my head, the culinary uses of this herb alone are worth the tiny bit of effort it takes to keep a thyme plant alive and healthy. I never want to live without one (or a million) of these little guys again.

Snapshots of Vermont

The Dorset Farmer's Market, where you will likely find us every Sunday morning for the duration of our stay in VT. I am so pleasantly surprised by both the variety and quality of the products here, this market didn't even exist when I last lived here!

It has been a busy few weeks since arriving back in Vermont! I have been meaning to share pictures and stories for days and days and days now but things keep popping up that pull me away from my computer. I've hardly had the chance to write or work on any of my projects lately, but I think things are finally starting to mellow out now that the chaos of this big transition back to the east coast is wearing off. My grandfather come's home tomorrow after nearly six weeks at the hospital and recovery care center in Rutland from a tick-born virus called Anaplasmosis, a rare disease that has recently been introduced to Vermont thanks to global warming making the past few winters in Vermont too mild to kill the tic population with the vigorous force it once did. So when we found this natural bug spray at the farmer's market and were told that it also repels tics, we grabbed a few bottles to pass around to family members. With all the gardening and berry picking we are doing, I'm glad we have this stuff around.

One hour of strawberry picking at Dutton's meant a good boost of vitamin D and a whole lot of fresh fruit for us.

Anyway, visiting my grandfather, and driving my grandmother to visit him has been an every-other-day occurrence since I arrived and it has meant a LOT of time in the car, especially when combined with all the other adventures we've embarked on. It's been worth it, though, to see my grandfather's face light up when he gets visitors and I'd happily continue to make the trip for as long as needed. He has been quite anxious, however, to get home and join us for many a meal cooked by Dylan, in fact he's been talking about Dylan's cooking nearly every other time we've come up to visit, in fact, I think it's been a sort of light at the end of the tunnel for him considering how abysmal the food is where he is staying. It baffles me how something designed to be a "recovery care center" can serve the exact food that likely landed many of the patients in it's care. How they expect to help anyone recover when they rarely serve fresh fruits and veggies and most meals come from a can or is cooked in the microwave is beyond me. So we snuck in some of the strawberries we picked at Dutton's pick-your-own berry field in Newfane, VT on our last visit.

My sister searching for the perfect strawberries to bring home for shortcakes, jam, ice cream, snacking, and yogurt...yum!

So many sweet, summer strawberries...

Since last time I posted, Dylan has returned to me in VT (hooray!) after a very long week away, and immediately got himself two interviews and subsequent job offers. Today he start's his first day cooking at the Reluctant Panther Inn and Restaurant in Manchester. He is excited to get back in the kitchen, although I'm still hoping he gets some day shifts so he's around for dinner at our house sometimes. We have all been enjoying Dylan's cooking at my mom's house since he's been back and are sad not to have him around as much at night time, but I am excited to go visit him at the Panther once he gets settled in. I've never been there are he said the just opened a new raw bar out on the patio and I checked out the menu, the cocktails sound quite tasty.

While Dylan was waiting for call backs after submitting his resume, we spent a lot of time in the kitchen together making all sorts of goodies. It's so nice to have him back, and not just for the upgrade to our home-dining experience, a week was a long time to go without him! My grandmother has joined us for dinner a lot lately, so she doesn't have to eat alone, and so we made her favorite, lamb, which we found farm-fresh and local at the Sunday Farmer's Market in Dorset, which Dylan served with a straight-from-our garden mint compote he made, alongside a bed of rice and sauteed kale. It was so delicious that I completely forgot to take a picture before devouring it. Luckily, at Dylan's next meal, I remembered to grab my camera before digging in to this tasty treat of fresh asparagus from the Someday Farmstand down the road topped with duck egg hollandaise next to tri-colored quinoa (my new favorite) and chopped maple sausage sauteed with carrots and onions. We have all been eating like queens since Dylan's return.

As if chopping all those strawberries wasn't enough, on Friday night we also whipped up an amazing quiche with the egg whites left over from hollandaise (and about 6 more whole eggs) and the rest of our maple sausage, which Dylan de-cased and crumbled, sauteing it with a handful of fresh tarragon and thyme from the garden and steamed spinach, also from the garden. We topped it with West River Creamery's Farmhouse Jack cheese, courtesy of our favorite Sunday market. I'm sorry to say I also forgot to photograph the quiche, but take my word for it, this was the best quiche ever. We didn't stop with the quiche either, Dylan also boiled up some beets he found laying around in the fridge and we enjoyed them chopped and placed atop a bed of our own garden-fresh arugula with just a touch of salt and pepper and a good coating of olive oil. Once we were done with that, we moved on to jam making. Dylan had chopped and sugared a bunch of rhubarb from the garden earlier in the week so we decided to finally put it to use and combine it with strawberries for a batch of jam. We ended up with 12 jars of deliciously sweet strawberry rhubarb jam which I have since put on everything, including the strawberry oat pancakes my mom made all weekend.

I love when the moon shines bright in the late afternoon sun.

In addition to all the food related activities, we also managed to get out and explore the Stratton snow-making pond, a favorite swimming spot from my late adolescent years which my sister has also been frequenting. Dylan had never been so after our first failed attempt at strawberry picking (our (no-longer) usual spot was closed), we headed out for a swim. The sky was beautiful, the air was warm, and the water was cold. I didn't swim but Anna and Dylan went in for a dip while I took lots of pictures so I could share this beautiful swimming spot with all of you out there wherever you are. We walked around the path circling the pond three or four times, breathing in the mountain air, listening and watching for the bull frogs near the lily fronds and filling our hearts with Southern Vermont. It was a lovely way to greet the evening and we followed it with a quick stop at our favorite local take-out spot, Cilantro's, for delicious and quality burritos which we devoured ravenously the moment we got home.

Summer in Vermont

We’re back on the east coast now, Dylan is in CT visiting his parents while I am in Dorset, VT in the attic room of my mother’s house. This is where Dylan and I will be calling home for the next few months before we head off to Portland, ME, our final destination. Things could not be more different from the last time I last posted from our cabin in Hawaii where my friend baby gecko nipped at the mosquitoes buzzing around my computer. It has been a strange two weeks, to say the least. We left Hawaii with only one day left in May and headed for Seattle where we visited as many friends and bars as we possibly could, walked all over Fremont-Ballard and tried desperately to hang onto our Hawaiian calm as we faced big city life for the first time in a long time. It was great to see everyone and we had a wonderful time, but being back around so many cars, buildings, people, and the daily stress and grime of city life left us feeling grateful that we decided to get away from it all. City living just isn’t for us, and I am OK with that.

We walked into a pretty nice set up, my mom has a knack for blending function and art, her gardens are always so pretty.

While Dylan is taking a week to spend time with his family and work on some yard projects for his mom, I am here trying to unpack, settle in, and make our space at my mom’s house feel like home for a little while. Although we landed in VT on Thursday, I am only now (Monday) getting to work after taking a few days to catch up with family, watch my sister graduate high school (wahoo Anna!), and visit with my brother Willy and his awesome girlfriend Tessa who were also in town from California. We haven’t done much cooking since we’ve been here but within an hour of our arrival a few days ago, Dylan was out in the garden planting the tomato seedlings my mom raised while we were away. We are here in Vermont for the summer to continue our hiatus from traditional employment to practice eating off the land, working on our self-selected projects, and developing a healthier (simpler) lifestyle together.

Check out all the spinach and radishes to the left of the tomato bed, yum!

Leaving Seattle was the first step, we freed ourselves from many material constraints and got out of the city to reconnect with our friends and family back east. In Hawaii we learned the importance of a deeper connection to nature and the outdoors while we developed farming/homesteading skills. Now here we are in Vermont to continue to make progress on our goals and prepare for our future in Maine. Who knows exactly what we’ll learn and how our time here will shape us, but we are excited and ready to find out. Although we’ve been here less than a week, I think we are off to a great start, especially where food is concerned. I know I said we haven’t done much cooking yet, but we have begun our summer challenge of feeding ourselves without the assistance of a traditional grocery store, hence all the tomatoes we planted.

We made it home just in time to see the irises and peonies

My mom has always been an avid hobby gardener and I remember working with her in the garden when I was a kid, planting the carrots, shelling fresh peas for dinner, and spraying down the plants with the hose on hot summer days. This year, we all decided to see if we could make the garden more than just a hobby and use it as our primary source of nourishment, with only the local farmers markets and natural food stores to supplement what we grow. This means not only eating in a more self-sufficient manner, but we’ll need to be making all those other items that are typically bought at the supermarket, such as cleaning supplies, body care products, etc which we’ll attempt to make ourselves as well as try out different natural versions when we can find them. Luckily, my mom, my sister and I are pretty crafty and have a strong interest in DIY because otherwise this challenge would feel more overwhelming than exciting. Dylan and I have been interested in cultivating a more self-sufficient lifestyle basically since we moved in together five years ago and have slowly been building up our skills and developing our habits in this area but we are using this year to fully walk the walk we’ve been talking about all this time.

My sister is heading off to Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, VT, a small alternative school focused on agriculture, ecology, outdoor education, and sustainability, so she’s psyched to have our support in developing the habits that will help her find success and happiness in her future. So to kick off the summer together, the three of us Berger women went to the farmers market to load up on goodies for the week while Dylan was away. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the bounty we found at this rapidly growing market that included Filthy Farmgirl soap, all natural bug spray, delicious fresh bread, dirt cheap free-range chicken eggs (a dozen jumbo eggs for only $3!), kale, potatoes, herb starts, high quality local and sustainably raised pork and beef products, granola, and so much more. We walked away with a great collection of goodies to complement the massive amounts of spinach, mixed lettuces, and radishes that we harvested earlier from the garden. 

I can't wait to experiment with homemade apple cider from the apple trees in our backyard!

Before heading up to visit family we set out a fantastic lunch platter with all of our bounty, toasting with fresh apple cider to a summer of family, fresh food, and fun. After a week of traveling and eating who knows what at who remembers where, this plate of entirely VT-made food was exactly what the doctor ordered. I can’t wait to see what else we come up with as the growing season progresses and I promise to document our culinary (and other) adventures with lots of pictures. I’d show you the delicious chocolate rhubarb cake my mom made to welcome everyone home but like yesterday’s lunch platter, by the time I remembered there were only crumbs left to pose... stay tuned for stories of soap-making, beer brewing, bread baking, homemade crackers and pop-tarts, and Dylan’s transformation of my mother’s kitchen!

Best Day Ever

Last weekend, Dylan and I finally made it to Volcano National Park at the bottom tip of the big Island. This trip has been on our Hawaii to-do list since before we arrived but we saved it until the very end, although in retrospect I wish we had visited sooner so we could have gone back many more times to further explore. Though we had an amazing day hiking around the Crater Rim Trail, there was so much to see and so many trails we would have loved to explore, including at the Bird Park, which we planned to visit but got rained out before we even had the chance to step out of the car. Oh well.


We arrived at the park around 9am after coffee and pastries and a 1 1/2 hour drive and our first stop was the volcano caldera. This view of the caldera was a ways up from the hike we chose so we drove up and hopped out for a look and a brief walk around the one-room art museum displaying various artist's depictions of the volcano, most notably of Pele, a goddess whose visage is the body of the volcano with the black lava as her hair. The images were beautiful inside and out of the museum and I fell particularly in love with this stunning red volcanic flower found all over the park.

After viewing the massive, steaming caldera we ditched the truck back at the visitor's center and headed out to the Crater rim trail, a 5-6 mile hike that took us through vivid green rainforest flora right down into the middle of a dried lava lake and back up again. It was a fantastic hike with constantly (and quite drastically) changing scenery, temperatures, and species of plant. Luckily, the sun's powerful heat was hidden behind the clouds for most of the day, which is probably quite common at a rainforest park with a continuously smoking volcano. Just a few minutes after we stepped onto the trail we found ourselves in the middle of a magical forest path and I imagined my seven-year-old self frolicking beneath the cover of trees pretending to be a forest nymph. I was immediately transported to the woods of my childhood in southern Vermont which back then felt just as magical as when we happened upon this patch of the trail at Volcano. The day was off to a wonderful start and I could never have guessed just how much more amazing it would get as we continued.

The descent down into the dried lava lake was a piece of cake and Dylan and I chatted about the trees and birds, and how much we love hiking but never seem to get ourselves out to the trails quite enough. Every so often we would come across a sign post identifying the different trees around us, using both the English and Hawaiian names along with a few facts about the plants that made up this particular ecosystem. Finally I was able to put names to some of the species with which we've shared this island for the past four months. I love identifying the flora and fauna of a place and thus far on our trip I have found myself regularly frustrated with my inability to find the resources to help me name the plants and animals we have encountered. I just can't believe there aren't more websites devoted to simply listing the living things of the world with their corresponding images. What happened to our country's love of place? I know I am not the only one who is curious about my surroundings so come out of the wood works all you secret naturalists out there, the internet needs your knowledge!

Anyway, once we reached the floor of the crater we stepped out out of the lush green forest onto black waves of dried lava with only the occasional Ohia Lehua tree, whose delicate red flowers captivated me with their stark contrast against the black lava and glossy green leaves. It is amazing that anything at all can thrive in such a harsh habitat as this, let along do so with such rich beauty.

Down in the lava lake, a 400 ft. descent from the trail in cliff-like fashion, we traipsed across the black crater floor while steam crept out all around us in hot clouds from the vented cracks in the earth leading to the magma deep beneath the surface. Standing over the vents I felt the heat wash over me in clean and refreshing waves, like stepping in and out of a steam room. Down in this black crater completely exposed to the elements I thanked the volcano for clouding out the sun and was happy for the occasional sprinkling of rain. Despite its empty bleakness, we found ourselves fascinated with the crater while at the same time becoming increasingly aware of the power that lay dormant beneath us.

After trekking across the vast black stone lake, which dried with ripples intact, we made our ascent back up to the crater's rim. It was hot and steep but 400 feet past by quickly as we once again found ourselves in awe of the lushness of the rainforest so close to the deep, steaming, empty crater. When we reached the top we found ourselves suddenly and strangely standing in a parking lot filled with rental cars and tour buses. After such dense natural landscape it was bizarre to be thrown back into civilization so abruptly. We snagged ourselves a seat along the path to an old lava tube where we stopped to refill our water bottles and eat the lunch we had packed before we left. We ate our avocado halves, granola bars, and coconut-date bites and watched the herds of tourists pass by in all sorts of outfits unfit for the many trails the park has to offer, glad we had come prepared with our hiking gear. Before heading back to the main trail leading us to the truck, we ventured down below to check out the lava tube, which was pretty neat when you think about the lava that once flowed through, but mostly just looked like your average cave.

Crater Rim is definitely an apt name for this looping trail because we really did walk right along the rim, just a few feet from the 400 ft. cliff drops. It was incredible to look down and see the tops of trees lining the crater before giving way to rippling blackness. We looked down on the vast emptiness below at the tiny ant people crossing the crater floor just as we had done a short while earlier. The views were breath-taking and we couldn't help but stop and admire the landscape with each opening of the trees. Dylan held his breath (and the back of my pack) as I leaned against the railing time and again to catch a glimpse of the steam and rocks below. I just couldn't get enough of the magic this place had to offer at every turn in the trail.

After being rained out of our hike at the bird park, we decided to head back toward home since the weather showed no signs of changing any time soon. Though I was very much looking forward to the bird park, Dylan even bought me a pocket Hawaiian bird guide, I was quickly consoled by the memory of a sign we past in the morning for a black sand beach that we previously didn't think we'd have time to hit before dark. As we began our descent from the 4500ft elevation of the park to the beach, we happened upon a beautiful coffee farm with a majestic monkeypod tree right smack in the middle. For months I've been dying to snag a picture of this beautiful tree so finding one surrounded by coffee plants was very exciting. If only I could have hopped out of the truck and climbed up the branches of the tree that will forever be synonymous with the Big Island of Hawaii for me. I doubt the owners of the coffee farm would have been amused.

So we pressed on and as we neared sea level the clouds stayed behind and the rain ceased to fall, though the cloud cover remained intact. Had we been heading to any other beach I might have been disappointed not to be greeted by the sun, but Punalu'u Beach is lined with fine black sand and lava rocks, not something I'd want to explore at 3pm after the sun's been out all morning. As it was, the cool and salty ocean air was a perfect way to end out hike and the black sands were unlike anything I'd ever seen.

We walked around the beach for a while, admiring the startling contrast of black against the vibrant blues and greens all around us. This beach (on a cool day only) quickly became one of my most favorite spots on the island, for more reasons than one. After getting our fill of the black sand beneath our feet we headed out across the lava rocks in search of nothing in particular and found ourselves captivated by the blue, blue waves crashing all around us. As we stood together breathing in the ocean air, Dylan pulled out a gorgeous pearl ring from his pocket and asked me if I would marry him.

Naturally, I said yes and there we stood looking out at the waves continuing to crash against the rocks as they always have and yet suddenly we were different. I bounced up and down for a while, beaming with excitement and neither of us could stop smiling or hugging each other as the waves continued to lash against the lava. We looked out at the ocean, back at the beach, and up at the volcano behind us reveled in a moment that will be with us forever. I still can't believe that we are here, let alone that we are already preparing to return from this magnificent place in only a few days time.

Wednesday's potluck featured the theme "breakfast for dinner," or as we like to call it, "brinner," and in honor of our engagement our friends at the farm offered a lilikoi (passion fruit) mimosa toast, my favorite. We celebrated together with Dylan's fried chicken and waffles drizzled with Vermont maple syrup sent from our family in the Green Mountains. Jodi tried out a recipe for bacon and egg birds' nests, which were of course delicious along with Brenna's purple sweet potato hash browns and Heather's farm fruit salad of mango & papaya with lime. It was a lovely celebration indeed.

Catching Up

I have been slacking a bit keeping you all updated on our adventures here, and for that, I apologize. I have been so consumed with curriculum development and working on my other blog, Searching for Sparks, that I've neglected this one. So here are a few random photos to fill you in, I hope you enjoy!

Dylan made eggplant parm, it was beautiful. Recently, Dylan has had the opportunity to make food as part of his work-trade to help stock the farm freezer. In addition to the parm, he jarred a few batches of radish relish with the last of the crop along with some beet and pepper pickles.

I went to an essential oils workshop at the most beautiful farm overlooking the ocean and Kealakekua Bay. I finally learned a bit about the many uses of essential oils, which ones are good for what, and when/where their use is most effective. I have been curious about this stuff for a while so it was great to listen to someone who is knowledgeable and well practiced with the use of oils for health purposes. Once we lift ourselves from self-imposed financial hibernation I am investing in these five oils from DoTerra. This stuff is super amazing, I would definitely recommend doing a little research about what oils can do.

Check out the sunset we caught after trying out a perfect blend of peppermint and orange oils...

The Plumeria trees came into bloom and they are so beautiful and smell amazing, apparently their sap is pretty poisonus though and can make you go blind? I'm not quite sure of the details. I still love them though, and I am glad I they are part of my everyday life, for the next week anyway...

Recently, I discovered a flower that smells like a chocolate-vanilla twisted soft-serve. I have made a point to have a vase of of them on the table at all times. I wish they were edible, they smell so good.

I made friends with a baby gecko who enjoys eating the mosquitoes that keep trying to bite me as I work at my computer. I love the geckos, they are so fun to watch and they keep the bug population down. I wish I could bring one back to Vermont with us but alas, they would not enjoy the cold.

A lizard-gecko showdown happened on the fence enclosing our outdoor shower and I was lucky enough to watch the drama unfold. This particular gecko is a good friend of ours named Scar-face gecko because of a little scar above his eye. When Dylan and Daniel were putting up the new roof on the cabin after our last one ripped during a particularly windy evening, Scar-face gecko got spooked when Dylan lay the roofing down next to him and he shed his tail and ran. That's what geckos do when they fear for their lives, leave their tails wiggling behind them and run away to start growing their new one. It takes at least a month for the tail to fully grow back and we have dubbed them "stumpy" when they are in the process of regeneration. Geckos are seriously cool little reptiles.

I have successfully gotten myself in the habit of making a weekly batch of sandwich wraps. I have always wanted to incorporate regular bread-making into my routine but have always had excuses for not doing it. All it took was a little creativity and motivation and even without the use of an oven I managed to organically sneak these bread-like sandwich features into our lives. This batch helped us get rid of a jar of arugula pesto that was a bit too bitter on it's own but made for perfect, tasty wraps.

The Chinese cabbages all reached their peak at the very same moment, which led to a massive production of Kimchi, 3 gallons in total. We have been eating this fermented, and super-healthy condiment with fried rice, scrambled eggs, and our Hawaiian twist on our favorite Asian soup, Pho.

All that Kimchi led us to select Bibimbap as the theme for one of our recent and delicious Wednesday farm potluck dinner. We filled our plates and bellies with a selection of goodies including, fried farm eggs, Kimchi, Bulgogi style beef strips, leek coleslaw (Dylan's creation), brown rice, bean sprouts, matchstick carrots, sauteed shitakes, zucchini strips, and chili-soy date sauce (also Dylan's creation, and so, so good). It was so savory, with a perfect of sweet tanginess.

We've been trying to get ourselves to the beach as much as possible in our final days here and a week or two ago we were introduced to a great spot for diving into the ocean. The water is perfect and we had so much fun diving off the rocks into the enclosed pool of water tucked away among the lava rock ledges. I will never get over the captivatingly blue color of the ocean here...

This is the backdrop we enjoyed as we took turns jumping and diving off the rocks with the local kids until the sun dropped too low to keep swimming, showering us with a beautiful sunset to make peace:

Hawaii is such a beautiful place. I still can't believe this is the place we've been calling "home" these past few months. It will be hard to say goodbye to this place next week. At the same time though, it's really exciting to think that in just a week we will get to hug so many friends and family again and that makes leaving a whole lot easier... stay tuned for photos and stories of our trip to see Volcano National Park which I plan on posting as soon as I narrow it down to the best pictures of the bunch!