I love the little artichokes! Now that they each have their own little pot, they are continuing to grow like crazy. So encouraging! Out of my 6 seeds, I ended up with 4 strong ones, and one little, tiny one. I’m giving it a chance. Who knows what it will do:)
As I find a few minutes, I slip out to the greenhouse and transplant what I can in the time I have. So far, I’ve done all the Willamette tomatoes, the San Marzano Giagante, the artichokes, and the basil. I still have the cherry tomatoes, and a few more things to do. Once I transplant them, the plants are growing rapidly. I can clearly see that it’s time to get out there and get the rest done. Soon it will be time to plant more little seeds.
Outside, various daffodils have burst into bloom. There are several varieties here, and so they bloom at different times. So pretty!
This week’s menu plan is all about cleaning up odds and ends, and using stored food. With the fridge emptied out a little, I hope to wash it out this weekend.
I took this little pile of apples, cut them into chunks and cooked them with raisins, cinnamon and sugar. It was delicious. I made mini muffins from the one, lonely, sad banana.
I pulled chicken legs from the freezer and marinated them in home-made teriyaki sauce. I squeezed soy sauce out of all the little packets in the cupboard, left over from long past Chinese food meals. Once I read the labels and realized they were gluten-free, there was no need for them to languish in the cupboard any longer. I added a couple packets of sesame seeds, brown sugar, water, 3 green onions I pulled from the garden (yea!), and marinaded them all day, then baked them.
Last night, we cooked for the college age gathering/worship night at church and most of the family ate there with them. (I actually got some super great chicken and rice at my sister’s house–she was cooking that, before I got there). They provided us with a budget, and we made tacos/nachos, corn, and cake. We made it possible for gluten-free people to have plenty of choices, such as taco salad or chips and toppings. I love my own home-made refried beans (not trying to brag, they just have so much more flavor from the peppers and onion I add), so decided to make a big batch. I was happy to donate those, and also to keep a few here for our family to use. They have a brilliant way of using up their left-overs. (It was our first time cooking for this group, so we are learning). They package them up, and the college kids take them home to eat the next day for lunch. So, we rolled up the leftovers into burritos and put them in ziplock bags. Some were pretty plain, some had more fillings. All had beans and cheese and tomatoes at least. There were a very few baggies of lettuce, a few bags of corn chips, and several bags of corn. We got a great feeling for how much food they eat, and will know better next time. All in all, we were super pleased with how the food to hungry person ratio worked out. There were leftovers, but not an enormous amount, and they all went home with the young adults.
We’ve eaten up the leftovers from last weekend, including the chicken/rice soup, and a lot of turkey hot dogs have been eaten. We had a big package of those. We are eating a lot of salad this week, since I bought that huge bag of romaine from Costco 2 weekends ago. The 5 dozen eggs have been hit hard, with all the baking plus scrambled eggs, but there are still a few cartons left. There’s lots of cheddar cheese, and a little bread left. I only spent $21 last weekend because I stocked up so well that first weekend of the month, but needed milk and a few other very-much-on-sale items, like water for $1.50/case. This weekend, I will spend more and stock back up on produce, and get whatever super sales items that show up on the ads. I will plan that out on Friday, when I get time. I will make more chicken/rice soup for this weekend and maybe another kind of soup as well, for Sunday. I have bagels frozen for Jake, as he is coming over. He has a new Star Wars cookbook his mother bought him, and is dying to make something from it. We will!
There is enough chicken for tomorrow. There are still a few refried beans, and a very few tortilla shells we had on hand. We will use canned fruit for the next few days as most of the fresh has been used. I need one more main dish for Friday, and will figure it out Friday:). I’m very pleased with how this moderate-budgeted month is going! I’m getting some odds and ends used up, and hopefully will clean the fridge.
Green onions from your garden, yipee!!
I also appreciated you saying you were giving that one tiny plant a chance after repotting it. Fun to see all your seed starts and how happy they are in your green house!
Great job with the college group. Reminded me of one place I worked and we’d do ‘taco potlucks’. Everyone signed up to bring one of the components. So tasty and a different way to do a potluck.
I’m ready for spring. We had snow last Saturday morning and hail on Sunday. This week at least has been mostly clear but cold.
Brrrr….we’ve got a very blustery, cold, but rainy day today. That’s Oregon for you:). I’m glad it’s not snow, like you had.
I’m itching to get going on the garden, but it’s way too wet and cold for most things, so I’m really loving the greenhouse right now.
I completely agree with you on the homemade refried beans. I do have a bunch of canned ones I got free but they are just not the same. I’m thinking Darth Vader rice krispie treats must be in that cookbook. 🙂
Last Friday I baked a chicken stuffed with cubed up bits of bread stuffing that I had been adding to in the freezer . The chicken was nearly 6 pounds and I had been eyeing it in the freezer for awhile and knowing it had to go. Hubby kept mentioning it too so I knew it was time. We got seven meals for two from that one chicken. The very last was a pot pie with all the bits of meat and leftover gravy. I added half and half to the gravy while I reheated it and that pot pie was delicious. I will do that again in the future. I already have another bag of bread cubes going for the next round.
That chicken sounds wonderful. I love stuffing and pot pie!
That cookbook is a hoot, with things like Han-burgers, (Hans Solo), Wookie Cookies, and Boba-Fettuccine:). Jake doesn’t like to eat very many things, so we will see if he actually eats any of it, but, either way, we will have fun.
I loved the stories about the onions and towels. Your seedlings look so happy. Artichokes are so exciting! That recent pic of the green beans looks so good, and they are not one of my favorite vegis.
Thank you! Sometimes pictures are better than the actual item:)
Will the artichokes over winter for you?
They are supposed to. This kind claims to be very good at producing a lot the first year, and probably will overwinter here. It’s a bit dicey–most of our winters are very mild, but we get a few that are more harsh, like last year. Hopefully, we will get a bunch off these bushes, and I only used 6 seeds, so I can plant more next year if I need to.
Looking forward to hearing how the artichokes grow for you. They are one of the veggies I really miss from when I lived in California. And they’re almost always out of my reach for my grocery budget.
Just watched the news. We’re supposed to have record breaking heat on Monday/Tuesday. Hoping to get out in the garden if that happens. We had frost again this AM so the warmer temps will be a nice change.
It’s looking like we are going to have nice, warm weather for the next couple of days, as well, but rain returns on Tuesday here. Maybe I can carve out a little time Sunday afternoon to go outside! I sure hope so, since Mondays are always very full.
Enjoyed seeing all the seedlings coming up in your greenhouse and reading about the meal you catered! I have a few odds and ends to use up this week, so that’s what I’ll be doing – meals from the freezer/fridge/pantry.
I’m glad your grocery plan is working better than mine ended up:). I am also really enjoying my “babies” and check them every day, at least once, sometimes more.
I have planted some of my seeds. Nothing has sprouted yet and it is driving me crazy. It is still early but it does not matter. I keep checking them everytime I pass by. I have been rotating them on a heat mat but they are not cooperating.
My first bag of seeds from Pinetree arrived yesterday. This morning I rushed out to plant a few in the flower bed, nasturtiums and moonflower. Nasturtiums I grow every year to add to salads, the moonflower is something new. Years ago (20 years?) I planted one and it vined up on the patio rail and under the porch roof. It blooms at night and was beautiful. It only had one bloom the whole summer. Maybe I will have better luck here since it is in full sun.
I am so ready for good weather!
Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.blogspot.com
I’ve never had a moonflower. I can’t wait until I see what it looks like when yours grows. I got some nasturtiums, but did not plant them yet. Can they take a little frost? I think we may still have a few.
I hope your seeds come up soon! The peppers were the slowest for me, even with a heat mat. Now that I’ve transplanted almost everything, they are all taking another jump in size.
I’m down on the couch with a fever, and more (yuck!) so Rob’s watering and watching over them. I’m sure I will go check them very soon anyway–I just can’t resist!
I grew nasturtiums for years without success but when I planted them three years ago in a spot under the horrible thorn tree in the deep shade, they did great. Each year I have planted them in the same spot. Why mess with success? One year two little seeds sprouted in the early Spring so I learned they can take the cool weather. Now I plant them early. Last year I did not save the seeds because I wanted a different color. Hey! I can blow $1.50 for a selfish pleasure.
My seeds have not sprouted and they are dampening off! OH NO! I put a fan on them yesterday to dry them but the damage may have been done. I think the problem is that my laundry room is too cool now. Last summer I sealed up the vent because I discovered it was letting ladybugs in. Evidently, a hole had developed somewhere in the pipe and they discovered it. I either need to leave the door open or move the seeds to another room. I prefer failed seeds to ladybugs any day!
I am sorry you are not feeling well and you are blessed to have Rob sharing the workload.
I guess I did not realize that they could be planted so early. I’ve grown them many times, and always waited until around May to plant them. I love learning new tips. I may just go out there and poke some down into the hard packed mud that is my flowerbed:).
Ladybugs! Yuck! At our last house, Ja’Ana’s room was part of the original house before the remodel and the ladybugs moved in there. It was awful each spring–they were all over in there. We would vacuum them up every day! She said she didn’t mind looking at them–it just creeped her out when they crawled on her face at night!!!! Poor kid. The room below was also original to the old house, and I had the same problem in there. I remember giving piano lessons and having a little one not pay attention to the piano because she wanted to catch the ladybugs. So, I always made sure to vacuum before she came from then on:)