Garden Thursday

Well I have to say that this garden has really been a learning experience !! I am starting to build the fence out of some of the smaller tree's and saplings located on the property. I am cutting them down with a hand saw, on the to buy list is a chain saw lol. Yesterday while cutting down saplings the saw slipped and I now am sporting a deep gash in my thumb :(Anyway's as you can see towards the back is still a large area that needs the sod taken up. A rototiller for next year is in the works too.

This is one of 12 butternut squash plants that I have in the garden. It is the one that is doing the best

It even has the start of a blossom on it

I have 6 cuke plants in too, they weren't doing so great for quite awhile but now seem to be taking off. I think they were not getting enough water before.

These are my sweet pea plants, they are doing o.k. but the ones that I have in the front of the house in a container are doing so much better. The ones in the container are 4 times this size and are loaded with pea's.

This is one of 2 eggplant's that I planted this year. It is doing o.k., smaller then I think it should be but it looks like it will start blooming any day now.

I think that the soil is a bit on the poor side here , but this being my first in ground garden I don't really know if it is the ground or my gardening skills. At the moment I am spending every spare moment reading about gardens, I am also checking up on raised beds to see if that might work out better for next years garden.

Larry

Larry with his little red nosed pit-bull Spike. Spike was born on 4 - 1 - 2011

My garden

This is my garden - sorry for the lousey picture - I still have a 10 x 10 patch that needs to be dug out. I have been cutting down some small tree's that will serve for a fence around the garden plot as the dogs love to run through the garden. Need to do something to keep my baby plants from being trampled.

We Have Chickens

Well we are now the proud owners of 4 1/2 acres of land and 1 1975 12x60 mobile home. We signed the paperwork to buy this place 2 months ago. 25,000 + 5,000 interest to be paid off in 5 years. Now that we own this place we can start doing what we want to the place, not much will get done this year as it is already into summer but I did manage to put together a small chicken coop that houses 4 hens, 1 rooster and 1 very sweet female duck. The chickens should go to laying sometime at the end of July or 1st part of August. I also put in a small garden about 12 feet wide by 23 feet long - will post pictures of the garden soon.

Eggplant Casseroll

3 egg whites
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 medium to large eggplants, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 tablespoons each, chopped fresh oregano, basil and thyme (or 1 tablespoon each, dried)
1/2 pound part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Beat egg whites with water until frothy.

Combine bread crumbs with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Dip each eggplant slice in egg white mixture then dredge slices in crumb mixture. Place on baking sheets and bake 15 minutes or until golden. Turn slices and bake another 15 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, chop tomatoes into small cubes. Heat olive oil in saucepan and sauté onion and garlic, stirring for 1 minute. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, then herbs. Stir well and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Put 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish and cover with layer of eggplant slices, overlapping slightly.

Add layer of mozzarella, continue with layers finishing with eggplant, then mozzarella and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake in 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

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Lemon Grass bars

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

filling

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 lemongrass stalks, bottom 4 inches only, tough outer layer removed, finely chopped (scant 1/2 cup)
• 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• Powdered sugar

Preparation

crust

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Using electric mixer, beat flour, coconut, powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl until well blended, 30 seconds. Add butter; beat on low speed until moist clumps form. Press dough onto bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan. Bake crust until golden (edges will be darker), about 25 minutes.

filling

• Meanwhile, place sugar and lemongrass in processor; pulse until lemongrass is finely ground, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice; process until well blended, about 30 seconds. Add eggs; process to blend, 10 to 15 seconds. Add flour and pinch of salt; pulse until smooth.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Pour filling over hot crust; bake until filling is firm, 22 to 23 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.
• Cut lemongrass bars lengthwise into 4 strips, then crosswise into 6 pieces. Dust bars with powdered sugar and serve.