Filed under: canning and freezing
We ate spinach all winter by clipping off the outer leaves. Now spring has arrived and the spinach is enormous, so time to freeze. So far I have put up 12 quarts and my freezer is full. So that will have to do…
It is amazing how spinach cooks down. If I come home with a big grocery bag full from the garden, I manage to freeze approximately 3 quarts.
- Harvest spinach
- Wash leaves and trim stems
- Heat a very large pot of water to a boil
- Fill clean sink with icy water.
- Add about 2 colanders full of spinach leaves packed to boiling water.
- Stir once turn on timer for 2 minutes and stir again.
- When timer goes off take spinach out of pot with tongs.
- Drain lightly and add to sink.
- Put 2 more colanders in boiling water and put on timer.
- Stir spinach in sink, take out with tongs and put into a colander and let drain.
- Take 2nd batch out of pot with tongs, drain and chill in icy water sink.
- Put drained spinach in colander into a 4 cup container.
- Put these 4 cups in a labeled 1 qt zipper freezer bag with “Spinach and date.:
- Take out air and lay flat in freezer to freeze quickly.
- Repeat …
Filed under: recipes
I came home again today with a huge bag of spinach from my garden. The freezer is full. I have frozen mucho spinach this winter. This is Austin and I have been harvesting the spinach I planted in October since December.
I couldn’t eat another spinach salad or any more steamed spinach so I made this Indian dish.
Ingredients
- toor dal 3/4 cup
- fresh spinach 8 cups
- tamarind paste 1/2 tsp.
- oil 2 tsps.
- mustard seed 1 tsp
- urud dal 1 tsp
- chana dal 1 tsp.
- sambar powder 4 tsp
- tumeric powder 1/4 tsp
- salt 1/2 salt
1.Put toor dal in 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until soft.
2. In a wok or cast iron frying pan heat oil. Add mustard seed. When they pop add urud dal and chana dal. Heat until chana dal turns brown.
3.Add spinach with 1/2 cup water. Cook for a minute until spinach wilts.
4. Add tamarind paste and sambar powder to spinach mixture. Cook for 3 minutes.
5. Add tumeric powder and salt. Stir
6. Add spinach mixture to toor dal and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Stir and serve.
This recipe makes 5 half cup servings and has 120 delicious calories per serving.
Filed under: recipes
I am harvesting both fennel and leek from my garden and made this delicious soup. My company thought it was a cream soup. And the best thing, besides the taste, is that it only has 64 calories in a cup.
- 1 leek
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 zucchini
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 4 cups of vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Chop leek, fennel and garlic.
- Heat olive oil in heavy duty soup pot.
- Add leek, fennel and garlic to hot oil.
- Cook on medium low for 15 minutes.
- Chop zucchini and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes covered.
- Take off cover and cool.
- Puree in the blender for less than a minute
- Reheat and serve.
Filed under: quilting
My daughter Rachel is getting her Master’s at Purdue University in Indiana. I made her this to send a little bit of home to her while she is studying so far away.
y. Purple is her favorite col0r and she does like butterflies. I quilted it mostly in butterflies. I just took Beth Kennedy’s machine quilting course and that was a great help.
Filed under: gardening
The best 2 days to transplant tomatoes in the garden are 2 days and 1 day before the full moon. and we did it.
I put in not only the easy growers like Early Girl and Better Boy, but also some specialty tomatoes like Tomande , Azoychka, Cherokee Chocolate, Cherokee purple, Bradley, and Lemon boy. Also Sungold and dark red cherry tomatoes. 21 plants in all for me and my gardening partner to share. They are caged and plasticed to prevent wind damage. I am so excited that spring is finally here.
I also put in eggplants and peppers.
My white and red potatoes and my onions and garlic are getting big.
Filed under: recipes
Nothing wakes me up so unjumpily as a cup of chai tea. My current favorite is Chocolate Enchantment Chai. To make it I put 1 teabag in a cup of boiling water and let steep for 5 minutes. then I add 2 Tablespoons of homemade soymilk and 1 tsp. of sugar. Stir and enjoy a burst of energy that is not frantic.
If I drink coffee I can’t sleep even 12 hours later.
Filed under: gardening
Today was a sad day in my garden
The brussel sprouts were infested . I could have picked them earlier but aphids have not bothered them in the past.
I hereby declare this the Year of the Aphid. forget about the Year of the Ox. imho
Filed under: recipes
This is a simple cole slaw John who has a sweet tooth likes.
- 6 cups shredded green cabbage
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1/4 cups raisins
- Use food processor to make the above
- Mix in large bowl
- Add following dressing.
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup soymilk unsweetened
- Put first5 ingredinets in ball jar with lid and shake until all sugar is dissolve
- Add soy milk and shake again
- Put dressing on veggies and let sit for an hour to absorb juices.
- Enjoy. Refrigerate.
Filed under: gardening
My onions red, white and yellow Granex are in the ground since mid January and now I am planting my white and red Kennebec potatoes for harvest in late May. President’s Day is too late to plant in Austin and Valentine’s day is the last best day to plant. Some people put them in in late January.
I am harvesting my leeks right now and really enjoying frying them up with potatoes .
We are still eating brocolli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, red and green cabbage, spinach, collards, kale, lettuce, beets, carrots, rutabaga , spinach, turnips and herbs-cilantro, parsley and dill- from the Fall garden. However the rutabaga and cauliflower are now all harvested.
I went to Carol Ann Sayle’s Boggy Creek Farm talk last Friday and learned that water can split the cabbages. As we got rain I guess that did it. I thought it was rats and was happy to know that it wasn’t.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I planted red, white, and red onions today. The white and yellow are granex. The date to plant in Austin is January 15th. Next I will plant white potatoes on Valentine’s Day.
I picked cabbage, Brussel sprouts, Romaine lettuce, and radishes for dinner tonight.
My garden makes me happy.
