Shared Produce

What does one do with beets?  Well, it depends on who you ask. 

A friend of ours surprised us with some produce from his (enormous) garden (Blessing #1190), after he heard that our dog helped himself to our garden veggies.  Among the treasures he shared were beets.  His advice was to pickle them.  I waited until he left to wrinkle my nose. 

So I proceeded to ask a few of my friends if they had a better idea.  What do you do with beets?   One said "Ewww!  You throw them out!"  I knew she wasn't the one to ask.  Another friend suggested Beet Chips, which were "okay," but not as crispy as Martha's.  I decided that my slicer didn't slice them thin enough. 

And several suggested to pickle them.  Really?  Pickle them?  Ewww!   But my mom agreed:  pickle those babies! 

My mom shared my grandma Viola's recipe with me, and so I began the process.  It really wasn't that hard.  And they look so beautiful in my cute little pint-sized jars.  (#1191)

 

 

I tried one . . . and wrinkled my nose.  I'm sticking with "ewwww!"   I ended up sharing them.  All of the jars went to my mom, my sister, and my mother-in-law, who absolutely love pickled beets.  It was fun to see their excitement, as I gladly shared my pretty little jars of pickled beets with the beet-lovers of my family.  (#1192)

Grandma Daisy's Cookies

My great-grandma Daisy made the best chewy oatmeal raisin cookies (Blessing #1188), and so I decided to satisfy my little craving today and whip up a batch.  My grandma Daisy always just dumped, and didn't bother to measure.  But my mom figured it out by watching her make them, so the recipe lives on.  (#1189)
 

I'll tell you the secret to making them nice and moist.  First, you put a cup of raisins in a glass measuring cup with enough water to cover them to the top.  Then, you bring them to a boil in the microwave. 

Next, you measure out 5 TB of the boiling water from the raisins and mix the hot water with 1 tsp. of baking soda.  (It creates a nice little bubbly reaction, so be prepared.)  And then add that mixture to the dough.  Drain the rest of the water from the raisins, and add the raisins to the dough.

Here's the whole recipe:

Grandma Daisy's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2/3 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
5 TB raisin juice combined with 1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. oatmeal
1 c. raisins (boiled)
Mix in order listed.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

The Disappearing Cucumbers

As you know, I am madly in love with Cucumber Salsa.  So naturally, I planted cucumbers, green peppers, and tomatoes in my garden this year.  (And green beans, which rates equally high in our home.)  And to protect our plants from hungry little bunnies, Chad helped me (blessing# 1184) put a chicken-wire fence around it. 

All spring and summer, Chad and I took great care in watering our garden and keeping the weeds away.  We nurtured it and fed it, looking forward to the fruits of our labor come late summer.  And despite the HOT weather we've been having, it has been looking really good.  (#1185)  Until a few days ago. 

Upon walking into our back yard, I could see our innocent dog Beau chomping away at something in the grass. But what was it?  I couldn't tell.  As I got closer, I could see that he was devouring (gasp) a cucumber from my garden!  Naughty dog!

I didn't want the rest of my cucumbers to disappear, so I found a large wire basket in the garage and tried to position the remaining cucumbers under the basket and into safety.  I am so naïve. 

I'm sure you already know what happened.  But I'll tell you anyway.  When I went outside to water the garden the next day, I discovered ALL of my remaining cucumbers were gone.  G.O.N.E.  Gone.  And the vines were pretty much destroyed too.  Naughty Beau!  I guess, at least he's eating healthy and getting a good dose of Vitamin B.  (#1186)  I suppose that's a good thing for dogs too. 

So far, he's only eaten ALL of my cucumbers, several green peppers, and a couple tomatoes.  At least I have a few things left in my garden.  (#1187) We've found a solution . . . electric fence.