Pickled Red Onions

Pickled Red Onions

Need a splash of red on your holiday table? Or a quick hostess gift? If you like onions give the following super easy recipe a try. Recipe: 1 large onion, thinly sliced, preferably red (if you have a mandoline, go for it) Brine: 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1 cup water 1 T. sugar 1 1/2 tsp. salt (I used pickling salt ) Stir brine ingredients together until salt and sugar are dissolved.  Pour over onion and let stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes.  Ready to...
The December Garden

The December Garden

Winter in Wisconsin can sometimes be nice, but this December has started out as a lesson in dismal.   The picture above looking out to the garden area from the house was taken a week ago.  It was our first significant snow.  We received about four inches of really wet stuff that most snow blowers can’t handle and shoveling breaks your back. This picture was taken yesterday.  On-and-off rains have melted most of the snow, but sunshine has not been apparent for...
Digging Potatoes

Digging Potatoes

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that potatoes may not be the best value for work input for a home grower.  High-quality organic potatoes from the market are quite inexpensive, and certainly a better pure cost value than our homegrown spuds. However, I have no doubt that planting two beds of potatoes every year is a good fit for my garden. Potatoes are usually a very reliable crop.  I’ve got my planting scheme down, and I see the rotation of potato beds through the...
Raspberries Atop Oatmeal Pancakes for Two

Raspberries Atop Oatmeal Pancakes for Two

If you have ever considered planting raspberries in your home garden I highly recommend it.  Once they’re established, other than once-a-year pruning, they are relatively carefree and can last nearly forever with occasional transplanting. And you can stand up to pick them!  Here in Wisconsin, our ever-bearing variety keeps producing through a couple of light freezes.  I just picked a few on October 24th.  Just be sure to do a little research and select...
Seven Tomato Recipes

Seven Tomato Recipes

Every year the tomatoes take over the kitchen. Besides our usual plain tomatoes and spaghetti sauce for the freezer, we’ve built up a collection of recipes that use this fabulous fruit. Here are just a few.  Maybe you’ll find something new or be reminded of past favorites. Enjoy! Tomato Cobbler with Cheese Biscuit Topping Roasted Green Beans and Cherry Tomato Pasta Garden Tomato Salsa (canned) Fresh Garden Salsa Garden Tomato Soup Roasted Salsa with...
Tomato Harvest

Tomato Harvest

The picture represents a very small fraction of the total tomato yield.  I have forty plants growing in two beds.  The 20 different types I grow our mostly heirloom varieties and a lot are started from saved seed. One hybrid I have grown for a lot of years is Sungold.  This small yellow/orange cherry tomato is always the first tomato to produce and it remains very productive right up until frost. We grow several varieties of cherry tomatoes, different paste...

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