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.

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.....

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.)

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.

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

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! 

Fence Garden & Southern Sweet Tea Recipe

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

Fence Garden in February

 Wow!

Happiness is a Garden of Girlfriends, Lemon Bars

Garden Club Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars are a true Southern tradition, and I took mine to our garden club luncheon this spring. Everybody brought salads and desserts, many made from recipes appearing in our state garden club cookbook, and there was much laughter and happy conversation served with our delicious food. Here's my recipe for lemon bars. It's really easy and so quick to make that you can do this when you don't have much time to spend in the kitchen. Just a few ingredients and less than an hour results in a perfect summer treat. Here's the recipe:

Best Baked Spaghetti & Easy Does It Roses

Did you make the Really Easy Marinara Sauce from my last post? If you didn't, you can certainly use store-bought marinara sauce in this recipe. You can make this a completely meatless meal, or brown a pound of ground beef and some Italian sausage and add that to the sauce. The last time I made this (last week) I sauteed onion, bell pepper, chopped zucchini, and sliced crimini mushrooms and added those to the sauce instead of meat. You are only limited by your imagination!

Best Baked Spaghetti
(Based on a recipe from Rowe's Restaurant in Staunton, VA)

Really Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce & Eagle Nest Photo

You don't have to use the most expensive canned tomatoes for this sauce. I used my grocery store's Clear Value brand, which was .67 per 14 1/2 ounce can. I also used Riunite Lambrusco red wine, which was about $4 a bottle. It's really quite fruity and my favorite wine for this. It's a very good value recipe!

Really Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce

4 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (I like my sauce zippy but not deadly.)
1/2 c. red wine (not sweet)
3 (28 oz.) cans (or equivalent) diced tomatoes in juice
1 (28 oz.) can (or equivalent) tomato sauce
Italian herb blend of choice, about 1 tablespoon or to taste

Pink Salad for Cookouts, Pink Hibiscus

You just can't go wrong with this dessert-like fruit "salad." It'll go great with those ribs from the last post, and kids of all ages will love it. I can vouch for that, because it's made an appearance at every family cookout at the lake for decades. Here's the super simple recipe:

BBQ Pork Ribs with Sweet Rum Glaze, Rio Samba Rose

Just in time for Memorial Day, here's one of my favorite recipes. Hope you enjoy it, too! 

Easy Barbecued Pork Ribs

with Sweet Rum Glaze

Serves 4

Sugar Snap Peas from the Garden & Recipe

The first time I ever remember tasting sugar snap peas was at my grandmother's house. She served them with stewed new potatoes, all mixed together with lots of sweet, creamy, salty butter. I've loved them ever since, and the recipe is after the photos below.