Holy Watermelon Batman!

Liesl is so proud of the watermelon she grew! Look how huge it is...almost half the height of Liesl!! And it tastes delicious too! Yay gardening :)

Freezing Green Beans

Another harvest from our garden...lots and lots of green beans! Instead of canning, I decided to freeze them. I blanched them for 1-2 minutes, then immediately put in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. After draining well, I put the green beans in a freezer ziplock bag and put in the freezer to enjoy all winter long :) Easy peasy!

Canned Sweet Banana Peppers

I recently gotten into canning, somewhat of a lost art. My grandma used to can all the time and my cousins and I loved helping her. I especially loved the canned strawberry jam. Nothing better than homemade, sugary goodness :)

One of the reasons I wanted a garden was to be able to have lots of veggies for canning and boy did I get what I wanted! My banana peppers are growing like crazy, so I've canned several pints. We love sweet banana peppers on salads, fajitas, cheesesteaks and other recipes calling for peppers. 

Here's my recipe:


Canned Banana Peppers
From Food.com

1/2 lb banana pepper, seeded and sliced crossways into rings
Pickling Juice
2 cups white vinegar
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Directions:
Sterilize 2- 1/2 pint jars.
Bring the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed and celery seed to a rolling boil.
Place peppers in the 1/2 pint jars.
Pour on the hot pickling juice and bring liquid to within 1/2" of the top.
Be sure the edge of the jar has no juice on it.
Place lids and screw on bands finger-tip tight.
Seal jar and leave for 2 weeks.**.
**This is an heirloom recipe that uses a method no longer recommended by the USDA/NCHFP (National Center for Home Food Preservation). Current guidelines recommend processing in a boiling water bath at least 10 minutes at sea level to 1000 feet in elevation (more time at higher elevations) and left to cool, upright and undisturbed, on a cloth-protected counter for 24 hours. Check for seal; if the jar hasn't sealed, either re-process the jars within the 24 hours or refrigerate and use first.

Our Latest Bounty

Sorry for the short post today...been a busy week and we have an even busier weekend ahead. Just a quick shot of our latest harvest from the garden. Stay tuned for some recipes made with our bountiful harvest!

Happy Labor Day!

Beef Fajitas and Pico de Gallo Straight from the Garden

While I don't have a new recipe to share with you, I just had to brag on my garden a bit. The other night we had a meal that was nearly all from our garden. I made beef fajitas, using the grain-fed organic beef we have and onions and yellow peppers from our garden. I paired them with freshly made pico de gallo (tomatoes, onions, jalapeno from the garden with some store-bought garlic and lime juice). In the fajitas, I used my homemade taco/fajita seasoning, found here.






Not only was everything delicious, it was fun to eat something we've produced on our own (and I didn't have to pay for!)

Zucchini!!!!

Last week we harvested our first pickings of zucchini and they were HUGE! This picture doesn't give you a great idea how big they were, but they were over a foot long and several inches around AND there were four of them ready to pick! I made my zucchini augratin (recipe here) and still had over 3/4 of one of them left. Needless to say, I needed to figure out something to do with all that zucchini. After a little Pinterest search, I decided to freeze the extras to have this fall and winter.
 
All you do is cut the zucchini however you will be using them (I cut into slices for augratin and half moon chunks for stir-frys). Blanch in boiling water for 1-2 minutes then immediately put into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Spread out on cookie sheets and put in the freezer until frozen. Transfer to ziploc freezer bags and enjoy all Fall and Winter long :)

Monterrey Chicken

I first tried this recipe before going clean and it's becoming a family favorite. It's so simple, yet super delicious. Since the Rotel is pretty spicy, I leave some of the chicken without it for the kids. Paired with zucchini and onions from our garden, this made for a super fresh and super yummy meal!
 
MONTEREY CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. bar-b-que sauce (we use Montgomery Inn...if you wanted to keep it 100% clean, use homemade)
1/4 c. real bacon bits
1 c. colby and jack cheese, shredded
1 14 oz. can Rotel tomatoes, drained (canned with green chilies added)
sliced green onions
pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken breasts to flatten. Season with pepper. Grill chicken until no long pink and place on baking sheet covered with foil. Top each chicken breast with one tablespoon bar-b-que sauce, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/4 c. tomatoes, green onions and one tablespoon of bacon bits. Place in oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

Indiana Fruits and Veggie Harvest Calendar

I had mentioned that I took part in a healthy foods tour and information session at Whole Foods with a nutritionist and chef. One aspect of healthy eating she talked about was fruits and vegetables and eating locally and what's in season. Her reasoning was more of an environmental one and less of a health one. Locally grown, in-season produce means less gas and less carbon footprint.

Honestly, there is too much else for me to think about, I don't really consider the environmental impact when eating produce. I figure we're eating good food, so that's good enough for me! But, if that is something that interests you, check out this calendar from the Indiana state government. It shows what produce is in season in Indiana during any given month.

http://www.in.gov/isda/files/Harvest_Calander.pdf

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Even though I have a horrible brown thumb, I really do enjoy gardening. Last year, we had our first garden and were really happy with how it turned out. So happy, in fact, we doubled the size this year! This year is also exciting because Liesl is really getting into it as well. She picked out what fruits (strawberries and watermelon) and veggies (zucchini) she wanted to grow and goes out to check the progress every morning. 

This year, we planted onions, yellow, red and green bell peppers, zucchini squash, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, strawberries, watermelon and cherry tomatoes. I also created a smaller herb garden in a large pot with oregano, basil and chives. I'm still searching for cilantro...no one around here is selling it! Last year, my herbs were overtaken by the rest of the veggies in the garden, so I gave them their own space. 

I'll be updated you throughout the summer on the Thompson Family Garden :)

What are you growing this summer?