The Gardening Gallimaufry

Ferns, Flowers, Fury on the Farm

2012-04-16T08:00:00.031-04:00

Spring on the farm:

Christmas Fern Fiddle Head Frond

Swamp Jasmine

Stormy Sky Brewing

Distant Thunderhead Looming

Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! ~Sitting Bull

~GG

Perennial Herbs, Compound Butters

2012-04-13T08:00:00.035-04:00

Chives and parsley are my early harvests from the herb garden. The thyme and rosemary are still woody and pungent and I'll be glad when their new growth begins.

I cannot find a good use for the lambs ear, but it is soft to the touch. Perhaps running fingers through the velvety leaves is, for now, its best purpose.

I've put some recipes for compound butters at the end of this post, below the photos. This is a wonderful way to preserve herbs from your garden. Make the butter and then freeze it to use throughout the winter or conveniently as you wish.

Chives with Blossom

Italian Parsley

Lambs Ear

Rosemary Flowers

Lemon-Rosemary (for chicken, rolls)
Salted butter, finely minced fresh rosemary, finely grated lemon zest

Lemon-Tarragon (for fish, seafood)
Salted butter, tarragon, finely grated lemon zest

Garlic-Chive (for everything)
Salted butter, mashed or roasted garlic, minced chives

Gorgonzola-Scallion (for steaks)
½ c. salted butter
4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese

¼ c. chopped scallions
1 tsp. coarse black pepper
½ tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. Cognac (opt.)

Maitre d’Hotel (for rolls, etc.)
Salted butter, minced fresh parsley,
lemon juice, minced shallots

Sage-Thyme (for turkey)
½ c. salted butter
1 T. ground black pepper
2 T. fresh thyme, stemmed
¼ c. fresh sage, minced
1 clove finely minced garlic

Time is an herb that cures all diseases.

~Benjamin Franklin

~GG

Onions in the Bed

2012-04-09T08:00:00.030-04:00

We built a garden this spring of eight raised beds, and I filled six of them with asparagus, strawberries, garlic, onions, and salsify. I'm deciding what to plant in the last two. Carrots, certainly, and perhaps leeks. We'll see.

I planted several different types of onions, and one of them is a pre-1790 heirloom variety called potato onions. The bulbs will grow in a cluster and it is supposed to be a very hardy variety. Already the leaves are much more robust than any of the other sweet varieties I planted.

An onion can make people cry but there's never been a vegetable that can make people laugh.
~Will Rogers
Happy Gardening!
~GG

By Natural Design

2012-04-06T08:00:00.013-04:00

Mother Nature helped adorn the wall of our old cabin yesterday afternoon. The shadow is so powerful that I wanted to tear down my meager attempts at decoration. In a few weeks the pecan tree will be leafed out and the wall will be completely shaded, and I'm happy to share this glimpse of the season before it falls away.

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.
~Aaron Rose

~GG

Giving Deer the Boot

2012-04-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

An old farmer out in the dessert of New Mexico gave me his secret for keeping the critters out of his garden and hen house and, for the past three years, it's worked for me: old boots nailed to the fence posts. This one has weathered to an artistic silver dustiness and probably has no aroma left, but I think I'll leave it where it is and just add a new one to the post. One of my friends just brought me a bag full of her husband's old work and hunting boots, so I've a good supply. I think I'll plant some tiny, trailing succulents in some of the old boots this year.

Other ideas that I've heard for keeping deer out of the garden are to scatter hair around the perimeter or have a man pee on all the posts. I think the birds would love the former and, if you live in the country, the latter is just a matter of pointing out targets to your husband.

Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination.
~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897

Happy Deer-Thwarting!
~GG

A Little Knitting

2012-03-30T08:00:00.004-04:00

A few months ago the TSA confiscated my waiter's corkscrew, forgotten in a pocket of my purse. This past flight to/from Puerto Rico found me breezing through security with two sets of knitting needles. Someone would have to stand still for a long time for me to screw my corkscrew into some part of them, but I could put an eye out rather quickly with the knitting needles....or, for that matter, a simple ball point pen. Go figure the reasoning. Perhaps the TSA takes seriously the motto "I knit so I won't kill someone."

Softly draping and boasting a lovely shimmer, the mercerized cotton fingering weight Sinfonia yarn seems to be the perfect choice for my latest project the Holden Shawlette. It's also just $5.99/hank at Hobby Lobby. I love the price.

“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.”
― Elizabeth Zimmermann

Happy Knitting...

~GG

How to Make Fabric Softener

2012-03-26T08:00:00.009-04:00

Fabric softener is expensive and the scent can be strong and offensive, so when one of my friends gave me a recipe for homemade fabric softener I had to try it, and I'm thrilled with the results. It makes a very large batch so mix it in a gallon jug.

Fabric Softener

1 (22.5 oz.) bottle of Suave hair conditioner, your choice of scent (I used Ocean Breeze)

3 cups of white vinegar

6 cups of filtered water

Combine all the ingredients in a gallon pitcher and stir with a whisk until the conditioner is dissolved. Use as you would the store-bought fabric softener.

Once upon a perfect night, unclouded and still, there came the face of a pale and beautiful lady. The tresses of her hair reached out to make the constellations, and the dewy vapours of her gown fell soft upon the land.
Kit Williams

~GG

The Captain's Pleasure

2012-03-23T11:21:00.013-04:00

Last week we sailed off the coast of Puerto Rico on a large catamaran with a group of friends. I don't like sweet drinks, so I asked a deck hand if there was anything other than the offered pina coladas and rum punch. He offered to make me something called "The Captain's Special." Because his accent was so strong, I thought he said "The Captain's Pleasure." I'm saving the recipe for this tropical libation under the latter, mistaken, but much more romantic, name. Combine the ingredients in quantities to suit your taste and garnish as you like. This is a very refreshing drink.

The Captain's Pleasure
Unsweetened tea
Dark rum
Orange juice, squeezed from a fresh orange

Combine all these ingredients in a glass of ice and stir till chilled.

There's naught, no doubt, so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion.
Lord Byron

Salud!
~GG

Hyacinths in the Morning

2012-03-19T08:00:00.006-04:00

From a distance, the hyacinths that I planted last fall were just a splash of color in the landscape. Brought inside and placed on the wide windowsill at the kitchen sink, they greet me with the details of their lovely flowers and heady aroma. We bring flowers inside so that we may better admire them and, in turn, they bring gifts of color to the eye and sweetness to the nose.

Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day - like writing a poem or saying a prayer.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
~GG

DIY Grow Light for Seed Starting

2012-02-24T08:00:00.008-05:00

It's easy. I promise! Total cost: $60. Tools used: 1 hack saw & 1 drill with a 1/4" bit. Read on.....

Rather than be at the mercy of planting vegetable plants that growers choose to mass-produce, start your own seeds now for spring planting. After weeks of perusing seed catalogs, I decided that this is the year I'm going to start my own seeds for the tomato and pepper plants I want to plant. The only thing that's prevented me from being successful with this in the past is inadequate light in my house. No matter what anybody does, the light from a window alone results in leggy seedlings as they reach for the sun. A grow light stand that is adjustable is the only answer, but to buy one meant $150 or so added to my gardening budget, and that would pay for 2 raised beds, which I would much rather have.

I found the instructions for this DIY grow light stand HERE. It is made of inexpensive PVC pipe, is light weight enough for me to carry with one hand, and will be easy to store in the off-season. I made a couple adjustments to the specs. I made the sides 24 inches tall out of just the 1 1/4" pipe and then I made the light adjustable by adding longer chains and S hooks. I purchased 2 pieces of 1 1/4" x 10' pipe and had the fellow at Home Depot cut the lengths "half in two," as some folks here in the South say. I did that just so they'd fit in my Subaru for the trip home. It took me less than one hour from unloading my car to settling my new grow light stand in a spare bedroom. I had no idea it would be such a painless project!

I'll lower the light to the seedlings once they sprout, and then raise the light as the plants grow until their size and the weather permit me moving them outside to harden off before planting in my garden. I'm starting seeds for Amish Paste Tomatoes, Cherry Stuffer Sweet Peppers, Quadrato d'Asti Rosso Peppers, and Poblano Peppers. I would add pimiento peppers to that, but I couldn't find any source for seeds.

I hope this inspires you to make your own grow light stand. Let me know if you do. :-)

Happy Gardening!

~GG

Great Gardening APP for Your Smartphone

2012-02-22T08:00:00.077-05:00

I have a shelf filled with books about gardening, but I have found the Garden Guide App for my smartphone indispensable. It's offered free of charge from Mother Earth News, and here are some photos of what you see on your phone when you pull it up and the things you will find there:

This is the icon that appears on your apps page. Just touch it and open a selection of pages.

So you're standing in the lumber department at Home Depot, and you're thinking about building a cold frame to get your spinach started early. Open your Garden Guide App to the "techniques" page to discover what you need to complete your project. So handy!

Don't want to carry your gardening "how-to" book with you? Whip out your
Garden Guide App to refresh your memory about how to plant your vegetables by searching on the "Crops" page.

You have to love an app that tells you how to plant your vegetables, suggests varieties,
discusses soil pH and nutrients, diseases, and how to harvest and prepare the fruits of your
labors. My gardening books can stay clean and tidy in my office on their shelf,
and my smartphone will make the trip to the garden (and the garden center) with me from now on.

Happy Gardening!
~GG

Hello Again! (Herbed Chevre Spread)

2012-02-20T17:00:00.081-05:00

Ever procrastinate something to the point that you suddenly look at the calendar and find out that it's been months since you last tended to that "something?" July 8, 2011 was my last post, so I guess I'd better get busy here and give you all some motivation for projects to take on this spring. You won't believe what I've been up to!

Our Katie, Arrived October 1

August found me enrolling in the Master Gardener Program through Clemson University Extension Service. You can read about that HERE. I made 26 new friends and gained a heck of a lot of knowledge of growing and pruning just about anything anyone would want to put in their yard here in South Carolina. It was intensive study and memorization, and I pretty much lived and breathed plants, landscape design, irrigation, etc., for 12 weeks. My new friends and I graduated together on November 8th, and now we're embarking on community service projects throughout three counties. More on that in future posts, and you can chart my progress as I develop a vegetable garden program for the residents of our local Boys' Home. My garden club and our 4H clubs are going to be working with me on that project.

On October 1st, someone threw a sweet boxer out at our farm, and she quickly adopted us and moved into our home. We've never had a boxer before, but we sure are glad to have her. Yes, she always sleeps with her little pink tongue hanging out!

The short, wet, and cold days of winter kept me inside, and I had time to do some sewing for the house. I re- covered chair cushions in the sun room and completely changed all the textiles in the master bedroom and in one of the guest rooms. I threw a huge weekend-long party for my mother-in-law for her 80th birthday over the Labor Day weekend. That took some planning! I went to an Ikebana work shop and fell in love with this style of Japanese flower design, so I bought some books and have been joyfully practicing and learning the rules. In November, I traveled to Atlanta to spend a week with my mother-in-law after she broke her wrist, and that was a truly special time for me because we had the opportunity to reconnect without the usual distractions. We cultivated the seeds of friendship and shared experience, and I learned many things about her family that were new to me.

Garden Club and Master Gardener activities have kept me busy but, now that the spring flowers are blooming and the soil is warming, I'm back in the garden and thinking about my blogging friends and sharing things with you, so here I am. I hope you haven't forgotten GG and I look forward to doing projects together in the coming weeks.

I just did a "cooking with herbs" program for my garden club. I always like to share a recipe with you, so here's an easy one. If you have fresh herbs, use them. If you don't, then dried herbs will do or, do as I do at times, and use a combination. We love goat cheese (chevre) but this recipe will work just fine with all cream cheese. Enjoy!

Herbed Chevre Spread

2 cloves garlic, pressed
8 ounces goat cheese, room temp
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
½ cup chives, chopped
½ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh basil, minced, or 1 tsp. dried

Combine all ingredients. Press into crock or mold and chill. Serve with crackers or as a spread for tea sandwiches.

~GG

A Snake in a Basket

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Take care that you buy handcrafted items at festivals because you really like them, and not because of any claims the hawker makes. Here's a fine fellow who sold baskets to me and my friends at a local festival. He said that his family made them on a small island near Savannah.

We Love Our Baskets!

We each had great fun choosing just the right basket, and the price was right at between $30-$50. We love our baskets, no matter where they were made. Later that afternoon we went to a quilt show and a vendor there was selling the same baskets at the same price points, but she had not removed the "Made in Ghana" tags. Needless to say, we were not amused with our "Savannah" basket salesman's behavior.

Later that day, we returned to the festival and paid our fella a little visit. I told him that he had lovely baskets at a great price, and we would have purchased them even had he told us they were made in Ghana. I implored him to "change his ways" and tell the truth from then on. The next day we paid him another visit and he was jolly and jovial and assured us that he was no longer misrepresenting the baskets. The ladies in the neighboring booth who were selling handcrafted Christian-themed items smiled and nodded their heads to back up his claim.

Honesty is always the best policy.

With love from me to you...
GG

The Pickle Factory

2011-07-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

Do you have access to lots of cucumbers this summer? I mean the kind that come from a local vine and not the waxed foreign variety. If you do, it's worth making this recipe for sweet pickle relish. You can't buy this stuff, so I warn you that once you make it, you'll get hooked on the flavor and will have to make more next year. Oh, and if you give it away as gifts, then your friends will be hinting around for another jar in just a few days. So yummy! Here's the recipe:

My cucumbers worked overtime last week and, therefore, so did I. I made sweet pickle relish, dill chunks,
two different varieties of bread & butter pickles, hamburger dill chips, and dill spears.
I'm going to be making more relish and then, of course, my grandmother's "mixed pickle."

Sweet Pickle Relish

1 quart chopped cucumbers (if large, remove the seeds first)
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped sweet green bell pepper
1 cup chopped sweet red bell pepper
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
2 cups cider vinegar

Combine cucumbers, onions, and peppers in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and cover with ice. Let stand 2 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Add drained vegetables; simmer 10 minutes. pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air buttles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

~From the Ball Blue Book of Preserving

For more information on canning, click HERE.

With love from me to you...
GG

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T08:00:00.007-04:00

"Many public-school children seem to know only two dates: 1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either occasion."
- Mark Twain
Don't forget the reason we celebrate the day! Happy Birthday, America!

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. ~Wikipedia

With love from me to you...
GG

Mediterranean Pea Salad Recipe

2011-07-01T08:00:00.040-04:00

Fresh, tangy, and crunchy, this is a great salad for your Independence Day picnic. It's healthy, too. I've added variations at the end of the recipe for turning it into a main dish salad.

In case you're tempted to use bottled salad dressing, please don't. This is super easy and bottled dressings just add too much sodium and oil and "bottled dressing funk" flavor to an otherwise super delicious salad. Here's the easy recipe:

Mediterranean Pea Salad

10 ounces frozen small green peas, cooked in boiling, salted water 4 minutes then shocked in ice water
1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded if store-bought, diced
1/2 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, diced, or sliced green onions
1 medium rib celery, diced
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 medium sweet bell pepper, any color(s)
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
2 ounces feta cheese
Juice of one lemon
Red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper (optional)

Drain peas thoroughly.
Seed tomatoes by slicing them "across the equator" and then use your finger to scoop out the seeds.
Combine all ingredients to and including feta cheese in a bowl.
Drizzle lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and a small amount of olive oil over the veggies. Stir gently and well, then taste and adjust the vinegar/oil ratio if needed.
Salt and pepper to taste. (I think the cheese and olives add enough saltiness, and I don't like black pepper, so I don't add either of these to my salad.)
Chill well before serving.

Variations: Add rice or orzo pasta and chick peas or diced, grilled chicken breast to this salad to make it a meal. For this, plate each serving on a layer of leaf lettuce on each plate.

With love from me to you...
GG

Double Day Lily, Golden Corn Muffin Recipe

2011-06-29T08:00:00.048-04:00

This is a recipe for simply delicious corn muffins. It's adapted from the Farm Journal's Complete Home Baking Book, copyright 1979, the year Bob & I married. My grandmother gave me the cookbook for a gift my first Christmas as a wife. I love that she signed the first page. Unless it's a first edition or valuable collector's book, you should always sign books that you give as gifts. It might bring someone joy to remember you when they open their book, even decades later.

Here's the recipe, right below the photo I took yesterday of a flower that was given to me years ago. When it blooms every summer, I am reminded of the dear lady who gave it to me. Oh, and at the end of this post you'll see a photo of one of our very traditional vegetable plate suppers. (The tiny bit of ham that seasons the beans doesn't count.)

Double Day Lily

Golden Corn Muffins

1 1/2 c. sifted flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 c. fat free buttermilk (if using regular milk, omit the baking soda)

With a whisk, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder (& soda), and salt in a mixing bowl.
Combine remaining ingredients in a smaller bowl and stir to combine.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just till moistened. Spoon batter into greased muffin pans.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm, room temperature, or wrap and freeze for later use. Makes 12

Southern Vegetable Plate

With love from me to you...
GG

New Potting Bench, Fried Okra Recipe

2011-06-27T08:00:00.030-04:00

I've long wanted a potting bench with a nice deep sink for scrubbing and soaking pots and vegetables, so when I found this sink at a local Habitat store for just $10, I snatched it up. Bob was so inspired that he built this potting bench around my sink the very next day, just in time for washing all the okra I harvested from our garden. He installed a faucet as well as an extension of the garden hose for a sprayer. Right now I catch the water coming out of the drain in a 5 gallon bucket, and use that water to give my flowers a drink. I think he's brilliant and so very thoughtful!

Here's a recipe for fried okra, right below this photo of my wonderful new potting bench. You can see Bob and his "helpers" in the first picture.

My New Potting Bench

Fried Okra

-Slice fresh okra into 1/2 inch pieces. Toss with corn meal and salt. You can add things like cayenne pepper to the corn meal, but it's good just plain.
-Heat canola oil in large cast iron or other heavy bottom skillet. You only need enough oil to cover the bottom, and you can tell when the oil is hot enough if the okra sizzles when you toss a piece into the oil.
-Using slotted spoon, transfer okra to pan, shaking off excess cornmeal.
-Cook okra, turning frequently when the edges turn golden brown.
-Place browned okra in a serving dish and dust with salt to taste.
Note: This okra is not going to be slimy if you A) don't crowd the pan and B) allow the pieces to brown before you turn them.

Frying Okra

With love from me to you...
GG

Freezing Basil, Photo of Cuties

2011-06-24T08:00:00.010-04:00

Ever wonder if you can freeze basil? You sure can. Here's my first harvest, three big, beautiful, aromatic plants. I'll tell you how to successfully freeze your basil so it won't turn black. And speaking of black, there's a picture of two of the three "Cuties" down there at the bottom of this post. :-)

Fresh Basil

To Freeze Fresh Basil

-Keep the leaves on the stems and immerse them in several changes of water to thoroughly clean.
-Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a large bowl or your sink with ice water.
-Holding the end of the stems in "bouquets," quickly dip the whole stem (up to your fingers, of course) into the boiling water and then immediately plunge them into the ice water. Repeat till you've used up all your basil.
-Remove the basil from the ice water and drain thoroughly, then roll in a clean cotton towel to dry further.
-Pull leaves from stems and place into the bowl of your food processor. Put the lid on and pulse, drizzling canola oil into the bowl, until the mass of leaves moves freely. Process just until leaves are evenly chopped in small pieces. Avoid over-processing or you'll end up with green slime.
-Spoon into ice cube trays or small 2 ounce containers. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze.
-When frozen, pop the basil-sickles into a large zippy freezer bag and return to the freezer.
-Label and use within a year to flavor soups (such as tomato) or sauces (such as spaghetti/marinara).

Jasper & Henry Ford

How about that foot action? hahaha Our cats make me happy.

With love from me to you...
GG

Magnolia Flower, Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

2011-06-22T08:00:00.008-04:00

This is magnolia flower season here in the South, and the fragrance is incredibly strong and lovely. Break off a blossom, place it in a pretty vase, and put it on the table on the porch. Sit back and watch the bees, so intoxicated by the flower they will pay no attention to you, as you can see in this photo of one busy little bee.

Morning Magnolia with Bee

We love buttermilk biscuits, warm from the oven and drizzled with golden honey. Here's my favorite recipe from White Lily brand flour. If you can't buy White Lily where you live, look for a soft summer wheat flour for the most tender biscuits. Other brands of self-rising flour will work just fine.

Buttermilk Biscuits

White Lily Flour

2 c. White Lily self-rising flour

1/4 c. Crisco shortening

3/4 c. buttermilk

Cut shortening into flour until the texture of fine crumbs. Stir in buttermilk. Turn out onto a floured surface and quickly knead a few times. Roll out to 1/2 – 3/4-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10 minutes or until golden brown at 500 °. Rub tops with butter and keep warm in basket.

With love from me to you...

Training Brody, Cucumbers in Sour Cream

2011-06-20T08:00:00.009-04:00

What a happy morning, out in the fresh air with dogs and friends at the beautiful Swift Creek Kennel in Rembert, SC!

Bob & Brody

Making new friends through our favorite pastimes is such a happy thing. Here are just some of the folks we've come to enjoy at SCK. Get outside, make new friends, and enjoy living!

Bob, Bill, Ginger, Macy, & Kim

Cucumbers in Sour Cream

3 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons minced onion

Place cucumber slices in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Cover and chill at least one hour. Drain well. Combine remaining ingredients, mixing well, and stir in cucumber slices.

From "South Carolina 4-H is Cooking!" cookbook by the Clemson University Collegiate 4-H Club.

With love, from me to you...

2011-06-17T08:00:00.006-04:00

There's nothing so good for the inside of a man

as the outside of a horse. ~ Ronald Reagan

Horses at Swift Creek Kennel

With love from me to you...
GG

Aunt Julia's Yellow Squash Casserole Recipe, Bob & Debbie 1980

2011-06-15T08:00:00.004-04:00

I lived my whole life in Pennsylvania until Bob & I were married. He took me to Atlanta to meet the whole clan, and I remember feeling that I'd never experienced anyplace more hot and humid than Georgia in July. It was 106 degrees the day we took all Bob's little cousins to Six Flags over Georgia. Uncle Buster's teeth almost flew out of his mouth on the roller coaster! Here's a photo of us way back when we were first starting out together. Oh, the memories!!!

Bob & Debbie in 1980

Atlanta Bob's late Great Aunt Julia gave his mother this recipe and she passed it along to me. Happiness is family recipes passed down through the generations!

Aunt Julia's Yellow Squash Casserole

3 c. cooked yellow squash (slice 1/4 inch and steam till limp)

1 sm. jar pimiento, undrained

1 beaten egg

2 T. chopped onion

1 can cream of chicken soup (healthy lower fat/sodium)

8 oz. carton of sour cream (lite or fat free)

½ tsp. salt (may omit this altogether)

1 stick butter (may use butter blend to lower saturated fat)

1 ½ c. herb seasoned stuffing mix (Pepperidge Farms)

Melt butter and mix with stuffing. Put half in bottom of 1 ½ qt. casserole dish. Mix other ingredients and pour into casserole.
Sprinkle remaining stuffing mix on top and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

NOTE: I've added the changes I make in parenthesis.

With love from me to you...
GG

Fence Garden & Southern Sweet Tea Recipe

2011-06-13T08:00:00.004-04:00

Remember when my fence garden looked like this in February? Scroll down to see it in June!

Fence Garden in February

Wow!

Fence Garden in June

This little bee buzzed in just as I snapped the picture of this cone flower. Great timing! Oh, and all my gardens are bee-friendly. No pesticide dust in my gardens. Gardeners who use that have, in reality, set a lethal trap for bees by attracting them with their flowering plants, only to have them carry the dust back to their hives with the potential to contaminate and kill the hive.

Rudbekia (Cone Flower) with Bee

My dear late friend, Mary Lee Rowell, gave me a small clump of these daisies from her garden more than 20 years ago. She would love to see what that clump has grown into. I would love to see her again and hear her laugh.

Daisies, Daisies, Daisies!

Southern Sweet Tea with Lemon

3 family size tea bags of your choice (I use decaf tea like Luzianne, Lipton, or Tetley, and even green tea.)
1 large lemon
Sugar to taste (I use about 1/2 cup per 1/2 gallon; you might like more or less.)
Water to fill coffee maker carafe

Fill coffee maker with water to maximum level. Place tea bags in carafe and hit the "brew" button. When finished brewing, turn the machine off and let the tea steep for 30 minutes in the carafe. Pour into 1/2 gallon pitcher, squeeze the lemon juice into the tea and stir in the sugar till it's dissolved. Fill pitcher the rest of the way with cold water. Serve in tall glasses over plenty of ice.

With love, from me to you!
GG

Invite Hummingbirds to Your Yard, Recipe for Nectar

2011-06-09T08:00:00.020-04:00

Hummingbird at my feeder

This was the first hummingbird of the season for me. Put your feeder out as soon as the azaleas begin to bloom and then wait with great anticipation for the first little male to arrive. He'll scout out the territory and soon the larger, but less brightly colored, females will join him. If you haven't put out your feeder yet, it's not too late. One of my friends told me yesterday that she'd neglected to put out her hummingbird feeder, and a returning hummer hovered at her kitchen window as if to remind her to feed him! Here's how you make the food and maintain the feeder:

Homemade Hummingbird Nectar

Dissolve 1 part granulated sugar into 4 parts boiling water. (If you want to make 2 cups of nectar, you would use 1/2 cup sugar; 4 cups nectar-1 cup sugar.) Cool to room temperature. Store extras in the fridge.

Purchase a brightly colored feeder. The colors will attract the hummingbirds, so you do not need to add food coloring to the nectar. Wash the feeder in hot soapy water, rinse well and allow to dry.

Fill feeder with nectar and hang in the yard where you can watch it. I have one in front of my kitchen window and one at the back deck. It may take a couple of days, but once a hummingbird finds it, more will come and soon you'll have them buzzing all around. They will entertain you with their air show all summer long, and will leave in the fall before the frost. Mine usually stay till the second week in October.

Keep a close watch on the nectar in the feeder. If it gets cloudy or you see black dots of mold, then empty it and repeat the first step. A bottle brush helps get the interior of the feeder clean. You'll find that you need to change the nectar more frequently in hot weather, so only fill it with as much as the birds will consume in four days or so. You'll figure that out because it depends on the size of your "flock."

Click HERE for more information on hummingbirds, including migration maps (you won't believe how far these little birds fly).

With love, from me to you!
GG