Pioneer Woman at Heart

This is an old blog draft I had before all things in life went BAM!   Funeral is over, but we are all hurting.  Again, thank you for your prayers and good thoughts. It is taking all I have to get up and go this morning.  I am slammed with tomatoes, and I should have been up at 4:30am today.  I am so far behind, but I am up, as my husband had to work today as well.  Oh, I am slammed with green bell peppers as well.  I'm still dealing zucchini, and did not have a chance to check on the plants, as we had a day of visitation, and a full day with funeral services.  I thought I just heard the radio mention thunderstorms today, so after I get tomatoes prepped, I may run out and do a very quick look-see. I have to get my morning work out in first, then there is the unloading of the dishwasher, and then moving produce around to make room for a full day of canning.  It's very hot here as well, so that is a double whammy in my kitchen this week. A beaut...

  These are the days of my life.  My day ends like this and starts like this.  I am just so tired at the end of the day lately. Kids came for a meal and a visit over the weekend, and I was thankful that I had help to clean beans.  On the other hand we did not get any work done regarding the new coop, nor any painting done. Our green beans are doing so well, I may be giving some to family and friends.  We'll see as I get mine put up in the freezer. Picking from last Saturday - 5.5# Picking from Sunday - 5.8# Grand total so far this year is 17.59 pounds. We are eating them, gave some to the kids, and the rest blanched and froze. A few strange double growing veggies. I only planted National Pickling cucumbers and one other for salads/snacking.  Do you think the National Pickling is too sweet for canning dill pickles?   I'm told they will be too "sweet" for that.  I don't want to waste ingredients or time. We have been making zucchini boats, usin...

  Everything came to halt for a few days.  The truck is fixed now thankfully.  The car has been delivered to the repair man (local man we used before).  There is no extreme cleaning going on right now, nor painting. It's been impossible to focus on "one thing" and finish it, on a daily basis here.  Canning/freezing season is here, and with a bang.  I can't complain, but boy it's really putting me in a sour mood some days.   I hate that feeling of being overwhelmed.  I told my husband, I would gladly grow the garden and pay someone to can in.  He laughed.  Yeah, who has money for that, ha ha! I've been taking advantage of the good weather days, and ,keeping the electric bill down.  I'm am retiring those crocheted rag rugs.  They will be moved to the garage for when my husband needs something to lay on under a vehicle.   The rugs have lasted about 12-13 years, but have faded in color and are ready to move on to ano...

I had a few pints of yellow (straight neck) squash relish to use up.  It appears to be an item we don't use as often as I though we would.  I read it's great on hotdogs.  We don't eat hotdogs.  I also canned it in pints vs. half-pints, like I should have. Of course it's good on burgers too, but then we have most of the jar to use up before it goes bad. Here is what I tried with the yellow squash relish , and liked it. Over Black Beans: First up, I soaked black beans, then cooked them in the crocky the next day (with chopped onion and minced garlic sauteed and added). On Burritos: 

I have really enjoyed the tiny bit if porch time I've been able to get this week.  I'm soaking up the cool weather, because I am sure it will turn hot and humid (again).  Then again, it's very nice this morning.  Before I share my canning results yesterday, I want to share a bit of other good news.  I finally heard from Daughter in GA.  She phased up faster than anyone in her platoon, and was promoted to PG (in charge of a platoon of soldiers).   She can now have visitors, leave post, and even wear civilian clothing.  We are very proud.  She is the only female PG. A quick update on Son.  We received an invitation from Geiger, NC.  There will be another graduation for him after he finishes MCT (Marine Combat Training).  However, this time we are unable to attend.  I wrote him to tell him, but have not received a call from him (yet).  He may not even have time to see us if we do attend, and may be put on a plane ...

My sides with breakfast are garden potatoes with onion and green pepper, leftover squash patties, and a cup of organic wild thyme tea.  The only thing missing was a slice of homemade English muffin slathered in homemade Cinnamon blueberry jam.  I would be baking the muffins, but garden duty calls most days.  This was yesterday's breakfast.  Today?  I'm not so sure.  It's my turn to not get any sleep.  I was woken up by Hubby at 3:30am, who was up for some reason and let a dog out.  In the process he held the door open too long and out went Tiger (youngest one's cat).  We ran around the house a few times and finally got him in.  I never fell back asleep until just before Hubby's alarm went off - 5:30am.   I have a long day ahead (more canning).

Last season, due to storms and wind, and rain, we lost our garden.  This year, we are blessed with yellow squash.  YAY!  One of the family's favorites, is a recipe we make using yellow squash - Squash Patties.   By the way, we top these with sour cream.  Absolutely delicious!  We do follow the recipe, but add the sour cream on top.   You can jazz them up any way you'd like.  Hubby chopped up a jalapeno and added it to a few for himself.

Dinner the other night:  Zucchini Linguine, Squash Cornbread, Roasted beets with thyme, rosemary and onions, and broccoli.