Another move, another compost

After months of packing, moving and unpacking we have landed in the deep south confronted by a cold front which has left everyone in the house with a hacking cough.

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Wisconsin spring garden

Okay, the first set of seeds I over watered and most of them rotted, all the beans did. Lesson number 1, do not let your seeds sit in water while waiting for sprouts, not even a bit of water. The paper towel need only be DAMP!

Lo and behold though, a week later when I went to throw them out, I found quite a few sprouted! Surprise!

I started repeats of the seeds I’d drowned. Though I did not drown this lot, many still did not sprout. 

 

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(Front yard) Hickory nut wheat bran muffins

Makes 2 dozen plus a baby dozen (in one of those baby trays). Bakes for 15 minutes.

I say front yard because that’s where I picked the hickory nuts! This was our first winter in Wisconsin and I didn’t outsmart the squirrels this year, but next year I’ll be ready. Hickory nuts covered our front yard, but I didn’t actually get out to pick them until about October. Hmmm. By October, there weren’t many left. The squirrels, chipmunks and mice cleaned out 75% of the yard. #$%^!

I picked all that were left. About 25% of those nuts contained weevils! Eeek! Most of them climbed out onto the baking pan as soon as I brought them in to dry out. Then the cracking and cleaning began. Between the baby, dinner, errands, and life—-the only time I had to sit and crack was late in the evenings when the baby slept, the husband’s feet soaked, lunch sat prepared in the fridge and dinner was well put away. Needless to say, this didn’t happen often.

Then my hands began to give me trouble. So, he cracked and I cleaned. Many times I had to wait on him to crack more as I’d  already finished my lot. So I started in October and FINISHED in March! It only took me 5 months! But I gained two full containers (though small) of FREE HICKORY NUTS! What fun– FREE food I found in our yard! YAY!

This is how I made them!

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Italian style eggplant in the crock pot

I usually make this in the oven, but you know I just had to try it in the crock pot! It worked!

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Ratatouille with a twist of green beans

The old me would say, “I can’t even pronounce it, there’s no way I can cook it.” The new me says, “Try anything.” (IN THE CROCK POT!) Turned out beautiful, colorful and highly nutritious. I had some fresh green beans that were about to go, so as my grandmother (the one who wasn’t a fabulous cook but did raise and feed 7 children) would say, “Throw it in there. No need to waste.”

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Boneless crock pot ribs

They looked so good, I had no idea I’d done it all wrong.

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How not to make fish in the crock pot

While we were in the hotel, I didn’t always look up recipes on-line. Sometimes, I walked through the store and thought, “This might work in the crock pot.” This is one of those recipes that did not.

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Black bean/clean out the freezer soup

Trying to clean out the freezer before the move, I found some freezer burnt onions and pre-chopped green peppers to be rid of. What better way to risk freezer burnt anything but to chuck it in a soup? Turned out great!

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Lentil, rice and veggie stew

I’ve attempted cooking with lentils various times but they always come out tasting….well….tasteless. This time I cooked it using various frozen, cooked and fresh vegetables with different spices. My husband inhaled it!

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The biggest bluberry muffin…EVER. (At my house, at least.)

What started out as blueberry muffins got a little out of control. I had so much left over, I turned it into a coffee cake. My very first one thanks to the cake pan Kay gave me. (Thanks Kay!) Made with oatmeal, oat bran, wheat flour and agave syrup, there is no need to feel much guilt with this one!

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