Home Grown!

I grew a cantaloupe!

I'm not sure why, but I always thought growing fruit would be difficult.

Truth be told, it's not. In fact, we completely forgot about our cantaloupe and watermelon plants until just a few days ago. Eight cantaloupes and five watermelons! Can you believe it!? I couldn't...

We finally picked one of the cantaloupe.. My oh my, was it delicious!

I'm not sure if you're aware, but homegrown fruits and vegetables taste so much better than the store bought variety!

Salsa!

Just a short while ago I took a picture of the tomatoes my husband and I harvested from our garden. Aah, it was a lovely harvest. Tons and tons of tomatoes (along with a few cucumbers and a zucchini) came inside with us and it was decided that they would be perfect for salsa.

I would have preferred making more spaghetti sauce, but the husband was quite eager to make homemade salsa. It's not my favorite pair to chips as I much prefer guacamole. Luckily, our tomato plants still have plenty of tomatoes ripening away. Spaghetti sauce will be next, along with the first experience with the pressure canner.

I awoke early this morning with the dog (apparently he missed the memo about today being a non-work day) and got ready to head to the Fleet Farm and grocery store to gather a few items for salsa making. Okay, and pickle making. We made refrigerator pickles--no water bathing required--and I cannot wait to taste their dilly goodness tomorrow.

We soon realized that our kitchen is much too small for large-scale canning. I could show you a picture of my kitchen at this point, but every picture I took today was taken without a memory card in the camera. Whoops. Anyway, we also noticed that our regular stock pot was not even close to large enough for boiling the salsa. The husband was a gem and offered his 3 gallon brew kettle for the task (I have plans to purchase a new one, a bigger one for him).

Today marked my first day of canning. I have watched my mother-in-law can cranberry jelly, but never had I completed the task from start to finish by myself.

Canning was rather intimidating. The tomatoes were overflowing on the counter. My normally large looking stock pot looked tiny. My kitchen counters were overcrowded in a matter of minutes. My hands quickly became pruned and the tomato juice rendered them itchy (possibly an allergy?). Husband chopped bell peppers, onions, garlic and jalapenos. The tomatoes held all of my attention. Blanching, peeling, blending half of the tomatoes, chopping the other half.

Canning was incredible. In a matter of hours, I will be checking the seal on each jar of salsa and will be able to store each one for up to a year. There are currently 10 pints of salsa on the counter. I'll consider the tomatoes free, since we bought a packet of seeds for a buck and that was in February (and we used about 30 tomatoes). The peppers, onion and garlic cost us just $7. Now, that is some cheap salsa! I'm not in awe of the savings alone. I'm in awe of the fact that my husband and I grew tomatoes from seeds and we will now be able to enjoy them for the months to come. Maybe I'll make some fresh tortilla chips and have a wonderful homemade snack some day.

This has provided me with motivation to can and preserve more. More pickles, spaghetti sauce (I never want to buy spaghetti sauce again because of this recipe), fruit, salsa, just tomatoes in general. I already am planning next year's garden. What should we grow? What should we preserve? What else can I provide for my family (so far it's just me and the hubs, but it's a family nonetheless)? And even though the kitchen is small, I won't shy away from canning.

Tomatoes!

I think it's time to do some canning!

{recetas} Cucumber Dip

The garden is producing cucumbers like mad.

And I love it.

The husband and I had a party to head to tonight and were in charge of an appetizer. I figured my mother-in-law's cucumber dip would do the trick, especially since I needed to use up those cucumbers. Por supuesto, I changed a thing or two. In reality, I didn't have a recipe, only a recalled conversation on how to make cucumber dip.

Yes. It is that easy.

Honestly, though, summer would not be summer without it.

What you need:

• Cucumbers (4 large, but you kind of have to judge by taste/consistency)
• 2 packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
• quarter cup water

What you do:

• Wash, peel and chop your cucumbers. I used cucumbers from the garden, and sent my husband (he's such a gem) to the store halfway through making the dip because the dip needed a few more.

• Put all of the chopped cucumbers in your stand mixer or in a bowl. Toss in the two packages of room-temperature cream cheese and mix. My dip was stiff. Maybe too chunky? So I added a quarter cup of water and turned the mixer on again (doesn't that thing make life easy?).

• Add the teaspoon of salt, garlic powder and pepper. I also added a few twists from the garlic pepper grinder because it's fun. This part, of course, is all to taste. My mother-in-law doesn't like pepper, so she doesn't add that. I think it tastes better that way. I also add more garlic that she does. Everyone has different taste buds, right?

 Serve with tortilla or pita chips and enjoy!

Harvest

I finally finally had some free time to check up on the raised garden beds. Normally, my husband gets out there at the perfect time and does all the picking (love) since he has been the one at home lately. Every once in awhile, though, I like to get out there and do some picking too. We made an okay haul, but we'll have vegetables coming out of our ears in a week or so (and I'm super excited!).

And, doesn't the hood of my car (The Rust Bucket) make a wonderful backdrop, even if the picture is a little dark?

{recetas} Homegrown Tomato Sauce

As mentioned before, my husband and I were up north for a week. Before we left, we looked at our tomato plants and realized that most of the tomatoes would be ready to go while we were away. My parents came to the rescue, once again.

We had them stop by our house to check on/pick the tomatoes on our 15 tomato plants. Needless to say, we came home to a bowl full of tomatoes.

It has been rainy today, and for some reason, rainy days mean spaghetti to me. Okay, it was probably the bowl of tomatoes that were screaming "spaghetti sauce!" I performed the infamous Google search (do I say that in every post?) to find a recipe for fresh tomatoes.

As usual, I found exactly what I was looking for over at Smitten Kitchen ... easily one of my favorite cooking blogs! She had the most perfect, most customizable recipe I could find. So I went with it.

This recipe was adapted from the Smitten Kitchen.

What you need:

• about 4 pounds of tomatoes (they don't have to be pretty!)
• quarter cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• half of a carrot, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 hot pepper (couldn't tell you which kind, we found the pepper plant growing the garden while weeding)
• 1 lb ground beef

What you do:

• First, you have to peel the tomatoes. This isn't something I have ever done before. I was concerned that it would be really difficult (it wasn't). All you have to do is boil a pot of water, then make a cross in the bottom of the tomato. Put the tomatoes in the boiling water for half a minute, then take them out a rinse with cold water. Peel and discard the skin. Easy-peasy.

• Depending on the size of your tomatoes, halve or quarter them. Remove and discard the seeds (this took the most time!). Because I don't care for super chunky tomato sauce, I blended them. I placed half of the tomatoes in the blender and blended on low for a minute or so. I removed those and added the rest of the tomatoes.
• While the olive oil heats in a saucepan over medium heat, mince the carrot. Combine the carrot, garlic and onion in the olive oil and cook for a bit (5ish minutes).
• Add the tomatoes to the carrots, garlic and onion and simmer on medium/low. 35 minutes is perfect.
• While the sauce is simmering, brown the ground beef in a skillet. Drain off any excess fat/grease.
• With about ten minutes left on the timer, add a half teaspoon of salt and a light sprinkling of basil to the sauce. Stir it up and allow to simmer a few more minutes, then add the ground beef.
• Serve over spaghetti noodles and enjoy!

Please excuse the iPhone pictures...I left my camera at my in-laws' house. Whoops!

While I slaved away in the kitchen, Finn made sure to rest!

Patio Clean-Up!

Spring is here! Well, I suppose it is just about summer by now. Goodness, I have been quite the slacker. When did I last post? Feels like a year ago. I have a sort of valid excuse. I've started another class for my masters. Just a bit busy around these parts!

But! I hosted a triathlon themed wedding shower last weekend and it was amazing! The backyard needed a big clean-up and I had just the inspiration. I have to admit that it felt a little bit like the Saturday Burn Day I read about here, only I didn't have a burn going on, nor do I have any children. Still. I felt "cool." That family togetherness to get things done makes me so happy! I fashioned my own "work day" while the hubby was working, and he joined in the fun when he got home.

Our wood pile and garden beds on the patio (wood pile so close to the house--horrible!).

A view from the other side of the patio (with the rickety old fire pit).

The wood pile is half gone!

When the hubs got home, he brought with him an old sod cutter so we could place our garden beds.

Our beautiful garden beds. Rock will never be our first choice to fill the space between the beds. The previous owners must have gotten an amazing deal on rock, though, because it is everywhere!

Enjoying a Sierra Nevada (one of my faves!) while figuring out to do with all of the leftover black dirt...

It was a wonderful, beautiful day! I love my new garden beds (there are four) and I can't wait to plant! I am, though, SUPER jealous of this garden plot. SO envious of her and her family!

Garden Beds!

Finalmente, my husband and I bit the bullet and make our garden beds. When we moved into our home, there was a small wooden box filled with sand. Since the previous owners had a small child or two, we figured it was a sandbox turned stray cat litter box (seriously, gross).

Being that the husband and I don't have kids (and when we do, they will have a much bigger sandbox!), we decided to make it a garden. Last year, it housed our potatoes, onions and sunflowers. The sunflowers and potatoes did fabulously. The onions...not so much.

Our dream, though, was to add three more raised beds to make our garden more fruitful. Our seeds have already been started (the tomatoes aren't looking so hot) and will need to move into the ground sooner, rather than later. With the free time that we had yesterday, we headed to Menard's to pick up some cedar (hooray, it was on sale!).

We made three 4 foot by 4 foot boxes that have 10 inch anchors in each corner. Well. Our original plan was to have them be anchors. We are now discussing the possibility of using them as a fence post to protect our veggies from the rabbits I have seen in the yard. We'll see what happens when we get to putting the garden beds in the ground.

Isn't it pretty!?

Oh, The Vegetables

My husband and I started our garden. With the weather having been so odd this year, I think we will be able to move the little buggers outside rather soon. We started seeds indoors last year and had some luck, especially with cherry tomatoes and potatoes. We also got married, went on a two and a half week honeymoon and a week long family vacation. Most of the garden died or was eaten by the wildlife.


This year, we are more prepared and more in town. We are scheduled to be gone for two weeks this summer, instead of 5. About six weeks ago, we headed to the local garden supply store and picked up seeds. A lot of seeds. Carrots, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, hot peppers, cucumbers, peas, tomatillos, bell peppers. So many vegetables! We will also be adding potatoes, cantaloupe and pumpkins to the mix.


About three weeks ago, we planted the little buggers and they grown like weeds. Holy cow, we need to move them outside soon. Sadly, though, we've had frost over night this entire week. I don't want to risk moving all of my veggies outside quite yet...


Last year, we had our back garden and a small elevated garden. This summer, we have big plans. Our back garden is slated to be the salsa garden: tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos and fruit: raspberries. Our current elevated garden will hold the peas and carrots. We also plan to build three more elevated gardens. We need a place for the summer squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. I also have to figure out where I want to plant the dill.


Maybe you can tell, maybe not, but I am SO excited to have homegrown veggies!

Lull

I've been on a blogging lull as of late. I'm finishing up some coursework for my master's degree and it has taken its toll on me. Who knew a master's was so much work!? Just kidding...I knew going into it that it would be a TON of work. I am set to be completely done, though, at the end of the next school year. I have just under a year and a half left. Pretty exciting!

Like I said, though, it has taken its toll on me. I'm tired. It's hard to go to school when you're working full time--be that working full time as a mom or in the business world. It's just tough.

As summer nears, though, I am looking forward to having more time at home. I'm a teacher, you see, and school will be wrapped up by June. Of course, I nanny during the summer, so I don't get to be a stay at home wife (no kids, yet!). I will still be working three days a week, but will absolutely adore the Mondays and Fridays that I do not work.

I've already started a list of projects that I would like to finish by the end of summer. I don't want to say they are summer projects, because I hope to get to them during the school year too.

My list of projects:

• paint the ugly fish stand we have
• paint the house (outside)
• paint the kitchen and hallway
• re-do our deck (specifically, the stairs...they're wobbly and lopsided)
• garden! (seeds are going to be started tonight or tomorrow!)
• learn how to make pickles
• make a piece of art for the blank wall we have above the stairs/in the entry way

I could continue, because now I'm getting into the brainstorming mood and the ideas are starting to flow...but, I have to run to the grocery store for our dinner feast.

Don't forget to change your clocks!

The Gas Man

Did I ever feel like a home-owning novice today. Goodness. Here's the full story:


I was making a recipe in the slow cooker that called for chicken stock. I glanced at my newly organized pantry and realized that I was out of chicken stock and chicken broth. Oh no! Luckily, I did have chicken bouillon cubes. Now, I've never prepared the cubes in water on their own. I normally just toss a few into the crock pot. I thought I'd give it a shot, so I put a chicken bouillon cube in a saucepan with a cup of water and turned on the stove. Hooray, it worked!


I poured all of the other ingredients into the slow cooker and then added the ... can I call it "homemade" broth? to the slow cooker and went on my way. No biggie, the recipe was turning out and smelling wonderfully!


I went about my business: checking email, putting the laundry into the dryer, cleaning off the dining room table. Then, about twenty minutes after finishing the "broth," I headed into the kitchen for a little lunch. I looked down at the stove and HOLY EXPLETIVE the stove was still ON. Quick, quick, quickly I turned it off and turned off the crock pot and the dryer (what if my house blew up!?).


If you know me at all, you know I can be a paranoid person. So, I called the gas company and talked with the woman in the call center. She decided it necessary to send a tech out to check out my house. She also made me even more nervous by asking me all of these questions, then having me open all of the windows in the kitchen, dining room and living room. She told me to not turn anything on or off (including lights) and to leave the house.


Ugh.


An hour and fifteen minutes later, the gas man came (thankfully...I was getting cold, after having been outside the whole time) and said the air was clear in the house. He said there is no issue at the furnace, water heater or dryer. He checked the gas oven and stove. All was well.


And, all is well. My toes are a little cold and the house hasn't warmed back up. As tedious and annoying the whole process was, I have to say that I am happy that I called. I'd still be worried (a full hour after the gas man left) had he not come out and said everything looked OK.


AND! Look what I found in our garden from last year (no lie, these pictures were taken today):

There's only one of them, but this is where we had onions planted last year. Needless to say, winter has been pretty odd in Minnesota this time around!

Vegetables!

I made the mistake of walking into the hardware store today. Love, love, love that store. I could wander its aisles for hours. Luckily, I had some frozen food items in the car that I had to get in the freezer. A typical Minnesota February would allow me as much time as needed in the store with frozen items in the car. This year? This year is a little different. It's 49 degrees out today!

I digress...

My goal was to pick up a bunch of paint swatches. I had recently read this post over at A Bowl Full of Lemons and loved the idea. I have to admit, it felt weird taking all of those paint swatches, so I decided to do my color books in stages. Today, I picked up oranges, blues and some browns. Have no fear, I will head back shortly and get some reds, purples, greens and grays.

As usual, I got a little sidetracked at the hardware store (not uncommon!) and headed over to the "seasonal" area. I noticed that the salts and shovels were being packed into a smaller area and garden stuff was making its arrival. Hooray!

I started to pull the packets of seeds for all of the vegetables I want to grow this year: carrots, peas, cucumbers, potatoes, summer squash. And some herbs, too: chives, cilantro, basil, oregano. I had quite a few packets ready to be purchased.

But then I remembered what I told myself when I pulled into the parking lot: "Don't spend any money." Dang, I had to put everything back.

It's probably better that way, as I know that Mr. Husband would like to help with picking out the vegetables for this year's garden...

Do you have a vegetable garden? What do you plan on growing?