bugs and such

Well, that’s not much of a title for a cooking blog, is it? Sorry, it can’t be helped, I’ve been dealing with a variety of bugs recently.

I’m recovering from my third bout of summer pneumonia. No, not three illnesses this summer, but the third time I’ve had pneumonia during a hot Arizona summer. Go figure! And, I know, it’s not officially summer yet but … more on that later.

The first time I was diagnosed was over the 4th of July weekend, back in the late ’90’s. I specifically remember that date because we had to cancel our annual 4th of July Pool Party. The first and only party I’ve ever canceled.

The second time was during the last week of summer cooking classes in 2009. That was the sickest I think I’ve ever been. I still taught the classes, but if not for my son, Connor, being my assistant, and the fact that I was no longer contagious, that would have been the first and only summer session I would have had to cancel. I made a deal with my doctor; Connor would do all the setup while I stayed in bed. I’d get up to teach the 3-hour classes each day and then go back to bed while Connor cleaned up. I was supposed to stay there until the next day, but that was impossible. I had to do some of the setup and prep, but Connor did the bulk of the work that week. It was pure misery.

And here I am again. It came out of nowhere over the weekend. But three days of antibiotics and I’m on the mend. I’m not feeling great enough to cook up a storm. Not that I even want to cook – it’s too damn hot to think about anything but cold soups and salads and as many liquids as I can tolerate. Look at the forecast for the coming days. I mean … Seriously!!!

That’s what I’m talking about. It may not be officially summer, but in Arizona, official seasonal starts and stops make no difference whatsoever!

OK, so illness is not the only bug I’ve been dealing with, the other is an actual creepy-crawly bug. I have a beautiful pomegranate tree that produces big beautiful pomegranates each and every year. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?

Not so much. Although I pick gorgeous-looking fruit, the inside never ripens. The orbs themselves are a luscious deep red but the inside arils (seeds) never turn red and are bone dry. I discovered the culprit a couple of years ago.

It’s the Leaffooted Plant Bug.

Scientific name: Leptoglossus clypealis. The damage is not easy to see on the outside of the fruit. The bugs pierce the thick skin of the fruit to feed on the arils, causing them to wither.

Two years ago, I found an insecticide to use. It did not help. Last year, I tried again with another type of spray, with no luck.

This year, I’m going another route. Back in April, when the flowers were turning to fruit, on the advice of a master gardener, I covered a select few with pantyhose.

Since it was labor-intensive, I decided this would be my trial season and I’d try to save as many blossoms as one pair of pantyhose would cover.

One pair covered only 8 fruit.

And now that the heat has hit, the wretched bugs are back. Although, I have yet to see one of them near the stocking-covered fruit.

The covered fruit is ripening, on the outside, just as well as their doomed uncovered friends.

If it works and I’m able to harvest ripe pomegranates for the first time since I planted the tree more than eight years ago, then I’ll buy a dozen pairs of stockings next spring. Maybe I’ll host a Pomegranate and Pantyhose Party and enlist my friends’ help in the blossom covering!

The time and effort will be well worth a successful pomegranate harvest, after a decade worth of trying!

I’ll keep you posted.