kappydell

I just found this recipe, looks easy yet exotic... pumpkin leaves in a peanut butter sauce: 1/2 pound of young, soft pumpkin leaves 2 Tablespoons of smooth peanut butter 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder or other seasoning 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 cup of Water 1 medium-sized tomato, sliced 1 small onion, finely chopped Preparation Wash the pumpkin leaves under cold water and let them drip dry. Remove the leaves' threads by breaking off a piece of the stem and pulling the strips down the leaf. Slice the leaves thinly. Place pumpkin leaves and onion into a seasoned cast iron saucepan on medium heat. Cover the pan and do not open it until the leaves begin to steam, or about five minutes. Add a little bit of water, if necessary. Simmer the leaves and onion for about ten minutes, or until the leaves are tender. Add the tomato, and leave it for another five minutes. Add the peanut butter and stir it all together until the peanut butter is dissolved and mixed with the vegetables. Add seasonings and simmer for another five minutes. Ensure that the product does not burn. Serve this dish hot on freshly boiled pasta. ====================================================================================================================================================================================== As to what should NOT be eaten, Im sure there is more than just rhubarb with poisonous leaves. I generally stick to this chart, but I am always looking for new threads to run down regarding this. I may or may not try the watermelon rind, if I buy a small melon I may try the soup recipe I found for it. It is supposed to taste like Chinese Bitter Melon. ====================================================================================================================================================================================== Vegetable Common Edible Parts Other Edible Parts ====================================================================================================================================================================================== Beans, snap pod with seeds leaves Beans, lima seeds pods, leaves Beets root leaves Broccoli flower leaves, flower stem Carrot root leaves Cauliflower immature flower flower stem, leaves Celery leaf stems leaves, seeds Corn, sweet seeds young ears, unfurled tassel, young leaves Cucumber fruit with seeds stem tips and young leaves Eggplant fruit with seeds leaves edible but not flavorful Kohlrabi swollen stem leaves Okra pods with seeds leaves Onions root young leaves Parsley tops roots Peas, English seeds pods, leaves Peas, Southern seeds, pods young leaves Pepper pods leaves after cooking, immature seeds Potatoes, Sweet roots leaves and stem shoots Radish roots leaves Squash fruit with seeds seeds, flowers, young leaves Tomato fruits with seeds leaves contain alkaloids Turnip roots, leaves ---------- Watermelon interior pulp and seeds rind of fruit April 2002 issue of Vegetable Production & Marketing News, edited by Frank J. Dainello, Ph.D., and produced by Extension Horticulture, Texas Cooperative Extension, The Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas ====================================================================================================================================================================================== The pumpkin leaves came from the multitude of accounts of Africans, Indians and Asians eating pumpkin leaves as a cooked vegetable. Frankly, I was not impressed by their taste. I also stay away from tomato leaves. They are muy bitter!!!

The leaves and the stems of sweet potatoes are good raw...kinda like a cross between snap peas and asparagus eaten raw. The vine tips have a 'silk thread' (such a beautiful euphamism) that needs to be pulled off like stringing beans. Then cut to about 1 inch lengths and steam, saute, or cook like tender green beans. Leaves can be cut up and added a little after cause they cook faster. My favorite is stir-fried with garlic and/or onion depending on my mood. MMMMMM. Also excellent raw with a hot bacon dressing....used as a spinach substitute with anything 'florentine'.....many filipino cooks saute them with a minced red pepper for bite....if you like leafy greens, this one is very tasty. I ALMOST like them better than the tubers, so I was interested to read that adding nitrogen fertilyzer would increase leaf output. Pea leaves and shoots are cooked similarly, and taste like peas (no surprise there!). Im talking about the curly tendril tips, with leaves the size of a quarter or so, not pea-sprouts. Pumpkin and squash leaves must be very young, and smooth (before they get their prickles) and are eaten only cooked. They are generally boiled or sauteed in a mixture with other foods (stir fry, stews, etc). I was not impressed, but they are not unpalatable, either. I'd eat them for the vitamins. The outer leaves of brassica were a pleasant food, but then again I like all that cabbagy stuff. Cauliflower leaves, de-veined like collards and cooked similarly, were milder in flavor than the white heads (!); broccoli leaves tasted like broccoli but easier to fix than peeling the stems was, brussels sprouts leaves I remove anyway to make the sprouts get bigger, and they taste like brussels sprouts (I steam and cream those), and Kohlrabi leaves taste milder than the kohlrabi did this year (maybe because our drought made the root part a little strong). Some of the cabbagy relatives leaf stems are tough and stringy so you just cut those out then roll and shred the leaves (like collards). I especially like the idea of 'extra veggies' for free, and they don't taste too bad, either! Radish leaves are spicy-hot, so I used them sparingly, cooking them in a stir fry to add a little heat (similar to horseradisy flavor but mild). They can be eaten raw if you pick them prior to the radishes forming, but I cooked mine since I pulled the radishes and there was no bulb (doggone drought) and I was hungry for radishes. (Did I mention I like greens of all kinds?)

Im studying up on 'alternative veggies' like sweet potato leaves, pumpkin leaves, pea shoots & leaves, brassica leaves, and such that are not generally recognized as food in this country, as well as expanding my usage on peels, cores, and trimmings for everything from veggies to fruits to meats. Learning some cool stuff, and BTW sweet potato leaves are deeeelicious.

Good Job! You know when you go to sleep at night and when you look yourself in the eye in the mirror just why you took the higher ground.

my mom also told me a chest freezer lasts longer. maybe - I have one over 30 yrs old, still going strong, though I did recently buy a new one. discovered the 'new' ones cant go in garage, so im glad the old one still works. new one downstairs, old one into garage at new house. i like to buy turkeys on sale in Nov, have them cut in halves or quarters and freeze them, but they still take up lots of space. I love my big ole freezers, call them my 'food banks'. My parents had 2 uprights, both died on them when the chest kept a-going.

from corn---tacos, tortillas, hominy, mush, fried mush, hoecakes, corn dodgers, corn gravy, cornmeal soup, parched corn, and all manner of cornbreads. from beans: refried beans (fill burritos, spread on tostadas, etc); boiled beans, bean 'nuts' (You can make same as soy-nuts, bean+cornmeal patties, bean & cornmeal 'pie'; bean sprouts steamed, fried, and chopped for 'slaw'; boiled beans in salads (marinate plain, or add cheese, dill pickles, pasta, etc); bean soups, baked beans

Heck, I grew up without air conditioning....the TV had only ONE station, and that one went off at 2:00 AM after playing the Star Spangled Banner and displaying scenes of the Blue Angels. It was black and white, of course. And when it broke down, we went SIX MONTHS without a TV while my folks saved for a new one. I am soooo lucky. My parents taught us many self reliant things instead of buying us things to shut us up. Yes, to this day I have several MANUAL typewriters. So many teens don't even know what one is, let alone that they were manual...and I found directions for making a hectographic duplicator (remember those purple-printed handouts from school?). Yup, no such thing as xerox, either! I could go on and on, but I get to laughing too hard....

solar cookers international, http://www.solarcookers.org/index.html sells a booklet (How to Make, Use and Enjoy Solar Cookers - $7) with 2 do-it-yourself solar cookers that are very easy to make. They also have developted and sold a Water Pasteurizatioin Indicator for $7 that lets you know when your solar-cooked water is safe to drink. A good source for novices at solar cooking, and lots of fun for family projects. They also sell ready made solar cookers, starting at $25 for a basic one-pot cooker. A fun site. {edit to make website 'clickable'...hopefully}

Chicken & dumplings (Paula Deen's recipe, slightly modified) with hot poppy-seed rolls. Made it worth the snow shoveling!

I am planning a memory quilt from my deceased husbands favorite clothes. As I sort and donate or sell them, I will be saving his favorite flannel shirts, etc and making a quilt of them to keep me warm in a special way. Some might think it morbid, but I think of it as hugs from heaven.

I use a modified technique based on Jeavon's raised beds, but I do not make beds. I plant wide rows, plants in the rows are spaced as per Jeavons' recommendations. Bush beans, peas, leafy greens, carrots, beets and onions seem to like the wide beds. For tall crops (pole beans, indeterminate tomatoes, peppers) I stake or cage them and plant in rows. Wide beds again for vine crops, with the edges planted with quickie catch crops like leaf lettuce, radishes, green onions or greens that will be out by the time the vines need the space. Potatoes do better for me in single rows, it is hard to hill them up in a close planting. I have also had good luck planting a ring of 4 bush bean seeds and 3 pole bean seeds around each pole bean pole. The bush beans bear earlier, and the pole beans still climb up for the season-long bearing. The wide rows are tilled up in the spring, with walkways between remaining untilled. I find the alternating of loose fluffy rows with harder walkways acts like mini-terraces to catch the rain better in my sloping garden, and avoids the erosion that occurs when the whole area is tilled. I only need to weed the first 2 months in the wide rows, after that the plants do indeed crowd out the unofficial competition. Wide rows are easier to cover with plastic to warm them up for earlier plantings, easier to cover with floating row covers if I want, easier to treat for pests if needed, and cover with sheets for those early frosts in the fall. I sheet compost in the walkways (be sure to have the top layer be a 'brown' layer, a it is easier to walk on!) then the next year the walkways are tilled as rows, as I shift the rows down the hill to rotate the crops. I only water once a week if there has not been a good rain. The wide beds produce enough for me without daily watering, even during the usual august drought. I water with barrels of rain water that are uphill from the garden. Gravity fed, leaky hoses are laid out on the uphill sides of the rows for a soaking. The rows help hold rain. Vine crops are planted in very wide rows (6 feet) so they can spread, with early fast-harvested crops around the edges of the rows, picked before they need the space. I also mulch the vine crops with newspapers or wide leaves of mullein or butter-burr, or even dock. If the vines do not touch the dirt, I get no vine borers. I read that the eggs are laid in the soil and the larvae crawl up into the vines to eat and mature. That would explain its success,so if you have borers, mulch. You don't need more than a sheet or two of paper or a couple leaves in a layer. I also plant vines on the edges of corn and tomato areas. They can sprawl around the upright crops, shade out weeds, and (again, I read it somewhere) raccoons do not like to walk on those prickly vines. It bothers their tender tootsies, supposedly. You might try it if you have raccoons. Group your corn rows together for pollination, as it is wind pollinated. 4 to 6 rows planted 1 foot apart makes a wide bed, but helps pollination. I divide my admittedly long (40 feet) wide rows into smaller sections for early and late corn, early and late cabbages, etc. so when the early crops are done, I can remove them and put in autumn crops. Leafy greens, brassica, bush beans and brassica will all grow in the cooler autumn months. Bok Choy is a cool weather crop only. Kale will grow nicely until it is very cold and will hold in the garden even in snow! I have picked fresh kale in Wisconsin in mid December and it was delicious. Brussels sprouts kept in the garden through Thanksgiving! Hopefully this will help, sorry for the long post.

I always praised my mouse-catcher heartily, and put the mouse aside to 'eat later' (until he wasn't looking, that is....) He would be SOOO proud he would go and get me another!

Thank you for a pumpkin recipe I don't have yet! This looks tasty, maybe I'll see if I can convert a non-pumpkin eater. Oh by the way, at my local Piggly Wiggly store (don't know where they are common other than the midwest...) canned pumpkin in 15 oz cans was 78 cents. I bought 12.

Ive tried peppermint, moth balls and dryer sheets, all of which are supposed to repel mice. Didn't work. Only trapping did. That and an aggressive cat.

Nice Bump! anx just in time to print out for my friends who are just getting started in this food storage 'thing'

Mt_Rider told me: I use bubble wrap on windows that can remain closed up for the winter. Add some thick curtains and it makes up for the single glazing in this rented house. I'm thinking of trying double sided sticky tape for applying it this year. Pull back the curtains and it does admit opaque light. Thank you!!!! Today I 'bubble wrapped' basement windows because I wanted daylight available down there,so I did not want to use foam or other insulation. It worked like a charm! Not only do they admit light, they look like they had some of that fancy privacy stuff stuck on them. And the doubled sided tape was much easier to use than anything else I have ever done! I can't thank you enough. It worked so well the garage is next - I have large windows that I woul just as soon not have folks looking into, and they could use some insulation. In short, perfect candidates for bubbles. Thank you Mt_Rider!

Simple Stir Fry: 1 lb beef stew meat, cut to 1/2 inch size; 1 lb pkg mixed carrots, broccoli & cauliflower that were aging in the refrigerator; a few extra carrots, sliced; sauce of 1/4 c soy sauce, 1 1/2 c beef broth from bouillon, and 4 TB cornstarch to thicken. Made enough for 3 hearty eaters, served over rice. Extra rice made on purpose to freeze for a quick fried rice in a couple days time.

Yes, I know pickled eggs are considered unsafe. I scald jars & lids very well, use a pickling solution at a full rolling boil, and can them under pressure. I don't like the store ones, so I pickle them like dilly beans, with a dill solution. Im the only one that likes them at all, so I do only a few and keep cool until they are eaten. I also tried canning cheese, another no-no, but didn't like how it turned out. So I won''t be trying cheese again.

I am on a meat canning streak. meats in my preps are mostly spam, ham, tuna, and the like, so I am canning up meats in broth. Quality is much better anyway, and I get better variety. So far I have done some beef stew chunks in broth, boned chicken in broth, ham cubes in broth, and even some pickled eggs for fun. I almost forgot - I did some boneless pork ribs too. I have ground beef waiting in the wings. Whatever meat comes on sale I am canning. I even canned up some ham broth from the trimmings to flavor soups and bean dishes.

Nothing wrong with fresh road kill...you gotta get it fast, though. In my area, if you hit a deer you have the option to keep it. Not so with other critters though. Gotta hide them if you are going to keep them. I do recall a perfectly delicious road kill pheasant my father hit, then cleaned immediately. And no, he was not trying to hit it....!

My house has an 'ex' summer kitchen. Originally it was an attached enclosed porch, with electrical hookups for stove and running water hookup. As said earlier, it was to cook in during summer months to keep house cooler. Some elder folk have told me they had even used outdoor set ups if they could not spare a room to set up. One of many things done pre-air-conditioning that were actually pretty good ideas.

My DH went ga-ga for these and he always said he hated limas... BUTTER BEANS (from The Hillbilly Housewife) 1 lb large lima beans 2 qt tap water 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/2 stick margarine Soak beans overnight. Simmer soaked beans for about 1 hour, until almost, but not quite tender. Add salt, pepper and margarine. Keep simmering until tender but not mushy. The bean broth will thicken a bit. This is traditionally served with hoe cakes, or as a side with roast chicken. Recipe serves 6. We serve with chicken, and the broth is so good we drink it as soup. Use a good flavored margarine - the original used butter, also tasty.

You can put just about anything in quilts. I read of a group who makes "ugly quilts" to give to the homeless. They fill them with clothing too old and torn to be mended, after removing hard items (buttons, zippers, etc). They just pile them on reasonably evenly, top with the 2nd fabric, then tuft them so the innards do not shift so much. Tufting goes much quicker than pretty quilting. It just goes to show how far you can recycle fabrics!

I have both presto and all american canners and I like both. i bought the presto because that is what my mother used and i learned to can on; however I kept finding canners at the local St Vincent DePaul store, so i bought more until I noticed that look on my husbands face. I got the gauges checked at the UW extension office in a nearby town and they have all been right on the money, and I have replaced a few gaskets. Otherwise they have all been good to go. And about them 'blowing up'? I had a safety fuse blow one time (obviously, those cans didn't seal) due to a plugged petcock. I cleared the opening, replaced the fuse and was back in business less than 2 hrs later. No boom at all. Just a noise that made us say "what was that?" because it was not normal (it sounded like a tire going flat). So I don't think one need worry too much about a pressure cooker 'exploding'. Those safety fuses work just fine.

re-reading this again, and it is sooooo true and funny! i thought i was the only one who told their DH that if he bought diamonds for me i would kick his butt---so he bought me a snowblower! and the next year a tiller! and so forth! --if you can fix anything in the house that breaks with duct tape and hairpins!