For years I worked in the restaurant world. In those days, we did not have air conditioning in most places. Often in the “dog days” of summer it would get downright unpleasant, waiting on hordes of tourists. The kitchen could get well over 110 degrees. I think the expression “If this was hell we’d be on vacation” was thrown around often.

That all being said, it’s too darn hot for us outdoor workers. Here it is Tuesday evening and some thunder and lightning are happening. Dare I hope for rain?

Last week’s column had an unfortunate misprint. It said “then” tablespoons of kosher salt in a sauerkraut comment. It should have said ten tablespoons. The exact recipe from my ancient Stocking Up book is three tablespoons plus two teaspoons of salt (again: pickling, canning or kosher) for each 10 quarts of shredded cabbage.

I also spoke about storing onions for the winter. Use long-keepers, properly cured. I discovered for the last few years that the bigger ones should be used first as they tend to soften sooner than the smaller ones. This goes against everything I ever learned about delayed gratification. (A healthy child learns that by age five.)

Before I move on into the garden, let me share another kitchen item. Violet is working a few days a week at Beetlebung Farm. She has a newfound appreciation for food as a result of their weekly farm lunches. She ate her first eggplant. I always had to blend them and hide the puree in some tomato sauce.

She made a wonderful appetizer. After scooping out the seeds of overripe cucumbers, she made a filling of fresh herbs, Mermaid Farm feta and fromage cheese, and chopped cashews. A real crowd-pleaser. We’re calling them cuke canoes.

I’ve had both successes and disappointments in the vegetable garden. We ate our very first cobs of corn with no worm damage. It was an heirloom field corn called black Aztec. When fully ripe the kernels turn jet black. We ate the young ears with very slight coloring. I’m wondering, since it’s an old variety of its resistant to the earworm — or did I possibly do something right?

The bad news, however, involves tomatoes — both green and red. Rats or some other varmint are taking bites from every one as they ripen. The small green ones are carted off by chipmunks.

My friend Sharlee has been soaking rags in apple cider vinegar and placing them on the ground around her plants. It seems to be working. Imagine that!

The FBI obtained a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago and the right-wingers have lost their collective minds. It’s rich, given the James Comey involvement in the 2016 election, the constant requests for 33,000 of Hillary Clinton’s emails, and defund the police wailing. How the tune has changed. My favorite is Trump’s shock that they went into his safe.

Do these people know anything? I’ve seen the chaos after a police search of someone’s home.

Again, DJT may be, in fact, pathologically entitled.

Marge Greene wants to defund the FBI and warns that if they do this to a former president they could do it to you. Yes, Marge, that’s right: I think it’s called probable cause.

Never a dull moment!