Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Oh, NOOOOOOOOOO!

My computer's out of commission for a while.  I'll see you when I get it fixed!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Pastrami Mama part 2

Hubby got the grill good and smoking...I placed both pieces of meat to the back side away from the fire.

It cooked for approximately 2 hours, then I wrapped it to seal in the juices and steam.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Pastrami Mama part 1

I told you my daughter brought me two corned beef briskets. I have a "thang" for pastrami and I guess she got tired of hearing me talk about one of these days I'm gonna make one. After a thorough search on "how to make a pastrami, and after reading about a thousand recipes, I decided to take the plunge and attempt the process. It is not a quick process, but everybody promises the results are worth the time.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

As my Momma used to say...

Sweet Essence of Squaddrops! We bought Little Man some bananas he didn't eat...so I either had to make banana bread or throw them away. I made banana bread.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Babybacks...

were what we had for dinner last night. They were a little high at nearly $8 for the slab, but that's what Hubby wanted for Father's Day dinner...so babybacks it was. He found three green peppers in the garden, so I used one of them in the potato package we cooked on the grill with the ribs.


Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day...

to all the men in our lives who are so special. I thank my son-in-law for being a father to the two most wonderful children in the world. I thank my Hubby for being a wonderful PawPaw to the babies. I thank my Dad for being the kind of man he was...funny, caring, honest and ethical. He's been gone 29 years and I miss him terribly still. He would have been so proud to see the grandchildren he never got to see.

Have a wonderfful day and hug the kids!

Friday, June 18, 2010

LOOK!!!

The first tomato is about to turn ripe!! I have my salt shaker in my hot little hand and I'm ready for the thing to turn red! I found it this afternoon when I went out to pick blackberries. I nearly broke my neck stepping in a hole to get over there and make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Berry Good Jam

I decided since I had the time and the desire, to make up the last of last season's blackberries into a fresh batch of jam.

Measure out 7 cups of sugar in a bowl. Place your canning jars, lids and rings in a pan of very hot water. You can also place them in a sinkful of very hot water after they have been washed and rinsed. They need to remain hot until you are ready to use them. I use liquid fruit pectin, which comes 2 pouches to a box (this is what makes the jam or jelly set). Cut the top off of 1 pouch and stand up in a container so it doesn't spill. Get Hubby out of the kitchen.

This is the equipment I used:

A large mixing bowl to hold the berries, my medium sized stock pot, a 1 quart measuring cup, an eight cup plastic measuring pitcher, a 1 cup dry measure, a small bowl, a potato masher, bamboo spatula and spoon, a rubber scraper, a large glass mixing bowl to crush the berries in, and a food mill.


I placed the frozen berries in my large mixing bowl to thaw.


I then mashed the thawed berries, one cup at a time, using the potato masher. Carefully measure 1 cup full and put it in the cooking pot until you have 2 cups of whole mashed berries. Place the food mill in the bowl you mashed the berries in and put a couple of cups of berries in the mill. With the wooden tool that comes with the mill, mash the berries against the sides of the mill in a round and round motion. The pulp will squeeze out through the holes and the seeds will remain in the mill. Repeat until you have 2 cups of pulp, carefully measure and pour in the pot with the mashed berries. Add 1/2 teaspoon of butter to the pot...this will keep the mixture from foaming.


Pour the sugar over the 4 cups of berries and pulp in the saucepan and start stirring to mix. Turn the heat to medium.

Stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to boil.



Boil the mixture until you reach a rolling boil, one that cannot be stirred down.

Be very careful...the mixture "plops" and may splash up on you. When the rolling boil is reached, you will notice a subtle change in color and texture.


Pour in the pectin, stirring all the time, and time for 1 minute exactly, making sure the pectin is incorporated in the fruit mixture.

Set the boiling mixture off the heat. I have my jars and lids on a cookie sheet with a towel on it. I pour the boiling mixture into my measuring pitcher and pour the hot liquid into the jars up to 1/8 inch from the top. Wipe the jar edge with a clean wet rag to remove any jam that may have splashed on it. Carefully place a lid on top, then a ring, screwing the ring down to secure the lid and place upside down on the towel. Repeat until the jars are filled and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes is up, turn the jars right side up and set the cookie sheet with the jars on it someplace where they will not be disturbed for 24 hours. You will hear a pop noise as the lids seal.

When completely cool and "settled", you can tell if the jars have sealed by running your finger over the lid. It should be sunk in at the center. You should have about 8 one cup jars.

I realize this sounds complicated but it isn't. You can use powder or liquid pectin. It doesn't matter which brand, but be sure and follow the directions that come in the box. I used Certo brand liquid pectin because that's what I had on hand.

Use the brand of sugar you usually use. Some sugar is sweeter than others. If you choose a different brand than you generally use, you may find it too sweet or not sweet enough. I always use Cost Cutter or Best Choice...cheaper!

Use a heavy 6 or 8 quart pan. I am fortunate enough to have Cuisinart stainless cookware. The half sized stock pot is perfect and the pan is heavy enough that I don't have scorch problems. It heats evenly and quickly.

I got my measuring pitcher at a restaurant supply store. If you don't use a pitcher, you have to ladle the boiling liquid into each jar and it usually gets messy. The most expensive thing you will have is the food mill. If you plan to can a lot it is very worth the expense. I've had mine since Hector was a pup, so I'm never out any expense except for jar lids. A lady I used to work with gave me all her canning jars which I have guarded for several years. One dozen jars is about $7 or $8. I usually buy a dozen or so small jars each season. They are the ones I share with neighbors and friends.

A large water bath canner with a jar rack is not very expensive. I can process 8 quarts of produce at one time. I hope you are encouraged to try your hand at canning. You can make jams and jellies out of frozen fruit or 100% juice you can buy. My daughter makes a tangerine pomegranate jelly that is unbelievable. She found the juice at Target.

Not counting the jars (which you can use year after year) I used the berries we grew. The expense for three blackberry bushes 5 or 6 years ago was about $12 each. They have more than paid for themselves. Jar lids are less than $2 for a dozen. The sugar was $1.67 at Dollar General. One bag of sugar has about 8 cups. The rest of the stuff you probably have at home. So for the sugar and the lids and my time, I spent out of pocket about $4 for 8 jars of all fruit jam. I had plenty of jars on hand...the neighbors are terrified of me if I have to go hunt down my jars so they always return them.

Happy canning!



Rain, rain, rain...

has been falling by the buckets. It came a toad strangler yesterday, all afternoon long. Streets were flooded in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and once we thought we saw a boatload of ducks water skiing in the back yard.

I've picked about 2 gallons of blackberries so far and a gallon of raspberries. The strawberries are not doing anything but putting on runners...I think we got them in way too late to produce. We will have double the plants next year because of the runners, so maybe they will do better. I did get about a half gallon of strawberries so we can at least get some mixed berry jam. I have to finish last season's berries in jam this week. I gave away my last jar and I'm about to run out of what I had opened.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Teriaki Chicken

We had some of our cheapo chicken last night...it was about $2.50 ($.58 per lb.) plus zucchini out of our garden.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Mystery Garden

This is our okra bed. This is also our cucumber, watermelon and cone flower bed. Hubby planted our little bed of okra which came up right on schedule. Then we found that our okra was not alone. Apparently, someone spitting watermelon seeds last year has given us several very nice vines. The cucumbers last year were planted in an adjacent bed and I guess they got up and walked to the okra bed. Again, some very nice vines. We don't know how the coneflower got there, as they are all planted on the other side of the fence in the front yard.


They are really beautiful right now and have spread like wildfire. This bed goes across the front of the house and is filled with 4 different kinds of lillies, creeping phlox, monkey grass and our herbs. It will really be a showcase when everything blooms.

The dill is blooming also. We'll use it when we cook the fish we have in the freezer...it's really good on the grill or baked. So far everything is looking good! The blackberries are abundant and I have picked lots of raspberries. We have been disappointed with the strawberries - the critters around here like them as much as we do. Little Man likes them more than the critters do.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Meet Steve

This is Steve, the guy responsible for cleaning the fish tank. My daughter got me the tank for my birthday about 3 years ago. Every fish tank needs a custodian, and we bought Steve...he was almost 3 inches long. Evidently he likes it in there, because he is nearly 7 inches long now. We picked him because he was orange and unusual. He is still orange but now he's strange. He gets what I call "the rips" and goes all around the tank as fast as he can. He has a large back fin that stands up about 3 inches when he's ripping. He's a little ugly when he hangs on the side of the tank doing his work. He scares Little Man and now we don't have to worry about him getting in the water or tipping the tank over...he won't go near it.

Maybe we could train him to be a guard fish. Have a great day!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Spaghetti with fresh herbs...

is a very good thing!

Brown the ground beef and drain to remove fat.


Chop onions and fresh garlic, add to pot.

Slice about a pound of fresh mushrooms, add about three cans of stewed or diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste and 3 cans of water, and a cup of wine. Instead of adding tomato sauce, I use a jar or can of prepared spaghetti sauce (Prego, Ragu, etc.). That gives it a little boost. Season with Worcestershire, a little salt and pepper. I found a pepper and dried Worcestershire blend that is really good. If you are going to use dried herbs, add them now.

Let your sauce simmer a while.

Fresh herbs are not nearly as pungent as dried, so gather and clean a good amount. I used fresh parsley, oregano and basil, about a cup loosely packed. Chop them fine and add to your sauce.



Simmer the sauce until the herbs are cooked and the sauce has thickened. Serve over pasta with fresh grated parmesan cheese and garlic bread. I usually cook an entire package of spaghetti...all you have to do is rinse it under hot water to reheat.

We had Little Man overnight and he has discovered that he can go pick his own berries! Hubby thought his hand was bleeding only to find that he'd been picking ripe blackberries and eating them as fast as he could. The green ones were not nearly as tasty as the ripe ones...we found several green ones on the ground. We finally had to make him come inside - we were afraid they would make him sick. Big Guy rolled over for the first time yesterday...maybe soon he can go pick berries with his big brother.

This is my "little" patio tomato. It has done very well and is responding to the kind words I give it every day.


Have a great day!


Thursday, June 3, 2010

Yea! Food!


Finally found a chance to go shopping! We went to Aldi's and got tons of stuff. My food stamps were raised to $115...maybe it's because I'm an old coot now...but it was fun having the extra. I couldn't get it all in one picture, but this will give you a good idea of how much stuff we came home with.

Large eggs were up to $.89 a dozen but that's still cheap. I got celery, 2 pks. fresh mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, 2 lb. strawberries @ $.99 each, 3 lb. Vidalia onions @ $1.99, 3 lbs. real butter @ $1.90 each, 3 bottles vegetable oil @ $1.89 each, 7 CASES of assorted veggies and cream soups, 2 stir fry packages with sauce @ $2.99 each, 2 pkg. 3 and 1/2 lb. chicken wings for $4.46 each (they were marked $2 off each), whole wheat crackers, peanuts, 2 bags of chips, pasta, cake and brownie mix, French toast sticks and waffles, graham crackers, peanut butter wafers and golden cremes (Twinkies), a jar of spaghetti sauce, and 2 cans of beef-a-roni for Little Man. My total bill came to $110.29. Oh, and a bottle of hot sauce. I think Hubby has hot chicken wings in mind for supper tonight.

That leaves me $4.71...enough for fresh bread and milk. I bought no non-food items this trip. We will use coupons for the other things we need...dish soap, storage bags, etc. Plus, my zucchini is about to start coming off, so we should do very well this month as far as veggies go.

I picked my first blackberry yesterday and as you can see, they are going to be nice. I still have three 1 gal. bags in the freezer from last season that I'm going to make into jam so I can make room for the new crop. I gave what jam I had left away...one of Hubby's friends calls it the "crack cocaine of jam", he can't get enough of it. I think that's a compliment.

Have a splendid day!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Idaho, Oklahoma

Didn't get to go to the store yesterday...I finally caught what everybody else has had and it was not pleasant around here. Between the snorting, sneezing, coughing and foul tempers I just went back to bed. Even our Big Guy is still sick, but thanks to modern medicine and Granny remedies, today is starting out to be much, much better.

I babysat last night and when I came home, Hubby had pulled out all the potato plants (which I didn't notice because it was dark) and harvested this mighty crop.


We're going to fry those puppies tonight...should be enough for a mess. The plants were getting so big they were crowding everything out - our ornamental stuff was barely visible. We've had lots of berries coming off and I've got collection bags in the freezer.

The squash is getting huge and is loaded with 4 inch baby squash. I like to pick it small - it is so tender and sweet and stir fries like a dream. Can't wait!

I guess we are going to HAVE to go to the store today...our cupboard is bare. We plan on going to Aldi's and raiding the canned goods. Their canned veggies are as good as any - really - and they have a large and varied selection.

Have a wonderful day!