It's been way toooo long for a post

So let's make it a good one, shall we?

It's here- the height of harvest season and we make the MOST of it.

Some things that you may, or may not know.

Chives- the chives we use on our Appled Ham Sandwiches, in our egg salad, and in our quiche come from my garden. We snip them just when we need them and in the spring, we even use the flowers!

Basil- the basil we use in all of our spreads is also grown in my garden. We pick it as we need it and blend it with lots of goodies to make it as fresh as possible

Onions- they are red and we get them from two places- DeSchepper Farms out of Rockford, or O'Rourke Farms right here in McLean County. We always use reds!

Pita Veggies- most of the veggies here come from Apple Ridge Produce out of Gridley. Zucchini, Squash, and Bell Peppers that is. Sometimes there is Patty Pan Squash and Chinese Eggplant and Red onion added, all from DeSchepper Farms!

Applesauce- I will say that I get my apples from whomever can keep up! This most recent batch came from Curtis Orchard in Champaign. The next round, I would be, will be from Henry Brockman's sister, Teresa. Apple Ridge usually keeps me well stocked, too. All of the apples vary, so sometimes the flavors do, too! The honey we use to sweeten our sauce USUALLY comes from Mr. Merrick out of Danvers! Honey Pimp Apiaries are already SOLD out for the season, so we can't try their goodness!

Eggs- we get all of our eggs from Annie's Eggs, also here in McLean County. YUM

Tomatoes- the mother of all vegetables. Currently, no farm is providing us with our slicing tomatoes- no one is ready. HOWEVER, Brown's Produce will most likely keep up in tomatoes starting this week. Our baby tomatoes for salads and quiche come from a variety of places...my garden, DeSchepper Farms, or Apple Ridge Produce. They are always different, which I LOVE!

Stuffed Tomato, tomatoes are currently coming from my own garden. They are all different, so you may not get the same kind twice...right now there are Old Germans, some Brandywines, and Lemon Boys...plus some cross pollinated goodies! Picked each morning and afternoon by yours truly :)

Coffee- YES, Coffee Nation has been keeping us in coffee ALL THIS TIME. They had closed their retail location, but they were still roasting. They are still roasting and we still get their locally roasted beans every week!

Blueberries- Jamie and I go and pick these bad boys in South Haven, MI every year. We freeze a bunch and pull them out when we need them!

Strawberries- there is ONLY one place...and that's Braffet Farms in Carlock...and yes, I pick them all myself!

Raspberries- these come from a couple of places....right now, it's AppleRidge Produce, but Jamie and I went and picked them in South Haven last year, too. And we froze them. And you get to eat them :)

and I think that's it. Whew...that was a lot. We compost our waste with Apple Ridge Produce each week...we fill out 5 gallon pickle buckets and they take it to their farm and let nature do it's work...plus they get the buckets and more plastic stays out of the recycling bins/landfills.

We recyle EVERYDAY. All of our boxes. All of our glass, metal, plastic...etc. We use our ice water bath for side dishes at lunch to water our plants. We use unbleached paper towels and deli papers for baskets...we use real silverware and cups and baskets. It's our job! Take care of the planet while we have one!

Anyway- that's my update...in case you forgot or just didn't know. Oh, and the pictures? Yep, my garden and tomatoes being served this very day! And our little wagon of apples we got at Curtis on Sunday for applesauce!