Cabin Fever

Cabin fever is a term I've often heard but never genuinely experienced ... until now.  I'm not suffering to any extreme, as some people have described their symptoms but I am anxious for warmer weather and green pastures.  About two weeks ago, Mother Nature teased us with an entire week of bright sunshine and warm 50 degree F. temperatures which melted all the snow and the frozen stock tanks and seasonal creek.  EJ and I witnessed a flock of geese returning home for spring.  That was just enough to "wet my appetite" for summer weather.  Last week Old Man Winter unleashed another round of snow and cold temperatures that are not really any colder than before our warm spell but, now, seem bitterly cold.  We are buried under 8" of white, haven't seen 20 degrees F. in days and it's snowing again today.

Since moving to the northern prairie, I've sincerely enjoyed the change of seasons.  The cold winter and snow has not yet become the inconvenience that it seems to be for so many others.  However, living all but 6 years of my life in the south, my internal seasonal clock is telling me that it's spring and my garden should be planted, I should be mowing green grass every Thursday, the sounds of window fans should be whirling in the background of all activity and the rain barrels should be filling up from the spring time rain showers that lull us to sleep as it falls on our roof at night.  My internal seasonal clock is telling me that all should smell fresh and new and my world should be bright with a full rainbow of colors. 

I keep telling myself that we have only a few more weeks until green buds appear on the trees and the pastures begin turning bright green.  Only a few more weeks until I'm soaking in a hot bath each evening to relieve my aches and pains from 12 hour days of hard manual labor planting our vegetable and herb gardens.  Only a few more weeks until we are dining "al fresco" and roasting hot dogs and smores' over campfires.  We also have a list of projects that are patiently waiting for warmer weather.  Last week's church sermon was on patience.  It seems the Lord has incorporated the assistance of  Mother Nature and Old Man Winter to further develop my patience.

Although It Didn't Seem Right ...

... I did it anyway.

Despite the blowing snow we were experiencing on Saturday, I set our little indoor green house up in our mud room and planted seeds for our garden starts.  Last night when the wind was howling and the temps were dropping to 3 degrees Fahrenheit, it was hard to believe that within 8 weeks, Lord willing, we will begin putting in our summer garden.

Last year we planted a 30' x 70' vegetable garden.  This year we are excitedly planning to expand that by another 60' x 140' for a corn patch and potato patch.  Our starts include jalapenos, 3 varieties of bell pepper, 6 varieties of tomato, broccoli, green cabbage, and 3 varieties of cauliflower.  I also started cilantro, parsley and chives to indoor pots adding to my year round herb collection.  In addition to the above we plan to grow pumpkins, red & yellow onions, spinach, lettuce, carrots, Swiss chard, beets, English peas, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, sugar baby watermelons, strawberries and numerous outdoor herbs.

We've also been researching the cold hardiness of various varieties of fruit trees thus, hoping to see the beginnings of an orchard this year.

Where are you in your garden planning?

Before I Leave ...

... for a break from the blogging world, I thought I'd touch base with an update on what's been taking most of my time lately.

Remember a couple weeks ago when I posted about frost damaging our garden?  Well, after that post I went out to try and salvage what I could and realized that because I had not pruned the very thick foliage on my plants, only the tops and outside leaves were damaged.  I was so excited to discover that the vegetables and lower leaves were fine!  I pruned all the damaged leaves.

frost bit tops & outer leaves of tomato plants

tomato plants after pruning frost damaged leaves

That's why I'll be away from blogging for a short time.  It is now time to harvest and preserve the bounty God blessed our family with this growing season.  When canning is over I'll be back with an update on the total amount of food we've been blessed with.

God Speed & See you later!
Mrs.B

A Family Affair

Our garden is beginning to produce a nice abundance of vegetables.  Some of our young hens are also beginning to lay - Hooray!  Most of yesterday was spent in the kitchen putting up our harvest.  Today, we will be back in there making pickles; kosher dills and bread & butters ... Yum!

Getting the whole family involved in producing, harvesting and preserving our foods not only gives me much needed help but also teaches the children valuable life skills.  For instance, not too long ago, JP told me, "If we ever go hungry it's nobody's fault but our own.  Y'all have taught us to hunt, fish, grow our own food AND clean it, preserve it and cook it."  Not only have they been taught these things, but they have also acquired an appreciation for the labor and time invested in producing enough food to feed oneself or an entire family.  Too many of today's young people don't have any concept of where their food comes from much less how much work and time it took to get it to the table.

yesterday morning's harvest

my bean snappers

37 pints green beans, 7 quarts frozen summer squash &
6 quarts frozen zucchini

A helpful canning hint:  Add a splash of white vinegar to your caner when adding the water.  Your jars come out clear and shiny.

Production + Harvest = Giddy w/ Excitement

My first introduction to gardening was when I went to live with my Uncle T and Aunt J during my youth.  Aunt J's father would come out each spring and help us "put in" a large garden.  Although, as a girl, I complained about having to work in the hot and humid Texas heat, when harvest time began I was always thrilled, excited and amazed at how a tiny seed eventually produced an abundance of food.  Decades later those same feelings of thrill, excitement and amazement still wash over me every time we begin harvesting from our garden.  I am so excited and thrilled when harvest begins, I literally forget about all hard, sweaty, dirty work it took to get there - Ha!

Our garden is finally beginning to produce.

These are the vegetables we harvested on Sunday and Tuesday.

We've been harvesting spinach and lettuce for a few weeks but last week some of our other plants began producing.  Since Sunday we've harvested 3 lb. zucchini, 2 3/4 lb. yellow squash, 1 lb. green beans, 4 gallon Ziplock bags of lettuce, 1 gallon Ziplock bag of spinach, a handful of English peas AND ...

 9 3/4 lb. cucumbers - Yes! I'm planning to make pickles this week; probably bread & butters, they're my favorite.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday

Composting -

Composting is a terrific way to reuse organic matter. It will feed your vegetable garden, flowerbeds and lawn. I rarely purchase fertilizer because rich compost will provide you with all the fertilizer your plant life can consume. Composting is a simple task that even apartment dwellers can do - it is great for those container gardens I often see apartment dwellers tending while out on their patios.

For many years, I had a homemade compost bin made out of three pallets turned up on their sides and held together with baling wire. We simply deposited our organic matter in a pile in the bin. During dry periods, I would water it to keep it moist, not wet, and 2-3 times per month I would use a pitch fork to turn / stir the piled up matter. Last spring I purchased a composting barrel that turns with a crank. It was a 2009 clearance model so, I bought it at a deeply discounted price. I think a composting barrel would work well for folks living in an apartment who have limited space. However, I've also met folks who use a large black garbage bag for composting as well.

Here's a list of organic materials we have put in our compost bin:

shredded paper
dryer lint
vegetable & fruit scraps
grass clippings
leaves
old hay from the hen house / rabbit pens
chicken manure
5 gal. buckets of the baled, yucky water from the stock trough (I do this 1-2 times per month / I also pour this water on my flower beds -the plants LOVE it)
rabbit manure
vegetarian feeds that have gotten wet & are no longer usable
horse manure
cow manure
dead plants that did not die from disease or fungus

Things we NEVER put in our compost bin include:

meat or processed animal products, such as milk or cheese
animal feces from any carnivorous animal, such as our dog
garden or flowerbed plants that have a plant disease or fungus (it is best to dispose of these in the burn pit OR in the trash)

So, in the end don't waste those kitchen scraps and other organic materials by throwing them in the trash. Save some money on your gardens, flowerbeds and lawn by reusing it in the form of FREE compost.

Last week ...

marked the REAL beginning of harvest for those of us living S.E. Texas. As you can see from the above photo we are harvesting a nice bounty daily. Within two weeks these amounts will double or triple and we'll have baskets of fresh home grown tomatoes and cucumbers to add. What did I do with all that zucchini, squash, green beans, lettuce, basil and oregano I collected the other day?

Italian Sausage Soup served with a Garden Salad

1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 zucchini, cubed
1 yellow squash, cubed
2 c. green beans, snapped
3 med. tomatoes, diced
1 med. onion, diced
1/4 c. garlic chives OR 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1tsp. beef bullion
water
-------------
1/4 c. elbow pasta, per person
water
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated

Crumble sausage into skillet and brown. Transfer sausage to crock pot, add zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic chives, oregano, and basil, beef bullion and combine well. Add salt & pepper to tastes and enough water to barely cover the sausage and vegetables. Cook on low 4-6 hours or on high 2-4 hours. One half hour before serving cook pasta in salted boiling water until tender. When serving place pasta in the bottom of bowl & ladle the soup over the pasta. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. 8 servings


Although I didn't add any of our harvested vegetables to the next recipe, I'm thinking that the chocolate lovers out there will enjoy it. Saturday morning, OG & EJ enjoyed this special treat for breakfast ...

Brownie Muffins

1 1/2 c. all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional)
3 tsp. baking powder
1tsp. salt
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. milk
1 egg

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl combine dry ingredients until well mixed. In another small bowl, combine and mix well the vegetable oil, milk and egg. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine until just moistened. Spoon into greased muffins tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pans. Cool slightly before serving. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Two Weeks and a Little Rain ...

Actually almost 12" of rain ... but you won't hear me complaining we were in desperate need of it - And, just look what it did to my garden! (to see photos of our garden two weeks ago click here: http://herpeculiarlife.blogspot.com/2009/04/gardening-we-harvested-nearly-5lb.html) Our tomatoes are flourishing! I can already taste the fried green tomatoes I'll be enjoying this time next week.

Only a couple more days and I'll harvest this year's first bell peppers!

We planted two black beauty bell pepper plants this year. I can't wait to try these!

Purple green beans? I can't believe that by tomorrow evening I'll harvest our first purple podded bush beans. We planted only a few of these for color and variety. When cooked they turn green - just like regular pole beans. Our pole beans are flourishing, yippee!

Yellow squash! I am so excited - so far our squash and zucchini are doing well. The last couple years all varieties of our squash plants died just as they started bearing fruit. I've been praying for a good harvest this year as we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE squash.

Our first little baby zucchini. I am looking forward to sauteed zucchini and onion in garlic butter. Please join us in prayer for a bountiful harvest. Thank you.

Recipes To Share

This week I have two delicious, fast and easy recipes to share. The first, Spinach, Orange & Pecan Salad w/ Honey Vinaigrette Dressing, pictured at the right, was inspired by the 5 lb. of spinach we harvested from our garden last week.
Spinach, Orange, Pecan Salad w/ Honey Vinaigrette Dressing

6-8 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 110z. can Mandarin oranges, drained
1/4 purple onion, thinly sliced & separated into rings
1/2 cup pecan halves
Dressing:
1/4 c. olive oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. fresh OR 1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

Place spinach leaves in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with Mandarin oranges, purple onion rings. Top with pecan halves. Add all dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously until combined well. Drizzle over salad, serve immediately.


The second, Cracker Candy, is not my recipe at all, but comes from my dear friend, Mrs. M, over at Evening Shade and Morning Latte (http://frugalhomeliving.blogspot.com/2009/04/cracker-candy.html), please click on the link for her easy to follow recipe. For my version, I was out of saltine crackers, so I substituted graham crackers and took the liberty of sprinkling finely chopped pecans over the melted chocolate. I then proceeded to refrigerate as directed in Mrs. M's instructions. This treat was a HUGE hit at my house and I urge you to try it for your family.

Accidental Home Educator, Continued

BOTANY in the Garden (science & active living history)We harvested nearly 5lb. of spinach last week. Note: If your spinach begins to wilt in the hot sun before getting it into the house, don't fret. Fill your kitchen sink with cold water, plunge the spinach into the cold water, agitate, remove to a colander to drain. I then remove the excess water by spinning the spinach leaves in a salad spinner. Finally, I place the spinach in a Debbie Myers Green Bag, along with a folded paper towel, squeeze out the excess air, close with a twist tie and refrigerate. Within a couple hours I have crisp, crunchy fresh spinach.

It looks like it's time to harvest and dry some garlic chives and oregano.

A photo of our spinach and lettuce patch. When I harvest spinach and lettuce, I do not pull the plants out of the ground. Instead, I use a pair of scissors and cut the leaves, leaving the base of the plant. My spinach and lettuce then grow new leaves and I again, have fresh salad green within a couple weeks.

Our green beans are coming along nicely. These are Mr. B's favorite.

Our yellow squash and zucchini are looking good. I pray they continue doing well. The last couple years I've lost all varieties of squash right before the first harvest.

It's In!

This year's spring/summer garden is in. If it weren't for OG's and EJ's help and hard work, it would have taken me at least two additional days of working by myself. As you can see in the photos below, we still have plenty of room to continue adding additional raised beds. We plan to add at least one more this coming fall and again next spring.In this raised bed, located at the back of the garden, we've planted zucchini, yellow squash and a few cantaloupe hills.

In these raised beds, near the front and middle sections, we've planted 18 tomato plants, 6 bell pepper plants, green beans, cucumbers, lettuce and spinach.

We still need to extend the bean trellis and we will plant flowers in the cinder blocks. The flowers will bring in honey bees, which are good for pollination, repel a few pests AND add some bright spots of color. We are very excited and trusting the Lord for a good harvest.

Gardening

Over the last few days OG and EJ have been helping me put this year's garden in. As you can see from the photo at the right, part of my garden (actually most of it, now) has been converted to raised beds. For some reason, no matter how many cubic yards of soil amendments I've added to my yard, I still have rock hard clay. Crab grass and weeds are about the only things that grow well in it. Thus, a couple years ago I began converting my garden area to raised beds, one section at a time.

Most of the materials we've used have been salvaged - not real visually appealing but very functional and inexpensive. Several years ago we were blessed with quite a bit of steel panels measuring 2 feet wide and 24 feet long. They have been the perfect size for the raised beds. We've used cinder blocks to support the middle and ends and re bar to stabilize the outside. The cinder blocks make terrific individual planters for flowers and herbs.

Most of our raised beds are two feet deep. This depth allows us to successfully plant root vegetables, which in the past haven't done well in our hard as rock clay soil. When installing the raised bed, I remove the grass and line the bare dirt with a compostable weed barrier. Old cardboard boxes are my favorite. After last summer's hurricane blew down more than five of our trees, we had an abundance of tree bark. So, as an added weed barrier layer, we evenly shoveled all the bark on top of the cardboard. Then the hard work began. We had the task of filling the beds with a 4-part mixture of garden soil mix, organic composted humus, composted chicken manure and our kitchen compost. I did the heavy work of filling the wheel barrow and dumping it into the beds. OG used the garden rake to spread the soil mixture and EJ thoroughly watered each layer. We have two more to finish up tomorrow morning. Then we will be ready to begin planting!!

We love growing and eating our own produce and every year we are as excited as we were the first year we planted a garden. This year has been especially enjoyable as OG and EJ are finally old enough to be REAL help in the garden. Words will never express how wonderful it was to have them actually helping this year. I am so proud of how hard they both worked today - as hard as I did. (and their Aunt C will tell you that's pretty dog gone hard ... she says I work like man. I think she exaggerating. But boy, I sure look and smell like one when finished! ... hee, hee). I can't wait to share more photos with you as our garden progresses.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Long before the novel, "Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe", by Fannie Flagg and the box office hit, "Fried Green Tomatoes", starring Jessica Tandy, my family looked forward to spring and summer just so they could indulge in this fine southern delicacy. Here's my recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes. Ingredients:

green tomatoes, sliced

salt

flour

eggs, well beaten (notice how the yolks in yard eggs are so dark they are almost orange?)

cornbread mix (recipe below)

oil for frying (about 1/2 -3/4 in. deep)

Lightly sprinkle tomato slices with salt. Dredge tomatoes in flour, dip in beaten egg, dredge in cornbread mix.

Fry tomatoes in oil until golden on one side, flip and continue to fry until other side is also golden

For a yummy summer time dinner, serve with ranch dressing for dipping, cornbread and fruit.

Cornbread Mix (makes about 5 batches)

4 1/4 c. flour

4 c. cornmeal

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. baking powder

1-2 tsp. salt

1 c. shortening

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Store in airtight container in cool dry place.

To Mix Up Cornbread:

2 1/3 c. mix

1 egg, well beaten

1 c. milk

Combine all until moist. (batter should be lumpy) Pour into greased 8in. baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Look Who Visited Our Garden This Morning

Isn't she delightful?

The Harvest Begins

cucumbers
green beans

Thanks to our wonderful neighbors who watered our garden and fed our animals while we were out of town last week, I was able to begin harvesting some of our vegetables today.

We got more than a gallon of green beans and 8 cucumbers. Notice the smaller ill-shaped cucumbers in the front of the photo? This happens when the moisture level in your soil is inconsistent. They are still just as delicious as the "normal" cucumbers pictured in the back. If you've never had a fresh cucumber right out of the garden - Man-O-Man you are missing something!

As a thank you to our neighbors, we shared our eggs, green beans and cucumbers with them this week.

More Gardening

baby cucumbers! - can't wait to make bread & butter pickles
green beans!
pears! - yummy pie filling, pear butter, pear sauce, vanilla pears, cinnamon pears
peaches! - not enough to put up this year, but enough for a sweet taste or two
figs! - fig jam, fig bars and just good ol' eatin'

Our Garden is Beginning to Produce!!!

Baby yellow squash! - We have 5 plants
Baby bell pepper! - We have 6 plants
Green tomatoes! - We have 6 plants
We also planted basil this year!
Leaf lettuce! - We planted a 6'x5' bed

Our family absolutely LOVES fresh produce from the garden. No matter how many years I've been gardening, I always get very excited everytime I see new baby vegetables or fruits. We also have baby cucumbers and our pear and figs trees are LOADED with baby pears and figs. Our two 3 year old peach trees have a few tiny, fuzzy peaches - I look forward to the year our peach trees really begin producing. If I were asked to describe what summer tastes like to me, I'd have to reply, "a tree ripened, sun warmed, juicy peach - mmmm good!"