steelnut

I'm getting tons of catalog's. We can always dream.

I finally asked today at one of the garden centers about all the wildly colored poinsettias. Last year there were spotted ones, curled ones and all different shades of pink, white and red. This year they have branched out into blues and purples. "Self", I said, "This is ridiculous. I know genetic engineering has done remarkable things but BLUE poinsettias?".  So I asked and was told that they are "sprayed". They look very real.

I'm a red poinsettia person, a traditionalist, I guess! I still like traditional Christmas trees. I've seen some really different ones and they are pretty, like done in all maroon and blue, but it's not for me.

Lol, everytime I see wood painted, I cringe!!! To each his own I guess, but, painting wood, beautiful wood????

And I can't wait to start in on the plant catalogs...it's something to look forward to after the holidays when things really seem to slooooooow down.

Lol, I was just looking out the kitchen window at the snow blowing....

and I thought of how much I missed talking about gardens, plants, etc.!

Crock Pot Apple Butter

I start this in the evening after work.

 

4 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

 

Peel and slice apples to completely fill the crock pot.

Cook on high for about an hour or so.

Add sugar and spices, stir, and continue cooking on high until you go to bed.

At bedtime turn down to low and let cook all night.

When you get up in the morning turn back up to high, remove the lid, and let cook on high for about an hour.

After about an hour, turn the crockpot off and let sit through the afternoon.

At this point I put mine through a sieve and then can.  The recipe says to stir it with a whisk to get out the lumps.

Snellma, do you use a 3 qt or a 5 qt? Thanks!

 

 

I did it and I wasn't overly impressed. The flavor was good but they were tough. Maybe I dried them too long. By the time I got around to it the romas I was picking were very small.

ps Yes, I used garlic. I can't resist garlic.

 

Ha, I can't either, love the stuff. And it makes me so thirsty! But, that's a good thing, I'm always drinking water because of it.

I heard a good one today. Cut the tops off 20 Roma type tomatoes and split them down the middle. Toss them with coarse salt and olive oil. Spread them on a cookie sheet and dry them in a 200 degree oven for 8 hours or overnight. Layer them with large leaf basil in a quart jar. Cover with olive oil and store in the refrigerator. Garlic optional. I'm going to try it.

Lavender, did you try these, if so, did you use garlic and how did they turn out? I'm going to the farmers market tomorrow, and I just may pick up a peck of romas to try them, if there are any left.

Thank you, I really appreciate all of the help!

Thanks to all, I gave them to a friend and bought some hyacinths to take their place...see the other thread...I'm trying to get my two sections planted tomorrow!!!!

But, seriously, thanks for all the help, I truly appreciate it!

Ok, tomorrow is the planting day. We have the 23' x 33" section ready and also a 11' x 5' section.

I have the 6 lilys, that I have no idea what they are, but they get very tall, 3 red magic, 4 stella d'oro, 2 August flame, 2 gloriosa daisys, 1 black eyed susan and 1 lily that I have no idea what it is. So, I bought 20 crocus, 15 tulips and 6 hyacinths. (I gave away the gladioli) I'm planning on planting my herbs on the long side of the 11'x5' section. (parlsey, dill, chives, thyme, basil & oregano)

Does this sound like too many plants or too few? Hubby says to plant them thick, and I'm reluctant to do that, I think they should have room to grow. Which one of us is right?

 

Gladioli are NOT HARDY! DO NOT PUT THEM IN UNTIL SPRING AND THEY MUST BE PULLED IN THE FALL!

Oh, no! I didn't know that or I wouldn't have chose them. Oh well!

We got the mushroom compost and mixed it in with the top soil, so, I'll be playing in the dirt this weekend! Yeah, there's not too much that I love more than playing in the dirt, I've never outgrown my childhood days. I'm going to draw an outline of the planting bed and then try and figure out which plants to plant where.

A big thank you to Lavender for the advice on the lilly's and other plants that I have. I went and bought some crocus, tulips and gladioli to add some color and some plant height differential. Here's hoping for a beautiful planting bed next year, wish me luck!  

Does anyone have any experrience with this. We have been working on our landscaping and we're going to get some of it this week. Hubby plans to mix it with the top soil that he hauled in last weekend. I'm going to plant some bulbs this weekend along with all the lilys that I have. Sound like a good idea or not?

I love fresh herbs! They make such a difference in recipes. Each year I plant parsley, oregano, chives, basil, dill and thyme in my veggie garden. Then, unfortunately, they always went to seed and got pulled out so hubby could till the garden before winter.  

One of our landscaping plans that we're are working so hard on, is to make an herb garden, seperate from the veggie garden. Anyway, I went on-line to check out which herbs were perennial, I knew that dill, oregano and thyme were. Some sites show parsley as being perennial and others show it as being annual? Has anyone ever had it come back?

Thank you Lavender! I knew that you would be able to help me out on this. I told hubby yesterday, when we were talking about what to do, "I'll get on GoDuBois and ask Lavender, she'll know!"

I really appreciate it, thanks again!

is there any veggies out there for sale?  I live in the city and love fresh veggies and love to freeze them.  Please let me know if there are any out there for sale.

Kiwi, go to the farmers market on Saturday mornings. It's from 8am to 11am. I have a huge garden, but, I've been there almost every Saturday as soon as they open. I always find some great buys. This year my hot banana peppers and jalapenos didn't do so well, so I bought mine there. There's one place that has the most wonderful veggies. She has chili peppers that are so great. I bought a peck, stuffed them and froze them. I just put them in sauce and right before taking them out of the oven, I put mozzerella all over them. Yum!

The bad thing is that it's winding down now.  

pick your brain?? If you don't mind??

We are trying desperately to get some of our landscaping finished. I know that I posted a while back that I had bought some lilies at the 100 mile yard sale and I was worried about what to do with them over the winter.

Well, we got one section finished today. It's 3' wide and 22' long. What I have are 2 August Flame Lilies, 4 Stella D'Oro's, 3 Red Magic and 8 other lilies that are a light yellow color. I also bought 2 Gloriosa Daisies and a Black eyed Susan.

What do you think? Should I try and put them all in this space? Or should I just plant some of them and add some other plants? I know what I love to see, I just have no idea of how to do it!!!

As always, I so very much appreciate your help!

I heard a good one today. Cut the tops off 20 Roma type tomatoes and split them down the middle. Toss them with coarse salt and olive oil. Spread them on a cookie sheet and dry them in a 200 degree oven for 8 hours or overnight. Layer them with large leaf basil in a quart jar. Cover with olive oil and store in the refrigerator. Garlic optional. I'm going to try it.

Ooh, that sounds wonderful, but I'll have to wait until next year to try it. Sounds just like sun dried tomatoes, which I love. Hubby's having fits because I have the fridge loaded with refrigerator peppers, By next year he should have my second kitchen finished in the basement with another fridge. Yeah!!! But, please let me know how they turn out?

My son also loves pear jelly but my pear trees did not produce enough this year. I may have to buy enough for at least one batch. Last year was a good year for my pear trees and I have about 20 jars left. But I didn't get a sinlge batch of wild raspberry done last year. This year the raspberries were plentiful and not the pears.

This is the first year that our pear trees didn't produce. We thought that maybe a late frost got them or something?

I'm almost done canning for this year, of course I've said that the last two weekends....

my awesome steak marinade

(to marinate up to 4 steaks)

 

5oz a1 steak sauce

2.5oz black velvet whiskey

1oz soy sauce

1.5oz worchishiere sauce

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

 

mix well and marinate for about an hour

 

let me know what ya think

Will do, I love trying marinades, thanks!

Daylilies multiply like crazy and if you plant an 8-10 inch pot of them they will have to be divided in two to three years. If you have 6 clumped together I would separate them. They will continue to bloom even if crowded usually but will bloom much better if they aren't.

Thanks, Lavender!

Okay, we definitely aren't going to get the rest of our landscaping done this year, so I'll plant pots and all in the garden for the winter. The first batch of day lillies (6) that I planted in a huge planter are unreal. Do they multiply like that? If so, next spring do I take them apart or plant in a huge bunch? I'm so new to lilies, but I love them.  

Questions, are mums annuals or perennials?

I've heard arguments for both sides.

Okay, I bought a bunch of different lillies from a lady in the 100 mile yard sale. They're all in pots. The plan was to get them planted in our new landscaping. Problem is, the work is going slow and we'll never get the landscaping finished this year. I know I should have waited to buy, but I just couldn't help myself. The question is, will the plants be ok over the winter if I just leave them in the pots? Maybe put them in my garden shed or the garage?

Thanks!  

I tried this recipe from Taste of Home magazine last night and it was really good.

I'll put in the whole recipe, but I cut it in half for us.

Comforting Potato Casserole

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

2 Cups (16 ounces) sour cream

2 Cups (8ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

6 geen onions, sliced

1 package (32 ounces) frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes, thawed

In large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, cheese and onions; stir in potatoes until coated.

Transfer to a greased 2 1/2 qt baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until potatoes are tender and lightly browned.  

A former co-worker's wife used to make this for us and we all loved it! She called it Lawnmower Salad and we all agreed it was the best!

Similar to the broccoli salad, but also has cauliflower.

Lawnmower Salad

Chopped broccoli and cauliflower, diced mild cheddar cheese, diced large onion and bacon bits to measure 4 quarts.

Add a little garlic powder and if you like a little cayenne pepper.

Salad Dressing:

Stir together until smooth:

1 C Miracle Whip (not mayo)

1 14oz can of sweetened consensed milk

1/4 C + 1/3 C of vinegar

1 T sugar

1 t salt

Stir until smooth, mix the dressing with the salad at least one hour before serving. Enjoy!

C=cup

T=tablespoon

t=teaspoon

The Boiler Maker

 

One of the greatest drinks of all time.  If you enjoy a strong manly drink, this has been a favorite of the blue collar crowd for many generations.  Especally in Pittsburg and Johnstown.

 

1 glass mug of good dark draft beer

1 shot glass of good burbon (Wild Turkey, and Maker's Mark are the finest)

 

Pour burbon into beer mug, drink, order another.

Yuck! No offense, but I just like a Rock Green Light w/a glass of ice, I'm a wuss!