Garden Fuss

I love pickling and now my mom has caught the pickling bug too. Usually I stay away from consuming okra due to the slime factor when cooked. For my birthday the other day I gt a box from mom with some preserved items including, muscadine jelly and pickled okra. It takes a good cook to use okra in a way that doesn't have slime oozing down your throat. My mom can definitely fry up a good batch with crunch but she doesn't live close eough so I can enjoy them fried. Most people I know put it in gumbo or soup. If it's going into any kind of soup... I avoid it like the plague. This is my first time trying okra pickles and I will tell you now I am going to harvest the remaining pods in my garden and brine those bad babies before it is too late. 
I know it's strange to some for a person to grow a plant they would not eat themselves. I would say to you, have you never seen an okra blossom? It is one of the most beautiful flowers in the world. If I could collect a bloom and prese

Oh the soft **ping ting** of canning preserves is what I'm hearing this evening. After taking a trip to Trader Joes earlier in the week I found a fresh shipment of California figs. I know this is against my motto of buying local, but I just couldn't pass up this sweet succulent fruit. Nothing says christmas like a meal with figs. Though I've never had figgy pudding which I'm not sure contain actual figs... I do enjoy yogurt with a sweet and savory smelling fig, thyme, and lemon confiture. I can eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Last year I gave away and enjoyed lots of preserves. This year I'm already more than half way done with my canning, and looking forward to tucking into them when the white stuff (dare I say the "s" word outloud) actually hits the ground. Enjoy the pics and be sure to check back because I'll post my recipe for you. 

Later Peeps!!

The little man in the family has been asking me to make cinnamon rolls for months now. Due to his allergies we have not been able to buy commercial brand rolls. So again armed with the power of the internet I began a pastry excursion in a much needed warm kitchen. It turned out to be very blustery and wet today. Lord knows we needed the moisture but this cold stretch is irritating so soon in the year. With that said, it has been a perfect roll making day and here are the pictures of our results. I will add a recipe later, but had to show the lushness of these rolls. The smells of cinnamon and butter are still wafting through the house.

The makings of our Tomato Sauce started off with a large box of fresh Roma's we picked up from the St. Paul Farmers market . I think we have finally gotten a quick process down for removing the skins because we finished in under an hour. (minus the time for the water to actually boil) I have had a few people including my sister in-law ask how to make sauce so I thought I would outline a basic one here that can tweaked and toyed with until it tastes like you want it to.   So with that being said here is how I got organized to start making sauce. A large stock pot of boiling water A pot of ice water A clean bowl for the composting skins or to toss in trash later (I’m not judging) A paring knife to score tomatoes and then cut out their tasteless core A couple empty casserole pans or large bowls or pots to hold peeled and cored tomatoes Metal strainer or Something Similar to scoop tomatoes out of boiling water A food processor Last but most important to me,

A couple years ago we delved into the world of fermented foods. We started out by ordering cultures for greek yogurt and kefir grains for fizzy gingered water which was delicious btw. After a while since I as the one doing 99% of the work without essential equipment I threw in the towel and gave my kefir grains away. I still have yogurt cultures but need an actual yogurt machine not my crockpot which became too hot to create a good yogurt or cheese. Well not too long after this we had an opportunity to try kimchee from a local Asian Market "United Noodles". This fetted smelling concoction was too much for my nose but my daughter braved the stench to taste the cabbagey combination of veg. She quickly bought a jar and googled a recipe to try with cubed beef. A little leary I ventured to try a small bowl before I knew what was in it. Mmmmm I loved the turnips and thought what are these other yummy bits? when she told me it was Kimchi I couldn't believe it. I researched

 I have been looking forward to having squash and tomatoes from my garden ALL YEAR. Now that these tasty veggies have gotten their start it's already getting blustery out. I am praying for an Indian Summer so we can extend the summers bounty.