A New Twist on Mac & Cheese! Winter's Blast Has My Garden On Hiatus!

2017-2018 Winter came in with a blast!
This fall we added a new sliding entry and a 32' by 16' deck in the back of the house.  We are so excited to have a deck again and we are anxious to have friends over to experience the colorful sunsets we often have here in Missouri.

But in December, the snow and frigid cold came in and did not leave. January has been no better, a direct opposite from the last two winters when I was able to grow greens under plastic the entire winter.  This year, I planted late lettuce, spinach, kale, parsley and radishes.  In early December. cute little green shoots were showing a hopeful harvest but when the winds and cold came in at Christmas, and at - 10 even the shoots froze under the 8 mm plastic which kept the greens so warm and cozy last year.  I frankly gave up trying o keep them warm and watered. I was watering frozen leaves.

So, I will start my seeds in the warmth of my basement grow lights and hope for warmth in March.  In the mean time we have been enjoying all the greens that I froze during the spring, summer and fall.  Thanks goodness for those. Lots of Swiss Chard, Spigarella, Spinach, Green Beans, and Broccoli to fill our winter dishes and soups.

We are also trying to stay away from those fatty comfort foods.  Its tough this year since its so cold. And Steve loves dishes like Mac & Cheese and Poutine!  High Fat foods,  only good for a hibernating bear!
So, I came up with a lighter version.  And, if you don't tell anyone what's in it, they will never guess its cauliflower! (I originally mashed it with fresh ground pepper and a bit of chicken broth.

1 cup leftover mashed Cauliflower
8 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked
2 TBSP Butter
1/4 c chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

As soon as the macaroni is drained, after cooking, add the mashed cauliflower, butter, and broth to the mac in the pan.  Stir continuously and season with salt and pepper.  Once all the butter is melted and ingredients have been mixed well and heated, add the cheese and mix for one more minute.  Serve immediately.

Planting for Spring and Summer 2017 is done!

After a very busy winter, which,  many of my greens and carrots grew straight through,   and installing solar panels for all our electricity needs,  we have finished our tilling and  planting for 2017.  We celebrated our first electric bill in March, which was (-$137.00) .  We should have installed Solar years ago!

We have planted fewer vegetables and planted about 6000 sq ft instead of the past 10,000 sq feet.  It just got too big to handle.  That's a lot of real estate to weed!

Right now I am still picking Pac Choi, Spinach, Radishes, Lettuce and herbs from the winter raised beds.  I did plant green beans and then  after two weeks of rain, not one bean sprouted, so I have just replanted.  I dug up the soil to see what the problem was and did not find one seed.  I think they all washed away.

We are picking strawberries and each day its a race to see who gets the ripe ones, me or the chickens!  I did just buy some cover fabric and will cover the berries and grapes to keep out the birds.  I want to have a fighting chance at some of the fruit.  Pears are doing great again this year.  Apples look good too but I see the starts of rust on the leaves.  Going to have to spray again this winter.  This fungus is killing my apple crop.

Steve has been making progress on the house foundation, we are 3/4 completed with the basement wall adjustment and he has begun to rebuild the deck.  We will have a 32' by 16' deck which is much bigger then it was.  He also installed a new exterior back door and raised the landing to be even with the rest of the house.  We had a very weird landing before going to the basement, you had to step down to a landing, then go down the stairs.  Now the floor flows evenly.  Just another example of a lazy contractor when they built this house.

The pond is overflowing since we have had lots of rain this spring.  The ducks are very happy.  We have 3 new ducks, given to us by our neighbors Miles and Angela and their 2 year old daughter, Ellis.
Miles and Angela bought the ducks for Ellis but as they grew they realized they were a bit too much to handle especially since they didn't have a pond.  We were glad to welcome them into our gang.  After keeping the 3 new ducks in the barn with our other duck couple, they soon became one big group.  Although the older male still chases the 2 new males around a bit.  Great for laughs because after about 10 seconds of chasing they turn around and then follow each other again.  Ducks in a row for sure!

Cold is Finally On its way! Its Mid-November!

Ah Fall!  When the trees start changing color and the air gets crisp and cool, NOT!  Fall 2016 has been warmer than any other fall I can remember, with temps in the mid 70's in the afternoon and 59-65 at night.  Crazy!  I picked asparagus in mid-October and new volunteer squash plants were growing in my compost pile.  However, with the lack of cool or cold nights we have had very little color change this year.  The photo, above, is a picture from last years New England visit at Mom and Dad's.   The leave here are falling from the trees without changing to any color except brown.  Very uneventful.

This all means we have far more summer veggies than in the past, but also more BUGS than ever before, so it kind of equaled out.  I spent more time on bug control duties than ever before but I am also harvesting for more asian greens,radishes,  peppers, green beans, tomatillo' s and melons.
And the fruit!
Apples and pears bigger than ever and plenty of pecans for the squirrel and humans to share!  The nuts are all over the basement curing.  I have to start cracking them and bagging for the holidays.

The chickens are now laying eggs regularly.  They love clucking around the house while Steve works on the foundation because with all the fresh dug dirt is easy picking for bugs!  Those eggs must be very rich in protein.

All in all not a bad fall for harvesting.  We are actually getting tired of applesauce and apple pie.  Can you imagine anyone getting sick of apple pie?  Time to start baking pecan pie!

SEPTEMBER- THE FIRST SNAP OF FALL! LET'S MAKE SOME COMFORT FOOD!

I have been remiss in my posting all summer.
Lots of work being done on the exterior of the house,  including foundation work on all walls, french drains installed around perimeter, new retaining walls on sides of driveway, new deck, new roof and new front entry, have been keeping me too busy to post new entries.

Late September now;  the cool nights are a refreshing change from the heat of early September heat.  I even have cut about a pound of asparagus this month as it still thinks its summer.  Zucchini and cucumbers are still growing as well as the melons, watermelon and cantaloupe

But now the snap of autumn, very cool mornings will beads of dew on all the newly planted greens, glisten all over the garden. In the 4 new raised beds, which will be hooped in the winter, I have planted radishes, Pac Choi, Napa Cabbage and Spinach.  I also planted more carrots and green beans in the rows replacing the tomatoes that have bit the dust.

The photos above show the beautiful Swiss Chard that I am picking often (it thrives on rejection I think) and the green peppers that also like the cooler weather.
Nothing better than a dish of Stuffed Peppers. 
Make a fresh pot of Marinara Sauce with fresh basil, garlic, and tomatoes.  
Clean 8 to 10 green papers, cutting out the center , stems and seeds from the top.
Stuffing is made with sauteed Italian sausage, 1 lb. taken out of the casings, 1 lg. chopped onion, 2 stalks of celery, (diced) 1 sweet red pepper (chopped), thyme, garlic,( minced), salt & pepper.  Mixed in 1 cup of cooked brown rice.  
Stuff peppers, pour Marinara over them to cover, top with 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.  I don't cover mine as I like my peppers to still have some crunch.  You may cover yours with foil if you like yours softer.

 I just made an Italian Minestrone Soup with Chard, Cannelli Beans, Zucchini, Orzo, Tomatoes, home-made Chicken Broth (2 cups) 1/2 bottle of V8 juice, 2 cups chopped chard with the stems, one large onion, chopped , two stalks of celery and 2 garlic cloves.  You can throw in any veggies you may have, like carrots, chopped potato, green peppers or green beans.  I used Orzo pasta instead of adding potatoes.  Simer soup for at least 1 hour.  The longer it stands, the better it tastes, so make it a day ahead and put the pot in the fridge.

Planting Time Once Again!

This is a photo of preparing for planting last year.  Well, since Steve is too tied up with foundation and landscaping work for this spring and summer, I am tackling the planting on a smaller scale and much like they did back-in-the-day, without machinery.  I have a feeling I will be in great shape after the month of May is over.  I just started this past weekend and already logged 11,000 steps on Saturday and 19,000 steps on Sunday.  I'll have to have Fr. Garry out to bless my garden and hear my confession because I have missed mass and am not resting on Sunday!  But he sure will enjoy the eats!

Asparagus is sprouting and I picked 5 lbs of kale yesterday to rotate the Kale box to peas for the spring.  Already the chickens are delighted with the fresh dug dirt and keep scratching up my planted peas.

Peekachoo, our peacock and the peacock from next door, who is not a  full Indigo Blue male, so we call him Carbon Copy, had a fluffing contest which went on for about 30 minutes yesterday afternoon.  It was no contest really, but you couldn't tell Carbon Copy that.  He was not admitting defeat!
Peekachoo has really grown into a gorgeous male with a six foot tail of iridescent color.

Make your own Salad Dressings! Easy and Better For you!

FOR ALL THOSE GREENS YOU GET OUT OF THE GARDEN, DON'T SPOIL THEM WITH STORE BOUGHT SALAD DRESSING!

Over the winter my Kale, Mustard Greens and Lettuce has kept me supplied with fresh greens.  I don't buy prepared salad dressing, I make my own.  Here are 4 easy recipes to whip up your own to keep your salads fresh and free of unnecessary ingredients and calories.

Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette:
This is great with bitter greens, like Kale, mustard greens, beet greens and don't forget those spring dandelions, Appropriate for a salad for 4.

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
4 TBSP real maple syrup or Agave Nectar
freshly ground black pepper.
Place ingredients in a canning jar, shake vigorously, then pour over salad and toss.

Light Italian Dressing
This makes enough for 2 or 3 salads, depending on the size.
1/2 cup Canola Oil
1/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
 tsp liquid from prepared minced garlic
fresh ground pepper
1 tsp onion powder (or add fresh sliced onion to the salad)
1 tsp dried Italian herbs (if you grown your own, I use basil, oregano, parsley, sage and thyme
Place ingredients in a canning jar, shake vigorously.

French Vinaigrette
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
fresh ground pepper
That's it.  This will yield enough for a very large salad or 3 small salads

Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola Dressing
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup crumbled cheese
fresh ground pepper
2 TBSP cream or milk
Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until mixed.  If creamier consistency is desired, reduce the milk or cream to 1 TBSP.  Enjoy!

Once you start making your own dressings, you'll never go back to a bottle.

These ladies kept us busy and warm this past winter even though we had only one snow day all season.  You can see the dusting, of white, outside the window,  in the back ground.  Clockwise is Patchoulette (she's the very old lady, now she's almost 12, then Skittles who is 1 1/2 and Snicker who is also 1 1/2.  All very different personalities and entertain us greatly.

Now it's  time to get rolling on the tilling and planting.
During the winter I covered my raised beds and now have Lettuce, Kale, Parsley, a bit of Spigarella, Swiss Chard, mustard greens and a few beets.
I walked out to feed the birds this morning and see our first 5 stalks of Asparagus.  Its April 8th and I can't remember having it this early before, but I am glad.
Our fruit trees are all pruned and blooming nicely. Apple Blossoms are so beautiful, white with shades of bright pink in the center.
The pond has been full throughout the winter and we are hoping for good rain this spring but not as much as last year.
This winter we realized something was eating all of our chickens.  Last fall we had 18 hens and now we are down to 5 hens and 1 rooster.  We suspect we know what happened but it does no good to dwell on it, We are now being more vigilant at watching and defending our birds territory.

I have been working hard at cleaning out the ducks pen and setting fresh hay.  Next, this weekend, I will tackle the chicken coop. A couple of weekends concentrating on shoveling sh--  which results in a season of clean happy birds.
When I worked for Saks Fifth Avenue, I never imagined I would be shoveling composted bird poo and loving it. How times change!