The summer is coming to an end

Wow, I haven't been on here since spring. Can't believe how time goes by so quickly.

A lot has happened in the gardening department.

The gutter garden that DH built last fall has worked out splendidly.  I would recommend to anyone who has limited space to check into making one to grow salad greens.  I can not get over how much we harvested and replanted twice already this season.

 

 

I wish the pictures were a bit better, so you could really see how well the lettuces grew in the gutters.

In this next picture, you get just a small glimpse of how well the beans did growing up the netting on the other side of the gutter garden.  We are still harvesting beans from the original planting.  Sylvester has eaten most of the right off the vine/bush.  But I have managed to put away quite a few quart bags into the freezer.

 

 

Along the house, in the shade, you can see the tomato plants that I grew from the seeds our son gave us from the plant he was given last year from a friend who grows a heritage tomato, for which we have no name.  Pictures to follow of how and what the tomatoes look like.  They are super meaty.

 

Here is an early season picture of the hugel bed we made in the fall.  The five different kinds of blueberry bushes have been planted.  All the rest of the plants have been grown by me from seed.  The marigolds grew huge, too big really and I've cut them back a few times.  The picklers did wonderfully.  I am not entirely sure how many pint jars and spaghetti jars of refrigerator pickles I made and gave away.  Enjoyed by all.  I felt badly about having to pull out the plants just before vacation, but I knew too many would go to waste while we were gone.

 



 

 

These are just a few of the Daikon radishes I had planted from seed up in the hugel.  The leaves on them were a great addition to the compost pile and two friends really enjoyed the

 radishes.

 



 

 

I hope to post some more about my garden adventures in the coming weeks.

 

I hope that you will come back to visit and see how well I've done and what I've learned.

 

Leave a comment to let me know you were here.



A book called "The Mini Farming Guide to Vegetable Gardening"

It is written by Brett L. Markham and I got it through inter library loan through my local library.

(I have no affiliation with Brett or with Skyhorse publishing.)

I have only read a few pages of this book and I am already liking it.  I hope no one minds if I share a paragraph or two that have "hit" me.

"When you grow your own vegetables, you can grow them far less expensively than they can be purchased, thereby making it much more feasible to follow our mother's advice.

Another reason why people don't eat enough vegetables, I am sad to say, is because most vegetables you can buy at the supermarket are unappetizing.  Humans have a natural evolutionary desire to consume the most calorie-dense food available in order to avoid starvation.  To a degree, this can explain our preference for snake cakes over rutabagas.  But another important ingredient in that equation is that industrial agriculture has turned what should be a culinary delight into something so tasteless and useless that it can't be consumed in quantity without a dip or sauce to disguise its bland character."

This is so true.

Growing up, my mother only had a few recipes that were served over and over and over again.  We hardly ever tried anything new.

Now, there were always more than one kind of vegetable on the table at any meal, but my mom cooked them to DEATH!!  I am sure I mentioned it before, that I didn't know broccoli or asparagus were supposed to be green and not khaki colored and that they were supposed to have a "bite" to them and not be mushy.

No wonder I was never very adventurous with trying different vegetables.

I know, we all tend to blame our mother's for everything.  And while I'm not actually blaming my mother, it was growing up with my mother in the kitchen that formed my preferences into adulthood about vegetables.

Once we had our Darling Boy, I tried to include as many choices as I could, but now, being the "mother", I know that I didn't expose him to as many choices as I could have.  BUT, I always encouraged him to try new things, no matter where he was or whom he was with.  And, I'm glad to say that he always did and have a very well rounded list of items that he eats and prepares himself.

I think part of why I have gotten the gardening bug so badly is that I do want good, nutritious food.  I want to know where my food came from, how it was grown and how fresh it is.  There is no reason why everyone can't grow something in their yard, and if not in their yard, in containers on their deck.  It really isn't that hard or expensive, and it does not take that much time.  Everyone of us could make such a statement if we grew some of our own food, even if it were just tomatoes and lettuce through the summer.

So many people spend thousands of dollars on landscaping their yards, and having a lawn service, just imagine if they instead spent one tenth of that on growing some of their own salad items?

I know, I'm not saying anything new, I'm just repeating what so many other's have said, I just felt like I needed to say it and share it.

Thank you for listening.

Hercules!

Yes, our part of the world was hit by Hercules, the winter storm.

It is too cold to take my camera outside, so I'm sharing a previous snow storm picture with you.

We were lucky, the snow was light and fluffy and quite easy to move, unlike the storm above, where it was wet and heavy.

Taking the time to look at the world around you is something that a lot of people miss out on.  Their world is too busy and full of stressful thoughts.

This is one of the things a simple life is helping me to appreciate.  Taking the time.

Take some time today, where ever you are, and appreciate the world around you.

I'm Trying

Well, I'm trying to make my blog look more appealing. 

What do you think?  Too much?

I'll keep trying.

Sustainable? Frugal? Cheapskate?

Okay, I guess it all depends on how you look at things.  I'm talking about how you look at what you are doing to simplify your life.

It means different things to different people, but it's all really the same thing, isn't it?

I have tried to be frugal all of our married life.  I'm the saver.  I'm the one who looks for the sales, the deals, the yard sales or shops at the thrift store.  Dear Darling, only recently has begun to see the  value of reusing and recycling things we have or things we are lucky enough to find, and that it isn't so bad after all.

But now, we are empty nesters, and we've had some major life changes and health issues, so now, instead of just being frugal, we are beginning to look for sustainable as well.

I like to garden, and so my Dear Darling is willing to help me transform our yard into more of a garden than we've ever had.  We enjoy knowing where our food comes from and knowing who our farmer is.  Not just me, but "the egg man" and for next year the CSA we have joined.

We want healthy food in our lives, we want to make more of the things we enjoy, such as the bread, the butter, yogurt, home cooked meals.  It not only saves us money, but it adds to the worth of our dollar.

Part of the reason for this post is I recently saw a show that is on TV here in the US called "Extreme Cheapskates".  And, while some of the things they show people doing make sense and are sustainable things, some of them are just not right.  I don't feel taking things, such as sugar packets or ketchup packets that are not to be used right then for or with your purchase, is not right or ethical.  To me, that's stealing.  That business owner is trying to make a living and provide a service, for a reasonable cost and when people walk off with handfuls of packets of sugar, that is stealing.  Not being a cheapskate.  Not being frugal. (But, I guess, after looking at the definition, this is being a cheapskate, but in my book, it's stealing.)

Frugal:

: careful about spending money or using things when you do not need to : using money or supplies in a very careful way 

To me being frugal is using ALL of everything.  So is it extreme to open up the tube of toothpaste to get the last little bit out?  Some people may think so, but if you don't have to open or buy another toothpaste for a week, and you are using it all, you are being a good steward of your purchase and your money.

Do you add water to your shampoo, body soap or laundry soap bottle to shake the last little bits out?  Do you add water to your jar of sauce to get the last bits of it out?  I don't see that as being a cheapskate, I see it as being frugal.

Is being a cheapskate not wanting to spend money?

Cheapskate:

  a miserly or stingy person; especially :  one who tries to avoid paying a fair share of costs or expenses

I don't really think I'm a cheapskate, not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with that.  Everyone lives within their means.  I like to consider myself frugal, meaning that I like to reuse, reduce and recycle.  Make my environment better with my choices.  Speak with how and where I spend our dollars.

I don't try to get out of paying my fair share of costs or expenses, I just want to be sure I'm getting the most value for the money I'm spending.

Sustainable:

[more sustainable; most sustainable] 1 : able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed
▪ sustainable energy resources ▪ a sustainable water supply

2 : involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources
▪ sustainable agriculture/farming/techniques

3 : able to last or continue for a long time

* all definitions were found online in the Merriman-Webster dictionary.

I guess they are all not really the same.  Being Frugal and a person who chooses to live sustainably is what I would like to be known for.

Thanksgiving, the forgotten holiday

Isn't it a shame?  Thanksgiving has become the forgotten holiday.

With the economy being what it is, slow, bad, depressing, whichever word you feel fits, the businesses are pushing the Christmas season WAY, WAY too early this year.

Since our family is fragmented by jobs and distance, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, or any holiday really, in the traditional manner, but we try.  Try being the word.

This year, Dear Boy will be working and cooking a turkey at work for he and his coworkers to enjoy together, not with their families.  I told him I would get his turkey for him.  I asked if there was anything else I could make for their meal, but haven't gotten a "text" back yet.  I have some banana's in the freezer, perhaps a nice banana cake with homemade icing will work.

Dear Boy is a paramedic.  He LOVES his job and I give him a lot of credit to do such work.  We really can't talk much about it, he and I, because he likes to share the details, which for me is TOO MUCH INFORMATION.

This year, when you sit down to your table to give thanks for your many blessings in your life and that of your family, take a moment to think of those who are working that day to help to keep you safe.  The paramedics, the EMT's, the firefighters, the doctors, the nurses, the veterinarians, the ambulance drivers, the police officers, all persons in the military.  I know there are plenty of others that I perhaps have not mentioned.  But think of them and be thankful.  Thankful that they are there.  Thankful that they have the training and that they continue training.  Thankful that they give up their holiday with families to be there when they are needed.

Be thankful this thanksgiving and perhaps, stay out of the stores to send the message that people shouldn't be working on a family holiday just to make someone else money.

Chicken soup

We all start our cooking journey somewhere, right?

 

Here is the short story of my first chicken soup.

 

Almost 30 years ago when we got married, I did not know how to cook.  If it didn't come out of a can, or it wasn't cereal, I didn't know how to make it.  With the exception of stuffed cabbage.

 

Anyway, being the new wife I wanted to impress my husband and make chicken soup.  So I called my father and asked him how to make it.

 

 

 

 

 

He told me to buy a chicken or chicken parts, put that into a deep pot with carrots, celery, onions and to cover it with water, cook it all day and then strain out the chicken and the vegetables.  Then, cut up the chicken, new vegetables, heat it up and it was good to go.

 

 

 

 SO, I went to the store and bought some chicken and followed his instructions.  Cooked it all day on the stove and when I went to taste it, it tasted like hot water with chicken and vegetables.

 

I called dad up and told him that my chicken soup tasted like hot water with chicken and vegetables.

 

He asked what I did and I told him almost exactly what he told me.  He asked if I included any spices and I told him that while he didn't tell me to, I did add some salt and pepper but that was it.

 

As we talked he asked me what KIND of chicken I used.



 

Broth is in the yellow bowl and plastic square, throw away meat is in the pie pan and meat for the soup is in the smaller plastic square.

 

I told him, "The kind I always use.  Boneless, skinless breast."

 

BOY, did he laugh.

 

That was when I was first married.  I didn't touch chicken for NOTHING!  Let alone with skin on it, and bones!  YUCK!!!

 

Now, as you can see from the pictures, I make chicken soup a bit better than I used to.  But even that took some practice.

 

I use my crock pot now. 

 

On a night when we've had roast chicken, I will take off any of the meat that I can for sandwiches for the week, then I will put the carcass into the crock pot with water to cover.  Spices were already put on the chicken for roasting in the oven, so I don't add anymore at this time.

 

It cooks overnight on low, then in the morning I turn it off and let it cool a bit, then I begin "picking".

 

You need to be careful when you pick the meat from the bone and skin, it's a messy job and there are tiny bones.  You have to feel the meat as you pick it as the crock pot does a wonderful job of making the meat fall off the bone.

 

After the picking, I put the meat for the soup into a container for the freezer, then I put the broth back into the crock pot, this time with some carrots, onion and celery and let that cook for a few hours.

 

I will strain out the vegetables and put them into the compost and then put the broth into containers for the freezer.

 

When I go to make the soup, I will put the broth, some of the meat, carrots, onions, celery and chopped cabbage, plus some fresh parsley into the crock pot to heat through and cook a bit.  Sometimes we have egg noodles or a small pasta or rice will be added to the bowl before serving the soup.

 

If you have never had chicken soup with cabbage, I suggest that you try it.  A very dear friend taught me this trick.  She said, "Cut it up smaller so that your family won't know what it is.  They'll love it."  and they did.  She's gone now, yet every time I make chicken soup, I always think of her.

 

What story do you have about your first chicken soup?

Go ahead, ask me.

I dare you.

Go head, ask me.

I double, dog dare you!

Ask me how many pots of water do you need to run through your coffee machine, not pot, to get butter residue out of the machine?



Yes, you heard me right.

I put a stick of butter on top of my coffee machine, while it was brewing, while I was busy, in the kitchen, hoping to defrost it quickly for a recipe.  All of a sudden I hear the coffee maker making this strange sound.  I look up, and sure enough, part of the stick of butter has already melted and I can see it dripping down the lid, underneath into the part where the coffee filter is.

Sigh..... my life on a Friday.

I ran a pot of water through it.  I ran a pot of water with vinegar through it.  I washed out the pot and the basket.  I ran more water through it.  And more water through it.  Then, I even washed out the coffee machine with a soapy rag, while hanging it over the edge of the sink and then used the sprayer hose to spray HOT tap water through it.

Then, I ran more water through it, washed the pot again and the basket. I ran more water through it, this time with a filter in the basket and finally, the water came out clear and with no BUTTER reside floating on the top!!!

This post is just to show, you learn something new every day, and today, I learned more than one! 

Don't put butter on top of the coffee maker while making coffee to defrost.

AND, yes, you can clean out a coffee maker from fatty, buttery residue if you are persistent!

Have a good weekend!

What will my day looks like

I read only one blog currently, Down to Earth, by Rhonda Hetzel.  She has also written a book by the same name and she lives in Australia.

Anyway, while look through her blog she posted once about how her day looked and she wanted to know what others, who read her blog, looked like as well.

So, here is what my day will look like.

The alarm goes off at 6:00 am and I call to wake my husband up.  Then I get myself out of bed, wash up and get the coffee on.  My dear four legged is getting older, he will sometimes follow me out of the bedroom, or come behind me a bit later and want to go out.

It is fall weather here, or at least it is trying to be fall and it's still a bit dark at 6 am.  Sometimes he will want to go out right away, sometimes not.  Most days we will go out on the deck together and enjoy the morning quiet together.

Since we are an empty nest now, the mornings are much more quiet and slower and I take this time to knit on projects that need to be done for work.  I knit samples for a local yarn shop and when they want something I put in the time to have it done in short order.  If not samples, I work on what ever project needs to get done as I usually have more than one going at a time.  It may seem silly to sit and have coffee and knit just after getting up in the morning, but it really helps me look at my day to see what needs the most attention.

Today I will dress twice, once for working around the house and once for doing errands.  I always like to look nice when I go out and don't want to dirty those clothes with house chores or yard work.  First I will dress for chores.

Today is Monday and that means get the garbage ready as tomorrow is garbage day.  Glass and Aluminum will be picked up as well.  So I will clean up the yard of dog droppings, a daily event, and take that bag down to go out tomorrow.  I will look in the refrigerator and see if anything made its way to the back to be forgotten and dispose of that.  I try VERY hard to not let that happen.

Today, I will be going to a friends house to pick up her sewing machine.  (The story of mine is for another post.)  She is so kindly lending it to me for a week or so, so that I may do some curtain alterations and I would like to make some personal wipes and some grocery totes.  I don't really sew very much, haven't in more than 7 years now, so I don't really need a machine, but they sure do come in handy when you have several projects to work on.

While I am out today I need to go look for a new dehumidifier and hopefully I will be able to find one.  Ours has been recalled and from what the website says they will reimburse you, but not send you a new one.  You have to cut off the cord and send that and the front label plate to them with a form and they send you a reimbursement in 4 to 6 weeks.  So, it will be Christmas at that rate and I really can't wait that long.  Fall and spring the dehumidifier runs almost constantly to keep control of the moisture in the lower level of our home.

Also, today is hair day.  I will go for a hair cut and a color, which I only do about 4 times a year.  I have tried several times over the past 20 years to let my hair go without the color but I just can't seem to get to that point  yet.  Vanity.  Well, to a degree I guess it is.  But does it make me feel better and good about myself?  Yes, so it is worth it. 

This afternoon I will work in the yard.  As I said it is fall and over the weekend a lot of leaves fell from our birch trees.  The leaves this year will be going into my compost pile.  My first one while living here.  I think of all the years I could have been growing my own soil......  But, everything starts with the first step, right?  So next year I will have some good compost of my own making.  Up until now, our yard waste went to the local composting center and helped to make compost for everyone.

Something I noticed this morning is that one of the birch trees fell down in the wind, so I will have to see if I can manage that on my own, or wait until the weekend.

This evening there will be more knitting.

There are tons of things in between that I will do, but they are just the daily things that anyone does.

Bare with me, I'm new at this

I admire so many out there who have these great blogs.  You can spend hours looking at them and they give you a glimpse into their lives that you might never have known.

Kind of like years ago, when we wrote letters, and waited day, weeks or a month or more for a reply from a pen pal.  There was no email, no text message, no twitter, no Internet.  You wrote out a letter and mailed it and hoped that it got there.

I used to love to write letters.  I still do.  The sad part is, most people don't write back.  They email you or text you.

So this blog, for me, is kind of filling that need, and I'm not sure whose looking or listening, but maybe something I share will mean something to them.

I'm also going to try to get better with my photography so that I can share some nice pictures on here.  That's another thing that has become a dinosaur.  Picture albums.  You can do everything on your phone, your camera or your computer.  No more Kodachrome.

Why do you blog?  What kinds of blogs do you like to read?  How did you end up here?

Thanks for visiting.  Until next time.

Are you prepared?

There have been a few natural disasters in the past few years that makes one wonder, Am I prepared?

The first year, it was a flood.  Thank goodness, we live in and on a mountain, and the water didn't come near us, but within 2 miles the river rose.  It rose to a height higher than the government had ever recorded.  The bench mark was always "Agnes".  Agnes happened in 1973 and was the flood to end all floods.

Hhhhhmmmmm.

Then we had September 2011 happen, and the flooding was worse.  The rain was bad, and people were evacuated.  People weren't prepared to be without.

How can you be hearing about a storm for days and not have water, extra batteries and some canned goods in the house?  How can people expect someone else to care for them when a natural disaster, with warning, happens?

Every person, I don't care where you live, or what your means are, should have SOME ability to have the bare necessities available.  You can have some candles, whether it's just for an emergency or for everyday.  You can keep some matches handy and dry.  If you can, purchase a decent flashlight and an extra pack or two of batteries to keep on hand.  Make sure you have any medications that you need.  Keep them in a water tight container that is handy to get at.  If you should need to leave, you are prepared to grab it and go. 

On your next grocery trip, you don't need to spend a fortune, but you can buy a jar of peanut butter, a couple can's of tuna and a box of crackers to keep on hand should you need them.  OH, and a can opener, or be sure that the tuna has a pop top.

Some people will go to the extreme and be prepared in many ways.  Or at the other end of the spectrum, you have those who think, "oh, it will never happen."  Then, they can't understand how it happened to them!

Now, I'm not saying don't use extreme caution.  If they are telling you to evacuate, EVACUATE!  You are not only putting yourself in harms way, but the people who will have to rescue you when you finally decide to CALL FOR HELP.

But, when you evacuate, you need a plan?  Are you prepared for that?

There are many places to look on line for how to prepare for an emergency.  Take the time to look at some and decide what is appropriate for you and your family.  Also, don't forget your animals.  They can't fend for themselves at home.  They may not be admitted into the shelter closest to you.  Perhaps there is someone you could stay with in a safe place, or perhaps you need to leave yourself some extra time to get farther away.  Don't wait until the last minute.

Everything you have is replaceable except your family, that includes your animals.  Be prepared to take care of them and yourself.

Some things we always have on hand and have made preparations for an emergency.

When we know we may be losing power, I fill the tub with water for flushing the toilets.  I also purchase a case of bottled water, or I put water bottles that I've filled from the tap into the refrigerator.  Plus, I keep some empty milk jugs handy and fill most of the way with water and put them into the freezer so they can freeze before the power goes out.  It does help.
Batteries in all sizes that are used in our flashlights and radios.
Stick matches - during hurricane Sandy you couldn't FIND ANY for weeks!! We have since gifted boxes of stick matches to friends who were without power for nearly 10 days.  They LOVE them!
Canned goods and a can opener - most canned goods you can eat cold, they may not be pleasant, but when you are hungry, they are better than nothing!
Extra blankets - They could be old, they could be wool, they could just be extra material
An alternate heat source - if you are staying in your home.  We heat our home with wood so we could also cook on this stove if need be.  If you have a gas stove in your kitchen, NEVER run it without cooking, it can be dangerous.  If you need to use it to heat, cook something, bake something, boil water, then turn it off.  You don't need the fumes to kill you should the flame go out unnoticed.
Cell phones may not work.  OR the battery in them could go dead.  ALWAYS have an old fashioned, non cordless phone to plug in.  You remember, the kind that you grew up with, and if you are too young, the kind at your grandparents house....  A cordless phone will not work without power.
For cooking, you could use a camp stove or your grill OUTSIDE!  DO NOT use it in the house or the garage as it is EXTREMELY dangerous.

Edited:  Something I forgot to mention was MONEY.  Make sure you have cash, perhaps enough for a week.  If there is no electricity, you can't go to the ATM, you can't use your check card or your credit card, and depending on your bank and their emergency set up, you may not even be able to go to the bank for money.

Do some research of your own to see what kinds of things you feel would make you most comfortable in a disaster situation.  Then take the time to prepare.

Perhaps, for you, it means having candles, lots of candles handy so that you aren't in the dark.

Or, maybe it means having a few good books handy, or to have your Kindle or Nook fully charged so that you could read something you have on there.

Maybe it means making your favorite hot beverage and putting it into a thermos so that it is hot or warm in the middle of the night.


I'd like to hear your ideas on what being prepared means to you.

Surfing Can Make You SAD

Sorry I've been gone for a week.

It wasn't my intention.  I wanted to post each week day to keep me motivated.

However, the "net" had other plans.

Last week, while surfing for a recipe on how to blanch beet greens, my computer was hacked.

It's never happened to me before, and I hope it will never happen again.

Two very nice fellows at Dell helped me get my computer clean and I ordered a virus software, that was supposed to be here in three to five business days.

WELL,
Let me tell you!

My disk had a long trip.  It went from New Jersey, to Lehigh Valley, PA by way of UPS, who handed it off the The United States Postal Service, who THEN SENT IT TO COLORADO where it saw for four days.  Probably because they couldn't figure out how it got there and who to blame, yada yada.

Anyway, it was supposed to be here the 24th, which it did say in the tracking when I looked it up, and it arrived in my mail box today. Four days late.

But, I was told, that it's not UPS's fault, it's the SHIPPERS fault, because they chose the cheapest way.

So, if they chose the cheapest way, and the USPS now no longer offers a guaranteed delivery, I guess they also don't off people being able to read letters or numbers either to send it half way across the country, when it was already near where it needed to be in the first place.  And, they want yet another raise in January.

What is wrong with this picture?

A clean sink makes me happy

My four-legged

You heard me.  A clean sink makes me happy.

What kind of topic is that?

Well, I'll tell you.

A number of years ago, I didn't have many skills in the housekeeping department.  Oh sure, I knew how to clean, and my house was not and is not a hoard, I call it "lived in".  Growing up, my mother was a stay at home mom and she did everything for us.  We didn't have to do any cleaning or straightening up, only our closets on occasion.

So for years, we didn't have an electric dishwasher, so there was me.  And it seemed that between all the laundry and the dishes, I was always doing both.  So, our sink was not clean, or uncluttered very often.

Then, I found  FlyLady .  She changed my world.

If you have a chaotic home, I would recommend going over to her website and checking out her routines and trying them.  They do work, they do help and you don't get overwhelmed while you are doing them.  She does everything in 15 minute segments, which is very doable, especially if you work a full time job, care for a family and a home.

My life became more manageable.  I was able to deal with the small things because they only took a few minutes a day to get them done.  I began to purge out the "things" I had.  Our home life become calmer and happier.  Plus, the chaos was gone.  Nearly everything had a place.

Now, I'm not saying I have a picture perfect home.  I don't.  I still have a "lived in" home, but its neat, mostly.

BUT, almost any time you come over, you will see, my sink is clean.  I mean clean.  No dishes and no food remnants. I always try to make sure that the kitchen sink is clean before I go to bed and when I leave the house.  You would not believe how much happiness waking up to or coming home to a clean sink can bring.

Give it a try and see if it makes you happy. 

Learning something new

Everyday, we have the chance, the choice to learn something new.

It doesn't matter if it's something at work, something from our children, something from school or something from nature.  We should all strive to learn new things and to pass "old" knowledge on to our children and grandchildren.

And, if you don't have either of those, I am sure there are friends, neighbors, co-workers, or relatives that may enjoy learning what you know.

My mother, she didn't learn to cook as a girl.

 Her father died when she was a senior in High School and she had to go to work to help her mother take care of the remaining children at home.  Of which two were under 7.  She worked very hard for nearly twenty years before she met my father and married.  All the while she gave her paychecks to her mother, only keeping bus fare and some spending money for the week.  Because she worked outside the house, she didn't have to learn to cook.  Her mother did laundry and such at home and her sisters were the ones that learned to cook from their mother.

She learned to cook by trial and error and only had a few set of meals in her repertoire. Sure, they were healthy, home cooked meals, but she was not adventurous.  She cooked what she knew and that was it.

While I was growing up, I have no clear memory of my mother "teaching" me how to cook.  We weren't really "allowed" in the kitchen.  I was 21 years old, I think, when one of my mother's sisters passed away, and it was then, she instructed me how to make stuffed cabbage to take to my uncles house.  That was all I learned.  Which now, I am sad about.

My mother made the most awesome, homemade baked beans......  I watched her make them dozens of times.  She shared her recipe with me.  I followed the recipe and they were HORRIBLE.  They tasted nothing like hers.  There was something, some way she did one of the many steps that she just instinctively did and didn't think about that didn't get shared with me.  Perhaps it was the brand of beans she used.  Perhaps it was the water where she lived. Perhaps it was just that this was her "recipe" and she had the magic touch that made it hers.

I encourage you to share what you know with someone.  Have them over.  Ask them if there is something that you make that they like and make it with them.  Talk about what you learned while making a recipe your own.  Tell them about how to "taste" something to be sure it's "just right".  Share with them the joy you get when you make the recipe for someone who enjoys it.

Life is about sharing, and learning.  We can keep all of our knowledge to ourselves, hold on to it tight so it doesn't go away.  But, in the end, when you are gone, it's gone as well. 

Today, I shared a recipe for "refrigerator pickles" with a friend.  I had given her some and she asked me if I would teach her my recipe.  I was flattered.  I went to her place, and while I read to her the ingredients, she measured, and we talked and we shared.  And when the brine was cooking on the stove, she went to her recipe box and got out a recipe card and wrote it down.  Word for word just as it was written on my recipe card that I brought with me. (which was actually a 3x5 card)

The recipe is this:

24 hour pickles

2 quarts of water
1 cup of vinegar
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of salt

Boil and let cool. Put cucumbers, dill and garlic in jar & cover with cooled juice.

Now for my notes: (that the original recipe did not have and I struggled with the first time)

2 quarts is 8 cups of water
Be sure to use white Vinegar
Good to use Kosher salt if you have it.  Some say the iodine in salt makes the pickles soft.
You put the first four ingredients into a pot and bring the pot to a boil.  Stir it occasionally.  Turn the burner off and let the brine cool.  This is the hardest part, waiting.

Use "picklers" if you can get them.  That's what they call them here, some places they are called "Kirby" or canning cucumber.  I usually pick up about 7 to 9 of them. Cut the ends off of them, they say that leaving them on can make them soft as well.  Though, for how good these pickles are, they don't stay around long.

As for the dill, get fresh if you possibly can.  Use the leaves and the flower, if it has it.  If not the leaves are fine and only thin stems, not thick ones.

Garlic.  Use about two cloves, sliced in each jar.

Now, how many jars you ask?  I use the old Tupperware Pickle containers and this recipe makes two of them with some to spare.

My friend used a large, square Rubbermaid container to put hers in.  Then you put the lid on and put them in the refrigerator.

I think the reason why it says to let the brine cool, is because if you are using glass mason jars you never want to put something hot into a cold jar.  It will crack.

Leave them for 24 hours and then EAT!!

They won't last long, but just in case, I have been told eat them within three months.

If you try this recipe, I would love to hear what you thought.

Until next time,
GROW where you are planted.