Garden Trivia Revealed

Are you all ready for the big reveal from Confession of a Gardener? Well here goes............

1.

This one is easy..........Green Beans--bush not pole.

2.

Any guesses on this one? I'll give you a hint, we like it fried or pickled..........give up?

It's Okra.

3.

This one is such a cute little plant.

They're radishes.

4.

I gave the a hint on this one, it is not food but a common garden dweller. Guesses?

Zinnias.

5.

Again a cute little plant that looks nothing like this picture in adulthood.

Broccoli.......Yum

6.

This one I noted as Kylee's plant and that she will be selling them. Any clue to what they are?

Pumpkins, of course.

7.

Corn.....duh

8.

I just love all these little grassy sprouts.......they're carrots.

9.

This is one veggie that won't last long in my house.

Green Peppers.

10.

Coffee...........duh!

Just kidding, they're tomatoes or tomottoes, depending on how you say it.

Did you guess any right?

Confessions of a Gardener

I have another confession to make and this one is worse than the first. In a previous post I confessed that I had never gardened before........well, this is hard for me to admit........I also showed you this picture of my first sprout:

I was so exited about something growing in my garden that when I found this little guy in one of my trenches I shot the picture and jumped for joy but........

Well, I was wrong. That was a weed that I got so excited about, a weed that made me jump for joy, a stupid weed! Yes, I really know what corn looks like, I see the crap all the time; it's just that I sometimes get a little over zealous and don't think things through all the way. So, here's is the little guy just before I ripped him out of the ground and threw him so far from my garden that I'll bet he regretted ever setting root in my garden. Once again I'll ask you not to judge me. I'm a better farmer than this........really! You have to believe me!

There is some good news here though:

The whole garden is up and growing.

Now for some gardener trivia: Can you identify these little sprouts?

(because we've established that I stink at such tasks)

1.

This one is a common garden dweller and I prefer cooking it on the grill with potatoes.

2.

Bonus points for getting this one right. I love this stuff fried.

3.

This bushy beauty is one of Aaron's favorites. It may be small but what it lacks in size it makes up for in taste.

 4.

This is not a food but it's really pretty and lots of gardeners plant them.

Here's a hint: This plant was discovered in 1796 and considered nothing more than a weed.

They also come in a wide range of colors except blue.

5.

Waylon just loves this veggie--raw better than cooked but he'll take it any which way you serve it.

6.

This one is Kylee's plant and she plans to sell them to help fund her DC trip she is taking with one of her teachers and a few fellow students. 

7.

You had better get this one right!

8.

This grassy goodness is another favorite in our house.

9.

This one should be an easy one and one that I am really looking forward to.

10.

I'll give you a hint: It's not coffee.

   Now for the really exciting part!
Answer all ten questions in the comments section (right or wrong) and you will be entered to win The Vegetable Gardener's Bible and a pretty little hummingbird feeder for your own veggie garden.

Rules: Must answer all ten with a reasonable guess, anyone who gets all ten correct gets a bonus entry. You can also gain one bonus entry by becoming a new follower of this blog (if you already follow this blog then I will give you a bonus entry out of appreciation because I love ya lots!). No entries past noon central standard time Friday June 3--please and thank you.

Winners will be randomly selected and announced Saturday June 4.

Good luck!

Never can tell in Missouri

If there is one thing you can count on in Missouri, it's the weather. (insert sarcasm here)

The saying around here goes: If you don't like the weather in Missouri, wait 5 minutes, it'll change.




Even Miss Mina likes catching snowflakes with her tongue. When I got home yesterday afternoon I caught her chasing the flakes and trying to bite them mid-air. She's such a silly puppy.

Yesterday evening when I looked out the window and thought we were having another blizzard. It was cold, windy, and the biggest snowflakes I've ever seen were pouring from the sky. In the picture it doesn't look like much but boy was it a snowin'.

Today, the sun is shining and it's 64 degrees. Go figure!

Mina is jumping for joy. You can't see it but I too am jumping for joy--only behind that camera.

But that's Missouri weather. You just never can tell.

Be Inspired...by pork waffles!

The new slogan is officially official…Pork Be Inspired! Well, I’m inspired and you should be too. With the versatility of pork, the yumminess of pork, and the low fat, high protein nutrition pork offers you can make anything out of this stuff. 

Check out the great video to get you inspired with some slowcookin’ pork with Cameron Bure. YUM! You can even get freebies, recipes, pork basics, nutritional facts, and a whole slew of stuff from the Pork Be Inspired website.

 

I know, I know, we all love The Other White Meat slogan but fret not my pork consuming friends. The Other White Meat is not gone forever. Read more about the history of pork and its heritage brand. 

In honor of such a yummy and inspiring new slogan, here is a great pork recipe that mixes sweet with meat and turns out one tasty dish that is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner...Buttermilk Bacon Waffles:

These are yummy in your tummy good. Just imagine a bite of buttermilk waffle, sweet syrup, and bacon all in one delicious mouthful! Oh. Yeah. Mmmm.

Now, I know that most of my recipes are somewhat vague because I rely on smell, sight, and taste to cook--not so much on written recipes--but this one actually has a really, real recipe with measurements and all.



Here is a little tip: If, like me, you don't always
come to battle completely prepared, keep some
REAL fully cooked bacon bits in your freezer.
That way, even if you don't have bacon on hand, or you just don't like crumbling it, you can heat theselittle beauties up and voila! you're ready to go.



Such pretty eggs...

Eggs, Buttermilk meet Flour. Flour, this is Eggs and Buttermilk.

Mmmm... Bacon...

It goes in a liquid...

And comes out a solid...

Stack-O-Wafflishious

My cat-boy will now demonstrate the final step in waffle making...Pay attention! This is the most important step.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Bacon Waffles



2 cups Flour

1 tbsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
4 Eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
4 tbsp. Butter, melted
3-4 strips Bacon, cooked and crumbled OR
¾ cup REAL Fully Cooked Bacon Bits

In a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (I like to beat my eggs separately then beat in each ingredient, one at a time but that is just me). Add wet to dry and mix until lump-free. Stir in bacon. Pour about ¾ cup into waffle maker and there you go…you’re makin’ waffles!

Pork Calzones

I am all about fast, easy, tasty recipes. I basically work two jobs, go to school, and have a household to run and my kids' extra curriculars to deal with...needless to say, I'm just a little busy. So, when mealtime comes around it has to be fast, easy but definitely tasty. It also needs to be pork related because that is all we have in our freezer--not that I'm complaining, pork is very versatile. 

If you love pizza but get sick of the same old thing, why not try a calzone instead. All you need is:

1. A pound or two of ground pork or pork sausage and pepperoni
2. Your favorite Italian seasonings--I use an Italian seasoning mix with a little salt, pepper, onion, and garlic
3. Two cans of premade pizza dough, thin crust--I found mine next to the cans of biscuits
4. One jar of pizza sauce
5. A package of shredded mozzarella cheese
6. Your favorite veggie toppings--I like black olives, green peppers, and red onions

Form you pork and seasoning mix into little bitty meat balls and roll them around in a hot skillet until cooked through.

After you have your little sausage balls cooked to perfection, spread one thin crust out on to a jelly roll pan and bake for a few minutes--until no longer doughy.

Then, spread your sauce over the dough.

 Sprinkle on a little cheese...

A little meat...

Have the kiddos jump in and help. My daughter rolled the other thin crust over the top of our pepperoni and sausage combo.

Then, my son mushed the edges of the dough with my new Pampered Chef wooden mushy thing but you can mush your calzone with whatever you have handy--fingers work nicely.

Bake at 350 degrees for around 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Then...

Mmmm! Pork calzone.