July - Garden and Farm

Grandma Mary took all of these photos while she was here but I love how they show our daily work in our garden and around the farm.

 

First off, check out this amazing harvest apron that she made me! It has a Velcro pouch to store your goodies as you gather them. It is SO handy.

 

 

It's a mighty fine life.

 

Sunflowers.

I am behind on our blog once again thanks to our super awesome summer. While I try to get caught up, check out these beautiful sunflowers. Last spring I took the time to plant 500 sunflower seeds around the perimeter of our garden. The garden has been completely neglected and ignored ever since but we did get about 10 of these beautiful blooms atop 12 foot tall stalks. I will definitely plant more next year...and maybe even try and nurture them a bit. :)

spring blooms

Did you hear? 

We got almost five inches of snow on Saturday.

Yep. FIVE.

This was just after the purple clover had started to bloom, the birds had begun to sing, the grass was turning green and just after I had planted these beautiful blooms on the front porch to welcome Grandma Mary.

Oh, and it was just after two days of watching basketball on the back patio and a sunburn to boot.

Global warming is weird.

The gift that grows...literally!

For my birthday gift this year, my parents bought me all new plants for my front flowerbeds! Such a wonderful gift because I will enjoy it for many years to come! And even better, they came over along with my aunt, cousin, and grandma to help me revamp and plant! Of course I didn't get any before pics, but who wants to remember those ugly old beds anyway!? :) 

Here are the AFTERS:

Doesn't it look amazing! And the nursery promised me that there was no way I could kill these plants...I'm pretty sure there is always a chance with my black thumb, but here's to hoping!

perfect evening.

Pear Mania.

Wednesday Ben and I spent the morning picking 100s of pears off my mom and dad's pear trees. These trees were planted by my great-grandmother when they first moved to the dairy farm long long ago. With the exception of eating a few here and there and feeding the ones that had fallen to the ground to the cows by the bucketful, we have never really made any use of them. 

Until now. 

Picking pears is quite the adventure. I would shake the limbs to make them fall to the ground and Ben and I came in with several bruises on our heads. Those things are heavy! And vicious! And aim right for the top of your head!

After gathering about 20-25 lbs. worth we quit to lick our wounds. After all, I still wasn't quite sure what I was going to attempt to do with them.

I really had my heart set on making applesauce this fall for the boys. Brad grew up on homemade applesauce and I thought it would be fun for Ben to get to pick his own. Well, that idea sputtered out when I couldn't find an apple orchard anywhere and I didn't really want to spend the money on that many organic apples. But you guessed it, I thought, what about PEAR sauce? And yes...even though I had never heard of such a thing, it is real...when recipes online and everything!

So, the next day my Gram came over and we spent hours peeling and coring and boiling and blending pears into the most delicious sauce you have ever tasted. Something that tastes like apple pie filling but healthy enough to use as baby food. So delicious. Why have we not been doing this for years?

The small amount we picked gave us about 12 tupperwares full of this goodiness. I still plan on making some of the sauce into apple butter and making my first attempt at canning. And there are SO many pears left. Now that I know they can be used...how will I sleep at night letting any of them go to waste? 

eggplant deliciousness...

So, our garden. Yeah. It's pretty much done. And pretty much a let-down. Got maybe one okra. 2 roma tomatoes. Yeah. Lame. I demolished the basil when I cut it down to it's stalks on accident. The purple eggplant is non-existent. Had one strawberry the size of a pea. Just not a great growing year. 

Not all was negative. We did get quite a few bomb.com cherry tomatoes and I can't deny we had some yummy lettuce and onions early on in the season. And of course there is a canteloupe growing as we speak. But overall, not as high as my mighty high expectations.

However.

There is one plant that has absolutely blown our minds. One that we put in as an afterthought. One that we never thought would even survive, much less provide us with mounds and mounds of produce and nights and nights of delicious meals. 

Meet our Eggplant plant. Here she be:

And here's what she can do...IN A SINGLE DAY:

I believe she was all of ONE DOLLAR at the Farmer's Market back in June. She is either of the Hansel or the Gretal variety (one is white the other purple...can't remember which is which...but the purple one didn't do squat). 

And just look at her go. We had her in a pot early on to keep her safe from Cali and when she started sprouting off fruit like a maniac we decided to just keep her right where she was fearing any tampering would ruin her. 

And JUST LOOK AT HER GO. In a pot. In crap soil. Little watering. And mountains of the cutest little eggplants that you ever did see.

So, what was I to do with all of this eggplant? I mean, I am not complaining considering it is literally the only crop we've had to *deal* with during this summer harvest. 

Early in the summer I tried a recipe from that Gorgeously Green book that I read awhile back....whoa. It changed my life. Seriously. I am no foodie...I rarely try recipes...heck, I rarely even cook so this was a big deal. And it changed my life. I love eggplant. One of the first posts I ever put on this blog was about the delicious eggplant my gram makes for us. But this eggplant is so good that I want to eat it everyday...and we almost do. In fact, I'm pretty sure when my sis was here for a month she asked that very question...

So here is the recipe:

Roasted Veggies and Cous Cous

Peel and chop veggies (I use said eggplant, carrots and anything else I have...mushrooms were GOOD)

Toss in olive oil and garlic 

Roast at 400 degrees for around 20 minutes

Cook the Cous Cous according to package

Mix together and add salt/pepper...

Eat and be amazed.

Simplest supper I've ever made. Seriously easier than PB&Js and it will make you the happiest gal on the block. 

So, try it. Plant a $1 plant in a pot, watch it grow and make this for dinner every night. 

Oh Internet! How I've Missed You!

My goodness! It has been so long! You know you have an addiction when you can't go a few days without internet without suffering severe withdrawal. 

Due to some over zealous cleaning of the office, I somehow jiggled the modem wires so that they wouldn't work...all is well now, and here I am! Whew!

There have been so many fun things going on around here!!! I just couldn't wait to share them.

~Friday night we dropped the kiddo off with the grandparents and headed down to Ada, Oklahoma to a wedding of one of Brad's co-workers. After a bit of detouring through downtown, we finally made it to the beautiful ranch, just minutes before the ceremony began. It was a beautiful wedding and a fun night with Brad's friends.

~Saturday night we got ANOTHER night out without the Bean. We left him again with Papa & Gaga so that we could see the Harry Potter movie. It was so good! Loved it!!!! He was in good hands...his favorite things to do at their house is "bomb" the huge, intricate block cities that Papa builds him, follow Gaga around, terrorize the cat, or play hours and hours of ball. He actually stands on a stool and aims his balls at a basket across the room and tries to make them in. No lie, he is really good at it. Like, really good. 

~Ben taught himself how to "swim". I say "swim" because obviously it isn't what most of the world would call it, but it's adorable. He spent a ton of time in his kiddie pool at my parents. Usually this involves walking around in circles in the pool, occasionally squatting into the water and throwing around his water toys. Well, he slipped on some slippery bubbles, fell face first into the water and came up giggling. From that point on he wanted to be on his belly in the water, kicking his feet, and putting his face under water! So cute...

~Brad was hydro-seeding a windmill farm from Monday until Thursday night with our friend Josh. They had decent weather (only 90s) and loved being out with all the cool trucks...a manly man's dream. Don't worry he checked in on me LOTS to make sure I wasn't in labor yet. I stayed with my parents until Tuesday when Dad brought me back home. 

~The stockpiling is going good. We've been making jam, freezing tomatoes and fruits, and will make salsa tomorrow as soon as we can get some more peppers from the farmer's market. Here is one of our harvests this week. Bunches of basil and 4 fun white eggplants. (Either Hansel or Grettal kind...can't remember!) I also made a tray of sundried tomatoes out a big bowl of cherry tomatoes we got. oooooh eeeee! They are yum!

*To answer Lane and Leslie's question about storing potatoes...you have to wait for the second crop of potatoes to come in (around early October)...put them in a big container with dirt or sand and keep in a cool cellar or garage. This way they won't grow the creepy eyes! :) Again, I've never done ANY of this stockpiling jazz so we'll see how it goes! 

~Ben has really been into animals and animal sounds lately. His favorite is still Cow and Moo, but he's added quite a few to his repertoire including: Duck/Quack, Cat/Meow, Horse/Neigh, Goat/Naaah, Cali (all dogs)/Woof, Pig, Bug...It's pretty darn cute when he's eating animal crackers and holds one up and says, "Horse!". 

 ~For all you Okies...I was craving Ron's the other day and took Ash & Baby Grady their very first Ron's Burger with fries and onion rings. So delish.

~I've been somewhat nesting...although I don't think it's really nesting because I'm not enjoying it. I remember getting a THRILL out of nesting when pregnant with Ben...This time I think it is just out of sheer necessity. But I only have 2 rooms left to deep clean. Of course leaving the big bathroom and kitchen until last. Grrrr. 

~We are making a craft work station out in the laundry room that I can't wait to finish! Right now all the craft supplies are just piled in the floor, so I'm sure it will be done soon...

~The midwife says that the baby's head is super low, everyone says I've dropped...only 2 weeks left as of tomorrow and Ben came a week early...so WE'LL SEE!!!

So, that's the quick list. So happy to get to share. Thank goodness I'm REconnected!

Stockpile...

So back to those veggies I was talking about. 

I have no pictures, I apologize. You can just skim over this if I can't hold your interest without visuals!

As part of my new and improved "simple living" my goal is to try to mostly eat locally and organically. We were on quite the roll there for several months. We enjoyed made from scratch meals nightly and were really figuring out the ropes of this lifestyle...and then summer hit. We were rarely home, kept missing the farmer's market, my pregnancy got more "in the way" and well, we began sweltering in the 105 heat, and honestly who thinks about food when it's that hot. Much less, preparing and cooking it. Not me, I tell ya.

People tend to think eating mostly organic is MORE expensive...but I am finding ways that it can actually be much, much cheaper. I don't want to bore you with too much detail, and by all means I am no expert on the subject...so I'll spare you. But...

Basically, my method is this. I plan my meals, I only buy what we need (read: what we will eat that week), and I try to cook most stuff from scratch. I stick to simple meals and try to make them healthy. Buying what is available and in season keeps the cost down.

Now, while that sounds all high and mighty, let me clarify a few things. 

For example, we still have dessert almost every night. But instead of store bought, we make something simple from scratch...our favorite being simple old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies... 

Another thing...my husband has eaten the same thing for lunch for the last 7 years. (sandwich, Doritos, apple, granola bar, and Coke) There is no way I can change his ways, it's not worth the effort and by all means, keep the hubbie happy. Instead, I try to bake the bread, switch up the chips a little, and buy the apples organic. I could technically make the granola bar (and still want to try this) and we do have endless supplies of organic beef that I could thinly slice to give him roast beef instead of deli turkey (and maybe we'll try this too). But for now, it's a start. The Coke? Not even gonna try.

Also, I only do this kind of eating when at home in my own kitchen. I don't stress about when we are away, and I would never expect anything like this when a guest in someone else's home.

And finally...we all know about the goldfish...and I can assure you this is NOT the only non-organic, processed treat that my child eats.

So anyway. It's a lofty goal, but one that I feel is very important. So I try. 

As I was saying, the harvest is starting to come in...and that means it's time to stockpile all these delicious, locally grown foods. First of all, by getting them now when they are in season they taste better. They travel less distance to get here. They are SO MUCH CHEAPER. I am doing my self a service because I will have to shop for less later and therefore spend less time at the grocery store with TWO children under the age of 2! AAAH! That is reason enough for me. Plus I am supporting my local farmer's and as I meet them, I like them, and I want them to keep growing me delicious vegetables. 

You might be wondering about our garden...It's doing great. Our cherry tomatoes are coming in, the eggplants have blooms, we gorged ourselves on weeks worth of the best tasting lettuce ever, we've harvested at least 50 onions and there will be more going in...however, we just can't plant enough to stockpile. We have and will most certainly enjoy every delicious fruit of our labor, but we will also add to this from others.

So, I'm in the beginning stages...but here's the plan. I figure if I type it up here...you guys just might hold me accountable to it. I want to:

FREEZE:

squash, okra, tomatoes, eggplant, blackberries, and black-eyed peas

MAKE:

blackberry freezer jam, sun-dried tomatoes, apple sauce & apple butter

CAN:

pears, salsa, spaghetti sauce, and pickled okra

STORE:

Lots of carrots and potatoes in bins in the garage

Lots of onions and garlic hanging in the garage

*Most of these are local items that grow super here in the okie heat and are therefore super abundant and cheap.*

So far I have:

5 bags of battered okra for frying

10 bags of sliced squash for sauteing and 10 bags battered for frying

4 bags of frozen cherries

50 onions hanging

Still a ways to go...but most of the stuff isn't "in" yet and at least it's a start! :)

I'd love to hear any suggestions or plans that you might have for preserving the summer's bounty!!!

Stop and smell the roses

Guess what!?!?! The rose bush in front of our house is blooming! This is so exciting! Two years ago, brad pruned the thing so far back that it didn't bloom last year and we were worried for it's survival...take a look at it's beauty now!

Apparently not everyone is so appreciative! :)