A Happy Little World

My little corner of the world is as happy as I can make it.  I see and hear enough bad stuff daily, that I just want to hole up here and love my little piece of this big old planet.

I have been around gardening every one of my 63 1/2 years - and it still amazes me.  It truly is like having a grocery store in your back yard!  Every day that I go out with my garden bag and pick something - I find myself giggling!!!  I really do!
I just find a huge amount of happiness in walking into the yard, picking something fresh, and deciding how we will EAT IT!

My folks had a huge garden and my poor Momma had the task of putting it all up for the leaner cold months.  She worked till midnight or after, many a day.  I truly didn't appreciate the garden back then - it was just a lot of hot work to me. 
Now I did love eating raspberries as I was helping to pick - but I hated the chigger bites.  I loved going out and picking a warm tomato off the vine and eating it right there.  I loved sitting behind the chicken house eating sour green apples till I got sick.  I loved standing under the grape arbor munching on Concord grapes till Mom saw me - and said she needed them for juice and jelly. 
I just didn't understand then, that all that work was necessary for us to have the good life we had.  We ate good all year long.  Other people ate good at our house too.  Mom fed anyone that showed up.  We didn't have much money - but we had scrumptious healthy food to keep us full.

Today, most of us don't HAVE to grow a garden for financial reasons.  We can go to the grocery store and buy whatever we want.  However, many of us prefer to grow our own.  We know how it was grown, we know what is on our table, we know how it was fixed.  It is soooooooo much healthier.  I don't necessarily fall for the "organic" hype at the stores - truthfully they can tell us anything, and we can't prove them wrong.  I know how my garden was grown!

We can make jams, jellies, juices, sauces, etc.  We can eat it fresh, or cook it, or can it, or  freeze it.
We save money with our gardens.  We eat healthier with our gardens. 
I still marvel at what a little seed can produce.  It is definitely a gift from God in my opinion.

 

Don't forget that you can also use EVERYTHING.  Those tough ends from asparagus, broccoli, etc. can be dehydrated and ground into powder.   Tomato skins can be dried and powdered.  (You can add so much flavor to food with these things).  I personally love to peel the tough ends of broccoli and steam them  - they are my favorite part to eat!
The outer leaves of cabbage or broccoli can be done the same way.
Peels and pits can be cooked down and made into jelly and jams.  Rinds can be sugared or pickled.
Herbs can be grown in small areas or pots and dried for later use.
Peels or scraps can be placed in the garden for extra fertilizer or in the compost maker.  Waste nothing!

I love making flavorful powders out of all kinds of things most people would throw away.  Powders can be added to soups and stews or smoothies and breads - there is no limit to what you can do.

So they next time you walk outside and pick something - maybe you will giggle too.  Take a moment to realize what a wonderful gift it is.  I don't care if you have a container garden or 2 acres, or if you get a handful of things or bushels - it is ALL magical!!!!!!

Look upward and say "thank you" - because you are blessed beyond measure.  You too, live in a happy little world!