Strawberries Are Here!

I went last Friday out to the farm and picked up 3 flats of the most beautiful crimson red strawberries! There is something amazing about a fresh Louisiana strawberry, that the ones in the store don't even come close to! Their dark red color and sweetness are amazing. So I made 4 batches of freezer jam and froze a bag for smoothies later and still had a whole flat to munch on! I am in strawberry heaven! If any one wants to go get their own I get them from Hillcrest Blueberry Farms down in Dosoto Parish and they are going for $25 a flat and $15 a half flat and they are so worth it!

Germination Update

Germinating is going well. I have 2 pepper seeds up and I am going to start germinating some more tomato seeds today too!

Heirloom Garden

I'm sick of Monsanto and their GMOs taking over my food, so this year I'm taking it back. Last fall I started doing research into growing Heirloom veggies. Heirlooms are veggies and seeds that have been saved and passed down from generation to generation instead of modified or engineered in a lab. I just love the idea of this folksy food! I ordered a seed catalog from Baker Creek and when I got it this spring I couldn't help but salivate over all the pages of delicious veggies. So I placed my order and vowed that this years garden would be all heirlooms. Here is what I will be trying to grow:

Six-Week Purple Hull Cowpea
Japanese Pickling Eggplant
Rocky Top Lettuce Mix
Red Belgian Peppers
German Red Strawberry Tomatoes
Roma Tomato
Yellow Icicle Tomato
Golden Cal Wonder Peppers
Fife Creek Cowhorn Okra
Zucchini Squash - Black Beauty

The germination and revolution starts today!

You can order Heirloom seeds from Baker Creek at rareseeds.com

Crock-Pot Granola

5 cups original oats (not quick oats)
1/4 cup oil or butter
1/4 cup honey
1 TBS cinnamon
1 TBS vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 dried fruit (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients in the crock-pot.
2. Cook for 3-4 hours on high.
3. Vent the lid with a chopstick or knife and stir every 30min.
4. Watch carefully during the last 30 min to make sure it doesn't burn.

Local Foods Save Gas!

Did you know that if every US citizern ate just one meal a week composed of locally and organiclly raised meat and produce, we would reduce our countries oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week! What a better reason to shop for local food! Please support your local farmers by visiting farmers markest and local veggi stands. Yeah, it takes a little more effort to go to them instead of getting every thing at the store, but you will get a far better product and have a much more positive impact on the plant!

Homemade Pizza

That's right, homemade pizza from scratch and it takes only 30 min from mixing the ingredients for the crust to taking it out of the oven. The secret is in the yeast!

CRUST
1 envelope Fleischmann's Pizza Crust Yeast
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
3 TBS Olive Oil
2/3 cup Very Warm Tap Water

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Mix together ingredients in a bowl
3. Knead dough on a flour surface until smooth and elastic. Using more flour as needed. Needing should only take a few min.
4. Roll out to the shape and size pizza you want.
5. Top it with desired toppings. My family like tomato sauce, motzzerla cheese, garlic, tomatoes, and spinach.
6. Pop in the over for 15 min and enjoy!

While the pizza is cooking it gives you time to clean up your kneading area and whip together a quick salad or side veggie, so it all works perfectly!

3 Ingredient Black Bean Soup

This is a weekly favorite of mine and my families. I really love it because it requires no chopping, only one pot, there are always left overs, and it is really low cal. Oh yeah, and it tastes great!

1 cup salsa (homemade is best, but store bought is fine)
3 cans Black Beans (organic is best)
4 cups soup stock or broth

1. Simmer the cup of salsa for about 5 min on the stove.
2. Drain and rinse the cans of beans.
3. Add the beans and stock to the pot.
4. Simmer for about 15-20 min until good and hot.
5. Garnish with shredded cheese, avocado, or crumbled up tortilla chips (whatever you and your family like). My family and I also like to do quesadilla with it too.