Deep Freeze

For a long time now Scott and I have been talking about getting a chest freezer, and after a bunch of research and a 'Yeah God' moment we found one on super sale and snatched it up! Woot for online one day deals and extra online coupons!  Umm hello deal of the year...

Scott wants it to be able to put a big ole deer head (or two) in it, I on the other hand want to use it for our summer harvest (well next years at least) and extreme couponing. Ok, maybe not extreme, but Scott's Aunt is teaching me how to get some good deals.

It is huge! We read that it will run more efficiently if we have it full so right away I filled empty milk jugs with water and froze them. Scott had other ideas and surprised me by coming home with a car full of frozen goodies! We won't be going hungry anytime soon that is for sure!

Soldiers Reunion

Scott's mom Vanessa called to see if I wanted to join her at the Soldiers Reunion Street Fair and of course I said yes! Who doesn't love a street fair?! I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and although it was quite different from the street fairs I have grown to love in Portland (Fremont Fest, Mississippi Street Fair) as there we lots of confederate flags flying, but I had a lot of fun!

The festival is set up around the town square which features the old court house/ history museum. The street was set up with different vendors an local businesses showing off their homemade gifts and whatnot. Although I didn't end up purchasing anything, we did sign up for all of the free raffles and I even won a dance lesson!

We stopped for lunch at a BBQ vendor and it was bomb to say the least. I got a huge cheese steak and after making a mess of myself, decided that if ever I was having a party, these guys would be at the top of my catering list!

It was nice to spend time with Vanessa, and fun to see one of our neighboring towns during their highlight of the year. It is a week long festival and have events from a parade to 5k run to live music in the square. Next year I'll be watching out for this to return and plan out my week!

Summer Squash Bread

Recipe #5 Summer squash recipe round up.

With so much squash on our hands, finding recipes that Scott and I will both enjoy has been quite a challenge. We have had our share of hits (this bread) and misses (squash cakes - which won't be featured). Scott's favorite is by far the fried squash but this amazing bread takes a very close second!

When I made this bread I was letting it cool while I was Skyping home and decided to take the first taste test while video chatting with my mom. I offered Scott a piece which he quickly and politely rejected. My mom's reaction was priceless, she said "Is he really not going to try that?!" Scott looked at me with puppy eyes and replied "I'll try it, give me a piece." Followed by "This is pretty good!" I am not sure if he thought it was going to be like a wheat bread or what because after trying it he was so surprised to find it was sweet like dessert.

The recipe's I found online were all very similar to zucchini bread, and until Nora suggested I try it with the squash I hadn't even thought of it! Of course it would be good, after all in my opinion the only difference in the summer squash and the zucchini is the color of the skin.

My go to recipe has always been this one from allrecipes.com so it only made sense that this is the one I tried for the squash.

Summer Squash Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon 3 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 2 1/4 cups white sugar 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups grated zucchini

	Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
	Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
	Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. (Now if we are going to be honest, I just dump all the ingredients into a bowl and stir until combined, less mess and I can't tell a difference in how it turns out.) Pour batter into prepared pans.
	Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Enjoy with lots of real butter and a cold glass of milk :)

Grilled Squash

Recipe #4 Summer squash round up

Since Scott and I got a grill, I feel like I've become obsessed with it! Unfortunately the rain has kept us from using it a ton, but I try every chance I get! I love that you can take such simple items and with the flavor of the grill, turn them into something wonderful.

I especially love grilled veggies. Asparagus, corn and of course squash!

Grilled Squash (or any kind of veggie)

2-4 summer squash cut into 1/4 inch rounds
3 T olive oil
Sea salt & pepper to taste
Vegetable oil to prepare the grill

Preheat grill to medium heat and oil the grates with a paper towel.
Toss squash, olive oil and salt & pepper until well coated.
Arrange squash flat directly over heat not moving until grill marks form. Turn once and cook until tender.

Dinner is served!

Summer brings such a bounty of so many great veggies, I am doing the best I can to get my fill while they are fresh! 

My Hero!

Scott has a lot of amazing qualities I love. For example, he makes me laugh like no other, takes out the trash, works hard to provide for us and kills spiders (even the semi-deadly ones)!

While going out to check the mail he noticed this little friend in the garage and promptly came back in to tell me. I grabbed my camera and took a deep breath...

Umm yes that is a Black Widow! Eek - I thought it wasn't that big, but Scott told me that it was large for a Black Widow, goes to show I've never seen one before! After I bravely took a picture Scott killed it with a fly swatter.

My Hero!

What would I do without this guy?! I tell you what, I am so thankful that he doesn't mind being the bug killer in the relationship. :)

Squash Casserole

Recipe #3 Summer squash round up

When we gave Scott's mom a bag full of squash she told me she was going to make a squash casserole. I had never heard of such a thing and was instantly intrigued! After a little recipe comparing online and taking a few things here and a few things there, this is what I came up with.

Squash Casserole

6 cups large yellow squash (diced or cut into half moons)
1 T bacon grease (I always save it in the fridge!)
1 large onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash and onion in bacon grease and butter over medium-low heat until it has almost completely broken down (still retaining the shape but most of the moisture is cooked out), about 20 minutes.

Mix the remaining ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

I like the texture of the big chunks of squash. 

I spy some bacon grease...

The finished product!

Vanessa (Scott's mom) does it a little different, she uses Pepperidge Farms Cornbread Stuffing as a topping to the casserole which I am sure is lovely, I just didn't have any on hand when I made mine.

To me is taste like Au Gratin squash and the added flavor of the bacon fat was amazing! This is a recipe I will continue to tweak until I have it perfect, but in my opinion, I don't have far to go! 

Pickled Squash

Round 2 - Summer squash recipes.
I asked my sister Nora for some help finding ways to use our summer squash and she sent me this recipe (just one of many) she found on a blog called The Kitchn. I knew right away I would try it!

They look like art work in the jar!

Although I had to make a few changes from the original recipe as I didn't have everything on hand, they still turned out pretty great! Here is what I did:

Pickled Yellow Squash

2 pounds small yellow squash
1 sweet Vidalia onion
1/2 a small red bell pepper
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 pinch hot pepper flakes

Slice squash into very thin rounds. Remove both onion ends, peel, and cut in half lengthwise. Slice 1/2 of the onion into very thin strips, reserving the other half for another use. Seed and finely dice the bell pepper.

Toss squash, onions, peppers, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add a handful of ice cubes and just enough cold water to cover. Stir well to combine, and set aside for thirty minutes.

Rinse the vegetables well and place in a colander or sieve to drain. Meanwhile bring the vinegar, sugar, pepper flakes and yellow mustard to a boil in a small saucepan. Immediately remove from heat, stirring to make sure the ingredients are dissolved, and allow the vinegar to cool for 3-5 minutes.

Gently pat vegetables dry with a towel and place in an airtight container. Pour vinegar over the mixture, tossing a fork to make sure all the slices get soaked. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Strain from brine before serving.

Prefect side to a BLT

They turned out great! I eat them as a side or just snack on them. Mmmmm, my mouth is watering for them now! 

Squash Recipe Round Up

Scott and I were blessed with a ridiculous amount of yellow summer squash which led to a lot of new squash recipes! With the help of my sister Nora and a little research of my own I'll share with you all of our squash adventures.

A good day's harvest

Recipe #1 Fried Squash

This is by far Scott's favorite way to consume our bounty! We've tried it with 2 different batters, here they are:

Deep Fried Squash

2-4 summer squash cut into rounds about 1/8 -1/4 in thick
1 1/2 c flour
1 T seasoning salt
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
Oil for frying
Salt

Mix flour & seasoning salt in a pie plate for dredging. Whisk together egg & milk in another pie plate.
Wash and cut squash into rounds. Dip into the egg wash and toss in flour mixture until well coated. Gently place into hot oil and let fly until golden brown. Drain on paper towels or newspaper and dust with salt while still hot.

Getting nice and toasty!

Squash with cornmeal batter.

I also made the fried squash with a little corn meal in the flour mixture (equal parts flour & corn meal) which added a different texture however it tasted the same. You cal also have fun with the spices you add into your flour mixture by adding things like cayenne pepper, garlic powder, dill - the possibilities are endless!

Let me know what you try and how it turns out! 

Green Thumb

For months I have been working on getting some color into the garden and things are finally starting to bloom! After what feels like forever, all of our hard work is starting to pay off!

We were able to acquire some canna lilies from Craigslist that are going to be beautiful once they are in full bloom. I have also collected seeds from the SeaRoses Scott's dad gave us so I can get some more started! It really is starting to look beautiful, not to shabby for a first attempt at a real garden!

More Critters

It seems that with the summer heat in full swing (actually, I know this is just the tip of the iceberg. Check back with me in August. Yuck.) more and more critters are making their way out of hiding and into full view.

You may remember we have already seen our share of various bugs (click here to see), frogs and groundhogs (seen here), our baby robins (seen here) and my personal favorite - lightning bugs (seen here)!

This is what we've had around lately.

Praying-mantis, Lady Bugs, Red Headed house finch at the bird feeder, Japanese Beetle (that is wreaking havoc on my plants!), black snake in the road, and a family of bunnies that live in the field! There are three babies and a mama. I love watching them frolic just before the sun goes down!

We have our own animal park right in the back yard, you just have to look a little harder to find our treasures!

Babies

Scott discovered three baby robins in the shed the other day!

Three baby Robins! 

I love checking on them in the morning when I go out to pick the squash. I was surprised to find they already flew the coop! That was short lived but fun!

Looks like we are once again empty nesters :(

Buffalo Beals Animal Park

Yesterday in Catawba County there was an agricultural tour/fair also known as Agri-Tourism Day where farms were open to the public (most for free). Scott's Aunt Vickie and her 2 kids joined me at Buffalo Beals Animal Park for a little morning fun.

We decided to buy some feed so we could interact with the animals. It was a great choice that provided much entertainment and laughs! I could have spent hours petting the animals and feeling their velvety lips taking the grains from my palm.  They animals had so much personality!

They had a great variety of animals too! Camels, zebra, monkeys, buffalo, highland cattle, porcupine, kangaroo, various birds and many more. The animals looked well taken care of too which was a big  plus.

There was also a picnic area with a playground and bounce house that the boys enjoyed. They were a little crazy doing flips and everything! The boys rode a pony & horse for the first time and seemed to love it! I was so proud of them for trying something new.

What a wonderful day we had spending time together and learning about the animals. This a a place I will go back to again and again as long as the kids are willing to go with me!

Like I said earlier, I loved feeding the animals. I think I even made a new best friend.

Feed me!!

Fingers taste so good too!

So happy!

I am already looking forward to my next visit! 

Summer Squash Harvest

Our yellow squash is out of control! We started harvesting already and have given away about as much as we have eaten for ourselves!

I can tell we are going to have squash coming out our ears pretty soon. Any great recipes out there that I need to try?

Veggie Garden

With all of the weird weather we've had the last few weeks, our garden is growing like crazy! Mix the rain & heat and we have all the advantages (or disadvantages for us humans) of a hot house. 

At first people laughed at our garden because we didn't plant much, but now people are commenting on how well it is doing! Looks like this city girl has a little more up her sleeve than I get credit for!

3 big tomato & 4 cherry tomato plants.

Already showing signs of a good harvest! 

Pepper plant that produces 4 varieties. 

Yellow straight neck squash. 

Peaches! 

The star of the show would have to be the squash. The 4 plants we have are doing so well and we have already started harvesting them! The tomatoes will start rolling in soon, there are already lots of green tomatoes on the vines. We also planted green & white cucumbers that are getting off to a slow start, but I am confidant they will catch up with the rest of the crop. 

I have such big plans for next year. I will admit, keeping the weeds out has not been easy and I have let the last 1/4 of the garden space we tilled up to grow back. I figured since I haven't planted anything, whats the harm right?

Back Deck - Outdoor Living

In order to get the most out of our back deck we have made a few improvements. We initially got off to a great start (you can read about it here). Since then Scott and I took some time to stain the deck to insure we get as much life out of it as possible!

It took 2 full days of work, 1 paint brush that will never see the light of day again and near heat stroke but it finally got done!

The stain not only brought out the natural grain in the wood but will protect it from the elements.

We also added a grill! After a lot of research and visiting 4 different stores for some hands on comparison, a decision was made and a grill was bought! Just in time too as we were having everyone over on Saturday for a cook out.

I even got a chair to help me with my tan :)

It is really coming together quite nicely isn't it?!

Freezer Jam

I caught strawberries on sale and bought to many to eat so naturally I made some freezer jam! I like as my jam pretty smooth so I whipped out my food processor.

I love my food processor and use it on the regular!

 The final product turned out lovely.

Mmm jam!

I have already gone through a container. English muffins, PB&J, by the spoonful... This stuff sure does go fast! 

Murray's Mill Round 2

After church on Sunday Scott and I were able to visit Murray's Mill again. If you remember, last time we tried to go (here) it was closed for the season.

For $5 a ticket we were able to explore the grounds and go on a self guided tour of the museum that features all of the machines used in processing the wheat and making flour and other various items. Scott enjoyed weighing himself on the corn scale (which was pretty accurate) and the pond behind the dam. He kept telling me how much he would like to fish in it!

I loved all of the old machines and the freedom you have to explore the area. They also have a general store with old fashioned candy as well as post cards and cook books. It features local honey and hand crafted goods. In the fall the mill has a festival that I would love to check out!

We were also able to enjoy a little time together on a nature walk along the stream where we saw turtles (also known as cooters) bugs, fish, snakes and my personal favorite - honey suckle.

Caterpillar of some sort. 

Giant turtle. 

As we were walking I asked Scott what I was smelling that was so sweet and he pointed out the yellow and white flowers that filled the air with their wonderful perfume. Wondering if we could plant some in out yard, Scott quickly told me it would take over everything as it is very invasive. None the less, I fell in love with it.

Honey suckle in all its glory! 

Historic Murray's Mill tops the list of things in the area to show our visitors. Maybe next time we'll pack a picnic and make a day of it!

Little Friends

Scott and I have quite the collection of little critters who want to join our family. Most recently was a Frog that found its way into a bag of flower bulbs in the garage.

I was told there was a new friend for me in the garage and at first I though it was a snake!

The frog was jumping disparately to get out of the bag (still not sure how he got in) and Scott scooped him up and set him free!

Free at last! 

Unfortunately the picture of the frog didn't turn out well, but he was a cute little bugger.

We also have a  huge ground hog that has been hanging out by the tree line. He is a little to fast and I haven't been able to get a shot of him, but Scott was able to find a few of his holes.

Ground hog tunnel. 

This doesn't do it justice. The holes are huge, like big enough to lose a small child... We have located 3 so far. As long as he doesn't get into my garden we won't have a problem.

There has also been bunny sightings, deer tracks and a mouse here and there. Welcome to country living! 

Home Front

Lots of things going on here at our compound! We had someone come out and grade the front yard  where the property meets the road so we have less of a ditch. The original plan was to have just one side done, however the man working on it was a super star and ended up being able to do the whole thing for less than the quote for half!! This was one of those "Yea God" moments where you know He was looking out for us!

On the East side of the driveway there was a 15(or so) foot drop from the grass to the road which is what we had planned on fixing. Also, they way the rain water washes down the side of the driveway creates a groove that was eating away at the ground under the cement. This was Scott's main concern as we didn't want to risk damaging the integrity of the driveway if it continued to make our very own Grand Canyon.

Back filling using the dirt from the front ditch. 

Thankfully the man was able to use the dirt from the front to back fill along the driveway, not only keeping our cost down (again, thank you Lord!) but allowing him to complete it all in a day's work.

Adding the tile.

He was also able to expand the storm drain with a cement tile Scott already had to allow the driveway area to widen a bit.

After all of the work was done with the grading the real work started! Scott spread grass seed and lime (I think) before the both of us threw straw on top to prevent it from blowing away with the wind. It took a few hours of back breaking labor, but it will all be worth it when the grass grows in!

East Side

View from across the street. 

West side. 

There is still a ditch to control the rain water down the street, but the improvement is pretty amazing. On the East side is it still pretty steep, however since it is no longer just a dramatic drop it will be much more manageable.

I am anxious for the grass to grow in! I'll keep you posted on the progress!