This year in Texas, we've had a very early spring and therefore our garden is producing earlier than usual. No complaints from our family and friends though, as my husband Scott's garden keeps everyone stocked with all the tomatoes, squash and peppers we can grow.
Each year my husband and I grow a huge garden. I can remember well as a child having to pick and shell purple hull peas for hours. I remember saying, "I'll never have a garden when I grow up!" to my grandfather. I've lived to literally 'eat' my words and we are thankful I didn't keep that promise.
Gardening has become a big part of our summer each year and I save a ton at the grocery store. Just to name a few, Scott's garden this year has had broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, tomatoes, jalapeno, Cayenne, Anaheim, Cowhorn and banana peppers, summer 'yellow' squash, zucchini, cucumbers, basil (it's great to eat as your lettuce on hamburgers) and radishes. What we don't eat, we freeze, can or give away. We've learned a garden is pretty good PR as well with clients of Scott's. :o)
Brussel's Sprout plant Black Krim Tomato Plants with basil plant between them to keep bugs off tomatoes
Some of our very favorites are our Black Krim Tomatoes. We love these heirloom tomatoes more than any other tomato we grow each summer. Some can get as big as your hand and they have tendency to crack some, but slicing these to have inside of a mayonnaise, lettuce and cheese sandwich is a favorite meal for me each summer.
This past Saturday, I made these pickled squash and zucchini. I added in some onions and a few banana peppers for some added flavor. You can keep these in the fridge or can them to serve later in the year. You'll see my favor Kilner jars that I use for my refrigerator version. In this recipe link below there
This easy squash and zucchini recipe can be prepared on the stove top, on the grill or in your oven. Use any seasonings you like, but we over Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning.
And when life gives you tons of tomatoes...make my hot sauce and freeze or can! We like to freeze ours the best and it's truly the only way we ever eat hot sauce or salsa as some call it. The picture below is from one of my garden hauls a few years ago in July. My mornings in mid summer are often spent collecting, washing up and putting away our vegetables for the cooler winter months ahead. What sounds like a lot of work is really relaxing to me and I can get lost just playing in our garden.
This is picture below of the hot sauce I put up from our fresh, garden tomatoes. The extra tomato liquid I save for soups as well. My daughters and their friends in college begged for this stuff. We rarely ever buy store bought salsa or hot sauce anymore after making our own, tried and true recipe. Using summer tomatoes makes this salsa sweeter, so you may not need to add the sugar in the recipe. So taste test and add if you want it sweeter. On the site as well is a blog post for how to freeze fresh tomatoes after blanching them. Click here for The Ranch Kitchen's Guide to Freezing Stewed Tomatoes.
And oh my, these Cheesy Baked Tomatoes are surprisingly a favorite of my husband Scott how won't eat cheese on anything but these. I bake or grill along side our favorite Hereford steak and there are never any leftovers!
Each year my husband and I grow a huge garden. I can remember well as a child having to pick and shell purple hull peas for hours. I remember saying, "I'll never have a garden when I grow up!" to my grandfather. I've lived to literally 'eat' my words and we are thankful I didn't keep that promise.
Gardening has become a big part of our summer each year and I save a ton at the grocery store. Just to name a few, Scott's garden this year has had broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, tomatoes, jalapeno, Cayenne, Anaheim, Cowhorn and banana peppers, summer 'yellow' squash, zucchini, cucumbers, basil (it's great to eat as your lettuce on hamburgers) and radishes. What we don't eat, we freeze, can or give away. We've learned a garden is pretty good PR as well with clients of Scott's. :o)
Brussel's Sprout plant Black Krim Tomato Plants with basil plant between them to keep bugs off tomatoes
Brussels Sprouts! You just pick from the bottom. Ours last right up until October all
year which is amazing considering our hot Texas summers.
Scott picking our garden one evening this last week. Notice the pig panel for a cucumber trellis. We use what we have and it's worked well for years.
Some of our very favorites are our Black Krim Tomatoes. We love these heirloom tomatoes more than any other tomato we grow each summer. Some can get as big as your hand and they have tendency to crack some, but slicing these to have inside of a mayonnaise, lettuce and cheese sandwich is a favorite meal for me each summer.
Our Black Krim Tomatoes!
This past Saturday, I made these pickled squash and zucchini. I added in some onions and a few banana peppers for some added flavor. You can keep these in the fridge or can them to serve later in the year. You'll see my favor Kilner jars that I use for my refrigerator version. In this recipe link below there
And you can also make these pickled okra too! The trick is to pick them everyday or they get huge. Or, go to your local farmers market calling before to ask them to hold back the ones that are 3 - 4 inches long only. I was schooled on that little trick from a little lady who got the best pick of okra before I did! She had smartly called before hand to have them ready for her canning.
We eat these pickled okra with fried fish and make a ton while you are it as they are addicting. Everybody loves them and they are great in your favorite Bloody Mary drink too.
This fried okra is a southern treat as a side dish. It takes a little time to master it, but once you do, it's pretty much a perfect food in my book. I like to eat these as they come out of the hot grease with a little ketchup.
Next, these Zucchini Squares are absolutely the best and smell amazing coming out of your oven. My friend Debra Warren adds jalapeno peppers to hers and says they are wonderful. You might just remove the white membrane if your heat tolerance it not very high. We eat these warm as a side with dinner or cold as an appetizer.
This pasta salad with added vegetables from our garden like banana peppers and cherry tomatoes is always a hit!
This no noodle, vegetable lasagna is one of my favorite recipes to make when squash is at it's peak in our garden. With the pork that we buy from our local FFA kids or from one that didn't make sale of our daughter Audrey
Sure Champ Pork and Vegetable Lasagna
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The fruits of my daughter Audrey and her friend Bonnie's labor!
Making hot pepper sauce is a tradition my mom handed down to me. We use this clear sauce that is seasoned from the Cayenne or jalapenos to season our purple hull peas or pintos all year long. It's a simple recipe and when you run out of the 'sauce', just reheat some vinegar and add it back to your peppers. Do, however keep this in the refrigerator after opening.
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The fruits of my daughter Audrey and her friend Bonnie's labor!
This summer my goal is for my daughter and her friends to learn something new to cook each time they come over. This past week Bonnie and Audrey learned how to properly stuff peppers into jars to make this hot pepper sauce. We cut the tops off the peppers before stuffing to make the pepper sauce hotter.
Fried eggplant is another family favorite at our house and with my brothers. I made these just last night for them and my mom to rave reviews. The addition of cornmeal to the flour gives these fried eggplants just the right amount of crunch. Serve them with ketchup on the side. We also like to fry these with our catfish. It's surprising how many people have never eaten fried eggplant. Delicious!
You know those jumbo plastic jars of pickles you see in concession stands? Love them....don't throw them away! I use the gallon sized jars that I get with my pickles or those from my local Sam's Club for this recipe. During the week, we add more cucumbers to it and take out with each meal. You can add white or yellow, sweet onions to these and even bell peppers. Add fresh tomatoes also that haven't gotten too ripe to this mixture as well. Yum!
Love, love my version of ranch dip. My Dilly Dip is super easy and fast to make with fresh dill from my herb garden. Serve it alongside uncooked sliced summer 'yellow' squash, zucchini, green onions and cherry tomatoes! Low fat and delicious!
And last these Fiesta Bell Peppers are a great way to use your bell peppers, zucchini or squash by stuffing them with this beef filled favorite. Anytime I can it's beef we serve off our ranch and it's always Certified Hereford Beef.
Recently as you will see below I stuffed my zucchini and summer 'yellow' squash with this recipe. This last time instead of using beef however, I used chopped up country style pork ribs left over from the night before. Use what you have and dinner is a snap.
I hope you enjoy all these recipes I've share with you today. If you don't garden, consider it. It's not too late to plant some varieties of veggies and I have friends who container garden very successfully. Ranchers have tons of mineral tubs that when holes are drilled in the bottom, they make excellent planters. If you are in my area, I have a few I'd share just to get them off our hands!
Peaches are almost in season and soon I'll be sharing some of our favorites with you here on The Ranch Kitchen and The Pulse!
Get cooking and have a wonderful, fun summer ahead!
Alise
The Ranch Kitchen
