Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Friday, August 2, 2013

Garden's glory



Even after several years of gardening, I'm still learning what to grow and how much to use without a lot of waste. I feel like I hit the right amount of tomatoes this year. And, they are heavenly. Today, I made Caprese salad. The basil is also from the garden. Yum! 

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Canning disaster

Ugh. That is how I feel right now. Completely defeated. Although, even with the raging hormones baby Stiger is sending my way, I held it together.
Here is how this scenario went:
Step 1: I planted a garden and picked tomatoes out the wazoo all summer. I stored them in the fridge until I had enough to make a batch.
Step 2: I didn't have enough, so I raided my mom and stepdad's tomato plants.
Step 3: I cleaned and weighed 12 pounds of tomatoes.
Step 4: I roasted 12 pounds of tomatoes on the small grill.
Step 5: I roasted 4 bulbs of garlic in the oven
Step 6: I started the canner water.
Step 7: I washed the jars and lids and put them on the stove in warm water to simmer.
Step 8: I peeled the 12 pounds of tomatoes and attempted to deseed and cube them (nearly impossible because they were too soft). This took forever.
Step 9: Simmer tomatoes on the stove, as I added the roasted garlic.
Step 10: Discovered that the canner never boiled the water. I had been warned that a flat-top stove might not have enough to boil that beast of a pot. That person was right!
Step 11: Turned off all the burners, called my dad and we decided that I should just freeze the tomatoes.
Time of all this was 3 hours.
I am feeling defeated, yet optimistic that I tried, that is more than many people can say. No one learned any of this overnight! I will get it eventually.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Craving freshness

I want fresh veggies so bad. Nate has been a machine in the backyard, extending and tilling the garden and filling the flower beds with bushes and other great landscaping elements that are making our house look awesome. But, we can't plan until May and even then there is the horrible waiting time until the veggies start budding and popping up.Tonight, I made a dish that reminds me of the taste of last summer. I had to use store-bought cucumbers at 99 cents a pop and tomatoes that were $2.99 a pound, but it was yummy. I chopped up those two ingredients, added some chopped fresh mushrooms, a sprinkle of feta cheese (which makes everything better) and drizzled it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It is such a healthy, fresh treat to get in several servings of vegetables and there is no turning on the stove.I did buy a basil plant today at Wal-mart. I love basil and my soil seems to do really well with it. I love to saute it into pasta and mushrooms or serve it on a sandwich. Now, I just have to get to planting!