How does my garden grow?

Earlier this month my peonies flourished!  They were droopy on the plant (probably because I didn’t stake them properly) so I cut them and brought them inside.  They lasted weeks!  They made a perfect bouquet for Angela’s 17th birthday and Mother’s Day.

So last Saturday Steve and I spent the entire day working in the garden.  There was weeding, triming, fertilizing etc.  Even Skittles came out to clean the birdbath!

 

The roses are all blooming!

 

Profusion of lilies!

Glorious color!

Even the cactus are blooming!

The hostas are doing very well.  This is the second year since I planted them and they are filling in nicely!

In the vegetable garden the tomatoes are doing great!  You may notice the red plastic covering the dirt.  I have found that my tomatoes produce more and larger tomatoes for a longer time than when I don’t use red plastic.  It also helps a little with keeping the weeds away.

Most of my tomatoes have flowers already.  I fertilize the tomato plant when I put it into the ground, again when the flowers open and a third time when the green tomatoes are about to ripen.  The fertilizer just gives them a nice boost when they need it.

This is my recycle and reuse labels for tomatoes.  The CDs are the discarded ones when I don’t transfer photos or videos correctly.  I save them all year and then use them in the garden.  The Sharpie doesn’t fade and I can place them up high on a tomato cage so that I can read it easily.  The shiny refection also discourages birds!

This year seems like it will be a good year for figs…

…and pears.  But not so good for peaches or plums.

It was a busy Saturday but the garden is looking good and I can’t wait for ripe tomatoes! 

Maybe by July 4th?

<Kathy

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“…Fava Beans and a nice Chianti.”

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear…fava beans?

“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” from the 1991 movie, The Silence of the Lamb?  Not me.

I think of this recipe that my mom would make and I begin to crave them!

Fava beans are a type of broad bean and grow on large shrubs.  About a week ago I had spied these bushes on a local road side farm and the craving began.

In the past, I have grown fava beans in my garden.  They grow easily during the winter and the pods are ready for picking in the spring. 

In this recipe I started with 3 pounds of fava bean pods.

 Then you need to remove the beans from the pods.  I do this by tearing the pod strings from the top much like shelling peas.

The fava beans are nestled in this velvet lined pod! 

3 pounds of bean pods sounds like a lot for 4 servings but when your done shelling the actual fava beans amounts to about 3 cups.

At this point the fava beans have a hard waxy covering that is not edible.

To remove this I drop them into boiling  water and boil the beans for 3 minutes.

This partially cooks the fava bean.

After 3 mintues I place the beans into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

 

At this point I remove the waxy cover. Sometimes the covering is split and the bean pops out when squeezed.  Or I use a small paring knife to nick the waxy covering and squeeze the bright green fava bean out.

Now the fava beans are ready to use in any recipe.  Here’s the way my mom would fix them.

Needed: 1 can (15 oz. stewed tomatoes), 1 onion, chopped, 6 slices bacon, chopped, 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, pepper to taste.

Saute the chopped bacon on medium heat until it renders some fat, about 5 minutes.

Add the chopped onion and garlic and saute for 5-6 more minutes.

Add the can of stewed tomatoes and the fava beans and cook uncovered for 20 minutes or until the fava beans are cooked through.

This recipe can be eaten as a side dish for meats…

 

or alone as a light meal…

 

or served over spaghetti…

…with a nice Chianti!

Enjoy!

*Kathy

P.S.  Big thanks to Angela for her creative fava bean photography!

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Quick, Easy Muffins

My kids take a homemade lunch to school almost every day. They get a sandwich, some fruit , a drink and something yummy. This something yummy is often homemade muffins.

But homemade muffins are complicated. There’s too many ingredients and too many utensils needed. So I developed a quick, simple muffin recipe that can be changed up with different ingredients.  And the main ingredient is… Krusteaz Pancake Mix!

We buy the BIG BAG from that BIG BOX  Store!

So today I made Applesauce Muffins.

I use 3 cups of Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix.

Cinnamon

Fresh ground nutmeg

Applesauce and brown sugar

Milk

Mix well

Grease the muffin pan.

Use a large ice cream scoop to fill the pan.

Bake at 350' for 20 - 25 minutes.

While the muffins are baking I make a glaze to pour on top when they come out.

Mix powdered sugar with cinnamon, nutmeg and a tiny amount of milk.

The muffins are done when brown and firm to touch.

Drizzle with glaze.

Yum!

Applesauce Muffins Recipe

3 cups Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp grated nutmeg

1 cup milk (2%, whole or half and half))

1 cup naturally sweeten applesauce (homemade or store bought)

Dump and mix until well combined.

 

Scoop  into greased muffin tin.

Cook 350’ for 20-25 min.

 

Glaze

2 T milk

½ cup powdered sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

Mix well adding more sugar until mixture is thick like honey.

 

Let muffins cool 5 min.  Drizzle glaze on top.  Let cool completely. Yum!

I use this recipe to make all flavors of muffins.  Just change some of the ingredients.  Always keep the 3 cups of Krusteaz to 1 cup of liquid.  

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I’ve made apple chunk muffins, dried apricot muffins, dried cranberry muffins,  chocolate muffins, chocolate chip muffins…

Sometimes I add ½ cup nuts to the mixture.

Sometimes I sprinkle the tops with raw sugar before cooking and no glaze.

I’ve made them in the small muffin tin and you could make this recipe in a loaf pan or 8”x8” pan and cut into slice or squares.

One of my favorites is Blueberry Muffins!

************

Blueberry Muffins

Substitute:

½ tsp cinnamon and grated nutmeg

The zest of 1 lemon.

1 cup of granulated sugar instead of brown sugar

1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

 

Glaze:

2 T lemon juice

½ cup powdered sugar

 

The possibilities are endless!  Enjoy!

~Kathy

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Blogging

 So why do I feel stuck in this blog with my daughter? I have wanted to share my sewing and crafts for a long time. Many family and friends have commented that my homemade gifts should be mass produced, marketed and distributed to the general public. However, once I’ve created something, figured out how to construct it and spend the time to make it, I no longer want to make another one, let alone many more. I was unfamiliar with blogs until my sister-in-law started her blog, mostly to share thoughts and photos of their new triplets. The Amazing Trips   After spending some time with them last month, Jen introduced me to other fabulous blogs! I was hooked!
So I’ve been thinking that I should blog about my passions: sewing, cooking, gardening and any thing else that I think might be of interest to my readers. Just one small problem….I don’t have any idea how to set-up a blog. That’s where my daughter comes in.
Angela has self taught herself how to create web pages, fabulous sites with multi-pages and places to view.  Sayarynth is her site. She has learned codes for colors and designs. (I have no idea what ‘codes’ are.) So when I mentioned to her that I wanted to start a blog she said she did too and that we should have one together. Mind you, we do very little together. I love to shop, she doesn’t. I love growing flowers, she only comes out to photograph them. She likes my cooking usually, but hardly ever helps prepare meals. so when she said “Let’s do a blog together!” I jumped on the idea that we could share this creative passion together…
…And she could help me with all the ‘technical stuff” that comes with a blog.
So, finally, two and half days later we agreed on a name and template! When I ask her how to do something, she’s learning to walk me through it, rather than do it herself, not always an easy approach to learn. This will be an interesting experiment. A teen and her mom blogging on the same site, working together, sharing their passions. Enjoy!
*Kathy

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Welcome

You’ve stumbled upon a blog run by two generations of creativity: Kathy and me, her daughter Angela. Check back regularly for inspiring and artistic updates. We have quite a bit in our minds planned for this project.

We plan to post tutorials, information, and inspiring works of our own in sewing, cooking, home and garden, writing, web design, photography, and art.

K&A

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