[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.02.08 under Farmer Darrell's Tips

I found a recipe that uses a lot of fresh tomatoes, which is exactly what I needed.  My counter was decorated with too many bowls of tomatoes and the fruit flies were starting to multiply.  (yuck)  So anyway, here is the recipe.

“Mommy’s Best Baked Beans” (that’s what my kids named them)

2 1/2 C   Dry navy beans or pinto beans

3 1/2 C   Fresh tomatoes, diced

1/2 C   Tomato paste

4 T   Molasses

2 T    Olive oil  (or a big slab of butter which is my preference)

2 T    Salt

2 T    Honey

1 T    Basil (a handful if you’re using fresh)

1 large Onion

2-4 cloves Garlic

Soak beans overnight and then cook until tender. I put mine in the crock to soak and then cook for 4 hours or so on high.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.   Transfer to another dish and bake 1-3 hours, stirring every half hour or so, at 350 degrees until liquid is thick.  You can also cook them in the crock pot.  I tried it both ways and it definitely tastes better when baked in the oven, but when you don’t want to heat up the house the crock pot will do just fine.

We ate these beans tonight along with a big salad with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and onions and also warm buttered whole wheat tortillas.

The family enjoyed it much more than I thought they would and it was very economical.

This pictures was taken of the beans that I cooked in the crock pot.  The beans that I baked in the oven looked a lot darker and had a more intense flavor.

[ 3 Comments ] Posted on 07.02.08 under Recipes, Tomatoes

Canning might seem like a normal occurance to you, but to me it is scary.  Like, how do I know it won’t kill me when I open the jars up and eat it?  Who knows these things?  Is there anyone left that cans?  I have yet to actually see someone can something in their own house.

 Well, today, I gave it a shot.  I had about 25 pounds of tomatoes that had been staring back at me for a few days and some of them weren’t going to make it much longer, so I figured I better do something with them.  So I went to Walmart, bought the great big $19 canning pot, the accessories and a dozen canning jars.  I used my new Vitamix to whiz them all up, skins and all.  And once I was done, I didn’t even have to strain the seeds out because the Vitamix blended almost all of them up.  I am so loving this new toy of mine.

I also added a couple of onions, salt, and some garlic to the Vitamix, whizzed it up and then added it to my pot.

 I brought it to a boil, turned it down and then let it simmer overnight on a low setting to reduce it by close to half.

I filled the jars according to the instructions in the Ball Book of Preserving and boiled them in the canner for 40 minutes and voila.

Two hours and 5 quarts of sauce later, my canning adventure was over.

 Who knew that canning was so easy!  (We’ll see in a couple of months if it’s as easy as I think it is by how everyone fares after eating it.) 

[ 1 Comment ] Posted on 06.25.08 under Gardening Tips, Recipes, Tomatoes

My tomatoes are trying their best to make it through this 110 degree heat day after day with cooler temperatures no where in sight to rescue them.  I am really amazed at how well they have done so far with shade.  Last year, I had no shade so the day that 110 temperatures set in they cracked and started shriveling.  This year with the shade, they have fared really well.  Yes, they have cracked, but they have healed themselves enough to keep maturing and the cracking has been pretty minimal.

This is what I picked this morning, but by 9 o’clock it was so hot that I didn’t want to go wading through the “jungle” to get the rest.  I will have to do that early tomorrow morning. 

The Celebrity tomatoes that are in the round bowl with the very deep cracks were outside of the shade.  If all of the tomatoes were not shaded, they would all have the deep cracks or they might be cooked and sun scalded by now.  I am very pleased with how the shade has made such a huge difference in the quality of the tomatoes through the extreme temps.

The basil is loving the heat…

So is the okra…

I need to start thinning the baby okra plants out and thinking about putting some shade up for them.  They have endured 110 temperatures, unshaded, for a week now and they look like they are doing really well.   I’m impressed. 

It is amazing that so many different kinds of vegetables can grow through the Phoenix heat.  My tomato vines will be toasted in a few weeks, but they sure are troopers.

[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 06.18.08 under From My Garden

Home grown tomatoes make the best, full-flavored salsa!

 This is how I make mine:

Tomatoes, cut up

Fresh Cilantro

Onion, diced

Jalapeno

Salt

Fresh Garlic

I put the onions, cilantro, jalapeno and garlic into the food processor and pulse it a bit.  Then I add the cut up tomatoes and pulse it until they blend to the desired consistancy.

 It only takes 10 minutes or less and tastes much better than any jarred salsa.

 Everyone here loves it, except when I add too many diced jalapenos.  I did that today. FYI…If you let your jalapenos stay on the plant long enough to turn red, they are much hotter.

[ 1 Comment ] Posted on 06.16.08 under Recipes, Tomatoes

By now your spring-summer garden should be well on it’s way to maturity. It’s time to think about your fall garden. The soil needs to be replenished before your fall planting. A great organic method of this is by making compost. There are several different methods of making compost, but if you live in the city a compost pile isn’t always desirable as it is unsightly.

So a different method is a compost pit. To build a compost pit find a corner of your nearby garden that you are not using and dig a pit. A good pit size is 3 feet deep by 3 feet square, or 3′x3′x3′.  This will give you a cubic yard of compost. You can use grass clippings, leaves, vegetable trimmings, or coffee grounds. Do not use any meat, vegetable oils or animal excrement.

To fill your compost pit, you will want to use layers. Start by putting a 4″x4″ post in the middle of your pit about 4 foot long. You will want to leave this in until you fill your pit to the top. When your pit is full remove the post as this will allow air to reach into the pit to aid in the breaking down of organic material by aerobic and anaerobic microbes naturally present.

Stat with a 4 inch layer of organic material and then add a thin layer of soil about 1 to 2 inches, then more organic material and continue until your pit is full. Fill your pit with water and allow to empty, then remove your 4×4 post. Your organic matter will generate heat from the decomposing process and you will notice steam coming from your vent hole. This process will take about 45 days to decompose to where you can use it. Your compost will be ready in time for your fall garden. If you want more compost you can always make your hole bigger. Your compost should have a dark earthy smell when it is finally ready for use.

Making your own compost gives a satisfying relationship between you and your garden since you had a hand in making it grow and prosper. Here are some benefits of composting:

*It supplies part of the 16 essential elements needed by plants.

*It helps reduce the adverse effects of excessive alkalinity, acidity, or the excessive use of chemical fertilizers.

*It makes the soil easier to cultivate.

*It keeps the soil cool in summer and warm in winter.

*It aids in preventing soil erosion by keeping the soil covered and absorbing moisture.

*It takes less water for your garden by retaining moisture.

*It helps in controlling the growth of weeds in the garden.

*It allows the soil to retain more plant nutrients over a longer period of time.

So return to Mother Nuture the things that your plants are using and you will continue to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Til next month, Farmer Darrell signing off!

[ No Comments ] Posted on 06.13.08 under Farmer Darrell's Tips

Here’s a way to hide the Yellow Squash from the kids pretty well.

 Just make your normal Mac & Cheese, whether it’s from a box (yuck) or homemade, and then add some diced, sauteed yellow squash, not the green stuff.  Zucchini sticks out like a sore thumb.  Trust me, I know these things. :)  I’m at the point of trying to hide the squash now because no one here in my house wants to see the stuff anymore.  I have to sneak it into the house and hide it while I’m making dinner.   LOL! 

[ No Comments ] Posted on 06.12.08 under Recipes, Zucchini & Summer Squash

Here’s a photo of my Golden Jenny melon.  It’s between 3 and 4 inches in diameter. I am so excited because I’ve never grown any type of melon before.  If any of y’all are growing some sort of cantaloupes or watermelon here in the Phoenix area I would love to see pictures of them.  You can send your photos to clm_sam@msn.com and I’ll post them here.

I’ve also got some Yellow Wax Beans growing.  They are not doing as well as I had hoped they would be by now, but they are starting to finally take off.  They are supposed to be a pale yellow when mature.

Next year I will plant a lot more of these plants because it’s going to take a whole lot of bean plants to feed a family of 7 for one meal.  I only planted 6 Yellow Wax bean plants, so next year I will probably triple that number.  How many do y’all plant each year?

[ 2 Comments ] Posted on 06.12.08 under From My Garden

We had this the other night with our steaks. 

Zucchini Boats on the Grill (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 slice white bread, torn into small pieces
• 1/4 cup bacon bits
• 1 tablespoon minced black olives
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 3 tablespoons diced green chile peppers
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup chopped tomato
• 6 tablespoons shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 pinch dried basil
• seasoned salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the grill for indirect heat.
2. Place the zucchini in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes. Drain, cool, and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp to about 1/4 inch from the skin. Chop pulp.
3. In a bowl, mix the zucchini pulp, bread pieces, bacon bits, olives, jalapeno, green chile peppers, onion, tomato, and Cheddar cheese. Season with basil, seasoned salt, and pepper.
4. Stuff the zucchini halves with the pulp mixture. Seal each stuffed half in aluminum foil.
5. Place foil packets on the prepared grill over indirect heat. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.

This is what I used from my garden…4 zucchinis, a tomato, 1 jalapeno, 1 bulgarian carrot pepper and 3 pepperoncinis.

Before I sent them into the oven, they looked like this:

And this is after they came out.  I, of course, had to smother them with cheese so my kids would eat it.

This is my husband humoring me by eating the middle out of it and discarding the rest. (He really dislikes squash if it looks likes squash…I couldn’t really hide the squash as a zucchini boat. lol )

It got mixed review from my crew.  We did all agree that the filling was yummy, but not many wanted to eat the big boats.  Oh well, you can’t win if you don’t try.

[ 1 Comment ] Posted on 06.11.08 under Recipes, Zucchini & Summer Squash

My son went tomato picking on Sunday morning.

He was so proud of all his loot.

[ 3 Comments ] Posted on 06.09.08 under From My Garden

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