trees

Gran's zucchini soup

This is a very simple, very good and VERY HEALTHY recipe that is a winner year round.  It was a soup that my Gran would make with cornbread. 

Ingredients:

3 8" zucchini  (3 cups)
1 large vidalia onion  (1 cup)
1 large can diced tomato (1 cup)

Dice fresh tomatoes and slice onion into thin rings (not diced)

 Boil the zucchini and onion for 10 minutes in 3 cups water
 Add tomato and basil leaves
simmer for 10 minutes

This soup will fill the house with an aroma that will make anyone's mouth water.  Believe it or not... it tastes better than it smells!  Salt and pepper to taste.  I've tried to add a few other things, but it just doesn't cut it.  It sounds too simple to be good... but...  it's fantastic...  

Zucchini salsa recipe

     If you ever have grown Zucchini,  inevitably you end up with a couple "monster" size ones that somehow seem to grow overnight. It's a shame to pitch them.   Here's a salsa recipe that takes care of that.  It will produce 13 pints of salsa.

10 cups chopped zucchini
4 cups chopped onion
3 cups chopped green peppers (and/or red peppers)
3 cups finely chopped carrots
10 large jalapeno peppers
12 green chili peppers  (yes...  for real...)
 8 sweet banana peppers
12 cups chopped tomatoes (keep separate from others vegetables)

Mix everything (except tomatoes) together in a large bowl.  Add 1/4 cup canning salt.  Refrigerate 24 hrs.  Then drain.

Discard the center with seeds

chopped tomato

All the veggies prepped

Veggies combined/ keep tomatoes separate

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground red pepper (Cayenne)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp dried mustard
1 large can tomato paste

The ingredients to add to the chopped vegetables

Bring the veggies to a boil and simmer 20 minutes
Add the 12 cups of chopped tomatoes
Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes

I used 2 pots

You can finish the canning process whatever way you like.  Canning bath or vacuum sealer.

The sealed jars are ready for storage in the pantry or basement.  I like to flip the jars upside down every now and then to keep everything from settling.
This recipe has a slow follow up heat after the initial taste.  I would give it a 6 on the scale of 10 for hotness.  It's not a mouth burner by any means.  It is excellent with scrambled eggs.  ENJOY!!!

You could add corn or black beans if you'd like. Obviously add more jalapenos or mexican chilis if you like it hotter. 

Very good dill pickle recipe

This is a simple pickle recipe that gets better with time.

Straw bale planting

I found an interesting article about growing vegetables in straw bales and decided to try it this year.  It proved to be successful, but  I will try a couple things different next year. 

   (1)  Start the straw bales that I'll use next year this fall instead of next spring. The decomposition of the bales will be farther along when I plant seeds in them next year.  Make sure the straw in the bale is in the vertical position to allow the elements to penetrate easier.

       (2)  Make bigger pocket holes in the bales that I put potting soil in.  This will give the roots of the plants more room to develop before starting to expand into the straw.                                          

     (3) Add a rope or something around the bale to keep it together better than the 2 pieces of twine that came with the bale.  I had one piece of twine rot and break from the weight of a sunflower I planted.   

     (4) Place the bales on the perimeter of the garden.  They also work well as benches if the plants don't take.  Be advised...  the bales do have a distinct "odor" after the rain when the sunshine heats them up...

                                                        

This bale has Swiss Chard, a sunflower and Nasturtium that did well.  A cucumber did not.  I think I needed more dirt inside the bale when I first planted the seeds.

This bale has a Kale plant that is doing very well and a sunflower that liked it also.


 Plant Inn Raised Garden (Google Affiliate Ad)

Zen Grass Garden Plant Cube Kit (Google Affiliate Ad)

Cleanup time...

I can't remember what it was like not having chickens in the backyard.  Actually...  it must have been very boring...  I enjoy sitting and watching their evening cleanup time.   The ladies usually take 30 minutes or so to shake the dirt out and primp before bed time.  While they are doing all this, they fill the air with soft clucks and purrs... To me, it's nice to take time, plop down on the ground and take in the nightly routine.