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Thank you for visiting my website. This is still a work in progress. Most of my pictures were taken in year 2011, but this blog was started just February 2012. This is a whole new adventure for me. Although my blog is about gardening and food, it is far be it from toiling in the dirt or tasting cuisine. There is a lot to share and learn. I am very very excited. Here is a challenge for you.

Pickled Watermelon rind?

 Exactly right! Who would have thought that you can pickle water melon rind? Well, I got to try it and it is pretty good. My husband said it almost tasted like chunky pineapple tidbits, less the cinnamon flavor. It is certainly new to me, but I am the kind of person that don't like to waste anything. This has a new taste and I like it. I have yet to try other ways to use water melon rind, but here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients: (Yields 5-6 pints)
4 lbs watermelon rind
2 cups vinegar (white)
2 cups water
4 cups sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole spice
1 lemon, sliced thin

Brine
1/4 cup of salt
1 quart water

Preparations:
Pare watermelon rind and remove all pink. Cut into cubes and soak overnight in the brine solution.
Drain rind, wash  in fresh water and drain.

Combine all remaining ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Add rind a few at a time and boil for about 30 minutes. Pack rind into sterilized jar and cover with with boiling syrup and seal. Process in boiling water path for 10 minutes.

Pickled Okra

I grew up eating Okra and I love it. It  has a different texture and one would have to acquire the taste I think.  It is a very common vegetable in the Philippines. When I moved to western Canada, I could only find them an Asian store, where as here I can find them in most of the food store. I was impressed the first few Sundays I was at church, sisters with home garden were giving away their extra Okra, I was in heaven.

Last Christmas, a friend gave me a jar of pickled Okra for a present. I hesitated for about 3 months thinking that although I like Okra, I couldn't really imagine the taste of pickled slimy Okra. When I finally opened the jar and tried it, I wished I had opened it sooner. It was not what I expected at all. It was crunchy and almost better than the fresh ones. I really enjoyed it so I decided to pickle some of my pickles from the garden.

I followed a recipe by Paula Deen.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs fresh Okra
3 teaspoons dried dill
3 teaspoons sugar
2 cups of water
1 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons canning and pickling salt
3 (1 pint) canning jars, with lids, sterilized
My addition:
1/2  teaspoon of Ball Pickle crisp granules, in each jar

Preparation:
Sterilize all jars and lids. Note that this recipe is for 3 pint jars. Divide Okras evenly between the 3 jars. Place 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of dill (or Italian seasoning), and 1/2 teaspoon of pickle crisp granules.

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring it to a boil. While mixture is still hot, pour it into the jar and fill it up leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Wipe the bottle rim clean and place lids. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes making sure the water level covers the entire jars. Remove from water bath and cool on the counter.

Spinach and Feta Cheese Salad

I think I eat more salad during the warmer weather. How about you? I was craving a hearty salad and this was simple enough to make and very nutritious. During the spring to fall garden, I get a lot of spinach, but since it's winter, I used store bought spinach. They will definitely taste even better with the spinach and vegetables fresh from the garden.

5 cups of baby spinach
1/2 of red bell pepper, cubed
1/2 of cucumber, quartered
1/2 of avocado, cubed
1/2 cup of black olives, halves
2 tbs of Feta Cheese
2 tbs of onions, chopped
1 tsp of olive oil
dash of salt and pepper

This is ready to serve (5 serving) on the side with your choice of dressing or as an added topping on your pizza. See Green Pizza

The above picture has apples and Parmesan cheese added on the salad. Really yummy.

Green Pizza

My family loves pizza so I often make my pizza's from scratch and I try to find ways to feed my family something more healthier, and that's when I thought of the Brown's Green Pizza. This is also perfect for a Dr. Seuss day, Green Eggs and Ham, well how about Green Pizza!  My husband and I really enjoyed the salad topping on our pizza, you have got to try it. It was so delicious. Using the spinach and vegetables from your garden, even better!

For the salad recipe, Spinach and Feta Cheese salad

 I did not expect my kids to be excited about a salad topping on their pizza, so I made a regular pepperoni pizza with green sauce and they could not even taste the difference.

Green sauce. I put 2 handful of baby spinach in my magic bullet cup, then added Hunts tomato sphagetti sauce ( I would have used my home made spaghetti sauce but I have already run out) and a couple of spoonful of tomato paste. It depends on how much sauce you need. Add some basil and oregano if preferred, but since I am trying this for my kids, I did not want to overpower the tomato sauce.

 

The top picture shows you my first handful blend of spinach and sauce, then the bottom I added the second handful of spinach as I can only fit that much at a time. I added a bit more sauce and tomato paste. Other than the color, the kids did not realized their pizza was loaded with spinach. My oldest who is 7 says, "I knew there were spinach in there, but I ate it anyway. I could not really taste the spinach." I am one happy mom.

Indoor grower

Every year I always try to plant my seedlings indoor early, around end of January, but most of them usually do not last by the time I have to plant them out side. I am so anxious to get started and wanted my plants to be like the ones at the store by the time I transplant them outside. I figured I spent about $3.50 per tomato plant and bell pepper for about 15 plants total, well that comes up to about $18.50. Plus I also have other plants I want to grow.

Finally, I thought it would be a good investment to have my own grower indoor. My handy husband bought it and installed it under our kitchen cupboard. The plants you see here are 4-5 weeks old. The more vigorous looking ones are zucchini, the tallest are okra and then there are tomatoes, and smallest ones are bell peppers. In the front  grower, are the broccoli and kale.

Broccoli and Kale

To the left are zucchini plants, in middle are the tomatoes, next to the right are smaller sized bell peppers, and the towering skinny ones are okra.

 

Water bottle planter. This is my son's science project. It is basically a  water bottle cut in a half. The bottom part held the water and the top part with the cap on was holding the yarn that soaks up water to the dirt. Voila! Look at his flower seedling he planted just for me. This flower plant is about is 3 weeks.

This is what the grower light looks like under my kitchen cupboard.  I used the Hydrofarm Fluorescent Grow light 24 in. You can find them on Amazon for $30.00. The one we bought did not have the valance, so my husband made one up with card stock paper and aluminum foil, that is what you see shining around the fluorescent light.

Now I am ready to plant outside. The spring cannot come soon enough with this giant snowman in my lawn.

February 25, 2015

Green Pepper Tomato Salad

INGREDIENTS:
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In large bowl, combine the tomatoes, green pepper, celery and onion. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt,  & pepper. Stir into  tomato mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stirring several times, before serving.