Too Many Tomatillos!

Gardening can be fun.  When we started our first Texas garden, we went the safe route with tomatoes and peppers.  As we got more comfortable, we tried zucchini and onions and garlic.  Then we expanded to peas and butternut squash and tomatillos .

The tomatillo plant is  can be found in a lot of Texas gardens and is native to Mexico. Maybe you've heard of the husk tomato or a jamberry or the Mexican green tomato? Those are other names for the tomatillo. 

The tomatillo pictured above has not fully ripened yet. The fruit itself grows within a paper-like husk and as the fruit grows to about the size of a really large cherry tomato, the papery husk will get dry and turn brownish. Most of the time you will know the fruit is ripe when it starts to break its husk, but not always.

The tomatillo itself is a bit meatier than a tomato and will be white inside. It can be utilized in many ways.  It is commonly fried, steamed, or boiled. In Mexico, people will add it to guacamole sometimes or use them in making "green sauce" because there is a slight citrus-type of aftertaste.

This year our tomatillo plants have really been productive.  So we've been on a path of trying to find new recipes to use them in. 

The best way we've found so far is in making our own salsa.  We started with chopped tomatoes and onions which we've grown ourselves. Then we raided the pepper garden. We used a mix of serrano peppers and habanero. We chopped these finely and added them to the mix. Then we harvested a few cilantro stems (again fresh from our garden) and finely chopped these as well to add to the mix.

Lastly, we add chopped-up tomatillos to our salsa mix, it added texture and flavor. It is ready to eat, but if you can wait a couple of hours, refrigerate to let the flavors marinate together.  

Yummy!  It was perfect with our favorite brand of tortilla chips!

The White Gardenia

What's that smell?  People always ask that as they climb the steps to our porch. Most people don't recognize the lovely fragrance of the Gardenia plant.

But it was the first plant I thought of when we bought our new house. There was a little niche by the stairs leading to the porch. And I just knew that this very attractive plant would help welcome visitors with its dark green leaves and beautiful, white, fragrant flowers.

It's become another Southern favorite because it does well in the Texas heat and can be easily pruned. These plants can grow from 2 to 8 feet, but I prune it every spring because I want to keep it as a little bush. It will bloom from early spring to late fall, and it's proven to be fairly hearty because it has survived every winter here in Texas with no problems at all.

When you make landscape and/or gardening decisions, you have to consider things like soil, sun, and weather. You have to know the soil in your yard and which types of plants can be supported and also the amount of sun certain plants need in order to be planted in optimal areas.

The area by the porch was perfect for a gardenia because the soil was rich in clay with lots of rock and was pretty acidic. Whatever was planted there would be in full sun for half the day and then in shade during the afternoon, but it would also be protected from the north wind by the porch. Overall, it was the perfect spot for a gardenia which has always been a favorite of mine.

The gardenia holds a special place in my heart as I remember my mother and her mother always had gardenia plants in their gardens. I remember thinking the scent of the gardenia was wild and exotic.

I don't find the smell so exotic these days, but there's just something about the gardenia that makes me smile each time I spy a new bloom.

Explaining the Esperanza!

Driving around a new city brings new sights and one of the prettiest we found, after moving to San Antonio, was this bright-yellow blossomed plant. I was seeing them everywhere.  Some were small, but others were like miniature trees.

On our first trip to the local nursery, I found them.  They are  most commonly known here in Texas as the Esperanza. It's also called Yellow Bells because of the bell shape of the blossoms, and in this heat, it's another winner for your yard. 

It loves the heat and can live with minimal water once a week. It's easy to prune and survives most Texas winters. Just remember to trim off the winter damaged areas, and it will grow back beautifully in the spring.

Another great thing is that the bees love it! So if you have a tomato garden, it's a wonderful plant to have nearby to attact the bees to its blossoms as well.  We have 3 strategically planted in the yard, and since they bloom far into the fall, they help out with the fall garden too.

Important tip to remember is that you can promote continuous flowers by clipping off the seedpods.

Best of Texas!

 

Was walking through the yard this morning chasing after Daisy when I heard a lot of buzzing.  It was coming from the Pride of Barbados.  The bees were all over this plant this morning.  It is in full bloom right now.

If you've traveled through Texas or spent any time here, you're bound to have seen a particular lush green plant with bright red, orange, and yellow blooms. It's a plant that loves and thrives in our steaming summers here. It's a member of the pea family.  I won't bore you with the exact scientific name, but you might have heard it called the Mexican Bird of Paradise or even the Peacock Flower, but most commonly as the Pride of Barbados.

When we moved back to Texas three years ago, it was during a drought. The property we settled on had a small barren yard.  The soil wasn't too good, but the weeds loved it.  So the first order of business after getting rid of the weeds was to try to spruce up the place.

At the local nurseries, we talked to many people and these beautiful plants were recommended. They typically grow to about 5 - 8 feet in this area. Mine in the picture are about to the 8 foot range now.

They have suffered a bit in the winters here, but they grow back beautifully every spring.  It can be pruned fairly easy, which is good because they will block walkways if you let them. It loves full sun, and it is very drought-resistant.  We water these minimally.

Most of all, it is beautiful and adds lots of color to any yard.

What more can you ask of a plant?

Are You a Bargain Hunter?

Do you pay full-price for items or are you a bargain hunter?

These days one has to be a little tight with their money.  If I could, I'd buy everything that caught my eye, but I can't so I don't.  But that doesn't mean that I don't buy anything that I want.  It just means that I have to be a smarter shopper.

Gardening and maintaining my yard are two things that I enjoy.  So when I saw this metal stand at my local Lowe's one day, I loved it, but it was pricey.  Needless to say, it remained in Lowe's care.

I kept my eye out though, and sure enough, after the season was over, I grabbed it on clearance for $10.00.  This was at a very considerable discount.  They were down to three and really wanted to get rid of it.  I was only to happy to take advantage of this deal.

Sometimes I miss out on things I really want, but when every dollar counts, I can't afford not to hunt for bargains.  I've found that if you wait till after the season, all the leftovers are marked down to make room for the new stuff. 

Every time I go shopping, I make sure that I look through the clearance aisle or section.  These days every store has them, and you'd be amazed what you'll find.

The other day at Walmart I found Hershey's New Mixed Berry Sundae Syrup for 50 cents.  Apparently this New item was not selling.  I grabbed it up for my ice cream eaters at home.  They loved it, but at 50 cents, it wasn't too much of a risk. 

The other item I found was Betty Crocker Frosted Premium Brownie Mix with Caramel Frosting...for 50 cents again.  I bought two of these thinking that brownies are brownies, and if I didn't like the frosting, it wouldn't be a big loss to toss the frosting.  I was right, the brownies were great without the frosting. 

When's the last time you found a great deal?

CARROTS and INSPIRATION!

Soooo...the other morning I was up early and was doing some weeding in the raised beds.  Working in the garden is always therapeutic, but getting it done early before the day gets too hot is always a plus.  My husband had meaning to pull out the carrots, but had forgotten so I did it after the weeding.  And imagine my surprise when I pulled up the odd man...literally.  I couldn't stop giggling.
 

He says this kind of deformity can happen when you plant your carrots too close together.  Well, it certainly brightened my morning that day.  I couldn't see myself butchering it up for a meal so it's been in the refrigerator awaiting its fate.  Last night I decided that it had served its purpose well by being a conversation piece, but today I would probably shred the carrots for a macaroni salad and to use in garden salads.  Then inspiration hit me, as it usually does late at night.

Inspiration is a must for a teacher.  That's what a teacher's summer is all about - inspiration and catching up on sleep, but mainly inspiration.  We look at the lessons we taught during the year and reflect on the positives and negatives and then look for possible improvements.  We also look around for inspiration on new ways to do things.  The world is constantly moving and changing and so must we as teachers.

My inspiration involved immortalizing this amazing, unique, and downright scary carrot.  Kind of reminds me of Elvis (well, the lower half of Elvis anyway.)  When I told my husband I was going to take a picture of it, he cringed.  "Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked.  I think my response was to just grin.  I don't like to over think things some times...just go with it.

That's what I do in my classroom.  I don't spend a lot of time over-thinking, it won't be productive.  I know some teachers who spend too much time over-thinking and sometimes wind up talking themselves out of good creative lessons.  "What is the kids don't like it? What if they can't do it?  What if?  What if?"  I hate the "What if 's."  I can't plan for all the contingencies.  But I have found that if you have passionate about a lesson, then it comes across to the students and can be contagious.  Besides, if I don't expect much from my students, then that's what I get - not much.

I hold them and myself to pretty high standards and expect the best.  It's just how I roll!

TOMATOES GONE WILD!

 

When we first moved here in the summer of 2011, there was nothing but weeds, especially sticker weeds, on our lot.  Well, except for one little Charlie Brown tree as I liked to refer to it - our barely living Live Oak tree that stood in the front yard.  Two years and a lot of hard work later, we have a beautiful yard with several raised beds for vegetables and a separate pepper garden for my Apache, Serrano, Poblano, Banana, and Jalapeno peppers.  We've planted tomatoes, corn, zucchini, butternut squash, okra, carrots, tomatillos, green beans, cantaloupe, garlic, and onions.

While we had some success with all, some have flourished beyond imagination.  The weather and watering schedule have a lot to do with it.  Last year during the drought we watered more, and the zucchini loved it.  It seemed like I had zucchini growing out my ears.  I couldn't give it away fast enough before it was time to harvest more.  I do have to say that my neighbors love me though.  

This year it is tomatoes.  We planted Beefsteak and Roma tomatoes plus Cherry (pictured) and Grape tomatoes which are a little bigger and more oval than the cherry and sweeter.  They just won't stop producing.  I have started freezing them for the winter.  Yes, you can freeze whole tomatoes.  You won't be able to use them sliced on your hamburger, but you can use them in all cooking dishes.  I spread them out in the freezer on a shelf so that they are not touching.  Once they are frozen, I put them in a zip lock bag.  This way when I need some, I just take out as many as I need.  

Today I have really been a busy little bee.  I worked in the garden some this morning and discovered a whole new crop of peppers and tomatoes that needed to be dealt with.  So my little basket and I collected about two dozen tomatoes and a pound of peppers.  It was time for making my home-made green hot salsa.  Don't ask me for the recipe because there isn't one.  

I cook the old-fashioned way, by sight, smell, and intuition.  I've been doing it for so long that most things come out pretty edible.  I'm always reminding my husband that none of my family or original recipes ever come out the same, and he always answers, "But it's always good!"  

The main ingredients though are tomatoes and which ever peppers I have on hand at the moment, but mostly the Apache, Serrano, and Jalapeño.  These are put into a pot and boiled quickly and left to stew for a bit.  Then into my blender with fresh garlic and salt.  It's a family thing, and we eat it on almost everything.  It will range from spicy to hot depending on the ratio of peppers I used, but then you just add a bit more on your food.  Gotta be careful though, at my house you want to taste sauce before adding too much.  As my son said recently after dinner one day after a new batch of sauce was made, "Note to self:  one spoon of sauce on each taco is too much!"  I'm still laughing about that one.

Gardening for me is fun.  It is therapeutic.  It is me time.  I put on my ear buds and the song of the day and do the happy dance through the vegetables. 

    

Advice of the day:  Find whatever it is that makes you want to do a happy dance and make sure that you do it whenever you can!