Life on the Ranch

We learned that green tomatoes could be substituted for the tomatillos in this recipe. Salsa Verde 1 pound tomatillos or green tomatoes 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (we used a white onion, it was about 1/2 an onion) 1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove is good for this) 1/2 a jalapeno with no seeds (I might leave the seeds in next time for more kick!) 2 Tbl cut up cilantro (scissors work great for this) 1 Tbl Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups water - Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat an simmer until the tomatillos or tomatoes are soft (about 10 to 15 minutes). - Using a blender or food processor, puree the mixture until it is smooth. - Makes a great green salsa to dip chips in, or use to make chicken enchiladas or top a baked potato with it - YUM! YUM! - Pictures to come soon, Lord willing.

     I have something going wrong with my tomato plants this year. I was told by one gentleman that it is Black Spot hitting up the tomato plants in the NE Oklahoma area. I also called Roger over at the OSU Extension Office and he said that it is most likely Early Blight or Septoria. He told me to use a product called Daconil to control it. He also said to practice good garden hygiene - at the end of each season pull out and burn or bag up and trash all plant remains.       Here are a few pics in case anyone has any suggestions: Any ideas - shoot me an email at kim@goodgoats.net

It is so fun to have a garden! Here are some updated pictures from my morning stroll around the place. This first picture is one of the best sites to me, as I am a green salsa eater - tomatillos. These are a relation to tomatoes but are a little different. The green fruit grows inside a papery husk. This is the key ingredient for Salsa Verde! mmmm!!  A green bell pepper in this picture: Chili peppers - I'll have to try my hand at making chili powder! Suriyah, my daughter, has been keeping a close eye on the cucumbers and, there are little ones growing!! Woohoo!! See the start of a little cuke in the picture below? Recently, my nephew was able to get a whole bunch of 5 gallon buckets. And, he says he can get me an endless supply. So, what does a gardener do with a bunch of 5 gallon buckets? Expand the container garden. We will see how the tomato plants in the buckets produce compared to the one in the ground and the other ones in the freezers.

I was walking around the garden this morning as the sun was coming up. The peas are getting flowers on them: The cabbage head is SOOOOO big - I am wondering when it will begin to close up, if ever. The lettuce bed has gotten bigger in just the past few days - time for salad today! The lettuce and carrots in the first freezer are growing great! AND, one of the best sites in the garden (according to me) - TOMATOES starting to grow! That means salsa, Lord willing.

        Well, I was planning on being outside on the 15th to plant some of my plants but, other things came up. The 16th also passed without me getting out in the garden much.         So, today was going to be the day but, it is raining now. This just gives me more time to look online for more ideas to try once the rain goes away. Personally, I would be out in the rain planting but some of my smaller kidos are just that . . . small . . . HA!        I have lots of varieties of tomatoes to get into the ground so what better thing to do than to research about the different methods of staking up the plants.       I have quite a few old freezers in the garden area that I am turning into raised beds/cold frames so I think I might try this with a few of the freezers that I hope to put tomatoes into: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=19552&start=30       What...

It is hard to believe that it is November 21st and we are STILL getting tomatoes off of our plants. I thought for sure that are tomato plants would not be giving us anything this late into the season. I must admit, that the plants look very, very sad but, they have many tomatoes still on them. We have been able to make several rounds of fresh salsa just this past week. I am going to give you our recipe. As you will see, there is much variation to the recipe based on your individual tastes and your ability (or non-ability) to handle hot things. Here is the recipe we make: - 5 to 12 tomatoes (depending on how hot you like your salsa) - 1 jalapeno (we leave the seeds in) - 3 to 6 cloves of garlic (depending on how much garlic flavor you like) - 3 green onions (if you like it hotter and with more onion flavor, you can use 1/2 of a red onion or brown onion in this step) - lemon juice (a couple of squirts) - salt (to taste) - pepper (to taste) - optional - sometimes we add in garlic powd...

It is amazing that we are still getting veggies out of our garden here in Oklahoma. The weather took a turn towards coldness a few weeks ago but, then the sun popped out and it has been somewhat warmer for the past week. Here is a picture from today of the turnip patch along with a close-up of a turnip. I hope to make some Pickled Turnips later this week (since one of my sons says they are delicious - I've never had them before!). While my Mom from CA was visiting us, we picked some lettuce. Well, she cut one head completely off and now, a few weeks later, it is growing again! Look Mom - more lettuce is growing!! I am amazed at just how much is managing to grow out in the garden this late into November. The tomato plants look really sad but are still producing tomatoes - just not as red as in the summer. They are still good for a great batch of salsa. And, the jalapeno plants, well, they just don't seem to go away. We have collected hundreds and hundreds (no joke!!) of jala...