Garden Fuss

I've been planning on making preserves because that's what I do with fresh summer fruit. However, since the raspberries keep coming I had to find a fresh recipe that didn't involve steaming up our housein 95+ weather. This particular recipe is called The Raspberry Buckle. Here is what I did, and to have just as fabulous results here is what you do. Tina's Raspberry Buckle First gather the following: 1/2 cup butter flavored crisco 1 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 pint of rasberries  1/2 lemon juiced and zested Pre-heat oven 350 degrees, Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream together the sugar and Crisco, Add eggs one at a time then slowly by the spoonful add in the flour mixture. Once combined add the lemon juice and zest. Spread into a 9 inch pie pan or other decorative pan of your choice. Pile your (washed and dried) raspberries onto the batter and l

The picking continues and I must say I am pleased with the fruits of our labor. (pun intended) The amount of time and energy we put into the actual bushes was minimal this year. They were pretty much a set it and forget it item. Besides cutting back old canes and digging up new and excess plants this spring; we attempted a last minute trellis or tie up job after a couple bad storms whipped them hither and yon. After that the bees moved in.... Mostly the bumbles, and we received a crop that will be long remembered. Especially by my plumpy arms lol. 
As far as my plan for next years crop.(yes, I really am thinking that far ahead), I am going to try and remember to tie a string around this years canes so I can cut them earlier this winter. That way I only have to worry about moving and mulching in the new ones we want to keep for next year. I will space the plants out more next spring so our path to the ripe fruit is not so cluttered and clingy. And NOTE TO SELF... Rememberto use cocoa m

 How could I even think about sleep this evening when I just completed picking yet another gallon sized bag of rasberries? I petitioned the kids (my own and the neighbors) for assistance this evening as I have spent the last week picking bag fulls every couple of days. I tried to get the hub to assist but he was essentially a no show. He only sat across from the berries and asked "How long will you be out here?" and after a few minutes disappeared back into the comfort of a 74 degree home. In his defense he always helps me with my ventures, and it has been really hot...., and I was out in the garden at the crack of dawn 6:45 or so. But still, two sets of hands make quick work and I was feeling the heat and humidity too even at that hour. Never the less tonight we managed to fill a large cup for the neighbor kids to nosh, and a bag for me to freeze for my mom later this year. Just think last week I finished the last of the strawberries (I think... ), and now it's the rasb

We have been a very busy family in the garden this year. Even though we've scaled back the amount of veggies and flowers, there is still a lot that has to be done to maintain a healthy and tidy garden space. As you can see from the pictures we have again incorporated lots of straw for our paths and as mulch around some of our veggies. Also, since we've had so much success with cocoa mulch in the past around our leeks and rasberries we used them in the herb bed which you can see is the middle section that is a small rectangle of plants with the path around it. Yes, visually it adds contrast to the yellow straw but I was looking for weed suppression as well as no additional grass seeds that come with the use of straw no matter how "clean".  As I am the main weeder in the family I had to come up with a way to accomplish my goal of a clutter free space including little to no weeds. At first my gardening partners Eb was skeptical about what I wanted to accomplish. Though a

Smetimes bigger is not better. I am so gladthat we decided to have a small intimate dinner for four than the spread we put on for almost 30 on Saturday. The holidays can be so hectic and planning ahead a little keeps the chaos and fatigue to a minimum. Tonight we are feasting on deer bratts, devilled eggs, and a garlic parm mash. The side salad is not in the pic because I was too tired to make it. However, we do have fresh strawberries, peaches,and plums for dessert. Oh as a side note the sausage was locally sourced from my moms farm land in the south. It had been in the freezer for a while because I have an issue eating meat at times. Especially cute doe eyed meat..... With hat ad my tummy is rumbling and it's time to chow down.

So this morning the DH ("dear husband" for those not in the know) and I are on a mission to be kid free for at least an hour or two. We hadn't had breakfast or even a morning cup of coffee, but we did have the midtown farmers market in mind so we headed in that direction. Eating local has been a huge topic in our home, around the city, and on the news for some time now. I am inspired to buy as much locally as possible by purchasing from vendors at the various farmers markets, the co-ops around town, as well as our small neighborhood grocery store Oxendale's Market.  At any of these locations you can find information regarding their efforts to either buy, sale, or grow local products you want to buy. Having sold my own jellies and jams at a local farmers market in the past I learned the importance of buying close to home and how it can improve the quality and appeal of my own products as well as support a neighboring vendor in their farming efforts. Having a child

I must say I have been a busy bee today. Must be the promise of a touch of warm air tomorrow lifting my spirits. Or it's the borage tea **wink wink**. Either way I had to make something nummy from these delicious berries so the canning equipmen made an appearance and I went to town cleaning,making short work of the stems, and then cooking up some delicous preserves. There was only enough for 3 nine ounce jars but I am so glad for the chance to make such a sweet treat from our garden. J has returned from the gym and has already asked to open a hot steaming jar. Tomorrow can't come soon enough for him. I guess he'll have to settle for an icecream sandwich.... Poor little one, what a sacrifice. LOL

I just couldn't resist posting more berry pics. I'm so excited!!

The wait is over, I went to pick borage for tea and right under my nose were shining brightly red the most juicy little summer berries. We've done the vulture flight(actually it's a walk) around our patch for days now and only found a few stragglers. But today I hit the mother load. This is our first real harvest and I am feeling the part of an accomplished gardener. I couldn't wait for my lil man to come home to help nab the berries because the squirrels have been ever present today. They have taken up watch in the big oak and their twiggy mess is all over the newly manicured lawn. But I had a trick for them though, letting the dog accompany me while I picked and picked. I see a fresh jar of preserves setting up on our counter in the near furure... Tonight that is.

So today is June 23, 2011 and I am thinking about a nice tall MUG of hot tea or even cocoa. It is literally in the 50's here in Minnesota. I should be sitting in the garden enjoying 80 degree weather watching the bumblebees tumbling through the Rasberry bushes and flitting through the strawberry patch. Instead I am contemplating a hot beverage and looking for a warm pair of socks. While the water is boiling I had a thought; why don't I use some fresh herbs from the garden with a fresh crispness to it for my tea? With that question in my mind I decided I would head out to get some borage leaves. Armed with the power of Google I came across the most amazing recipes that I am so excited to try. Including battered and fried borage leaves, and an amazing looking Borage Jelly recipe I found at  http://www.herb.co.za/herbal/borage-recipes.htm This amazing beneficial companion plant has been growing in my garden the last 3 years and is so welcome an addition. Because of this amazing

Lemon-Scicle Trifle with Strawberry Nectarine filling.

First Fishing trip of the year and not 5 minutes in look at what I caught! It was pure luck really. I saw this big guy looking up at me from the dock so I just dangled my hook in front of him and walla instant photo-op. That was at least an hour and a half ago and there has been nothing but the sun biting me and my line ever since. We are on the hunt for something smaller (aka crappie) that I can fry up for the hub but nothing is really happening at this point. Not that any true Minnesotan could or would turn down a walleye if they hooked it. But at this point, that would truly be a miracle from God. So until that happens I'll just be content to tan the back of my arms while I read Gena Showalters "Heart of the Dragon". Happy planting if you can get something in the soggy soil. If not grab a line and some bait and join us!

For weeks I have debated on how I would plant this lone peanut plant. Believe me when I say it really was a task coming up with something because there have been casualties....... Well, until I drove by a local urban CSA whose name is escaping me just now I had no clue how to keep this plant safe. This CSA is using a form of straw bale gardening (which I would love to know more about) for their produce. As I drove by the light bulb just FLASHED! So one morning this week as I contemplated activities for myself and the little one to accomplish.(I guess that was Monday) I found some old chicken wire I was hoarding for such an occasion and popped the strings on our newest seating arrangement (the straw bale); opened up two bags of composted manure and went to town with this container?.... After ripping up and tossng the 5 poor looking bokchoy that freakishly went to seed with barely 4 leaves I began making a double loop or tube which I secured into he ground with no less than 4 garden stak

After investigating frothy masses that were showing up on the thyme and savory in our herb garden we found that we had red aphids and a bug I never remember seeing before called spittle bugs. Thanks to the genius of google (yes that was a shout out) I was able to not only find pictures but great descriptions and tips on dealing with these honery bugs. After spraying the plants with water last week as suggested I saw no improvement in the spittle population. So being proactivethis year is my resoluton so beneficials were the first thing to pop into mind. This meant a trip to our local nursery Mother Earth Gardens where they seem to always have what I need for the job (accept for nasturtium seeds today but they'll be more soon). With us and the rest of the country experiencing record heat or close to it I picked up some much needed straw bales to mulch in the now super sized strawberry plants and our garden walkway. Sitting on the counter was a bag of busy freshly hatched or molted l

Today included a busy morning of sowing some of the last seeds, corms, and seedlings into the garden beds. I am so excited about the addition of more perrenial herbs to the herb section in the middle of our large veggie bed. Sorrel and lemon grass are the latest additions as well as a red cilantro I picked up from the "Friends School Plant Sale". So far so good as far as the early peas go. They are about an inch to two inches tall now. If it doesn't get too hot too fast I see lots of nummy pods in our future. Some of the seeds sown today included georgia collards, parsnips, edmame soy beans, green beans, burgundy beans, purple hull peas, swiss chard (red), turnip, kholrabi, and golden beets. The plants we put in (Eb came home from work in time to provide a much needed assist) included two types of mystery tomato plants. Which could be old german and/or chocolate cherry.(one ofthe kids lost the tags when moving to greenhouse). This brings our current tomato plant count to

Not 1 minute into prairie grass planting

It's taken me a few days to get this recipe typed and ready to go. I sure hope you all have survived the wait and are ready for a taste of summer? Without further a do here is the recipe. Quantina's Mango Bread Pudding with Coconut (c) Ingredients: 1 loaf (4-5 cups) old cinnamon bread (no raisins) cubed 4 slices of day old white bread 2 cups milk 1 1/4 cup evaporated milk 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 - 14 oz can condensed milk 1/4 cup dried coconut flakes (unsweetened) 5 large eggs 1 cup sugar 2 ripe mango's diced Method: 1. Scald 2 cups milk & evaporated milk 2. Add one can condensed milk & vanilla 3.  Whisk 4 large eggs & 1 cup sugar until all sugar is dissolved  4. Slowly combine 1/4 cup of milk to the eggs continuing to stir as to temper them 5. Add egg mixture to the rest of milk (stirring so you don't get scrambled eggs) 6. Add Mango & Bread 7. Let mixture sit at least 1 hour in the refrigerator 8. Pour pudding into well buttered bakin

Speaking of the market again, I think I need to mention again the many cheeses to be had. To nosh on a fresh curd made this past Wednesday, a fresh garlic cheese that is buttery smooth *my favorite btw*. A peppery jalapeno, and sharp sharp cheddar. That's all I had time to try today but I look forward to the smoked cheddar and ghouda which I hope to have with a piping hot smoked sausage from the sausage shop down the way. Follow the links to some of the closest markets in our area, and be sure to stop by and support locally farmed, raised, and produced products. Minneapolis Farmers Market   Midtown Farmers Market Kingfield Farmers Market Mill City Farmers Market St. Paul Farmers Market Who knows maybe we'll run into each other and fuss and discuss this whole food revolution.  :o)

Is it cold? Why yes indeed its as cool as an icebox cucumber. However, the Minneapolis famers market is still in full affect. I have just tried fresh ramps for the first time and I am so glad I didn't miss their short season I am totally a believer, Hooked like a spring crappie I am!! Tonight there will be stirfry with ramps and a curried cauliflower soup with a nice multigrain bread with an herbed cheese. All items found at the mrket for less than $20. Eb was even kind enough to buy two tomatoe plants to replace the ones we lost early in the seed starting process. They are strong healthy pineapple, and virginia sweet varieties. Oh, less I forget we also have shitake mushrooms.... Nom nom nom!
So get out there and enjoy your local market you never know what you'll find.

The garden beds are filling in with beautiful blossoms daily (tulip and daffodil that started today). I was so happy to look out the window for the mail lady to see awesome creamy tulips and abundant crocus blooms. *sigh* I just had to share pics of the fruits of last falls labor. This is the good life!

Two years ago in May J. ran into the house screaming about some strange "bug thing" that fell on him out of the tree. It was jumping around and looked very menacing and dangerous. On the outside it looked like a twig or piece of bark that just scraped off of the large oaks we have in the yard. Upon further exploration we found that it had the most beautiful purple belly that didn't quite belong on the same menacing creature with what look like pincers on both ends. To the left you will find a picture of a caterpillar in the same family as the one we found. I'll try to find the pictures we took of our back yard guest for you all, but you get the idea from this one shared from bugguide.net . What we did was submit pictures and a description of our caterpillar to bugguide.net and whatsthatbug.com . After almost two years we have gotten answers to a question that plagued us. We didn't know if the caterpillar was a new species and invasive or poisonous so any news was

Pollo picata with Elotes, refried beans, guac, and a berry smoothy...... Enough said now let's eat!

As we get closer to our last frost date somewhere around and hopefully after May 21st, I thought I would get a jump on some annual herbs and summer squash by winter sowing. Don't think it's too late to start your plants using this method. Save some pain in your back and legs and your wallet by letting Mother Nature do the work for you. I am always amazed to see the plants emerge in their white, clear, and even green plastic bottles and clam shells. I thought for sure I was going to lose the tomatoes and peppers with such a cold spring, but they are up and starting to take off. In a couple weeks we should be enjoying some warmer weather and I will be venting and thinning back seedlings so check back for more pictures of our winter sowing adventures.

This has been a long time coming but I am finally putting the pictures of our winter sowing project up for you all. All the brassicas are up of course, and the lettuce looks great. I plan on starting some more vegetables this week, getting the squash, cilantro, peas, and beans going. The wind helped rip off the covers to some of the peppers and marigold so those are a loss. It didn't help that my helper *ahem ahem* forgot to put holes in the bottom and the drowned before they had chance to freeze to death. Oh well, maybe better luck next time.

In honor of Earth Day I am adding pics of these beautiful perennials. Not all of the edible, but they include rhubarb, crocus, tulips, and daffodil. Only the crocus have flowered but the foliage looks spot on. I even remmbered to fertilize this spring so I'm looking forward to fabulous show stopping blooms. I've waited two years for flowers from my peonies that were gifts from my mothe inlaw. I'll post pics of those later. The last two year have been all about the foliage so hopefully this year there will be more to come.

Sundays in spring are all about brunch in our house. No one wants to get up "early" to do aything other than relax and enjoy each other around a plate of bacon, dutch baby pancakes, fresh fruit or fruit juice, and a good magazine or book. Today we are indulging in a grilled chicken and asparagus frittata with spinache and chopped baby carrots. This dish has so many elements we could be lounging all day instead of getting out and enjoying the sunshine. Oh well, there are just some sacrafices we have to make. Happy Sunday!!!