Friends, today I’m sharing a classic salsa recipe that I have canned for years, a Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe. Years ago we had 12 garden beds with a lot of heirloom tomatoes. [This post is updated and reposted from 9 years ago here on RE.]

Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe

We “put up” 26 pints of delicious sweet smokey salsa.

I love that term, “put up,” don’t you? It sounds so … old-fashioned and lovely!

I know my Mom and Grandma talked about canning that way. :) (more…)

The post Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Friends, one of my favorite summer salads is this Summer Garbanzo Tomato Salad. So easy to whip up for company, or to bring to a potluck.

Garbanzo Tomato Salad

Are you planning on hosting a lot this summer? Here are a few of my favorite salads.

Garbanzo Bean Bacon Chopped Salad

Summer Orzo Salad with Garbanzo Beans

Cucumber and Chickpea Salad

Roasted Vegetables & Chickpea Bowls

Keep Garbanzo beans stocked in pantry

I love to keep garbanzo beans (or chickpeas) on hand because there are so many recipes you can use them in. Like, How to Make Crispy Roasted Garbanzo Beans with only 5 ingtredients!

Do you ever make your own hummus? Or have you ever made garbanzo chili? (more…)

The post Summer Garbanzo Tomato Salad appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Our friends were coming for dinner. Quick – what could I put together for a healthy appetizer? You may have seen these carrots over on my Epic Rectangular Charcuterie Board, too!

I saw a similar recipe in a recent magazine, and the inspiration led me to my fridge to grab a handful of carrots and to think quickly! The answer: Roasted Carrots Easy Appetizer Recipe!

What spices go with carrots?

Honestly, I just love a good Sea salt and fresh ground pepper! But you can always add turmeric, cumin, or even a pumpkin pie spice (so good). (more…)

The post Roasted Carrots Easy Appetizer Recipe appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

“She smelled of sun and daisies with a hint of river water.” –unknown

We recently met some friends down by the river and everyone brought a dessert. One friend brought my Mixed Berry Crumble Recipe and ice cream (oh, yum!).

I brought this Classic Raspberry Crisp. Mm-m-m … it tastes like summer, and can be served with vanilla ice cream or fresh whhipped cream! Because it’s summer, you may also love a good Blackberry Almond Crumble or Blueberry Snickerdoodle Summer Cobbler!

Summer berry crisp

We sat by the river (more…)

The post Classic Fresh Raspberry Crisp Recipe appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Friends, for lunch today, we have extra rotisserie chicken and fresh grapes in the fridge, so we’re making this Chicken Kale Salad Recipe, topped with our favorite Green Goddess Dressing. Have you tried Trader Joe’s brand of Green Goddess Dressing in their refrigerated section? OH MY. So fresh, our new favorite.

Here’s another massaged kale salad that you might like for lunch, just in time for strawberry season: Strawberry Avocado Kale Salad with Bacon recipe. YUM. Or, if you love soup, this “any time of year” Sausage Kale Comfort Soup Recipe is great, too!

Years ago, we grew so much kale in our garden, the entire city could have been fed. It’s actually a joke in our family now, when we reminisce about our gardening days, and all the kale chips we devoured.

Chicken Kale Salad Recipe

Enjoying this Chicken Kale Salad Recipe this past week reminded me of that time!

Paul spent long summer days out in the garden. You can take a peek here for what our yard looked like. (more…)

The post Chicken Kale Salad Recipe appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

I’ve been putting off writing my garden post this week, not because I’m lacking inspiration, but because I’ve been so busy! But I will say this time of year is very exciting for me and my husband, as we plan out and start planting our garden. Today I’m sharing 8 Money-Saving Tips on Gardening in the City!

8 Money-Saving Tips on Gardening in the City

This year we have something new that has been sitting on our kitchen counter. We picked up this beauty on Craig’s List and, actually, it has changed gardening for us.

Aerogarden

Before I tell you about how we grow our own starts, I want to chat about some discussions that Paul and I have. Yes, we have our favorite veggies we love to grow each year–the standard tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, beans, potatoes–you get the idea.

Each year we also like to branch out to try something new … like ground cherries. Talk about a unique conversation starter around the table as you serve up a platter of these nutty, vanilla-ish tasting treats! (My husband says they are the up and coming fruit.)

As I’ve written in my past 2 gardening posts, we’ve turned many of our flower beds in our back yard (on a city lot) into garden vegetable beds. Today I’m exploring why we grow what we grow, and also some money-saving thoughts on gardening.

8 Ways to Save Money by Growing your Own Vegetables

1. Plan out your garden space before you shop.

The easiest way to overspend at the garden store is to not have your garden mapped out with the number of plants or seeds you need to buy. Garden websites, like Territorial Seed, will help you plan out the space. We have found them to be very helpful and innovative.

2. Think through your garden needs.

For example, garlic and corn simply are more effecient to buy in the store than to grow on a city lot. It’s all relevant, but corn and garlic take a ton of space and water, so think of what you could be growing in that space. Because of our friend Connie, who wrote the NEW Sonoma Diet book (you can enter to win a copy of her book!), we’re encouraged to try to grow peppers this year. For some reason we had difficulty getting our peppers to ripen in the past.

3. Grow what would be cheaper on your own, than to buy in the store.

For example, it’s cheaper to grow your own tomatoes than to buy them in the store. And especially lettuce and strawberries with this year’s problems in California, and besides, they taste much better. Onions, on the other hand, compete for space and sunlight, yet you can’t tell a huge difference of homegrown and store bought. We’ve opted to NOT use our city-lot space for onions.

4. Grow in your garden what your family likes to eat.

Plan your garden around the vegetables you will be cooking with and that your family will eat. We love beets, but our kids aren’t as fond as them. On the other hand they love my Zucchini noodles, so we plant a ton of zucchinis and other squashes. (This year I plan to post a few new canning recipes!)

5. Grow what does well in your zone and grows well in your type of soil.

Don’t forget to save your coffee grounds for a richer compost (plant matter such as leaves, grass clippings, vegetable trimmings, egg shells, etc.). Compost does wonderful things for your garden’s soil. We also use a lot of straw (you’ll see it in pictures).

6. Start your own plant starters.

With our NEW Aerogarden, we’ve already saved a ton of money this year and it’s been an exciting process. Seeds are inexpensive, it just takes a little patience to get them “started” inside.

7. Plant your seeds or starters in succession.

Don’t plant crops such as lettuce all at once. Plant some every week or so that there is always a fresh crop ready to pick. You want to plant what you can harvest and eat or can, without having any go to waste.

8. Plant according to the season.

Cool weather crops such as kale, swiss chard, and spinach don’t like the hot August heat. We just planted these last week.

There’s no way around making mistakes with gardening. You’ll learn from year to year what works for you on your piece of property. The last few years we were looking forward to asparagus, but we didn’t plant it in the right soil. This year we’re devoting a new entire bed to it.

If you are planning a garden, what stage are you in right now?

More gardening posts you may want to check out:

• Amending the soil for raised beds
• Gardening and building raised beds
• Our Polycarbonate Greenhouse
• Raising Backyard Chickens in the City

The post 8 Money-Saving Tips on Gardening in the City appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Friends, HAPPY FRIDAY! I wrote this post 5 years ago, so I’m adding new text and photography, and one of my favorite quotes!

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

—Eleanor Roosevelt

Which means, find some positive people to hang out with this weekend, and make your words count. Think big, listen big, and be BIG people. Talk about things that will make our world a better place. (And God forbid, don’t be a small person and gossip about other people).

Last-Minute Pesto Tartine Appetizer Recipe

If you are a basil lover (I love the smell), and love “easy,” then this Pesto Tartine Appetizer Recipe is for you!

One thing I miss about being “back home” in Medford is our garden, which at one time we had 12 beds. Our herb trough always had basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and chives. Oh, and occasional dill. (more…)

The post Last-Minute Pesto Tartine Appetizer Recipe appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Our family loves fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers, and so does central Oregon wildlife. Because we had 12 raised garden beds back home (where we moved from a year ago), when spring arrived this year, we were longing for a garden!

Secretly, our favorite spring crop to grow is fresh lettuce! There’s nothing quite like a lettuce wrap with garden butterleaf lettuce! (more…)

The post DIY Skinny Deck Gardening Beds appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Friends, our sons turned 25 and 23 in the past week. May has been their “birthday month” for many years now, and it’s always fun when we’re together to celebrate.

Having gone to Seattle with the gang a few weeks ago, we all decided seeing the U2 Joshua Tree Tour for all of our birthday presents this year!

One thing about our boys is they are grateful young men. It’s nice to be around them. Gratitude spawns kindness and generosity. They are good with people, and they truly care about others and are interested in their lives. (more…)

The post Chicken Pineapple Cilantro Layered Salad appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.

Our garden isn’t the prettiest this year, but it’s producing fabulous tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and green beans. Over in the side yard is a bed of wild potatoes. I say wild, because we deliberately leave some in the ground year after year, so they produce beautiful homegrown, organic potatoes again and again. One of our favorite things is to barbecue the small ones for guests that come to dinner.

Eliminate the impossible.

Which, by the way, I was thinking this morning how simple our lives would be if we eliminated impossible things. Things such as “the perfect house,” the friendships you may be chasing after, hosting others and nothing going wrong (LOL), the family that has no problems. There is no perfect, and getting these thoughts from our minds frees us to do what we’re suppose to do in this life. Intentional living is about purpose, and for me this means I remove silly thoughts and things that bog me down. Sometimes these thoughts or things that plague our minds probably weren’t meant to be, anyway, so why not concentrate on what works for you? It feels “right” to start the day off with a healthy mindset, to pray about the day, and move forward with confidence. (more…)

The post Peaceful Living with Paul’s Savory Potatoes appeared first on Reluctant Entertainer.