No Rain, No Problem! Farmer's Market To The Rescue!!!

So....

Since we had to quit the garden
 due to the  no rain issues/fines for using too much water,

a trip to the farmer's market on Friday was in order.

There was no arm twisting involved, I love to go,

only,
 I would rather not have to buy my produce.

Oh well,

the bright side is,

 I'm helping out a south or East Texas farmer.

(Gotta take the positive notes where you can)!

Anyway...

We scored about 20 lbs of roma tomatoes for $8.00

4 giant, red bell peppers for $1.00

okra @ $3.oo a pint (got 2)

green beans @ $3.00 a pint ( got 2 also)

new potatoes @ $2.00 for 2 pints

and, 2 fairly large cantaloupe for $5.00

Some of the goodies

Not too bad, especially compared to the supermarket!

We canned some of the okra yesterday for Steve's mom

and saved the rest to fry.
We'll do that on Sunday.

My Steve does enjoy his fried okra!

He also enjoys green beans and new potatoes,

Sunday on that one also.

Today I got started on or meals for the week.

First up was spinach/lasagna roll ups from Rachel Ray's kid cookbook.

Rachel Ray's cookbook

Naturally, I put my own spin on the recipe using ingredients I already had on hand.

Here's my take!!

Mince, mince, chop!

Ingredients:

1 small onion, minced

3 ribs celery, with some leaves, minced

1 red bell pepper, minced
1 roma tomato, seeded and minced

1 package spinach, drained and chopped (about one lb.)

(I had a package of blanched mixed greens in the freezer, swiss chard, spinach and beet greens)

about a 3/4  lb. of queso fresco, divided use (fetta or ricotta would work)

medium thick rue, about 1 and 1/2 cups  divided use (made with turkey broth)

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

6 lasagna noodles, cooked, rinsed and drained

olive oil for sautéing

Directions:

Sautee first 3 ingredients in heated olive oil about 7 minutes.

Add spinach/greens, 1/4 lb. queso fresco, 1/2 cup rue and nutmeg.

Stay with the skillet at this point.

Cook, stirring until queso fresco starts to melt.

Remove from heat.

Lay out your cooked lasagna noodles on a cutting board.

With a rubber spatula coat the noodles with your spinach/queso fresco mixture.
I added extra, crumbled, queso fresco at this stage, a little for each roll up.

Fill and roll up all noodles and place seam side down in a casserole dish.

Time To Roll!!!

Spoon extra rue over the rolled noodles, sprinkle with extra queso fresco or parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven till cheese melts and noodles heat through. About 15 minutes.

When I make these in the summer I stop at the baking step. I just cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge. When ready to eat just spoon out a noodle or two and microwave.

Great for gourmet, lunch box treats !!!

Yummo!!!

I'm curious...

Have you been restricted on your water usage,

fined for using too much?

Do you  recycle your water when possible?

Tomorrow we'll be canning the tomatoes,

frying okra and making the green beans and new potatoes.

Till next time,

Bonjour

Rural Texas, Is It Disappearing?

SO....

I've been playing Taxi to my youngest daughter Ginger.

Her 1995 Honda is on the fritz and since she's on the way to my day job

I've been  transporting  her to and from her employment at Target.



Cotton



I noticed this scene several days ago and thought it was photo worthy,

just didn't have the time to stop, (I also drop my husband Steve at his job). 

Anyway,

This stretch of highway is mostly farmland but I have noticed,

FOR SALE SIGNS!!!

Seems highway frontage is more valuable than farmland.

Glad I can grow some of my own stuff!!!!

Notice the neighborhood in the background, the movie theater sign?

Soon my ride to work will be nothing but neighborhoods and businesses.

I'm sad!

All I can do is preserve my little 10!

Do you notice subtle changes in your landscape?

Is modern society creeping up on you also?

Till next time,

Bonjour

Garden Goodies



The Plum Tree



Cayenne

                                                                     

Hurry Up...Turn Red



Freesia or Lilly?



Peppers and Tomatoes



Pickled Beets and Green Tomatoes



So...

  The computer crashed on Sunday,

just now got it up and running.

We were out in the yard tonight and

I thought I would share the view.



We canned the beets and tomatoes on Sunday,

 unfortunatelywe didn't plant very many 

so we only got two jars canned.

They're  for Steve's Mom and

she will appreciate whatever we give her.

The green tomatoes were a gift from

Steve's workmate Rollo and

he's promised some okra so

I'll pickle that for Steve's Mom also.

The garage sale-ing went well and

 I found a bike for Nathan....

photos to follow (hopefully).

Sorry this post is so terse

but I'm expecting the computer to crash at any moment.

I know, positive thinking.....



Happy first day of summer!!!

 Till next time,
Bonjour

 P.S.
It rained this morning and it's raining tonight. I can hear thunder outside...
SUPER!!!!!
I'm gonna check it out.
We're in a drought you know....TEXAS

Soap, Ear Infection And Tornadoes

So....

Running out of soap.
The last two shows have been great,
but,
the soap supply is running short.
Odd.
We have been doing the soap scene for about seven years now
and the most popular scents have always been the floral.
Now?
Mostly the earthy, spicy scents with the fruity not far behind.
I was caught off guard, so now I'm scrambling to catch up.
What used to be a predominately female demographic (floral)
is now evolving into a unique mix of both the sexes.

Gotta love it.

Anyway....
I won't trouble you too much with my recurring ear infection..
BUT...
I've about had enough.
You would think,
one GP, one ENT and one emergency room visit (ruptured eardrum)
should have fixed this five or so year problem.
NOT...

I'm not kidding!
I have been told I have allergies.
I had about given up.
As a last resort I went to the local clinic and guess what?
I have a fungal infection.
Diagnosed by a PA!

The GP, the ENT and the emergency room blew me off.
I could have had a seizure, lost my hearing, even died....

This PA was appalled, O.M.G. she said.
Needless to say I'm pretty drugged up, and hopefully, on the road to recovery
without too much damage done to my hearing.

OK,

THE TORNADOES!
GEEZ...

Being that I couldn't sleep Monday night due to the storms
I took a vacation day on Tuesday.
I'm laying in the lounger on the deck reading, napping,
when I was awakened by the sound of dog nails clicking on the wooden deck around me.

Lady was circling me, trying to wake me up.
Seems there was a possible tornado about five miles away.
(We call Lady the weather dog because she knows when there's bad weather approaching).
 OK Lady, I'm awake now, what's up?
 I spent a few hours in the closet with her and Red.
The storms moved off to the east towards my mother-in- law's house in Canton, 
passing her but hitting Edam and Ben Wheeler.

Today Sunday, AM started out cloudy with signs of rain that never materialized.
I went out to pick wild blackberries and discovered several more berry patches on the property.
WooHoo, I do love free food.
Later the temps turned cold so we spent the day making soap, canning meat, berries,
 and also doing a little baking.
Also made some ham beans and cornbread.
YUM!

Believe it or not I had to get the winter quilt out of the blanket chest
cause it's cold in this house tonight!

Disclaimer
Any awry statements, typos or incorrect sentences will be blamed on the blog and not the drugs!!!

OK, there's the rain, darn. I have laundry on the line!
OH well....
Till next time.
Bonjour

P.S. For some reason the "blog" decided to bold almost everything, align things incorrectly and not

print most of my text! I swear, it's not the drugs!!! I give up. I'm going to bed!

P Is For Poison And I have The Recipe



My Poor Oleander



The Rhubarb



Well...

Remember the boy at work who told me,

"WHEN THE WORLD FALLS APART

I'M COMING TO YOUR PLACE BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL THE FOOD,

AND IF YOU DON'T FEED ME I'LL KILL YOU, AND EAT YOU"?

I have a special salad just for him.

RHUBARB AND OLEANDER LEAVES SALAD

WITH RANCH DRESSING. HEHE!!!

Just kidding!

We're working on a fence, got the posts set, now we need the wire and a gate.
You never know who might show up uninvited!!!!





Blooming Plum



The New Persimmon Tree





In the five or so years that we've lived here, in addition to the shade type trees, 

Steve has planted about twenty fruit trees,

(peach, pear, pomegranate, fig, quince,
apple, persimmon, plum and apricot)

several nut trees,
(black walnut and pecan)
not to mention the veggie garden.

Add to that all of the herbs I've planted.

(rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, all kinds of mints,
lemon balm, lemon verbena, basil, dill,
garlic, fennel and onions.)

On the property Nathan and I discovered
wild garlic, wild walking onions and wild blackberries.

The previous owners planted two mulberry trees.

So as you can see we have a lot of plants to tend.

That's a lot of work and water.

It anyone wants to come out here and help with the work

I have no problem feeding you,

 otherwise you get an Oleander and Rhubarb Leaves Salad.

YUM!!!


The New Pear Tree

In this part of Texas, Cedar and Mesquite trees are quite prolific.

If you aren't careful they will take over and choke out anything else.

Believe me, I've seen this first hand.

With a little help from Google I've discovered that you can make a
flour type product from the Mesquite bean seeds.
Complicated process but it's useful info in a crisis.
We have several of both trees on our property.
If anyone knows of a food use for Cedar trees I would be happy to know.



One Of The Mulberry Trees
(Maybe I should Turn That Rain Barrel Right Side Up?)



My Favorite Mesquite Tree

Underneath both of these trees are wild blackberry bushes.

You gotta love the birds for this,

they sit in the trees and poop out berry seeds and viola,

BERRY VINES.

Nature is a strange and wonderful thing.

SUNSET

What kind of plants do you have growing?

Nathan and I had  a very busy day cooking and exploring
so I'm off to watch Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom.
One of his favorites!
Till next time,
Bonjour

DIY Sweetened Condensed Milk

So....

I love myself a good cup of coffee.

 Not black, a good caramel color suits me.

I've probably been drinking coffee since I was about 5.

Mom and Dad were big coffee drinkers, they liked theirs with cream and sugar.

So, naturally that's how I like mine...... sort of.

I prefer the flavored coffee creamers as I've mentioned before.

Way too expensive... with ingredients I can't pronounce!!!!

A while back I posted a homemade coffee creamer recipe that is quite tasty.

But, me being me, I pondered, can I make this any cheaper less expensive?

Google was employed once again.

"How to make sweetened condensed milk?"

Success, I found a few recipes.

One was based on dry milk, another on whole milk.

I went with the whole milk recipe.

So I did the math,

is it really cheaper less expensive 

to make your own sweetened condensed milk?

Oh yes!!!

The Math...

Milk-$1.88 per gal. = .0146875 per ounce x 6 cups (48 oz.) = .705

Sugar-$1.94 per 4 lb (9 cups per bag). = .2155555 per cup x 4 1/2 cups = .9699997

Total per batch = $1.6749997

YIELD 4 1/2 cups total  (36 oz.) = .0465277 per oz.

Market price for 14 oz. can $1.36 = .0971428 per oz.

This doesn't factor in the electricity $$$ (Way too much math!!!)

So, if your interested here's the recipe.

Yield 4 1/2 cups

6 cups whole milk

4 1/2 cups sugar

Heat milk and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat stirring to incorporate.

When the sugar is dissolved raise the heat to medium high and hold at a simmer, stirring frequently.

(Don't let it stick to the bottom of the pan)

Cook for about 1 hour. The milk will thicken and turn to a beige/light tan color. Strain and cool.

(I didn't have any lumps so I don't know why they included the strain step??)
This will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

I wonder, if you used a double boiler, would it be less needy?

Also found a recipe for making homemade lemon pepper seasoning.

Nathan loves lemon pepper!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Sharing And Blogging

OK, OK, I confess,

 I read blogs.

I'm on a quest, and that quest is for knowledge!

I want to know everything there is to know and I don't care how I get there.

Google, blogs, books, whatever.

If you have something relevant to share, I'm listening.

I have so many interests, and you, my blog buddies,

are helping me gain the knowledge. 

Gardening, homesteading, crafting, canning,

emergency preparedness,

cheese making,

thrifting, fashion, books, 

so many things, so little time.....

I love the internet!

Maybe too much.... I really need to make soap!

(Shows start the end of March.)

Anyway, where all this leads to  is.....

Lynda at,

http://cortinacreek.blogspot.com/

awarded me a Stylish Blogger Award.

Thank you Lynda.

This woman is all over everything, sewing,

canning, cheese making, gardening....

So, after sharing 7 things about myself,

 I can pass this award on to 15 of my favorite blogs.

I think I've said enough about me so lets get on to other people.

These are in no particular order, just people whose lives I find interesting.

(There are a couple of notable blogs that I left out

because I felt they were too personal.)

So here goes!

http://lifeisshortsawn61.blogspot.com/

This blog is written by Sue, a very sweet and caring woman

who is a wiz at needlecraft, gardening and animal care.

Also manages to keep Pops in line.

http://www.clickclackgorilla.com/

What can I say, a girl who's doing  a lot of the same things I did 40 years ago!
And I thought I was the only one who dumpster dived!!

Nicolette, you rock!!!

http://bregleestate.blogspot.com/

I think brendie is on the same path as the rest of us,

only she lives in a more dangerous situation.

Also a talented crafter, chef, and frugalist.

Brendie also has some great ideas on emergency preparedness.

http://librarianismchronicles.blogspot.com/

If you need links to environmental, crafty,

or school stuff, Amber has it.

A Journalist recruited by Teach For America, 

doing her part to educate our youth.

Books are her specialty.

http://lillybeffersmaddielumpkin.blogspot.com/

Tami......

Doing things totally off the wall and making it work!

A table leg as the premise for a bookshelf?...

Way  inspiring stuff.

Her daughter is equally talented and I would

have noted her only, she's already been awarded.

http://lavenderchick.blogspot.com/

Been following Deb for quite some time.

She lives in a haunted house.

A woman who has an eye for vintage style and a way with words.

Have had many a chuckle from her blog.

Hope you check out the ladies who author these blogs.

They're willing to share their knowledge!

And being a person who rarely follows the rules, I didn't!!!

Till next time.

Bonjour

The Post Lady Always Rings Twice

Well....

The post lady never rings twice because she knows

I work, and I don't have a doorbell.

And if it's been raining, she doesn't come down my driveway,

she just throws my packages toward the sign.

I have a sign at the soon to be gate, that says, Blue Sky.
(Yeah, we named our property.)

Anyway, this package was small enough to fit into the mail box,

so ringing wasn't necessary.

A package for me, I ask my husband?

I'm not expecting a package, I say!

From Kentuckey he says.

Hand it over, I say.

Has to be Sue!

Oh yeah, a package of goodies.

Sue is very talented when it comes to needlework,

she has much more paitence than I do.

Crochet doilies, hot pads, pot holder, check keeper, pot scrubby, fridge magnet,

and bookmark, at least that's what I'm going to use them for.

Thanks Sue, I wish my photos did them justice!!!!

Well it's 11:00 and I need to go to bed.

I have to get up early and return to the surreal world, AKA work!

Oh yeah, there's a guy at work who told me,

"I'm not preparing for the apocalypse,when the world falls apart,

 I'm going out to your house to get all your food,

and if you don't give it to me,

 I'll kill you, then eat you"!!!!

TRUE!!!

I was dumbfounded, didn't know what to say.

How scary is that?

How would you have reacted?

More on that next time.

Till then,

Bonjour

Food and Knowledge...These are a few of my favorite things...

YUMMY GOODNESS

SO....

The goodies have finally arrived.

No more onions from the BIG BOX PEOPLE,

small box delivered right to my mail box!

(My, that's a lot of boxes for one sentence)

I didn't know there were short day, intermediate and long day onions, or that some were better for storing than others, or that you leave them to dry in the garden after you pick them.

Seems I knew nothing at all about onions.

After some research I now know that in Texas, we need short day onions.

And there's a local supplier in east Texas. Brown's Omaha Plant Farms Inc.

I like to shop local when I can.

We are now the proud parents of,

TX 1015 - Y Supersweet

Red Burgandy Hamburger

My husband's choices!

The snow has melted so maybe tomorrow we can get them in the ground.

I'm still doing research to understand which ones store better. 

OTHER BREAKING NEWS!!!

KNOWLEDGE

We subscribe to Backwoods Home Magazine and they had a few books we've been coveting.

I finally loosened the purse strings and ordered one for me and one for Steve, the third one was free.

My choice was,

Jackie Clay's canning book.

This is not your run of the mill canning book, this is the SUPREMEO CANNING BOOK!!! (I'm sure that's a word)

I have several canning manuals but not one covers the range of foods to can as this one does.

Canned cheese, meat, milk who knew?

There's tips on growing a wide range of foods, recipes and even info on raising animals.

I can't wait to put this book to use.

I love knowledge.

Steve got,

 Butchering Smoking Curing and Sausage Making.

I haven't looked at that one yet so I have no opinion to share.

The third one is,

 Recession Proof Your Pantry

It starts out listing everything you'll need in your pantry to survive for one year, just in case you can't get to the market.

You never know what will happen, flood, hurricane, snow, ????

Great info on how to store different types of foods.

It lists the requirements for most veggie, how cold, how much humidity etc.

Also gives you ideas on where to store if you don't have a root cellar. (NOT)

I haven't finished reading it yet but so far I'm learning alot.

We do ok in respect to canning but I feel that we need to take it to the next level.

In addition to what you grow why not take advantage of the market sales, buy it on sale, can for later use.

That's one of the goals I have for 2011

Self reliance is a good thing!!

 Till next time,

Bonjour