This year the garden seems to be winding down earlier…probably because of the lack of rain! Bert waters the plants that are left every day, but a good dose from Mother Nature would sure help! I just wanted to show you how the garden looks in mid-September.
On the patio, the onion planters were finally emptied. Bert took the onions that were left and spread them out on the picnic table to dry. I’ll have enough to cook with for a month or two!
The radishes and lettuce just gave up and those planters are now empty, ready for spring!
The Raindrop tomatoes, amazingly, continue to ripen, even though the plants look pretty sad.
I haven’t talked much about the asparagus. We planted the roots in the spring and just left them alone. They’ve been growing fine, so hopefully next spring we can enjoy a meal or two from them.
The pumpkins are turning orange and I’m surprised how many there are in the patch. Of course, we won’t know until we actually pull them out of the patch if roaming critters have taken bites out of them.
Moving up to the garden on the hill…the lavender continues to entice the bees but I didn’t try to cut any to dry. They didn’t make nice flowers.
The tomatoes are ripening slowly. We pick them as they look ready. I still have trays of tomatoes on the dining room table, so we’re eating at least one a day!
The carrots have struggled all summer. Many were just too small or deformed. Bert sorted out the good ones in the first batch and shared the rejects with a friend’s rabbits! They loved them!
Here’s the first batch. We’ll dig up more as we need them!
The zucchini is finally DONE! I think I’ve tried enough recipes so I can say we missed only one zucchini that got too big. The rest were baked into cookies, casseroles and bread OR they were shredded and are now in the freezer! Success! These beds are ready for next spring!
And finally, the Echinacea looks pretty ugly. Bert will cut it off at ground level after the first frost and the patch will be ready for next spring!
One last indication that fall is here…the Japanese maple trees in the front yard now have their orange seed pods all over! I call them my pumpkin trees for a month or two…just in time for Halloween! Enjoy! Remember, if you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
Very soon, the Ladies Auxiliary to the Boalsburg Fire Company will hold their fall “flea market/bake sale” at the fire hall. It will be held next weekend, September 19 and 20, 2025.
In the past, I have posted pictures about the flea market-style sale, with almost 30 tables rented by local folks to sell their own stuff. It’s also a major fund raiser for the Auxiliary, with most of the proceeds going to the needs of the fire company. You can see more pictures of one of the last sales we had at: https://marykisner.com/spring-flea-market-will-be-held-april-26-&-27/
In the past year or so, we’ve tried to better organize the bake sale. Honestly, we are not experts at baking, packaging or labeling food products…but we’re getting there. We are a small group of mostly older retired ladies and many of us have stopped doing a lot of baking in the first place. Some of us have moved to apartments or assisted living and don’t have a lot of pots and pans around anymore.
For now, we manage to sell bowls of chicken corn soup, hot dogs and sloppy joe…mostly to the 30+ folks that are taking care of their flea market tables. The baked goods are a draw to go with the lunch fare. However, our offerings have been very limited. This fall, I wanted to try to entice my fellow auxiliary members to expand our offerings at the bake sale table.
My contributions seem to be the chicken corn soup and scones. The soup was easy, but I tackled the scones last year without knowing much about making them. I simplified the process by buying boxed mixes for scones from King Arthur Flour Company…online. You can read about the learning curve I went through to make a ton of scones at https://marykisner.com/making-scones/. At that time, I didn’t realize my oven was not very accurate with preheating so the whole process was quite an accomplishment. I also finally discovered silicone scone baking pans and what a difference they made! I can cool the scones right in the pan and pop them out after they cool and firm up.
Even with the steep learning curve, the scones were a big HIT! That was great, but this fall we needed other items to make it an interesting bake sale. I wanted to encourage my auxiliary friends to each make something to contribute to the sale. I started at the grocery store. I stocked up on a few cake mixes that could be made into cookies.
I found a recipe online to make cookies from a cake mix:
I found some muffin mixes that could be packaged with 2 muffins in a ziplock bag for sale.
I picked up a few disposable cake and bread pans.
I hauled all this stuff to our meeting yesterday and offered the mixes, pans and recipe to the group. I think it worked! At least everybody took at least one thing to try and the pans were helpful for those who no longer had baking pans around. I’m encouraged that we may have more items to sell next weekend! I hope I’ll be able to report that we had a nice variety of baked goods to offer next weekend!
If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
One last blast about zucchini! Last week I had a full tray of zucchini and I was done experimenting with recipes. Time to pull out the food processor to shred and freeze the last big batch. My little hand-held shredder was fine for one or two zucchinis to make one recipe. Now I had a pile and the food processor could handle it quickly…it probably took longer to clean up the machine when I was done than it took to shred all the zucchinis!
I had more to choose from, but the two biggest zucchinis ended up being composted…the seeds were too big!
I first cut all the zucchini into smaller pieces.
The chunks had to fit into the hole at the top:
The food processor has a nice shredding blade.
It took only a few minutes to shred all the zucchini!
All done!
I scooped 2 cups of the shreds into each quart bag and flattened them out so they would stack in the freezer.
I now have 5 bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer ready for all those recipes I tried over the last month! Yay!
If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
I just realized I had not shared my Zucchini Bread recipe yet! We’ve had enough zucchini so I’ve been able to experiment with cookies and a casserole along with how I dehydrate the zucchini shreds. You can find those articles at the following links:
Now that the zucchini plants are not producing so much, it was time to use up all the zucchini sitting around my kitchen. I put several of the small, misshapen ones in the compost bin. I saved two smaller ones and shredded the rest.
I ended up with about 5 cups of shredded zucchini. I decided to make two batches of zucchini bread…which would use up 4 cups…and froze the last cup.
Making a double batch of zucchini bread made sense and it was a lot easier if I measured everything out in pairs. I wouldn’t start mixing until I had everything ready.
Here is the recipe!
First, I measured out the Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt.
Then, I shredded and measured out the zucchini.
I chopped the walnuts:
Here are all the prepped ingredients:
Then, I was ready to follow the instructions.
In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs, oil, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg (I did not use) and vanilla. Whisk well to break up the eggs and get everything well incorporated.
Blend in the baking powder, soda and salt, so they are mixed in thoroughly, then stir in the flour.
3. When the flour is almost all incorporated, fold in the zucchini and nuts. Stop mixing as soon as there is no dry flour left and the zucchini and nuts are evenly dispersed. Do not over-mix this batter.
4. I poured the batter into 3 pans, instead of 2. I’m always concerned my oven isn’t the right temperature, so I thought these loaves could be a little smaller and get cooked through.
I let them cool in the pan about half an hour (mostly because I forgot about them!) and turned them out to continue cooling.
Result…I had three loaves of zucchini bread…delicious!
If you have questions or comments, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
What in the world is an ANZAC biscuit? These cookies (or “biscuits” as they are called in the UK and Australia/New Zealand) are considered a traditional cookie to honor ANZAC day in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga.
“Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders ‘who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations’ and ‘the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.’ Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914-1918).” (See more at https://anzacspirit.com.au/blog/the-traditions-of-anzac-day/)
Several sources online suggested wives and mothers would mail these cookies to their soldiers in ANZAC, because without eggs and being quite sturdy, they traveled and kept well. Other sources said, “contrary to legend, Anzac biscuits weren’t sent to our troops serving overseas in WWI. However, they were commonly sold at church fetes and galas to raise funds for the war effort. They didn’t get their name until peacetime, with the first Anzac recipe appearing in about 1919.”
You can see, the history of the Anzac biscuits has been around for over 100 years! Whether they were popular because they traveled well, or they made a good baked item to raise funds, I might have to bake some to sell at our Boalsburg Fire Company Auxiliary Yard Sale in a few weeks (September 19-20, 2025). If I include the recipe and a little history, they might generate some interest and sales!
Because they were popular in Australia, they are called biscuits…like cookies are called in the UK. However, they are basically a simple Oatmeal Coconut Cookie. They are sturdy, travel well and taste good!
Here’s the recipe I followed. I added vanilla and cinnamon to my recipe just because!!
The ingredient list is pretty simple. After making 2-3 batches and reading several variations of the recipe at various sources, I think you could add other ingredients of your choosing…walnuts, chocolate chips, etc.
Making the ANZAC Biscuits
Assemble the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Melt one stick of butter and add 2 Tbsp of honey and mix well. (This is when I added the vanilla.)
3. Put the baking soda in a small cup and add 2 Tbsp boiling water. This was a real pain in the neck…next time I’ll add the baking soda and water to the melted butter and just mix it up.
4. Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients to make a moist batter. Scoop about a tablespoon or two into your hand and form a ball. Place on cookie sheet and flatten gently with your fingers. They will spread and flatten as they cook.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-14 minutes (to make a firm chewy cookie) or about 15-18 minutes to make them a little crunchy. Rotate trays as needed halfway.
This batch made 14-16 cookies…each 3-4 inches across! They can be made smaller and the recipe can be doubled. Might be the perfect cookie to sell at our bake sale! Enjoy!
If you have questions or comments, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com. Thanks.
I know it’s hard to believe, but 10-15 years ago it was not common for most folks to bring their own reusable grocery bags to the store. I did have a collection of off-white canvas bags back then but they ended up being used all over the house for other things…like library books or beach towels. However, they are still available for sale on Amazon.
Plastic bags (single use!) were everywhere and stores printed store names on the bags for advertising. Many of the first reusable grocery bags also had store names and colorful pictures on them. I had quite a collection of those, but I was always uncomfortable taking my Giant bag into Wegmans and my Trader Joe’s bag into Giant (why, I don’t know!). I ended up with quite a pile of store-specific bags cluttering up the car. Recently, I bought 5 matching bags with the Penn State logo on them…no store name (even though I got them at Wegmans!) I’m happy using them everywhere!
Then, around the same time as reusable grocery bags became popular, the trend was to always carry a thin nylon tote bag that would fit in my pocket…just in case I needed one. They were very thin often with uncomfortable handles. I could never get them folded up back into their little pouches and they never quite made it back into my purse! Very frustrating!
Finally, years ago I decided I could make my own nylon tote bags…even a bunch of them…to use as reusable grocery bags. I have carried at least one in my purse since then. I made them in four colors and ended up giving most of them away. Recently, I gave some garden vegetables to my brother and his wife in one of the bags I had in my purse. When I came home to grab a replacement to put in my purse, I realized I had only 3 left! Yikes! Time to find my stash of fabric to make some more!
All this time, I’ve had a bin under a guest bed with my stash of rip-stop nylon fabric.
This is considered a utility fabric with a strong thread running through the fabric. If you get a tear in the fabric it doesn’t run like a nylon stocking. That’s why it’s called “rip-stop” nylon. Here’s a closeup of the fabric…I hope you can see the grid of strong threads:
This fabric is available at Amazon in many colors. It comes in precut 2-yard pieces for about $11. (I can make four tote bags out of 2 yards of fabric.)
Figuring Out the Pattern
Keep in mind, I’ve made a LOT of tote bags in the last 20-30 years. I just couldn’t remember EXACTLY how I made the rip-stop nylon ones…and of course I never did have a pattern. Luckily, I still had three tote bags left so I measured a bag. Then I made this drawing. Don’t you just love how I make a pattern! (smile)
The bag measured 19″ from the bottom fold to the top…allowing 2″ for the top hem.
The top hem was 2″ finished.
The handles were 2″ wide by 18″ so they were cut 5″ wide by 18″.
Then I checked inside to jog my memory…it appears I sewed up the side seams first and then folded down the top. Every seam was stitched and then folded over and stitched again, just to keep the fabric from unraveling (funny…it doesn’t tear but it will unravel!).
Finally, the bottom measured 5″, so I’ll remember that when I make a new one.
Making a New Grocery Bag
In my stash, I discovered I had already cut some of the fabric into 18″ wide strips along the fold. I decided to start with the red fabric.
Following my hand-drawn diagram above, I cut a 19″ piece measured from the fold and an additional piece 5″ (which was 2 pieces) for the handles.
Making the Handles
With right sides together, I stitched along one end and down the length, leaving the bottom open.
Then I used a stick to turn the handle right side out.
Finally, I top stitched all around the handle, folding in the open end.
Making the Bag
I stitched the side seams of the bag; then folded each seam over and stitched again. It could be zigzagged if you prefer.
With the bag inside out, take one corner and flatten it out, matching the seam with the bottom fold of the fabric. Check by putting a pin along the seam and turning it over to make sure it lines up with the bottom fold.
Now, lay a ruler along the flat corner. My measurement of the old tote bag showed the bottom was 5″ across. Lay the ruler with the center at 2 1/2″ with the ends at 0 and 5″ and mark the fabric:
That is your stitching line.
Cut off the point of the corner, leaving enough to fold and stitch the cut edge.
Repeat with the other corner.
This is what the bottom of the tote bag looks like when it’s inside out.
Turn the bag right side out and stitch the top of the bag with a 1/4″ to 1/2″ fold.
Fold the top of the bag down 2″ and stitch again.
The bag is now ready for the handles.
Find the center point along the top edge. Measure 2″ on each side and mark. That’s the inside mark for the handles.
And…the bag is done!
The little strip of leftover fabric was just enough to make a little case for the bag.
Now I just need to whip up a few more so I won’t feel bad if I end up giving them away! Try it yourself! Enjoy!
If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
What a difference two weeks makes in our garden! Two weeks without any measurable rain, hot temperatures and produce ripening every day keeps us busy! Bert waters everything every day, but it’s hard to keep all the plants happy without a good soaking rain. When it’s dry like this, plants must think fall is coming and everything ripens faster. Of course, that means my focus is on the produce that needs to be processed.
We’ve cooked and canned the first round of tomatoes…about 42 tomatoes made 13 pints of cooked tomatoes:
The zucchini plants are still producing so I’m trying to catch them when they are still small (obviously I missed one!). I’ve made a batch or two of my zucchini chocolate chip cookies (see the recipe at https://marykisner.com/marys-zucchini-chocolate-chip-cookies/) and I’ve found a good zucchini bread recipe. I’ll post about that soon.
Now, for a tour of the garden. The onions are definitely ready to harvest. So far, we’re digging them up as we use them. They’ll probably keep better for a few weeks right there in the dirt!
The next batch of lettuce is ready to eat and the radishes are doing fine!
The “Raindrop” tomatoes have done very well, but the plants are not looking very healthy. We’re not sure if they are just stressed from the hot, dry weather or if they have a fungus. Either way, the tomatoes are still ripening just fine!
The pumpkins are doing well…EXCEPT they were being eaten by something!
Check out this pumpkin…almost half-munched away!
The one pumpkin Bert put up on a stand seemed to be safe!
Bert set up a trap with a small pumpkin as bait and within a day he caught a HUGE groundhog! The groundhog must have thought we planted those pumpkins just for his own salad bar! After that groundhog was dispatched, Bert set the trap again. So far, no other groundhogs have been caught!
Up in the garden, the lavender still looks pretty stressed.
The tomatoes are doing well. I can see I’ll have my work cut out for me when they all ripen!
The carrots are quietly doing their thing. We’re always surprised when we finally dig them up in the fall!
The zucchini keeps producing…we’ll see how long that will continue!
Finally, the echinacea has given up and gone to seed. Oh well, hopefully next year they’ll last a little longer!
That’s what’s happening around here. While Bert is watering and keeping up with the garden outside, I seem to be doing a lot of dishes! That’s OK. Harvest season doesn’t last very long and if I need something we don’t grow, someone at the Farmer’s Market probably has it! Enjoy!
If you have comments or questions, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
My Excalibur Dehydrator has been an important and useful tool for me over the last 10-15 years. It is basically a low-tech appliance with few moving parts, but it is safe to dehydrate foods without having to monitor the oven at low temperatures or the food over many hours. It is a large box-sized appliance (about 20″ x 18″ x 12″ high). I do not use it often, but when I do I want it near the kitchen where I prep the food to be dehydrated. Here is a picture from the instruction manual. It does have 9 trays, but the food shown in the picture is not realistic. They do not recommend dehydrating so many different kinds of food at the same time!
A few weeks ago, I showed pictures of dehydrating shredded zucchini…the shreds needed to be spread out so they would dry properly. The trays shown above are much too crowded.
Anyway, the dehydrator is stored in our garage, right outside the kitchen door. When not in use, it is covered with a cloth cover I made many years ago, then covered with a custom board Bert made that has a hole for the temperature dial so it doesn’t get squished. The board keeps the whole dehydrator safe from being bumped and we find we store stuff on top. Packages from UPS often appear there when delivered!
This original cover was made from plain cotton and must have gotten snagged or just worn through with holes! Yikes! Time for a new cover!
To make a new cover, I needed to measure the dehydrator. Pretty funny…trying to get my tape measure to stay put so I could take a picture of it just right!
So I ended up measuring the old cover instead. The new cover didn’t need to be snug. I wanted to be able to just slip it on to keep the dust out.
The measurements became this pattern:
Once I found a piece of fabric big enough to make the cover, I cut the pieces out as measured above:
I stitched the 4 side pieces to the top and tested it on the dehydrator inside out before I sewed up the side seams. (I obviously didn’t go to a whole lot of trouble to iron the pieces before I started sewing!)
Once the side seams were sewed (and zigzagged for strength) I tested the fit again before I hemmed the bottom edge.
And right side out, it works great. Guess I could break out the ironing board if necessary!
Remember, I said we store the dehydrator under a board with a hole to accommodate the dial on the top. Believe it or not, that board has prevented damage to the dial for 15 years!
Now, this space is ready for UPS to drop off packages, etc. I feel better that the dehydrator is now covered! Enjoy! If you have questions or comments, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
Garden produce is now beginning to take over the kitchen table and it looks like more is to come! Every day involves watering, picking what’s ready and processing when the pile gets big enough! I’ve added a fourth activity…giving away what I can’t use to any neighbor that walks by! (smile)
Now that I’ve tried out quite a few recipes with shredded zucchini, I think the rest will be shredded or cut into cubes and frozen or dehydrated. They will be great additions to soup and baked goods all winter! Very soon, the large tomatoes will be cooked and canned into something I can use all winter. I should not have to buy cans of diced/cooked tomatoes for many months!
Here’s what the garden looks like today!
The latest planting of radishes is popping up. The lettuce is ready to harvest.
We’ve been using onions and soon will dig them all up (or dump them out)!
More “Raindrop” tomatoes are ripening every day! They are tasty!
The pumpkins are turning orange!
The lavender is still attracting bees, but it is sure having trouble standing up!
The Bodacious tomatoes are ripening first, while the SuperSauce are finally starting to turn color.
Bodacious
SuperSauce
The carrots are hanging in there!
The green and yellow beans are DONE and gone! Looks like the zucchini plants will spread out into the space.
The zucchini is producing at least 3-4 a day!
And of course, the Echinacea is nuts! The bees love them!
So that’s what is happening in our back yard (and kitchen). Enjoy! For questions or comments, please email me directly at maryjkisner@gmail.com.
It appears that a link is not working in WordPress that shows my blog entries in some consecutive order. The Welcome page seems to load just fine, but when I try to go to the menu and select “Blog” it says “Oops, can’t find that!” Grrr. However, you’ll notice the list of the most recent 10 posts I’ve written is on the right.
If you have subscribed to my blog, you will be taken to the correct entry. If you come to my website through Facebook, I always provide the correct link to the article I just wrote. If you come to the Welcome page you’ll see a list of the most recent 10 posts I’ve written.
I have also updated the PDF that is a complete list of everything I’ve written with hotlinks to each article. That can be downloaded from the Welcome Page and also below. Over the last four and a half years, I’ve posted 434 articles. It might seem tedious to search, but I didn’t think I’d have so much to write about! Now, I just need to get out the manual and figure out what happened to the link to the “Blog” button! In the meantime, check out the list of the last 10 posts and the PDF below. If any link doesn’t work, it’s probably a typing error. Let me know…THAT I know how to fix! Enjoy!
