Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Square Foot Veggie Garden - August

 Our garden is growing so fast!  Lauren is loving picking everything she can find (including green tomatoes...the salsa might be notsomuch this year!)
 It's fun to see what is new and ready to eat every day now...

 Remember this sad thing?
 Everything is growing like crazy now!  Dan built the coolest trellis for the cukes - it folds up so we can easily store it in the winter time. 
I'm really wanting to learn how to pickle but the recipes seem so complicated.  And honestly, I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble? Someone tell me it is and send me their recipes!
 My tomatoes were starting to get yuck, but our farmer friend Chad came over with his cute wife and saved them with his special garden mix.  Hooray for the city girl being friends with the farmers!
 We've got loads of Anaheim peppers already - I'm cleaning them and freezing them for when I'm ready to make salsa in a few weeks.
In other news....somebody around here turned 39 on Friday...
 He loves Rice Krispies more than cake, so I made him a 4 layer Rice Krispy cake!

We celebrated the day by taking the kids to a water park, it was a great day.  The kids love spending time with their dad...I can see why, he's pretty amazing. 
Happy Birthday Dan!

8 comments:

Dan said...

No baby, YOU are amazing. Thanks for the great kids, the fresh veggies and the great birthday.

beckylbranch said...

Wow your garden looks awesome! I wish we had a garden b/c I love home grown tomatoes, but our backyard it SMALL! That rice crispy cake is great! LOL! It's very fancy for a rice crispy cake :)

Mary Ann Pickett said...

Happy birthday, Dan! You are a lucky man!

Twice as Nice said...

My son has never been a cake person and loves rice krispies too! I usually make him some for his birthday but never thought to turn it into a cake! Will have to steal your idea for his 16th in Dec. Every year since kindergarten I make rice krispies on his first day of school. All his friends like coming to our house the first day because they know there are treats! I wonder how I can carry this tradition on when he goes to college...HA!

Olson's said...

Great work Kristen!! Your garden (and the veggies too) looks fantastic. I love it when hard work pays off :)

kjtroxel said...

Smart little folding trelis! That Dan is so handy! Love our handy husbands...makes life easier, right. Happy birthday to the man!
and yeah for veggies!

kelvis said...

That's an adorable picture of Lauren. When it comes to homemade pickles, I love bread-n-butter pickles so much more than dill. You might ask my mother for her recipe.

Shanade said...

Pickling cucumbers really is the easiest thing. Here is my mom's recipe. So yummy!

Dill Pickles

10 lbs cukes
Fresh dill
whole garlic cloves
1 quart white vinegar
3 quarts water
1 cup non-iodized salt

1. Scrub and soak cukes overnight (24 hrs) in cold water.
2. Sterilize canning jars and lids.
3. Bring to a boil the vinegar, water and salt; boil for 1-2 minutes.
4. Fill jars with 1-2 dill sprigs and 1-2 garlic cloves.
5. Fill jars with quartered or sliced cukes; can leave baby cukes whole.
6. Fill jars with boiling brine.
7. Wipe rims, seal and let sit for at least 1 month before using.