summer harvest

Today we got our first red tomatoes! We've had some cherry tomatoes on Isaiah's tomato plant, but these were the first from the main gardens! So for dinner we had sandwiches with tomato slices and a salad with tomato and cucumber from the garden. The cucumbers are amazing, like a whole other plant from the kind in the grocery.
Yesterday I made a bit of cucumber salad:


Cucumber Salad
2 parts white vinegar 1 part water 1/2 part white sugar.
Make enough to cover the cucumbers and red onions. I really suggest red onions. Let sit in the fridge overnight at least.


The pear fairie come today! I found these lovelies on my patio table. They will make a great breakfast.

Also today I knitted this baby hat in Monet yarn. It is so cute. I just need a baby to wear it! Guess it goes into the website market. Baby Knits

tis the season to start knitting...

Not that I ever totally stop, but I've started knitting full time again in hopes of having a big collection before the holidays. My knitting page on facebook needs a bit of an update but you can see most of my work there: Stephanie's Knitted Things. Also this year I'm hoping to do some pre-Christmas craft shows. My friend, Sarah, and I are going to try to go into business together. She is making the scarves and I am making the hats and/or headband to match.
If I have the business level I had last year, I'll be thrilled.

homemade Pesto

My basil plants have been less than stellar so far this summer so my mom had pity on me and brought me some fresh basil. I made some pesto with it. I mixed the clean basil leaves with almond slivers, much garlic, parmasean cheese and quite a bit of olive oil. I mixed it until fine (I used the blender). It smells fantastic! Tomorrow we will have pasta for sure!! Or maybe pesto and cheese bread! Yum-o! XOXO

K2 P1

This is a washcloth I made for my mom. I don't play with the K2P1 pattern very often but it really is cool. Cast on in multiples of 3 as long as you need your project to be. And then K2P1 back and forth and watch the cool ribbing pattern form.

Lemon Cake

I made this lemon cake for my Mama's birthday party yesterday. I did find the basic recipe online but I had to tweak it and make it my own.
Lemon Cake
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 large lemon (wash it well first)
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
All the juice of the lemon
*preheat to 350
*oil cake pan
Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla and lemon zest. Add dry ingredients. Add all the lemon juice from the lemon (up to 1 cup). Mix until well incorporated. Bake 40-45 minutes.
Lemon Glaze
2 cups confectioners suger
Juice of 1 large lemon
Mix until thicker than a regular glaze but still runny enough to run over the cake. Make sure the glaze touches every part of the cake. Let it set before serving.

Garden and Pickles Update

Pickle making is going well. Right now I'm up to 11 quarts and 19 pints of pickles. All are dill so far. Some are cucumber, some are squash and some are green beans. Isaiah loves the dilly beans!!


The garden is also going well. The squash have slowed down a bit but I think they'll perk back up. It's been 90 every day and it hasn't really rained in weeks and I think it's wearing on them. Here are a few snaps of the garden life:



I love how the cucumbers hide in little cozy spots to grow. They are doing so well!! I'm so excited to have cucmbers that actually grow unlike last year.



This is the first butternut squash to start really forming. I am so excited about them and making soup this fall!




The green beans are also doing well. I think they are so pretty. I love the dainty little flowers that form first. And I love how the vines with come out and attach to me as I'm searching for beans. They are also shy little things, hiding behind the leaves all the time.



The tomatoes are getting there... still green though. Isaiah's plant has been the only one to produce red tomatoes. And he's eaten them all up as fast as he can!



The zucchini leaves are back to looking prehistoric so I think they'll be back soon!

first big bounty of the season!

I'd been gone for a few days. When I went to water the garden today a lot had grown! I was so excited to have such a big harvest already. Especially after last year when the ground hogs ate everything.


I decided since there was more than I could really eat and there are cucmbers that will be ready in a day or two, that I would go right into pickles.



(sorry for the picture being turned, this keeps happening no matter what I do and I'm not sure howw to fix it yet. When I do, I'll fix it here)


These are a basic dill pickles with a little garlic and peppercorn. I made a salt/vinegar brine and put them in a water bath for 10 minutes. Yum!!