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Monthly Archives: August 2014
Garden updates August 27,2014
I seriously can’t believe it that we finally have success with our tomato crop. It has only taken 4 years, but we figured it out. We used Chicken Shit (when planting), crushed egg shells, Fertilizing tea made with Chicken shit , pruning plants from getting too big and picking any new flowers after August. I have to thank the bloggers, whom I follow for all the helpful information on growing tomatoes for this successes. We got the combination that work for our area and we finally had success. YAHOO!!!
As you can see the second attempt at growing bell peppers has also been a great success. Planting the bell pepper in the poly tunnel instead of tented planters made all the difference. They also need extra protection from our strong winds. We place a small plastic sheeting that you can see in the picture as wind breaker. We realized that when the Poly-tunnel door was open that the bell pepper needed extra wind protection… I am tickled pink with this harvest.
My gardening experience has also been a lesson that taught me don’t stress the small stuff just enjoy the fruits of your labor. Crops succeed and they fail. One just has to go with the flow. These gardening successes have been a lesson in determination and patience.
These large ears of corn will be our seed corn for next year.We will be harvesting them soon to hang in the basement.This is the first time we have tried to dry the best ears and make our own seeds for next year. This will cut down cost for the garden next year.
I picked these carrots from the garden for dinner. I am surprised at how the grew entwined with one another.
Blanching and Freezing Your Garden Vegetables
This is great information on blanching and freezing.
Do you have a garden? Maybe you have a lot of vegetables that you are giving away to family, friends, and neighbors through the growing season.
Usually when the season comes to an end, a gardener with a medium to large vegetable garden will still have an abundance 
of vegetables, and after giving them away all summer, the receivers are all “vegetated out”, so to speak. So what do you do with all that extra produce you have harvested? Why not blanch and freeze them?
The blanching of vegetables or a termed use for this process is “to whiten”, is an easy technique of boiling vegetables for а short while and then immediately chilling them in ice-cold water.
Blanching can also be used to remove strong flavors from foods like onions as an example. What is being “whitened” or blanched out is the unpleasant flavor of tannins found in onions.
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Baxter’s Potato Kale Chowder
This chowder looks and sounds scrumptious.
Honey
My whole house smells delightful and warm tonight. It’s been snowing off and on all day and my husband is sick, so I decided to make a warm and wholesome meal for dinner… So I made a chowder that would fill him up with good nutrition.
So What you will need:
1/2 cup Olive Oil (divided into two 1/4th cups) and extra for the garlic.
2 whole Yellow Onions, diced
1 bulb Garlic, roasted
1 tbsp dried Thyme (you can use fresh but use 2-3 tbsp)
16 ounces Sausage, crumbled
4 cups Chicken Stock or Broth (I use homemade chicken or turkey stock)
6 Potatoes, chopped (I used white potatoes, but if you use russets you need to peel them)
1 small bunch Kale, chopped
2 cups Half and Half
1/4 cups White Rice Flour (or gluten-free all-purpose)
Salt and Pepper (Black or White Pepper)
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
What you will need…
What to Do:
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