Good Vibes ~ Al Fresco

I have had one run-in with a baby deer this garden season.  I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or him/her.  Off it ran and no damage to the garden.  I do think we may have another ground hog, but have not seen it for a while.  A bug of some sort is having a feast on my garden kale, so once we catch up on the weeds and such, I'll sprinkle some flour with pepper mixed into it (husband's trick).

It's a bit disconcerting to not have much to harvest yet, and hear the sound of locusts announcing fall is around the corner.  The rain is coming down almost every other day or every day, so the weeds are winning I think.  The bonus win is not having to drag 200+feet of garden hose out to water stuff.

Our first Anaheim peppers from the garden.  They are huge as they should be.  However, it's not enough to process, so they are in the crisper drawer to use for current meals.  Or I have plan B too.

The cherry type (heirloom) tomatoes are finally on and turning.  Other tomatoes are on, but nothing not even close to harvesting yet.  We now have some hot peppers on the plants.  There are a few hot banana peppers about ready to pick too (the need is to have them all ready at the same time).

I harvested some Swiss Chard for one dinner too.  The garden is providing.

Garlic was finally dug up, but we had to wait for a dry day to get into the garden.  The garden was actually still pretty wet the day I dug it all up.

I had some chives that spread into my thyme plants, in the herb garden.  I dug those out, but later spotted one more smaller start.  I will get that dug out and into a small pot for now.  Most likely I'll give them to friends or donate to a local person who gives plants away (we have a few people who have bring one, take one plant tables).

It's not really a good week (ha, there never is) to pick up 10# of blueberries (from a nearby state), but I did.  I am pretty sure we'll use them all too.  I love to use frozen blueberries for summer lunch time smoothies, and especially after a long hot day of garden work.

I've been challenging myself to continue to meal prep from the freezer first, then add pantry and garden goodies.

It's sort of been fun, by picking random items and looking up recipes.  Rotation underway . . . preparing any room for garden additions to the freezer.

Good vibes from the herb garden.  Green onion, parsley and basil to add to a cold salad.

Edamame salad - corn and edamame from the freezer (new recipe tried as a result of random freezer rotation).  It utilized the freezer and garden, but it did not give us the "wow" response.  Good, but not great either.  Healthy?  Yes.  I thought the flavor overall was much better after it sat in the fridge overnight too.

A sweet potato breakfast casserole - sausage and bell peppers from the freezer.  Delicious.  I would prep more breakfast meats for this, for easier and quicker baking. I will also be trying this with garden kale.

Stuffed garden bell peppers from the freezer for dinner. 

What's was next?  I randomly pulled some sweet Italian sausage links.  I am sure I had a plan for them, but cannot remember what for.  I did a very simple crock pot meal with potatoes on the bottom, layered the sausage links, topped it with frozen garden green beans from last year, and whipped up my own homemade Italian dressing and poured it over. The sausages fell apart, and it was fantastic.  Two more freezer items used.  Dinner al fresco - weather was fantastic.

It should be fun putting something together for the next dinner.  

Other news . . .

We (by "we" I mean my husband) are starting to clean the gutters out.  I have been after him for weeks, and almost got the ladder out to do some myself (but got scolded).  

We have come up with a plan for the rose bed, but it's on the back burner until we get caught up with the vegetable garden weeds.  It's back on the "list" but so is the chicken coop (story of my life).

The weather was an absolute gorgeous 70's (wish I was camping, but sometimes we have to shuffle life's responsibilities) and cool day early in the week, but the heat is said to return.  Early mornings have been slightly under 60°F, and foggy.  It has helped me get more done in the garden.

Lastly, some good advice from a book I recently finished.

Good Vibes ~ Al Fresco  ©  July 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Sweet Potato Breakfast "Bowl"

Today I am sharing how I made these delicious breakfast "bowls" by starting with sweet potatoes.

The first time I made these, I used organic hannah sweet potatoes, and this second time I used locally grown sweet potatoes (which both were very good).

Prepare fresh spinach, by cleaning it, and then slicing it.  Set aside.  I used two bundles of fresh spinach.  Set aside

Prepare homemade cilantro-lime sauce.

In a food processer, mix 2 full cups of cleaned organic (or home grown) cilantro and:

-1/2 cup organic plain Greek yogurt (I have yet to use homemade for this), plus more to thicken to your taste

-juice from one lime (not the bottled kind)

-1 small can of organic salsa verde (or homemade), or about 14 Tbsp.  (cut the recipe in half to reduce the amount, but we really like the sauce on this breakfast dish)

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

Process until smooth, and like I mentioned above, add extra yogurt to make your sauce as thick as you like. 

(I pack this separate to pack a breakfast to go)

Clean and dice some garden green onions (I also pack these separate for a breakfast to go).  Set aside.

1.  Wash, peel and dice enough sweet potatoes for your family.  I cut up about 3-4, depending on size.  Roast them in a stove top pan, using oil, salt and pepper and 1/2 tsp. of homemade garlic powder.  I have not used freshly minced yet, but will be trying that next time.  Set aside.  I use this as our first layer in the "bowls" I created.

2. Rinse and drain 1 can of organic black beans, and add that to a stove top pan, along with 1  1/2 cups organic frozen corn (I do not thaw mine).  I heated this up with some cumin (give it a taste test to your liking), until heated throughout.  Set aside (second layer of the breakfast).

3. Dice one onion, and add the same amount of diced bell peppers (I used frozen bell pepper from the garden).  Heat until both are cooked. I added salt and pepper.  Keep in the pan.  Add your prepared spinach, and cook down.  Set aside (third layer in this breakfast).

4. Cook two eggs.  Layer as I did, and top with homemade cilantro-lime sauce.  I prepared bacon the second time I made this and added a few slices to the top.  

To serve, layer ingredients and enjoy.  I prepare everything ahead of time, then I reheat each morning, layer and cook two eggs per breakfast.  Top the eggs with the sauce and diced green onions.  Add bacon if you want that too.  Delicious and healthy.

I know this all sounds like a lot of work, but it was very good and worth the work.  I got the idea from a dish that Bob Evans now has on their menu.  I have not tried their version, but I looked it up online and re-created it with my own ingredients here at the homestead (based on what they say is in their "bowl").

Sweet Potato Breakfast "Bowl"  © Mar 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart