Keep Your Fuchsia Blooming
I have a fuchsia on my side porch by one of my hummingbird feeders. It’s quite lovely and the hummingbirds love it.
In order to keep it blooming all summer long I’ve been cutting off the fruits when they form. The fruits are those little green nubs that appear when a blossom dries up, you can see one in front of the flower in this photo.
If you keep these cut off the plant will continue blooming, if you don’t they’ll quit blooming.
Do you have any great tips for keeping certain plants in tip top shape?
Share this:
Old Friendships
I spent this weekend in Cincinnati, OH with a few of my girlfriends from college. We had a great time staying up late, chatting about everything we’re doing now and things we did then.
We enjoyed eating all the food that’s specific to the great city of Cincinnati like Skyline Chili and Graeter’s Ice Cream.
We visited the campus of our alma mater and got the see the excited new freshman moving in (which is what we were doing 15 years ago). On Saturday night, we went downtown to watch a movie at Fountain Square and enjoy the city life like we did in college.
We even took a carriage ride around the city that night (because of the economy they’re the same price they were when we were in college 15 years ago).
We all live in different places now, with families, kids, husbands and dogs keeping busy with our individual lives. It’s always good to drop all of that for a weekend and get together to remember the fun times we had back when we were young and in college without a care in the world (or a cent to our names).
Do you ever get together with old friends?
Share this:
Fermenting Some Pickles
A couple weeks ago Mr Chiot’s 2nd mom sent me this book that was her mom’s. It’s an old Farm Journal Country Cookbook. It’s from the 70’s so all of the photos are quite fun, it’s amazing how far food photography has come since then (just check out smittenkitchen.com)
While leafing through it I was trying to decide what I could make from it. It has all kinds of exciting recipes, it’s particularly good for seasonal cooking recipes. It also has some interesting kitchen items that most people don’t keep in their kitchens any more, like a stone or a paraffined brick.
I came across this recipe for 14-day Sweet Pickles. Since I’ve been wanting to make a batch of brined pickles I decided this would be the perfect recipe to try.
I now have a batch of pickles in the dining room brining away. They’ll sit in their brine for, then on the 8th day I start the week-long process of finishing the pickles. I’m kind of excited to see how they turn out. I’ll be sharing some with Brian’s parents next time they come for a visit.
14-Day Sweet Pickles
adaptation of an heirloom recipe long prized in country kitchens
3 1/2 qts (2″) pickling cucumbers (about 4 lbs)
1 c. coarse flake pickling salt
2 qts boiling water
1/2 tsp powdered alum (I’m not using alum in my recipe)
5 c. vinegar
3 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp celery seeds
4 -2″ cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 c. sugar
1. Wash cucumbers carefully; cut in lengthwise halves and place in stone crock, glass, pottery or enamel-lined pan (I cut mine into big chunks).
2. Prepare brine by dissolving salt in boiling water; pour over cucumbers. Weight cucumbers down with a place almost as large as the crock and lay a stone or parraffined brick (not marble or limestone) on plate to keep cucumbers under the brine. Let stand 1 week.
3. On the 8th day, drain; pour 2 qts fresh boiling water over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.
4. On the 9th day, drain; pour 2 qts fresh boiling water mixed with alum over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.
5. On the 10th day, drain; pour 2 qts fresh boiling water over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours.
6. The next day, drain. Combine vinegar, 3 c. sugar, celery seeds and cinnamon; heat to boiling point and pour over cucumbers.
7. For the next 3 days, drain, retaining liquid. Reheat liquid each morning adding 1/2 c. sugar each time. After the last heating, on the 14th day, pack pickles into hot jars. Remove cinnamon sticks; pour boiling hot liquid over pickles; adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath (212) 5 minutes. Remove jars and complete seals unless closures are self-sealing type. Makes 5-6 pints. (current standards say to process pickles for 10 minutes in a water bath canner).
Do you have any old heirloom cookbooks in your kitchen? Have you ever made a recipe from it?
Share this:
Lurking in the Shadows
I’ve been admiring the size of the watermelon vines I have planted in the biggest pot you’ve ever seen on my back patio area. The vines are starting to overtake everything else growing in the post around them.
Last week I noticed a small melon lurking in the shadows. I’m hoping the weather warms up enough for it to ripen. I put it up on a black plastic flower pot, I’ve heard that helps with ripening.
This is my first year growing watermelons, I saw them at the greenhouse and I figured for $1.15 I’d see how they grew in my gardens.
Anyone have any great tips for growing melons or do you just enjoy eating the ones someone else grows?
Share this:
The Simple Things
Sometimes it’s the smallest things that catch make us smile. Earlier this week I harvested some tomatoes and brought them into the house and placed them on the dryer by the back door. I ran in to get something and when I came back into the laundry room I had to run and get my camera.
I don’t know what it was about the basket of tomatoes sitting on the dryer by the back door, but for some reason I had to take a photo of them. I love the light coming in the door, the graininess of the photo because of the dark room, and the blurry basket. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that bring us much joy.
What simple things bring you joy?
