Today's recipe

Since the lettuce is ready to pick in my garden, I thought I would share how to make good wilted lettuce. I learned this from my mother in law when I was in my 20's.

One big bowl of freshly picked leaf lettuce, washed and dried. If you don't grow it in the backyard, get a head of leaf lettuce at the store.
I like to roll several leaves up and slice them across, but you can also tear it into bite sized pieces.
Add in about 6 green onions sliced medium thin, include some of the tops. Toss it togther with about 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Then heat about 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease until it is just about to start smoking. Pour it immediately over the lettuce in the bowl, and toss it. Serve immediatley, don't let this get cold.

This is great with any summer meal.

Enjoy!

SG

Gardening thoughts

So many people commented on my garden pools, that I thought I should post some of the instructions here. You can't just dump in dirt and plant, so here is what I did:

First, I drilled drainage holes about 6 to 8 inches apart all around the sides, not the bottom, about an inch up. This will let some water stay in the bottom, but not a lot of it.
Then I put in a good layer of straw that I had. Pack it down good.
Then I put in topsoil, and mixed in some garden soil and peat moss.
After I planted I put in a layer of straw on top for mulch. You can also use mulch in place of the straw, but I had the straw already and needed to use it. I have added a layer of straw once since the original planting.

I hope this helps and I will certainly be updating on the progress!

Love
SG

Outdoor Wednesday

This is my Outdoor Wednesday picture. See others at:

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

This is my wading pool garden I am trying this year. Last night when I was watering, I found 2 tomatoes on one of the plants! They are about the size of a grape tomato so far.

So far so good!

SG

How My Garden Grows!

With all the rain, then sunny days, then no rain and heat, my garden is really growing. The pepper plants are not as big as I would like, and have started blooming. The tomato plants are blooming, and the lettuce is ready to harvest.






Tomato plants are starting to bloom, I may have them a little crowded, time will tell.

These are Better Boys, with one Roma in the center.








This is the squash and cucumber. They haven't started to bloom yet, but I need to watch them closely and do the pollinating, so I won't get strange crossbreeds. I forgot and put the cukes and squash in the same pool.

Also, the marigolds I planted don't seem to be coming up very well.




These are the pepper plants, with lettuce and spinach sowed about them.







All in all, so far this experiment is going pretty well. I just hope I get some produce out of this! The pools should last 2 or 3 years, then I'll transfer it all to a raised bed.

Today's recipe, Pink Stuff

Every family has funny stories that revolve arouind food, we have one that involves this salad we all just call Pink Stuff. And years after it happened, I saw a sitcom episode with this very thing in it! I wont go into the whole thing, but it involved a big disaster at a family dinner, and the only thing that survived was the Pink Stuff.

Pink stuff is a staple of pot luck all over the south. Its easy to make and will keep in the refrigerator a long time.

Pink Stuff

1 Large carton small curd cottage cheese

1 large carton whipped topping, thawed

1 small pkg. strawberry gelatin

1 small can crushed pineapple (partially drained)

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate. Keeps for 2 weeks.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, he isn't here to enjoy it with his granddaughters and his great-grandchildren, but he is still missed and in our hearts.

Here he is in his WWII uniform.

Lemon Pasta on Monday

I made this last night, and it was really good. Take it literally about drying out if you cook it a minute too long though! I think I'll add a little cream to it leftover. I also didn't have any fresh parsley or basil, and didn't want to go to the store, so I used dried parsley and put it on the stuff before I baked it. It would be sensational with fresh herbs!

I can't wait for my herb garden to grow.

Here is the link to Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/baked-lemon-pasta/

Try it!

Love,
SG

Thoughts for a Friday

It's Friday and a weekend looms ahead. Hopefully I can get some yard work done on Saturday, although I still can't start that mower!
I have been so excited with my wading pool gardens that I bought some seeds to turn part of the beds (neglected so many years) around my patio into an herb garden and plant some flowers and other plants I got for it. Hope to get that done on Saturday!

My wading pools have plants thriving, and the seedlings coming up. I have little bitty lettuce and spinach. And the squash and cucumbers are growing daily. Tomorrow I will fertilize a little and see how they like it.

Wish me luck!

Summer eats - Low Country Shrimp Boil

A Shrimp Boil is the easiest thing, and it's soooo good! I learned this from friends in Louisiana, but it's actually a Low Country food. It works the same, however for Crawfish. I had this one published in a cookbook.

Louisiana Shrimp Boil(Low Country Boil)

Fresh Shrimp with the shells on and the heads off, washed.
About ½ to 1 lb per person (depending on how much they like shrimp!)
2 lemons
2 white onions
Small red potatoes ( about 4 to 5 per person, depending on the size)
Corn on the cob(break the ears in half and cook a couple for each person)
One package Crab Boil( this is a small bag of mixed spices you can buy in the grocery)
Hot sauce or liquid Crab Boil ( if you like it spicy)

Use a big pot for this, and preferable out of doors.
Fill about ⅔ full of water, slice up the onions and lemons and add to the water, along with the bag of Crab Boil. Bring the water to a boil, add the potatoes, cook a few minutes, then add the corn, let this boil about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and let this boil until the shrimp turn pink and are floating.
Use a big strainer and dip the whole thing out on a big platter or a pad of fresh newspaper and paper towels on a picnic table. You have to allow for some water drainage, so pad this with the paper. If you want it hotter, add the hot sauce or liquid Crab Boil to the water. You might want to cook one batch, then take it out and throw in another batch with the hot sauce. Be sure to leave the bag of spices and as much of the lemon and onion in as you can for the second batch. Serve this with hot french bread and a salad. And of course, iced tea and beer!