Garden

[Smoke]

Ok so I know Pam has celery growing in her kitchen but what do we have in the garden? This might be fun! I know Pam still has SNOW in her garden but...

Ok I put in snap peas about 1 1/2 weeks ago and they are just peeking through. I have kale that came up from last year coming pretty nicely..need to put out some more seed to fill in the gaps.
Parsley from last year is also coming up. I just "lazy man" planted about 150 garlic cloves...had a bunch left from last year that are sprouting so I just scattered them around and tossed some dirt over them...I sure don't have anything to lose. lol

So what are you planting?

[Pam]

I'm planting SNOW Peas hahaha I'm so funny

Kale, onions, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, dill, peppers, broccol....there's more just don't remember.

Might be growing it all indoors though.

This year, I hope summer is on a Saturday

[Smoke]

Put in 2 more rows of sugar peas...I love those things..lots of times they don't even make it into the kitchen..lol

Garlic is coming along that I put in last fall. Ruhbarb is looking good..I do need to split that this year, find a better spot for some. I also have 3 bluberry bushes that I got about 3 years ago that are still in buckets...I just didn't find a good spot to plant them...they get big and need room...something that on 100 x 120' I don't have alot of.

[fish]

high bush blueberry ?

if so, plant the two a little too close together. when they come in full you can cull one. in the meantime you can harvest the two.

we have a high bush blueberry that gives enough to freeze for a year.

we lost our rhubarb a few years ago. don't know why. have to put another in.

too early to plant anything outside here, though.

[Smoke]

To be honest I don't remember what they even were..I have wild ones along the back of the property that do very well. Ususally able to pick off of those for about a month or better.

[Smoke]

Stuck in a few more onions...so odd because I really don't like them...ate more in the last couple years than I did all my life...hated them as a kid..If I even thought something had them in it I wouldn't eat it.

Picked up some strawberry plants..need to find a spot for those....chipmunks are going to have a field day with them. Got a bed ready for some more snap peas...LOL I wanna make sure I got a bunch this year...lol

[Smoke]

Stuck in a few more onions...so odd because I really don't like them...ate more in the last couple years than I did all my life...hated them as a kid..If I even thought something had them in it I wouldn't eat it.

Picked up some strawberry plants..need to find a spot for those....chipmunks are going to have a field day with them. Got a bed ready for some more snap peas...LOL I wanna make sure I got a bunch this year...lol

[fish]

don't like onions ?

good grief, woman, onions are one of God's greatest gifts to humankind.

just gotta cook em up right.

for example...

next time you make a tomato sauce, try this. you'll need to take your time.

double or triple the number of yellow onions you usually use in your red sauce. dice them fine, the usual cut in half through the root, vertical parallel cuts to but not through the root, and then the horizontal cuts giving the nice dice. then saute your diced onions very slowly in olive oil. when translucent add minced garlic. slow enough heat to use the timer to stir every 5 minutes until they brown. scrape the bottom of the pan every time you turn them. go slow. it usually takes me at least an hour. i do other stuff until i hear the timer.

you should be doubtful about the giant heap of diced onions in your wok. don't worry, they'll cook down.

equal measures of dry sweet basil, oregano, black pepper, and salt. the amounts mean less than the ratio. start with small amounts. i use about 1 Tbsp for 4 cans of tomatoes w tomato paste and water.

when the onions and garlic are golden brown, TURN OFF THE HEAT, add the spices, and after 1 minute, add your 2 or 3 cans of crushed tomatoes and one can of petite diced tomatoes. add water to get the consistency you like. i use tomato paste as well.

stir well.

get it off the heat !!!

canned tomatoes are cooked before they are canned. you are going to heat the sauce before you use it.

the secret is the slow cook of the onions. they become wonderfully subtly sweet.

once a month i make this in pretty big batches because it freezes very well.

good foundation sauce. good for pizza or pasta as is. saute green pepper and mushrooms for a cacciatore.

people have asked me for years for the secret to my sauce.

it's the onions, and not recooking the tomatoes.

[Smoke]

I'm good at cooking them...just not crazy about them. If they are lost in something I love the flavor...it's the slimy texture..like with peppers & onion...YUK! Burn em am I'm fine.

Funny though...I can't get enough of garlic.

[Pam]

Fish that sounds almost exactly how I make mt sauce. I cook mine for a few hours though, this isn't necessary to get the flavors of the spices throughout the sauce?

This weekend I'm making Some homemade spaghetti sauce with some fresh tomatoes that I froze from last year. I've never made spaghetti sauce or fresh tomatoes so I'm curious to see how it turns out if you have any advice would love to hear it.

Love love love garlic now it's have to cut back on that because The kids tell me I smell like a garlic clove It's so good for you I hate not to eat it I really don't want to smell like garlic I guess either.

Still waiting for my seeds to come but hopefully we'll be able to get the garden ready and expanded this weekend.

So hard to believe that a week ago yesterday I had to miss my nutrition class because we were in the middle of a blizzard and now we're in shorts and T-shirts sunny on the deck Trying to get my daily dose of vitamin D.

[Smoke]

So I got home today and my neighbor brought over some plants he picked up for me
Red Cabbage
Green cabbage
broccoli
brusselsprouts
and something else (alz kicking in here lol)

Got some work to do tomorrow!

and Pam..there is nothing worng with "Ode to Gar~leek!"
Give Tanner a clothespin.

[Smoke]

Finally got all the above planted.

Mom fell this morning so I had to come home from work to help Dad...this is starting to suck! Not that I have to help him but that we have to be dealing with this terrible disease to begin withj!

She'sk though, didn't get hurt except for a scrape on the elbow...to tell ya the truth I don't even think she knows she fell.

So I took care of her this morning..beautiful day out so I figured I'd take my motorcycle up to get inspected..did that, had some time before going out to Mom again so I planted some basil, fennel, dug some weeds and looked around for some rain gutter I can hang off the fence to plant some carrots in.

Productive day considering I only went to work for about 4 hours! lol

[Smoke]

Got the rain gutter up on the shed...planted stubby carrots...lol we'll see how they do.

Planted some heirloom tomato seeds and yes more snap peas!

Finally got a never go flat tire for my wheelbarrow...a must for anyone! Put that on too.

[fish]

i'm just too darn lazy to fix the tube in one tire of the garden cart.

foolish, since i have to pump it up every couple of days.

great tools, those vermont garden carts.


NC and I drive two hours to visit her mom. Last time NC gave her a haircut and perm. when we got home and called to check in, her mom said that she had looked in the mirror and wondered where her curls had come from.

she starts to loop her thoughts almost immediately.

they can keep us alive, but they can't fix us.

[Smoke]

yup