Can it be August already? Yikes!

The first of August - and the cucumbers are really coming in. We've been eating cucumber salad nearly every day. Yesterday I made some Gazpacho - more cucumbers - and have been handing the extras out to friends and neighbors. It's really wonderful that they are so prolific, but my fridge is getting full! The Gazpacho turned out really well if I do say so myself. I made it really chunky, full of cukes, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, basil, ripe olives, carrots, yellow bell pepper, celery, scallions, a little tomato paste, V-8 juice, ground pepper, olive oil and a mixture of vinegars. Plus a dash of worcestershire sauce. I could live on that in the summer.

The next biggy will be the tomatoes. Already we are eating the cherry ones, and a few of the larger ones. Better Boys, I think. Two went into the Gazpacho along with some I bought at a produce market. I'm hoping for a big harvest of the tomatoes so that I can make some tomato relish and perhaps some canned tomatoes.

Meanwhile Ming, our new kitten, is adjusting well to life in our household. The other cats are slowly adjusting to her being here. A few half-hearted attempts at playing, but for the most part they're being old poops. She's remarkably resiliant to their rebuffs. Doesn't seem to get her feelings hurt, and is very brave at taking a few swats of her own. She's turning into a real retriever with her toys. Likes to have us throw them, then brings them back again. It's one of the traits of the Tonkinese, along with shoulder riding, being very social and being very vocal. They're called the cats for dog people, and I have to say it's true.