New favorite veggie...plus catching up!

Hey, all.  Long time no write for me!  It has probably been one of the busiest summers I have had so far.  My oldest child graduated in May.  We had all the tornado-like activities associated with that.  We have had massive fires here in Colorado.  The most destructive fire in Colorado history was just five miles north of our house.  We know many people who live in that area...in fact, we ate at a friend's house for a supper club we are involved with, and two days later, the fire hit.  They lost their home.  It is so devastating.  But, there is always beauty for ashes...last week, I helped them move a lot of their perennials to some raised beds.  There is regrowth and they are going to rebuild.  It is very encouraging in such a tragic time.

My garden is doing pretty well.  Because of the scorching heat, I've had all my beets bolt--that was very sad for me!!!  I will reseed and hopefully I will get some before winter.  I'm growing a lot of new things.  My favorite new plant so far:  purple cauliflower named "Graffiti."  It is spectacular.  I have four plants in total, but so far, only one has produced a head.  No matter because this thing is something special!!!!!

It is an amazing purple...the colors of nature just astound me.  These cauliflower plants went through a recent hail storm and received very minimal damage.  I have noticed absolutely no pests.  I was hoping they would grow--it took my breath away and startled me when I discovered this, the farthest plant, had a fully developed head growing.  For perspective, here's a picture of my daughter with it.

It is nearly as big as her head.  It weighed in at a little over a pound.  I roasted it with a little bit of butter, olive oil, and garlic.  It was delicious and still retained its beautiful color.  This is definitely something I would not mind growing again!  What a showstopper!  How is your garden growing?  Anything new that you are trying?  I hope you are having a wonderful summer.  Blessings!