Tuesday Tidbits

Nothing more creepier than hearing something crunch through the tree line, while hanging laundry out at 8:30am.

Meal ideas come to me and the oddest times.  While washing the morning dishes yesterday I decided dinner would be Sloppy Charlies (organic ground beef and homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup), corn and zucchini saute and roasted brussel sprouts.

Speaking of the weekly menu, here's what else I came up with so far:

Breakfast (or dinner):  Homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, fried potatoes and scrambled eggs

Dinners:
-Creamy mac n' cheese, sweet potato hash browns, BBQ green beans with bacon, Chicken with home canned hot pepper mustard sauce, quinoa, broccoli, a spinach/parsley pesto pasta....still working on it....

Even though I wrote out a list for Sunday errands, I realized I forgot to buy borax and washing soda.  Urgh.  So cleaning the bathroom was put on halt until today.

Breakfast today is a sweet potato (thank you Garden Gods), and black bean frittata.

First Frost ~ Sweet Potatoes ~ The Last Dig

Mia was intrigued with my yarn.  She was sniffing it and wondering what it was as I crocheted.  So funny.  I tried to get some photos, but they just wouldn't sit still, ha ha!  Jesse is with us now too, and they get along well.  Tiger is just not happy.  He comes in my room at night to his "safe" space and curls up right next to me to get his "love" time now.

Oh my gosh, it was cold yesterday morning.  I had a ton of things that needed done, and it didn't heat up very fast.  We had a freeze warning last night, so the last of the jalapenos were picked, and we woke up to a temperature of 31°F.

I got soup beans into the crock pot, got my breakfast, and washed the dishes, in hopes to get to the garden.  A freeze warning is upon us now.   I dug up all the sweet potatoes.

Here's what they look like.  .  .

I harvested about half of what I normally get, but they are larger than I thought they'd get.  I didn't weigh them yet, but I am happy I got what I got.  They won't last all winter, but it's less I'll have to buy.

Apparently I fed a few rodents.  Thankfully, only losing about 3 or 4 this time.  It was rabbits.  Thanks to one of the dogs for letting me know.  The rabbits were living right along the west side of the garden.  

Hubby has been working 10 hour days (6 days straight), so I'm a one woman machine in getting everything done - hence why I don't have a rinse stand built yet.  

I literally saturated myself with the garden hose getting the sweet potatoes rinsed.  I had to dump them all out on the grass to do it, due to the wet mud on them.  When I was done I washed out the watering unit for the chickens and let the sweet potatoes dry off before bringing inside.  

Although my sleeves and pants were saturated, I rinsed off the 2 inches of mud on my muck boots and trudged out to fetch fire wood.  Several trips back and forth, I was done with enough for a few days.

Back inside I stripped and tossed my dirty clothes and jacket into the washer, to start putting away the clean dishes.  Oh the work continued.

I took a short medicinal tea break on the porch, and soaked up more sunshine.

I needed to prep a cabbage for dinner.  We were not impressed, so the cabbage will be fried with potatoes and bacon grease tonight.

On a side note, I had plans to put Mia on a tie out (prior to knowing that we'd get Jesse too (while in the garden), but I left them indoors.  They are behaving wonderfully, so I am thawing homemade dog treats to give them when I come in from a few hours of garden work.

Youngest Daughter got me good with the plastic rat.  Sigh.  I have to get her back, ha ha ha!  Little stinker.

I got a mullein tincture started.  I am getting pretty low in supply of that.  

I found some nice broad leaf plantain growing in the garden, so back out I went hoping I didn't get dirty (other than boots) to gather some of it.  Despite a frost.

It was blanched and put into the freezer for soup and stew.  I sliced it Julianne style so I only have to thaw it.  Sorry for the bad photo. I was trying to take the photo one-handed.  I stacked the leaves and sliced them like you would basil.  I then blanched them for 2 minutes, and put them in an ice bath for 2 minutes.  Drained them and put them in freezer bags in the freezer.

That's now all I got done.  A large batch of double blueberry pancakes were made ahead for breakfast.  I got about 4-5 times the amount in the photo.  Just need some sausage to go with it now.

Finished!  Got it done while taking a second short break.  Man I was so tired at the end of the day.  If forgot how much work wood takes, as well as working back to regular hours in the garden.  

Happy Homemaker Monday

It's Monday.  Today I'm joining Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  Although I am looking at "motherhood" in a different way, I'm joining.  If you read through today's post, you'll see what I mean about "motherhood."

Last week was a long parenting week. Bills were paid, but propane has not been ordered.  I called to get quotes and I was horrified at the price.  They lowered the minimum to order from 300 gallons to 200 and the price is $100 more than what we paid for 300.  Hubby wants to call around before we order.  We may be making changes if we find lower prices.

I've whipped up a "balancing" herbal tea mix for myself, and will simply grate fresh ginger into it (I'm out of dried ginger root and rose petals).  

I've been "MIA" from my blog these last few days.  Due to the overload of a heavy parental week, we took a dearly needed mental-parental break (or so we thought).  Hubby and I at the last minute, stole away for the weekend.  We restocked health items we can't get around our area, and we got a weekend away to "fill our tanks" (or so we thought).  

On the breakfast plate. . .

Thursday Tidbits

It's official.  We have ended out 2017 supply of home grown sweet potatoes, and I am thrilled the held up so nicely.  I made an egg/veggie scramble and thawed some frozen garden  zucchini for this too.  Frozen zucchini is not a real crisp veggies, so it works out well for breakfast meals and for casseroles/soups.

Not much going on in our next of the woods right now.  The snow is back, but it's gone as fast as it comes down. It's a bit cold, but that just gives me more opportunity to tackle deep cleaning projects (washing woodwork, cleaning out junk in the utility room, sorting things that can go to the thrift, organizing things back to their less chaotic stage, cleaning off dressers, nightstands, and what not). I'm going through old magazines, picking books to donate to the thrift, making a list of books I want to buy (ha ha!), and so forth.

Turkey Lentil Frittata

Here is the recipe I promised to share.  The original recipe is linked, and below I will explain what I added.

I found the "protein packed" breakfast recipe online at Lentils.org (click Lentils.org to the left to go directly to the recipe), and changed it up a bit to try. Lentils for breakfast?  I mean why not, I add black beans them too.  Lentils are high in protein and low in fat, and provide many nutrients as well as fiber.

First I made my lentils the day before, and that way I had that job done.  You need cooked lentils to make this frittata.

I still have homegrown sweet potatoes (they lasted much better than all the other potatoes too).

Storing Sweet Potatoes without a Root Cellar/Basement

I have found several ways to store up my sweet potatoes this winter.  Aside from the potato bin indoors, and the burlap bags in another cool/dark room, I am stocking them up in other recipes.

Ginger-Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Butter.

This is a Better Homes and Gardens canning recipe, but it is not boil canned. It goes in the freezer.  Recipe is not online, but is in their magazine (Canning, preserving, freezing and drying) and book I believe.

Frozen Mashed Sweet Potatoes.  I had been told by so many people "you can't freeze potatoes."  I beg to differ.  You can, but you bake and mash them first.  I add nothing to them.

I have been very successful with this process (this works well with white potatoes as well).  I bake the sweet potatoes, mash them, and freeze them on a baking sheet in 1/2 cup servings.  I take them out, and place them in container or freezer bags and simply heat in the oven when needed for meals.  I used foil the last time to line my sheets and the foil stuck to the potatoes.  I used parchment paper this year, and it worked perfect.

Aside from enjoying these with a meal, I can also thaw them to use for sweet potato breads, muffins, and even brownies.

Also, freeze the white mashed potatoes (or red), in 1/2 cup servings.  I utilize this for making rolls too vs. using "potato flakes" in the recipe I use.

You can always dehydrate sweet potatoes as well.  This will be my first year and test tasting them this way.  I have dehydrated (and canned) white potatoes in the past, but the texture after dehydrating is not the best tasting.

And for the first time, I will wrap a few up in newspaper and attempt at growing my own slips without a root cellar/basement.  I'll be storing them in the refrigerator or in a burlap bag of their own.   According to my research, the larger the sweet potato, the longer it will keep in a cool/dark location.


As for storing white/red potatoes?  Canning (pressure canning) has been the best option for me, along with freezing them mashed in single servings.  The taste is much better than dehydrating. 

You can pressure can sweet potatoes too, but I have yet to purchase a pressure canner. I borrowed one to can the white potatoes (to give it a try and check out one of the brands).

You can read my post on our experience canning the white potatoes: here.

Putting the Garden to Bed

It's been a long few weeks of tearing out the garden.  For me it's been a tough haul.  Due to unfortunate circumstances, I could not keep up with maintaining it this summer, so the aftermath was this:

 There are green pepper plants in that mess. (Before)

Same area (in progress)

 

My sad looking pea fence (before).

Done!  Still moving on through the garden.

The front of that area is where my potatoes were planted (before).

 Done!  Again...still moving on through the garden.

 The very last of the potatoes were dug up.

Larger Tomato patch all done and ready for winter.  I just have to get my pie pan and metal pole put away for next year.

Rough, tough, and difficult to totally remove before winter.  I'd like to post some pristine looking photos, but this is reality.  I can't do everything, nor can my family.  However, I am sticking to it.



"Biker Sally" is a bit slumped over after a somewhat good garden season.  She is buried in foxtail and ragweed, but with daily diligence, taking rest days, and hard work, she will be dug out and put to bed.

It is taking me a lot longer than previous years.  Achy muscles are now on rest-mode.  After noon today that is.  Rain is arriving. 

This and That ~ Pumpkin Pasta Dish

As soon as daylight hit, I noticed these ladies were out wandering.  And later a 4th.  Hm.  Daughter didn't do a head count, but they are all there.  Whew!

The new handicraft adventure I wrote about (several months ago) is still on the list, but delayed.  It may be a winter project.  

 Puffed pear pancake was enjoyed for an after school snack vs. breakfast.   Again, I used 2 pears. Apples would be delicious in this too.  Although I only have one kiddo in school, it's the perfect time of day to make a sweet treat, and double it as a dinner dessert.  And utilize our homegrown pears.  Right now, organic apples are $5.99/bag (3 lb.), so I am patiently waiting on a sale.  I am hoping our apple trees produce next year.

 The herbs are getting full attention this week.  Sage was dehydrated.

Rosemary was also dehydrated.  More to do this week yet.

I spent yesterday digging up potatoes, and I have to say the sweet potatoes did great this year.  I brought in 16.5# total of Kennebec, Red Norland and sweet potatoes.  Of course this meant pulling weeds, and that was very time consuming.  And I'm not done digging.  That alone took 3 hours.

I brought in a handful of Russian Kale too.  Dang it all, I just keep finding things that need done.  

However, meals need prepared for this family, so after a very welcomed shower, dough was started for English muffins, my garden clothes washed and out on the line ready for another long day.

"Grad" Daughter did some mowing, but has been helping me muck the chicken coop on her days off work.

Dinner was a new recipe - Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce.  It's online. If you google it, I used the one by Budget Bytes.  As I sat down on the porch to eat, I realized it just needs a sprinkle of fresh herbs - thyme or basil perhaps.  It was good and filling.  It just needed something to add color to the dish (and flavor).  It contains garden garlic, pumpkin, broth, seasonings and pastas (all organic).  I bet this sauce would taste good using cooked millet too.

I woke up to a slight sore throat.  Grad Daughter spent the night with a friend, so I'm also on dog duty.  I am debating to stay out of the garden today and take a rest day from it, but I have so much to pull out of it before the ground freezes.  First, I think I'll enjoy a cup of miso soup to help stay healthy.

Enjoy your Wednesday. 

Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

(pie while cooling, top will drop down a bit)

Sweet Potato Pie
(organic ingredients) 

Boil 1 lb of sweet potatoes (I use a kitchen scale to weigh the sweet potatoes) for 45-50 minutes or until cooked, then place sweet potatoes into an ice bath (safe bowl to add ice and water) to cool.  Peel and place in a bowl with:


1/2 cup softened butter.  Mix well - hand or electric mixer works well.

Add:

Holiday Menu Planning ~ Sweet Potato Pie

The "bug" to try new recipes, for the up coming holidays, has hit me again.  I needed to rotate out some pie crust crumbles anyway.

Thursday:  I had time to do something, and scrubbing the master bath toilet was not looking like the time filler for me. Although it does need done.

 Dinner prep was already done (salmon patties) and homemade sausage was already mixed and in the fridge.

It was too hot to go outside to work.  It was too hot and humid to sit on the porch with my feet up too.

Random Tidbits

I dug up a few potatoes for more meals, and dug up one sweet potato slip to check on it.

 They are not really big just yet.  We'll let them sit in the ground for another 3-4 weeks (or more) before digging up more.  These delicious two, will be going into a breakfast I think.

Deep clean continues in the kitchen.   I have even started to wash all my flour/sugar/coffee etc containers.  Sugar has now been washed and sanitized for the winter.

And while I am deep cleaning the kitchen, the flower beds are being reclaimed as well.  I'm using a timer, so I can do a bit of both and feel good at the end of the day.

Chili ~ Homesteader Variety

I got up yesterday morning and fell in love with the giant snowflakes.  I was inspired to cook dinner for once.  I love cooking, so this is a huge step forward in recovery.  The girls cooked the last two nights.

This is not your regular chili.  To get this pot of awesome delicious-ness going, I went into my "pretend root cellar" and got a few sweet potatoes (so thankful we still have some, and in edible condition). 

The garage is too cold to store my potatoes.  I put a card table up in my utility room (which has a doorway directly across from the side door we go out of most often).  The heat is never on in that room, so it stays cool (unless we hit below zero and then I turn on the heat to prevent frozen pipes).  Sadly, it was not the best way to store my red potatoes.  When I got home from the hospital, I saw they all had long "eyes" on them.  Back in November, the temperature was not cold enough in that room.

De-Program? Ha!

I brought in another 21.11# of tomatoes on Thursday.  Our whopping tomato tally reached 304.33# (so far this season).

I didn't have enough to can a 1/2 batch of tomato sauce, so I decided to use a portion of them to try that new BBQ sauce I wanted to try. The recipe is from Better Homes and Garden's and they have the recipe online.  

The trick I have been using to check the reduction amount, is to first measure with the handle of a wooden spoon.  I tie on a twist tie, and wipe it clean.  Each time I measure I can quickly see where I am in the process.  By the way, this recipe tastes so much better than Ball's recipe I canned two years ago.  We love it.  Next batch will be a double batch.
 
In between all that, I got greens in the freezer, but I'm falling behind.  The yellow straight neck squash is piling up.  The cauliflower is just now producing as well.  The swiss chard is going bananas, and I cannot squeeze more time into my day.  The fall prep list is growing.  It's growing so fast, it's burying the big "to-do" list. 

Monday Crazy is Back

I started out Monday with Hubby waking me up, "Hun, did you thaw tortillas?"

"Oh poo, I forgot."

I got up anyway, and charged slowly scooted my feet to the kitchen.  I weighed out tomatoes for delicious taco sauce.  I've been canning this for a few years and we love the taste of it.  One year we canned BBQ sauce (Ball recipe) and did not like the taste.  I still have one jar of it left.

Anyway, it was a maddening Monday for sure.  While the taco sauce reduced, I had to get pork chops in the crock pot for dinner.  In between those two jobs, I did my usual exercise (reluctantly).

(before the chili powder, dandelions and eggs were added)

Then it was breakfast time - Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos.  I had to run out to pick bell peppers to make it, so I went ahead and grabbed my tomato baskets and went to the garden.  The recipe is online with Clean Eating - absolutely delicious!  I ate it without cheese and loved it.  I used dandelions vs. spinach as well.  It was just what I had more of in the freezer.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Frittata

Last Sunday, I decided to make us a healthier version of a frittata.  Hubby was complaining about "too many white potatoes" in his frittata, so I went in search of a recipe that used sweet potatoes - Sweet Potato Black Bean Frittata.

I found several online, and this was amazing - sweet potatoes, a red bell pepper, onion, garlic, a jalapeno pepper, spices, fresh cilantro, and black beans.  You bake it right in the skillet you cook your vegetables in, and only need one bowl to whisk eggs.   

Although packed with flavor, I could not even get my 17 year-old vegetarian to even taste it.  Her loss.  I put a piece away for me and two for Hubby's breakfast.

Here's where I got the recipe:  Sweet Potato Black Bean Frittata

Meal Delivery ~ Creamy Sweet Potato Salad (using two fresh herbs)

I spent yesterday afternoon driving the 30 mile round trip to the "big city."  I delivered meals, to not only Dad, but Mom too.  I had spent a few days in the kitchen with all four burners going and one crock pot.  I always deliver a "breakfast" meal to Dad too. 

Meals included a new recipe ~ Creamy Sweet Potato Salad.  Have you ever made a potato salad with sweet potatoes?  This was a first for me.  Easy and delicious.  It went very fast too. I know everyone but the one "vegetarian" daughter (who won't eat sweet potatoes) loved it.  I'm still pushing her to atleast taste it.  If there is any leftover today.

I can't say I followed it exactly, but pretty close. You bake the diced sweet potatoes first.

Soup, Pears, and Playtime

The temperature here dropped to the 20's last night, so I made soup to warm us all up.  I admit, I had my doubts that the kids would eat this soup, and I was pretty sure a few would refuse to even taste it.

I've been experimenting this week with sweet potatoes.  They were on sale, so I stocked up on some.  This recipe comes from Allrecipes, and contains sweet potatoes, carrots, an onion and an apple.  It also contains freshly grated ginger and red lentils too.