I have been a busy bee! Now I'm pooped!

Here I'm smiling and trying to show off the new watch and earrings that the "kids" gifted me with for Christmas (among other goodies I'm not showing, but I don't have to rush to do laundry for more than a couple of weeks :o) you girls know what I mean) Men , mind your business.
First cousin was a big help shopping with me..She even shared some of her % cards so I made out like a bandit :o)  Plus I got a favorite watch repaired..boy! they don't mind charging you almost the cost of the watch :o(.  but they did a good job...I can at least wear it now..

At first i was put out with Kodak, I had so much trouble with it showing "paper Jam", but this morning they made it good with a replacement..First cousin saved the day, she was patient waiting on the phone when i couldn't deal with push this and hold for that...good thing she was here ...Next day my warranty would have been done...Now I have to wait for it to decide if it's going to print color for me..took four pages before it wanted to print black and white. :o( Can you see all the junk I have :o) I need to clean up I'm losing work space :o)

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas !

Compliments from Another Blog

While visiting "Counting My Blessings"  I saw this tasty dish and the blog it was from. I thought someone else would like it too, this is the link.


http://southernhospitalityblog.com/sweet-treats-crockpot-chocolate-candy/

A Hearty Breakfast for a farmer's wife!!

Didn't want to start working on the rest of those sweet potatoes this morning without putting something solid in my tummy.. Cecil had to do some errands for me so he needed to be fed also...So, grits were in order this morning with cheese to stick to our ribs :o) and a large patty of Neeses sausage and eggs fried...
Now to get to working on those sweet potatoes...after breakfast and a few minutes in the "Chair Bed" .(we love those chairs). I'll give an update on the proceeding today.:o) 
Update: 

I've been busy all day ..with Sweet Potatoes peeling, slicing and preparing two large pans to cook them in..It's surprising how you can take a lot of food and whittle it down to look like nothing much! We all know how much work is involved in each dish and we all know the satisfaction we get seeing "look what I did :o)"  I had two pans but couldn't get them both in the same spot...Guess I was cockeyed tired.

This is pan #2 , both were filled pretty good. and of course Cecil had to taste them to make sure they "were on the money" < he says that when something taste good ..or he will mark my Son in law who says "That's a Ten" :o) no matter I thought they both tasted good :o) I was going to use my new vacuum bags, but the juice was too darn good to get lost..and I wanted them to "soak" in it :o) 


So I dug out my old Rubber maid containers from 1964..and put them into them and storage in the almost full freezer was easy enough, I just had to take out a loaf of bread that we will need for tomorrow's sandwich's  ( that ham again, < it taste better than the first time. Each container holds what I call a "Sunday meal", more than enough for one day ..even with company, and enough for two days.

Rubbermaid Containers from 1964 loaded with Candied Sweet Potatoes :o)

There is no end to the Harvest!

There is no end to the "Harvest" weather it's from your fields or someone else's :o) I've always been told "Strike while the iron is Hot" and "Make Hay while the Sun Shines". A couple of my Mothers sayings I find true. Last time (Thanksgiving) sweet potato's were on sale, ($.27 lb)  and i got a few which I baked and put into the freezer..I had a couple of very large ones left and made french fries out of them..one potato was more than enough..so I put some in the food saver bags and just put them into the fridge..they were there since Thanksgiving..but opening them was like I prepared them yesterday..I tell you Penny is saving me a lot of time and money..Today Cecil found them on sale ($.29 lb,) couple of pennies more, still good enough to "Harvest" :o)...I'm so frugal it's working me to pieces, there just is no rest. Went to the garden and plucked a meal of Rutabaga leaves for dinner..We will have some of the small Sweet potato's baked and that's dinner..I made Ham sandwiches for lunch out of that beautiful ham from Thanksgiving. (that I froze in those vacuum bags) I'm loving it.Guess I don't feel right if I'm not doing something and tiring myself out. Plus I'm working at the Loom, nothing worth showing as yet..I have to get into the swing of "Pattern, tabby" :o(  those that weave know a newbies plight.

Cecil went back for more of these bargain potato's ...he loves French Fries, especially Sweet potato french fries :o) Keeping him happy through his stomach :o) wish he were a rich man :o) I'd have two staircases :o) one going up and one going down :o)..I must need a nap ;o).

Now to rest a bit..then dry these up in a towel, put them into the foodsaver bags and vacuum them up. That will be after supper..which will be those fresh picked greens and baked sweet potato's ( the little small ones Cecil picked out first because he likes them sweet.. :o)
Now I have one more pan that I will do tomorrow...I may just dice and cook them before I freeze them..there isn't much room in that freezer :o( should have bought a bigger one like I thought in the first place. :o(
Update: All the fries have been vacuumed packed and put away into the fridge. I  had put away some fries like this during the Thanksgiving time..and they were just as fresh the other day when I deep fried them.. So I'm going to put one bag in the freezer just to "test" it. So I can see if I need to blanch before I freeze or if the vacuuming is good enough to save and for how long.  Your looking at 12 pounds of what we call Cub potato's (big ones #2-3) sliced for frying. now tomorrow I'll finish up the rest..How, I don't know yet :o). I forgot to tell you that I made sure the potato's were drained and towel dried before I put them into the bags,this way no water was left in the bags...Neat trick :o)

Today is Another Day and Another Blessing!

First thing today I get a call from another old Weaver friend besides "Teacher" wanting to know if I still needed help with that loom..before I knew it ..."Dr. Fix it" was here and slapped that loom a couple of places and before I knew it the loom tention was fixed :o) and now there is no excuse for me to finish up this project and get on to the next one. Sure feels good to know there are a few people still willing to give you a hand up.  I can tell I've lost some of my skills :o(  it's like anything else.."If you don't use it , you lose it" I definitly need to put more time into my weaving, to bring my skills back to a decent level..and it better be before Spring..that's when planting starts up again..Harvesting hasn't stopped yet!..ugh! umma one busy lady..:o)

"Waste Not Want Not"

Ham bone Ham bone where you been!..hiding in the Liquid up to my chin chin chin :o)

I didn't have to wait too long to use this Ham bone :o)  today in NC it was dreary and rainy the perfect day to make a soup for dinner.. and the Ham bone was the perfect solution ...I tell you there is nothing like the feeling knowing your being so frugal :o). All I had to do was add a couple of biscuits and I would be home free :o) I could have played on the loom all day,BUT "Teacher" forbid it until she checked it out again...(I'm afraid to 
"sneak" touching it, it ain't like taking candy from a baby either. 

We both enjoyed the soup very much, I used a lot of harvest tomatoes from my garden, and other veggies I already had and some large Zite type macaroni. The ham bone and tomatoes gave it a good stock. As you can see there is enough for lunch or dinner tomorrow. I still cook like there are more of us to eat..We had french fried sweet potatoes for lunch, so I didn't feel like peeling more potatoes for the soup...macaroni worked well :o)

Thanksgiving Dinner X's 2 :o)

Yesterday I was too lazy to take a photo of dinner (leftover thanksgiving only with ham).
Just goes to show i cooked way too much,We  had dinner from it again tonight..this time Cecil helped me out by getting the camera before i ate up my plate :o) Tonight it seemed everything tasted way better, the Cabbage/Collards were tastier tonight than last night and the dressing still tasted good with cranberry sauce, that's the last of the candied yams..and the greens..and the cranberry sauce..plenty more Ham :o) half is in the freezer (sliced) and the other half we ate part of tonight..I think that's the best darn ham I've bought in a long time and I cut the bone out just right and folded it over so it would gel itself together ..and be sliced from the whole one piece..tomorrow for lunch I think I'll have a ham sandwich with mayonnaise :o)  and I'll make some other meat to finish off the dressing and mac and cheese (which I didn't eat tonight). Boy! it seemed we enjoyed dinner more tonight than last night..Maybe I worked up a sweat on the loom (it's still giving me trouble :o(  the break still isn't holding like it should, and I have to position it again after two or three picks :o( I've got to do or have something done about it.. Cecil tries so hard to help , but that's not his forte, fixing these kinds of things.His appetite was also ready, today was his volunteer day at the ministry helping to serve, So he was ready for dinner after resting a bit in his "Chair bed":o)
Just in case you want it ..here's Pat and Gina Neely's recipe for the Ham (6 lbs) Glaze.I doubled it because my ham was almost twice the size..10 lbs).
1/3 cup Brown sugar
1/3 cup Honey
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayanne Pepper
mix and brush on ham..bake at 300 and baste q 20 minutes or more. Enjoy

A Thankgiving Repeat without the Turkey :o)

Here it is Sunday all over again!  Time just seems to fly sometimes and things have a way of repeating themselves before you know it...I had so much left overs from Thanksgiving..I did a "bag it for later" number ..so today I made a nice Ham and took out some of those leftovers :o)  The ham was really too big for two people, but I thought of how much I liked a Ham sandwich with a slab of mayonnaise on the bread:o) (Plus it was on sale) and the new bags and the way Penny vacuums the air out to keep it from frost in the freezer etc. I couldn't resist cooking this one..I used a recipe from" Pat and Gina Neely glazed ham"It came out looking so lovely, wish I had company to see it  :o) and it tasted just as good :o)

it was so big and lean it was surprising. I took my trusty Electric knife and sliced it in half..Then I had more control of how thick I wanted the slices to be. It was a piece of work but I got it done..
You should have seen our plates :o) we were greedy!

 

I did pretty good on that first cut..I took the half without the bone and made some pretty slices out of it, wrapped two slices one for me and one for hubby in Saran wrap and then stuck them into my vacuum bags..I had four bags of big juicy slices for sandwich's or added as meat to a meal :o). I'm so frugal :o) don't you just love it. The mac and cheese,dressing and cranberry sauce. 
This morning I decided to "test" out those "Cabbage /Collard" greens..they were pretty good, I couldn't really taste much cabbage, but I did taste a familiar Collard to them.
Tomorrow I rest...

No Rest for the Weary

Today all I had planned to do, was sit in my "chair bed" and take it easy until I felt like playing with the loom later..yesterday we Food shopped until we dropped, and we were still tired this morning...Cecil went to the barber and I looked in the fridge to find something to eat..what did I do that for! Those carrots were growing whiskers ;o(  after my bowl of oatmeal I went right into them...I like adding carrots and onions sauteed into cooking my rice, it makes such a big difference in the taste :o). Being the frugal person that I am..there was my Mother with that saying again..."Waste Not, Want Not" :o( So I got my butt into gear and started with the peeling,mincing ,bagging,and vacuuming Carrots into little bundles ...I ended up with quite a  few, maybe enough for six months or more..from one bag of carrots :o

I'm happy that I have this food processor it makes short work of mincing food..

Carrots all minced up nice and neat..it didn't take the machine but a minute to do it where it would have taken me an hour or more and my Arthritic  hands would have been sore by now..this gadget is a great invention. Too bad Grandma didn't have one.

I put a large serving spoonful into some Saran wrap and fold it tightly..and then into a "Penny" bag :o) and vacuum the air out..I put them into the freezer. I put five or six into a bag and left room so I could re seal the bag when I take one out..that's going to be working out pretty good.

December and still there's a harvest to Can

I walked to the "Side Garden" to see how the cabbage/collards and Red cabbage was growing and was surprised that I had "Broccoli" growing so well :o)  I had forgotten I just planted a six pack to see how they'd do..I've eaten broccoli many times and even make broccoli soup..but I've never grown it! The leaves looked so nice and green I had to snap a few leaves and test them out...they look a lot like collards and take about just as long to cook..too bad I didn't have any cornbread ready :o)  (there is still time , I'm just lazy).

Dont' they look like Collards!  I like growing the broccoli, but the heads aren't large enough yet..(they are about  the size of tennis ball (not big enough yet to pick).

I don't think the canning season ever ends until January! I'm looking at greens I need to harvest and put away..I'm also waiting to make more chicken stock, but I need my jars for my greens..boy! this canning is a budget saver and you feel guilty if you don't save what you've been blessed with..with the new heater being installed the gas company is going to "sock it to me" so i try to save where I can, and thank goodness I have something to put away, and that I know how.. 

Update:  The leaves cooked up pretty tender..and they didn't taste like the Broccoli flowers..they weren't bad at all..it was like eating any of the other greens..they weren't bitter like mustards or Broccoli Rabe...they were a little milder and maybe a little more bland< nothing a little Chow Chow wouldn't fix , or more Country ham included in the cooking. I'll do it again, that's another gift from mother nature :o)

Everyone can now relax :o)

I have put my grumpy self away (for now) and a more Happy and content Ginny in in the house :o)...
I couldn't deal with the pain of continuing trying to fix the loom and wonder what the heck I did or didn't do..So I called the"Teacher, Sandra"....I think I sounded so hysterical and pitiful she decided to come over right away :o) (the truth is I prayed her butt here :o) so she just had to come..Well as soon as Sandra walked over to the loom, you knew "The Weaving Guru" was in town..Sandra started fiddling and fuddling and pulling and bending and squatting and fussing until the loom decided " I better behave myself or this woman is going to beat the hell out of me :o)   She had some task, ahead of her..but  a couple of hours later, the Loom acted like it had done nothing wrong to upset me  Maybe the Loom gave me a fit because it thought I was going to get rid of it. :o(  Plus "Teacher" fixed the brake to maintain tension. Also re-taught me to use the sticks.. ( you know we all get lazy, or forget) .
I was so exhauted by the end of it all. I couldn't do a thing, but sit in my chair bed and thank God for the help.  ..just goes to show ..prayers still work..

I thought it best to leave it alone until my nerves cooled down some and tomorrow is another day. Thank goodness there's tomorrow..with a good night's sleep..I should be good as new. Get ready, I just might be on a roll :o)

A Grumpy Post

Everyone seems to be having a Happy Holiday and waiting for Christmas Cheer aditude!
Here in NC I'm saying Bah Humbug!  My printer isn't working says "error paper jam" and there isn't one :o( .Trying to get help from the company is like pulling chicken teeth, if your not holding on, your listening to music, or sent somewhere where there is no return.
The loom isn't functioning correctly (Or I'm not doing something correctly) bah humbug.
I'm trying to look on the bright side..at least it's nice an warm in here with the new gas heater in the Studio ;o)  maybe I should clean it up or rather put some order to it. I had to do some moving things around before it was installed. Now I have too much crap in here, I need to get rid of some of them.

This is an old picture of my first dish towels that I made on my loom..my brake pedal is not in order and that's one of the problems I'm having as to where it was attached it's a simple thing  yet driving me out of my mind.
Oh well!, a better day is coming..now for some lunch..Brisket beef sandwich on Rye :o)

I had  a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, made all the usual goodies we like..except that for the three of us I decided to just make "Hot Turkey wings"with homemade tomato sauce  instead of a whole turkey that we wouldn't eat..Macaroni and cheese, candied yams, Stuffing with cranberry sauce, Collards and Cornbread. Cecil made sweet tea and yes I drank some ;o)  .(Hey, it seems to me I'm eating "Thanksgiving" all the time :o) It was a good day.
Today , the day after we are eating leftovers that I didn't freeze and it worked out just fine. I also wrestled with the loom and got it all sleyed up :o)...bent my little fat butt out of shape getting down on the floor to get the treadles strung up..I'll have to re do them over Tomorrow, tonight I'm just too tired to go over them tonight..They aren't pulling up separate enough...Ugh!  No Pictures today :o(

"Thanksgiving Day"

             'Happy Thanksgiving'

Last Day of testing Avocado and Banana's

Today I decided it was time to check the results of the Avocado and Banana's  after Eight days (put in the fridge after day 2) in the Food saver bags after having the air Vacuumed out. The results for the 8th day were as follows:


First of all I examined the bag before opening  and noticed "bubbling juices" flowing! that to me suggested "breakdown"


Second, after opening the bag, I noticed  there was no sour smell. The avocado looked fine but the banana looked mushy ;o(  I didn't want an upset stomach so I decided just to taste the Avocado with mayo and it was still quite solid. Except of the mushy mess of the banana I decided not to taste them..there was no smell, but it was  obvious that the breakdown was the acidity of the banana..The Avocado being preserved this way to me was the winner..I don't think I would keep it any longer than a week, (in the fridge just cut in half and not little chunks) also I wouldn't put it with anything else. I'm satisfied with this test, at least when I find Avocado's Usually at Sam's Club with 5 in the pack, I know I can take my time eating them up in a week without trying to stuff them all down in one day or eat one and lose the rest.
Update: next time I'll try putting more whole Avocado's in one small bag..take out one and re-vacuum the others. That ought to work :o)

Back to the Loom again!

Good thing I can remove my back beam! I made a mistake and had to fix it by removing the beam so I could wind the weft with the paper to keep the yarn straight. This step was a little complicated at first. I wondered how I was going to do it! Watching  video's on the Internet is quite informative :o)  Someone else had done the same thing and was explaining how she fixed it ...lucky me :o)  

Here's a side view of the back beam :o) not too shabby ugh!...remember I took this off of a loom when I took a class and now I was able to put it on my own loom at home.. I'm happy that I took my time when I took it off and it was easier to put on than I thought.

Here's the front view :o)  I don't remember if I  had a particular pattern to make anything except a scarf because of the yarn being so soft , touchy and feel-ly :o) (is that a word? :o)  anyway, I'm going to finish knotting up the front beam ..look for an easy beginners pattern, tie it up and get to weaving.. So far the Aleve  is helping the back and I'm stopping and resting when I feel it necessary.  I'll give an update on my progress, but don't look for it too soon :o)

Cecil makes breakfast

This morning I was treated to Breakfast like the Queen I am (that sounds better than the Lady of the house :o) I don't know what I did or said that got me that treat , I'd like to do it again  or say it again (and again :o). it was delicious , your looking at cheese and eggs, 2 slices of bacon,rye toast, and the famous "Pear Butter" that Cecil has been eating up like crazy..maybe he is giving me a hint that we are running out of it...it is so tasty I can see why he eats it with everything and even plain :o)  Thank goodness we have a Pear tree and I put fruit in the freezer..I can easily make more..
In other news, I decided not to sell my loom, yesterday I re -dressed it with a project I started long ago and I was surprised at how content I felt working on the loom (all day and until 9pm) I was surprised at myself ,the only thing was my back hurt after a bit..but it hurts when I do the gardening too...so what do I do about that..when You can't make up your mind which way to go. "Stay Still" < that's what my Mother always said and I found it to be a good solution,(for everything). I did have a lady come to see it and remarked "I'll think about it"   I thought about it too :o) and decided..for now..I'll keep it...it's a very nice looking loom and maybe once the old Heart is reamed I'll have more energy. Yesterday was a very good day for me.

Blueberries inside Puff Pastry

There were two of these last night :o) one got eaten before it cooled :o)..This one will probably be consumed later in the day ...My eater has a Dr's appointment and wont be available for the task :o)..
I don't know what I should call it...Blueberry Pastry tart, or roll. Whatever, it tasted pretty good , just not sweet enough  ( I don't really need the sugar). I didn't feel up to making pie shells and felt there was no need for Cecil to run to the store ..so I used what I had ..
As long as there was a dessert after dinner it didn't matter...:o)


Today I'm going to open the Avocado and Banana package to see how it tastes and then reseal it to see how much longer it will stay.I'll post an update.
By the way, this morning the "Studio Heater" had turned it's self on (that's that thermostat) and the room was nice and toasty upon entering , what a big welcomed surprise a toasty room and I'm still in my nighties :o) I opened the blinds to see the rain falling and really felt contented :o)


UPDATE: I opened the Avocado and Banana's this morning for my breakfast ..I added my mayonnaise to it ( a little too much :o(  anyway, both banana and avocado were as fresh as the day I packaged them..however, next time I will not slice either of them I will package them as whole as I can..then they won't be so "mashed" up I like them chunked. I'd say the test was satisfactory..and I will do it again, especially with the Avocado's..

A Blessing in disguise!

A couple of weeks ago I told you all that I had some business to take care of and I'd let you know about it later in another post...(The day I got up real early and when Cecil treated me to some crabs from the Farmers market)
 Well, do you also remember when we had the gas leak and had such a commotion with the fire truck and gas company that caused the neighbors some excitement? That day I had my two girls visiting and I thought what a drag for this to happen when we don't get to spend much time together...well , that incident really turned out to be a blessing! We had to replace the gas logs because a valve was leaking there it was a Vented log set
we never got any heat from it , all the heat went up the chimney so I kept a marble looking board over it :o( it was totally useless to us...The guy from the gas company told us we were better off with "Ventless log set" that's when they close off the opening (flue) up the chimney and the heat goes into the room...We decided to give it a try.

Needless to say, we had it done and it throws the heat right into the room..it is so comfy for us now , we just love it and wonder why the heck we didn't know about it sooner..come to find out we weren't the only ones ignorant of the fact. It takes the morning chill off so quickly...and it's almost like having a wood burning fireplace without the mess or work..So the gas leak was really a blessing in disguise...So I say " You Go God do your stuff".:o) 



 We were so pleased with it, we decided to put a "Ventless Gas Heater" in my Studio..lets be honest..I usually like to wear my P.J's as long as I like..(sometimes all day when I don't plan to go out). My Studio is a converted garage and that's a separate part of the house. Although we insulated it well, it still wasn't as "toasty" warm as I would have liked...and that's what that early trip was about that morning :o) Say hello to the new "Ventless Gas Heater"in the Studio :o), as I write it's hot in here,we have to learn how to adjust the built in thermostat to my comfort level..I'm so pleased to have it..I'm told it will cut down on the gas bill quite a bit..we notice the furnace doesn't come on as much..So that will  be a blessing also. I repeat myself often. "the incident was "A Blessing in Disguise" :o)

Pear Cobbler made for the weeks end gone before Sunday :o(

I should know better trying to make something sweet here to last until the weekend :o(
After you smell it baking, how can your resist "tasting".. well, we "tasted" it up before Sunday rolled around ..and now it's all gone and there isn't anything made to take it's place..We even ate up the last box of ice cream with it :o)...

UPDATE: on the Avocado and Banana's..after being out for 24 hours , I didn't want to chance spoilage from a warm temperature..so I put it into the fridge..It still looks as good as the first day I put it in, there is no change in it's color at all, my camera may have darken it in the corner That's four days already!..Can You image making up other dishes and keeping them for this long..As soon as I taste one I'll be honest and give you the scoop..:o)...

To all my blogging friends who like a bargain :o)  I sent away for these vacuum bags because they were cheap  100/bags  for $12.99 shipping was $8.87 total $21.86  i figured the others I wouldn't get as many for twice the price..so I'd give them a try.. I ordered the small size because they would be perfect for my greens and small items..Even two pork chops :o).. They came Today  and I'm excited ( just to get something new from the Fed Ex truck  :o)...So I tried them out on some banana's and avocados that would get too ripe to enjoy the way I like them ..( just add that dreaded mayonnaise and nibble away at them)
So here's what I did...

First I compared bag sizes the new bag is
6"X10"  which is as large as my regular quart size baggie :o) good thus far for my purpose. In the background you can see the finished product of two servings of Avocado and Banana's already packed.. I don't know if I should refrigerate them or leave them out. I have left Avocado out overnight wrapped in Saran wrap and I just had to skim off the top that got brown.. For now I'm leaving them on the counter to decide which way to go..but the two servings did nicely in the Food saver machine  (sucked that air right out :o) and didn't mash them. I think that was a good idea on my part :o) Isn't it nice you all have such smart and talented friend :o)

This shows me cutting up the Avocado and Banana's and wrapping them separately into serving size Saran wrap. When I take out the first serving..I'll just re-seal the bag with the second serving left in it.  I have put a link of where I ordered them for you ..I have no connections with the company, I'm not making any profit from giving you this link. So there!

I wanted you to get a good close look at the finished product. As you can see, the Food saver did an excellant job vacuuming the air out..Now the test to see how long the Avocado and Banana's do ..I think leaving them out won't hurt if air can't get to them...this is a test..:o) (not only the TV can do some testing ). I'll give an update, that I know you'll be waiting for ...:o) I'll make that "Penny" earn her keep around here..:o)




http://www.thehuntersbutchershop.com/Vacuum-Bags-s/66.htm

Did you think I was resting today?

If you do a close up you will see how fully crowded this bed of Mixed Greens are. Cecil should have left a pathway in order to reach them better..but No! just like a man he doesn't want to listen :o(  well he has to pick them or pull them to thin then out ..maybe that was his intentions .(he loves greens too :o) This may look like a lot, but by the time you clean, wash, and shrink (blanch) them you have next to nothing. Two pounds become one pound :o(.  so you need a lot when you want to have a green fit.

You can see Cecil down in the garden picking or rather "thinning" them out  and putting them into a box top..which he then gives me and I do the separating of the leaves into the red bucket for the first washing, then I put them into large pan for the second wash ..then into the strainer

..then put them into the shade ( on the Patio) We have a good system going, but it takes a long time to get done.. When they get into the house they are ready for the shrinking process...but first...turn on the oven to 350 while I fry up some "country ham" and mix up some "Jiffy" cornbread with some peppers and onions :o) That's going to be supper :o)  I had to taste those greens that had me salivating all day.  After supper I'll get busy and finish up the harvest of greens for the freezer.

I forgot to take the picture before I put the greens in the freezer :o(  So I just opened the freezer and snapped a picture of them after I remembered :o(  All together I got 7 packs each weighing one to one 1/4 lb each. which I would say 14 pounds + the three to four we had for dinner ...at least 20 pounds of greens for the total harvest ..thus far...Not bad for a days work..

What's growing in my Side Garden :o)

These are my Red Cabbage growing nicely in the side garden...The are also bedded down a little with some hay :o) Maybe a close up would show them better..

This video (it goes quickly) is showing the growing of the new Cabbage /Collards hybrid greens..I've never planted or eaten them before. When we went to buy some Collard plants ( I was afraid my seedlings wouldn't do well)  we couldn't find anything but Cabbage/ Collards.
The new hybrids are really looking good and tasty...but lo and behold my collards in the "P" garden have taken off like little jets :o)...(That means they are growing well :o) I'll show them another time.
Here is a couple of the ones I took a picture of in the Side Garden..I was hoping the video would work so you could get a good glimpse of them all..

Here is one delicious Bowl of Pumpkin Soup and two ( I really ate three) of my "Angel Biscuits" both were delicious..the soup was nice and creamy..(Thanks daughter for that nice little stick blender :o). I usually make a decent biscuit when I don't fret about it , but I try to keep Mrs B's on hand to save me some work..these were so good and fluffy, I think I'd better keep that skill going :o)
Sorry about those lines my underline just kept clicking on :o(

One pretty Pumpkin Pie with only one spot I spilled some filling on :o(  otherwise maybe it would look perfect, but it's all in the taste. If the taste is good I won't worry about it having a little blemish , I know someone who wouldn't give a kitty how many spots were on it..Can you guess who that is :o)
My stove is getting to the point where it has hot spots :o(  as you can tell on one of the Pumpkins. Well, Cathy@home  what do you think about these pies :o)

Don't think that's a lot of pie in this house :o)  Usually I make Sweet Potato and don't even bother to ask for that recipe.. When I finish this post (while Cecil cleans up the kitchen) I'm going to sit down the rest of the evening and rest..and give myself a big slice of pie and hope the heck it taste as good as it looks and smells..

Now here are three more Pumpkin cubed bagged and frozen..BEFORE using Penny to seal them..and that worked..after they were frozen sitting up last night in the freezer I took them and sealed them with "Penny" and there was no juice to come out and stop the process..that's the trick using the food saver. It gives me more flexibility on using it. Now maybe it will be my good freezing friend.:o)
While I was doing all the preparations for making the pies I put on some sausage and spaghetti for dinner ..this way I could get some rest...

That's all the cooking I'm doing today..I'm tired now and need to rest. I won't even do laundry if I had to :o) I still have a couple pairs of you know what :o) (naughty).:o)
Don't be giving me that look, it happens in every household I don't care how rich you are.

This far with the Pumpkin

First thing I want to make is Pumpkin Soup!
So I may as well have all my ingredients ready, so here I'm frying up my bacon and my bowl of onions, peppers,carrots and thyme are waiting :o)..
This was one of the nicest pumpkins I've seen , the meat of it was a bright color and it was ripe and ready...it looked so good Cecil wanted to taste what Raw Pumpkin tasted like...so he took a sample :o)

He really thought the taste was good :o).
You can barely make out the pan in front that I have the peeled and cubed pumpkin. I made the soup and some of my "Angel Biscuits" and that was our dinner, it was very  tasty and I had enough made in that pot for two more meals of Pumpkin Soup..
Which i promptly put into my little freezer containers and they will make a nice lunch or dinner with a sandwich :o).I'm so frugal.
I love it when I can make so much out of nothing..Cecil paid $3.99 or $4.99 for it. and look how many meals I've already made

.plus I  saved some out for a couple of pies tomorrow which when I make them, I'll send a post..

In the meantime I froze the rest of the cooked cubes (five pounds) and put them into the freezer, hoping that "food saver Penny" would act like she should..even frozen as I worked she thawed  ( I don't work that slow).and I had to stop because of the water collection anyway..I put them into the saver bags and stood them up in the freezer...I'll try it again tomorrow and see if that works better. otherwise the "food saver" is dud! and not a deal.

I think the Seed from this Pumpkin shows a lot about how developed it was..even though it was a small pumpkin the meat was a bright color and the seeds are very large..I forgot to put money near the seeds to show how large and full they are...I'm trying to dry them in the Studio..maybe I'll toast a few also ..but I've done enough for today ...I'm still supposed to be resting ..(yeah right! )




Update:  I tried baking some of the seeds and didn't pay attention and baked them too long :o( so they were not edible :o(
at least I was smart enough to save some just for planting come Spring! :o) I'm still learning ...