Squash, Bag Balm & Plants

I guess we are all in the same boat in the cold weather climates.  Everyone is cooking from the supplies they have stored!  I had a butternut squash in the storage room in the basement.  I wanted to see if it would store down there.  It started to get tan streaks so thought I should bake it up.  Here are four single serving sizes for me to enjoy.  I know now that if freezer space is at a premium that I will be able to store my squash down there for a few months.

Stirred up some healthy???? cookies and baked once again!

My Dad thought that Bag Balm cured everything, cows and people!  I still use it.  What do you think of it?????

Note the little white table stacked on top of the piano bench!  I don't have much room for houseplants and need to come up with something better!!

I did not miss aim the camera!  This was my grandma's piano bench and I love the feet on it!

We were suppose to babysit Cali.  Since I have bronchitis I could not go but my "wonderful gardener" said he would do it my himself!!  I fixed the tea set and cookies for him to take.  They both survived!

Chickpeas, Valentine's Day & Daffadils!

We had chickpea sandwiches and homemade applesauce for lunch! 

 I got the chickpea sandwich recipe from the frugal cooking site 

that Vinnie's Veggies has. 

 The only thing different is that I added one of my canned dilly carrots

 chopped up!

I hated to smash the chickpeas up but found if I put them in the mini cusinart 

that it worked well. Try this recipe.  You will like it!  Healthy too!

1 can chickpeas, drained & save a little to add later if needed

2 T Mayo

2 tsp. mustard

1 T onion, finely minced

8 slices of bread

Mash chickpeas till pleasantly lumpy.  Mix in rest of ingre. 

Use about 1/4 cup mixture per sandwich. 4 servings

I went outdoors today to put my coffee grounds out and clean up the doggie do! 

 It was so nice out that it made me want to do some weeding!  Since I still have a

croupy cough I thought that might not be a good idea.  I did take a couple pictures

tho.  Here are the daffodils showing up.

 I thought this was an unusual looking piece of ice!  This is all that is left that looks

like winter but I know winter is not done with us yet!

Even Coco was enjoying some time outdoors!

When I came out to the kitchen Valentine's morning I found this on the table from my romantic creative husband!

He also made the pretty card and brought me a two toned rose the day before.  

Valentine's Eve was the night we became engaged 53 years ago.  Sounds like a

long time but sure has gone by so quickly!

We were privileged to go to Gracie's Kindergarten Valentine party!  What fun 

we both had!

She had different colored pencils for boys and girls and had to make sure she got

the right color in the right valentine bag or box!  Serious business!

This is my homemade laundry soap.  Does anyone else reading my blog make

their own laundry soap?

I am looking through another gardening book.  I tell myself "it won't be long"!

Report of Harvest or Not! and Food!

The snow is gone but it is still c-o-l-d!  I looked inside my cold frame today and things are still living but sure not growing!  Still hoping when it warms up that they will.

This lettuce was growing just under a plastic box.   It made it through the cold and snow also.  Happy about that!

I had two little carrots still growing in the cold frame so pulled one out today!  5/8 oz.  I think we would not have to worry about our weight if we had to live on what I grew during the winter months!!!!

We do not like "hot" things to eat.  I found a recipe for a mild taco mix so made some up.  Love mixes you can make up ahead to sit on  the shelf!  I will try it this week in some Taco Soup.

It is a good thing that in the winter I don't have to depend on things that I can grow fresh.  For our meal tonight I pulled chicken strata out of the freezer and there are pickled beets, freezer cold slaw and frozen squash to add to the meal.

Two of my favorite people (Coco thinks she is a person) enjoying a little together time before the gardening season starts!

  

No Harvest, Snow, Coffee grounds and Chimes!

I found some chimes smaller like these that I liked.  Yielded to temptation and went to get them!  We decided to get the larger ones!  Bigger is better, right!  And more expensive!  Brought them home and hung them up in the dining area just to make sure they were okay.  Realized they were much too large for the spot we wanted.  Took them back and the store was kind enough to exchange them for the smallest ones which were the original ones I had looked at!  Bigger is not always better!!!!

Here is a larger view.  They have words and sayings on them.

Winter is not done with Northeast Indiana yet!!!!

Picked up this gardening book from our Library on Inter-Library loan.  "Fresh Food From Small Spaces" by R. J. Ruppenthal.  So far I think it is a pretty good book for me.

And guess what these are!  Our morning coffee grounds!  Waiting for me to brave the snow and cold to be put on the garden or compost pile! You have to be a gardener to understand what us gardeners will do for better soil!!!

My "wonderful gardener" brought a little bit of beauty to me!  Just because I am me! (altho I think lots of times he probably wishes I was someone else)  The color of rose was just a little bit different and so pretty.  Called Hot Pink!!!!!