Embroidery Sampler ~ Making progress

Here is the beginning stage of my embroidery sampler. I used a fine cross-stitch material I had on had as scrap material. The spaces make practice stitching easier. It's been years since I did any embroidery. 

Freezing and Canning ~ Garden Bounty Once Again

Today I froze 2 quarts of Swiss Chard, 2 quarts of tomatoes, 2 quarts of green beans, and I canned 4 quarts of homemade salsa.   And we haven't even gotten to the squash yet.  I'm sure I'll have yellow squash, zucchini, and acorn squash.  We also picked 4 spaghetti squash prior to today's rainfall.  We are surely loving the garden, and I can't wait to enjoy some salsa tonight!

Garden Tales ~ Tomatoes and Cantaloupe ~ And a Naughty Raccoon

It's that time of the year when the tomatoes are turning red all over the garden.  The downside this year, is that a raccoon keeps eating my beef tomatoes.  I've been able to get about 5 this week before he/she did.  I think it has to do with the corn fields this year.  Last year we were surrounded by corn crops.  This year that is only one across the street.  Many raccoons have died going back and forth, but one seems to keep eating away on just one type of tomato.

However, we are getting a lot of roma tomatoes. I've been using them to make our homemade salsa, and many dishes.  I have frozen some too.  Yesterday I decided it was time to make tomato sauce from scratch for the very first time every.  While one daughter was away on a camping trip, I enlisted the help of 3 more kiddos.  They all helped remove seeds from about 8 pounds of small roma tomatoes.  This was torture to them (he he!).

We made the sauce with fresh basil from the herb garden, onion, garlic, and even oregano.  We were quite impressed with the final outcome, however it did need more seasoning.  We like to get crazy with the spices.

After I finished the sauce (which took 2 hours to cook), I decided to slice up a garden green pepper, a zucchini and a yellow squash.  I added that to the sauce without cooking it prior, like I usually do.  I topped it with a lid and boiled up whole wheat spaghetti noodles.  We loved it!  It was bit watery, compared to store bought sauce, but that's why you bake up homemade bread sticks - to wipe the plate clean.

I have to say though, I will need a lot more tomato plants if I ever want to can tomato sauce.  It did take time to remove seeds, but at this point I have no intentions of buying a "sauce maker" as requested by my husband.  I'm sure it's electric and it would, at this point, just take up space.

We've also been enjoying the very juicy and organic grown cantaloupe, from our melon patch.  We've eaten about 5 nice sized one so far, with the largest about 7 inches in diameter.  Prior to the season, we added sand to the melon patch.  So far, it's helped us grow nice sized cantaloupe.

As for our watermelon, we have enjoyed about 3 of them so far.  It takes longer for them to ripen.  And even though I warned my husband that we should not pick one yet, he did.  It was, of course, not ripe enough.  It did have a wonderful flavor, and we ate most of it anyway.  The rest went into the fridge, and was chilled.  We then cut it into cubes and treated our chickens with an nice cold snack, to help keep them hydrated in this extreme heat.  They loved it!

As I sit here they type this, a stray dog has wandered into our driveway.  He looks very much like one of our dogs, with a sickly look to him/her.  The kids are outside right now, trying to entice him/her with a treat and fresh water.  Then we can see if he/she has a collar and tags.  It appears dehydrated, poor thing.  I hope it doesn't run off without getting a drink of water.  It was over 90°F yesterday, and the only water source nearby is creek water.  Not good for a dehydrated dog.  If they are successful at rescuing the dog, I'll be sure to post an update. My heart breaks when I see a stray, hungry, and dehydrated dog, especially when it's extremely hot out.

Today, I am making another batch of liquid homemade laundry detergent.  I've tried 2 types of soap - Zote and Fels-Naptha soap.  I prefer the Fels-Naptha, even though Zote offered a more pleasant smell.  It's melting away on the stove, so I can later add the borax and washing soda.  Making it has become a natural choice for us now.

 

Tales from the Garden

The calcium spray solution we used seems to be helping, as we were able to cut 3 zucchini the other day.  We may lose the 2 yellow crookneck plants, but the others are looking pretty good.  The yellow straight neck squash is starting to produce, so it will be a matter of days before I can tell if it will be okay as well.

So far, since the beginning of our season this year, the yellow squash has blessed us many times over.  It takes about 8 squash to make patties with, and we have made them over five times already.  I have not shredded any zucchini for the freezer this year however.  It seemed to take a slow start at first.  Last year it was growing like crazy, so this year we've been eating what has been harvested.

As for the tomatoes, I've been able to freeze 2 qt. bags so far, and have made several dishes for meals.  Nothing has been wasted.  A few tomatoes have been eaten by tomato worms, but I'm not in a panic like last year.  I found out we can pick off the tomato worms and feed them to the chickens.

We planted a lot more green peppers from seed this year that are starting to produce.  We planted one plant we bought from a local greenery and about 4 from a produce stand seller.  The rest are from seed.  All in all, the 4 are producing nice large peppers, but thin in texture.  The one plant produced only 2 peppers since the beginning of the season.  Our plants from seed are producing nice thick peppers, however smaller.  These smaller peppers however, have abundant flavor and have a much richer smell to them.  We also had good luck with our poblano peppers, banana peppers and cayenne.  We've been able to make about 5 qt.s of salsa this year.  This is the first year to make homemade salsa.

We added red and white onions this year as well.  We've used every one of them, however made garden notes to plant a lot more, to prevent having to buy from the store.  The heirloom peas are a first for the garden this year as well, and we know now to plan them early from seed outside.  Our cauliflower has yet to produce, but it's a first from seed for us as well.  The brussels sprouts are starting to produce on their stalks and the cabbage looks great too.

Our sweet corn is looking good, so we can't wait to try it as well.  However, next year we need to plow down an area to grow enough to freeze about 2 bushels.  We also may grow corn for the chickens, so we will not have to purchase corn from the store during winter.  We will know also, that it's grown chemical free, which is excellent for our chickens.

The greens were a nice addition to the garden, especially the swiss chard.  It has done well growing next to the pepper plants, and without bug damage.  We planted the collards next to the rhubarb and they are bug eaten, so we are researching that as well.  The asparagus will have to wait for another year, and the rhubarb two more years.

The cucumbers did great, and we were able to make over 6 qts. of pickles this year.  This is also a first for us.  Next year I need twice as many plants so that we can actually can pickles and relishes for the winter as well.

Our two rows of potatoes were a new addition this year as well.  I had plans to freeze some into hash-browns, but with our large family, we will need more rows planted next year.  The early lettuce blessed us many times over, and next year we plan to plant a second planting.  Same thing with green beans.  We plan to plant a second planting and add more varieties.

We planted spinach from plant, and from seed, and both died before we could enjoy them.  The weather seemed to be a problem with heavy spring rains followed by extreme hot temperatures.  We, with the help of our books guiding us with companion planting, planted radishes next to the spinach, and those did well.

Winter Kale is looking nice, so we plan to do that next year as well.  We missed adding broccoli, but have the brussels sprouts. 

With our first compost bin this year, and adding lime to the soil, we should have a better garden next year.  The idea is to grown enough food to freeze and can for the winter and spring.  We added 2 blueberry bushes and discovered a pear tree on the property.  It's too small for this year, but next year we should have enough to can pear butter.  Overall, I think we are doing much better than last year, and will do much better next year.  We need to plant more berries and citrus trees.

This year, I bought flower seeds (mixed), 3 for $1.00.  I planted them around the house just before a rain, in areas I would normally buy annuals for.  This saved us a lot of money as well.  I not only have a variety of flowers and colors, we have lots of colorful butterflies and lots of bees.  We have seen butterflies almost every day since the flowers started blooming.  I also dug up perennials, split them, and spread them around the gardens, also saving us money from purchasing more this year. I've only had 2 encounters with black water snakes, while out watering flowers.

As for the kids, they still think I am nuts, and think having a garden is way too much work.  I honestly don't think they will appreciate it until they are out on their own, and have the experience of handling money overall.
They hate all the dishes I use when I bake, cook, can, and freeze from the garden, but they gobble it all down and ask for more!  Having a garden, especially this size, is a lot of work.  Gardening keeps us healthy, physically and mentally, and keeps us self-sufficient.  Life should be more than going to work and spending all your money at the store (or on bills).  I have to say, for me at least, I am a much happier person.

Turnip Turkey Burgers ~ Another Way to Cook with Turnips

I experimented with turnips again.  The kids loved what I did and they could not taste a strong turnip taste.  I didn't have a recipe.  I took 3 lbs of quick sale ground turkey, lean, and mixed it with:

1/2-3/4 cup italian bread crumbs (I just had some that needed used up)  You could make your own.

1 egg, farm fresh

2 turnips, garden fresh, grated finely (peeled first of course)

1 med. or 2 small garden onions, chopped

1 garden fresh green pepper, chopped

1 tsp. or more of dried thyme and oregano from the herb garden

Salt and Pepper to taste

I cooked these in a cast iron skillet with olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side (made our burgers pretty good sized).  The kids topped them with garden fresh lettuce and homemade pickles.  I may try these again with a different version, maybe with garlic or a small handful of cheese.  Either way, we discovered a delicious way to use turnips in our meal. 

I'll never forget reading Little House books with my daughter.  It was those books that influenced us to eat turnips and keep them in our diet.  Now we grow them every year in the summer garden.  I will also be trying a pickled turnip/beet recipe. 

Collard Greens, Swiss Chard and More Turnips

I really need to cook up our garden collard greens.  Our swiss chard is looking great too.  I'm going to search around the Internet and my cookbooks for more turnip recipes as well.  With 3 pounds of ground turkey thawing, I think a nice turkey burger to go along with all of this will make a nice meal.

Yesterday I made 3 quarts of refrigerator pickles and 1 1/4 quarts of homemade salsa.  The salsa was a hit.  I used a recipe from a library book I borrowed, and substituted ground coriander for fresh cilantro.  With extreme heat here this year, my cilantro went to seed early.  I also used a cayenne pepper from the garden instead of a hot chili pepper.  It was a huge hit and they want me to make more today.

68 Things You Can Make Yourself

Alfredo Sauce 

Angel Food Cake

 

Angel Food Cake, Citrus

Applebutter

Applesauce

Sunday Baking ~ Cherry Tomato Focaccia ~ Make Your Own Cream Cheese

While I wait for my dough to rise, I did a bit of reading.  I located a recipe to make my own cream cheese.  Since I have cheesecloth and dried herbs on hand, and even organic yogurt, it may be the next recipe to try.  It sure would eliminate any extra additives I'm putting in our bodies with store bought cream cheese.

I'm also trying a new recipe to use a pint of my cherry tomatoes, letting nothing from the garden go to waste.  I am baking Cherry Tomato Focaccia, which I located in the book, The Heirloom Tomato book, written by Amy Goldman.  I am using organic agave instead of sugar for the recipe.

The kids, and my husband, keep asking if I am making another Zucchini pie.  It must have left a good impression on them.  They have asked for another one since they tasted it last night.  Yea for allrecipes.com for their wonderful recipes.

Today is board game day, so Horse-opoly is on the table today. For those who were not interested in playing, they are reading books.

Turnip and Beet Casserole ~ My own version

If you are a pioneer at heart, and have turnips growing in your garden this year, you'll like this recipe I created.  The only thing the kids complained about, was the appearance of it.  I think I may make this again, by boiling the beets and turnips separately, and then layer them, but that would mean mixing ingredients differently too.  Here is my delicious version of a Turnip and Beet Casserole.

TURNIP AND BEET CASSEROLE

4 med. turnips, peeled and diced

3 small or 2 medium beets, peeled and diced

Boil turnips and beets in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them.  Once it comes to a boil, cover and turn the temperature down to low heat until turnips and beets are tender/soft enough to mash.  Approximately 15-20 minutes.

Drain and mash them together.*

Mix in:

1 farm fresh egg, beaten

1/3 cup of white granulated sugar*

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. organic butter

 Transfer mixture to an 8-inch by 8-inch (2 qt.) glass baking dish, sprayed with non-stick organic olive oil spray.

Sprinkle dried Thyme and chopped Rosemary over the top.*

Bake casserole at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Notes:

~It is just as delicious to hand mash the vegetables, leaving small bits in it.

~Sugar substitute can be used or amount can be lowered.

~Use home grown herbs, grown without chemicals.

Simply re-heat any leftovers for delicious flavor.  My husband told me I should not change a thing on this recipe, but if I do, I'll be sure to post the changes.

Baked Cucumbers ~ Concombres Au Beurre

I borrowed a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and

Garden Bounty Blessings

This is a homemade Kohlrabi and Squash Frittata I made for brunch (my own recipe). I used everything from the garden and our farm fresh eggs.

I picked a bunch of green beans and made a homemade summer vegetable spaghetti sauce to pour over organic whole wheat noodles. The recipe is in the Cardiac Recovery Cookbook.  The recipe I linked it too is the exact same recipe I have, but on another Web site.

For a side, I pulled beets and roasted them with onions, olive oil, dried thyme and fresh sprigs of rosemary (from the herb garden of course). Sprinkled with sea salt.  YUM! I absolutely love these.

Refrigerator Pickles

Refrigerator Pickles

These pickles were crunchy and delicious!  This recipe is a keeper!

Watermelon from the Garden ~ What to do with cucumbers?

I counted about 5 baby sized watermelons in the garden this morning.  Yea!  I can't wait to make fun recipes with juicy watermelon this year.  I was searching around on the Internet and found the National Watermelon Promotion Board. Lots of recipe on there.

Yesterday, after I picked cucumbers, I started looking for different ways to cook them or healthy toppings.  I remembered, that on the movie "Julie & Julia" she made braised cucumbers.  So, I am on the search for many recipes, with the goal to not let anything go to waste in the garden. I have to say that movie really influenced me on trying new recipes.

I even sliced one cucumber up, cooled it in the fridge and used them to cool our eyes.  Temperatures were up to 94°F here and extremely humid.  We did end up eating those too - ha ha ha!  However, if you have never place cooled cucumbers on your eyes, you are really missing out on a at-home spa treatment.  It felt great!

First Cucumbers of the Season ~ First time to make refrigerator pickles

Thanks to the organic gardening magazine my mother gave to us for our birthdays (hubby and I), I have know made my first refrigerator pickles.  The kids can't wait for 24 hours to pass to taste these.  They opted for slices instead of  spears.

First Canned Jam

We did it! Finally! After we picked (mostly by my son) 10 cups of wild black raspberries, we now have 6 pints of homemade canned jam! Every recipe was different, and every source we checked on how long to process the jars had different measurements and times. We cannot wait to enjoy our hard work. We all participated in it and it's 6 jars of jam I don't have to buy at the store, and it is much healthier by making it with fresh berries. What a blessing it was to find fresh berries on our property!

Garden Bounty - Potatoes

This is our first year to grow potatoes. Extended family purchased starters and shared them with us. Next year we plan to grow red potatoes. I have plans to chop them up for frozen hashbrowns after we harvest them. Right now we are digging around the plants and pulling the smaller ones to boil up with green beans. They sure do taste better than potatoes from the store. When these are pulled from the ground, they are very hard, unlike the softer ones you find in the store. Same thing with turnips, beets and other root vegetables. It's so nice to pull something from the garden and made a dinner with it. And is chemical free, grown with rain water and good ol' sunshine.

I can't wait to see what we will eat next. It's been hard work taking care of the garden, but it has been a huge help with living frugal and healthy.

Another finished hope chest project

I finally finished my son's blanket. He asked for these colors, so I alternated with a spike stitch. I egdged it with 2 rows of single crochet. Phew! I can't believe I finished it prior to his graduation!

Recycling Flannel Pajamas ~ Rag Rolled Hair

I cut up a pair of old flannel pajamas. We saved the buttons

Scraping with buttons ~ Earrings

Another pair of fun button earrings I made by using jump rings to connect them .

Roasted Dandelion Root "Coffee"

I was surprised that this "coffee" did not turn out a bit darker. It almost looks like tea in this clear mug. It's not for everyone, but worth the trouble to dig, wash, chop, roast, and brew. I am sure that we will continue to dig dandelions for this purpose. The recipe is in MaryJane's Outpost book (written by MaryJane Butters).

I now look at dandelions in a whole different way. It's not that ugly yard week anymore, but something useful. I may even make the jelly in her book too.