Garden Ideas, Part 2
Another summer garden crop that we have had much success with is tomatoes. I usually spend all spring thinking about fresh tomatoes. And I usually end up planting too many tomato plants. (We also get fresh tomatoes all summer from our local CSA farm.) We get the tomato seedlings free at the local university open house in the spring, so we don’t even pay for the seeds/seedlings! And I forget, every year, just how big the vines can get! They usually end up overshadowing whatever I have planted close to them.
Cherry tomatoes are a huge hit with The Boy. I will often find him out in the garden, eating juicy, red cherry tomatoes right off the vine. Of course, by the end of the summer, I am giving away bags of them to everyone in the neighborhood.
The regular tomatoes, though, I am a little more frugal with. What we don’t eat fresh (on pizza, sandwiches and just plain!), I like to freeze. I freeze tomatoes whole, without cooking them. I don’t know if this is the ‘right’ way to do it, but it works for me. I cut off the tops, put several in a freezer ziploc bag and ‘suck’ as much air out as I can before sealing it. I label the bag and pop it in the freezer. Freezer tomatoes are great to use in sauces and such later on. Take a bag out of the freezer and allow it to thaw a bit in the refrigerator. Empty the tomatoes into a microwave-safe bowl and finish thawing. The skins slip off quite easily and the tomatoes can go right into the pot or the pan.
Another way to save your excess tomatoes is to make spaghetti sauce and freeze that. If you live in an area that will support the growth of tomatoes all summer, try growing some yourself and save some $$ on fresh tomatoes all summer and sauces throughout the winter!
Garden Ideas, Part 1
We are lucky enough to live in a very moderate climate and can have a garden growing all year round. Here are some of our success stories. They might be crops for you to try if you too live in a moderate climate. I have found the internet to be the best resource for figuring out what to plant and when.
We have a variety of herbs growing, especially during the summer months. Parsley, chives, rosemary, thyme, and basil are wonderful to have on hand and fresh. I hate to buy an entire bunch of fresh herbs at the store when a recipe only calls for one teaspoon or some very small amount. This feels very wasteful to me and I haven’t had success with freezing or drying the leftovers yet. I love to just grab my scissors and step outside to clip what I need right off the plant! Herbs can easily be grown in pots and planters too, if space or temperature is an issue for you.
We have had huge success with basil and rosemary especially. The Man has to hack back the rosemary every fall and we still get a huge bush by the next summer. Basil thrives in our region during the summer months. We love to use it fresh in salads, on pizzas and in sandwiches. But my favorite thing about basil is pesto. Pesto is so easy to make and freezes really well. Throw some fresh basil in a food processor with some olive oil, pine nuts and garlic. Process until smooth. Use it fresh with pasta or in eggs or as a sandwich spread. Or freeze it to use throughout the winter months. I freeze it in ice cube trays, then pop it out and store it in a freezer ziploc bag. At the end of the basil growing season, I make a huge batch and freeze it to use throughout the cooler months.
Ideas for Halloween Candy
Parenthacks has another good post about using up leftover Halloween candy. My personal favorite is chopping it up and mixing it into ice cream. yum yum!
Rice Krispie Treats, Fun for Everyone
It was cool and rainy this weekend, the kind of days that call out for cookies. I decided to make Rice Krispie Treats. The Boy helped and I realized that making these tasty treats has great potential to be a fun, fairly inexpensive activity.
I haven’t tried the generic brand of Rice Krispies (Crisp Rice?), but I assume it wouldn’t be that much different than the Kellogg’s brand. And I always just buy the cheapest brand of marshmallow, especially if I am making the treats within a few days. Other than that, all you need is butter or margarine and perhaps some food coloring or other little ‘extras.’
Melting the butter and marshmallows needs to be closely supervised. We don’t want burned fingers or hands. Make sure you use a large pot so that it is easy to stir in the cereal after everything is melted. Once you have stirred in the cereal, it is easy for a young child to help press the treats into the greased pan or shape them.
I’m sure the ideas are endless, but you could add some food coloring to the marshmallow/butter concoction as it is melting. Add red and shape the treats into hearts for Valentine’s Day. Add green and shape into shamrocks for St. Patty’s Day. Add orange and make ‘carrots’ for Easter. I could go on. Shaping the treats is fun. Just remember to butter/grease your hands really well. Or use greased saran wrap to shape the treats. Add M&Ms or other candies before they cool to decorate. My favorite has been the carrot-shaped treats with green sour worm ‘tops.’
The Boy is not a fan of chocolate. (He doesn’t get it from me!) So these are a fun treat for him to help make and eat. If you wrap each square or shape in saran, they do last a few days, but of course, I think they are best when eaten right out of the pan!
Spatulatta
I recently came across a fun website, Spatulatta: Cooking 4 Kids Online. The site has short videos of kids cooking in the kitchen. It is definitely something to use when The Boy gets a little older. For now, it is a good reminder that early exposure to kitchen activities can be a great thing for kids. The Boy gets to do little things already, like, cracking eggs, stirring, cutting out and frosting cookies and ‘washing’ dishes. That last one is actually more like playing with soapy water and utensils in the sink.
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