No Hay, How about Moss?

It was a lovely weekend that almost felt like a real fall day here in the humid south. I'm having a jewelry party next weekend & wanted to dress up my front porch for the occasion. Especially since having company over for a special occasion is about the only time anyone uses our front porch. We are "come on in through the garage" kind of people. Anyway, I went to a pumpkin patch last weekend & got a few pumpkins for a donation to the church & child development center.

Found a few last minute mums on sale, plus a few other plants. But, once I put it all together it looked a little harsh. I don't have access to straw or haw here in the city. I could have raked up some pine straw but that seems like too much work this late in the day. As I was walking back & forth from the driveway to the porch I noticed a few limbs that had fallen in the yard with Spanish Moss on them. Eureka! So I gather some, plus a few pine cones & that did the trick!

I'm not a talented decorator but I really like how this turned out. I thought about making a scare crow for that corner where the faucet is but would be kind of difficult w/o straw. If I happen to see any of the nurseries with corn stalks I may purchase a few to tie together to fill that void.

Also while wondering around in the yard I happened upon this fellow.

That's a canning jar ring. He was about 3" long & as big around as a nickel. He reminded me of a tobacco worm but no one around here is growing tobacco, that I know of anyway. I picked him up with a stick & tossed him in the woods next door.

Why did I have a canning ring handy? We picked up 80 lbs of Zaycon chicken breasts. We purchased 40 lbs last year & went through it pretty fast so decided to double our order this year. We froze about 50 pounds & I canned the rest. Got 14 pints & 7 quarts put up. Well, 1 pint jar didn't seal so we'll have that next week. Maybe make some enchiladas or quesadillas?

Zaycon started out in the Northwest selling seafood. Until recently the fish wasn't offered east of the Mississippi. We are going to try the Wild caught Cod, due to be delivered in January. The good news there, it is flash frozen & put in individual servings so we won't have to process it. Yeah!

Oh well, I'm tired & ready to call it a day. Will be preparing for the party all next week.

This and That (picture heavy)

Not too much going on lately. Greg & I had the crud back to back but are now on the upside & feeling better. Garage fridge went on the outs (making a whole bunch of noise) so we decided to replace it with another used model. The old one was over 30 years old so I guess it stood the test of time. The new one looks like someone didn't like it very much but it works well (so far, knock on wood). And, it was only $250 & the same size as the old one so it fit in the same space.

We decided not to head to the Country House this weekend since not much has happened on the Driveway & no real projects to work on there. The last time we were there we did get the rest of the blocks somewhat straightened out & straw put on all of them. Not the best picture but there are 2 asparagus beds on the left & nine regular beds done. What a workout!

Got the tomatoes & peppers planted here at the City House, gave a bunch away & still have a few left over. Gave some to a friend near the Country House & he in return gave me some lettuce plants & some hybrid tomato plants. He also told me I could raid his compost pile anytime I want! I need to work on the asparagus beds so the next time I'm there I will get a load & top them off.

Several varieties of tomatoes in assorted pots.

Lettuce from a friend (there are actually 2 of these containers)

My herbs are doing well in the whiskey barrels.

Sage

More sage, oregano &  I think a butternut squash rescued from the compost pile.

On the food front I found a recipe for Baked Avacado Fries from Baked In. Her picture are much better than mine. Still need to take that food photography course. Regardless, they were delicious! And they were even good warmed up the next day.

I also got around to baking The Canned Quilters Cinnamon Flop recipe. I don't have an 8" round cast iron pan (only have a 6, 10, 12 & 14 rounds), so I made it in the 9" square pan. It was a little thinner than hers but still very very good. This is something that will definitely stay on the keeper list. It's easy to make & not too sweet.

Made roasted carrots, brussel sprouts & parsnips recently. In addition to being pretty, they were very tasty as well.

Also, bought a box of tomatoes from a farm down south & finally got to use my Roma Food Mill. It worked great & is definitely a keeper. Much easier than a plain old sieve. Almost as messy though.

18 quarts of sauce which reduced to 9 - frozen for now.

Also bought 40 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts from Zaycon Foods. If you haven't heard of this company, they sell directly from farmers to consumers out of trucks usually in Church parking lots. You order ahead of time & they schedule delivery on a certain day & time. They just started delivering to our area. The breasts are fresh, not frozen & were delicious. I decided to can the majority.

7 qts, 16 pints & 3 1/2 pints for tasting.

We had one meal from the fresh ones & decided to try one jar of the canned We made chicken enchiladas, which were very good as well.

As you can see, even though we were sick, we still ate like kings & queens. Got to keep up your strength you know!

Greg saw this at Gander Mountain recently & thought I would like it. If you can't tell, it's a Lodge pot holder/trivet. Yes, those are teeny tiny cast iron pans on it. Love it!

Lastly, we found some food grade 55 gallon barrels on Craig's list for $25 & picked them up yesterday afternoon. They are dark colored (will hold water well) & have screw on tops. We may go back to get a couple more.

It's raining here which will make for a lovely lazy Sunday afternoon. Hope everyone has a great weekend & still crossing fingers for spring to finally show up for our Northern friends.