Tuesday, July 25, 2023

A Little of This and a Little of That

 Happy Tuesday all.  Here we go into the last week of July - and what looks to be a hot one most places.  Time flies when you are having fun!  LOL
Gardens are really starting to take off - so everyone is looking for ways to preserve and use things.  I love that, for all those who have 'grow'ceries in their yards!!!  Use all those fresh goods up and ENJOY them to the fullest.  We have such a short window of time it seems to get all the fresh goodies.
Today a few things to eat and drink.  Maybe it will keep you cool OR maybe it will help you preserve.
One recipe was a favorite of my Glen.  I will share with you all.  He loved it, I thought it sounded ick - then I tried it and loved it too!

A refreshing cold drink that takes me back a bit.  To those days of walking the shopping malls with friends and a delish cold Julius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Click on pic to enlarge for easier reading.
Yes, those who love fried green tomatoes can have them all year long!  I have done this many times and they are just as yummy in the dead of winter as they are in the summer.
Can some of those extra green tomatoes.
Great for making relish as well.  This is a great way to preserve them at the end of the season - when that big frost is coming, and they are still on the vine!!!!!

Glen's favorite red bean salad.  It truly is tasty.
Click on recipe to enlarge.

REFRIGERATOR PICKLES
For those who may not can or want to can - you can make quick and easy pickles and store in the frig.  I am doing this TODAY!  I don't have enough of cukes or zucchini (yes I make pickles with it) to do a whole canner of processed pickles - so I am making frig pickles.  I will enjoy just as much.  I am kind of a pickle nut!!!
I love dill pickles.  I do enjoy my Bread & Butter pickles as well - but dill it a fav.

This is a simple to use recipe.  Small batch.  I generally heat this up a bit - just to dissolve the sugar, and I feel it gets into the veggies quicker.  Cool after jarring and keep refrigerated.  They are usually pretty good after 2-3 weeks of sitting and soaking!!!!
Now I do mine a tad bit different sometimes.
I have several Mrs. Wages pickle mixes on hand always.  Instead of using fresh dill heads I add 2-3 tablespoons of this mix to the liquid.  It gives a great taste and pretty color.  There are lots of herbs and spices in the mix.  (you can use any flavor or type you may have of mix).  I sometimes leave out the garlic as well - or just add a bit of dehydrated that I have.  Since it all is about your taste buds - you can play with it a bit.
See that zucchini above?  That was one of those big mamma jammers that get lost in the greenery!  Oh my.  It will become pickle spears or chunks today!!!!!  I will do some cukes as well.

So there you have my this and that for today.  I hope this gives some of you a few ideas of things to make for now and to enjoy later.
I will keep giving ideas of garden crops as we go along - tis the season!!!!!!!

Have a blessed day and live it well - you just never know what tomorrow may bring!



31 comments:

  1. Pinned the recipe for canning green tomatoes! That would be great if the tomatoes cooperate this year...ha! Also pinned the quote on living simple. I make G's kidney bean salad. That is one of the Farmer's favorites.

    The Farmer planted more broccoli and cauliflower seeds and the starts look really good. We picked green beans yesterday and will get those canned. Still have beets and turnips to pull. It's going to be blasted hot so early morning is the time to work.

    Hope Blackie is behaving himself...ha! Have a good day!

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    1. The green tomatoes are great for winter!! The bean salad is so good.
      Yay, on harvest and getting new things going. WTG!
      I went out a bit this AM as well - while it was cooler. Blackie is being good so far! He is sleeping on the porch at the moment.

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  2. Thank you, Cheryl, I'll be trying some of those recipes! Your timing is excellent as we need to make a Walmart run today for just a few things and I'll add a couple more to my list. I like the idea of refrigerator pickles in small batches, rather than all out, big batch canning. Why is it canning time happens to come at the *hottest* time of the year?!

    Work continues on our little acre. Another patch of juniper trees got trimmed up yesterday. Also yesterday... a nearby fire. It's in the area of the huge Rodeo-Chadiski fire of 2002 in rugged terrain. Hoping firefighters can get it contained. We need rain desperately. One of the reasons for trimming up trees and cutting out any deadwood is fire risk. It's also why we decided to fully rock the septic field for clear space around the house.

    Enjoy this final week of July! I remind myself fall will be here soon.
    --Elise

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    1. It does seem canning happens at the heat of summer. Go figure!!! Glad the timing was good. The frig pickles are tasty and yeah small batches are easy.
      Smart to keep things trimmed and cut. Fire is scary. Good idea on the rock!!!!!
      Enjoy - stay cool

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  3. It's a hot day here in MN. High temp is to be 94* and humid. We also have an air quality alert with the forest fires, so won't be outside. I need to continue decluttering. Daughter is having a garage sale at the end of August, and I will be taking things to sell and helping her. And what doesn't sell is going straight to the thrift store! I'm not crazy about doing garage sales, but doing it with a daughter is OK. Why do we collect so much stuff? My sister, brother, and I cleaned out Mom's home - 4 floors. She and Daddy grew up during the depression and saved everything! I vowed never to have that much stuff for my kids to go through. My MIL, on the other hand, sold her house after my FIL passed, and she moved into a one room apt. with a bath. She went home to be with Jesus in April at the age of 95, and what a difference it was when my husband and siblings went through her apt and cleaned it out. I have no plans to move to a one-room apt, but as I look around, there is so much that I don't use, and it would be good not to have to keep maintaining it. Wanita

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    1. That is the question -"why do we collect so much?" I ask myself that every day. Mom & daddy kept everything too - just so much. Yet here I am doing it too!!!! YIKES
      I used to have garage sales - just no desire now. Too much work!
      I will gladly donate before a sale.
      Don't feel bad we all do this stuff. Good luck and stay cool

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    2. Wanita, I was so grateful that my mother had an estate sale when she sold her house and moved into assisted living last year. We kids already had everything we wanted, and none of use live local. It was a relief for both her and us that she was able to make a little money and bless others with her no longer needed possessions.
      --Frances in the Trailer Park

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  4. Debby in Kansas USAJuly 25, 2023 at 9:47 AM

    I was a Strawberry Julius girl, myself! But yes, always at the mall and so good on a summer day! Then, my buddy and I would take them into Pablo's tacos, get a couple each, and eat while we watched the ice skaters thru the big window that they shared with Pablo's. We were 11 or 12 and felt so grown up spending our own babysitting money. Good memory,thanks.

    Off topic, some new finds for my treasure jar. Added a POW bracelet that hubs wore for many years. He had 2 brothers drafted for Vietnam and I think he said one of them gave it to them. (His brothers both came home, but one of them suffers from severe PTSD). LCDR Charles Lee did not make it home and may he RIP. We found his name on the traveling wall when it came thru Los Angeles.
    On a much much lighter note, does anyone remember Kiddles? 3 of them went into the jar this morning. A bracelet, a necklace, and a Kiddle Kologne. Those were super popular when I was about 6. Almost all the girls are wearing one at my birthday party!!
    Two more big crates emptied!! I'm on a roll!

    Keep cool and drink plenty of water. 😎

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    1. Never heard of a strawberry Julius. It was always orange here.
      Neat on the items for the jar. There are just so many small things we all have that would be good to save like that. No idea on Kiddles - never heard of it.
      You go girl! Stay cool

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    2. My sister (born 1964) had Liddle Kiddles. I never really cared for them. She also had some little dolls that had flower names and dresses, but I can't remember what they were called.
      --Frances in the Trailer Park

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  5. I've never actually had an Orange Julius. Of course, there were no malls in my small town, :p
    My tomatoes are starting to ripen on the plants. I've also got green ones that dropped for one reason or another. They're sitting in the kitchen window, and I'm hoping they will ripen there. Looking forward to that first toasted tomato sandwich.

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    1. Yay!!!! I picked 2 this morning - almost done. I picked, so animals wouldn't get them. Mmmm that first sandwich!

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  6. I used not be much of a pickle person until I discovered how fun it is to just cut up my fresh produce and add it to my pickle jar! Radishes, zucchini, garlic scapes, little onions, thin carrot sticks, salad turnips, cucumbers of course, etc! Then I have an easy addition to a sandwich or salad. I make my own brine usually unless I see pickles on clearance at the store. Actually a jar I bought last year gave me the idea to add a cinnamon stick and a little bit of turmeric to my bread & butter brine. I'm going to start another brine using your dill recipe.
    ~margaret

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    1. YES! I love pickled carrots, radish and cauliflower! I often re-use my juice in that way. I use the juice in a lot of ways - even drinking. I love dill juice in tomato juice!!!!! Give it a try if you like tomato juice.
      Smart gal!!!!!!

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  7. Debby in Kansas USAJuly 25, 2023 at 12:08 PM

    Back to the POW bracelet in my jar? I went looking for details on Mr. Lee and found his story. I also found that there's a place in Southern Cal that puts those old bracelets in their POW museum. Just in case anyone else has one...I suspect my jar will be without it soon.....

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  8. So, my question is do I really have to handle it with grace and humility?

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  9. Here we are entering the part of summer that seems like everyday something needs preserved in one way or another. I've been dehydrating like crazy. The freezer is filling up with fruits and veggies. Soon I will be doing a bit of canning. No complaints here. Have a great day Cheryl!

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    1. It is a wonderful time of the year. Kind of like Christmas every day - just hot!

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  10. I'm afraid my vegetable garden has been sadly neglected this year. The broccoli I grew from a purchased head didn't produce much and bolted. My green beans produced very little and are dying. Both of those were just to see what I'd get. Don't think I'll do them again next year. The cherry tomatoes are coming in nicely, and I'll be picking another slicing tomato tomorrow. Need to find time to pick and freeze beets. Haven't even checked the carrots. With the hot, humid weather we're to have the next few days, I need to water this evening.

    On the husband front, both his PT and Speech evaluations went very well, and he is excited about beginning therapy. Yay!
    --Frances in the Trailer Park

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    1. Heat is the enemy of broccoli for sure. I always had good luck, when weather was nice - but as the heat set in - it always bolted. Last time I tried green beans they got - got by a groundhog! I used to have luck, but heat can turn them quickly too.
      Glad the other goodies are coming in. I think each year it is a gamble - but a fun one!
      SO HAPPY to hear that the evals went well and things are moving in the right direction!!!!! That will help you as well!

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  11. Thank you for the recipes Cheryl. Always a bright spot to visit here.

    On the red bean salad? Is it sweet or dill relish? I think our family would like that one. I enjoy hearing what your husband liked, that is sweet.

    Orange Julius sounds good and refreshing, a flavor kind of like Dreamcicles? I guess that is like my dad's chocolate ice cream with orange juice (sort of?)

    Our poor garden is sweltering. We have a few things though, I think in the fall it will blossom again.

    I like that meme too. Very true on so many levels...So true.

    Have a sweet afternoon, evening Cheryl, we will be eating leftover Italian veggie (spinach, sprinkled with lentils and asparagus in tomato basil base) soup with some Italian red potatoes, roasted in tomato gravy on the side. Making pasta to put in the soup. A comforting meal, same as yesterday.

    Blessings to all and thank you girls for your prayers after losing Coffee. The theatre of my mind is a bit back and forth today. God is with me I can be certain of that though. I responded to Elise and Cookie too on last entry. ~Amelia

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    1. I use sweet relish in the bean salad. I love talking about Glen - it keeps him alive for me. I like to share him with you all!!!!!
      The heat is tough on plants. I think you are right - many things will rebloom and take up again for fall. Once we get through this heat - UGH.
      Your meals always sound good. I love veggies.
      One day at a time dear. Sweet thoughts of your baby and memories, gets you through. God's comfort to you.

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    2. Hi Cheryl, I understand why you love talking about Glen. I love talking about my sister I adored who passed away almost two years ago. Sadly most people, including friends, are uncomfortable when I do. Please keep talking about Glen and keep him alive for you.

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    3. Celie - I sometimes people get tired of hearing it from me - you know what? DON'T CARE!!!!!! He was my world - so I talk about him. Keep your sister's memory going. I talk about mom and daddy and siblings a lot too - miss them. Just feels like they are they a little bit, when you talk about them.

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  12. I make pickles in a bucket every year. Harvey loves them and as far as a pickle goes they are extremely easy to make.

    I talk about our daughter who died many years back as much as I possibly can.

    God bless.

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    1. That sounds interesting. Daddy used to use a crock and made mustard pickles. You care to share?
      I think as long as we talk about them we are keeping their memory alive and we are showing them the respect they deserve. HUGS

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  13. I think it is healthy to talk about people who have died that we loved! I talk about my mother all the time!
    I make refrigerator pickles. I cannot eat pickles because of allergies. I might have bits in potato salad or tuna salad, but that is all. Believe it or not, pickles make my eardrums hurt. The doctor said my throat is swelling shut and the referred pain shows up as an earache.

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    1. I think it is healthy as well. We have memories for a reason!
      That is weird - it must be something in commercial pickles (?). You seem to have a l lot of allergies with food. I am sure glad I don't! I love food too much!!!

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  14. Good morning,Cheryl
    Thanks for the recipes. My family loves bread and butter pickles. Once I found the recipe for microwave bread and butter pickles that had been the only way I make them. Dill pickles can be made in the microwave also. I've used zucchini in place of cukes too.
    I talk about my sister who died unexpectedly two years ago, especially with my nieces. I tell them stories about their mom when we were both kids. They are grown and have their own families and miss her terribly, as I do. As long as we continue to speak about our loved ones they will not be forgotten. Cookir

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    1. B&B pickles are so tasty. I have a nephew who like my zucchini pickles the best of all. My late brother did as well.
      It is wonderful to share those stories. Families should always embrace the memories and not hide behind them. Talk of them, and talk often. I love it.

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