Mimi's Garden

After you cut the bottom off of a bunch of celery... don't throw it away!  You can easily grow a new bunch with just a couple steps!  This makes a great project for kids

Cut the end of the bunch off, and place it in a shallow dish of water.  Place in a sunny spot, but out of direct sunlight.  Replace water daily.  After about a week or two new leaves will start to sprout from the center of the bunch.  Keep the celery in water until roots start to form on the bottom.  At this point you can transfer the plant into a pot of soil... or directly into your garden.  The old stalks will die off, and the new ones will continue to grow until they form a mature bunch. 

Harvest and eat!  Remember to save the bottom and continue the cycle

Oatmeal Cookies

(Based on a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens)

3/4 C Butter, softened

1 C Packed brown sugar

1/2 C Sugar

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Baking soda

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 3/4 C All-purpose flour

2 C Rolled oats

1 C Chocolate chips, raisins, or dried cherries (I like to mix all 3!)

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-In a large bowl beat butter with a mixer on high for 30 seconds.  Add brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, (add 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon if you wish).  Beat untill combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

-Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer.

-Stir in remaining flour, stir in oats, stir in chocolate chip/cherry/raisin mix.

-Drop dough by rounded teaspoon 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes untill edges of cookies are golden brown.  Cool on sheet for 1 minute then transfer to wire cooling rack and let cool.

-Enjoy!!

Brussel sprouts taste even better after a light frost... but you can't leave them outside forever!  When it comes time to harvest you may find you have more then you could possibly eat.  It is very easy to freeze them, but there is a little prep work involved if you would like them to taste good after thawing.  Best way to prep brussel sprouts for freezing is to blanch them.

Harvest your sprouts, cut the stems, pull off the outer leaves, and rinse off any dirt.

Next you will want to seperate them by size.  Smaller ones, medium, and larger ones.

 Fill a pot with water and let it reach a rolling boil.  Prep a large bowl with cold water and ice.

Add the sprouts to the pot.

Boil them:

5 minutes for larger ones, 4 minutes for medium, and 3 for smaller sprouts.

Remove sprouts using a strainer or slotted spoon and immediately plunge them into the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.  Once they have cooled down pour them into a strainer removing as much water as possible.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Place the sprouts in freezer bags, remove as much air as possible (vacuum sealers work great for this), and place them into the freezer right away.

These will last for a long time.  Thaw out, prepare to your liking, and enjoy them!

This is a recipe I found online.  Very easy for a first time jam attempt! 

-1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered

-1 1/2 Cups sugar

-1/2 lemon, seeded

-1 pound mixed berries (I use blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)

-In a large saucepan (do not use aluminum) add the strawberries and sugar.  You will not need heat for this step!  Allow the sugar to dissolve for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until you have a mixture resembling the photo below.

-Once you have reached this consistency, squeeze the lemon over the strawberries.  Add the lemon rind to the pot once all the juice has been squeezed out.  Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. 

-Cook over medium/high heat until strawberries are just softened, stirring, this will take about 5 minutes.

-Add mixed berries to the pot.  Cook over medium to medium/high heat until mixture thickens.  The liquid should run off the spoon in thick drops.  This could take 20-25 minutes or more.  Skim any foam off the top of the pot.

-Discard lemon and spoon the mixture into 3 warm, sterilized 1/2 pint canning jars leaving 1/4" of space at the top of the jar.  At this point I place one of the jars out to cool, then into the fridge for immediate use, while canning the other two jars in a 10 minute water bath.  These can be store on the pantry shelves, after they have cooled, for a few months.

-Enjoy!

Saw this idea in the latest issue of Garden Gate and just had to try it! Now I don't have to wear long sleeves when I work with my tomato or zucchini plants (which tend to give me hives). Just take a long sock and cut the fingers out of it... then place your gardening gloves over them. Tried it and it works! Thank you Garden Gate Magazine for the wonderful tip! - Mimi's Garden

This recipe will be enough for 4 pints of pickled peppers, and can be adjusted up or down based on your harvest!  Works with any type of pepper.

2 Quarts of Peppers

2 Cups White Vinegar

2 Cups Water

1 Tsp salt

-Seed, stem, and slice peppers.  If the peppers are spicy you may want to wear gloves!  If you leave the peppers whole cut 2 slits into the tip of the pepper in an 'X' , or your peppers might burst.

-Simmer White Vinegar and Water in a pot. 

-Pack peppers into a jar as tightly as you can, and add simmering mix to the jar.  Fill within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar.  Add salt to the top of the mixture.

-Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Cup packed basil (Stemmed, rinsed, and thoroughly drained)

1/4 Cup Olive oil

2 Medium Cloves of Garlic

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

1/4 tsp Salt

-In a food processor or blender combine basil leaves, garlic, salt, and oil

-Process until mixture is evenly blended

-Transfer to a bowl and stir in grated cheese

-Refrigerate for up to a week.  Top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent "browning".  Mixture may also be frozen for a few months.

Ingredients:

3 Cups diced tomatoes (5 Medium)

1 Cup diced onions (2 Small)

1/4 Cup minced fresh cilantro

Juice from 1 lime

1-1 1/2 tsp salt, depending on your taste

*Optional: 1 pepper for spice.  Jalapeno, Habanero, Ghost, whatever your heart desires (or your tastebuds can handle)! Use caution here.  The more seeds you add to the mix, the spicier the end result.  If you core and deseed the pepper you may want to wear gloves... this may stay on your fingers all day, and is quite painfull if you rub your eyes!

Mix all ingredients together in a large glass or ceramic bowl and cover. I use a quart sized canning jar, add the ingredients, cover, and shake.  Try not to use stainless steel, as this may effect the flavor.

Refrigerate for a minimum of four hours.  Taste, adding salt or lime juice if needed.

It's that simple!  Easy, delicious, and nutritious... and it can be added to just about any dish.  Not just for dipping chips, Pico de Gallo is great with chicken, on salads, on sandwiches or wraps, on cold pasta, be creative!

The extreme weather is taking it's toll, and the first real signs of damage are showing.  Typically we don't see ripened tomatoes in the garden until August, unless they are cherry tomatoes.  Surprisingly the beefsteak, although the fruits are small, are starting to turn red and it's only the secong week in July.

The problem is that the extreme heat, and lack of rain (been a month since our last rainfall) are creating less then ideal growing conditions.  I have had to resort to using the sprinklers on a daily basis in the vegetable garden.  The beds are bone dry by the afternoon, and the heat causes the foliage to wilt.  Let's just say it has been challenging.

An unfortunate side effect of the extreme fluctuations in soil moisture and the extended dry weather has created a condition called "blossom end rot" on all of the early fruits. (This condition can also be caused by excessive moisture)  It occurs when there is a lack of calcium to the developing fruit caused by slowed plant growth or damaged roots.  This condition tends to be worse in the earliest developing fruits, so don't give up!  This does not necessarily mean the entire growing season is scrapped.

The rot may effect up to half of the fruit, but the part that is uneffective is still edible.  Best way to find out is to cut into it and see what's inside!  Mine, unfortunately, was not salvageable... and since most of the other fruits are effected it may be a while until I get to sink my teeth into a fresh, juicy, homegrown tomato

Tomorrow I will lay down a fresh layer of straw mulch and set up a soaker to concentrate my watering efforts directly on the roots.  Hopefully this will help to retain the moisture in the soil, and I won't lose too many more fruits!

4 Cups Shredded Turnips

1/4 C Shredded Carrot

1/4 C Diced Onion

1/4 C Mayo

1 T Vinegar

2 T Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

-Mix Mayo, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, and Pepper

-Pour mixture over Turnips, Carrots, and Onions

-Toss

-Refrigerate several hours

* To make traditional cole slaw replace shredded turnip with shredded cabbage.