Real tomatoes…

YES!!  These are real tomatoes sent to me from my son in law’s brother and his wife from their garden.  THANKS!!! Tim and Val.  Now if only I had a zucchini.  Jim and I always had a garden.  Not a big one, but big enough that we always had plenty of tomatoes to share with our neighbors.  Even after Jim died I would go out to our garden area each spring and hoe up a big enough space to plant 4 or 5 tomato plants.  All I have room for here are potted tomato plants  This year the heat killed them even though they were watered daily.

Our garden at home.

I have to go out this morning to the pharmacy and to run a couple of errands. It is to be mid 90s today.  We have had 26 days this month with over 90 temps which ties a record from 1887.  Out of those 26 days over a week was triple digit highs.  We are way below normal rainfall and our whole state along with many other states are drought disasters.

Have a peaceful day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

Dreary…

rainy morning.  It rained all night, is still raining and I think from all reports the rain is here to stay for a couple of more days.

Definitely not a day for cleaning so that nipped that passing thought in the bud.  I have to be motivated to clean and I am not motivated at all today.  I think I will hunt a good book and read.  I have over 100 books on my Nook and two shelves full so surely I can find something to read. 

Yesterday I did cook a little bit of roast and a couple of potatoes.  I will think about something to cook for today and tomorrow.  Something that will pass the time and keep me busy since I won’t venture out in the rain unless it is urgent.  That will be the first thing on my agenda after I get off the computer.  Check the freezer.

I found a nice little table at a garage sale yesterday and a cookbook and that is the extent of my purchases. 

Next week will be a busy one for me, 2 appointments back to back.

I have the container and in a couple of weeks I will get a bag of topsoil and a tomato plant and I will be in the business of growing tomatoes.  Oh I do so miss my garden at home.  I spent many an hour in the garden.  My favorite thing was picking the pole green lima beans then shelling and freezing them.   Next was the tomato plants.  We always had at least 15 tomato plants and there was only the two of us.  Plenty to share with the neighbors.

 

In these pictures you can see the green lima beans growing on the fence.  Click to make larger.

Off to see the wizard and find out what is hiding in my freezer.  You all stay safe and be happy!

Beth

P.S.  a note for Boston Boy.  Thank you!  You are as nice a brother as my real brother is.  Bless you!

Dreary rainy day…

but I brightened it up by cooking some fresh green beans with new potatoes, onion and ham.  I also fixed cornbread to go with it.  Yummy!!  Then I proceeded to sit down and eat a big bowl of it.  This is the only way I like green beans.  The canned green beans are awful I think, no matter how you doctor them up with bacon, onion, etc.  But then I am not much of a vegetable eater, except for green lima beans which I love.

This brought back memories of when Jim and I had our garden and we would grow green beans,  peas, tomatoes, etc.  Speaking of gardens, did you notice the tomato plant that rambling on has?  It is gorgeous with big tomatoes on it already.  I have been pining so and missing my garden so much.  Yesterday I was looking at the plants in Wal*Mart and I saw they were marking down the big potted tomato plants from $10 to $4.98.  I purchased two plants.  My daughter laughed at me asking what I would do with two tomato plants.  I told her I would just look out my back door at them and imagine I was looking at my garden back home.  Even if I don’t get one tomato from these plants I will consider it money well spent.

A picture of our garden back home.

Have any of you seen the nursing ads from Johnson & Johnson?  The one where the male nurse is giving a young girl her chemo shot and singing a banana song with her while he is doing it just tears me up.  In fact all of those ads promoting a nursing career are very moving.  I met some wonderful nurses during Jim’s illness and sadly I met a couple that were not so wonderful.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

  Beth

Bounty from a garden…

thanks to Tim and Val.  My son in law’s brother and his wife.  I will shred the zucchini and put it in the freezer for now.
I am not fond of zucchini cooked as a vegetable but it makes a really good bread or cake.  Recipe from Cooks.com.
 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans.
2. In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, white sugar, and salt. Mix well.
3. In another bowl beat eggs, vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla together. Pour into egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the shredded zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Allow cakes to cool in pans. Stack and frost into a 3 layer cake using Cream Cheese Frosting.
5. To Make Frosting: Cream together the cream cheese, butter or margarine. Add the confectioner's sugar, a little at a time. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and mix well. Spread on cool cake layers.

Beth