Hippity Hoppity

I know I should have blogged about this about two weeks ago, but I was still in the "testing" mode. This little project really turned out to be really cute and the kiddos LOVED it. I tried it once in college, but this is the first time with the "Easter Bunny."
I grew wheat grass in an Easter basket. It is really simple to do, you just need to think ahead. I got a large, cheap basket, lined it with a garbage bag, and put a layer of vermiculite in it (you can get vermiculite at normal gardening stores, but not in the garden section of Target or Wal-Mart). Be careful with the vermiculite, you don't want to inhale it, it is very light and easily becomes airborne. Many places say to use potting soil, but you run the risk of it getting a "fertilizer" stank(basically it smells like poo, do you really want your house to smell like poo Easter morning?) Moisten the vermiculite until it is wet but there is not standing water. Then put a layer of wheat or grass seed on the vermiculite. Trim back the plastic bag below the edge of the basket. Set the basket near a sunny window. I would spray the grass with a spray bottle daily, depending on how warm it is. I tried to put the basket in a room where the kids wouldn't see it, but they found it about two days before Easter. Anyway, I loved it so much because I didn't have to fuss with that horrible fake grass and this was so much better for the environment. We don't do much for Easter but we always get a little bit of candy to share. Sorry I didn't post it earlier, but at least this will give you a good idea on what to do for next year.

Canning: a new found passion!

I know that I am new to the game, but I absolutely love canning. I use to think it was old-fashioned and pointless--why can something when you can buy it? With our extremely large garden we have found ourselves not eating our tomatoes fast enough. So I made salsa, Yum!!! I would say that I made up a really fancy salsa, but really it is just the recipe in the Better Home and Garden Cookbook.  I love a good cookbook, especially one that makes me look good! Not only did I make salsa but I made some more crab apple jelly, as if I didn't already have enough.  So now I am looking to tackle something else, maybe I will can butternut squash soup. Who knows? Any pointers?

I’m very Self Reliant!

We got a GINORMAS crabapple crop this year. Last year the blossoms froze so we didn’t get any apples. But this year, look out! 

Lucy loved picking the apples!

We filled our five gallon bucket and only found three worms. 

I made six quarts of crab apple jelly.

 The picture doesn't do the color justice. It's a deep red but in the light it almost has an orange color to it, it's really pretty! I changed the recipe a bit, it’s more like spiced apple jelly.  The jelly tastes like Christmas- if Christmas has a flavor. The last time I made it I gave away most of it. Big mistake! So if you want to come over for homemade bread and jelly just give me a call.

Ingredients:

Fresh crabapples

Water

White Sugar

Cinnamon stick or Spice Sachet

1.    1.  Remove leaves and blossom ends from crabapples and rinse well. If you soak them in water the worms float right to the top. Place them in a large stainless steel or other non-reactive pot or saucepan. Add enough water to be able to see, but no so much that the crabapples are floating. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. The apples should soften and change color. I like to boil them in an old pillowcase, because it will save you time later.

2.    2.  Strain the apples and juice through 2 or 3 layers of cheese cloth. Do not press. Discard pulp.

3.   3.   Pour one cup of juice to every one cup of sugar back into the pan. Bring to a simmer, and watch carefully because it could boil over. It happened TWICE to me. Skim off any foam that comes to the top. Add cinnamon stick or sachet. Continue cooking at a low boil until the temperature reaches 220 to 222 degrees F (108 to 110 C). Remove from heat.

4.    4.  Pour the jelly into sterile small decorative jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process the jars in a hot water bath to seal.

For the Spice Sachet: I sewed a little pocket with some fabric scraps. I then put in about 1-2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, some ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and some pumpkin spice. (Basically whatever I could find in my spice cabinet.) I sewed up the pocket, making sure that the stitch was really tight. 

Harvest time, already?

We had quite a harvest today! This last month we would get a squash or two every so often and we would get tomatoes, if we could get them before the critters. But that was about the extent of our produce. We decided that we were tired of waiting for our carrots and what a surprise we found. We got about six carrots. I don’t know if it is the uranium mine that we live near or just our inexperience, but I have NEVER seen carrots quite like this. What do you think? We also harvested our first pumpkin, yippee! If you know of any good pumpkin recipes, let me know. I think I am going to try dinner in a pumpkin (anyone ever make that before?). I will try to post a picture of what I finally do with our mutant carrots. And just a side note, our peanut plant is doing surprisingly well. Does anyone know anything about peanut plants? We are just a little too new at this. Next year will be better but this gardening thing is still pretty fun!

Believe it or Not!!

So we were in our garden yesterday doing the never-ending job of weeding, and we found the strangest weed. A peanut plant!! Can you believe it, when James pulled it out we were in shock. We are thinking it was a forgotten peanut from a hoarding squirrel (we have some fat squirrels in this town). Well, we transplanted it into a good spot by the soaker hose and we will see what happens.

Anything is possible with a little water and time.

When we bought our house two years ago we also bought the empty lot next to it. We were beside ourselves on what to do with that much property. So we decided to do what every other person does when they are crazy enough to think they have some spare time, we put in a garden. So in February we bought our seeds and put shelves in our basement windows and started our garden. We have finally gotten all of our seedlings into the ground, but we did lose a few in the process. This was no easy feat and we are still not done. Now we are working on keeping the weeds at bay and we are giving it weekly fertilizer treatments. We have also connected a soaker hose to our sprinkler system so that it gets watered automatically every night. We did that about two days ago and since then the garden has really been happy. We even had the foresight to install at thick layer of green ground covering (weeds) to walk on between the rows. Really I am taking more credit than is due. Almost every night James weeds, transplants and gives tender loving care to our new addition. Thomas and Lucy play on the playground and I help about as much as a 5 year-old would (except I don’t get into trouble). I am so excited about this new adventure and I hope that all of you who live close can also reap the benefits. By the end of this we hope to harvest tomatoes, butternut squash, eggplant, green peppers, sunflowers, pumpkins, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, sugar snap peas, basil, cherry tomatoes, Indian corn, and crab apples. Also, I forgot to mention that James started about 15 grapevines last year. Only two survived, but those two are doing fabulous and we should see grapes next summer, yummy!