Town House Homestead Tuesday

Winter is moving in this weekend, with the first predictions of snow, and I am not ready. Most of the yard is taken care of, and with the shed at least secured, we have been able to store materials, fire wood, gardening supplies, and yard ornaments in it. What a blessing to have it available. 

My herbs that I move indoors a month ago are enjoying the windows. Yesterday I harvested parsley. It was taking over the window and I now have it drying for future cooking. Later today I would like to see what I can get for oregano, lemon balm, mint, and sage before winter really gets here and I put them to bed.

I have collected all the dried zinnia seeds. This is a mixture of red, yellow, pink, and white that I will be packaging up soon. Things that can wait until I need to be inside, but I am excited to have a bounty for adding to the pollination garden next spring. 

I swapped out Halloween for Thanksgiving. I've always loved yellow ware bowls and I had two small ones that fit nicely into the cubbies. I've already cooked a turkey and have a nice breast to serve. Just the two of us and some simple sides. It is going to be relaxing and simple. I've been baking and preparing so our staycation week goes easy on me.

Once again I was gifted more vegetables. Even a couple of vegetables I've never tried before. I can only say that the beets were out of this world and I can't wait to grow some myself.

This post will end with Hunter. At nine months he is still full of puppy power and confusion, but he made it through Halloween. It helped not to have any trick or treaters. His treat was popcorn. He discovered thunder and lightening, but is not afraid of it. He only wanted to chase through the yard to figure out where it was coming from. I have considered changing my homestead title to "Mud Puppy Homestead", but it would make it all about Hunter and I'm not giving that up yet. We can only imagine what will happen this weekend when he discovers snow. That's some of what's been happening here at the Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by for a visit and have an awesome week. Share your bounty and love. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

I wish this could be a longer post today, but the activity around here preparing for Spring, has kept me doing just the ordinary stuff. My daughter was able to return to work today, but still will need to be slow and careful so her back will continue to mend. We have a lot more work to do to prepare the hive for the soon to be here bees, and we hope that that can start this coming week. One minute at a time.

I was able to afford another light for my germination shelf and it is already up and working. I am so ready to be outside all day, but the weather has been so mixed up lately. 

Seedlings are starting to pop their little heads through the soil and they seem so happy. I love nature and it's wonders. Every morning is a new sight. These are calendula seedlings. I have a good amount of flower seeds working. Along with the calendula I have butterfly milkweed, chamomile, marigolds, and sun flowers. If these grow well they will be in the pollinating garden surrounding the newly installed hive. 

I have some container tomatoes started also. I will be using containers again this summer for some vegetables because the food garden will come as we keep growing. I also have green onions, crimson forest bunch onions (red bunch onions), and shallots also getting their groove on. These can be put in the pollinating garden this year. There's lots to be moved to this new garden from around the yard too. We will continue to be busy I think. I hope to start some peppers and other tomato varieties so that I have at least one of each so we don't get bored with tomatoes. 

To end this short post I am sharing some more green. I hung my holiday kitchen apron and pot holders up this weekend. It's reminding me that I need to get to some more sewing, and get a few more projects done. So, love life and enjoy it. Do some simple gardening and brighten your life and those around you. Be cheery. That's what's been happening at the new Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week. 

Townhouse Homestead Tuesday.

This is a picture of Karen's garden. She is a first time gardener and doing so well with it. These plants she started from seeds and discovered she has a green thumb after all. There's a row of cucumbers, broccoli and beans and a couple of pepper plants. I think it's a job well done. The fence is up to keep a hungry ground hog out. 

In her yard are my container tomatoes. They are larger every time I visit them. There are tomatoes appearing already and they are so happy among the flowers. It's mostly waiting now for the crops to come in and making sure they are fed well and watered but for now we still use the farmer's market I continue to harvest my herbs to build my supply for the winter months. Not much else going on hear as far as gardening. I'm working on a meal plan to help our budget and I've been trying new recipes to add to it and give it a good variety. Thank you for stopping by to visit and have a geat week. 

Townhouse Homestead Tuesday

Today is going to be in the mid 70's but we're expecting snow on Halloween. It's been cool, no cold off and on so far this fall so this is a welcome day. With the change in the season comes changes in what we eat and the blessings of winter vegetables. I don't grow my own, but the farm stands and super markets are loaded with deals.

I have a hanging basket of spearmint by the front door of the townhouse that just doesn't want to quit. I harvested it and set it back outside to do it's thing. I yielded two more cups of dry leaves for winter tea. I may get one more harvest before it goes dormant for winter.

At the market I got a four pound four ounce head of cabbage for 99 cents and I was curious about what I could do for meals from one head and a few vegetables and a little meat. I got ten servings of stuffed cabbage using ten leaves, 3/4 pound ground beef, 1 cup of leftover rice, an egg, a little onion and some home made bread crumbs. Then on to cabbage soup. I got four servings of soup and used one can of stewed tomatoes and 4 ounces of polish sausage.

I made a pot of boiled potatoes and cabbage that I'll reheat with some butter and pepper and there are about six servings there. Last but not least is fried cabbage in olive oil a small amount of butter, salt and pepper. About three servings there. So all in all I yielded about 23 servings from my four plus pound 99 cent cabbage.

Butternut squash was 99 cents each this week and I got two more to try some soup. I just made up my own recipe because all those I found added more than I was willing to use. I used two cups of cooked squash, not pureed, two cups of home made chicken broth, two tablespoons of my sage/pepper butter made earlier this summer and salt to taste. Served with a biscuit and it was gone in no time. I was getting tired of pumpkin everything so I made gingerbread biscotti. We like it more than pumpkin. I needed bread so I baked up a couple loaves of sandwich bread. It went well with all the soups. I was able to harvest a few more sprigs of fresh rosemary and I think I will get some more sage before I let them rest for the winter.

Finally I made some three cheese tortellini soup. I used 8 ounces of tortellini two cans of Italian style stewed tomatoes and 4 ounces of sausage. Served this up with fresh from the oven garlic bread made with home made french bread and it was a delightful meal on a cold evening.

This weeks freebies included a Biscoff cookie coupon, a cat food coupon, samples of Scotch brand products and taco seasoning. I spent last evening with my younger daughter just running errands and she brought me onions because there were to many for her and she paid for four pounds of carrots for me. I am so grateful and can see the veggies in my stir fry, stews and carrot cake. It's going to be a wonderful winter. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.

Townhouse Homestead Tuesday

Autumn has officially arrived!
The days of soup with garlic bread and warm oatmeal apple crisp.

The days when trips to the farms brighten the days of we city dwellers who dream of the farm.

On a breathtaking day when you can pick your own raspberries and pumpkins and watch the silly goats walk the planks above the barn.

When you can see the most majestic blue sky behind a windmill, walk the corn maze, see the leaves turning and enjoy the bright colors of nature.

But best of all getting to try and purchase new kinds of apples (sweetangos) and produce which is the reason we visit the farms and support local farmers. 

I love the squash this time of year. I start thinking of all the things I can make. I purchased two butternut squash at the farm. It's still early here so I know there will be plenty more. From these two I got seven servings. As you can see I prepared some for oven baked squash fries and some for future cooking and baking. I see a squash pie coming.

Harvesting at the townhouse itself this week included the sweet potatoes. I was hoping for better, but I tried and there's the results. Once they've cured a while longer I'll peel them up and enjoy the fruit of my labor. There's a good amount for a side dish of mashed with the sage butter I froze earlier this season.

I was gifted a bag of green tomatoes this week. I am blessed  to have had two ripen to red, one going on the top of a white garlic pizza and the other still waiting for me. We enjoyed for the first time ever fried green tomatoes and I managed to put the remaining tomatoes up. I have four pints of garlic dill pickled green tomatoes, two pints of sliced tomatoes for future frying and three pints of pickled green tomatoes with jalapeno peppers and onions. Thank you Nannette for your gift.

To add to my freebies this week, although not as exciting as the tomatoes, I got a corn bread mix, Milano raspberry chocolate cookies, and coupons for free organic mac and cheese, yoplait yogurt with Hershey's toppings and from my super market a free can of tuna.

I have to admit that I don't have gardening fever any more. I have barnheart which is just the desire to have a barn. I would settle for a large garage that looks like a barn right now. This has been a wonderful learning and doing summer for this townhouse farm girl. I still have peppermint to harvest along with rosemary and sage so that I am sure that I have plenty for winter. From here on it will be what I can get from the farmers markets, but I have gained so much respect for where my food comes from. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week everyone. 

Roasted Red Peppers

Included in all the weekends activities was cooking and canning. Roasted red peppers were next on the agenda. I cannot believe the bounty that this season has provided. I will have peppers to enjoy until next canning season. I also baked more banana bread in canning jars and made a wonderful pot of split pea soup. It's been cooler here and the soup was just wonderful. I think I'm going to make some buttermilk biscuits to have with the leftover soup later this week.

Slow and steady.

I can hardly believe that it's been almost two weeks since I've updated my blog. I have every good reason to have been away so long. First there's the dealings of selling a house, working for some one else, building my on line reselling business, which by the way is picking up again, and harvesting and putting up this years bounty. I wonder when I found time to sleep. This is the latest canning project. I put up 16 pints of salsa for those vegetarian days. My favorite quickie dinner for when I'm alone is a good sized baked potato with sour cream and covered in salsa. I still have more to do, but it's Sunday and I must turn in early for that 3:15 am wake up call for my early morning shift. Slowly and steadily I will get it done and keep up. After all I wouldn't be the first person to be tired trying to build a business and survive what life throws at you.
Hopefully I'll be back mid week to update the blog, so when you stop by to check make sure you stop by my Etsy store (butterflyplace.etsy.com) to see what's new and how things are going. I hope everyone has a wonderful, but not as busy as my, week.

What to do on a rainy day.

No I didn't bake. I ate. I sat back in my big chair and had a cup of coffee with a piece of my zucchini walnut chocolate chip bread. I actually baked Saturday to take some goodies to a friends graduation, but not wanting to waste a beautiful zucchini I decided I needed something sweet. I mixed what the recipe said was equal to two large loafs. When I filled my canning jars I ended up with eight pints and an extra small loaf. Just enough for a single woman to enjoy. It was so good. I think it was the chocolate. Baking in the jars is working out well. I get about six slices per jar and when I need to take something to work for my break one jar works out well for the week. It keeps better in the refrigerator this way also because it is kept away from other aromas in the fridge. It isn't any extra work to bake this way. I'm glad I do this. I will enjoy summers' bounty all winter. Can't wait for pumpkins to make spicy pumpkin cake. Yum!

Canning season is well underway.

In the beginning there were two large bowls of chopped vegetables soaking in salt brine. Then...

The chopped vegetables were well rinsed and drained then put in a large pot with spices, cider vinegar and sugar and brought to a boil. While that was coming to a boil the jars were sterilized and  prepared for filling.

The relish begins to boil and the jars are ready to fill.

In the end I have 44 jars of sweet relish to trade with others for their home made products and it's a win win situation for all. The kitchen may be small but it works and the foot steps were kept at a minimum. Mmmmm...smells good in here. Hot dogs any one?

Next is home made salsa, chili relish and roasted red peppers. This winter when it's so cold I can enjoy my vegetables and forget about all the hard work with every bite.

Using the bounty. Pepper and green tomato relish.

Pepper and green tomato relish.

Small kitchen but it worked.

Great food for the upcoming year.

Found this recipe for pepper and green tomatoes in a book written by Mary Jane Butters. It was different from my sweet relish recipe. It has green peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions and green tomatoes along with apple cider vinegar and sugar. Prepare, cook and can and it's done. I can't wait until the flavors marry and I can use this and cook with it. You can follow Mary Jane Butters at maryjanesfarm.com. She has her farm in Moscow Idaho and publishes a magazine every two months that I wait for intensely for news from the farm. I have more that I will be canning this summer. I have also arranged a barter system and will be trading for things like maple syrup and venison. I have learned that I can have the good stuff even though I'm not able to get it all myself.