Now I have some lovely, lush tomatoes!
Flowering Egg Plant!
And even a baby egg plant!
I'm also starting to get some zucchini. YUM! Now to call my grandpa up and see if he'll share his zucchini bread recipe with me. *mouth watering yumminess!*
Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2011
Yummy Noms!
It took me a little while but I finally found the culprit behind my tomato plants becoming nothing more than stalks in dirt. Meet Mr Hungry Hungry Dead Caterpillar.
Now I have some lovely, lush tomatoes!
Flowering Egg Plant!
And even a baby egg plant!
I'm also starting to get some zucchini. YUM! Now to call my grandpa up and see if he'll share his zucchini bread recipe with me. *mouth watering yumminess!*
Now I have some lovely, lush tomatoes!
Flowering Egg Plant!
And even a baby egg plant!I'm also starting to get some zucchini. YUM! Now to call my grandpa up and see if he'll share his zucchini bread recipe with me. *mouth watering yumminess!*
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Garden Plans 2010
Yes, I'm already starting to plan my garden this year! I had a bit of success last year with the companion & organic gardening, and I'm hoping to repeat my success, then some this year!
January thru mid-February I'm going to get my garden prepared. This involves bringing in more dirt, stirring the dirt that is there to aerate it, bringing in some compost, etc.
Mid-February I'm going to start the leaf lettuce, spinach, snap peas, carrots, and radishes outside - they're quite tolerate to being snowed on, iced on, and frosted. Inside I'm going to start the broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage plants to plant in late-February/early March, they're also cold hardy and didn't seem to mind last year the couple of frosts and freezes we did get.
Late-February I'm going to start my other main plants : tomatoes, oregano, cilantro, parsley, chives, bell peppers, etc inside, in my mini green house.
By the end of March the weather should be such that I can transfer all my plants outdoors and get to start watching them all grow!
YUMMY!
When my snap pea plants are done producing I'm going to be pulling them out and replacing them with green beans. Once it gets hot enough that the lettuce, spinach, etc has gone to seed I'll be replacing them with okra & potato plants.
I'm not going to be doing onions or celery this year...last year they just took too long and I was quite disappointed overall. SO I have about another 20 square feet of space to fill in with things I can either can or freeze - most likely freeze, just not quite sure what would go well in that area, unless I build the "walls" up a little higher and get quite a bit more dirt. This is a shallow area (only about 6 inches deep) so I'm not sure yet...
In the fall, after summer has shown signs of cooling I'll be planting my cooler weather plants again: lettuce, radishes, spinach, broccoli, & cauliflower. Well, last year I neglected to remove two of my broccoli plants after they went to seed and the grasshoppers ate them to nubs, but by mid-fall I noticed their leaves had become vibrant again and they were again producing broccoli heads, so I'm going to try to see if that works this year too...maybe...
Dates and such are all dependent on if this Oklahoma weather cooperates!
January thru mid-February I'm going to get my garden prepared. This involves bringing in more dirt, stirring the dirt that is there to aerate it, bringing in some compost, etc.
Mid-February I'm going to start the leaf lettuce, spinach, snap peas, carrots, and radishes outside - they're quite tolerate to being snowed on, iced on, and frosted. Inside I'm going to start the broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage plants to plant in late-February/early March, they're also cold hardy and didn't seem to mind last year the couple of frosts and freezes we did get.
Late-February I'm going to start my other main plants : tomatoes, oregano, cilantro, parsley, chives, bell peppers, etc inside, in my mini green house.
By the end of March the weather should be such that I can transfer all my plants outdoors and get to start watching them all grow!
YUMMY!
When my snap pea plants are done producing I'm going to be pulling them out and replacing them with green beans. Once it gets hot enough that the lettuce, spinach, etc has gone to seed I'll be replacing them with okra & potato plants.
I'm not going to be doing onions or celery this year...last year they just took too long and I was quite disappointed overall. SO I have about another 20 square feet of space to fill in with things I can either can or freeze - most likely freeze, just not quite sure what would go well in that area, unless I build the "walls" up a little higher and get quite a bit more dirt. This is a shallow area (only about 6 inches deep) so I'm not sure yet...
In the fall, after summer has shown signs of cooling I'll be planting my cooler weather plants again: lettuce, radishes, spinach, broccoli, & cauliflower. Well, last year I neglected to remove two of my broccoli plants after they went to seed and the grasshoppers ate them to nubs, but by mid-fall I noticed their leaves had become vibrant again and they were again producing broccoli heads, so I'm going to try to see if that works this year too...maybe...
Dates and such are all dependent on if this Oklahoma weather cooperates!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Cost Cutting that I Use
This is my recipe for laundry detergent. It makes 2 1/2 gallons of detergent, initial cost is maybe $15-20, depending on the prices in your area, however when you break it down the cost is only about $1 per bucket of detergent, and last us - including the detergent I made for my mom, so 6 people - around 9 months. It is also AWESOME if anyone has skin allergies, I can't comfortably use any other detergent, even "free and clear" ones because they all break me out to some degree, I've never had an issue with the stuff I make.
Other things I do that cut down on costs is I buy the whole 5 lb processed ham, at WM and take it to the deli and have them slice it for me, then when I get home I separate it into 1lb freeze bags, freeze all but one bag of it at a time - $7(maybe) for 5lbs of sandwich ham, instead of $3 per 1/2lb.
Coupons - when my printer has ink.
I buy the ink refill bottles for the printer...it works wonderfully until you screw it up and put the colored ink in the black and black in the colored...
I make my own cleaners using vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and rubbing alcohol...there's quite a few different ones listed on here : http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/153/1/Earth-friendly-oven-cleaning.html Maybe about $5 a month as opposed to my "normal" $30-ish.
Of course generic items.
I also try to go to the local butcher and buy most of my meats there, they're fresher and are generally cheaper. In the spring I build up a garden and freeze or can a great portion of it - Spaghetti Sauce & Salsa especially. I also bake a lot of my own bread.
I do have a bit of an advantage out here where I live because I have an awesome neighbor who brings me a flat (2 1/2 dozen) of eggs every week or so that his chickens have laid. He also has some hogs & a cow he's going to be taking to slaughter this spring and will just split the processing cost with him to fill our freezer - roughly $400 (maybe) for half an "organic, free range" cow and one or two full hogs, all cuts of both.
I limit my driving to just what's necessary and do all my running in the same day, planning the trip out so I don't have to back track most of the time. We (as a family, I'm quite sure Brian eats out more often than he admits) don't go out to eat more than *maybe* once a month.
I bake something daily, and cook dinner nightly. I also have a stock pile(that needs to be refreshed) of freezer safe plastic containers that I'll fill with lunch size meals, from any leftovers we have, and put them in the freezer for later. Brian then takes them to work with him - when he thinks about it - for lunch there or we'll have them here for lunch - just something we can pop in the microwave, much like any other TV dinner, but without all the "preservatives and sodium". I don't buy many snacky junk type foods - soda, only if we're having a gathering here at the house; snack cakes - not at all, I make them instead - well cookies, cakes, the like; chips are a rare purchase, maybe one or two bags a month, maybe, instead I do buy crackers for those salt cravings, but most don't go through crackers like they do chips; etc etc.
Other things I do that cut down on costs is I buy the whole 5 lb processed ham, at WM and take it to the deli and have them slice it for me, then when I get home I separate it into 1lb freeze bags, freeze all but one bag of it at a time - $7(maybe) for 5lbs of sandwich ham, instead of $3 per 1/2lb.
Coupons - when my printer has ink.
I buy the ink refill bottles for the printer...it works wonderfully until you screw it up and put the colored ink in the black and black in the colored...
I make my own cleaners using vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and rubbing alcohol...there's quite a few different ones listed on here : http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/153/1/Earth-friendly-oven-cleaning.html Maybe about $5 a month as opposed to my "normal" $30-ish.
Of course generic items.
I also try to go to the local butcher and buy most of my meats there, they're fresher and are generally cheaper. In the spring I build up a garden and freeze or can a great portion of it - Spaghetti Sauce & Salsa especially. I also bake a lot of my own bread.
I do have a bit of an advantage out here where I live because I have an awesome neighbor who brings me a flat (2 1/2 dozen) of eggs every week or so that his chickens have laid. He also has some hogs & a cow he's going to be taking to slaughter this spring and will just split the processing cost with him to fill our freezer - roughly $400 (maybe) for half an "organic, free range" cow and one or two full hogs, all cuts of both.
I limit my driving to just what's necessary and do all my running in the same day, planning the trip out so I don't have to back track most of the time. We (as a family, I'm quite sure Brian eats out more often than he admits) don't go out to eat more than *maybe* once a month.
I bake something daily, and cook dinner nightly. I also have a stock pile(that needs to be refreshed) of freezer safe plastic containers that I'll fill with lunch size meals, from any leftovers we have, and put them in the freezer for later. Brian then takes them to work with him - when he thinks about it - for lunch there or we'll have them here for lunch - just something we can pop in the microwave, much like any other TV dinner, but without all the "preservatives and sodium". I don't buy many snacky junk type foods - soda, only if we're having a gathering here at the house; snack cakes - not at all, I make them instead - well cookies, cakes, the like; chips are a rare purchase, maybe one or two bags a month, maybe, instead I do buy crackers for those salt cravings, but most don't go through crackers like they do chips; etc etc.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Flame me now!
My daughter is having ...for dinner, mind you...ham slices, Velveeta cheese cubes, pumpkin bread, a banana, & ketchup. 
I did try to get her to eat the leftover ham & beans, but she wasn't interested.
Instead she took my by the hand to the fridge. She pointed out the ham, then the drawer I keep the cheese in (for some reason Velveeta is the only cheese I have in there, besides cream cheese
), pointed out the pumpkin bread, then grabbed the ketchup. And has proceeded to request refills on the ketchup, now 3 times. I threw a banana in there for a bit of "value" to her meal....a banana that she actually dipped in her ketchup and ate...after the 3rd ketchup refill.
BUT I can say this is the first time she's ever really "protested" against any food, period, and she did do decent at picking out a balanced meal...of sorts...granted you count ketchup as a vegetable.
I figure it won't hurt to let her pick a meal once in a while, regardless of the head shaking I do after the fact. She did eat it all...well, all that she didn't feed to the cat, after her belly was full.
I did try to get her to eat the leftover ham & beans, but she wasn't interested.
Instead she took my by the hand to the fridge. She pointed out the ham, then the drawer I keep the cheese in (for some reason Velveeta is the only cheese I have in there, besides cream cheese
), pointed out the pumpkin bread, then grabbed the ketchup. And has proceeded to request refills on the ketchup, now 3 times. I threw a banana in there for a bit of "value" to her meal....a banana that she actually dipped in her ketchup and ate...after the 3rd ketchup refill.BUT I can say this is the first time she's ever really "protested" against any food, period, and she did do decent at picking out a balanced meal...of sorts...granted you count ketchup as a vegetable.
I figure it won't hurt to let her pick a meal once in a while, regardless of the head shaking I do after the fact. She did eat it all...well, all that she didn't feed to the cat, after her belly was full.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Texas Coleslaw
1 head of green cabbage, finely chopped
1 cup red cabbage, finely chopped
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
((OR instead of the corn & bell peppers 2 cans of Green Giant Mexican Corn, drained))
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons lime or lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Toss cabbages, carrots, peppers, cilantro, & corn in 4 quart bowl
Place oil, lime or lemon juice, cumin, & salt in tightly covered container, shake well. Pour over coleslaw mixture & toss.
Cover & refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to blend flavors.
1 cup red cabbage, finely chopped
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
((OR instead of the corn & bell peppers 2 cans of Green Giant Mexican Corn, drained))
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons lime or lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Toss cabbages, carrots, peppers, cilantro, & corn in 4 quart bowl
Place oil, lime or lemon juice, cumin, & salt in tightly covered container, shake well. Pour over coleslaw mixture & toss.
Cover & refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to blend flavors.
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