Today we are joining Sherry for, In My Kitchen! Looking back is always interesting, as busy as I am most days, sometimes I get a lot done and sometimes I don't. But the funny thing is, I am always busy...how about you!
.jpg "Joining, In my Kitchen July 2024, looking back on June!")
The big news for In My Kitchen June 2024, is that we were able to finish out the canning kitchen in the utility building! We found a propane kitchen stove to fit our needs and at a price I was happy to pay! We had to drive to Huntsville TX to get it, but we love Huntsville and always enjoy our visits there! Plus we had great BBQ for lunch. With the stove in the utility kitchen I can do more of my cooking out there and keep our little caravan cooler.
I love having a canning kitchen!
I rarely buy new items for the kitchen, as we have no extra storage space, but I did get a new to me cookbook, that had several recipes I wanted to try, when I flipped through the pages in the store. All the recipes in this cookbook are whole grain and sweetened by honey or real maple syrup.
June also brought the opportunity for me to show off my kitchen as well as the rest of the caravan, when I posted Welcome, come and tour our 5thwheel home. And June had me chasing cucumbers! The one crop that so far, I have been successful growing! As much as I would like it to be different, I do not have my fathers green thumb...
Again in June, kitchen time was lots of preparation of the staples we call on regularly, but I did make three new recipes, as well as update several older recipes that enjoy on somewhat of a regular rotation. And with the stove in the canning kitchen available, the first thing to be bakes was a batch of my favorite granola!
Cucumbers seemed to be falling off my counters there were so many! One recipe I was really happy to be successful with was Naturally Fermented Pickles. I remembered those from my childhood and they are (really) so simple, but it was gratifying to have success with this process. I made whole pickles as well as spears from some of the larger cucumbers.
And because my husband is a sweet pickle lover, I took our regular recipe for Grandma's Two Day Sweet Pickles and remade the recipe with cucumbers from the garden. Years ago, when I developed this no canning recipe, I used English Cucumbers from Costco, because I knew we could get them the year round, and of course at the time we had no garden! But it was the perfect way to enjoy organic pickles at a frugal price! The only thing more frugal is using cukes from the garden...
And last but not least, this Apple Beet and Carrot Salad. It is truly lovely. Not too plain and not too fancy. It whips up in about 5 minutes and keeps well in the Fridge, which is perfect for our little family. Oh and my favorite part, it contains no added sugar or sweetener of any type. Leftovers are still delicious, but if you like you can add a sprinkle of Feta...
I did take the time to compile a post of 5 Ingredient or Less from Scratch recipes to help everyone get dinner on the table fast! Because in the heat of the day or the busyness of the day, we all find that dinner still needs to be made.
And then we did a quick revisit and update of this light and refreshing Green Bean Soup and a delicious Honey Pork with Pineapple and Roasted Chilies because sometimes we are looking for something just a little bit different to enjoy...and bring everyone back to the table, to share not only the meal but to get caught up with one another once again!
But this is the real reason not too much got done in the kitchen, our garden!
Once the cardboard is down we cover it with a thick mulch of wood chips obtained from the local utility company (from their electric lines maintenance department). And from there we have built raised garden beds from the downed timber on our property. Once filled with top soil, we plant! It has been lots of work, but also lots of fun to test our abilities!
And that brings us up to date for our little caravan kitchen! Thank you Sherry for this enjoyable monthly visit!
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I might try the cardboard trick for one part of our garden as we also live on clay! And I love your new cookbook - seems it will have perfect recipes for me in it. I have been making vodka pickled cucumbers this past month. I love them on everything :)
ReplyDeleteTandy, I am intrigued by those vodka pickled cucumbers! Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it!
Deletethanks so much for joining in this month Melynda (and including the logo). Yes I can see you must be busy with your garden :-) Great idea about the cardboard and the mulch. I'm about to make a batch of my pickled cukes for a friend (and he will make me a wooden spoon). Hope you have a fab July. cheers Sherry
ReplyDeleteSherry thanks so much for hosting such a fun gathering, I learn so much about all the other folks that participate! I appreciate it!
DeleteI've never been able to grow cucumbers - if the possums don't get them ... well, I'm sure you know the drill. Love how inventive you are with your garden beds. Needs must and all that.
ReplyDeleteJo, I do not have the green thumb that my father had, no matter how much I try. Gardening for me is a labor of love (OK, some days just "like", it can be hard work) and from time to time we get food...those cucumbers were from seeds from the dollar store, and they are amazing, I while I won't buy seeds there again, I am sure it is the seeds and not my skill set! Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteLove the canning kitchen. It looks great.
ReplyDeleteThat cookbook also looks very interesting. I will need to check that out.
My neighbor makes amazing, simply pickles every year. The kids literally fight over them when she sends them over!
I really want to try that Apple, Beet, and Carrot Salad! It seems perfect for summer. Will I get it done? I hope so but I swear it takes me forever to just stop and make something good and simple with good ingredients. Once I do, though, I am so happy.
Lisa, thank you! Our weather here in East Texas is so hot, but I hope to get busy out there ASAP, for now it is just nice that we have one completed project!
DeleteHow nice to have a garden and an abundance of pickles. I do like your recipe for naturally fermented pickles and it sounds easy too. Having that extra stove will be such a help to you. I never learned to can because no one that I knew every did it. I used to have an extra stove in my basement and I baked in all summer which left my kitchen and living area nice and cool.
ReplyDeleteJudee, what a lovely idea, a second stove for baking in the basement. Personally I love basements, always cool and quiet. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteHaving a second kitchen seems perfect for all the cooking and food experiments that you do! You need to change the name of this to "In My KitchenS"
ReplyDeletebest, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae, you are right, thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteIt looks like the canning kitchen was set up just in time! We have been getting lots of fresh cucumbers in our farm boxes and I've toyed with the idea of making some pickles but they are always gone before I know it.
ReplyDeleteJoanne, I hope in time our green bens to better, right now it is too hot for them I fear. I do have some sweet pickle relish planned to use up the monster cucumbers that we find....
DeleteI miss gardening and pickling and love your canning kitchen. Enjoy that wonderful space!
ReplyDeleteTerri, years (decades actually!) I canned and froze most of our food, I want to get back to that as much as is possible. Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteThe kitchen looks great, as does the garden, I can see how it would have been keeping you busy. I am very envious of your cucumber harvest - I'm just thinking of all those pickles. Yum!
ReplyDeleteSammie, thank you! I have been so focused on the garden I have almost forgotten to cook! Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.
Delete