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First Purple Hull Peas

 

It’s another busy day in the ShirlSu household, begun with picking peas before the day’s heat became too intense.  Yes, it’s a hot one today, predicted to be above 100°F!

I was only able to pick about 3′ of the 52′ row before my bucket was full.  By the time I came inside for a bigger bucket and a cup of coffee, it was too hot to return to the garden.  Bob and I will be back out this evening with BIG buckets for lots more peas.

I immediately came inside and as I watched a little Anthony trial coverage on my computer, I shelled the peas.  I think they’re beautiful, even in my old chipped homemade pottery colander (it’s my very favorite kitchen item).  The peas are now blanched and in the freezer.  Ya’ can’t get much fresher than that!

After putting up some bread-n-butter pickle slices later today and picking peas this evening, I plan to settle with a movie tonight and shell more peas.  It’s a chore I don’t mind doing, though it’s not near as fun as eating them.

Shirl

First 2011 Dill Pickles

 

The garden continues to keep us busy with watering, weeding, harvesting and canning. The snow peas have finished after generously providing 14 quarts of delicious pods of which I’ve blanched and frozen 10 quarts for later enjoyment.   Today, Jacob removed these spent plants and will till the area tomorrow, preparing it for planting more cream peas.

This is a picture of the season’s first batch of dill pickles using my grandmother’s recipe.  Slices of these crunchy dills on a ham sandwich with lettuce and fresh tomatoes bring back memories of sandwiches my grandmother brought out to her pond where I was often found fishing.  We would laugh and talk as we ate sandwiches and sipped homemade lemonade.  These are very precious memories.

After today’s harvest, I have enough cucumbers for a batch of bread-n-butter pickles using a recipe I found which substitutes Splenda for sugar.  I’m anxious to try it and share with other diabetic family members.  I also found a recipe for Splenda sweet relish I’ll be canning along with more dill pickles in the coming weeks.  Thankfully, we have plenty of flourishing cucumber and dill plants.

Shirl

Garden Babies

 

Hot, breezy days are upon us and as long as I water the garden, it flourishes.  Every other morning, I pick a quart or two of snow peas for dinner or the freezer.  I can think of nothing that tastes better than fresh picked, organically grown veggies.

Today, I picked the first pickling cucumber, rinsed it with the water hose and ate it for breakfast while it was still warm from the sun.  It was so crispy and delicious.

As you can see in the pictures, we have lots of babies in the garden.  In addition to yellow squash and tomatoes, we have lots of little cucumbers and bell peppers.  The green onions, cowpeas, dill, cantaloupes, zucchini and okra continue to grow with the dill so healthy, the row looks like a deep green, feathery hedge.  It’s beautiful.  We still have room to plant more okra, cowpeas and watermelon and Bob will probably do some of that this evening as the winds calm.

Besides picking snow peas and preparing them for eating or freezing, I’ve done little besides cook, help with the business phones and read.  I’ve wanted to sit at the sewing machine and make a few things but the hours seem to slip away without time to sew.  I’ve not done much stitching on the quilt either.  I fear it will need to be dusted before I can get back to seriously quilting again.

After several VERY busy weeks, I decided to get away for a few hours for Mothers’ Day.  Jake was out of town so no celebration was planned here at home.  I went to Bedias, TX to visit my sister.  We had a wonderful, laid back, restful visit I truly enjoyed.  We hope to get together again soon.  I look forward to it.

My guys just announced we will celebrate Mothers’ Day here tonight so they will prepare dinner.  Yippee!  Grilled ribeye steaks!  After watering this evening, I think I’ll spend some time relaxing/reading and postpone seed planting and weed pulling for another day.

Shirl

 

As of this morning, the garden work has begun to pay off.  We have begun to reap what we have sown.

2011 First Harvest and Lunch

The baby snow pea plants have grown, blossomed and produced these lovely pods which I harvested for our lunch.  I find unending fascination with seeds, soil, water and sunshine!

Snow peas are always the first producers in our Texas garden and thankfully, we love them.  They are so tender and delicious in a great number of dishes we enjoy.  Today I decided I would steam them along with some shrimp and green onions.

As I searched the refrigerator for the onions, I discovered a smidgen of raw spinach and a few mushrooms left from a recent salad.  I added them to the steamer.  The shrimp were rather large so I cut them into bite-sized morsels.

After a very quick steaming, I topped each serving with a small pat of butter and a sprinkling of Kosher salt.

DEEEEEEELICIOUS!!!

I wish we had more for dinner tonight but in a day or two, I’ll be harvesting snow peas again.

I’ve managed to do a little quilting and some hand sewing this week.  Our temperatures are getting so warm and we are postponing using the air conditioning as long as possible, it makes it a bit uncomfortable to wear a thimble and finger cots for long.  I’m certain we’ll be turning on the air very soon as the temperatures continue to rise.  Though the calendar still says it’s Spring, our temperatures insist it’s Summertime in Texas.

The area drought continues though we are in much better shape than most of our state.  We’ve not experienced our usual Spring rains.  I water the garden every day and the trees and grass continue to thrive.  Most areas of Texas cannot say the same.  I pray for them as I pray for rain.

Shirl

 

 

…to acquire a bread machine but I doubt if anyone is more thrilled!

First Bread… SUCCESS!

Upon receiving the machine from a friend, reading the instructions twice and reviewing all the included recipes, it was time for a run.  I carefully measured all the ingredients and set the machine to automatically knead, rise, knead, rise and bake.  The aroma was heavenly and the family took turns looking through the little window with a flashlight to check the progress.  Yes, we are easily entertained.  🙂  Four hours later, we were slicing, buttering and wolfing down a wonderfully scrumptious loaf of bread.  The loaf lasted about as long as it took to bake it.  We loved it!

Since our first, I’ve now made many loaves and am comfortable concocting my own recipes.  My favorites include Parmesan cheese with various herbs and spices.  Very yummy indeed!

Bob plans to make a big pot of spaghetti tomorrow and I’ll bake a loaf of “Italian” bread, with basil, oregano, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  I know it will be deeeelicious!

Our weather has turned cool for the past few days so work in the garden has slowed.  Seeds and baby plants prefer warm soil.  We will see warmer temperatures by the weekend when I’ll resume planting tomatoes, bellpepper, cantaloupes and okra.  The snowpeas continue to grow and the cowpeas (pinkeye purple hulls and Texas creams), dill, cucumbers and green onions have sprouted.  I’m closely watching for the zucchini and yellow squash babies to break through the soil.

The hardest work is almost done (tilling, rowing and planting).  We’ll soon be kicked back, watching the miracle of growth, blossoms and produce.  I love having the garden outside my office windows so I can closely monitor the progress.  Then we’ll work through harvest, freezing and canning. My fingers are crossed in hopes of our usual bumper crop.

Shirl

 

I’ve set aside quilting and sewing for now to concentrate on gardening.  We’re once again  planting a kitchen garden and to celebrate our warmer weather, we’ve been tilling, hoeing, rowing, building trellises and planting early seeds.  The snow peas are sprouting and my mouth is already watering for their tender pods.

 

I’m excited to be planting green onions this season. I use them often in the kitchen and will enjoy picking them fresh. After learning cilantro helps repel grasshoppers in the garden, we’ll be planting plenty in an effort to keep the pest from our okra we’ll plant later. I love using it in my Mexican recipes and pots of peas and beans.  We’ll also plant lots of dill to accompany the cucumbers we’ll plant shortly. Yes, new pickles and relishes are in the works!!!

As Bob has been very helpful in the garden, we are setting aside space for his watermelons. I plan to sneak in a few cantaloupes too. Naturally, as always, we’ll be planting lots of tomatoes, squash, cowpeas and bellpeppers, along with several herbs.

The mason jars are clean and waiting to be filled with homegrown goodness.

Though I’m well aware of the massive amount of work ahead, I’m excited. Our gardens are always beautiful and very productive. Hopefully the weather gods will cooperate with timely rains.

Shirl

Straight Line?? Quilting

 

After making many quilts, I’m surprised to discover I can’t quilt a straight line without guiding marks.  Thankfully I have several washable marking options to use.  My favorites for this quilt are Clover® White Marking Pen and IBC® Fine Tip Pen.  Both are water erasable.

This year’s resolution has me making an effort to quilt each day.  I’ve found on some days, I’ve set aside too much time and end up so tired, it’s difficult to slip into the thimble the following day.  The resolution has helped though… whereas the last 2 quilts each took nearly a year to quilt, this one is over a fourth done and it’s only been in the frame for three weeks.  Not bad, especially when considering I’ve been doing extra cooking and cleaning too (more New Year’s resolutions).  If only I could be as successful at losing weight!

So glad to finally see some sunshine after days and days of drippy, gray weather.   Our temperature is still frigid (for East Texas) but a blue sky is always a welcomed sight.

Shirl

 

Altered Lemoyne quilting begins

Altered Lemoyne quilting begins

This altered Lemoyne Star quilt top was started by my brother Jim many years ago.    All the stars were pieced and many of the blocks assembled when I received it to finish.

The quilt top is now complete with a plain double border attached.  The dusty rose narrow border echos a common color used throughout the top and the black border sets off all the colors of the quilt.  The backing is black-on-black tonal and the thread is beige Gutermann cotton quilting thread to match the muslin block background.  I like the way it’s coming together.

I plan to quilt each printed patch 1/4″ from it’s edge.  The beige thread should show on most pieces and will be dazzling on the quilt back.

My most recent quilts had bedsheets for backing but this quilt is backed with 108″ wide fabric purchased from my dandy new supplier (see previous post).  The difference in ease of quilting is phenomenal!  I’ve chosen a simple double egg-n-dart border quilting design with a Celtic flair (barely visible in the photo).  Celtic designs I’ve done in the past have been very well received.  I love the intricate appearance with ease of execution.  As we say in our house, “It’s just running stitches… zillions of running stitches!”

Shirl

 

With the price of cotton fabric on the rise, I’ve been searching for new, less costly suppliers.

Quilt backing

While looking for 108″ quilt backing fabric, I found a shop on eBay®selling exactly the color/print I’d hoped to find. Because purchasing cotton fabric online can be a little risky, I contacted the seller, judipat47, and asked her about the thread count. She rushed me a generous sample.

This is the best quilt backing fabric I’ve seen. I immediately purchased 4 yds and some other standard width fabrics at a very reasonable price.

Well, here we are 2 full business days since I ordered the fabric and it’s receiving a second washing in the laundry room as I type. I’m soooooo thrilled to have found such a wonderful supplier!

If you’re in the market for high-quality, inexpensive quilt fabric or batiks, check out her eBay® store at http://stores.ebay.com/QUILT-UNIQUE-FABRICS-AND-GIFTS

Shirl

Mother’s Embroidered Quilt

 

Putting the last stitches in the binding of my mother’s embroidered quilt. She wasn’t a gifted quilter; instead her real talent was perseverance.

My son has several quilts she made him and I have 2 lovely crocheted bedspreads.

This embroidered quilt will be given to my sister, Janice.

Shirl

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