Random bits of what I’ve been up to this weekend.
Picked the rest of the organic carrots. We’ve grown about 20 pounds or more from a 99 cent package of seeds from Lowe’s. The carrots are amazing…sweet, straight (for the most part) and just yummy. I planted the seeds and did nothing else the entire growing season. Just let the carrots alone. I did plant catnip heavily in the area, which may have helped keep the bugs at bay. The carrot patch was 4′ x 4′ and we grew over 20 pounds without one single pesticide, chemical fertilizer, or special anything. I will do another post on the specifics of growing these yummy organic carrots later this week.
Loved this carrot. It’s perfectly braided. It just grew that way. Leave it to a gardener to take pictures of a crazy carrot!
Now what to DO with all those carrots? Five pounds are in the fridge. Later today I will blanch and freeze more. To blanch the carrots, cut off the ends, peel, and slice into coins. Boil water and make sure it is in a good rolling boil. Fill a metal pan with ice cold water and ice. Place the carrots into the boiling hot water and boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain and quickly immerse them into the ice water. I leave them there a few minutes, drain, pat with paper towels, and pour into zip-lock freezer bags. Label, date and DONE – they pop right into the chest freezer in the pantry.
What els
I cleaned the house top to bottom. No photos of that, I’m afraid. But we snapped this picture of Pierre examing Hubby’s new 3-volume set of Tolstoy. I guess he thinks Russian literature is a “must-read” for cats.
- I took photos of the herb garden…hoping to do a new series on the herbs I am growing, particularly GROWING STEVIA. Yes, I grow my own, dry it and voila – natural sweetener. More on this one coming soon!
- We went shopping, stocked up on groceries and I checked out the new fabric store at Miller’s Country store. And joy oh joy – they have quilting supplies, cross stitch kits, AND the ladies will do alterations to your clothes. Thank you ladies for opening a real old-fashioned sewing store!
- And now I am off to church to sing with the choir at 10:30. Today is the church picnic and I may stop by. Sometimes I feel funny because everyone else is with family and it’s just me, but I will play it by ear and just see how I feel….
- …and later today, blanching more carrots, green beans, and baking CARROT MUFFINS. Recipe will go up when it turns out good; I downloaded this one from Cooks.com, and I want to try it before I recommend it.
Enjoy your day, everyone!
I enjoyed this blog so much! If you want, I can get you my sister-in-laws recipe for creamed carrots. She uses cheddar cheese soup and velveeta cheese, I think.
I’d love any carrot recipes you can spare. I’m making the sausage, squash and apple bake this week; I hope the fellas like it! Thanks 🙂