HELLO Summer!

It may not officially be summer until next month, but don't tell that to my garden!  So many lovely things are coming from it and I thought I'd share some of the staples we'll be making in the months ahead.

SALSA VERDE

I'm so excited to say that 100% of this salsa came from my garden!  Now there is no formal recipe, just let your heart tell you what you need...

In a large (I have a 14 inch) sized dry, very hot, cast iron skillet.  To half (or more) of the pan, add ripe and washed tomatillos.  To the other half add peppers, onion, and garlic.  Blister all of your ingredients and then transfer them to a food processor with a handful of cilantro, salt to taste, and ground cumin.  

Process until smooth.

This sauce is great on everything!  I especially love to cook it low and slow with a pork roast for my own spin on Chili Verde.

Next is just my favorite way to eat summer produce from the garden:

PICO DE GALLO

It's seriously just summer time in a bowl for me!

Again, no specific recipe...

Mix together chopped and seeded tomato, chopped peppers and red onion, a handful of chopped cilantro, and season with powdered or fresh garlic and sea salt.

Now with all this lovely food, you're going to need something to drink:

BASIL LEMONADE

This drink is so refreshing and basil has many health benefits!  I just take a quart sized mason jar and add a handful of chopped and muddled basil to the bottom.  Top with ice and then pour over your favorite lemonade.  I use ICE - a bottled sugar free version that's a little fizzy.  In the evenings, I'll add a shot of Tito's Handmade Vodka.  Put the lid on and give it a shake.

So if you're looking for me this summer, I'll be out in the garden...

Or passed out on the couch from one too many basil lemonades!

Where did the time go?

Where did May go?  Like seriously.  

I blinked and here we are almost to summer!  

Life has a way of doing that, I guess.

Let's see, we've celebrated birthdays...

Celebrated Mother's Day

Oh how I love my tribe...

I started a TikTok channel all about gardening

and have almost 20K followers!

And spending a LOT of time in the garden

to support said channel!

Plus, there's that pesky thing called a "job"

but whatever...

There are some big changes coming to our lives soon.  I'm taking a leap of faith and just trusting in God's plan.  He hasn't failed me yet!

If I have learned anything over these past two years is that I am NOT in control of anything,

but I am deeply loved by the ONE who is.

Stay tuned...

Mental Health Day...

Some days you just have to escape to the beach and spend hours watching the sunshine dance through the clouds.

Build drip castles at the shore line, 

and walk hand-in-hand with the ones you love.

It is balm to my soul.

The Stimmy Garden

When the stimulus checks finally went out, 

I knew I wanted to spend some of it on the garden.

**Insert "DUH" with an eyeroll here**

Lumber is hella expensive these days and even though we live in the country, getting quality composted garden soil is next to impossible without spending an arm and a leg!  

So when that stimmy money hit my account...

Behold, the Stimmy Garden!

Four new 8ft X 4ft beds to grown more food and a cut flower garden, because you should always have a little bit of pretty with functionality.

I've been working in the garden every day that I have off work and I'm proud to say that I'm rockin' a pretty awesome farmers tan.

I'm sure my boys would have rather I spent the money on a new PS5, but this small bit of lumber and soil just makes me so very happy.  Being in the sunshine and fresh air is medicine to my soul!

Hopefully I can win them over to my way of thinking with fresh salsa from the garden this summer.

My Little Entrepreneur

I was planting tomato seeds one beautiful January day and Mary Grace asks me, "Why are you planting seeds when you can just go to Walmart and get plants?"  

I told her that these were special varieties of tomato that you can't find in the stores.  Then she asked if people would be interested in buying them.  I told her they probably would because seed starting is a little hard.  

So she asked if she could start some seeds to sell.

She followed my directions and planted around100 tomato and pepper seeds.  When they outgrew the starter trays, she up-potted them to Solo cups.  

She helped me water them and harden them off outside.

They were finally big enough for sale 

and the weather was warm enough for them to go in the ground. 

 

To sell them, I didn't have to go further 

than my FaceBook friend's list!

You all turned out in droves and bought 

EVERY.SINGLE.PLANT. she grew!

And while I can't get her to EAT a tomato,

she has learned to love them from an economic standpoint!

Hey, I'll take what I can get!

Growing these tomatoes for you has taught her:

Responsibility for living things

Understanding of cause and effect

Encouraged her love of nature

Boosted her self confidence

Thank you for your support and encouragement!

It means so much to Mary Grace

but it means so much more to this mama's heart.

You all have been such a blessing.

So happy gardening to all our friends and I'm looking forward to all the FaceBook photos of your giant tomato hauls and delicious tomato sandwiches!

Mary Grace is already planning for next year's seeds! 

Snow-mageddon 2021

I don't know about you, 

but I am tired of living through major historical events!  

This past Valentine's Day ushered in one of the worst winter storms to ever hit Texas.

And while the above picture doesn't look like a lot of snow, it was enough to bring civilization as we know it to a grinding halt!

The single digit temperatures caused enough ice and snow to accumulate that roads were inaccessible, rolling blackouts of 24-72 hours, burst pipes, a failed power grid, and fatalities that affected every single one of the 254 counties in Texas.

That Valentine's Day evening, Doug drove me into Houston to the hospital where I work.  They were asking employees to come in to ride out the storm days since most employees wouldn't be able to make it in.  I stayed there three days and had it better than most ~ 

I had a warm bed, food, and electricity.

I was safe and so very thankful.

And by God's grace, Doug and the kids were able to hunker down at home with plenty of supplies.  Our area on the Texas Gulf Coast made it through the storm with not too much damage and temperatures that were higher than most.

Now we face the aftermath of the storm, 

the clean up, boiling water, the empty store shelves, 

the failing power grid...

I'll take a 100+ temperatures and hurricanes any day of the week, 

you northerners can keep your snow and ice.

The ONLY thing Texans know about ice and salt

is in the form of a margarita!

Tomato Time!

For the past few weeks, I've stolen this corner of my dinning room and converted it to a mini greenhouse.  You won't find shelves of little seedlings under grow lights 

in the pages of 'Better Homes & Gardens' magazine...

and I'm sure Joanna Gaines would not approve...

 BUT

these shelves full of life make me so happy 

during this chilly, dreary time of year!

Best of all, the tomato seedlings are ready to be up potted!

That means they have outgrown their seed trays and need a bigger home for development.  

The way I do this is to up pot them into Solo cups.

It's cheap.

It's the perfect size.

I use them year after year.

Each little seedling gets popped into a cup with fresh potting soil.  You'll want to bury that little seedling up to it's top leaves because tomatoes can send out new roots all along their stem.

It makes for a stronger, healthier plant.

I then put all the cups into bins so I can begin to take them outside to "harden off" as the days become warmer.  By the second week of March, they'll be ready to plant in the garden.

But until then, the little corner of my dinning room is over run with plants.  I'm sure the purple glow coming from my windows is concerning to my neighbors and passers by.  But I assure you folks, it's JUST tomatoes and peppers, nothing illegal going on here!

If you'd like to follow my gardening adventures, 

follow the hashtag #Creamergarden

on Instagram.

January Birthdays

Everyone in the family has a "Birthday Buddy."

We are only separated by a day or two in celebrating our birthdays,

my buddy is Danny.

He hit the milestone year of 16!

That's a BIG one.

We surprised him with an awesome gift this year, 

just perfect for a 16 year old, right?

I also made another trip around the sun...thankfully!

I celebrated year number 52.

We had a wild afternoon of going out to lunch, picking up lumber,

 and getting some wood chips dumped in the yard.

Just perfect for a 52 year old lady, right?

But that evening we had a family dinner where Kyle cooked chicken fried steak and loaded mashed potatoes...

Happy birthday to ME, right?

And my greatest gift this day was celebrating life, happiness, and health while being surrounded by 

the people I love most in this world.

Best day ever!

Now where's the cake and ice cream?!?!?

The Winter Garden

Here in south Texas, we have two growing seasons...

Hot and Not So Hot!

And in those "Not So Hot" months, 

there is still an abundance that comes from the garden!

Lettuces are lovely this time of year.  Can you believe I grew black lettuce?  I do love the strange and unusual in the garden...and this one takes the cake!

We also had our last carrot harvest of the year.  I haven't really grown carrots before now, but they are sure to be a staple in the winter garden from now on.

The turnips are always in abundance in the garden.  

If you haven't tried the Pioneer Woman's Turnip Gratin recipe, then what are you doing with your life?

And onions!  January is prime time to plant onion sets for harvest in early summer.  I have visions of dozens of onion braids hanging from my pantry and kitchen walls!

And as the days go from "Not So Hot" to "Hot," 

it's time to start prepping and planning for the season to come.  

What a wonderful way to spend the first part of the new year!

Despite Everything, 2020 Was A Good Year!

For most people, 2020 was one huge dumpster fire!  

It was riddled with anxiety, seclusion, social upheaval, and for some, sickness.  And while I'm not trying to be dismissive of those things, for me, 2020 has been a pretty good year.

The first four months of the year were a bit scary.  I'm a nurse, and seeing the pandemic work it's way here was very unsettling.  But I work for the most awesome hospital system and they held our hand and were with us every step of the way.  I never felt abandoned or on my own - even when PPE was in short supply.  My employer took care of their staff and made sure we were safe every.single.day.

By May I was able to have the corrective surgery on my foot.  It was a struggle to get to my surgery date because of COVID, but it taught me to be humble and patient.  It was truly God's hand at work that I had the surgery when I did.  My recovery was long, but not painful. By October I was back at work full force and I have not slowed down yet!

The holidays were very special to me.  It was the first time in about 30 years that I've had my little family all to myself.  We had no commitments to travel anywhere else, and I relished having all my babies at home and making the seasons magical for them.

I'm also in the best health of my life!

I've never felt better and continue to improve my diet and now my fitness (thanks to my new foot!) daily.

2020 has also definitely taught me a few things like:

Finding happiness in simple things.

Difficult times reveal the truth about people.

Freedom should never be taken for granted.

I can do hard things.

Making self care a priority, not a priviledge.

And to be thankful for EVERYTHING!

Whatever 2021 brings, I'm going to hold on to the lessons I've learned and treasure each day for what it IS, 

not for what it should be.