tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70635876764337688512024-03-13T00:38:58.942-04:00The Articulate Vermiculate: Trials by TrowelMother, wife, gardener, DIY-er, turning surviving into thrivingcarrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00097772504540363918noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-17499906349285800162014-01-27T22:42:00.001-05:002014-01-27T22:47:48.883-05:00Where are we now? Where are we now? Well, we're in the same house we were in when I started this blog. However, we are three children, three dogs, two cats, one hamster (that ran away), and a good bit of chaos deep into this house. Our adventures in gardening continue to be just that: adventures. However, they feel like they've been a little less successful as time and children have accumulated--likely because I have less time to devote to seedlings that are not my own two legged variety. <br />
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Our children are growing and blossoming in their own ways. Ardis, our oldest and fiercest, is a couple months shy of turning five. Five as in five years old. Blows my mind a little, especially since she seems to have had a growth spurt during the past few months and seems to be getting much to tall for a five year old. She is beginning to read, which means that spelling out loud is out of the question, and is doing math in her head. Hawkins, our tractor loving outdoorsman, turned two last month and continues to emulate my dad at times. While two years old doesn't warp my mind nearly as much as five years, listening to him talk (making connections between the things in his world) and watching him play makes two feel like a complete game changer. Jack, our newest, twenty-seven days old addition, is still a mystery. He made his entry twenty-four days before his due date, leaving Jesse and myself completely bewildered and a mite lost. Hell- we didn't have a bed put together for him. <br />
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Our yarden is still there- less productive than it has been in years past. Even less now that it is winter. In an effort to regain some sense of normalcy (and to escape the black hole that is my home), the children and I stole a few moments on MLK Jr. Day to visit the dreary, mildly neglected backyard. We'd returned from a trip to Rome (Georgia not Italy) visiting my mother's sister and a dear college friend of mine from my one year at Berry. While the monster and her minion explored the desolation that even a mild winter can condemn our tiny yard to, I cleared the leaves and debris from the raised bed. We planted, spinach, kale, carrots, and radishes.<br />
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I suspect that there will be a few more entries in the near future. I'll warn you, though, my thoughts are leaning less towards flora and more towards my fauna....(maybe I shouldn't refer to my children as animals???)<br />
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carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00097772504540363918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-39126333900152702332013-07-28T15:31:00.004-04:002013-07-28T15:35:50.323-04:00Back in the Saddle<br />
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year, full of highs and lows with precious little time for jotting anything
down. Between my 19-month-old son’s erratic sleeping patterns and keeping up
with our BEYOND chaotic schedule, I’m just happy to be standing and mildly
coherent some days. Despite the many responsibilities I have taken on, I feel
pretty certain it’s long since time for me to climb back in the saddle and get
this blog going again. It might be a bit of a bumpy ride as I settle back into
the rhythm of writing for a blog. It doesn’t help that I’m not entirely certain
which trail this particular entry will follow. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: JasmineUPC;">We’ve completely
demolished the front garden beds. OOPS. In reality, they were just old and in
need of replacement more than repair. So, we built a large 4X8 bed in the back
yard for radishes, carrots, beets, etc and a small 2x8 bed in the front for
tomatoes. The radishes and carrots were a bit of a flop. The beans, on the
other hand, have flourished. We’ve enjoyed a few meals with them. I was late
planting squash and zucchini. The plants have grown and grown with plenty of
flowers, but we have yet to find any fruit. Soon, I hope. We accidently overplanted
our cucumbers. After the first batch didn’t sprout we planted another round,
which was followed immediately by a couple weeks of rain. After the deluge, we
found that all the seeds had sprouted. We’ve gotten a few sweet cucumbers already
but have no idea what kind they are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: JasmineUPC;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The summer has been pretty wonderful-nice
and cool with plenty of rain. I’ve been grateful for the lack of heat. Heat and
morning sickness don’t really mix. That’s right. Jesse and I will be officially
outnumbered in January. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yay!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00097772504540363918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-89745013563446570112012-07-23T11:35:00.002-04:002013-07-28T15:35:24.372-04:00I like Big Bowls, and I cannot lie...<div>
I'll excuse us both from have to deal with the usual diatribe about how long it's been since I've posted and how sorry I am for not doing so. We both know that I have two children, a crazy household, and no Internet connection at home. I'd much prefer to be typing an entry than silently composing it in my head while trying to beat insomnia into submission each night. <br />
The yarden, this year, is well...there. There are tomatoes, but nothing too fabulous going on with them. They exist. They are slowly growing, blooming, and producing. However, we have yet to be able to pick a ripe tomato. Ardis chose a package of beautiful "green" beans- one that contained seeds for purple, white, and green beans. Those were superb producers- and have been completely consumed. I planted TONS of "surprise" winter squash, which, thankfully, have been thriving despite neglect. They are "surprise" squash because it was a mixed pack, and we won't know what varieties are growing until they produce. Hopefully, there will be lots of butternut and spaghetti squash.The one thing that seems to be doing well are the cucumbers. Yes, I know--finally, cucumbers in our garden. The first two were a wonderful surprise and delicious. At least, I was told they were delicious. Ardis ate one for breakfast and saved the other for her Nanny. <br />
So, now, you might be wondering what I have been doing with my time if I haven't been making the garden grow. Well, aren't you? Besides trying to keep a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old alive and entertained, I've been making bread. Lots of bread. I've been making my usual sourdough bread from the starter that my mom gave me a couple of years ago. Since the starter grows a little each time to make bread- I now have 6 different starters in the fridge. A couple of those starters will be going to new homes soon. Additionally, I've been trying out an artisan style bread recipe that involves baking in a cast iron dutch oven. I'll share the recipe soon. I've enjoyed this particular style of bread because it is simple and very versatile. I can add whatever herbs, spices, nuts, or cheeses I want. It also allows me to use my massive McCoy bowls that I got from my Aunt Pat. I feel a great sense of satisfaction when I get see the large cream bowls (with pink and turquoise stripes) sitting on the counter with a batch of bread rising inside. It is almost as good as the satisfaction of hearing Ardis's nagging "Is the bread ready yet?" or the way that Giddy will snatch a chunk of sourdough out of my hand. <br />
With an luck, it won't be so long until the next <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">post.</span></div>
carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-8134243971711064722012-04-28T11:34:00.002-04:002012-04-28T16:53:46.394-04:00Tornado, anyone?<div>We've been working in the yard on a regular basis- getting things planted and weeded and moving and grooving. Well, at least, planted and weeded. Our tomato seedlings are almost tall enough for transplanting into the yard. I've been waiting for our other seedlings to come through so that we can pull back the protective fencing that keeps the canines from digging up our future meals. Cucumbers are in the ground ("Cross country" and "Marketmore") as well as bush beans (a variety pack that includes purple, green, and white beans). My daughter insisted we go ahead plant corn- so we've already got a row of "Ruby Queen" and with "Mammoth" sunflowers along the back of one of the beds. Our Brussels sprouts continue to grow. CANNOT wait until those are big enough to pick and eat. At the moment, they are the size of large peas. We've spied a few pears on the trees and have planted more blueberry bushes. Jesse has been edging one of the beds with three years worth of glass recycling that has been sitting in the garage. As soon as that's finished, pictures will be posted. Adventures in making different types of detergent for laundry and dishes (recipes to follow soon). OH! AND we've been enjoying our three-year-old, four-month-old, and full time jobs. <br />
so, how are you?carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-29824323425405595702012-03-17T18:17:00.000-04:002012-03-18T21:17:55.432-04:00Recipe #7: Blackbeard's Black Bean Chili<div><p>For Ardis's 3rd birthday, we decided we were finally ready to party. She chose a pirate theme (which I will admit, I loved!). I had far too much fun finding ideas for food and decorations and games. Unfortunately, the games were rained out. Thankfully, the food and decor seemed to be a hit. We made up the following recipe for black bean chili (a vegetarian alternative at the party). It makes a rather large amount- which can either be halved easily or frozen...or shared for that matter.<br></p>
<p>Blackbeard's Black Bean Chili</p>
<p>2 bags dried black beans (picked through for rocks and other misc. debris)<br>
2 bell peppers (diced)<br>
1 bag of frozen corn<br>
2 cans of diced potatoes (because I was running out of time)<br>
2 cans of diced tomatoes (because I'd forgotten to defrost frozen ones- I would've preferred them pureed as well)<br>
homemade vegetable stock (I don't know for sure how much I used...likely it was around 60 ounces)</p>
<p>4 tablespoons of chili powder<br>
2 tablespoons cumin<br>
2 tablespoons paprika<br>
1 tablespoon <u>basil</u><br>
2-3 cloves of garlic
</p>
1) Put beans in a large pot and cover with water - enough water to be 3-4 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit covered for an hour. Drain, rinse, return to pot.
2) Add stock. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3) Add corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, and spices. Bring to a slow boil. Cook until beans are tender (likely another 20 minutes or so).
4) enjoy!
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItJDcfM7rg5MjgVdOV-Q0eIfcl5L9eijgRMkCZmJ10hMp_AQkup4NLvrKirWsQ8YfhGWVgMWrG8DvJHWEzTPAC0wVKhYG2exK9IsJ1B7yfCtBtVWWESykhUkXhNkvTTZa3DcrBIJ8pPc/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAF1KAqRwD7WBgpC05I1r-E0GV82YnKe8G4pwNpb8GJAdO1IA3MfCZi19l2fLf7OB_F3SgR5un5p4MDT6KWjtOecmgP0kWCDJaCEzK8AF06vWuWPgBUbd3W5sS5gUKs-YyMOCtF1-Hl_o/' /></div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-66579847442573421862012-02-07T16:29:00.000-05:002012-02-07T16:29:49.960-05:00She LIVES!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, December and January have come and gone without follow through on my part. I still haven’t written the article about homemade detergents (I continue to experiment with different recipes that I come across, so I still have hope that I’ll be able to write a nice comprehensive article in the future). Our yarden still looks a mess- with weeds and old pepper plants. It is in need of a good trimming all around – from roses to butterfly bush to grass to side yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have yet to rake the leaves that fell in the Fall (oops) and get them into the front bed to solarize. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The carrots and beets that were planted in the Fall are slowly flourishing. The collard greens are looking beautiful despite being completely left to their own devices. The broccoli and Brussels sprouts have thankfully chosen to do the same. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had hoped that I would have had my tomato seeds started the last week in December. Instead, I had a baby—an 8lbs 11 oz baby boy named Gideon to be exact. His sister has been thrilled with his addition to the family. His arrival has been a harbinger for change in our lives. Ardis has moved up from the Toddler classroom at school to the Primary classroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband and I are learning to live without sleep. I returned to work a couple of weeks ago. Our house is slowly moving through the chaos of adding another person and seems to be emerging on the other side of that particular tunnel no worse for the wear. So far my biggest challenge seems to be getting back into the routine of balancing home and work- especially now that the home end is well over 8 lbs heavier. Blogging has actually been hindered more by a lack of internet access than by our newest addition (I’ve had a hard time picking out an ISP since our last source via my husband’s cell phone had been free).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We’ve begun to delve into our hard work over the course of the past few weeks. Soups, chilies, and sauces have all been enriched by our homegrown produce. I definitely feel a huge chunk of satisfaction when I end up with two pots of chicken taco soup on the stove filled with homemade stock and homegrown tomatoes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So at the moment my gardening to do list goes as follows (and, hopefully, yours looks very similar, though, you may have things checked off):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1) start tomato and pepper<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>seeds in peat pots. I am hoping to grow “Romas,” “San Marzano,” “Boxcar Willie,” “Early Girl,” “Abe Lincoln,” and “Queen of Hearts” tomatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still have seeds from all (except for the “Queen of Hearts,” which I will likely search for at the local Seed and Feed store).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a selection of miscellaneous pepper seeds for starting as well. These peat pots will live in my mudroom until the last frost has done its due diligence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2) clear the garden beds of weeds and excess. Fill the two front beds with whatever can be composted. Close in with plastic to solarize the bed and speed up the composting process some.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3) plant yet another round of carrots in hope of getting a few more growing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4) select plants seeds for the rest of the garden. Start pumpkins, watermelons, and cucumbers in peat pots in a week or so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">5) make<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a plan for improving the herb garden as well as the back yard.</span></div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-80161616247894053542011-12-23T12:23:00.000-05:002011-12-23T12:23:49.832-05:00Why,oh, why won't the carrots grow?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s been a while since I’ve updated, especially in regards to our gardening endeavors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When last I reported, we’d planted rather large sections in the yarden with carrots and beets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, I missed posting for the entire month of November.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did get out during November and plant some broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and collard green seedlings in one of the side beds. Between work and attempting to prepare our household for the addition of a baby brother, the yarden is in a mild state of disarray. We still have yet to pull up all the pepper plants. Pepper plants that are now more than a little withered from frost and lack of care- hung with shriveled pepper lanterns and scraggly leaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both the rose and the butterfly bushes are in desperate need of trimming. The side yard along the drive needs to be mowed so that we can rediscover the blueberries, lavender, and prep areas for the transplanting of the gigantic lilies that currently reside next to the gate. There are copious amounts of leaves everywhere. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not even going to mention the backyard at this point. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Needless to say, Mother Nature continues with or without us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The seedlings have flourished. The beets are sprouting up all over the place. We have rather busy little pea plants both in the beds as well as in the old grill I converted into a planter. Even the little lettuces I planted in vain along the front edge of the carrots/beet bed have been successful. Yet, the carrots have not sprouted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that the carrots we planted in the spring took FOREVER to sprout. I know that instead of the weather warming, it is cooling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that we planted two whole packets of seeds. I know all of these things and am still frustrated. I’d like for some of the seeds to actually produce. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been told by many of the local farmer’s that carrots grown in cooler weather are sweeter, but I can only assume they are sweeter if you can actually get them to GROW. While I am on Winter break and, eventually, on maternity leave, I am hoping that they will sprout along with my gardening willpower.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking Ahead:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What to do with all those leaves- Solarizing the raised beds.</span></div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-53268568348289804762011-12-05T13:44:00.001-05:002011-12-05T14:07:12.653-05:00What happened to November?Wow! I missed a whole month's worth of posting. November was, needless to say, one big technological failure. The month started with my husband's phone dying- and taking our free wireless hot spot with it. It was followed in short order by the microwave, electric kettle, and toaster (all hand-me-downs). My phone decided to do a hard reset on the first of December, which resulted in it dumping many of the apps I had information stored in--most importantly (and mournfully), my pregnancy calendar that I'd been using to document all of my milestones during this pregnancy. So now that we are "roughing" it without a toaster or microwave, and all of the pictures on my phone have been successfully moved to a disc, we are moving on into December. I am blatantly ignoring the fact that Ardis's CD player died over the weekend and that she now is using my ancient one that is indicating it's desire to move along as well. <br />
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Miraculously, even without posts, the blog has had almost daily visits from friends far and wide. We are well over 1500 page views. So in my own personal determination to keep the visits going, I'm going to give a brief look at what's ahead in hopes of keeping myself accountable. As we look into the next few weeks, I am hoping to update about our fall planting we did during October (it will be entitled, "Why, oh, why won't the carrots grow?"), a fun update about our adventures in making our own laundry detergent (which will include recipes, links, and reviews), and, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, a post welcoming the newest member into our family.carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-35202465922698323242011-10-29T19:23:00.000-04:002011-10-30T16:00:42.528-04:00Lessons Learned (and a *little* bit of soapbox standing)On occasion, I find myself having light bulb moments, one right after the other. Those days are mildly exhausting. Today, those "aha!" moments have revolved around my child and Halloween. Some moments dealt directly with her, while the remaining moments were more closely tied with the individuals we came into contact with today. Sometimes, the "aha!" moments were more of a moment when life came into crystal clear focus, and I couldn't figure out why others didn't seem to see the same things that I was seeing. I'm going to start with the outside and work my way in.<br />
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1) If you are taking your child trick-or-treating, and your child is obviously less than 6 months old, please note that the rest of us are not fooled. You are really getting candy for yourself and are a little pathetic. I totally get the desire to dress your kid up in the sickeningly cute insect costume (bumblebees and ladybugs seem to be the favorites- I'd love to see a praying mantis), but why are you pushing in front of age appropriate trick-or-treaters to get "your child's fair share"? Really? <br />
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2) It really shouldn't be shocking that my child's trick-or-treat bag is small. She's small. Her candy is not for me, unless she chooses to share it. So many people were surprised that she wasn't carrying around the ten gallon buckets that everyone else was. Well, there really wasn't a reason for her to have one that big. I could not even wrap my head around the idea of letting her attempt to eat that much junk food. <br />
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3) When the time comes to teach Ardis to sew on her child-sized sewing machine, we are totally starting with felt! While making the vest portion of her costume frustrated me, sewing the felt itself was super easy and way too much fun. I have tons of ideas for things to make and do now. The biggest hiccup was getting my brain to invert things in that weird way you have to in order to have the seams in the right places. I blame it all on pregnancy and exhaustion. ha.<br />
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4) The biggest lesson of the day is simply understanding that Ardis's wants are not always as complicated as I make them. It wasn't until we got the vest and wings on her that I realized- she was BEYOND excited to be an owl. It didn't matter that a few seams were sewn crooked (or at a slight diagonal). It didn't matter that she didn't have a mask. It didn't matter that her costume was homemade. It did matter that I'd taken the time to listen to her and try to give her what she wanted--and what she wanted was owl wings. Her imagination was more than capable of making up for anything I felt my skills lacked. I'm sure that some of this will change over time as she becomes more inundated by society- and its "expectations". Those expectations are where I kept getting trapped and frustrated and feeling disheartened. I do hope that if I continue to recognize the strings and restrictions that those expectations have placed on me that I will be able to continue to follow her lead and think outside of the proverbial box.<br />
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The Owlet</div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-36315093534266133042011-10-28T19:32:00.000-04:002011-10-29T13:58:20.696-04:00It's Friday, I'm in Love!I probably shouldn't steal so blatantly with my title, but I did. For those of you that don't know, the title of this post is song by The Cure. It was simply the first phrase that came to mind. I had intended on spending the last hour or so writing an entry while Ham & Cheese (my child and husband, respectively) went to the grocery store for milk and pizza. Instead, I spent that time goofing off/tweaking the design template of the blog, tooling around on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, and trying to remember all of the things I need to do tonight. First, and foremost, after dinner and this blog, I'll be working on a set of owl wings for Ardis's Halloween costume. I thought that she was going to be a cowgirl or a pirate girl, until I heard her inform others that she was going to be an owl. Say hoo? (hahaha- that was just for my husband) We bought the material earlier this week, and I feel pretty confident about my idea and plan of attack. Additionally, we have a pumpkin that we will either need to carve or puree tonight. My dream of an at home movie night with my husband after Ardis goes to bed, may simply be that: a dream. We'll see. <br />
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Last weekend, we finally pulled up the rest of the tomatoes from the garden. I, now, have a window full of green tomatoes that will either be left to ripen (and, then, be frozen) or to become the last fried green tomatoes of the season. I planted a 4 foot section of the first bed with carrots (two varieties: Scarlet Nantes and Chantenay Red). The carrots we planted several weeks ago produced 2 sprouts that are now about 6 inches tall. I hope this second planting proves a little more successful. The rest of the bed I filled with rows and rows of beet seeds (Greentop Branching). Both the carrots and the beets were planted in larger portions of the beds in an effort to get to have more than one meal from them. I planted one long row of lettuce along the front of the bed in vain hopes that the frost will continue to be light enough that we will actually be able to harvest some before winter. We have some broccoli and brussel sprout plants that are waiting to be transplanted into the second bed along with collard green seedlings. I have yet to find a moment to go to Burson's for turnip green seeds. Tomorrow, I will make it out into the yarden to plant my remaining pea. <br />
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My thoughts have already begun to turn to what tomatoes to start in January (Queen of Hearts, Early Girl, and Boxcar Willie are at the top of the list) as well as what to plant and where. My brain is ready to go from functional to something "a little more aesthetically pleasing while maintaining functionality/productivity." My poor husband is now being harassed as I throw random ideas at him about what I'd like to change next year. One of the bigger speed bumps will be how we deal with having a toddler, an infant, and a garden. I can only hope that our garden can continue to evolve as our family does.carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-48485419074828254102011-10-26T22:39:00.002-04:002011-10-28T17:56:14.057-04:00Lesson Number 4: Roasting Pumpkin SeedsAfter a good bit of experimentation, Jesse and I decided we like the following instructions for roasting/toasting pumpkins the best. Be forewarned, it is super basic- no fancy flavors, no special herb blends, no oil. We like this recipe because we like the taste of pumpkin seeds. Know that you can roast ANY winter squash seeds with the following instructions. I hope you are able to enjoy this recipe in the coming weeks. Our recipe begins with a fresh pumpkin- ready for carving....like any good pumpkin recipe should. :)<br />
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Ours ended up looking like it was screaming, thanks to the artistic direction of our 2 year old.</div>
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We scooped all of the "guts" out of the pumpkin as thoroughly as possible</div>
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Next, you pull the seeds from the pulp. You won't be able to remove all of the pulp this way- but the more you get now the easier the next few steps will be.</div>
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Rinse the seeds well.</div>
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Toss the seeds with salt and pepper while still wet. DO NOT PAT THEM DRY. We lightly salted with sea salt and just a few shakes of pepper.</div>
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Here's where technology failed us- we'd already had to switch from one camera to another at this point- and then the second device quit taking pictures. So there are no photos for the rest of this lesson.<br />
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Spread your still wet, salted and peppered seeds on a baking sheet. Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes making sure to shake them every 5 minutes*. If you forget to shake them, break out your handy dandy spatula to help get them moving. At the end of 30 minutes, you will have perfect pumpkin seeds everytime! The first 15 minutes helps to dry them out, while the second 15 minutes toasted them beautifully.<br />
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Please let me know how this works for you and your family!<br />
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*note: We did not fully preheat the oven either (just so you know).carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-84768152525848264872011-10-17T22:42:00.001-04:002011-10-17T22:50:59.488-04:00Lookey, lookey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The pictures! Let's start with the grill full of flowers!<br />
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A close up of the flowers in the grill. Hopefully, there will be some time for the peas to sprout!</div>
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Ardis's GIGANTIC purple mum</div>
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Jesse's carving of our pumpkin! Ardis was artistic director-though the staples were my suggestion.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBw-vx91ObkqOQnGiUb2BkyojBj_q7sqo1Y50STP-XP4VZWHDs0p7WHkJA8DhwksnWpYgG25bj7CZIwjYTPC1rDTsiP7_OE_dj9Gp6pXtNR0A7Q76yBMac0iQcjDtUDQA3GEnEy-n1DE/s1600/october+2011+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBw-vx91ObkqOQnGiUb2BkyojBj_q7sqo1Y50STP-XP4VZWHDs0p7WHkJA8DhwksnWpYgG25bj7CZIwjYTPC1rDTsiP7_OE_dj9Gp6pXtNR0A7Q76yBMac0iQcjDtUDQA3GEnEy-n1DE/s320/october+2011+070.JPG" width="243" /></a></div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-16019881398643098882011-10-16T22:00:00.000-04:002011-10-16T22:00:22.605-04:00It's been a day, to say the least.Today has been a day. Busy, a little crazy, plenty of things going wrong (mainly technology related), etc. We went to our local chain hardware store with my mom this morning. After procuring a few necessities, we headed to the garden department for a few nonessentials. Ardis enjoyed a romp through the 10' x 15' miniature pumpkin farm that the store had set up-including picking out a few pumpkins for painting and trying out others as handy stools (cute photos to be posted later- when technology cooperates). We ended up with three lovely pie pumpkins and one large pumpkin for carving. Of course, the fact that it is October necessitates the purchase of pansies and mums. I would have loved to have also purchased snapdragons and Icelandic poppies because they can be planted now and will be beautiful in the Spring--but no such luck was to be had. I found bright orange pansies and a container of miniature pansies/violas a variety of colors (white, a purple-blue that I love, white, and yellow). While looking for mums for the large blue pot that sits outside of our yarden gate, Ardis found a GIGANTIC, beautiful purple mum that she wanted to get. A little price comparison revealed that the gigantic flower was actually the better deal- and the Monster was a bit giddy that her choice was the one going home with us.<br />
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The flowers, it turns out, were the best thing for my afternoon. I'd set aside this afternoon for fun crafty stuff and had to acknowledge early on that fun just wasn't going to happen. However, flowers can't just sit around forever, right? Ardis and I worked to empty the large, blue pot of the portulaca that was growing in it- careful to move the moss rose to another pot since it was still flourishing. With Jesse's help, we planted the mum and nestled several of my orange pansies in around the base. (a picture will be posted later- again, when technology cooperates)<br />
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Ardis and I were trying to decide where to plant our remaining pansies when inspiration struck in the form of an old grill. The grill came with our house- as did many of our possessions. We moved into a house of a friend that was returning to Australia. Thus, we inherited an almost fully furnished house, two dogs (one a 14-year-old kelpie, who was a dream dog, and a 3 or 4-year-old chihuahua-bulldog-? hybrid, who is needy), a very full front yard garden (with about 33 tomato plants to be exact), and a non-functioning grill. The grill has been sitting in the same place near the back fence for the past 3 years because I could never quite make Jesse push it to the curb to be taken away by city sanitation (or one of our neighbors, depending on who got to it first). I filled the grill with dirt after wedging the lid open with the rack from inside it. Ardis and I planted several pansies as well as few sugar snap pea seeds (just on the off chance that Mother Nature will cooperate and continue with the beautiful weather we've been having). The result was pretty nice if I do say so myself (even Jesse was impressed). (Again, a picture will be posted later, when technology allows)<br />
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We carved the large pumpkin. It turned out pretty cute. I'll post a recipe blog soon with one of the easiest recipes I've found for toasting fresh pumpkin seeds. It really just depends on when technology is going to cooperate, and who really knows when that will be, hmm?carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-40649596183042037392011-10-07T20:28:00.001-04:002011-10-07T20:28:38.759-04:00Cucumbers in OctoberWe've been slowly changing the yarden over for fall crops. We planted carrots and beets a few weeks ago. They are slowly beginning to sprout. Many of the tomatoes are not only still producing but are producing beautiful, plump tomatoes. At the moment, my kitchen window is filled to the brim with tomatoes in various stages of ripeness, ranging from a lovely lime green to a deep red. The zinnias continue to flourish--no longer individual plants, now a single large bush covered with blooms and buds. Each time I think they are reaching the end of their season, I cut a few of the last blooms and *ta-da* new buds develop, new blooms open. We only ended up with one edible watermelon. The others suffered from bottom rot or insects. The cantaloupe seemed to have suffered a similar fate, though a couple of them simply disappeared over the course of the summer (ninja squirrels, perhaps?)<br />
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We finally got an opportunity to harvest the sunflowers. Ardis enjoyed getting to pull the seeds from the blooms. <br />
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We ended up with 2 cups worth of seeds from 3 sunflower heads.</div>
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We let the 2 cups of seeds soak in a brine of 1/4 cup salt in 2 quarts of water over night.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgQhdL0bq5CCQU3PG3YRv9j4tSBV4xM11OxlnuUhibmqoK0VUUIyZlxX-s-9QswJ_rG6vdGKWdwqLWbGcFD2EQpVGqYEY-MhANRFZ0Fxb6-sslHeyyRVyovy81D7yTV_Y6BdOJ-KfXN4/s1600/1317472785300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgQhdL0bq5CCQU3PG3YRv9j4tSBV4xM11OxlnuUhibmqoK0VUUIyZlxX-s-9QswJ_rG6vdGKWdwqLWbGcFD2EQpVGqYEY-MhANRFZ0Fxb6-sslHeyyRVyovy81D7yTV_Y6BdOJ-KfXN4/s320/1317472785300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We drained the seeds, patted them dry, and, then, roasted them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.</div>
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The sunflower seeds turned out well- though we did have to keep an eye out for roasted buggies.</div>
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This afternoon, while perusing the garden and walking to the mailbox, I noticed that the cucumber seeds we'd planted midsummer had actually produced one fairly healthy vine. When this vine grew, I do not know. After a good look over, I discovered one cucumber the size and shape of a golfball and a half dozen, inch long cucumbers hidden behind leaves. It was quite the discovery, considering how determined I was to have cucumbers this summer to no avail. However, I seem to be lucky enough to get to have cucumbers this fall. </div>
carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-53012141433788926742011-09-22T22:42:00.001-04:002011-09-24T15:26:18.823-04:00The end of summerTomorrow will mark the official beginning to my favorite season: Autumn. I look forward to the new adventures that a change in weather and pace will bring us. However, the end of summer hearkens the end of other traditions. This upcoming Saturday will be the last Cotton Mills Farmer's market of the season. I've enjoyed getting to create a family tradition out of visiting the market on Saturday mornings. We haven't gotten to go every Saturday this summer (often because the desire to sleep has complete overpowered the desire to eat healthy). However, the days that we've made it have been, well, wonderful. Ardis enjoys the freedom of the farmer's market- looking at the produce, asking questions, seeing friends from school, etc. I've learned to enjoy watching her explore. While at the beginning of the summer, Jesse and I did most of the shopping, we're ending the summer with Ardis doing most of the shopping. As we've tromped through the market, I simply make sure that we save money for each stall while she has been telling me what we "need." Last weekend, we needed apples, itty-bitty potatoes, strange purple beans, and shittake mushrooms "for dadoo." The result is rather incredible: she'll eat most anything she purchases there. Jesse sauteed the mushrooms in butter and olive oil. She ate at least 1/4 of the pint we purchased. We baked the itty-bitty potatoes with butter. She ate them with sour cream. The purple beans? She ate those, too- sauteed with a little bit of olive oil and tossed with orzo pasta. The apples? Tiny, toddler size apples? We keep finding her sitting on the couch, chowing down. <br />
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Saturday will be her last official shopping spree of the market's season. We'll continue to shop at the CSA and other places the local farmers might set up their stalls. I'm sure she'll continue to point out to me in the weeks to come where the farmer's market is, as she has done for most of the summer. She knows the location no matter which direction we approach it from, or how fast we go by. I wonder what we'll have for dinner Saturday night?carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-74048938769357179882011-09-10T22:47:00.001-04:002011-10-28T17:56:39.179-04:00Recipe #6: Ms. Shelia's Chicken Taco SoupI got the original recipe from a cook that worked at the school. However, it is much changed in the version below. When we first made it, we were learning our preferences for soups and chilis. I found this an easy recipe to adjust flavor wise. I am going to post the recipe for the cheaters version, then list my liner notes for my "super homemade version."<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
1 box of chicken broth<br />
1 can each: light kidney beans, dark kidney beans, pinto beans<br />
1 large can chicken <br />
1 29 oz can tomato sauce<br />
1 can of corn optional<br />
<br />
1 tbls onion flakes<br />
1 tsp garlic powder<br />
2 tbls chili powder<br />
1 tbls basil<br />
1 tsp cumin<br />
1 tsp pepper<br />
1 tsp paprika<br />
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Drain and rinse beans. Drain chicken and corn. Put in pot with broth and tomato sauce. Add spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Serves 8-ish. Depends on how much they eat.<br />
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Now for the super homemade version has several steps that you can take or leave depending on your commitment level for the evening- as well as how stocked your freezer is. <br />
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*I usually start the beans from scratch- as in from dry beans. (I will often use a variety of kidney beans, pintos, black beans, and/or navy. Most cook in the exact same way- and I never soak them overnight, opting instead for the "fast cook" method. Instructions are listed on the bags.) After the first soaking, when the "real" cooking begins I will add the chicken stock with some water. At this moment, I might choose to add 2 quarts of stock instead of one depending on how overboard I went with the beans. The beans will also affect the cooking time- because the soup isn't ready until the beans are tender<br />
*I use a rotisserie chicken instead of canned (baked chicken breast works just as well- even left over baked chicken). I also save it until the beans are almost tender so that it doesn't get over worked in the soup.<br />
*I use homemade chicken stock from the freezer (usually a quart- and made from the carcass of the rotisserie chicken)<br />
*I use tomatoes that we have frozen from the summer time (again, a quart-thawed and well pureed, because I do not do chunks.) Fresh tomatoes from the grocery store will work as well- and might even benefit from being roasted in the oven first.<br />
*I have to double or triple the seasoning to taste. I find a real onion to be a bit overpowering in this soup, so I tend to stick with flakes- I will substitute minced garlic cloves for the powder. If I have basil frozen in the freezer, I will use it instead of dry. <br />
*Depending on what we have on hand and how full the pot is, I might add a bag of frozen corn, fresh bell peppers, etc. The recipe is not static and can be adjusted with ease. Think about what you like.<br />
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Making it this way results in dinner for us, a quart for Jesse's family, 3 or 4 quarts to freeze, several lunches for Jesse, and, possibly, left overs another night. It freezes beautifully and reheats well on the stove. The next time I make this, I am going to roast the garlic as well as a real onion in the oven and puree them with the tomatoes to see how that affects the flavor of the soup. <br />
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I hope this recipe finds its way into your repertoire for the cool weather of Autumn.<br />
<br />carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-18578913943811869552011-09-05T22:14:00.000-04:002011-09-05T22:14:03.294-04:00Lesson Number 3: PhenologyWhen I worked at the Plant Place in Carrollton during my first two years at UWG (then SUWG), I learned quite a bit about plants throughout the season. I learned early on to encourage people to purchase their seeds for spring and fall because the seed racks would be returned in August for a credit for the unsold seeds. I learned which fertilizers to encourage depending on people's willingness to do work (organic was not as big a trend as it is now). I also learned to leave certain "weed patches" on the property alone, especially Mr. Trawick's pet kudzu. While the boys that worked at the store maintained the property and I worked mainly with the customers, it was made clear to me early on to NEVER touch the patch of kudzu that grew on the corner of the chainlink fence in the back. Mr. Trawick was the only person allowed to prune the plant. Why you ask??? As Mr. Trawick put it, the kudzu was his insurance policy: "When that vine leafs out, I order all my annuals because there won't be anymore frost." Mr. Trawick was practicing phenology. <br />
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Phenology is the study of timing of recurring biological phenomena and their relationship to the weather. Sound complicated? Basically, phenology is how farmers farmed before almanacs were published or affordable. They watched nature for signs. I've found these clues to be helpful. The only downfall is if you either don't know what some of the signal plants are or where to find them. Our plot of land in the city is much to small to plant all of the signal plants, but we've been able to find several of the signal plants around town. Phenology is a fairly easily googled term. I've yet to find a good book with any kind of an extensive list in it.<br />
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Below you'll find several of the tips I've collected (and, hopefully transcribed accurately) from various websites so far:<br />
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Plant peas When forsythia & daffodils bloom, When maple trees flower<br />
Plant potatoes When 1st dandelion blooms/When shadbush flowers<br />
Plant beets/onions/spinach When daffodils are in bloom<br />
Plant carrots/broccoli/cauliflower/leaf veggies When lilac is in first leaf<br />
Plant beans/cukes/squash When lilac is in full bloom/Petals drop from apple trees<br />
Plant tomatoes When lily-of-the-valley are in full bloom/when peonies flower<br />
Transplant eggplant/melons/peppers When irises bloom<br />
Plant corn When apple blossoms start to fall<br />
Plant kidney beans When elm leaves are the size of a penny<br />
Seed fall cabbage/broccoli When catalpas and mock oranges (english dogwoods) are in bloom<br />
Plant cool season flowers (like pansies, snapdragons) When aspen and chokecherry trees leaf out<br />
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Additionally, phenology can help you to determine how bad a particular pest might be one season or when they will show up at all. For instance, root maggots will be fewer when dogwood petals drop. Aphids appear soon after black locust blooms. Japanese beetles will arrive when morning glory vines start to climb. Squash vine borer eggs are laid when chicory flowers- moths will lay their eggs for about a two week period during this time. When gnats swarm. rain and warmer weather are on the way. Wasps building nests in exposed places indicate a dry season. When hornets build nest near the ground, a harsh winter is on the way.<br />
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I would post links- but there are dozens out there. You'll just have to search to find one that suits you!carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-12005858516405225642011-09-04T13:18:00.001-04:002011-09-14T21:19:05.233-04:00The itsy-bitsy spider<div>
Found this spider's nest out at my mom's today. We'd already antagonized him enough by this point he wouldn't come out for a photo op.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79yFfR2Q0BaVkKzBtGTaw8hIce4NYTC6fuxS-M8A6q9RuRJgTGCEnEiEki-IsCmCixNwYOtml2qlcN1uTHZUXf-6REQzYjx1jV6Q5ih1UtTCCYamZtI4eJFYReQ05ZGo6lEZuyoM_koo/" /></div>
carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-21701841602789808872011-08-28T21:22:00.001-04:002011-08-28T23:11:00.341-04:00Process not Product<div><p>Gardening with a toddler is exercise in both stamina and patience for most adults. For me, it is simply a time to follow her lead and exercise my mantra for gardening with her: "Process not Product." Meaning the process is more important for her (and me) than the product of what we are doing. It is more important for her to learn that I trust and value her help than for the yarden to be perfect. This morning, the weather was lovely--full of Autumn breezes (likely a result of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene), golden sunshine, and a quiet neighborhood. We began weeding the first bed of dying tomato plants, bug-eaten edamame, random tufts of grass, etc. I gave her a quick lesson on how to pull up a weed, relying on toddler instincts to kick in. She seemed to enjoy the activity. Her satisfaction was more important than pointing out the weeds she'd only halfway pulled up. She was determined to plant carrots-glorious carrots- before we did anything else. After planting several rows of carrots, she would walk by and lovingly spread out the dirt with her hands. Likely, we no longer have rows, but the carrots will still grow. I asked her if she'd like to sprinkle some of the fertilizer on the carrots (no worries, it was organic). She, of course, said yes. One particular patch is going to grow way better than the rest. As the morning heated up, her interest in continuing to help waned until it was time to water. She enjoyed getting to water all of the seeds we'd planted as well as the plants that we still have growing in the garden. However, our lovely rows of beets now have a large crater in the center from where she watered them. Like I said, process not product. Over time as we model the "correct" way to do things, she will self-correct, and, for now, we just enjoy her flare and enthusiasm. She was very excited after helping Dadoo take a wagon full to the compost bin. I enjoyed getting to spend sometime in the yarden planning and clearing and planting and watering. Jesse, I assume, just enjoyed the help outside.</p>
<p>Additional update: The cantaloupe were overrun by bugs and had to be composted. Several of the watermelons developed bottom rot. We still have a couple of small ones on the vine. The zinnias are giving it one last hurrah before their turn in the wagon. The tomato plants, in general, are doing well. A few have "bit the dust," but the rest are putting on new growth and blooming again- hopefully, a bit of pruning will help. We planted two varieties of carrots ( "Nantes" and "Chantenay Red Cored") and beets ("Detroit Red"). I haven't started broccoli, greens, or sugar peas yet- but will get them in the ground soon. Our fence and side yard were covered with morning glories- a lovely lavender colored variety. However, they'd gotten quite out of hand. We had to uncover our blueberry bushes, lavender plants, and the pear tree. We've reached that point in the year where many things are going to seed and can now be mowed over. This means that in a week, we'll have something that looks a lot more like a yard than a jungle or, maybe, not. Sometimes, even for us adults- it is about process not product.</p>
</div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-63604280120473370382011-08-21T11:02:00.002-04:002011-08-21T14:04:02.058-04:00Pears, please- A couple of recipes and lessons all rolled into oneWow! School is back in full swing, though this past week has been half day, and it has left me little time for posting during the week. You'll have to bear with me as I get my routine adjusted. At the very least, my husband and I got it together enough this weekend to tag team sourdough bread making. I've realized that I'd yet to give an update about my adventures in pear preserve making, so while the bread bakes....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKfJIAJrHxN4F0qDxDDHXGAtRTsO6qMfhBCbf6s3hL7kUq_DXC2dxTKW4qtRCTw3rHIMJ571511P2iNR3lIp_ZM6jxoSwQAUDB5tPa9D8LYVSyMluXt0ceaV99zLOFCsalnps9vvB7mo/s1600/IMG_20110804_202321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKfJIAJrHxN4F0qDxDDHXGAtRTsO6qMfhBCbf6s3hL7kUq_DXC2dxTKW4qtRCTw3rHIMJ571511P2iNR3lIp_ZM6jxoSwQAUDB5tPa9D8LYVSyMluXt0ceaV99zLOFCsalnps9vvB7mo/s320/IMG_20110804_202321.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We picked all of the pears off of the tree at the beginning of August. We'd read that they could be picked before they were fully ripe and would sit well for a week or so. Some of the pears on the tree had a lovely flavor while still being firm.. Ardis enjoyed getting to cut up one for herself and eat it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUj0I2BUkowBO3JOM_umalTY9iHTlX0LBvt7h9e1wYYEj1CxVNTjGbr0gC9kg_Opwf2afXX7kx7U4BMYP4ZOL7zWy9eFF6G8EUk5_LyuwJSi4DBpXfLpGAID4_5l4W4-L7FcUj4rxjHA/s1600/IMG_20110804_192553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUj0I2BUkowBO3JOM_umalTY9iHTlX0LBvt7h9e1wYYEj1CxVNTjGbr0gC9kg_Opwf2afXX7kx7U4BMYP4ZOL7zWy9eFF6G8EUk5_LyuwJSi4DBpXfLpGAID4_5l4W4-L7FcUj4rxjHA/s320/IMG_20110804_192553.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">When we finally had an afternoon available to devote to the pears (due to deer eating the figs at a my mom's house), we began by peeling the pears, and chopping them finely. While looking up recipes is my <em>Ball Blue Book</em> (a name I do not recommend saying in a hurry), I realized that my grandmother (and, now me, because I follow her instructions) did not make "preserves" instead she made "jam." Curious about how Ball suggested to treat the pears, we choose to split the almost 16 cups of chopped goodness into two batches: one for the Ball Blue Book instructions and one for the "Louise" treatment. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Now for those of you that don't know about making apple jelly and pear jelly, you don't actually use the fruit. You can cheat and buy juice at the store, or you can use the peel! I have never actually made pear jelly but felt pretty confident that I knew the basics. I put the peels on the stove with 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water. I do not know how many cups of peels were used. While that simmered on the stove on low, we continued with the other recipes. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">After reading on the Ball Blue Book as well as the recipes on the jar of pectin, we put a very full 7 cups of pears on the stove with 3 tablespoons of powdered pectin, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and brought it to a boil (which sounds easy, but took quite a while). After it boiled, I followed the rest of the instructions on the jar of pectin- which included adding the sugar ( 2 1/2 cups) and returning the pears to "a boil that cannot be stirred down." At this point, we were able to ladle the very hot jam into the very hot, sterilized jars. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Grandmother Louise's recipe calls for equal portions fruit and sugar with lots of slow cooking. I am never brave enough to actually do the full amount of sugar-especially, when working with 7 cups of fruit. Instead, I covered the 7 cups of finely chopped pears with 3 cups of sugar and drizzled a 1/2 cup of lemon juice over the top. These pears were put in the fridge to allow them to macerate overnight.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Returning to the peels, we realized that we were getting a beautiful syrup that was thickening, but not gelling. A little research let me know that the peels would likely have required the use of pectin- which should have been added BEFORE the sugar since I was using the powdered version. oops. However, we strained the peels out and continued to cook the jelly until it was thick enough to form jelly droplets along the edge of a spoon. We ladled it into hot jars as well (straining it again through a tiny little sieve that I'm fairly certain was not meant for such a purpose). After two weeks, the jelly is still syrup and can officially be reprocessed to add the missing pectin. I'm excited because it is the most beautiful shade of golden yellow.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">After a day of macerating, Grandmother Louise's preserves were cooked on low until boiling. Once they began to boil, we waited until the fruit and syrup would "mound" on a spoon (i.e. when you scoop a spoonful up, you had a pile of fruit and syrup instead of escapee fruit fleeing for the pot again). Again, we ladled the sweet goodness into hot jars. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">All of the jelly and preserves were processed in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes because the jars were only half pints. We ended up with a total of 8 jars of jam and 5 jars of soon to be jelly. Grandmother Louise's are slightly runny while the Ball recipe with pectin resulted in a "hard set." The taste is almost identical. Both are excellent on homemade sourdough bread.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-14303933026545761492011-08-14T09:20:00.001-04:002011-08-21T14:25:24.833-04:00A Certain Slant of LightI finally had to break down and ask my husband if he thought that Autumn was whispering to us? I've been having moments for a couple of weeks now when the air hinted about the changing leaves and pumpkins- when a certain slant of light made the world seem a little crisper, a little less heat muddled. I couldn't tell if it was really happening or if it was just my brain trying to fool me with false hope. Autumn will always be my favorite season as it is filled with memories of long, early morning walks in the woods, pumpkin pie, and craft festivals. I look forward to cooler days and crisper nights. I also look forward to the goodies that the change in season brings. New foods to make, activities to look forward to, and for me, a feeling of renewal similar to one everyone else seems to feel in the Spring, especially as my every growing body looks for relief from the heat. Of course, the moment I step outside, all delusions of Autumn are blasted aside by the heat of Summer. Thankfully, Jesse has been hearing the whispers, too, so I am not alone in my frustration and disappointment.<br />
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We'll be starting broccoli from seed soon- our second attempt at growing "green flowers," after giving it a go this spring. Another round of carrots, beets, sugar snap peas, radishes will be sown directly into the beds outside as well as a first round of turnip or mustard greens. As satisfying as I find sowing, growing, and harvesting- I also enjoy cleaning the garden out! Pulling out the plants that are fading and filling up the compost bin means that each season starts with a blank slate for planting. Gardening provides the gardener with very distinct lines of transition and a clear sense of moving forward even when the rest of the world might not.<br />
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Autumn will begin the time that we get to delve into our stored harvest. Counting the jars, dividing them between those that we will keep and those to share with friends during the holidays. We always run out of salsa before the new year. We usually still have a jar or two of green tomato relish left when we begin canning again the following summer. Chili making will begin soon. Bread baking will be easier because the house won't be so stinking hot. <br />
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The ending of summer heralds the end of summer vacation and a return to the work cycle of school. Ardis will be relieved. She's missed school since the first week of vacation. However, it means that I will find myself returning to the balancing act of work and play. I have a hard time including play- perpetually falling off the tight rope to the safety net of work. Hopefully, I will be able to find the right balance and be able to enjoy the last full season my family will enjoy together before we welcome our new addition with the next season: a new baby boy and Winter-an excellent combination. carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-75693872838554641262011-08-05T21:21:00.004-04:002011-08-13T09:45:04.987-04:00Recipe #5: Grandma Louise's Green Tomato RelishI am going to be transcribing this recipe directly from the much worn,highly loved, and lightly yellowed recipe card that is covered with my, now, 96-year-old grandma's very recognizable scrawl. I will provide a few notes at the end to pass-on the extra tidbits she has shared with my mother (and, later, with me) over the years about making this particular recipe.<br />
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Green Tomato Relish<br />
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2 quarts chopped tomatoes<br />
2 cups chopped sweet pepper<br />
2 cups chopped onion<br />
1/4 to 1/2 cup hot pepper (optional)<br />
2 cups sugar<br />
2 cups vinegar<br />
little salt<br />
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Cook until thickens. Seal in jars. You may use ripe tomatoes if you like.<br />
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So that is her recipe. Pretty basic. Pretty wonderful. Pretty much just like her. <br />
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So here are the liner notes:<br />
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*Remember that no matter what, you just need to have 3 quarts to 3 quarts plus 1/2 cup of vegetables to 2 cups of vinegar and 2 cups of sugar- if you use 2 1/2 cups of onion and 1 1/2 cups of pepper, no problem. Don't have enough green tomatoes? Throw in a few ripe. Accidently cut up 2 1/2 quarts of tomatoes? Just lower the amount of onion and peppers. You will end up with beautiful relish no matter what. Different colored tomatoes and peppers just add to the appeal. Just remember to keep the ratio of veggies to vinegar to sugar. The recipe is even easily halved if need be. <br />
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*Kind of vinegar doesn't matter- you can use apple cider, regular, white wine, etc. Remember that your vinegar needs to have 5% acidity<br />
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*She never talked about "processing" the relish. However, I do. After studying multiple relish recipes, comparing ingredients, looking at quanities produce, etc. I decided to process mine in a hot water bath 10 mins for half-pints and 15 mins for pints. You'll likely not want to can this in quart jars. You do need to make sure use hot sterilized jars and follow all traditional canning basics.<br />
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I may add more notes as my mom reminds me of other Grandma Louise-isms.carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-68486532280238586912011-08-04T08:56:00.001-04:002011-08-04T19:43:13.626-04:00The Dangers of Fig Picking, and other SpoonerismsMy husband likes figs, and, well, I don't. Big surprise, huh? However, I do like fig preserves. My mom has a rather large, very over-grown fig tree ("Brown Turkey") that my dad planted at their house a long time ago that produces abundantly every year. We didn't start picking from it until a couple of years ago because no one in the family liked figs. My first summer in this house we brought two massive bowlfuls home and proceeded to make-up a recipe. Last year, we did pick the figs but passed what produce Jesse didn't make himself sick eating on to his family. This year we've done a little of both. <br />
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Fig-picking is a bit dangerous-at least at this particular tree. I've never picked figs anywhere else so I don't know if the dangers are universal or not. First, and foremost, are the bugs. Mosquitoes love me. They love me more with fig sap on my hands. Yellow jackets and bees patrol the tree constantly looking for the next "ripe-to-bursting" fig. Ants scout all along the branches eating up every bit of fig left by the other fiends. I've learned quickly to look figs over well to avoid grabbing a hand full of pest. Second, and no less bothersome, are the briars. No matter how carefully you look and examine each branch, each step into the ivy covered ground, each movement, it is somehow impossible to miss the brairs completely. Despite the massive glossy green leaves and huge thorns that shout "warning, warning." The thorns that always result in the use of profanity and panicked phrases like "briar in the arm, briar in the arm" or (my husband's favorite) "briar in the crotch, briar in the crotch." Third is the sap itself. Like some sort of pioneer glue, you find yourself having to pry your fingers apart after a couple of particularly ripe figs. The sap glues your hands to the branches, other figs, briars, and, even, clothing. <br />
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Fig picking at this particular tree is definitely a two person job. The entire thing is so over-grown that picking from the higher branches usually involves one person pulling a branch lower so that the others person can pick it clean. For the figs that are super-high in the tree, Jesse will usually climb into the rather unsteady tree to glean the fruit from those out of reach branches. What he doesn't eat, he'll lob to me. Good thing I'm an excellent catch (every pun intended, by the way). The sight of him in the tree always brings to mind images of surfing because while the branches are strong enough to hold his weight, they are rather pliable and shift easily as he moves about and reaches for the little purple treasures.<br />
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Figs do not keep well for long. When you pick them, you have a day or so to use them. I have discovered that if you reach the "day or so" limit, the floating test seems to help you figure out which figs can still be used. Simply dump the figs into a sinkful of water. Those that float seem to still be good while those that sink should be composted. To make the preserves, I cut all the figs in half and put them in a pot on low heat with sugar,water, and lemon juice. After looking at an actual recipe, I use the 1/2 cup sugar to 1 cup of sliced fig ratio. The recipe called for a 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 3/4 cup water for 2 quarts of figs, and while I am sure the math is doable, I just added a healthy splash of lemon juice and a rather full 1/4 cup of water. Three hours later (still on super low heat), I had a pot full of beautiful plum colored liquid, which I realized later could have been turned into jelly. However, I used my handy-dandy immersion blender to puree the figs completely. 6 half pints and a water bath later, we have beautiful jars of fig preserves that now beckon for toast, bagels, jamcakes, and baked brie topping. Hopefully, with a little planning, we might even end up with some homemade fig newtons!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZo3Ren3czBaG6vqqyIeK0RJQiI1dov9lslq0mitQCXZ_c-6E_oVncl4j2FdnUNaEwR_t-KxYrQG6coG2bhOmashgwC4Uh4MLJ53xCNdZSyTaDGuHh2b8myJK9wRAZ8JFo_pHKzyJTfk/s1600/IMG_20110804_083135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZo3Ren3czBaG6vqqyIeK0RJQiI1dov9lslq0mitQCXZ_c-6E_oVncl4j2FdnUNaEwR_t-KxYrQG6coG2bhOmashgwC4Uh4MLJ53xCNdZSyTaDGuHh2b8myJK9wRAZ8JFo_pHKzyJTfk/s320/IMG_20110804_083135.jpg" t$="true" width="239" /></a></div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-71007954734559925282011-07-30T22:38:00.000-04:002011-10-28T17:59:20.533-04:00Flowers, Flowers EverywhereI spent many summers in my mother's flower gardens as a child. My brothers were often stuck with the unfortunate task of working in my father's rather large, very hot vegetable garden: weeding, helping him wrestle with the tiller, planting, building supports, moving "rubbish," putting down straw (on the few occasions he got any), etc. The flower gardens were not quite as labor intensive, I think. I know that we'd move from one section to another to stay in the shade as the sun patrolled the sky. I remember digging holes in some very unwilling spaces, busting my rear more than once as a tenacious clump of grass suddenly, devilishly gave way to my tugging. I remember how gratifying (and a little disgusting) a bath was after a morning in the yard-discovering that most of my tan was actually dirt and washing away all of my "granny beads." I also remember learning the names of all the flowers in the yard out of necessity. I don't think I really cared, at first. I simply learned the names out of sheer frustration and confusion. After a while, learning the names became more of a personal challenge. How many could I remember without help? Could I remember both a common name as well as scientific for a particular plant?<br />
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As time wore on, I learned to enjoy, and even relish, trips to the local garden centers or home improvement stores. I'd always scout ahead, doing reconnaissance, hoping to find something cool that we'd not tried. I still find myself stepping into that mode as I walk through the steamy, jungle of Home Depot's garden section. I have to do my first quick walk through to see what there is to be seen, and then we can meander through picking out our favorites. I can't help the little flutter of joy that I have when I find something a little different for my mom's house. I'm certain those summers were why I choose to work on the grounds crew at Berry College and why my first REAL job was at one of those local garden centers.<br />
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So why the tirade down memory lane? Zinnias. One of my favorite flowers to plant from seed. Super simple, easy to grow zinnias. They are not my favorite flower, but I can't look at them without thinking of summer and my mom. We planted them every year because they made wonderful cut flowers. We planted them every year because they were annuals. We'd go through phases on what kinds to plant. For a while, we planted the large pom-pom variety, then the striped ones, later the simple zinnias (after attending a class at the botanical gardens explaining that butterflies couldn't land on the pom-pom variety). I always purchase the mixed package so that I can be surprised by what chooses to grow. <br />
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One summer, when I was ten or eleven riding empty country roads with my mom, one particular road tended to be a little better cut by the county mowers than the others-better cut except for the one scraggly weed at the edge of the road. As the summer progressed and the weed grew taller, my mother became more intrigued-pointing it out with each passing trip. When finally the bloom revealed a zinnia, she literally pulled the car to a stop at the edge of road, asked me to open my door, and pull up the dern thing, which I did. It was a bit thrilling for me. We took the zinnia home, and planted it in the garden where it lived a long, bloomful life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif15rHSur-nFKxBeU01R60ShzsYpO-veUYqEUhVDhAalz1jvUfrqALmV1s77vfxDWZqPvfVqY7p_nC3_OCcQ5Ku2-TYceQS9Jm07dol53d9ZUeJ1VYLcH6eXYhqZLyDKoOp0ECWoX-Wtc/s1600/IMG_20110707_185619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif15rHSur-nFKxBeU01R60ShzsYpO-veUYqEUhVDhAalz1jvUfrqALmV1s77vfxDWZqPvfVqY7p_nC3_OCcQ5Ku2-TYceQS9Jm07dol53d9ZUeJ1VYLcH6eXYhqZLyDKoOp0ECWoX-Wtc/s320/IMG_20110707_185619.jpg" t$="true" width="239" /></a></div>carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063587676433768851.post-62086063327222311832011-07-28T09:31:00.000-04:002011-07-28T09:31:46.455-04:00Recipe #4: Tiffany's Bowl and Spoon CookiesThe following recipe is from one of my favorite people and is my long-distance partner in canning. While I don't know if the recipe is "her's" or from a book, I have it written into my recipe book as "Tiffany's Bowl and Spoon Cookies" because I will never be able to separate their existance from memories of her. I like them because they are a basic 5 ingredient cookie- great for when you need something a little sweet, but don't want a big mess. Below you will find the recipe, almost exactly as she sent it to me, followed by my own personal notes and observations. Enjoy!<br />
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These chocolate cookies may be the easiest and perhaps most fudge-y, therefore delicious, cookies you will ever make. There are no eggs, no added sugar, no stand mixer necessary.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk<br />
4 T unsalted butter<br />
1 12-oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips*<br />
1 c flour<br />
1 t vanilla<br />
pecan halves<br />
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In a large glass measuring cup, combine milk, butter, and chips. Microwave for 2 minutes or until melted. Add flour and vanilla, stir until combined. The mixture will resemble fudge. Drop by heaping spoonful on a parchment lined baking sheet. Remember, they are bowl and spoon cookies. Press a pecan half onto each mound of dough. Bake for 3 minutes in a 350 degree oven, turn baking sheet and bake for an additional 4 minutes. Cool and serve. These can be stored for up to four days.<br />
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*After doing a little experimenting of my own- you can use any variation of morsels so long as you have 2 cups worth. You may need to add a little extra flour every once in a while to thicken the mixture if you use a variation of morsels. Pecans can be mixed into the batter as well as being put on top. Don't be afraid of using other toppers (larger chocolate morsels work well). I dislike using parchment paper. A greased cookie sheet works just as well.carrie paulinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929448266691272979noreply@blogger.com0