blueberry picking

Blueberry season is over for this year. A total of 48 gallons came off the bushes; a very good year with usually enough rain. Except with the rain the figs sour on the bush with too much rain, but that's okay; we need the rain, always. We went to Thompson's peach orchard in Oconee County last week and got some beautiful and absolutely delicious peaches. What's in the store doesn't even begin to compare to the taste and juiciness of fresh. We ate a few fresh and I froze a few packs. With peaches you always have to use Fruit-Fresh (ascorbic acid) on them after you peel to keep them from turning dark.
I have white tile with white grout in my bathrooms. I'm telling you that to tell you this. Perry was putting stain on the window sill, the shade in the window fell and went into the bucket of stain, splashing it everywhere in the room. We managed to get most of it up, but now I'm going to have to scrub the tile with ammonia water to clean the tile and grout and then use a product that makes the grout white again, Tile Grout Coating, because the grout in places is permanently stained with the brown varnish. This is a job I'd been meaning to do anyway before the catastrophe. I'm just glad I'd not just done the cleaning. I've been trying to "get my nerve up" to do that job because it's hard work. Maybe today.

New products to try

Here are three fairly new products that if you've not tried yet you'll want to. I wouldn't be without them. Dawn Power Dissolver comes in a dark blue spray bottle and it's for those baking dishes and pans that are so baked-on and burnt-on there's no hope of cleaning them. Spray this product on and wait a few minutes. Rinse and scrub lightly if needed and it comes brand-new clean. (I've had some dishes I thought I'd have to take a crowbar to pry it off. This stuff is wonderful. My daughter introduced me to it)
Another product is Reynolds non-stick aluminum. The uses are endless: I make sausage cheese balls with no mess, no sticking, a cheese-covered casserole covered in foil and baked doesn't stick when you use this. I grow pimentos and red and yellow sweet peppers. Rub the peppers with olive oil and place on baking pan covered with a sheet of the Reynolds non-stick and bake in oven for about 30 minutes at 450. Then place peppers in a plastic bag to "sweat" and the skins will slide right off. Wonderful roasted peppers for many recipes. Don't rinse; you'll take away flavor.
The last product is Scrubbing Bubbles toilet cleaning gel. I wouldn't be without it. It's used after you clean the toilet and lasts for several weeks before you need another.
All these products I purchased because of manufacturer's coupons and probably wouldn't have bought otherwise, so it is in their best interest to have this kind of promo on new products. They have a customer for life with me

working on the farm

We're picking lots of blueberries; picked 4 1/2 gallons this morning. Do you know how long it takes to pick a gallon? Only forever! I have a few Concord grapes ready to pick and I'll make grape juice. We'll be picking lots of scuppernongs and muscadines in the fall. The figs should be ready the last of July. Fig preserves are to die for. We're getting lots of tomatoes, eggplant, squash. The red and yellow sweet peppers should be coming in soon. I make a lot of stir fry in the summer with those. I use my iron Dutch oven, pour in a little olive oil. One yellow onion (this is a cooking onion; the Vidalia won't work as well, too much water in them) sliced into pieces and the peppers also sliced into slivers. Allow the oil to get hot and drop in onions and peppers. Cook, while stirring occasionaly. Just before done, put 2-3 garlic cloves through a garlic press into the pan. Stir. Garlic will burn if allowed to cook too long. Makes a great side dish for any meal.

Cobbler recipe

For the suggestion of mashing the fruit for the cobbler. It's best to only mash part of the fruit and leave some whole. Makes juice for the cobbler but you still have the whole fruit for crunch.

Here is Kay's cobbler recipe. She recalls the recipe being given to her from my husband's mother who got it from her mother. The photos are of Kay's husband, Gary.

Grandma Smith’s Cobbler Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup sugar 1 stick butter
1 cup White Lily self-rising flour
1 can pie filling or 4 cups fresh fruit
1 cup canned milk
1 stick butter or margarine

Melt butter in a 2 qt. casserole dish.

Mix together flour, sugar and milk. Pour mixture into casserole dish over melted butter. DO NOT STIR.

Pour pie filling or fresh fruit* over the mixture. DO NOT STIR.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 – 45 minutes until the crust is a golden brown. Test doneness with toothpick in center.

*When using fresh fruit, I pour at least 1 cup of sugar over the fruit and let it sit overnight. If you don’t have the time, just stir the sugar into the fruit just before pouring it over the cobbler mixture.

Follow the DO NOT STIR directions. If you stir all the ingredients together, the cobbler will not cook. I don’t know why but you’ll just have a gooey mess.

Canned pineapple makes an excellent cobbler.

Southwestern Dip recipe

Welcome new followers to my blog. If you have questions or comments I'd love to hear from you.
Here's a new dip recipe that's really good.

Southwestern Dip
1 14-oz. pkg pictsweet brand frozen seasoned corn and black beans w/tomatoes, peppers and onions, cooked as directed, drained and cooled

1 (4-oz.) can diced japalenos, drained
2 green onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Serve with corn chips, Keeps well in refrigerator. Let come to room temperature before serving

zucchini bread recipe

Everyone's zucchini is really producing a lot, so here's a great recipe for Zucchini Bread

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup veg. oil
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 cups grated zucchini, w/skin
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raisins
1 cup pineapple w/ juice

Beat eggs, sugar and oil. Use spoon to blend in mixed flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir only till moistened and add other ingredients, stirring gently. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or use a toothpick to test for doneness. Do not overcook. Slice and spread with cream cheese if desired.

Come and check out all the plants blooming right now

Come on down to our little nursery and see all the old-time roses, gardenias, hydrangeas (notice the Lace Cap Hydrangea? - very pretty and unusual), hostas and many more beautiful shrubs, plants and heirloom treasures. It's a great time of year to visit. See you soon!

Sunday Afternoon down on Ho Hum Hollow Road

We had a great afternoon yesterday celebrating Grandaddy's birthday. After dinner, Lorri (best known as Fred), Brad, Kayla and I walked around digging up pieces of all kinds of flowers for Lorri and Kayla's yards. Kayla just got married last August and was very excited about getting some heirloom flowers for her yard.

The Goats who live at Laid Back Farm

We have seven baby goats. Each one and their Mama is so sweet.

Just a few more days and the blueberries will be in. My grandson, Matthew, is shown here picking the first of the harvest. He picked these for his sweet wife, Lauren. She likes fresh fruit in her yogurt and oatmeal. You can't get any fresher than this!

Send me a message if you'd like to come down to see us and get your own blueberries. You can pick or we'll pick.

Granny

You Done In There Yet?

This is Little Red Kay is holding. She is my bottle baby. Shortly after she was born another Mama Goat that had not yet had her own baby, kidnapped Little Red. Once Little Red had the smell of the other goat on her, her real Mama would not take her back. She is just like a little pet, as most of our goats are now.