Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Thursday, July 8, 2010

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!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

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.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Today's Garden Bounty


This does not even include the bunch swiss chard I will pull for a salmon dinner tonight. What a blessing this food is to our family.
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Kids Cooking Despite Extreme Temperatures

Despite temperatures over 90°F in our kitchen, and even higher outside, my kids are still experimenting with cooking.  My 13 year-old got out her old Kid Zone magazines and found a recipe to make (no longer in print).  These magazines contained a section for kids to learn about other countries.  The magazine she read again, contained Austria.  She made this delicious dessert recipe and boy was it good. 
Palatschinken - dessert of Austrians

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Lunch from the Garden



We pulled 2 medium Kohlrabi, 1 red onion, 1 green pepper and 1 yellow squash.  I made the Kohlrabi and Squash Empanada recipe you'll find in over in the "New Foods Tried" portion of my blog.  I changed the recipe up a bit to accommodate what was ripe in the garden today.  It was the first time for us to taste Kohlrabi and it was delicious.  We loved it and can't wait to make more recipes with it.  Everything but the garlic and ginger, in the recipe, came from our garden (and the pie crust of course).

Friday, July 2, 2010

How my daughter earned $579.00 for her 8th grade class trip

I have been encouraging my daughter to write a blog about how she earned money to pay for her 8th grade class trip.  She, and her sister, are against it.  However, with today's economy her journey may be interesting.  If she does start up a blog,  I'll post the link.  Here is what she has done so far.  We are a long way from reaching the amount needed.

$22.00 earned from selling homemade macrame jewelry at an event
$12.00 earned from the summer library program for reading books

Amount still needed:  $545.00

It's been a difficult journey.  We'll see what happens over the next month.

When kids get bored....


My 16 year old daughter made this delicious quesadilla by using up leftover "refried beans." The day before, I soaked and dried a bag of pinto beans, added onion and seasoning and mashed them. We make lots of recipes with these "refried beans."

She diced up green and red peppers and sauted them with onion in olive oil. Then added the leftover beans and placed them in between two whole wheat tortillas. After that was heated completely, she topped it with cheese slices (and these are not Kraft slices), sprinkled it with chili pepper and added a dallop of sour scream. Then she added snipped, home grown, green onion.

Man these were good! She needs to come up with a name for her new recipe. She's been having fun in the kitchen, especially when bordem strikes.

Of course, they don't tell me they are bored so often any more. If I hear them say it, they are immediately assigned a cleaning job - any job that needs done.
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