In the Garden Braving the Mosquitoes with Some Tequila Help and an Absolutely Incredible Hot Fudge Sauce

"Yes, I`m going in for a few sniffs and nibbles. Isn`t that why it`s here?" I`ve added 3 more plants so far.

I decided to go with flowers in the pots this year. Chose some African Daisies and they looked very bare so I dug up some sweet woodruff and also bought a couple of spikes for the middle. In the samll pots are some Thai Basil and Lavender

I had two of these boxwood on either side of the arch but one never made it. I decided to dig the surviving one out and had slapped it in this pot until I could find somewhere to plant it.

To the far left is where I`ve pulled out the surviving Boxwood and planted another Mallow to match the other side. I`m going to have to do some heavy duty transplanting eventually because the small perrenial plants aren`t going to fit once they start to grow alongside the big ones.

I swear every year that this is dead.

But, the Trumpet Vine has again amazingly come to life.

Teds ventures out into the weed filled garden. Some of the bits are luckily only from the tree and can be swept away.

He ventures into the herb patch. I`ve only planted perennials here this year except for the arugula. Notice all the bits that have fallen from the tree. Thankfully they`re not weeds too.

I miss Saint Francis in front of the back door but Elvis was using the space here to get onto the lawn and flattening my plants so he`s been moved over a bit.

I put the annual herbs in pots this year. Purple Basil, Regular Basil and Rosemary.
I`m going to bring them in after summer and see what survives for cooking.

Teddy as well as the other two just love walking on the bricks. I still need to dig most of them in yet. For now they`re just sitting on top of the dirt.

It will eventually look nice once I get my butt out there and start digging.

Shocking mess, all the weeds, but Angus doesn`t seem to mind....

"Let me in"

Time to get serious and at least partially weed the garden.
First off, some Margarita fortification. Forget bringing out the proper glass, I wanted a nice big one, mind you, I`ve half drank it already. Goes down very well even on a not so hot day.

Out came the mosquito jacket for the bloody mosquitoes that are out on this overcast day. It only takes one bite near my eye and it swells closed.

Some areas have seedlings still sprouting so I don`t dare touch them yet, although the weeds are a mess.


DARK CHOCOLATE HOT FUDGE SAUCE


This is so good! Beware though because it`s very enticing to just eat it by the spoonful!

Dark Chocolate Hot Fudge

from The Gourmet Cookbook

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces good bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cup into 1/2 Tablespoons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together cocoa powder, brown sugar, corn syrup, cream, salt and half of the chopped chocolate in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted. Cook mixture at a low boil, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes until it thickens. Keep refrigerated and re-heat for sauce or eat by the spoonful cold and fudgey from the fridge :)

I`m going to serve it tonight for the boys over vanilla ice cream after our BBQ of hot Italian Sausages and sliced potatoes done up in tin foil with onions, mushrooms, corn and butter.