It took about 14 hours at 165 degrees. They came out lovely! I keep them in a jar and anytime I have a glass of water, I just toss a slice in - they rehydrate and you have lemon water! Love it!
Tomato circle
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Dried Lemons
I had a bag of lemons that were about to turn so decided to slice them up and put them in the dehydrator.
It took about 14 hours at 165 degrees. They came out lovely! I keep them in a jar and anytime I have a glass of water, I just toss a slice in - they rehydrate and you have lemon water! Love it!
It took about 14 hours at 165 degrees. They came out lovely! I keep them in a jar and anytime I have a glass of water, I just toss a slice in - they rehydrate and you have lemon water! Love it!
Tomato plants summer 2011
This year has been by far my best tomato crops ever! I would like to give myself credit for finally figuring out its all about the soil but I think the true secret is that I bought my transplants from our local farms. I figure that they truly know which plants produce the most fruit and BOY did they!!
These are my CELEBRITY tomato plants - I got them from Johnson's Backyard Farms for about $2 each. They started out tiny but within 3-4 weeks , every stem was covered in baby tomatoes! These tend to grow to be medium sized.
These are my CELEBRITY tomato plants - I got them from Johnson's Backyard Farms for about $2 each. They started out tiny but within 3-4 weeks , every stem was covered in baby tomatoes! These tend to grow to be medium sized.
These are my SUNSHINE YELLOW tomato plants. I got these from the Farmers Market as well - I cant remember their name but they are the second stall on the right - next to the coffee bean vendor.
These blew up so fast! I was pulling 20 off a day! The very best tomato plant Ive ever grown.
We had some really great harvest days of both types of plants - take a look!
I also had a squirrel problem - the would only eat the bottoms of the ripe tomatoes. I fixed the problem by pulling the tomatoes as soon as they started to turn from green to red. Also I hung up a pie pan on a string and the flashing color and sound drives them away.
Squirrel problems!
Can the extras!
Our average daily harvest for a few great weeks!
**Update - after weeks of all my plants just barley hanging on - all of a sudden - they are full of tomatoes again! I cant wait to take part in the late summer harvests!
Barton Creek Farmers Market
As everyone knows, we are pretty loyal to our Cedar Park Farmers Market - mostly because we love our vendor friends and secondly, its in our backyard. My husband was out of town that weekend so I decided to get up a bit early and drive down Mopac and hit up the Barton Creeks Farmers Market.
Overall, its got a good layout and great mall parking. There are many of the similar vendors which was nice to see. I meant to take a lot more photos but apparently did not.
I was very happy to see Richardson Farms there - they are neighbors with our favorite rancher - 6J - so I was able to get some ground pork and a skirt steak from them. I was also pleased to see our old chip guy - they are no longer allowed to sell at CPFM so it was great to see them - they are applying to come back so hopefully we can support them regularly soon! I got some sourdough bread that I didn't really like once I got home. I got some peaches and zucchini. Also something called a sugar cube melon - basically a super sweet cantaloupe. SO GOOD!
My 2 favorite things I saw at the Barton Creek Market was the teeny tiny petting zoo set up. What a wonderful job. There were tons of bunnies, hedgehogs, Guinna pigs, just tons and tons of fluff! I believe you pay $3 and you can go in and play with the baby animals. Totally worth the price!
Here is the tiny hedgehog!
My second favorite find was a local apple orchard! I got 8 lbs of lovely apples and cooked them with brown sugar and cinnamon - they are waiting in my fridge as a tasty treat. I also used about 8 apples in my crock pot along with our loin of wild boar. It was a great flavor to mix ith the pork!
Easy too!
Overall, had a great trip to the Barton Creek market and it will def be an alternative to mix up what we buy each week!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Blanching Tomatoes for Canning/Freezing
Between my home garden and not being able to resist buying tasty tomatoes at the market, I have had to preserve lots and lots of tomatoes. Thought I would show you a step by step of how I blanch and freeze tomatoes.
You will need boiling water, a bowl of ice water and tomatoes to get started.
Drop the tomatoes - whole into the boiling water - let them roll in rolling boil for 3-5 minutes depending on the size of the fruit.
And here is my first video clip I have filmed and uploaded to my blog.
After 5 min of boiling - using a slotted spoon - remove each tomato and dunk into ice water. The skin will swell and split and you can just pull the skin off in one pull. If it doesnt split naturally - use a knife and make one solid cut around. Its so easy!
ENJOY!!!
You will need boiling water, a bowl of ice water and tomatoes to get started.
Only use good ripe tomatoes - avoid those with dark spots, soft spots and anything that is under-ripe.
Drop the tomatoes - whole into the boiling water - let them roll in rolling boil for 3-5 minutes depending on the size of the fruit.
And here is my first video clip I have filmed and uploaded to my blog.
Come watch the hypnotizing tomatoes as the swirl in the warm liquid
After 5 min of boiling - using a slotted spoon - remove each tomato and dunk into ice water. The skin will swell and split and you can just pull the skin off in one pull. If it doesnt split naturally - use a knife and make one solid cut around. Its so easy!
Once the skins are off, cut in half and put into jar. I then freeze the jars. Once your ready to make some spaghetti sauce, just set the jars on your counter and defrost. They will be as good as fresh!
ENJOY!!!
Rainbow Chard Sriracha Pickles
Rainbow Chard is undoubtedly one of the most colorful veggies at the farmers market. If your anything like me - you have no idea what to do with them. Luckily, my old pal Aaron Crim sent me a link from Bon Appetite for a really awesome and spicy looking recipe for rainbow chard stems.
First clean and cut up you chard - stack in jars like carrot sticks.
Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/06/sriracha-fridge-pickles#ixzz1UUG9NpQh
After 2 weeks, we tried our batch. It has lots of flavor - lots of spice. I would say it had a "beet" taste to it. If you like that earthy kind of taste - you gotta try this.
First clean and cut up you chard - stack in jars like carrot sticks.
Ingredients
- Swiss chard stems, chopped
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons Sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
Preparation
- Make a mixture of vinegar and sugar, then stir in onions, Sriracha, and celery seeds. Pour it all over the chopped stems, using 3 cups liquid for every 1 1/2 cups chopped stems. Throw it in the refrigerator for a few days, and you've got the ultimate refrigerator pickles.
Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/06/sriracha-fridge-pickles#ixzz1UUG9NpQh
After 2 weeks, we tried our batch. It has lots of flavor - lots of spice. I would say it had a "beet" taste to it. If you like that earthy kind of taste - you gotta try this.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Cucumber plants and crops summer 2011
This is my first try at growing cucumbers and its been great! Totally a fun veggie to grow because its fruits hide behind large leaves and then all of a sudden, you find a huge cucumber. How fun is that?
I have 6 plants - all transplants from Natural Gardener in Oak Hill. I planted them on the farthest side of the garden because I knew that they would need a net to grow up and be supported by. I made the grow net from two wood planks from Home Depot and a white nylon net from Callahans.
Over all, I had really good success - In total - I probably got 10-13 large cucumbers so far this season. Its so hot right now that no fruit is producing but I may get a few at the end of the summer.
Please enjoy the many photos of my first harvest of my cucumber plants!
They were so cute when they first starting coming in. Baby Cucumbers with Pretty Yellow Flowers!
Soon the vine kept growing and growing - so beautiful with its natural swirls.
This one was called FATTY.
One of the first harvests - kinda odd shaped but made beautiful pickles!!
You can count 4 big ones in this photo - the weather was still in mid 90's. Once it hit the 100's - it was very hard for the plants to produce flowers or fruit.
The last larger sized harvest. I only got 2 more after these cucs.
Im curious if you tried to grow cucs this year and how it went. Cant wait till Sept to see if they start up again - In the mean time, Im trying to keep them alive! Thanks for looking!
I have 6 plants - all transplants from Natural Gardener in Oak Hill. I planted them on the farthest side of the garden because I knew that they would need a net to grow up and be supported by. I made the grow net from two wood planks from Home Depot and a white nylon net from Callahans.
Over all, I had really good success - In total - I probably got 10-13 large cucumbers so far this season. Its so hot right now that no fruit is producing but I may get a few at the end of the summer.
Please enjoy the many photos of my first harvest of my cucumber plants!
They were so cute when they first starting coming in. Baby Cucumbers with Pretty Yellow Flowers!
Soon the vine kept growing and growing - so beautiful with its natural swirls.
They grew into nice sized cucumber pretty quick. I tried to be consistent on watering - apparently if you dont, the can come out very oddly shaped.
You can count 4 big ones in this photo - the weather was still in mid 90's. Once it hit the 100's - it was very hard for the plants to produce flowers or fruit.
The last larger sized harvest. I only got 2 more after these cucs.
Im curious if you tried to grow cucs this year and how it went. Cant wait till Sept to see if they start up again - In the mean time, Im trying to keep them alive! Thanks for looking!
How to build a garden
There is no doubt a million ways to build a raised garden bed . I have opted for the no tools & no nails way.
I use cinder blocks! Not only is it easy to install, its also easy to adjust and you can expand or contract the size with ease every season. You can also connect all the smaller gardens together with time - this is my grand plan.
My main garden is about 5 blocks deep and 4 wide. I wanted to make a smaller garden for herbs and maybe some kale. Since Im a photojournalist @ heart - I thought I would do a step by step photo plan.
Step 1:
Assemble what you need in a nice sunny spot. You will need - cinder blocks, 2 bags of soil, 1 bag of compost, 1 bag of mulch and two helper dogs.
Step 2:
Arrange your bricks in an even manner - This square is 3 blocks by 2 blocks. Have helper dogs survey your work and make sure there are no large cracks between blocks.
Step 3:
Get your shovel and turn over all the ground dirt inside the garden square. Try to go about 4- 5 inches deep. Then use a tiller to break up all the dirt and level it out.
Step 4:
Fill in with a mix of garden soil, compost and mulch. I usually mix each wheel barrow and then fill in the dirt from there. The mulch helps the drainage and makes it so the soil doest get all compacted.
Step 5:
Put your transplants in. In this photo the top left are sage and pineapple sage, top right is cilantro, and on the bottom is rosemary.
Hope you enjoy! Its an easy way to get your garden started!
I use cinder blocks! Not only is it easy to install, its also easy to adjust and you can expand or contract the size with ease every season. You can also connect all the smaller gardens together with time - this is my grand plan.
My main garden is about 5 blocks deep and 4 wide. I wanted to make a smaller garden for herbs and maybe some kale. Since Im a photojournalist @ heart - I thought I would do a step by step photo plan.
Step 1:
Assemble what you need in a nice sunny spot. You will need - cinder blocks, 2 bags of soil, 1 bag of compost, 1 bag of mulch and two helper dogs.
Step 2:
Arrange your bricks in an even manner - This square is 3 blocks by 2 blocks. Have helper dogs survey your work and make sure there are no large cracks between blocks.
Step 3:
Get your shovel and turn over all the ground dirt inside the garden square. Try to go about 4- 5 inches deep. Then use a tiller to break up all the dirt and level it out.
Step 4:
Fill in with a mix of garden soil, compost and mulch. I usually mix each wheel barrow and then fill in the dirt from there. The mulch helps the drainage and makes it so the soil doest get all compacted.
Step 5:
Put your transplants in. In this photo the top left are sage and pineapple sage, top right is cilantro, and on the bottom is rosemary.
Hope you enjoy! Its an easy way to get your garden started!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Mothers Day 2011
Happy Mothers Day everyone! I got the best Mothers Day gift of all - My Mom! (And Dad) drove a whopping 14 hours to come visit lil ole me this past weekend! Its so nice to see family when you live 1000 miles away from them!
We of course headed to our Saturday Farmers Market up at Lakeline. Mom and Dad looked over everything and Mom was snapping photos of me talking to our favorite vendors and buying yummy food!
And of course my favorite Mule, my husband Mike was being the dutiful husband and lugging around bags for all of us as well as being a great host to his in laws!
There were lots of great vendors and some new faces too! This art vendor had super cool stringed mirrors that would look great hanging from trees!
This week our bounty included:
Garlic, Beet and Carrot Salad, Beef Skirt Steak, Raw Cheddar Cheese, Marinara Sauce, Strawberry Cheesecake, Lump Crab Meat, Goats Milk, Kale, Bok Choy, Tomatoes, Tuna Steaks, Cinnamon Bread, Habenero Pasta, Watermelon Radish, Lavender Hand Cream, Peppers, Italian Cream Cake, Puppy Treats, Quiche and Pastries!
Later in the day, after market treats - we headed to Marble Falls and had lots and lots of pie! Seriously, if your anywhere near the Bluebonnet Cafe, stop by for Pie Happy Hour!!
We of course headed to our Saturday Farmers Market up at Lakeline. Mom and Dad looked over everything and Mom was snapping photos of me talking to our favorite vendors and buying yummy food!
And of course my favorite Mule, my husband Mike was being the dutiful husband and lugging around bags for all of us as well as being a great host to his in laws!
There were lots of great vendors and some new faces too! This art vendor had super cool stringed mirrors that would look great hanging from trees!
This week our bounty included:
Garlic, Beet and Carrot Salad, Beef Skirt Steak, Raw Cheddar Cheese, Marinara Sauce, Strawberry Cheesecake, Lump Crab Meat, Goats Milk, Kale, Bok Choy, Tomatoes, Tuna Steaks, Cinnamon Bread, Habenero Pasta, Watermelon Radish, Lavender Hand Cream, Peppers, Italian Cream Cake, Puppy Treats, Quiche and Pastries!
Later in the day, after market treats - we headed to Marble Falls and had lots and lots of pie! Seriously, if your anywhere near the Bluebonnet Cafe, stop by for Pie Happy Hour!!
Dilled Green Beans and Big Jar Pickles
I decided to expand my pickling to a new veggie this week - green beans!
I buy them from Busch Farms for cheap at the farmers market and they were super easy to clean and cut the ends. I used a Knorr's packed called " Dilled Green Beans" as well as vinegar and sugar and let the jars cure for 48 hours in the fridge. They came out sugary and sweet with hints of garlic and punch of dill flavor. Good Stuff!
Im sure no one is surprised that I am still making pickles like a wild woman - especially since cucumbers of all shapes and sizes are available at the market. I decided I needed to expand and pick up some big jars so here is the new sizes Im making.
I think they are so pretty and of course - SO YUMMY!!
I buy them from Busch Farms for cheap at the farmers market and they were super easy to clean and cut the ends. I used a Knorr's packed called " Dilled Green Beans" as well as vinegar and sugar and let the jars cure for 48 hours in the fridge. They came out sugary and sweet with hints of garlic and punch of dill flavor. Good Stuff!
Im sure no one is surprised that I am still making pickles like a wild woman - especially since cucumbers of all shapes and sizes are available at the market. I decided I needed to expand and pick up some big jars so here is the new sizes Im making.
I think they are so pretty and of course - SO YUMMY!!
Drunken Dried Fruit Fun
Everyone knows that eating fruit is one of the best things you can do for your body. Everyone also knows that it can be a total pain in the ass. :) Have you seen the new product called "Fruit 2 Day" http://www.fruit2day.com/
Its essentially a fruit cocktail in a bottle with a tad more liquid. You can't quite drink it, you can't chew it. Its just a bizarre situation in your mouth IMHO.
My solution to more fruit around our household is the much beloved dehydrator to the rescue! For this round, I used 3 different types of fruit. My favorite - pineapple rings, mango slices and red grapefruit. * A disclaimer - none of the fruit I used was local and it was probably dripping in high fructose corn syrup but I wanted it very sweet and thought that was the best way to try it first. Once fruit becomes more available at the market, I will go the pure natural route.
I dried these at about 180 degrees for 14 hours.
The Grapefruit probably could have used another hour or so.
But they were tasty tasty tasty!!
In fact, my husband litereally got 1 strip of mango right after they were dried and I ate the entire rest of the jar in 1 day.
They fit nicely into jars and are ready for whenever we are!
** As a fun side project - I added about 6 dehydrated pineapples to 8 oz of local Tito's vodka to make some pineapple infused vodka! We let it set about 2 weeks and then tried it. The shot was amazing with strong hints of pineapple and then if you eat the fruit itself, its like taking a shot. How exciting! Fun with fruit!!
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