Bug Catcher ~ Tidbits

We have had an ample amount of tomatoes in the house lately, and the gnats are horrible.  One daughter found this idea on the internet and it works.  Simply put fruit in the jar and add a piece of paper.  They can get in, but not back out.  I added a drop of dawn soap down the center to kill them.  Today the jar has twice as many in it.  Best thing that has worked so far.  We even caught a fly in it.

Good Summer Food

The weatherman said we'd get rain, and they sky surely looked like it.  We got a few sprinkles here and there, but not what we really needed.  I started the day by spending some morning time on the porch, while the kiddos slept in.

I got a break from outdoor work, and canning, and cooked up some garden recipes.  First, I made Fresh Dill and Cucumber Salad (mmmm!).   The dressing for this salad uses a teaspoon of raw honey.

Then I made our cauliflower crust pizzas, topped with garden delights.  Planning meals has been pretty fun this summer so far.

New Blooms ~ Random Homestead Tidbits

Here are a few new blooms around the homestead this month.

Cauliflower and Cabbage

I pulled 2 nice sized heads of cauliflower and 2 head of home grown cabbage.  For the first time, I canned a slaw recipe, using every vegetable ingredient from the garden.  The boiled syrup was the only thing I had to buy ingredients for.  This was a simple recipe we can't wait to taste it.  Here is the recipe:  Canned Slaw

The cauliflower was used for dinner.  We tried a pizza crust recipe I found on-line. 

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

It was soooooooooooo good, that my hubby took a small slice and drove it 5 miles or so to his nephew's house to share.  It's a wonderfully tasting, healthier, and low carb pizza.  Yum!  I topped ours with garden veggies and cooked organic chicken pieces.  We will be growing more cauliflower next year.  This is one vegetable that we have not been eating enough of.  Again, you have to try this recipe.  The person who created this recipe should be on Food Network. 

The recipe calls for frozen cauliflower, but I slightly cooked my home grown cauliflower, then pulsed it in my food processor vs. ricing it.  It worked out well.  

We used eggs from our own chickens, and oregano from my herb garden.  I need to plant more parsley to dry next year.