Ferns, Flowers, Fury on the Farm

Spring on the farm:

Christmas Fern Fiddle Head Frond

Perennial Herbs, Compound Butters

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.

Onions in the Bed

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.

By Natural Design

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.

Giving Deer the Boot

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.

A Little Knitting

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." 

How to Make Fabric Softener

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.

The Captain's Pleasure

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.

Hyacinths in the Morning

DIY Grow Light for Seed Starting

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

Great Gardening APP for Your Smartphone

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:

Hello Again! (Herbed Chevre Spread)

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!

A Snake in a Basket

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.

The Pickle Factory

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:

Happy Independence Day!

"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

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:

Double Day Lily, Golden Corn Muffin Recipe

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.)

New Potting Bench, Fried Okra Recipe

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.

Freezing Basil, Photo of Cuties

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. :-)

Magnolia Flower, Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

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.