Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Joker Says, Make Your Own Cheese

I ran across this one and felt the urge to "Share"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SM1nB8W8uo

Sometimes things sneak up on you when you least expect it. Like yanking the rug out from under you. So now I find myself looking for work. I hate looking for work. I don't mind the "work" part, just the "looking". Hopefully something will come about fast. I just have to stay positive and focused. Of course this comes at a bad time. (I guess its always a bad time)

Anyway, I think I would like to share a great story. My brother met his wife when they were kids. Love at first sight and all that. That was over twenty years and two wonderful daughters ago. My SIL had a dream back then. She wanted to be in medicine. With the limited resources available she came up with a plan. She joined the Navy as a private. She went to corpmans (sp) school and graduated at the head of her class. Now I haven't kept up with all the schools and classes and such. She followed her dream. And now she is in her last year of residency. She is an MD. They are stationed in Florida now but will be coming home to Texas for a few weeks before they go to their new duty station in Japan. To say that I am proud of her is an understatement. That girl rocks!!!

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Friday, June 26, 2009

Firsts

Cucumbers grow on vinesImage via Wikipedia

I am totally overwhelmed with all the things going on in our government. I think I might be on an information overload here. What with TPB voting on a carbon tax today. The news of the flu and the charges against the WHO, the UN, and the US of Bioterrorism. The economic collapse. And on and on and on.

And so today I am taking a break. No more reading for me today other than my favorite blogs.

I am on a food preservation mission today. As I am writing this I have load of tomato's in the canner. There are cucumbers in the fridge soaking in their ice water bath just waiting for me to turn them into Bread and Butter Pickles this afternoon.
I also have a full load of potato's in the dehydrator. I haven't done potato's before but I am sure they will work out just fine. I haven't had any problems with anything I have dried yet, which is cool.

I have had so many "first times" this year. My first time canning vegetables. This has turned out well so far and another thing I now "know" how to do. They can't take your knowledge away!
Let's see.... first time dehydrating foods,First time canning veggies, first time learn my FoodSaver is more than a vacum sealer! I have video to prove it :) First time working in a really large garden, My first time to blog. hmmm..... I am sure there is more, I just can't seem to recall them all. Not a bad list at all....
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Potato In A Bag Experiment


IT IS HOT!! Looks like we are into the 100+ degree days again. The forecast is calling for the next 7 days to be 100+. And so, without a doubt, summer is all over us!

Well the Potato In A Bag Experiment has come to and end for the summer. My neighbors plants looked wonderful. Healthy growth. They bolted last week and so we dumped the bag and this is what she got. I don't know if it was due to drainage issues or if the potato's were Genetically modified. She planted some she got from the grocery store. I haven't given up yet though. I will be trying to located some seed potato's tomorrow.

I have been giving my dehydrator a work out! I love that thing! I have put up more strawberries. I tried my hand at cantaloupe and was surprised at how good they are. I've done a whole load of banana chips. Yummy!! And right now I have a load of tomato's in there working. I figured what the heck! We'll see how they come out. I want to try drying potato's but am waiting till I can catch them at a good price as I will have to purchase them. (insert a big sigh here)

I am bound and determined to try again with the bag idea. Dang it, it SHOULD work! I have another idea I would like to try and that is growing strawberries in a kiddie pool. The hubster tends to think it would work out great and he's pretty smart with the garden. Does anyone else think this will work?

The kitten's have emerged from under the trailer. They are sooo CUTE! A total of 4 girls and one boy.



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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Saturday Nite Supper

What a dinner we had tonite! Had the neighbors over for some beverages and some dinner. I apologize for no pics on this one....
Star Line Up tonite though.
Mesquite Smoked pork loin and pork ribs (babybacks)
Steamed Squash and Zuccini with onions and a bit of garlic
Marinated Tomato's ( italian dressing) with fresh baby squash and Basil picked for the occasion
Your choice of banana peppers or jalepenos
Chili Bread
This bread recipe is to die for. I used my bread maker, doubled the recipe, added more liquid that was called cause it was pretty dry to start. This will be my "special" treats and eats recipe from here on out for a pot luck dinner or whatever. It ROCKS!

What a great meal it was! Now I promised Felinae I would post the recipe and so here it is!

allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chili-Bread/Detail.aspx?prop31=2
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Friday, June 19, 2009

Another Week Flew By



Another week has come and gone. It's funny how they go so much faster now than they did when I was a kid. Remember how a week seemed like an eternity? Now they flash by with a blink of the eye.

We got the first of the canteloupes this week. The flavor is AMAZING! I hope they will kind of space themselves out so we have a chance to enjoy them. I have a backup plan if they start coming in to fast though! I will pop them in the dehydrator if push comes to shove. Mmmm, canteloupe candies!

The picture here are the garden's gifts from the last few days. Not a bad week. I have a load of squash in the dehydrator right now. And my trusty $4.00 bread maker is in the process of making some Chili Bread. This is the first time I've tried it so we shall see how it comes out. I found the recipe on AllRecipies.com . I love that site. There are tons of great recipies there.

I was going to can tomato's today but I am afraid I will run out of propane. Note to self- We need propane. I might get brave and try dehydrating some tomato's. So if anyone has any suggestions, tips, or tricks please be kind enough to share them with me.

I did dehydrate a load of strawberries yesterday. They were on sale and I have a new toy so I just couldn't resist! LOL

I found a couple of really good deals this week at the grocery store. I love the markdown cart!! I found 6 cans of buttermilk powder marked down to $1.50 a can and the dates still two years out. I got them all as I can and do use it in some of my bread's. I just couldn't pass that one up. There was also pasta marked down to $0.40 lb I took all ten pounds! Another good addition to my food storage. The funniest part though was that I had Alfredo Sauce on my list (quick and easy dinner) so I picked up the sauce and low and behold there was a coupon for a free pound of pasta with the purchase of the Alfredo Sauce.
The kitten's all have their eyes open and are sure to emerge from under the trailer soon. I love baby kitties! They are sooo fun.
I will post some kitty pics when they wander out!
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Ron Paul

Ron Paul Slams the Federal Resrve

www.infowars.com/ron-paul-slams-federal-reserves-new-dictatorial-powers/
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Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Potato In A Bag Experiment


Well I suppose it is about time to give the bad news. My potato's didn't make it. We had set out to try growing potaoto's in nylon dog food bags. Something DH had read somewhere. It was working great, the potato's growing just fine till they just kind of stalled out. Oh we figured it out, what went wrong I mean. If you will look closely at the pictures posted on this site you too might figure out the killer of the potatoes. Unfortunately we figured it out a little bit late. Do you see that black plastic under the bags? Makes it almost impossible for drainage in the bags. We ended up with mud in the bottom of the bags and ants starting on the top of the soil. Live and learn. My neighbor on the other hand used the same method for her potato's and they are kicking butt. Strong and healthy. So I suppose in a way the experiment is still ongoing. My poor little test subjects didn't make it though. Chalk one up to experience.
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Friday, June 12, 2009

Christmas in June


What a surprise I had yesterday when I checked the mail. There was a note telling me that there was a package for me in the office. For the life of me I couldn't remember having ordered anything lately. I went to the office and much to my surprise and delight to this package from my mom. She totally rocks!! I have been looking in the thrift stores for months now for a dehydrator with no luck. I guess she's been reading my blog. LOL THANKS MOM - I LOVE YOU!
So now I will be trying to dry some stuff. I'll keep ya posted on my progress.

The garden's are both doing well. The tomato's are coming in well now. I don't think we will have the masses that we had last year but you just never know. DH harvested 15+ pounds of squash this week. I still need to go pick the peas and beans today. More canning to do today but I really don't mind a bit. There is something about all those pretty jars full of veggies that makes my heart happy!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Just Stuff




Well it is sure feeling like summer here. It's been in the mid-90's for days now. I surely am glad that we have the awning for the trailer. It makes everything soooo much more bearable. We pretty much live in the yard (or the garden) this time of year. An extension to the house if you will.

We finally got our first ripe red tomato this week. You can't beat that flavor and your darn sure cant buy one like it. I just had to post a picture of this squash too!! LOL!

We have new kittens. The calico (KerryKitty) is now a mom, and a really good one too! I was a little worried at first as she has always been a bit on the wild side.

We were going to have her fixed once before and then decided to let her have one litter to see if it would mellow her out. It worked! She actually will come looking for attention rather than stare at you from across the yard. I'll post some pics when they start wandering out from under the trailer.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Busy Week



What a week it has been. Friday I had to make the trip to the "Big City" for tobacco. We roll our own and have for several years. It's alot less expensive without a doubt. Works out to about a dollar a pack. Yes, I know I should quit. Anyway, on the way home there are all sorts of places I haven't been to since 2 weeks ago. Two thrift stores and two goodwills. Of course I had to check them out! Didn't find much of anything. I spent a dollar on a set of measuring cups and a cool pepper grinder. I have been looking for a dehydrator for about 2 months now and still no luck. I used to see them all the time. (sighs)

I made the stop at the local grocery store on the way home. They had baby back ribs and shoulder roast on sale for 1.99 lb and whole chicken at .79 per pound. I tend to go for whats on sale for the week when I can. This week they have pork loin on sale for 1.00 lb. I picked one up today and will be picking up at least two more this week.

Their bakery saves food buckets for me so I picked up another one today. That worked out well since as I was passing by the clearance rack they had deposited a 25 lb bag of flour with some tape on the corner for 4.84!! And the buttermilk powder was marked at 1.50 (3.00 regularly) there were 5 of them.I can use it in my for breadmaking. And there were 4 cans of coconut flakes in the discount basket for .34 cents apiece. Not a bad deal at all!

I also canned 7 quarts of squash and 5 quarts of beans! And on top of all that I did laundry all day! I put up the winter clothes ( well most of them) That one is a work in progress.

Today I finally got the flour, sugar, cornmeal and rice into buckets and put away. I'm glad that's done. I also did a food pantry inventory and am seeing places that need to be worked on.
I will be canning again tomorrow -more beans and squash. Speaking of squash, we tried a quart of the squash from the first run of canning. I have to say it was not squishy!! I'm soooo glad.
Business has picked up at work (whew) since school is out this week. This is a good thing as I really want to step up the prepping into a higher gear.

We have decided to further cut back on our bills. My DTV coupons ought to be here in a couple of weeks. At that point we will be ditching cable TV. It's not like we really watch it much anyway as we are just too busy to sit and waste an entire evening. Especially when there is watering to be done and weeds to be pulled! We are also going to change our internet package. Those two things alone will save us over 90.00 bucks a month. And the Netflix is going to be history soon too. I will be canceling that at the end of the month. So there is another 110.00 a month we can use.

I made bread today and the house smells awesome! I think I will make a big pot of spagetti sauce tomorrow. I want to try my hand at canning the leftovers. I will let you know how that works out!
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