Juicing from the Garden - with the toddler!

Today's presents from the garden

Still lots of cucumbers  which are perfect in juice when we have too many!

They just give so so much juice.

Note the heirloom purple dragon carrots!

fun and very tasty!

 heirloom Bassano beets

I almost thought I'd mistaken and planted turnips there...

 but they are sweet like a beet!

Sweet morning smiles!!

 I'm glad we also planted regular beets cuz I really like the purple juice they make!

Beets are a good liver tonic, but only use one or two in a juice. 

bringin in the treasures!

Attie loves helping make juice.
Right from harvesting the veggies to pouring the finished juice into her cup.

I love doing it with her.

 Its fun, she's fully capable and then there's no kid whining at your knees... 

and it helps with her loving to drink it too   :0)

My personal Juicing tips:

- Apples and carrots are necessary
- beets make a good color
- add something green for health
- cucumbers + watermelon give loads of juice
- juice gets your insides moving. like Now.

clean up
- do it immediately after - makes it MUch easier.
- or at least rinse everything out asap.
- pour the juice  (thru a sieve if preferred) into another vessel and wash out the juice catcher immediately
- I scrape all the produce mush into the mush catcher and then fill it with water for the compost, which needs water anyways and makes it easier to clean the mush catcher!

and most of all:



** put ice in your juice!

yummm and health!




Do you have any essential juicing tips?

garden

wow already!

Well, here's what the garden is giving these days:

These zinnias have been brightening my days!

 Here's a massive pumpkin that I Just noticed the other day!  That's what you get when the pumpkin grows in an old composted manure spot!

I'd been waiting all summer to harvest this garlic that my uncle Jim had been saving for years.  

We almost had none cuz I forgot where I planted them last fall and we rototilled over them!!  

Now we have just enough to plant.  3rd week in September.

 Gad ZUCHS.

my measly little saskatch watermelon!

purple dragons in the middle (heirloom)

 Big old Brandywine Tomato

 Gray's Sweet cherry tomato.

Aren't they so pretty!  They grow in Raimbows!!

a butternut and a spaghetti squash. 

growing under a bunch of sunflowers for shade, seemed to work well!

 Doesnt look like much yet, but I am excited for my new comfrey patch!

I hope it just goes nuts next year!  cuz its grreat for the compost.

 Potatoes growing in rotted alfalfa hay...

 I'll let you know how this experiment pans out.

One thing I know is that it needs lots of water.

Whether or not it turns out, it will make a great new garden bed for next year!

Chasing Rio hoping to brush her!  Good luck Attie... 

She is old, but she can speed walk faster than you can run!!

zuch time!

At first there weren't many and I was worried I planted my zuch's to close together... 

but now they are all producing.

tiny zuchinnis turn massive overnight. 

Kind of like finding a wood tick in your dog's ear - all of a sudden there's this Huge thing sitting there!  (haha - sorry for the really gross analogy) 

Didn't think we'd be able to keep on top of them, but we are! and its so exciting!

 

My niece came to visit, she's totally interested in self sufficiency and gardening.

So she was pumped to help me grate these suckers down into edible packages in various stages of cooked and stored product.

She made this gorgeous Chocolate Zuchinni cake.

I'm not going to post the recipe we used, but there are plenty in your cookbooks at home and online!

Lets just say that Dark chocolate chips make it even more scrumptious.

We froze a whole bunch of grated zuch into 2 cup portions 

for all kinds of recipes to be made in mid winter.

Our family has been eating zuchinni in all meals.  I have mastered Zuchinni parmesan.

A big bowl of grated zuchinni in the fridge never did anyone any harm, 

just throw it into any and all meals you are cooking!  

fry up some Zuch with onions and garlic to be blended with tomatoes and added to your canned tomato soup - SO good.

zucchini omelet

zucchini in grilled cheese samwiches

Juiced zucchini

zuchinni smoothies (its a joke, don't try it.)

here's my new baby with her friend.  she was not interested in documenting the garden produce.

she was interested in more milkies and less sun shinning in her face...

and here's a post with Atlin lying beside a huge zuch a couple years ago

A Tribute to my Ytown Girls!!

and my parncie, Amy on her birthday!!  :0)

 Growing up in a Saskatchewan town,  

I was secure and happy within my circle of girlz.

You guys were all that mattered really.

 

we were pretty crazy teenagers! 

I sure hope my kids are nothing like I was...  :0)

or at LEAST that they are SMart about it!!

We'd  do anything to get one of our parents cars to go see a punk rawk show in Regina! 

Our bond was strong.  We were learning to be adults - or trying to avoid it at all costs!!

(Just ENjoying ourselves!!  I love this pic. )

We were having a blast (or two) anyways.

HAAhaha.  

This card game - Popeye - was a huge passtime.  

We each had our own signature deck o' cards.

 BFF's

 aaaaaaw yeah! 

 Just givin' er.

Representing the Stoop?

 Saying good bye to Ame when it was time to go exploring...

A bunch a parncies  in my basement suite

Some new years pardy...

Cranked up enough that this one thought she could fit in the drawer!!

Our lives have changed gears a bit now, 

possibly!!

But what a good time we had! 

wahooooo!

Baby born

Ava Lee Francis Nordin

born August 16th

7lbs, 7oz

 

A

Atlin meeting Ava for the first time - she was enthralled!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big sister all of a sudden seems SO big!!

Daddy in love

All is well in our house.

:0)

Quick "How to Can" tips and borscht!

Its crunch time to prepare for baby. 

 I am due in 2 Days!!

whoa.

So made a big pot of borscht and canned it up.

cuz I don't want to be eating kraft dinner every day if I end up with a cesarian to heal from... 

that's another story. 

here is a link to my borsht recipe 

- this is beet borscht.

I enjoy canning things now that I get how it all works!

If you're scared of canning (like I was) and want some encouragement so you can finally try it, Here's a couple tips ( for pickles, jams and soups):

- Prep the thing to be canned and have it hot for the canning process

- wash the jars/lids, then put em in boiling water bath to sterilize for at least 10 minutes.

(Don't have to bring out the massive canner every time...  can just use your largest cooking pot)

- Having these three items will make the job more enjoyable and your fingers less burnt!!

                     funnel                                        hot jar lifter                                   magnetic lid lifter

- you can buy them in a kit

- so then, use your jar/lid  lifter to get the sterilized jars out of the boiling water bath

- empty jar of water, put the funnel on top and scoop the special sauce into the jar

- with a clean rag, wipe the rim and place the lid on top

- to be sure you will hear all those lids pop, "process" the full, lidded jars in the boiling water for 10 minutes 

*certain items must be processed for longer like canned tomatoes which you basically cook inside the jar.  Look at a canning recipe for your project, these are just basics.

Here's an easy tutorial on canning tomatoes 

 

This is my Gramma Dorothy with her new baby.


My Gramma Margaret talks about canning.
" I used to can Everything. Meat, Rhubarb, fruit, everything from the garden...
After we got married and then we could afford jars...  "

Imagine not being able to afford jars. 

I am grateful!

Happy canning! 

any tips/stories to share?