The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else–we are the busiest people in the world. –Eric Hoffer

When I don’t focus on a healthy breakfast, I immediately lose the strength and power to focus on what I should be doing that day. It takes discipline to exercise, eat healthy (Garden Squash Breakfast), read something good for my mind and soul, and to make a plan for the day so I don’t waste time. Now don’t get me wrong, I do occasionally waste time. Social media can suck the life out of a person, and I’m trying to streamline my days and stay more focused. Most people I talk to struggle with this.

These past few weeks I’ve deliberately slowed my schedule down. I’ve said no to a few social engagements, done more organizing around the house, and have kept a quieter existence. It’s been good for me, because I can tend to be the one on the go all the time.

I’ve enjoyed the garden (and this beautiful autumn peony above – what a nice surprise!), committing to my husband (who really is the gardener around here) to preserve and can what I can (too many years we’ve let produce go to waste, or have had to give it away), so this week I froze zucchini and carrots, harvested beets and squash, and made 20 more pints of my Smokey Zucchini Salsa. I wanted to can more peaches, but how much can a girl do? :)

I’m moving on to applesauce and pears, two of my favorites fruits. I’m excited to share with you my fast and easy applesauce canning process with a KitchenAid attachment that everyone asks me about. Sandy, how do you make applesauce so fast? Stay tuned. :)

I visited for the first time a farm up the street from our home, Dunbar Farms. They have a new tasting room and a fruit and vegetable stand where you pay using the “honor system.” I love it when people run a business the good old fashioned way. I bought some tomatoes for the salsa because ours are dwindling quickly.

In the meantime, for breakfast, I took a big hunk of squash and steamed it, and then added a steamed egg and all the fixings, which for me is usually avocado and garden tomatoes sprinkled with pepper.

We’re at the end of the season, so I’m savoring every last bite from our garden, and so is my family.

Gardening and eating healthy and sharing the crops – it all makes this girl happy!

And slowing down.

Do you ever take time to visit new farms in your area?

The post Slowing Down and a Garden Squash Breakfast appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Our tomatoes are vibrant and beautiful this year. I love the varieties that we have, and when it comes to harvesting them, I’m always asked by friends how to can salsa.

This time I invited my friend, Jessica, to help! She’s never canned before and I’m a big proponent of the more seasoned (me!) teaching the younger (her!)

You can read her story, here, which is so sweet! Plus, she went home with her own beautiful 12 pints of fresh canned salsa.

This year was slightly different for us, as we have a new 2-burner Camp Chef Pro 60 Modular Stove.

It’s set up on our back patio and I couldn’t be happier. Seriously, this beautiful piece of equipment has changed everything.

How to Can Salsa

1. Make sure you have all of your canning pots and tools ready, with jars and lids sterilized. Decide if you will can inside or outside.

2. The night before, DO THE FIRST STEP and follow my delicious Smokey Zucchini Salsa recipe. This entails grating and pickling 30 cups of zucchini, 12 peppers, and 6 large onions, and adding pickling salt. You let this sit and brine overnight.

3. The day of canning, add the rest of the ingredients, including 20 cups of fresh washed tomatoes from the garden! Leave the skins on – nice and easy!

4. Make sure you have on a cute apron! Jessica is wearing a Hip Hostess polka-dot apron.

5. Get the pot of salsa boiling on the stove, and then simmer. At the same time, get your water bath canner boiling on the other burner.

6. Jar the salsa into pint jars and process for 15 minutes.

7. Allow the jars to cool, and add a touch of “you” to the jar if you plan to give away as a gift. (I used my RE stamp for the stickers.)

This is the first year that the canning process was really enjoyable. I loved canning with a friend, teaching her about the art of canning, and I so appreciated how fast and easy the process was, by canning outside!

The mess was not there. The burners heated the pots of salsa and water so quickly, we could hardly keep up with the process! We were done in no time.

With a beautiful 26 pints ready to enjoy, and the “blue canning jars” for me will be saved for Christmas gifts this year.

Do you can in the indoors or the outdoors? 

Camp Chef provided me with the stove, but I was not paid for this post. As always, all opinions are my own. But this stove is really awesome, and will perfect for camping, too!

The post Outdoor Canning and How to Can Salsa appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Friends inquire often about our garden and raised beds, lately asking about staking tomatoes. Are wire cages better, or what do we use to stake the tomato plants? This post is sponsored by Avant Garden Decor, and I’ll tell you more about what we learned.

But first …

Back in the corner of our city lot, we have 24 tomato plants in a large raised bed, soon to bring our family an abundance of joy! Tomatoes galore, freshly plucked off the vine, will be made into Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa, just like we canned (below) for gifts last year!

We tried something new this year, when Avant Garden sent us NEW tomato cages to use. So far, so good. They were very easy to put together, and our plants are supported well (and off the ground), which is a big secret to healthy, beautiful tomatoes.

Tomatoes can overtake the garden, by spreading and climbing, so these new cages have really helped keep those plants organized. They help prevent sagging and withering, too, without the fruit and leaves weighing down the stems.

If tomato cages aren’t sturdy enough as the plant becomes more mature, the stems will be too heavy for the tomato cages. Also, strong winds can easily blow over flimsy (wire) tomato cages. They say the heavy metal and flexibility to adjust them is important for plant growth.

When you use tomato cages be careful to tie the plant correctly, otherwise you can damage the stems. Tomato cages allow air to circulate freely through the plants and the foliage naturally shades the fruit. Using soft garden twine or plastic ties with your tomato cages is a good idea.

Our starts this year came from our friend, Terri, who grows hundreds of starts in the springtime.

Here are some of the tomato varieties: Purple Russians, Black Krim, San Marzano, Golden Jubilee, Sungold, Manitoba, Burpee Burger, Sweet Tangerine, and Costelutos.

Yum! We can hardly wait!

We’ll begin picking tomatoes when they reach the full variety size and the color is right. The color doesn’t have to be perfect, as they will continue to ripen after they are picked.

Other plants growing in our garden are Brussels sprouts and kale, squashes and beets and potatoes, and our lettuce growing period is just about up, because of the heat now in southern Oregon.

Are you growing tomatoes this year, and what kind of cages or staking do you use?

This post is sponsored by Avant Garden who provided the cages; however, all opinions are my own.

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The post Staking Tomatoes with Avant Garden Cages appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

I’m pretty sure that lettuce season in our backyard is the happiest for me, because we harvest it from late April to late June. Two months of heavenly salads. There’s nothing like fresh lettuce. Period.

Part of the joy is giving the lettuce away … usually in a bag or a box.

I’ve had a few friends ask me what the best way to wash and dry the lettuce is, when I cut off a head from the garden and share with them. And I always say, Salad Spinner!

I’ve had a few over the years, but the one I’m using now is XOX brand and under $20. Best investment ever!

The process for me goes like this:

Pull off the leaves from the outside and use the lettuce as you need it.

OR

Cut the entire head for harvesting.

How to spin fresh garden lettuce:

1. Wash the entire head of lettuce, pulling off the leaves.

2. Place about 8-12 leaves in the spinner, depending on their size.

3. Spin the lettuce.

4. Place in Ziploc bags, squeezing out all of the air, and seal.

5. Store in fridge up to 1 week!

It’s amazing how fresh the lettuce stays when you take care of it right away. The sooner it’s cut from the ground and spun, the fresher and longer it will keep.

Another option is to spin and then place on a towel and totally dry the lettuce.

I also use the basket of the spinner for a colander, all the time! Comes in handy!

A bag of store-bought lettuce costs twice as much as a fresh head, so it’s cost-worthy to grow your own if you can!

Our favorite salads have been made with shrimp, beets, fresh dill and goat cheese. It’s a fantastic combo for a light summer salad!

Do you ever spin your own lettuce?

The post Why You Need a Salad Spinner for Fresh Garden Lettuce appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Our garden is bursting with kale, broccoli, and lettuce right now. Raspberries are just coming on, and we’ve already harvest about 4 quarts of strawberries.

I love summertime and the sound of sprinklers going off in the early morning, eating salads daily, and enjoying new crops, which for us would be kale. Years ago we planted kale and my husband was so discouraged because no one ate it. We just didn’t know how to cook with it.

Times have changed now, our palates are different, and we’re juicing kale, making chips with kale, and eating delicious kale salad.

By the way, one tip I’ve learned with kale, especially when you have the larger leaves, is that after you wash and chop it up for salad–let’s say a Caesar Salad–you need to massage the leaves with oil first, allowing them to soften, and then add the dressing. Before serving, add the grated Parmesan cheese and croutons, or whatever ingredients you like to add to Caesar. I like to squeeze 1/2 of a fresh lemon over the salad.

Now I’m hungry :)

I think we’ve made about 12 pans of kale chips, which have turned out fantastic! Who would have thought they’d be so good – both in taste, and good for you!

I tried 2 kinds, but last night was the best. I’ll share the easy recipe with you, and I’d love to hear the combination you use when making kale chips.

It seems everyone is so in to them now. You can crunch them up and put over salads, or eat them as a snack. I’d rather them be crispy than chewy. So mine are crispy, but very flavorful.

Okay, they aren’t the prettiest. But they are SO tasty!

What’s your favorite flavor of kale chips?

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The post GardenChat Update and How to Make Kale Chips appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

I get giddy this time of year when I see a primrose plant. The colors are so vibrant!

You can buy a flat at Costco now for about $10. Best $10 spent because they can be used in so many ways!

To me, they’re the perfect “spring” flower that adds so much cheer and love to gardens, front porch pots, dining tables, living or family rooms, kitchen windows …

Or even a small gift.

On Valentine’s Day, I gathered a few primrose plants and went knocking on my neighbors’ doors.

All the widow-ladies got a little something to brighten their day. :)

I also have combined 4 primrose plants with 2 succulents to make a springy tabletop, which I’ve moved around in the house. For a while it was on my dining table, then it found its home in the sunshine out on our back patio. Then back inside again.

Following these easy instructions, when I made a Wheatgrass and Succulent tabletop, you can do the same with primroses:

-Add 2 succulents.

-4 primrose plants.

-Fill the outside of the tray with moss.

And BOOM! You have the most beautiful primrose and succulent tabletop!

Sometimes we just need a little inspiration to take fresh spring flowers and think outside of the box (other than planting them in pots) to create something new!

Happy Spring!

What’s your favorite tabletop to make during the month of February?

Come follow me on Instagram and Pinterest for more inspiration!

The post Making a Primrose and Succulent Tabletop appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Last weekend, in between rain storms, my husband and I spent hours out in the garden, putting our “garden to bed” for the winter months. (Above: Hi, Haggis McStitch!)

But first, I have to tell you about Paul’s new favorite tool ($38) that he’s been eyeing for quite some time now. My husband is very frugal when it comes to gardening–reusing, recycling, and buying most tools from yard sales–so breaking down and buying this was a stretch for him.

We now have a “potato rake.”

And, what’s this video today on RE?

I really don’t see myself as a “video-girl” so let me know what you think! :) It could be fun for future gardening posts to add in a short video to my posts. (Yes, no?)

The purpose of our new potato rake is to not puncture the potatoes. Brilliant!

You use it to loosen the soil.

We harvested our potatoes.

And our sweet potatoes. Which, by the way, are rarely perfect in shape. They often come out of the ground like a horror-movie figures. But they are still delicious!

Oh, and there’s Haggis again, our Cairn Terrier, who sometimes thinks he’s a cat and walks the fence line. We had neighbors once who thought he was a big fury (ugly) cat. How dare them! :)

Our neighbors: We think we have your dog. At first we thought it was an ugly cat. :)

But we love our little fury guy. :)

Now’s the time to work the compost into the soil, too, if you have it, because the soil is so workable.

And straw. We always use straw, but it’s 2-year old straw. You never want to use fresh straw or hay in your garden beds, because the seeds will sprout. You need to let it sit first, for 24 months, so the sprouting begins and ends. The straw we used here has been sitting here for a couple of years.

How to winterize garden beds
1. Clear the top (pull out the garden plants, get rid of weeds).
2. Sprinkle Cover Crop over the beds (we used Gardenway) that don’t have any root crop in them (like potatoes, asparagus).

What exactly is Cover Crop?
It’s a bag of mixed seeds with nitrogen, and it builds tilth and organic matter for better garden harvesting. It suppresses weeds during the off season (winter months). You use it wherever you want to enrich your soil, planting it in the fall, and then tilling it up in the spring. (On these beds, you don’t want to use straw. We used straw in the beds that still had potatoes in them.)

How to use Cover Crop on your garden beds
1. Harvest all vegetables.
2. Get the weeds out, rake the beds.
3. Sprinkle lightly with Cover Crop; slightly rake over the top.
4. Water (or count on the rain to water the beds).

We leave our lights up year round. Nothing better than looking out and seeing them glowing over the beds during cold winter months–and knowing the garden is resting. (We bought our lights at Pottery Barn about 5 years ago, if you can believe that. They’ve stood the test of time!)

Awww, it’s nice to have fresh raked beds, ready for their long winter nap.

Have you winterized your garden yet? Or, please share any tips you have for winterizing your garden!?

(We love sharing garden tips with you, from Oregon, but head on over to the Old Farmer’s Almanac and read their suggestions on Putting the Garden to Bed. Martha talks about preparing the farm for the “dead of winter,” here.)

The post Winterizing the Garden with New Potato Rake (and Video!) appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

You may recall this quote on my blog from this past summer. It’s so good, I want to share it again.

Having fun and having joy are two different things. Fun is expensive; joy is free. -Joyce Meyer

I think about each day and how we can choose joy, or not. How each day should bring a sense of joy, excitement, a sense of expectation. But to some – it does not.

I like to think of it this way, “Love what you do, and do the best that you can.”

Each of our situations are so different, depending on the season of life we are journeying through. My last month has been quieter in my house with my boys in college, but I’m working hard and enjoying this glorious Autumn season.

One thing that brings me joy, more than ever, is to cook from the garden. My husband plants the garden, and really does most of the gardening, too, and I get to enjoy the fruits of his labor by canning and cooking the results.

Today, to showcase our never-ending harvest of summer’s squash and tomatoes (we have one bed that just finished producing), I’m sharing a recipe that my family loved. Loved!

Another thing that I like to do is to use up what’s in the fridge. In this case, I had a new package of Havarti cheese, of which I used the entire package. Delish!

Inspired by the recipe, Summer Vegetable Tian over at Williams Sonoma, and the JOY that our garden squash, potatoes, and tomatoes bring to our family, I can’t wait to make this earthy, vegetarian meal again.

You could make it as a side dish, but we enjoyed it as an entree for dinner. I sort of think of it as a pasta-free lasagna.

So what exactly is a “tian?”

“Originating in Provence, a tian is a French word that describes a shallow earthenware casserole as well as the food it contains. Traditionally it features a variety of vegetables, herbs and cheeses that are layered and then baked.” – Williams Sonoma

ENJOY!

When does cooking for your family bring you the most joy?

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The post Joy is FREE and Vegetable and Cheese Tian Recipe appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Happy October, Friends!

Because I wanted to catch Autumn “early,” I wrote my 30 Day series in September this year, instead of participating in October like many bloggers are doing. Thanks to everyone who commented and kept up with me last month. Whew! Now on to October …

We’ve already harvested 1/2 of our garden with potatoes, sweet potatoes, and believe it or not, we still have tomatoes and zucchini and squash. I’m hoping to can zucchini relish this week. Yum!

We’ve been roasting tomatoes and making our own pesto, so today I want to share how to preserve it, so that you can keep the flavors alive and enjoy it all year round!

This method works beautifully if you want to keep and preserve the many flavors of your garden. I’ve tried the ice-cube method of freezing herbs, and to be honest, I wasn’t impressed. They not got freezer-burned, the texture was really strange and soggy.

When we make pesto or roast tomatoes, we always use olive oil. Which makes sense for freezing, because combining the leaves (I pack my roasted tomatoes with tons of basil) with oil actually preserves more flavor.

Yay for more authentic flavor!

Here’s my recipe and the process used to roast tomatoes.

Or if you’re creative, make your own combination using up any of the herbs in your garden, before the cold weather hits!

The next thing I do is rather simple and takes up very little space in your freezer. Follow these instructions next time you want to take advantage of the herbs in your garden!

1. Make pesto or roasted tomatoes.

2. Add 1 cup to a 1 gallon Ziploc bag.

3. Remove the air and seal the bag.

4. Mark the bag with the contents and the date.

5. Lay the bag flat in the freezer on a flat surface.

The contents are good for 6 months. You can break off pieces or use the entire bag for soups, lasagnas, casseroles – sky’s the limit!

It doesn’t take long at all, and I’m for sure looking forward to enjoying our herbs in the winter months ahead.

What is your easy method for freezing fresh herbs?

The post How to Preserve Fresh Garden Herbs appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Anticipation.

The small moments that we experience during this beautiful Autumn season.

Like harvesting warm, heirloom tomatoes off the vine.

Looking forward to what comes next.

The smell.

The vibrant color.

The chopping, adding in the garlic, seasoning, a touch of sugar, and oil.

The anticipation continues with fresh herbs.

Two kinds of basil.

Into the oven for 1-2 hours (450 degrees).

The aroma.

The texture.

The flavor.

One of our last dinners as a family before the boys leave for college.

Roasted tomatoes on fresh pasta with Parmesan cheese.

When the anticipation is over.

Full tummies and warm hearts.

Anticipation.

What’s your favorite way to roast tomatoes, or how do you preserve them from the garden?

Catch up on my first 20 Days, HERE. :)

The post Day 21. Anticipation. Roasted Tomatoes. appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.