Leftover Grits and Other Matters

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So, this is what you do with leftover grits -- pour them into a loaf pan or some such container and stick them in the fridge. In the morning, slice up the congealed grits, dip them in beaten egg, and fry in butter or bacon grease. Oh boy. If you just happen to have some leftover andouille sausage, invite it to the party.

Not health food, no, but food for the soul.

I bothered the mama hen again, getting a picture of her snug little apartment and two of her chicks. There are two more hiding beneath her, making for a grand total of four! With any luck, there'll be one or two hens in the bunch (if they live, as the old folks would say in a pre-emptive strike at Fate.)

And here, Carol, is the first of my tomatoes -- about the size of the end of my little finger. We have a ways to go.

I have a few volunteer purple potato plants, left from some potatoes that didn't get harvested last year. They are not only blooming, they are also setting fruit.
















No, these little green things here below aren't tomatoes. They are potato seeds -- something I've never paid much attention to as we always use sets -- chunks cut from sprouting potatoes.

There's a family resemblance as potatoes and tomatoes ( along with eggplants and peppers) are all members of the nightshade family Solanaceae. (As are tobacco, belladonna, jimson weed, and several other noxious plants.) All are native to the New World -- what did the Italians do before they had tomatoes in their cuisine? Imagine the Irish without potatoes! Or the English or the Germans for that matter.