Around the Kisner Homestead – Page 19

Garden Update: June 29, 2021

By this time in the garden…about 5 weeks after planting everything…we are seeing some successes and some failures. Frustrating, but totally expected. Between the weather and the bugs, it is almost guaranteed that some plants do very well and others don’t. Things can change even in few days. Ahh, the adventure of gardening! Thank goodness for the Farmers’ Market and even the produce in the grocery store.

It has been 15 days since our last measurable rain. We’ve had some dark and cloudy days, a little sprinkle now and then. We know this because Bert has tracked our rainfall for over 20 years, every day from March 1 to November 30. Our rain gauge measures to the 100th of an inch. Remember, Bert’s an engineer!

We’re grateful for the rain barrels to keep everything watered.

Two weeks ago, the cucumber plants that Bert started indoors back in April were doing very well.

Two weeks ago, these were the cucumber plants.

Over the last few days, I even found 4 small cucumbers that I ate immediately! Yummy! Yesterday the plants were wilting and even with watering they did not perk up. Absolutely dead! With a little online research, Bert found that the culprit was probably a bacteria in the soil. That particular raised garden has had the same problem over the years…first with strawberries and last year with cucumbers. Looks like we need to try to find seeds/plants that are resistant to that issue, or at least plant something else there. Anyway, Bert pulled out the dead plants.

Now we’re left with the plants that we planted directly in the garden from seed. So far, they are doing well but I’m not optimistic that I’ll get any cucumbers! We’ll see.

Now how about the rest of the garden! My raised planter is doing well. My second batch of radishes are almost ready and the lettuce has been picked and replanted.

Second planting of lettuce…only Black Seeded Simpson this time.

Carrots looking good…however, the beets (at the top, two partial rows) didn’t even come up at all!

Lots of green tomatoes. These are Burpee’s Super Sauce tomatoes. Should get twice this size before ripening.

However, Bert found these aphids on the back of all the tomato leaves! Time to spray!

Echinacea plants finally look healthy. Even some flowers are starting! I sure thought they would be much taller by now.

And of course, the Spearmint is doing well. I plan to use some of the leaves fresh for infused water and dehydrate some for tea.

That’s the tour. We certainly don’t grow all the vegetables we like to eat, but over time we’ve decided to let local growers handle the things we don’t have room for (like corn) or the things we don’t eat very much of (like squash and potatoes). Every other year or so I’ll go to the Farmers’ Market at the end of the season and pick up a pile of cucumbers to make relish, or even tomatoes and make ketchup. Our carrots will stay in the ground until probably Thanksgiving and we’ll just dig them up as we need them.

The older we get we know which vegetables are labor intensive and which we don’t want to mess with anymore. As the season goes on, I’ll start preserving any abundant vegetables by canning, freezing or dehydrating. More on that as I do it!

Please comment or email me directly if you have questions at marykisner@comcast.net.

The Best Vegan Muffin

I finally found a recipe for a Vegan Banana Blueberry Walnut Muffin that actually rises and tastes good! I’ve tried adapting regular recipes by removing the eggs and substituting the milk with almond milk, but for some reason that just doesn’t work.

When I find a recipe online, I’ll print it out, put it in a plastic sleeve in a notebook. As I experiment with the recipe I’ll write directly on the printout and even write comments like I did on this one (Tasty).

Once I’ve made the recipe several times and like how it turns out, I’ll retype the recipe into the format I’m most comfortable with (see below). This format seems to be common with the Joy of Cooking cookbook that I’ve been using for years. I can glance down the bold-typed list and easily see the ingredients I will use.

This morning, after I retyped the recipe I decided to make a batch.

First, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees. Because I could see (down the list of ingredients) that I needed bananas and blueberries, I got them out of the freezer first to let them thaw. Then I chopped the walnuts so they were ready to go.

Step 1: I put all the dry ingredients into a big bowl:

Step 2: In the small bowl with the smashed banana I put the oil and the almond milk and mixed them up.

Step 3: Then I added them to the dry ingredients and stirred them up.

Step 4: I folded in the walnuts and the blueberries.

Step 5: I divided the batter into the muffin cups.

Step 6: I put them in the preheated oven for 23 minutes. They needed that extra minute because the bananas and blueberries were still pretty cold when I mixed them in.

They are a perfect mid-morning treat! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Garden Update: June 14, 2021

We had over 2 inches of rain last night and I thought I’d better see how beat down the garden was. Luckily, there are no puddles in the gardens so it looks like the garden beds are draining well.

The dogwood tree blossoms are still looking good, but I don’t know how long they will last.

The radishes on the right in the raised planter look pretty beat down. The lettuce looks ready to pick!

The geranium flowers always need to be trimmed after a heavy rain.

The Spearmint looks a little bedraggled. It will perk up!

Cucumber plants are starting to spread out.

Just planted more cucumber seeds two weeks ago so maybe we’ll have cucumbers later in the season.

The Chamomile always looks like it took a beating after a rain, but you can see the beginning of flowers.

Lemon balm and Stevia. Time to pick and dry some lemon balm leaves.

Basil and Rosemary. I’ll snip a few basil leaves today when the plants dry out a little.

The Thyme is finally starting to perk up.

Carrots and Lavender. Even after 2 inches of rain, wet but no puddles…good drainage! Right now we need sunshine!

And then there’s our diehard Echinacea! Come on guys…let’s get going! We have faith you can do it!

I must say, it’s days like this that give me hope that everything is right with the world…well, at least in my little corner of it! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

This Monkey Was NOT My Friend!

In 1955-56 my family spent a school year in the Philippines. My father was on a sabbatical and taught at the University of the Philippines near Manila. My sister had just graduated from high school, my brother was 15 and I was turning 9.

Many animals in the Philippines were different from what I saw every day here in State College, Pennsylvania. Instead of tractors in the fields (or even horses like the Amish) the rice fields were being plowed by Carabao, or water buffalo.

Chickens were wandering near homes in our neighborhood and the roosters woke us up each morning. I remember my brother having fun fashioning a trap with a box, a stick attached to a long string, and some bait to try to catch a chicken. As I recall, he was successful, but the neighbors were not too happy. Of course, he had to let them go and the chickens continued to wander the neighborhood.

We were offered the opportunity to “adopt” a pet monkey while we were visiting in the Philippines. This monkey had been living at a nearby lab and was probably used in experiments…who knows (remember, this was 1956)! She was being “retired” and we could have her for a pet for a few months.

She lived outside our back door and was chained just like a dog. Her sleeping area was a box high off the porch. She had a bar to run across and could reach the ground with the chain on. She would leap off the bar and then climb back up the chain to her perch. My brother loved putting her on his shoulder and walking around the house.

When we were first introduced to this monkey in the living room, she looked so sweet. Her long arms could wrap around your neck like a big stuffed animal. I was sitting on the couch with my legs crossed and we watched her explore.

As she moved around, I uncrossed my legs and ACCIDENTLY bopped her on the head! She instantly leaped on me in anger and started pulling my hair! Yikes Not fun!

She finally calmed down, and everyone felt that she would be OK, I had just surprised her. From that day forward, she did not like me. She was smart and knew when I was around. I stayed out of her way!

Several times over the next few months, she would get loose and run to the roof of the house. It was hard to get her to come back. Soooo…Mary became the bait!

I would stand on the porch and call her. She would come running across the rooftop, jump onto my shoulders and start pulling my hair, screeching all the time. Mark would quickly grab her off of me and take her away.

Needless to say, I was not sorry to see her go back to the lab when we were getting ready to leave. My brother had a nice pet for a few months, but I don’t have fond memories of the animal. I hope she had a good life…someplace else!

I’ve been told that the memories that “stick” are ones with strong emotions attached…good or bad. I guess that’s why this one stuck with me all these years!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Freezing Bananas

Just a quick post about freezing bananas. Why would you even want to do this? I use half a banana and a handful of frozen blueberries in a breakfast smoothie. Since it’s a real pain to keep ahead of bananas to use them before they spoil, I’ve found that if I slice and freeze them, they make the smoothie even better!

I try to buy bananas that are about the same ripeness so I can cut them up all at once. Folks must think I run a restaurant or have a big family!

I get the small snack-size Ziplock bags and start slicing.

I have a bowl ready for all the peels and an extra paper towel to put all the stickers on. Since I will add these peels to the compost bin, the stickers need to be removed. One year I did not remove them and after we had put the compost into the garden, I was finding the stickers intact years later!

I slice the bananas into 3/4″ slices and lay them flat in the bag; one banana will fill two bags (approximately).

When finished, the stickers go in the trash, the peels go into the compost bin and the bags of slices go into the freezer!

These slices are great for my smoothies and they also can be used in other recipes that call for mashed bananas. They thaw quickly and are easily incorporated into baked goods…and no over-ripe bananas sitting around my kitchen! Give it a try! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

No-bake Coconut and Cashew Butter Energy Balls

Trying to find an energy bar that is safe to eat (for me that means no egg and no dairy) and actually tastes good is no small task! I have bought multiple assortments of bars that just try too hard to do everything…low carb, vegan, no sugar, high protein, etc. I’ve decided to just skip trying to find a commercial one that actually tastes good. I don’t need a bar for protein since I can eat meat and fish just fine. Actually, I’d like something that is not full of extra ingredients but will satisfy like a cookie. I just tried a recipe I found at this site, https://thepaleodiet.com. I think it will work!

Ingredients:

1 cup Cashew Butter (could substitute Almond Butter)

1 cup Medjool dates, pitted (I just got pitted dates at the health food store)

1/4 cup cashews, chopped

1 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut

(Optional: Chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans; a dash of cinnamon).

Instructions:

Add the cashew butter, dates, cashews and 1 cup of the coconut to a food processor. (I also added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.) Blend just until a workable dough is formed.

I just couldn’t believe that the sticky dates would chop up, so I put the 1 cup of coconut in a bowl, added the chopped dates and stirred them up. Then, I put them in the food processor.

Sticky chunks of dates, coated with coconut.

2. Use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture out evenly. Roll into 10 balls. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

This stuff was so sticky I quickly coated them with coconut just to get them off my hands! I ended up with 16 energy balls.

3. Roll the balls in the remaining shredded coconut.

Since they were already coated with coconut I didn’t have to do it again.

This recipe made 16 energy balls. The smaller ones chilled faster and were easier to eat.

My assessment of these Coconut/Cashew Butter Energy Balls:

These tasted great and were a very satisfying snack. They took only a few minutes to mix up. It probably took longer to wash the cashew butter mixture from the food processor container than to mix them up!

If you need a handy snack this summer, I would highly recommend whipping up a batch of these no-bake energy balls! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Garden Update June 3, 2021

It’s always encouraging to see how much the garden has grown in two weeks…especially with enough rain on a regular basis! Two weeks ago (May 21) this is what the lettuce and radishes looked like:

Today, the radishes are ready to pull and I could make a small salad with the lettuce:

These are the seeds I planted. I’m pleased with how they did.

The raised planter gets two thumbs up from me! It was easy to keep an eye on the plants…easy to water, thin and harvest without breaking my back! Thank you Kathy and Steve!

Most of the garden looks pretty good too:

Lemon Balm and Stevia (I’ve had to cut back the Stevia. It kept trying to make blossoms and I wanted a bigger plant).

Lavender with carrots on the left. Barely poking through the ground!

The Echinacea we started from seed still looks tiny compared to the three plants I bought. Oh well!

At the moment, the rain barrels are full to the brim, the big tank in the garden is full too. So, when it decides to stop raining (which often happens in the middle of the summer when we need it most) we’ll be able to keep the garden consistently watered.

Thanks for letting me share the garden with you! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

From the Bookshelf: Infused Water

Everyone says we should drink more water…from weight loss gurus to medical professionals. I know that! But how many of you really reach for a glass of water instead of a soda, iced tea or coffee? I really don’t mind having a bottle of spring water nearby most of the time, but it really isn’t the same as a cold, fizzy diet soda! However, I’m trying to make better choices.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for several years, Infused Water by Dalila Tarhuni (2017). It was a pretty book…lots of great pictures! However, given the choice, I always seemed to choose a diet soda over making (and drinking) infused water.

This book has a few short statements about why we should drink infused water, the benefits we might get from drinking infused water and how to make it…followed by 75 recipes! The pictures were so inviting. Certainly, I could find something that would appeal to me.

So, I found my special pitcher that I bought about the same time I got the book. It has an insert to hold cut fruit. When I checked on Amazon to see how much it cost I discovered almost 50 different models of infused water pitchers! Of course, this one was not listed any more. However, they all do pretty much the same thing…separate the fruit from the water so it can be removed easily after infusing.

Then I went to the grocery store to get some fruit. I found strawberries, kiwi and pineapple. I already had a few blueberries and apples, but I thought I’d start with just the first three.

I cut enough to fill the insert and filled the pitcher with filtered water from the tap. Then I set it in the refrigerator overnight.

The recipes in this book often include several fruits and an herb for additional flavor, like mint leaves, a sprig of rosemary or chamomile flowers. Sometimes a sweetener is suggested. My taste buds are probably out of touch with reality after years of artificial sweeteners, so I’ll have to re-sensitize my palate. Maybe then a sprig of stevia might be noticeable. Of course, none of those additives include caffeine! Yikes…how to find a natural substitute for that! I don’t care for coffee or tea so I may never wake up!

Why make it yourself?

Have you noticed how many brands and flavors of “water” are on the shelf at the store? Every brand advertises a different benefit, like detoxing your system or balancing the pH of your body; and for only $1.00 (or more)!

I’ve tried many of these brands and frankly I’d rather just drink our filtered tap water. However, I would still reach for my diet soda! Frustrating!

Are there health benefits to drinking infused water?

Bert had a few questions about why I thought this would make the water better or healthier, so I decided to do a little more research about infused water so at least I was informed about its REAL benefits, if there were any!

Diet soda on ice is very cold, which I like. When I put our filtered tap water on ice it’s good, but basically the ice doesn’t taste great, so the filtered water doesn’t either.

I’m hoping having really cold, better tasting water available will give me a healthier option to choose. We’ll see!

According to webmd and healthline,

“The main benefits of drinking infused water come from the simple fact that it’s water! Adequate hydration is absolutely key to being healthy. By infusing tasty flavors, many people tend to drink more water. Infusion can thus be a way to make water more appealing.”

Great! Every glass of cold infused water I choose is one less glass of diet soda I drink. I guess that’s a good thing.

After I took the fruit out of the pitcher and tried a glass of infused water, I could taste the faint hint of the pineapple and strawberry. It isn’t sweet but it’s cold and wet. I’ll keep you posted!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Garden Update, May 21, 2021

Take a walk with me around the gardens. We planted all our seedlings and seeds last weekend, hoping that the cold weather is gone for good. My patio planter with lettuce and radishes is doing well!

Lettuce on the left, radishes on the right.

Right off the corner of the patio is a big pot with 4 Spearmint plants. I know this will get huge over the summer and the bees should love it.

The small garden beds near the patio with my herbs and cucumbers look sparse…but I know that will change by the end of the summer. It’s always tempting to fill in the spaces with more plants because I forget how big some of these plants will end up. For now, I’ll try to curb my enthusiasm!

These small raised garden beds have removable fences so I can weed easily but the greens are safe from roving bunnies! It’s funny to watch them hop all around the fence trying to find a way in.

Red basil, regular basil, rosemary and thyme

The regular garden up on the hill will have flowers on both ends (Echinacea and Lavender).

Echinacea. The larger plant is one I bought at the plant sale. We’ll see how our little ones do.

Super Sauce Tomatoes (from Burpee seeds)

Four rows to the left of this picture are planted with green and wax beans, carrots and beets. Nothing to see here until they sprout. On the right are 8 lavender plants. I’ll use the flowers for my projects!

Since we planted everything, we have had no rain. We’re grateful for the big tank of water at the corner of the garden. Bert has pumped the rain barrels twice so far so we should have about 200 gallons of water to work with. Now we just wait for the plants to grow!

I’ll keep you posted on the progress!

As always, please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Enjoy!

Making Chicken Stock

Yesterday was HOT! Not the best time to have the oven on all morning, but I had put a frozen chicken in the refrigerator to thaw on Sunday and decided today and tomorrow would be even hotter, so into the oven it went! My plan was to cook the chicken and take the bones, etc. and make a big pot of soup stock. Why not keep the kitchen hot all day!

While the chicken cooked, I pulled out my biggest stock pot (12 qt.) and started pulling assorted vegetables out of the refrigerator that could be used in the stock. I had celery ends, onions that were too strong to eat raw, and I even had a handful of dried apples that had been shoved to the back of the shelf. If I had planned ahead, I could have saved other vegetable trimmings over the last few weeks and put them in the freezer instead of the compost bin! Next time! Then, I added the giblets from the chicken (neck, heart, etc.). They will add to the flavor. I set this pot aside until the chicken was done.

Next, I picked off all the meat for other meals and put everything else (bones, skin, juices) into the stock pot. I added about 1/2 cup of vinegar to help get the nutrients out of the bones. Then I added water until everything was covered and put the lid on. I brought it to a boil and reduced the temperature until it was just simmering.

For the first several hours the vegetables all float to the top, while the bones sit on the bottom. I stirred the pot about every half hour. About 3 hours into simmering I added about a quart more water to keep things covered.

After about 6-7 hours most of the vegetables had lost their color and the bones were separated and soft.

Doesn’t look very appetizing, but the broth will be delicious!

Next, I started scooping out the juice a cup at a time and straining it through a colander. I tried to avoid scooping up the soggy vegetables. Any bits of chicken that made it through the colander will stay in the stock. If I wanted clearer chicken broth, I would line the colander with cheesecloth and strain it again.

When I finished scooping out as much juice as I could, the leftover vegetables and bones are pretty soggy looking!

On a cold day/night I would usually put the lids on the pans of stock and set them in the cool garage before packaging them up. I like to skim the fat off the cool stock before freezing. Last night was too warm so I just packaged it up as is. When I use a container of the stock I might have to remove a layer of fat, or not. It was more important that I get the stock into the freezer before I went to bed. Warm chicken stock sitting around for hours is asking for bacteria to move in!

However, I ended up with 12 pints of stock to put in the freezer with another quart left over to make chicken vegetable soup today! Yea!

I’m sure it’s easier to pick up a container of chicken stock at the store, but I just can’t waste the opportunity to make my own. I’m set for a while! Give it a try!

Please comment or email me directly if you have questions. marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!