Eat Your Veggies - Roasted Vegetables

I know I've done a lot of complaining about the drought this summer. It has been hard to watch the vegetation shrivel up. Last week, the farmers around us began chopping the corn. There is no hope of ears forming now and they might as well get a little silage out of it before the leaves turn to dust.

Though our garden is a dim shadow of last year's abundance and we have not had as much harvest to put up, we have still enjoyed lots of good eating. If our only vegetables were what we ate fresh  from the garden, we still would have had much to be thankful for.

I've been searching for new ways to enjoy our veggies. My goal is to stuff as many and as varied of vegetables in our diet as possible. For us, it is easy to fill up on the meat and potato/pasta/rice/bread portion of the meal with only a little vegetables on the side.

Last week, a friend blessed me with two bags of zucchini. Every night I tried a new recipe, or variation of a favorite recipe and we found some new favorites. Many of the recipes were inspired by Simply in Season. If you are looking for creative recipes containing vegetables, you can't fail with this cook book.

One way I've increased our vegetable consumption is with variety. Green beans soon become wearisome, but a medley of vegetables encourage me to eat twice as many vegetables.

Even meals like pizza are not exempt. I'm been stir-frying onion, garlic, peppers, and zucchini and heaping the pizza high! I love when the crust becomes only a thin retainer for the veggies! Ed enjoys it too, but the children are less then excited. I often make a separate boring pizza for them, but hopefully they will come around.

Roasted Vegetables

This is hardly a recipe and the variations are endless.

Start with a large bowl (about 10 cups) of fresh vegetables. You could use squash, onions, potatoes, beans, peppers, carrots, mushroom, etc. Cut them in small pieces. Thinly slice vegetables that take the longest to cook like potatoes and carrots.

Toss the vegetables in a T of olive oil and seasoning to your taste. Try a little salt, chili powder, thyme and pepper. Or how about some fresh basil, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. Or you could omit the olive oil and just stir in 3/4 cup of Italian dressing.

Spread your seasoned vegetables on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes. I stir the vegetables about half way through the cooking time.

You could also tuck your veggies into tin foil and grill - or thread onto skewers and grill.

The flavor of these veggies are SO much better then boiled or steamed vegetables!

This week, I plan to share some of my favorite ways to enjoy vegetables. I'm hoping that it will encourage you to share your favorite methods and recipes. Write about them in the comments or, if you've blogged about vegetables, share your link.

No lazy summer days here!

I know I haven't posted anything of substance recently. There is a lot of posts rattling around in my head but I haven't been sitting down at the keyboard much these days.

I think I may spend more hours in the kitchen in August then any other month. Here is a glimpse of what has been happening around my house and kitchen.

Our tomatoes are doing surprising well. I just love the smell salsa and tomato sauce.

But if the lid to the blender isn't quite on, I get a mess like this! It actually was far worse then it appears. I'm still finding tomato splatters!

Baking has been at a minimum but we were totally out of bread and granola -necessities at our house. I did a double batch of sourdough bread and three batches of granola. Hopefully that will get us at least part way through August.

The first week of the Preserve the Bounty Challenge was on fermentation. I really wanted to join in but my garden didn't contain anything good to use this preserving technique. I decided to buy some cabbage and make some sauerkraut.

I had made sauerkraut once maybe six or seven years ago. At the time, it seemed like a huge job, possible because I had something like eight  large heads of cabbage which made a huge amount of sauerkraut! I canned the results and we only finished eating it last winter!

I was interested in reading some of the health benefits of fermented vegetables. I definitely shouldn't have canned the sauerkraut! Since you can make any amount, this time I only used one cabbage head, about 1 quart worth. I now have it sitting in the basement in a crock, hopefully doing it's thing. Watch for an update.

I started sewing for my brother's wedding. It isn't until October but I have five dresses to make, so I thought I should get started. I love to sew but it takes longer then it used to!

In my spare moments, I've been doing some organizing and cleaning to prepare for school. We haven't really quit during the summer, but I want to become more consistent in  September. The back-to-school sales make a great time to stock up on supplies. The children are as excited at freshly sharpened pencils, clean notebooks, and new crayons as I remember being at their age. I so excited about all we will learn this coming year.

The Time Keeper

Ever feel like you have too many things on your mind? Often I think that if I could just clear my mind of all the things that are rattling around then I could actually get something done!

I've always loved the planner aisle of the office supply store. I dreamed of how the perfect product could turn me into an efficient and organized person.

Several years ago, my husband helped me design a simple planner that was perfect for my life as a homemaker. It gave me a place to jot down our appointments for the week, the important (or not so important) tasks I hoped to accomplish, and a menu plan.

Gradually that little book has become my brain. It lays open in my kitchen at all times and is filled with my scribbles, notes, and oddments that I don't want to forget. I can't imagine life without my planner. I'm still not an organized person (you don't want to see the desk in front of the computer screen right now) but a whole less falls through the cracks when I'm using my planner.

Last year I discovered The Time Keeper. Starla had designed a planner for homemakers that contained all the facets of my beloved homemade planner, but Starla turned it into a beautiful tool.

I have so enjoyed using Starla's Time Keeper this year. It is a delight to have a lovely planner designed by a busy mom just like me.  I can't wait to see the new 2011 version!  This year, Starla added some new features like perforated grocery lists.

I know it seems ridiculous to talk about 2011 when it is only August. But I also know that my fall will flit by quickly. I plan to order my planner soon so that I can begin to plan for the new year!

Just so you know, I'm not payed to endorse The Time Keeper. I'm just a very satisfied customer. Starla and I have emailed often enough that she feels like a personal friend - plus she reads my blog! I think her planner could benefit many other ladies as it has me! You can see more photos and order directly from The Time Keeper website. If you live in my area and want to combine your order with mine to save shipping, let me know in the next two weeks.

What tools do you use to organize your home and life?

Please pray...

I've always known you all were a great group of readers but your response to Eunice's request demonstrated how caring you all are. 

I'm going to pass on a prayer request. My friend Karen has a seriously ill 11-month old girl. Baby "G" got E coli. which moved into a kidney disorder. Below is the latest email I received from Karen.

G is in pain.  She now has a condition called pancreatitis, which is some sort of irritation of the pancreas.  Because there is no medicine for this, the treatment is no food or water by mouth.  The pancreatitis is also very, very painful.  She literally screamed in pain for four hours last night - and that was after two doses of morphine, one dose of tylenol, and four doses of another strong painkiller.  That gives you an idea of how painful this is.

Currently, treating her is a very complicated issue.  The HUS (causing the kidneys to not function properly) requires her to not have fluids.  The pancreatitis requires her to not have food, thereby requiring fluids for her nutrition.  The lasicks (spelling??) is the drug of choice for supporting the kidneys, but irritates the pancreatitis.  Most pain medication would be filtered by the kidneys, but hers aren't working properly, so that limits the pain medicine choices.  So you see the rock and the hard place.

Please pray that the Lord would relieve her of this pain.  It is so hard, so very hard to watch her be in such pain.  The nurses and doctors are doing what they can, but as a mom, it is so hard to believe that they're doing all they can.  And yet, I'm sure they are - after all, it's their job and they're certainly well-educated.  So, pray for us too. 

Stephen relieved me and stayed last night with G at the hospital so that I could come home and be with O, H, and C.  (the first I've seen them in 5 days!)  So, pray also that we can continue to meet all our daughters' need for parents while giving G our attention and energy.

Thank you!

Karen

You can visit Karen's blog to see pics of her adorable girls. And please, if you believe in prayer, hold this family up to the Lord. Then comment on her blog so she can be encouraged, too.

Thank you!

I'm adding this update on Saturday - Baby G's kidney has failed and is now on dialysis. She continues to be in a lot of pain. Please keep praying. Thanks.

Raising a Monarch Butterfly

This isn't the first time I've talked about raising monarch caterpillars. But it is one of our family's favorite summer activities and I thought it was worth reposting!  I would probably have forgotten it if my children wouldn't have reminded me!

One of my favorite late summer memories as a child is finding monarch caterpillars and raising them to butterflies. Here in the northeast, monarch butterflies are laying their eggs on milk weed plants in July or August.

For a fun project for children (and adults!) take a walk down a weedy road or abandoned lot and look for tiny striped caterpillars on milk weed plants. Though you can raise other kinds of caterpillars, monarchs are easy to find because they only eat milkweeds.
 

Cut the milk weed plant and place it in a jar of water. The caterpillar will eat voraciously and grow quickly. You may need to pick more milk weed leaves for him to eat.

When he reaches his ultimate size, he will look for a quiet place to make his chrysalis. At this point it is good to have him trapped in a jar because he will roam out of sight in search of a quiet place! An ideal system is a large gallon size jar with a small baby food jar of water inside for the milk weed. But if you don't have a jar big enough, a box with a screen top so you can watch him, works as well.

The caterpillar will hang from his tail with a little webbing and then change into his lovely green chrysalis. I didn't think to get a picture of this step in the process! The chrysalis will gradually turn black and you'll be able to faintly see his wings.

In about two weeks, he will emerge as a beautiful monarch! Release him to the outdoors to begin his long flight to Mexico for the winter. Learn more about these fascinating monarch butterflies. We've been enjoying some of the library books about butterflies but nothing beats watching it first hand.

Give it a try, and maybe it will become a favorite memory for your children as well. (And you don't have to have a child around to enjoy it!) 

Have you ever tried raising a butterfly?

Favorite Perennials - Part 2

You may also enjoy, favorite perennials - part one.

This year has separated the great plants from the merely good ones! Any perennial that can withstand the drought we are experiencing this year is something special.

I know you are probably tired of hearing about our drought but now I'm even hearing the old timers say that it is the worse year they can remember. Since the first week of June, we have received LESS then 1 1/2 inches of rain. The few brief showers we've received, dried up rapidly with the high heat we've experienced.

I've watered our vegetable garden some but the flower beds have had to fend for themselves. Tonight I walked around the yard and took a few photos of some favorite flowers that are actually, not only surviving, but managing to bloom. Their foliage is yellowed and I wouldn't describe them as lush and thriving. You'll notice that most of these photos are close shots since I didn't think you'd like to see the brown drabness of the rest of the yard!

• Aster "Monch" 

This was a new plant for me last year. I was astounded by it's non-stop blooming from May to October. It withstood our hard winter and is now blooming throughout our heat! I call it a winner!

• Caryopteris (bluebeard)

 I always wonder why this plant is not more well known. It blooms late in the season, when the rest of the garden is flagging and is the soft blue color that rare in perennials. The plant is almost more of a woody shrub but it's small size fits well in a perennials border.

• Plumbago (ceratostigma)

Are these plants unknown because of their strange names - or have unusual names because they are unknown? This is another plant that could use some publicity. A ground cover, plumbago appears late in the spring. I have to be careful that I don't hoe it up in the spring cleaning. It makes the perfect combination with bulbs because plumbago's late arriving foliage will hide the bulbs dying leaves. I have this plant growing in the rocks at the end of my driveway in burning sun. I've given it absolutely no care, yet it's flowers cheer me every time I pull in the driveway.  This is a true blue flower, not the lavender blue of most "blue" flowers.

• Catmint "Six Hills Giant" (nepta)

Another forgiving plant, I planted catmint in the stones next to our woodshed. It has thrived and spread, attracting bees and butterflies to our garden. Because of it's low habit, it is great for planting at the feet of taller perennials like climbing roses. It blooms in the spring. I trimmed it back after it finished blooming and it just set on a new flush of blooms - all with next to no water. Amazing!

• Russian Sage (perovskia)

I didn't plan to share all lavender/blue flowers but that seems to be the trend. This tall perennial adds an airy lavender touch to the bed. Mine combines great with some roses and tall pink phlox. And this is yet another drought tolerate non-fussy plant!

I'd love to hear your success stories with drought tolerate perennials!

Linked at Tuesday Garden Party

Thanks!

Thanks to all of you who voted for my friend, Eunice! She is so close to getting a new grill!

The voting ends tonight at 9:00 EST. If you haven't voted yet, could you vote for Eunice B?  It only takes a couple seconds! Her name should be the first one in the column.

Thanks so much! You all are the best!

Edit to add...

Eunice sent me this note this morning.

Where's the box of tissues?!?!? We can't express our many feelings...being humbled, overwhelmed and so encouraged by this seemingly small act of kindness and blessing to us! In the midst of this all, sometimes we wonder if people are... really behind us all and the move to Maine....this, along with your many notes, words and phone calls of encouragement the past 5 days, have given us an added boost to keep going! Now we wait for the entries to be verified, and then they contact the winner by Aug 9....we'll keep you posted! Blessings to each of you, and thanks again!!!

Our ending vote was 773 with the second place being 667....WOW!!!!!  That's 773 households!  Not people! :-)

Thanks so much!