More Shelter Cooking

I am cooking for the shelter about 3 times each week.  It takes a lot of planning and shopping but I really enjoy it.  I managed to make The Blog Tech and his father a butter cake.  They were grateful that I squeezed them into my schedule.

This is such a good cake and so easy to make.  You can see the recipe here: http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/search?q=old+fashioned+butter+cake

Remember the Texas Hots from the other day?

I made 100 of them for the shelter.

I made 20 quarts of my sun-dried tomato pasta.

http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/search?q=sun+dried+tomato+pasta

Then I made a classic 5 bean salad. 

1 can each of dark red kidney beans, green beans and yellow wax beans (I usually add another can of beans or two, like black beans and or garbanzo as there is plenty of dressing in this recipe) 

1/2 C chopped celery

1/2 C sugar (I use less)

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup green onion (optional)

Combine all ingredients and marinate overnight. 

I used more than 5 beans and I also added fresh tarragon.

And I made them this for dessert.  Prepare a box of brownie mix.  Pour 1/3 of it in a greased 9X11 pan.  Top with 2 layers of pretzels. 

Cover with the remaining brownie mix.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30  minutes.

Remove from the oven.

Top with 1 jar of caramel sauce.  Sprinkle with sea salt.

Grumpy Puppy

A damp day in the garden.  I just bought this cute bee skip cloche. I am not sure where I will use it yet.

Teddy is never happy when it is damp outside.

She searches the yard trying to find a dry spot.  Her umbrella was cranked closed because of high winds so her normal dry spot went missing.

When she does slow down, she only sits.  She does not want a wet belly.

Still searching, she wanders the entire yard.

The rain helped the planters.  I can't wait for this one to cascade.

I am still adding to the potted garden.

Since the winds died down, I put the umbrella back up.

However, Teddy seems pissed that her dry spot is slightly damp.

And the search continues.  Grumpy puppy.

Through The Gates and Into The Secret Garden

It rained all night and I could not wait to go down to the lower gardens early this morning to see how everything fared.   Open the garden gates and come inside.

 The dogwoods were weighted down with wet blossoms.

 The upper pond was bubbling and flowing.

 I put 2 feeder fish in the upper pond and they were nowhere to be seen.  Did they take a ride on the water slide to the lower pond?

 The Weeping Beech covers the walk and you get quite a shower walking under it when it is wet. The puppy turned into a pussy and would not go with me this morning.  She preferred to stay dry.

 Heading down the steps to the middle pond.

 No feeder fish here either.

 The hostas and ferns by the lower pond have almost opened entirely.  Someone left a hose out.

 These irises crack me up.  I originally planted them by the upper pond.  After the first year they replanted themselves by the lower pond.  Now I never know where they will pop up or what color they will be.  They started out being purple and it looks like this year they will be yellow.

 The zucchini enjoyed the rain.

 A happy garden...nothing like a good rain.

 Tomatillas

 A row of eggplant.

 My one lone artichoke plant.

 Bats dripping with rain.

 The peppers are ready to bloom.

 The little area on the lower right is still empty.  It does not get as much sun as the rest of the raised bed and I am not sure what might grow there.  Any suggestions?

 Click to see my one lone spear of asparagus. 

 I could find only 2 feeder fish.  I added 8 of them down here last night.

 I wonder if the big fish had a sushi snack last night?

 I just planted a bunch of phlox amongst these rocks.  Hopefully it will be pretty and bloom next spring.

 Back up and under the huge Beech for the second shower of the morning.

The Best Texas Hots

 Long long ago, I lived in southwestern New York State.  There was not much that was memorable from those days except for my great respect for the Snow Belt and my love of Texas Hots.  These were sold everywhere and were, and probably still are, the quintessential food to eat after the bars closed.  I am not sure why they are called Texas Hots.  You find them all over this part of New york and they were not hot, as in spicy.  The flavors explode when you bite into one of these.  If you know someone that likes chili dogs, these are a thousand times better.  There are a million variations for this sauce but this is the one that I like best.  Follow it exactly for a taste bud rodeo ride.

Recipe:

1 pound ground beef
1 T. butter
3 C. water
1/2 T. paprika
1/2 T. cinnamon
1/2 T. sugar
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cayenne

1 T. cornstarch
1 T. water

 Mix everything except the cornstarch and water together in a heavy pot and cook it over medium heat stirring occasionally to break up the ground meat. Turn it to medium/low and let it simmer for 3 hours.  You want the liquid to cook down and thicken a bit.  At the very end of the cooking time, make a slurry with the cornstarch and water and stir it into the mixture.  Cook stirring until the sauce thickens.  It thickens more when it is refrigerated. This is best made a day or two in advance to let the flavors blend.

 Steam the bun.  The bun needs to be very soft.  Spread it with yellow mustard. the mustard is important to the overall taste.

 This is also very important....cut slices into the hotdog. In SW New York, they actually have machines which they slide the wiener through and it is pierced multiple times.  This helps to hold the sauce.  I slice the hotdog all over with a knife and then microwave it for about 40 seconds.

 Cover the dog with lots of sauce.

And a big handful of diced onions.  Some people swear by sweet onions, others prefer Spanish onions.  I like them either way.  These are simply killer hotdogs.  Grab a bunch of napkins because they are really messy!

Garden Patrol

My daughter sent me these tulips for Mother's Day and they still have not quite opened.  Thank you sweet daughter.  It must be weird to have a mother who hates Mother's Day but you try to cheer me up anyway!

 The honeysuckle is just about to open.  It is going to smell glorious and the bees will be all over it.

 The dogwoods are still blooming.  Click on any of the pics to enlarge them.

 Here are some of the strawberries I planted recently.  These things are growing like crazy. It always amazes me how plants react when you plant them in the right spot.

 Teddy charges down to check things out.

 All clear here mama...no bad kitties.

 No matter how fast I walk down the steps, Teddy always beats me to the bottom.  She knows all the shortcuts.

 We went down to 29 degrees last night so I covered the tender plants.  They all look fine today.

 I lost 2 fig trees over the winter but 3 others are leafing out.  I hope I get lots of figs.  I love eating figs right off the tree when they have been warmed by the sun.

 Who knew fish could be happy?  My fish are literally playing with each other ever since the waterfalls have been turned on. They swim over and under each other and are very active.

 After Teddy checks every nook and cranny, she starts the climb back up to the main house.

 Sometimes she takes the steps.

 Here she is playing Goldilocks.  She has to stop and take a drink at each pond just to see which one is the best.

 Like a fine wine, each pond has it's own unique flavor.  At least this is what she tells me. I don't make a habit of drinking from the ponds.

 She always makes a point of stopping on each of the stepping stones while crossing the creek.

 See the jumbo paw pushing off the stone?

The Mock Oranges should bloom by this weekend.