Lonelygirlarts

I needed some Candied Ginger to add to some Jam I was making. So, I went to my grocery store and a very small packet was over$5.00, I would of needed $20.00 worth. I went home looked up a recipe and went back to the store and bought large pieces for around $8.00. I already had the sugar, lots of water and an imagination to use every bit of what I made! CANDIED GINGER 1 Pound fresh Ginger, peeled 4 cups Sugar, plus additional sugar for coating the Ginger slices 4 cups water Pinch of Salt Slice the Ginger as thin as possible, I used a Mandolin, worked perfectly. Put the Ginger slices in a non-reactive pot, add enough water to cover ginger, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let Ginger simmer for ten minutes. Drain, and repeat, simmering the Ginger slices one more time. Mix the 4 cups Sugar and 4 cups water in the pot, along with the pinch of salt and the Ginger slices, and cook until the temperature reaches 225 F. degrees. Remove from heat and let stand for a few h...

Another 4th of July has come and gone. Here in Grand Marais the day started out bright and sunny. So I went on a scouting mission for Blueberries! Packed up lots of water and bug dope(heavy duty). And up the Gunflint Trail I went with friends. Hot day up the trail, but the memories as I'm walking around picking what I could find ripe is priceless. All the blueberry years spent in Cook,MN at my Grandparents home with all my cousins and Aunts and Uncles, memories you just hold tight. Blueberries will be abundant this year, not ready just yet, but another week and the pickin will go a lot faster. I fell a few times, not the Mountain Goat I was last year. So, my bucket got emptied twice in the under brush. But I came home with enough to make some Blueberry Bread. And it was good!!! So here is the recipe I used. Blueberry Lemon Bread Bread ingreidents 1/4 cup sour cream 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 2/3 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups blueberries ...

INGREDIANTS 1 package active dry yeast 2 1/4 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F). Divided 1/4 cup sugar, divided  1/4 cup molasses 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon salt 2 cups cooked wild rice 1 package Sun-Maid Cape Cod Cranberries, chopped 4 cups Bread flour 2 cups whole wheat flour DIRECTIONS In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 the warm water, with i/2 the sugar: Let stand for 10 minutes. Add the molasses, oil, and remaining water and sugar: Mix well. Add wild rice and chopped cranberries. In another bowl mix together both flours with 1 tablespoon salt. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface: Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, add more flour if needed. Place in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm lace until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down, divide into two loaves, place into greased bread pans. Let rise again until doubled. Bake at 375 degree's for 35 to 45 minutes, after 35 mi...

Life has changed! No more gardens, that makes me sad. I loved the planning, playing in the dirt, and watching everything grow. Life needs to be kick-started sometimes in new directions. My feet have taken me to Grand Marais, Minnesota one more time. I spent the wildest years of my life here, now I'm spending the quietest time of my life here. Seems to suit me very well! I wake-up in the morning and look at the lake, I'm happy.  I have been spending my time crocheting and knitting, playing with rocks. Wondering around a beautiful little town and spending time with good friends. I would love to set up a web site to sell my designs, one of the things on my list that has not been accomplished yet. I do two craft fairs in the fall, sell a few items in a store in town, and do special orders. I just need to be more organized in how I plan my day in order to get hard things done, no problem getting the easy things done!!!!

I can't believe it is September already! I consider this gardening year a success. The harvest was turned into several pans of Eggplant Parmigiana. Three different types of pesto is packed into the freezer, a tangy lemon that is great on fish and in tartar sauce, a sun-dried tomato-basil is tasty on pizza and toast! And a good old genovese pesto. Will be using pesto for a very long time, a taste of summer in the middle of winter. Pickles, the lemon cucumbers choked out allot of my pickling cukes. Lesson learned. But lots of lemon cucumber bread and butter pickles with banana peppers. Refrigerator pickles, cucumber and zucchini dill slices. And lots of sandwiches with salt and lite mayo. The Zucchini had allot of blossom rot, but I still got allot because I was greedy and planted way too much. Fried Zucchini, pickled zucchini, breads with chocolate, pineapple, orange and walnuts, loaves of labeled bread in freezer along with muffins ...

The summer has been a geat one so far. Everything is growing beautifully. A few mistakes, but that is bound to happen. So, what is growing now is the 2010 garden. Worked in the garden book this week-end, now it is time to repeat myself on the machine. So, here is Tamara Jo's list of what all is in "Paradise". Daylily and Sunflower Garden Down the length of the shed a lush row of daylilies that are about to bloom in a mysterious color. And in front of those I just seeded with a Wildflower Shade mix. And I have no idea what everything is just yet, but alot of flowers will be showing up this week. The mix included: Bachelor Buttons, Chinese For-Get-Me Nots, Baby Blue-Eyes, Sweet Rocket, Tick-Seed, Sweet William, Rocket Larkspur, Daisy Chrysanthemum, Godetia, Sweet Alyssum, Spured Snapdragon. Shirley Poppy, Common Foxglove, Garden Columbine. Now to let it all bloom! The corner is my favorite, that has Yellow Iris's, Yellow Evening Primrose, Nasturtiums, Orange and Red Cos...

This little corner is my favorite spot this year, so far. The Iris's never bloomed, only one. But that was because I moved them. And the rest is just a dumping ground for the seedlings I thin out from other places. I just like the messy look. I am so happy with how the gardens are doing this year. The weather has been fantastic. Hot days, we could use more rain, but every few days something falls from the sky,. And I always have the hose. I did a bit of re-arranging yesterday. I planted my three mints in the same containers as last year - was not supposed to! They where already root bound, so I yanked them out and put them in new homes. A friend  ? found ? two nice size plastic urns. I painted them a beige for now. Peppermint went in one, Apple in the other. My big orange pot had to many flowers in it, nothing was doing good. I ripped that apart and put my orange mint in it, the rest of the flowers went in the mint pots, and the gardens. I made allot of mistakes this yea...