Refrigerator pickles recipe

4-6 good sized pickling cucumbers

4-6 cloves garlic peeled and chopped

2 tbsp dill weed

1 tbsp black pepper corns

3 cups water

6 tbsp distilled white vinegar with tarragon (you can use plain white)

3 tbsp of kosher salt

Pot 

Large glass or plastic bowl or canning jars

Large plate

1) In a pot boil together water, vinegar, and salt for about 5 minutes (all salt dissolved) and cool completely. 

2) Slice cucumbers as desired (I did some spears and a few slices). Put in bowl (do not use metal)

3) Pour cooled brine over the cukes, and cover with plate so that it pushes cucumbers under brine, and place in fridge for 3-7 days. (I saw one recipe that put the cucumbers in canning jars then poured brine over top and placed lids on them.I will be doing this next time to prevent spills in my fridge)

4) I placed my 3 day pickles in canning jars next time I will skip bowl and do this first.

God's work: making pickles

   Cucumbers have not done well in my garden, which is a shame because my entire family adores them. 

   Recently we were delighted to receive a big bag of home grown cukes. 

   They were beautiful on the outside. however we were saddened by the first bite as they were so bitter we could not eat them raw. 

   I have never made pickles before, and I had little hope that pickling something that was already bitter would make it taste better, but decided it was worth a try at making refrigerator pickles before condemning the fruit to the compost pile.

   I searched for a recipe, and ended up making my own which I will post at bottom.  The recipes I looked at said to wait 3-7 days and the pickles would be ready. Today was the third day, so I decided to do a taste test to see how they were progressing....they were fantastic!  

   I was pondering this amazing transformation and it occurred to me that this is like what God does for us. He takes our bitter parts, the ones that we think cannot be of use to anyone, and he transforms them into something amazing that is worthy of sharing!

Here is the link to the recipe as promised

http://richlynourished.blogspot.com/2013/08/refrigerator-pickles-recipe.html?m=1

Sugar baby watermelons

My family loves watermelon! But you might be surprised to know that watermelon is more than just a sweet watery summer treat. Watermelon contains the largest known source of lycopene, even more than tomatoes, as well as a healthy dose of Vitamins A, C, and B6.  These nutrients may provide protection from prostate cancer as well as boost your immunity, dental, vision, and brain healthy. This is my second year to attempt growing my own in the form of the icebox variety sugar baby. Last year I purchased one plant on a whim, it never did we'll and I thought it was due to late planting. This year I selected three very healthy plants, but while remaining healthy they are not growing at all. Upon doing some research I discovered that this variety loves hot weather, here in Texas we have plenty of that, so my next guess after reading they are heavy feeders, is that my soil must not be sufficient. I found an online tip about using almost ready compost to provide both heat and nutrients. Since my plants are already in ground I had to modify a bit. I dug the soil from around each plant, put in the compost and covered with the displaced soil. I am trying to use as little commercial product as possible, but if no results from this experiment in 1-2 weeks then I will use some fertilizer.

Bugs in the lettuce update

Soapy water sprayed in leaves and down in between them worked great on the aphids nesting in my salad bowl lettuce. It works quickly, and so far I have only seen a few more which I sprayed right away. I also sprayed plants that did not have the bugs visibly on them, but had been munched on, and so far I am not seeing new damage just came back from weeks vacation and here is my lettuce.

Zucchini

I have discovered that I love zucchini! My past  experience with zucchini was a mushy side vegetable with very little flavor, and so I have never liked it before. I decided to try a recipe a few months ago that had zucchini in it (basically a thick beef stew made with hamburger meat and vegetables) I really liked it especially the zucchini. I noticed the vegetable had soaked up the flavor, and as small cubes did not get overly mushy. I then decided to try it in chicken noodle soup as a substitute for celery (I am allergic to celery) delicious again! I decided I had to plant some this year. Here is a photo of a blooming plant. These plants are reported to have large leaves and take up lots of room, I plan to experiment with trellising a few, and letting a few have the run of the bed and spill over the side of garden box if needed. I want to try making lasagna will long slices of zucchini replacing the noodles.

Rosemary and bush beans

Last year I planted 6 squares of bush beans (9 plants per square). The plants were very pretty, but every time there were blossoms, the next day I would go out and they would be gone I decided something had to be eating them, but never saw what. This year I planted the last of my seeds, between a late freeze and the dog digging, I only ended up with 6 plants, which I transplanted so they would all be in the same square.  I read that rosemary is a good companion plant  for your beans.  I had a small rosemary in another part of the garden, and it was not growing well, so I moved it into the plot of beans.  The result is good, both types of plants are now thriving.

Rosemary shown here, has a huge range of culinary, medicinal, and beauty uses. One thing I want to try this year is making  skewers from the stalks. 

My bush bean plants are no where near as bushy and green as last year, and with so few plants I do not expect a large crop but I am excited to see a few baby beans growing as you can see in the picture above.

The set up....

We began our project in late May 2012Finished 4'x4' raised bed with square feet marked off with twine ready for planting. We started with three of these.

Getting the beds ready was a family project. It took 4 large bags of garden soil per bed.

The girls were eager to help plant. We used seeds and starter plants.