April Garden Notes

Just when I thought I was in shape, I was not.  The very first day outside weeding reminded me of that, ha ha!  Boy, oh boy, you do get a work out outside.  

Did anyone else venture out this month to start the garden process, clean up beds and such?  Did you slide out of bed, like a sloth the next morning, and drag yourself to the ever needed delightful coffee you preset to brew the night before? Only to find out you have more muscles than you thought?  And can barely walk, let alone lift your arms?

Note:  The above was drafted up prior to my foot fracture ha ha!  

The arrival of April has pushed all of our "projects" (indoor anyway) on the back burner for now.  It's that time of year to till the garden (done), start weeding and mulching flower beds and the herb garden (in the works), and planting the garden.

 

Our homegrown asapargus is starting to come up!  I have my husband on picking duty for now.  Yum!  No asparagus tastes better than homegrown.

I had plans to dig up the rhubarb in the raised bed, and replant it into a grow bag, for a temporary location.  The raised beds, which were our original beds put in over 10 years ago, are going to be dug out.  They were not tall enough, and we did not leave enough space for the mower.    I'm hoping the rhubarb does okay until we can find it a more permanent home. I will just have to wait a week or so to do this job.

Comfrey is coming back already.  I have it in a plant pot.  I have plans to dehydrate it, and maybe put a few poultices in the freezer.

I dug up the wild mullein plants that were growing in the flower beds, and replanted them in the area I replanted lemon balm.  I know they won't grow as tall, but they needed moved.  As of this post, they are still thriving in their new location.  Thank goodness we got rain after I moved two of them.  I still have one more to move.

(Green onion/parsley pesto  - can also be made with basil)

The herb garden is already producing green onions, the starts of bunching onions, chives, oregano and thyme.  I will have to plant basil, parsley, rosemary, cilantro (see below), tarragon, and margarom.

Although our chives are not all fully up, there are a few bunches that are.  I have dehydrated some for dry mixes and such.  I will freeze some later in the spring.

I dropped some cilantro seeds early this year.  We'll see if they come up.  If not, I have enough seeds to replant.  I'll wait a bit longer to plant more in the herb garden.

Although April is not completely over yet, I don't see much more happening for now.  I do see that my sage survived the freeze warning we recently had.  

Happy Gardening!

April Garden Notes © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

This and That

Even though I know spring planting time is not here yet, it was depressing to know that there was a freeze warning out last night for us, and is still in effect until 10am today. We are hoping it won't damage the asparagus or rhubarb.  I'm sure it may damage some of my early spring herbs however.  My sage plants were just starting to produce again too.

I found the pattern location for the crocheted rose cup coasters, using crochet thread #10.  Sharing for those who were interested in the pattern.

The pattern is in this book, on page 55.  Check your library for the book.

Book information:  Creative Crochet, A Leisure Arts Publication, ISBN:  0-942237-63-3

Not wanting to go fetch my recipe binder, I recently just used good ol' google to find a breakfast casserole with sweet potatoes and breakfast sausage (the hubs bought sausage that needed used).  I also thawed and used some kale, added garlic, onions and frozen bell peppers (from last year's garden), and seasoned the eggs.  

We canceled our camping trip for this weekend.  Am I upset?  I'm more mad, but also sad.  My hiking shoes will be waiting for me for the next trip.  We thought about going anyway, but then thunderstorms/and high winds sealed the decision.  Our camper is too small to spend an entire weekend inside it vs. sitting around a campfire and/or hiking.  Always have a back up plan.  Although today will be a beautiful sunny 70 degree day, the rain is still on the way.

I may have found another source to donate my lap afghans to.  It's local, which is what I wanted.  I am reaching out to verify.

Short blog post today.  Have a good weekend.

This and That  © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix

Spring herbs are here!

Store bought chives are expensive. The cost for the above bottle of dried chives was $4.58!  I freeze my chives, but for the dry Ranch mix recipe, I need dehydrated/dried chives.  The bottle above is .12 oz and when ground makes 7 1/2 teaspoons.   It is horribly expensive, and I have managed to kill the indoor chive plant I brought inside.

So....on a mission I went...

 I dehydrated chives many years ago, but did not do my research before hand.  I had snipped them, and placed them on parchment paper in the dehydrator, and they the fan blew them all over the inside.

Here is what I have researched.  

-if you wash your chives, be sure to let they dry or dry them with a towel, or use a vegetable drying pad to let them dry off any water from washing them.  Otherwise, your dehydrator time will be a lot longer.

-do not snip them, keep the the chives whole, and place in the dehydrator.

-do not use a heat higher than 95°F, and dry them for 12-16 hours (mine took closer to the 16 hour mark, and this can vary).  Check your dehydrator for the temperture setting.  My chives are very long and thick, so I used every tray in my dehydrator to avoid cutting them at all.  Also, rotate your trays during they drying time.

Keeping the chives whole, prevents them from moving around too much, and the temperature keeps the flavor retained.

I stored mine in a canning jar, and use a vaccuum seal to remove any extra air.  I also kept them as long as I could, and will grind them only when I need them, to retain flavor.

(the first time making this recipe, I did not have dehydrated chives, so I ground up a teaspoon of dehydrated shallots, and it was very good).

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix 

1/2 cup Cultured Buttermilk Powder

1 Tbsp. homemade garlic powder

1 Tbsp. homemade onion powder

1 tsp.  parsley* (see note below for this and next two ingredients)

1 tsp. dill* 

1 tsp. chives *

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Store in the refrigerator, or if you prefer to store it on a shelf, replace the buttermilk powder with powdered milk.  If stored dry with buttermilk in the fridge, you'll want to use it up in about 2 months.

It will fit in a half pint jar.  I used my canning funnel to fill the jar with ingredients.

*parsley, dill and chives are all dehydrated from the herb garden.

I first used this on chicken for a chicken, wild rice and broccoli casserole.  Years ago, I would just put the bone in chicken in the pan, but this time I cooked the chicken on the stove top, cubed with this ranch dry mix.  It turned out wonderful.

We also used it for a dressing (add what you like), and it's pretty good, and uses less ingredients to make.  It makes a very good dip recipe for vegetables.  We like to blend cottage cheese (vs. sour cream) and add the dry Ranch mix.  So good!

On a side note, I freeze chives as well, for other dishes .  I simply snip, store in freezer bags (flat), or fill freezer containers.  I just take it out, use what I need and put it back into the freezer.  We can enjoy chives in the colder months of winter.  I also freeze some of our green onions with the same process.

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix© Apr 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

New Salad Recipe Tried

 

I tired another new salad recipe, but we really liked this as a meal itself to be honest.  We love the summer orzo salad we found last year, but this one is a keeper too.  It contains kidney, cannellini, and garbanzo beans.  I do suggest you make it ahead of time, so the beans have time to absorb delish dressing flavors.  I added the fresh herbs upon serving time to avoid them wilting.  I used about  a slightly less cup of about 1/4th, of red onion, but will add more next time.  Red onion is so potent, it's easy to over due it in a salad.

To minimize standing time on my feet (for now anyway), I broke out my new box chopper (bought over a month ago).  I can see why there is a mixed review on these gadgets.  I mean, if you love to cook, slicing and dicing is very thearaputic, but this gadget really sped up the time prepering the salad.

The orignial recipe calls for one red and one green bell pepper.  My husband did the shopping, so I wasn't going to complain about getting a red and yellow one ha ha!  

Imagine your summer grown cucumbers, bell peppers, red onion, fresh herbs from the herb garden (parsely, basil and mint), and a homemade vinagarette.  Delicous.

The orginal recipe is online free, with The Mediterranean Dish.

Note:  The only two things I left out, were the capers (didn't have any), and the 1 teaspoon of sugar in the dressing.  

Tip:  You need a half of a cucumber for the salad, so why not buy an extra cucumber and serve homemade chicken salad on cucumber slices?   You'd use up the other half, and get more sustanence with the meal.  

As for a review on my box chopper, it is not from Amazon. I bought it from a kitchen supply store.  It is built rather nicely, and it came with two different size cutting attachments (these easily remove).  The box unit did not have a mandolin option, as some do.  I most likely will use this for summer salads, but not that often.  It will come in handy.  

New Salad Recipe Tried  © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Lavender Syrup

 Have you ever made homemade lavender syrup?  Have you purchased this syrup and used it?  

I was curious, as I thought it would be good in an evening cup of tea.  I was also intrigued with it as a lemonade, but  wasn't so sure about the floral flavor bit.

Note:  I now put a canning label on things I make, and write the expiration date on it vs. the date I made it.  It makes it so much easier to check at a glance than looking over the calender.

I chose to use honey, but the recipe states you can use other options if you prefer.  The recipe and instructions are found online with Detoxinista.

I also did a bit more research, and you can even make the syrup sugar-free, by using monk fruit in place of the honey/sugar/maple syrup.

I also found more recipes with different amounts of honey or suggestions for adding things like vanilla extract.  I will be trying more recipes to find the one we like the best.

If you have tried Traditonal Medicinals tea - Nighty Night, the syrup smells almost exactly like this eveing hot tea (the lavender scent).  I made the syrup specifically to add to this tea for additional benefits.

The results were pretty good.  I also made myself a lemonade (just water and and real lemons squeezed), and used the syrup for the sweetener.  I was skeptical, because I have tasted lavender candy a few years back, and it tasted like soap.

The lavender lemonade was pretty darn good.  Homemade is is the way to go, if you are wanting to try this conconction.

Lavender Syrup  © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

from the handiwork journal . . .

What's on the hook? 

Well alot!!   To be honest, I am looking forward to trading in my hook for a rake, shovel, and garden trowel.  Crocheting non-stop over the last few weeks has made me realize how much I miss the garden work ha ha!  

I finished this baby blanket. I used up3 skeins of baby white, and partial skeins of baby blue and a lighter brown, that were leftover from another baby blanket order (from years ago).

I started this baby blanket.  I'm using up some leftover peach and blue baby yarn (F hook, so it's taking some time).

Progress on the current scrap yarn lap afghan.  I'm getting down to the last of the last scrap balls of yarn, so it's the last one for now.  By scraps, I mean hand size balls and smaller.

I have also been crocheting for a cause - our town's plant bingo and raffle.  It is the town's first one, to help raise money to plant flowers, landscape etc in the town.  They have already gotten over 50 tickets sold for this event.

First up, I finished this coaster set.  It was on my list of unfinished projects.  It's being donated to the cause.  Not only did I finish an unfinished project, but found a good home for it.  Funny how that worked out.  It's a Monstera leaf coaster set in a crochet plant pot.

I also used up some cotton yarn to crochet dishcloths, and created a "bouquet" in a new plant pot for the same cause.  It turned out so cute!

I also donated a set of crocheted baskets I had left in my craft show stash (been in there for over 10 years and never sold), and tucked in a smaller plant spray bottle, a few mini solar garden lights (with floral patterns on them), and a few pot holders.

And lastly, I had a set of crocheted cup coasters with roses in the center, that was also leftover from my craft shows.  

All donated for the town's goal to beautify it.  

The scraps of cotton yarn, leftover from the dishcloth bouquet project, are being crocheted into cleaning cloths.

from the handiwork journal . . . © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Tidbits ~ Have you ever?

We had a frost warning for last night, and woke up to a wind chill of 35°F.  It's still April.  We typically can't plant anything until after the last frost, which in our area, is about or after Mother's Day in May (mid May or later).  One year, however, we had a frost in late May, after we planted the entire garden and lost everything that year.  Every year it's different, so we just wait it out.

Not only is it cold right now, but the rain is moving back in.  A lot of it.  I'm not looking forward to a flooded chicken run again.

 

My new laundry basket.  It is the least expensive one we could find ($16.99  Big Lots) to at least make my life easier during then next 2-3 weeks (or longer).  My husband had to drive about 22 miles to get it, but I have never been this excited about a laundry basket.  I know this one won't last very long, as it's all completely plastic, including the wheels, but like I said, laundry will keep getting done.

It will will make laundry duty much easier, and could be used for other things too.  Like toting a bag of yarn to a room to work on (ha ha!).

(photo source:  Lehman's)

Lehman's has a very nice set up, where you can place your laundry basket on a gadget with wheels, but it's very expensive ($159.95).   I do like their version, as you don't have to bend over so much,

Have you ever?

 Has anyone made dandelion green pesto with pumpkin seeds?  Or any dandelion green pesto at all?  I'm wondering if it's bitter.  I've always blanched my dandelion greens and frozen them for future meals.   

Has anyone made a smal  batch recipe off  homemade cuticule cream?  Any recipe recomendations?

Has anyone crocheted (or knitted) a baby blanket using Red Heart acrylic yarn?  I've only crocheted baby blankets with Bernat baby yarn (acrylic).  Pattern suggestions?  I'm thinking I may go through some yarn and use a recent pattern I found a year ago, but smaller.  I will be looking online at Yarnspirations patterns as well.  Sometimes the yarn company themselves, have free useful patterns.  

Has anyone made lavender syrup?  

Tidbits ~ Have you ever? © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart