Dee

I was out early this morning to work in the garden and I got my first tiny batch of leaves to dry into tea.  I do it in the oven at about 165 degrees.  I think it takes a couple hours but since it's my first for the year I'm not positive of that.  I'll just keep checking after an hour or so to see if they're dry.

There will be plenty more to come later.  It's so good on a winter evening.  Each sip reminds you of summer.

The one on the left is chocolate mint.  The other spearmint.

Happy Miki!!!  Hope you're having a perfect day!!!  

Interesting Annarchy.  I might try your way next year.  We just aren't greens people.  We like green beans, peas, broccoli and the like but not greens so much.  I know they're good for us and we should eat them but.......  

I watch YouTube fairly often but have never seen anyone using the camp stoves.  I'll have to look into it tomorrow.  Tonight, I'm dead and me and my book are headed for bed.

I agree Mother.  I'd like to try her way too, but it'll have to be next year.  Mine are done and in the freezer for this year.

I've looked into them Becca.  They're not really recommended yet, from what I've read.  Also, when I can I want to do 20 pints at a time and get it done.  Let me know what you think of it if you get one.  I'd like to know.

Thanks all! 

Good night

Jeepers, I've wondered about an outdoor burner but don't know anyone personally that has one or that has done it.  I wanted to move my gas stove over from the old house but found by the time we got it all set and ready to go we're talking about $300 to $400 and I decided I could buy a lot of food for that amount of money.  At my ago, who knows how long I'll continue to can but probably not long enough to spend that much.

Mother.  I already have some cooked, sliced and in the freezer.  I'll try dicing the next batch.  I'll have to cook at least 3 batches so the last I'll not cook clear through.

Hugs ladies and thanks for the help!!!

I harvested my beets today.  Now, to get them to the freezer.  Have any of you frozen beets?  I haven't but my glass top stove won't handle my canner, so canning is not an option this year.  After many ideas floating through my mind I've decided to freeze them.  What do you think?

LIttlesister, I too have aluminum foil on the bottom of my oven.  Really helpful, like yesterday when a berry pie boiled over.

Another hint is to put your bottles of oil, syrup, etc. on small plates in your cupboard.  Saves having to clean the oily and sticky mess off anything but the plates.

Oh Ambergris, I'm going to miss raspberries this year.  I usually have tons that I can, freeze and make jam out of.  Last winter something ate them clear down to the ground.  They are coming back than heaven but there won't be any, or at least not many, this summer.  Enjoy yours!!!

You will be doing a lot of harvesting soon Littlesister.  My potatoes nor peas haven't even blossomed yet.  I do have quite a few marble size tomatoes though.  Everything looks good.  I've had to water some too but yesterday evening we got 1.33" of rain.  We needed it badly and I said a silent thank you heavenward.

In an email to a friend, I mentioned I never use a crockpot or roaster w/o spraying it first.  I use the Aldi brand instead of Pam and it works wonderfully.  Spray it good before using either appliance and clean-up is a breeze.

When she mentioned she'd never done it I began wondering how many of us do such simple things that others haven't thought of.  

Let's share our ideas here and help others out.  I would love learning new things!  Next?

Littlesister, I picked the last of our radishes this afternoon.  They're delicious even though they got bigger than normal.  I'll plant more this fall.  I noticed that we tiny marble size tomatoes started too.  Can hardly wait!

Mother, our mulberries were the easiest ever to harvest this year and so sweet and delicious.  Tons of them and with a little limb shaking they fall on the sheets I put underneath.  We didn't go back out this evening.  I was weeding off day, so I was tired this evening.  It seems I weed for 45-60 minutes and then come in and rest for a couple of hours.  Where did those younger days go when I could weed for hours????  Oh yeah, we got old.

Hope more of you chime in here.  I love seeing how everyone's doing.

We did our first harvesting of the season this evening.    Two gallons of mulberries, washed, put on a cookie sheet freezing in the freezer.  I think we might do more tomorrow evening, but it was too hot, and the flies were biting so badly tonight that we gave up.

Anyone else harvesting anything yet?

Up at 5:30 to pull weeds in 2 small beds before the heat hit.  Out again about 1:00 pulling some in the bigger bed.  Nope, it's 86 degrees and the flies are biting.  Only lasted 45 minutes.  Early mornings are best! 

Happy, happy birthday to you!

I don't care for zucchini either, BUT I do like zucchini bread, zucchini chocolate cake, plain zucchini cake and zucchini muffins with raisins, nuts, craisins, shredded carrots, coconut or whatever I have in hand to throw in.  I make tons and freeze them for eating in the winter.  They're delicious all winter long and even what little I have left now is still good.  We had a piece of chocolate cake just yesterday with our dinner.  Things need to be wrapped well in plastic wrap.  I even freeze in 2 cup portions ins sandwich bags.

Zucchini is so nutritious and good for us that, even though I only eat it in baked things, I find it well worth the effort.

It grows well here in Iowa.  I didn't plant any this year because tons of people will be glad to get rid of it by giving it away.  My kind of gardening! 

Edit:  Where did you live in CA, Jeepers?  I grew up in the LA area.  Rosemead to be exact.

Hope your day is special in every way!  

Glad you liked her!  I've watched her a few months now and enjoy her so much.  Like you euphrasyne, I'm jealous of her house full of children.  It's exactly what I wanted but God has a way of adjusting our life.  We adopted our 2, we added 40+ foster children and 7 exchange students.  I got my house full of children for years.  Now, I prefer watching her and others and letting them do the work!  

I watch a lady on YouTube.  I love her and her videos.   She is doing a Three Rivers challenge, which is trying to use the frozen and canned foods that needs using up.  For 2 months she is trying not to go to the grocery store very often.  She seldom throws any food away and uses it for this and that, to make this and that.

Mother and I have talked for years about how we seldom throw food away.  It takes some time and thinking AND it helps if you have more than just you and your DH at home.  It was much easier back with children at home.

She saves tons of money using up leftovers and yet feeds her big family well.   Check her out and let us know what you think of her. 

Hope you had a great day Jeepers.

Interesting Homey.  I've never known anyone who made rhubarb juice.  Have you made it before?  Let me know how you like it.

I guess I'm next Becca.

I thought it would be fun to share with each other and I'll be posting from time to time with some icebreakers to encourage us to share some fun things to get to know each other better.  Copy and paste your answers below! 

Today's game-  What is your Favorite? 

Favorite Color: Yellow

Favorite Season: All but winter

Favorite Drink: Water

Favorite Food: We never have it anymore but homemade chicken fried steak w/mashed potatoes and gravy

Favorite Book: This is tough.  Lauraine Snelling's, Red River of the North series and the Clan of the Cave Bear series.  Actually, way more than those 2.

Favorite Movie: Gone with the Wind and Sound of Music

Favorite Tool: A hoe.  I can make rows for my garden as well as hoe weeds.

Favorite Pet: No pets now that we're old.  It used to be all my birds.  Chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, peafowl

Favorite Camping Spot: Not a camper

Favorite Place to take a  Vacation: It used to be National Parks but we no longer travel much

Favorite Garden Seeds/Plants: Tomatoes, potatoes, abd onions but, like other questions, I have way more things that just them.

Favorite Comfort item: My home

Share whatever you feel comfortable with and remember none of these things should ever be part of your passwords

I'm almost too late so I'll say I hope your birthday was perfect in every way! 

Hope you like them Ambergris.  Let me know what you think.

Keep reading.......

I like fiction.  Like Becca said I like getting transported to anywhere in the world or even other worlds and places.

Oh sure, I Google things or get Inter-library non-fiction books but for everyday reading it's fiction.

Has anyone read the "Sisterhood Series" by Fern Michaels?  They're old, I think about 2006 or 7 but man are they good.  It's a group of women getting revenge on people who got through the cracks of the legal system.  They are vengeful, very vengeful, but so good I can't put them down.

This morning I cooked up 5 lbs. of sausage for DH to have in the freezer.  I'd gotten it on sale for $2.99 lb.  When I finished, I cooked rice in the grease drippings (after draining the excess fat).  Next, I cut up peppers, celery, onion and carrots.  Two days ago, we had fried chicken and I removed the leftovers from the bones and added it to the mixture.

In the end I had a flavorful and delicious chicken fried rice with food that, if I hadn't used today or tomorrow, would have been thrown out.

I try to never throw food away.  It's amazing what you can cook up with just a little ingenuity.  

It's finally warm enough to start planting my garden here in Northern Iowa.  Today I put in carrots, peas, beets, cucumbers, kholrabi and radishes.  I can hardly wait to get to town to buy tomato, green peppers and cabbage plants, potatoes and onion sets.  

Who else has their gardens in?  It's a good feeling and I'm hoping I can keep up with it.  It's the biggest garden I've put in in years and, of course, I'm hoping to put tons of food up.  I have gobs of squash left in the freezer so I'm not planting them.  

I'm planning ahead.  How about you?

Let's get our hands dirty!