A Tribute for Memorial Day

Garden Update for Memorial Day 2010

Happy Memorial day! For those of you who have served, THANK YOU for your service.
It's very warm and muggy here in Missouri. It was supposed to rain today, but it looks like it passed us by. The Garden is looking really good. The above picture is of the Dragons Tongue bush beans.

All 9 Tomato plants are doing nicely. The squash plants to the rear are spreading out. Some of the leaves look a little yellow, but I think those are the old leaves not the new.

The Beets are looking really good. I have thinned them some, feeding the plants to the "Bunny". (My fertilizer machine) Young beet plants can be eaten and are good as a salad or a pot herb.

The Lettuce is really looking good considering the state it was in a month ago. I don't think I will plant this "mix" again. No offense to Seed Savers but I would rather plant one specific kind rather than a mix.

The double yield Cucumbers are doing very nice. I told my wife this morning that its hard to believe they started out as seeds. The plants are beginning to vine out, when they do I will wrap the "tepee" in twine to give them support.

As always the Potatoes are Great. I had to move the reds over a little. Not enough sun.

Last but not least, the Cowpeas are beginning to vine out. I planted the pepper plants (in the foreground) just a few weeks ago but even they have new growth. Because of the heat I have been watering all of the plants both early in the day and at dusk everyday.

Easy to make Hummus

 My wife is on a Garbanzo bean kick right now. There is a new Local Greek cafe that we have been going to. (Mario's Cafe) They serve a really good Falafel sandwich and fantastic hummus.  I posted a good recipe for the Falafel the other day. Here's the Hummus.

• 1 can of Garbanzo beans or 1 cup of dried**
• Olive oil
• Garlic, chopped
• Cumin, ground
• Salt and Pepper
• (Optional) Red bell pepper

1. If using Dried beans, soak overnight first. Then cook for about an hour.
2. Puree the beans using a food processor, blender, or magic bullet (my favorite). If mashing by hand over cook the beans first then mash using a potato masher
3. Add the garlic, spices, and Peppers while pureeing.
4. Season to taste

- Serve with crackers or Pita bread. This also makes a good sandwich spread. Add Garlic sparingly unless fighting vampires, it can overpower the dish.

CFL's or the funny bulbs :Good or Bad?

              CFL stands for Compact Fluorescent Lamp better know as the "swirly bulb" or other names. It's pretty much all there is to buy these days. The reason for that is the Incandescent Light Bulb Ban. Congress and President BUSH passed the Law as part of the Energy Bill that raised auto fuel efficiency standards by 40 percent in 2007. It bans the use of Incandescent light bulbs in a gradual phase out by 2014. (100 watts in 2012 start it out) According to the chairman of the House and Energy Commission John Dingell (Dem-Mich) " The legislation will boost the energy efficiency of almost ever significant product and tool and appliance that we use, from light bulbs to light trucks". This ban forces the consumer to use the "new" CFL's, this is both a good Idea and a bad one.
               The good. CFL's use 75% less energy and last a lot longer than regular bulbs. The price has good down since their creation in 1973 to combat the "old" Energy crisis. China has become the major producer of the bulbs. Personally I have replaced all of the lights in our apartment with CFL's. It has had a noticeable effect on the power bill. For those with electrical power limitations the bulbs are a good investment. You get 60 watts of light for about 10 watts of power. My lease states that I'm not to put higher than a 60 watt in any fixture. Using CFL's allows me to use brighter lights than a 60 watt incandescent bulb.
               The Bad.   CFL's contain mercury with is like a mini"Toxic" Bomb right in your house. The EPA is recommending the use of CFL's to save energy but at the same time is having to deal with the results. Mercury is a Neurotoxin that can damage small children, fetuses, and the soil. For most mercury poisoning happens when pregnant women eat too much Seafood. When these bulbs break they spread the mercury around. The EPA guidelines for cleaning up a broken bulb are almost comical if they were not completely serious.

"Before Clean-up: Ventilate the Room

Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk
through the breakage area on their way out.
1.Open a window and leave the room for
2. 15 minutes or more.
Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you
have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

3.Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or
cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a
canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
4.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small
glass fragments and powder.
5.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes
and place them in the glass jar or plastic bag.
6.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard
surfaces.
7.
Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with
metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
8.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small
glass fragments and powder.
9.
If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed,
vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
10.
Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put
the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.
11.
Disposal of Clean-up Materials
Immediately place all cleanup materials outside the building in a
trash container or outdoor protected area for the next normal trash.
12.
Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing
clean-up materials.
13.
Check with your local or state government about disposal
requirements in your specific area. Some states prohibit such trash
disposal and require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing
bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.
14.
Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Ventilate the Room
During and After Vacuuming
The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air
heating/air conditioning system and open a window prior to
vacuuming.
15.
Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the
window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed."

Many states have banned the practice of just throwing away the bulbs. Many trash removers will not take them. Few recycling centers can deal with them. So far only IKEA and HOME DEPOT will take them back for recycling. WAL-MART refuses to comment and will not even discuss the issue.  There are a few online services you can use. EARTH 911 will help you find a place to recycle. Use the keyword CFL and your Zip code. Another is Light Bulb Recycling They provide you with a prepaid pail which holds about 30 bulbs. It ships Fedex when you are ready. It costs about $120 to use though.
               Consumers won't be penalized for having inccandescents past 2014 only retailers will. Now might be a good Idea to start stockpiling them if you dislike the CFL's or want to keep Mercury out of your house.

Book Review: Living on an Acre

 I few years ago I found an older (1973) version of this book. I saw this one Saturday and had to buy it.  It is put out by the Department of Agriculture. For someone who is interested in "getting back to the land" or Homesteading (sort of) it is a good resource. It tells it like it is on the subject of Gardening, raising livestock, and other farm stuff. Beginners will love it as it is fairly straightforward and to the point. Check it out.

Garden Update for 5/26/10

Well, the weather around here has turned Hot and Humid. I've been watering the garden both at dusk and dawn. It helps. The Weather people keep saying it will rain, but not yet. Everything is looking really good.

As always, the Potatoes are doing Great! The reds are on the left, they have yet to start blooming. The whites are almost in full bloom.

The Dragon Tongue beans are doing well. They have new growth and are several inches high.

I went ahead and staked the 9 tomato plants that I put in. I used wood from an old Garden structure that I tore down. The same Wood was used to construct the sides of the raise bed.

When I first put in the squash they did not look all that good. Now they are getting new growth, and starting to bloom.

My lettuce is finally doing well. Damn Tree rats.

The Cucumbers are starting to vine and spread out.

Potatoes are starting to Bloom!

Grocery Alert- Canning salt!

For those in the St Louis are here is a Grocery Alert for you. Canning Salt. In a Few months I'll be hot and heavy canning the harvest. I have been paying careful attention to canning supplies, trying to catch a sale. The local Grocery chain Dierbergs did something interesting this week. They sell Mortons brand canning salt in the 2 pound box for $1.79 each. That's about .80 cents a pound.

I noticed the other day that they had "out of stock" stickers on the shelf. What this tells me is once its gone they will not be ordering anymore. In place of this is a new brand, Mrs Wages.

This brand of canning salt is in plastic bags not boxes. It is a 3 pound size that is priced at $2.99 each. That's actually an increase of about .30 cents a pound. stock up on the Mortons NOW while its still cheap. I have.

Flooding in St Charles

   The river has been rising here in St Charles. It was supposed to crest today and start going back down. No damage that I can see. It got up into the local parks just a little. I went out yesterday and took a few pictures.

The top 2 pictures are from the Lewis and Clark Boathouse(check out the site for More Pics)
The bottom picture is from the Blanchette boat ramp. Where we live is not affected.

TVP and Eggplant Casserole

Here's a Tasty recipe I made for lunch today. This will serve 4 adults.

• 1 Cup of TVP, beef flavor
• 1 Large Eggplant*
• 1 Large Tomato, chopped or 1 can
• 1/2 cup of Green Onions, or Chives
• 1 Onion, or 1/2 cup of dried onion
• 1/2 tsp of Paprika
• 1/2 tsp of Curry powder
• Chopped Parsley
• Chopped garlic
• Worcestershire sauce
• Bread crumbs
• Olive Oil

1. Prepare the TVP,  the way I make it is to boil the water first. Then add the TVP and stir. Remove it from the heat and allow it to sit. While this is going on add a little of the Worcestershire sauce and some parsley. It helps to add flavor.
2. *Prepare the Eggplant. If using fresh, peel (or not) and slice or chop well.
3. I a small sauce pan heat some oil and cook the onions and garlic. If using dried rehydrate them.
4. Add the TVP, Spices, Eggplant,Tomatoes and a little extra Parsley together. Pour into a casserole dish.
5. Top with a light sprinkle of Bread crumbs and some more Paprika. You can add cheese if you like.
6. Cook uncovered for about an hour at 350 degrees.

*** Last Fall my wife and I dehydrated about 10 pounds of sliced Eggplant as an experiment. This is the first time I've used it. After 10 months of storage it cooked up just fine. To rehydrate I boiled about a quart of water, added the eggplant stirred it a little and turned off the stove. After about 5 minutes of "steeping" I drained the pot.

Some suggestions for leftovers.
- Cook up some Pasta or rice and top with the casserole
-Add tomato sauce and make a "meat" sauce for pasta
- Add to Hoagie rolls for veggie Stromboli

Part 3 of Increasing Food costs

    Have you noticed lately that grocery store products seem to have been zapped with a shrink ray? Marketing terms such as "value added", "Giant sized", "bonus Product", "less packaging", and others are now appearing on the food that we eat. Instead of raising prices, which we would notice a lot, the food is shrinking in size. Manufacturers are quick to point out their increasing costs of fuel and food components. They show consumer surveys or complaints about certain products to justify changes.
    Take Tropicana orange juice for example. The original size was 96 ounces now it is in a redesigned smaller container with 89 ounces at the same price. According to Tropicana the old design had "increased spillage and the new design is a VALUE-ADDED design". Another good one is Coffee. Traditionally coffee is sold by the pound. Several big name coffee manufacturers dropped the amount of coffee from 16 oz to 11 oz, the size of the can did not change. You just pay for the extra air. Folgers reduced its amount by 3 oz with the explanation " the puffed granules would make the same amount as the original 16 oz". Uh huh.
 Things are shrinking everywhere. Wrigley's gum has shrunk from 17 sticks to 15 with the new slim pack. Bounty towels has the "new" 25% thicker towels packaging. The "new" package is 128 sheets, the old package is 138 sheets, same price.

Behr has the new 116 oz "gallon" of paint. A gallon is 120 oz, 'nuff said. Peanut butter is a good one. Skippy has reduced their package by almost 2 oz by adding a larger indentation on the bottom of the container.

That is a trick that wine and spirits manufactures have used for years.Even Girl Scout cookies shrank this year. Like me did you notice that there were a lot fewer cookies in the box this year? Pet food is even smaller. Here's a money saving hint for dog food. Check with the local Co-op or Feed store. It's cheaper and sometimes you can get it by the truck load.
    Watch when buying "fresh" raw chicken these days. The packaging says 100% Natural with added rib meat. That's all well and good until you really look at the package. It also says "with up to 15% natural chicken broth". What this means is 15% of the chicken you just bought is water weight.

As an added bonus the "Broth" is mainly salt, which adds enough 8X the sodium to your NATURAL chicken. That's the same amount of salt that an order of fast food fries has on it. The manufactures are quick to say that this process, which is called Plumping, makes the makes the meat more tender and moist. Personally, I want just Chicken in my chicken. This is also now done with pork and beef. Not too long ago Coca-cola came out with small 8 oz cans of soda. They were marketed as a lighter, lower calorie drink. Basically they made us want them. Now they have redesigned the small sodas and made them even smaller. Dropping by a 1/2 oz these sodas are are called a "guilt free 90 calories". The new cans are taller and thinner than the old tiny cans. They have the appearance or more but are actually less. Its just another marketing ploy to get us to pay more for a lot less product.
    Probably the most outrageous decrease is tuna. Cans of Tuna used to be 7 oz. Now they are 5 oz, sort of. Look on the can at the serving size information. According to the LABEL, the can serves two. Serving size is 2 oz. That means that there is only 4 oz of meat in the can. You are paying for 1 oz of water or oil. At least the oil has more calories. The only true way to get real value for your ever shrinking dollar is to be very careful of what you buy. Pay close attention to the weight of the food and what is in it. Try and avoid the grocery store shrink ray.

**Thanks to www.mouseprint.org and www.theconsumerist.com for pictures and information

Garden update - Everything is greeening up!

All Eight of my Tomato plants are looking good and all the recent rain did not affect them at all. Down at the end (top) is the squash plants.

The Potato plants are just loving the rain and sun. Its hard to tell from the picture but they are more than waist high.

My onions, beets and others are doing well. The carrots are about a 1/4 inch high and so is the dill, chamomile, and Purple coneflower.

These are the Dragons tongue bush beans that I planted. so far they are about two inches high.

The Double yield cucumbers are all doing well. All the seeds except one failed to come up. Personally I think the squirrels got that one.

Finally, these are the Cowpeas that we planted. Jokingly I told the nieghbors that I was growing a herd of cows!

Part 2 of Rising Food prices

                      As we covered in Part one, one of the keys to rising food costs is the production of ethanol and its effect on the corn industry. Cattle and the dairy industry is a large factor in this. First, some brief info about the dairy industry. Dairy farms primarily make their money with the sales of milk. Additional revenue is gained from sale of calves, cull cattle, and other small enterprise. Dairy's get paid by weight. Milk is collected a few times a week or monthly and the Farmer is paid by the hundredth weight. That is they get paid a lump sum of money for each 100 pounds of milk. (1 gallon of milk = 8.3 pounds) In 1919 dairy farmers were paid about $5.00 for 100 pounds of milk. Today, in 2010, farmers are being paid about $10.00 for 100 pounds of milk. That is only a $5.00 dollar increase in 90 years! Add rising fuel costs, feed prices, and foreign imports(the U.S. IMPORTS more than a Billion dollars worth of Dairy a year). Dairy farmers are barely making even. It costs more to feed the cows then the milk itself raises. Do the math: 80 cows X (18/56) bushels of corn/Cow X $2.50/Bushel= $64.29 per day! But corn is not $2.50 a bushel. It is over $8.00 a bushel!
                                     Wholesale prices for milk products have been falling drastically for the past few years, some as much as 50%. This is due to a "glut" of milk on the market. Way too much milk in stores. Imports have not helped. Small non-factory farming dairy farms are slowing going under. Farmers are having to cull as much as possible to lessen the "number of mouths the feed". In many cases they are closing all together. This trend is one of the causes in the dip in Beef prices this past winter. Dairy owners sent them all to the slaughter house. Feed prices are through the roof. Between 2005 and 2008 corn prices increased to more than $8.00 a bushel. According to the Congressional Research service feed prices cost farms $48 Billion dollars in 2008. If Congress raises the Gasoline Ethanol percentage from 10% the 15% it will require 1.6 billion additional bushels of corn. That is more than the entire cattle industry uses in a year! All of this means higher dairy prices in the future. Fewer new dairy farmers will open. Its just too expensive. Even land prices are a factor. Lush crop land is needed for summer feeding of cows. Its the same farmland that could be used for growing corn, or building houses. Not to digress too much but corn prices are hurting the pork and poultry industry as well. The Turkey industry is down about 9% which equals about 3000 lost rural jobs.
                                  The Ethanol industry will say that this is not true, one of the by products of the industry is leftover meal that is used for feed. There is a small problem with this. The high cost of drying and shipping the final product makes it only useful for those farms near the Ethanol plants. Most of the farms near Ethanol plants are growing corn, since its less of a distance to ship. Another factor is the "mash" should only be about 30% of the cows food. So its not really worth the cost to ship. Another impact of the corn rush is its effect on Soybeans. Corn is more of a cash crop than soy. Farmers prefer to sell corn to the Ethanol people. Fewer are growing Soy. Soy is in everything these days. A decrease in production translates into higher prices at the store.
                      Now for the fun part. Food manufacturers are not stupid. If I can see this, so can they. The next part of this will be about them and the sneaky tricks they have been using to still make money.

Rising Food Prices and what is to Blame Part 1

Lately, there have been news articles and blogs talking about the rise of food costs. This got me thinking about the Price of corn, ethanol, and how it relates to the economy. I'm not an economist or even a financial wizard type guy. I do all of our shopping so I see with my own eyes the price increases and some of the sneaky marketing ploys that food Manufactures use. I did some research and here's what I've got. I'll post this in 2 or 3 parts so stay tuned.

One answer to the rising food costs is the production of corn and how it is used in the United States. In general two types of corn is grown and raised in this country: Dent corn, also called Field corn, and Sweet corn. Sweet corn is the corn you buy in the grocery store. This type of corn is used for canning, frozen foods, and fresh for eating. It is rarely used for making four and for Processed foods. Dent corn is used for cattle feed, industrial products (like HFCS high fructose corn syrup), and for flour products. A similar type known as Flint (or indian corn) is also used for the same things.
The issue is that with the increased use of Ethanol, farmers are growing more corn for that use. Ethanol is basically grain alcohol. Interestingly Henry Ford designed the Model-T Ford to run on Ethanol. Brazil uses 25% Ethanol in its gasoline. In this country, gasoline is “cut” with 10% Ethanol. American engines can generally only tolerate 10% in the fuel. Newer Flex-Fuel engines use 85% in the new E-85 fuel. The 1990 Clean air act brought about the use of Ethanol in our gasoline. Ideally, sugar cane works best for the production on this fuel. It is what Brazil uses because it is easier to extract and has 30% more sugar in the extract. This country uses Corn. According to the CBO (the Congressional Budget office) one quarter of all corn produced is used for making Ethanol. For the first time in many years farmers are being paid a “living” wage for something that they grow. It has become a Cash-Crop. Helped by both state and Federal subsidies farmers are making a Killing on it. Here in Missouri alone there are 7 Ethanol plants, nationally there are 108. Under a 2007 law 12 billion gallons of fuel need to be produced for 2010 and 12.6 billion for 2011. Later this year the Fed is due to rule on increasing the amount of Ethanol in gasoline from 10% to 15%. News reports have reported recently that there will be a Bumper crop of corn this year (weather permitting). As expected corn prices are down but not out.
In 2007 the use of Ethanol in the US caused a 10-15% rise in food costs, according to the CBO. Statistics from the World Bank say that Globally food prices increased 140% primarily due to the bio-fuel industry in the United States. Weather, shipping fuel prices, and the decline of the dollar were also contributers to this number. Because of the demand for cropland, to grow corn, and the reduced amount going to feed production Cattle prices were affected.


End of Part 1

Easy to Make Felafel

 Felafel is basically ground chickpea patties that are fried and added to sandwiches.  It is easily made from Dried and stored products.

• 4 cups of cooked Chick peas***
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp tumeric
• dash of Cayenne
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 Tbs of Lemon juice
• Vegetable oil

*** If using canned chickpeas use 2 cans

1. Drain the Chick peas well
2. Combine all ingredients except the flour in a food processor. ( This can be done by hand. Use a Potato masher and a spatula and mash then mix well)
3. Add the flour and mix well
4. Heat 3 Tbl of oil in a heavy frying pan/skillet. Fry tablespoons of "batter" like small pancakes 10 min on each side. more oil may be needed
5. When done, drain on paper towels and keep warm
6. Serve in sandwiches, on a salad, or as a snack.
7. Leftover batter will keep for several days

Ha Ha ! I have Cucumber sprouts!!

I went out this morning early because I heard a Weed Wacker fire up. My landlords crew was there and I didn't want them to  Mow down my garden, Like last time. A few years ago I tried to grow Pumpkins, I was a little slow in getting outside and they got mowed down. Needless to say me yelling at them at 7:30 am in my skivys made somewhat of an impression. They avoided my garden this time.

I built the "tepee" framework with branches from the small tree I cut down.

Thoughts on Prepping for this summer.

       Now that I have gotten the garden 75% of the way planted, I've started thinking on what to work on next. In a few months the Drying and Canning will begin. Over the winter we purchased supplies to prepare for that event. Our storage unit hold the 150 canning jars, pounds of salt, and canning apparatus. My wife and I discussed this the other day. What exactly are we prepping for and why. Knowing this will determine what to do this Summer.
  For us, I think, we are prepping for 3 things: A possible Earthquake, Economic collapse or turmoil, and a Terrorist event. First the earthquake. The St Charles area (and St Louis) is on the New Madrid Fault line. As those in California like to say "the Big one is just around the corner". I could happen. If it does, there is a chance that the highway overpasses may collapse. That and the bridges. The Yellowstone Caldera is a faint possibility included in this. (now I really sound paranoid). Second Issue is some sort of Economic issue. This countries economy is not on solid ground right now. Too much debt and little or no financial planning. My 13 yrs old niece could do a better job in balancing the check book. Grocery Prices are already on the rise. Third is a terrorist attack. Not something that any planning can totally cover. More contingency planning than anything else. Because Missouri has Nuclear Power plants we are going to get some IoSat (potassium Iodine pills) and Gas masks. Terrorist acts are a major What if? when planning.
  So back to the original question of what is our next project. With the garden in hand we are going to concentrate on prepping/storing more grains, pasta, and seasonings. In the coming months I'll document the dehydration process for fruits and Vegetable that I grow and buy.  I expect to buy some rice and Grain from local specialty grocery stores in the area.
 Pasta is very easy to get and to store. Right now BIG LOTS is the best deal in town for buying pasta. I'm not talking about Spagetti  type noodles. Macaroni and other types of pasta is fairly cheap. I try not to pay more than a dollar for 16 oz / 1 pound of any specific type of pasta. Generally I pay about .80 cents a pkg at Big lots. This price has gone up since last year. I was paying between .50 - 60 cents per box. Just buy a few bags when you buy other stuff. It all adds up

Asian style Corn Pancakes

I have a certain fondness for Fresh Corn. Good for Grilling and eating. Here in the Mid-West we get a lot of it. I heard on the News that there should be a "Bumper" crop of corn this year. Weather permitting of course.

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 chili pepper
• Fresh ginger, chopped (about a 1/2 inch piece)
• 1 1/2 cups of fresh corn or 1 can of sweet corn
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of cornstarch
• 2 Tbl Cilantro leaves
• 1 Tbl of Chili sauce (Sriracha sauce works good)
• 1 Tbl of Peanut oil

1. Chop the garlic, Ginger, and the chili pepper
2. Combine the garlic, chili, 1/2 of the corn, eggs, cornstarch, Cilantro, and chili sauce in a food processor. process until smooth. (This can be done by hand. Use a potato masher to combine and MASH until it is mixed well)
3. Fold in the remaining corn
4. Heat a frying pan with the oil
5. In the pan add 2 Tbl of the mixture to make a pattie. Cook 2-3 minutes then turn and cook 1-2 minutes.
6. Drain on Paper towels.
7. Serve with Spicy mayo (see next recipe)

**Here is the spicy Mayo recipe

• 2/3 of a cup of Mayo
• 1/4 cup of Lime juice
• 1/3 cup of Cilantro leaves, chopped
• 8 scallions (or chives), chopped

1. Combine all ingredients well. Salt and pepper to taste

Planted Tomato's and Squash today

 My wife and I got up early this morning and went on a Vegetable hunt. We had been to Home Depot looking yesterday, and were not very impressed with the plants there. We went by "El-Mel" the local  feed store, but they didn't have any plants out. So, we went to Lowes. Just as a wallet warning for you, plants are EXPENSIVE this year! We got 8 tomato plants at $3.48 per. Then 7 squash plants at $3.48 and 1 at $5.98. We needed another planter and my wife spotted Blueberry bushes. All Together Lowe's got $75 bucks from us. But, it was necessary. I got everything except the bushes planted this afternoon. I still need to get some Green pepper plants and some herbs.

Soup from the Garden: Corn and Zucchini Soup

Here is a nice fresh tasting soup for a summer or fall day.

• 6 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 2 cups diced zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 6 cups fresh corn kernels (about 12 ears)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• Jalapeno hot sauce (optional)

1.  Bring broth to a simmer in a large pan. 
2. Add zucchini and onion; cover and simmer 2 minutes.
3. Stir in corn, salt and pepper; cover and simmer 2 minutes.
4. Place one-third of mixture in a blender and process until smooth.
5. Repeat procedure with remaining mixture.
6. Pour soup into bowls; top with yogurt. 
7. Serve with jalapeno hot sauce, if desired.

Carrots, Dill, and Herbs Oh My!

I got my Carrots, Dill, Chamomile, and Echinachea (purple Coneflower) planted this morning.

The Carrot seeds came from Baker Creek who I have nothing but good things to say about. I am very impressed with the seed that they sold me. The Herbs/Flowers I got from the Hardware store. I planted them in a mix of (pre-bagged) potting soil and home grown compost.

Garden Update

We got out this weekend and planted all the seeds for the Beans, Cucumbers, and other Veggies. When they germinate and sprout I'll post pics and descriptions of whats what. The Statuary is something I've had for a while and thought "why not" put in in. The Potatoes are my biggest success so far.

Northern Alabama BBQ - White BBQ sauce?

  I have Family in the Madison/Huntsville area of Alabama. While visiting I had to check out a local Favorite.

Thomas Pit BBQ in Madison Alabama. (sorry the Pic is from Google, it was raining when I went). The place is a classic greasy spoon, that has the BEST  bar-b-que. It has been there for 70 years! Funny thing it is CASH ONLY. That fact has not even slowed business down. Inside they is about 7 tables and they have a drive thru. I waited an hour for a pound of pork and a pint of potato salad. The drive thru was lined up across the parking lot and down the HWY. Busy Place. Really good food. One of the area specialties is White BBQ sauce. Here is a recipe for some:

• 1 1/2 cups Mayonaisse
• 1/4 cup White wine Vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 TBL ground white pepper
• 1 TBL spicy Brown Mustard
• 1 Tsp of Sugar
• 1 Tsp of Salt
• 2 Tsp of Horseradish

1. Mix together all ingredients very well. Store in the Fridge. It will keep a week.

Back home and in the Garden

  After our great adventure we returned home last night. Rain, Rain, and more rain all the way home. We were ahead of the storms a little so all we had to deal with was the rain and some high wind. The Tornado's stayed to the south and west of us.
 This Morning I had a good look at the garden. WOW! All of the moisture in the St Louis area did it some good. Everything thing is still a little damp, but the plants are doing Great!

The Beets tripled in size while we were gone. The Lettuce is doing way better than I thought before we left.

The few Plants that the squirrels did not dig up are the large ones and the others are new Growth. The big winner are the Potato plants. I think those doubled in size. Tomorrow I will finish filling the tubs with compost and mulch everything.

All that is left is for me to getting planting on the rest of the garden. I need to weed everything then plant the seeds. I have some trellising to construct for the garden. I have some scrap 1x2's and plenty of branches to use. It will be as basic as possible.