Fun Socks from Old Clothing

...it's today's guest post over at NotDabbingInNormal, written by the great GrowTheChanges team.

You'll love seeing how easy it is to turn those used shirts and sweaters into really great homemade socks!

Simple Herbs, Full Flavors

Two herbs almost anyone can grow, and are easily kept in pots --
Rosemary (the green stalk), for remembrance



and Thyme (the other herb here sprinkled over all), for courage.

For the simplest memorable meals requiring no courage at all to enjoy, they make a great pairing. These are the first two herbs I've used straight from the garden as well as home-dried for use in our meals.

Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

We love these spices for poultry, soups, and breads, but our favorites are probably for roast chicken/turkey (as a rub on the skin with oil and under the skin for flavor)


...and another favorite use is for roasted veggies.



These were last week's batch of roasted veggies prior to being put into the oven. They require no adornment other than these two spices, a good sprinkling of sea salt, and a drizzle of olive oil before being sealed with foil (or covered) and baked at 400 degrees F for an hour or long enough for the thickest veggie chunks to be fork-tender. That day's ingredients were simple some white baking potatoes, sweet potatoes, and Vidalia onions. But you can use whatever dense root veggies and tubers are at hand.

The roasting leaves the veggies aromatic with herbs, and it can be crisped up by briefly uncovering and leaving a bit longer in the oven (we like it without doing that, just fine). Depending on the veggie/root, sometimes it gets paired with salad, with rice, with roast beef, or just served alone, depending on the meal. I've used the pan juices as "gravy" when serving, or to flavor soups or rice. Leftover veggies are great chopped into a hash and crisped in a skillet by themselves or served with eggs for breakfast (especially with a dollop of salsa or a pinch of grated cheese atop), and also are great for a nearly-instant soup when paired with juices from a roast, or turkey-carcass stock.

They also pair well with garlic as a spice.

I, like most people had already discovered the flexibility of rosemary and thyme, but most of my spices used to come from the spice jar rather than just outside my own back door. These are two that have found their way into an abundance of dishes around here because they're so adaptable and delicious fresh.

My next thing to try them in....homemade vinaigrette!

What are your favorite go-to garden herbs?

Reds

Even in the early garden, the reds are a standout. Shown above, lettuces in the Salad Bar Bins, and shots of the Kiwi vine that somehow survived the freezes. Those fuzzy, twining scarlet stems and tendrils merit some closer looks.

I have yet to get my head around the Florida seasons, since I spent most of my life in Tennessee. I've been here several years but have only been trying gardening here the past couple. We're still doing this on a very small scale, and I'm also trying to adapt to the strange weather fluctuations. Year before last was completely dry. Last year, we had some nice rains. This year has been unusually cool and mild, though the days now are picking up some heat. So far this year very little early year rain, and there hasn't been a drop in over a month...none in the forecast, either. We had three freezes earlier in the year, and that did in a bunch of our subtropicals (which are suited to this area ideally...usually).

So, it's a head-scratcher. And we're just putting seeds in now. Come freeze, drought, or hurricane monsoon, we'll keep planting according to our hunches and the county extension handout planting charts, and see what happens.

Laughing!

Some trivia...

Years ago, my daughter competed for several years in Irish step dancing. I have part-Irish ancestry, love watching traditional Irish dance, and am a confessed Riverdance and Lord of the Dance junkie, even to today. This is just the backstory for the following --

As you know, we have no TV, and pick up most of our news via radio and internet. I saw the footage of Susan Boyle and her performance/song that's being talked so much about and smiled with the rest of the world to hear her remarkable voice. In perusing her recent Britain's Got Talent youtube videos, I also ran across those of other contestants such as Hollie Steel and Shaheen Jafargholi. Amazing voices.

And then on the sidebar I saw this father-son act...and I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time. Flashbacks to Riverdance, with a twist!

Here it is...the Greek rendition of Michael Flatley

I hope you have time to follow the link for a smile...I'm still laughing!!

Doubletakes

(click on any photo for an even closer look)
A stem of sunshine.

A closer look.

Closer yet.

Its neighbor leaning into the light.

Saffron petals spill from a crown of green.

An even closer look.

Soft down invites a touch...

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I hope your day is full of doubletakes of the beauty found when looking closer.

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Let us hold our Creator, our loved ones, our values and our freedoms close during these days. These are things that merit not compromising.

Just thoughts...

:)

Shabbat shalom!

Apologies to Mother Goose

This is the sprout
that 'll make the snap beans
that Jack grew.


This is the contraption that waters
The sprout that'll
Make the snap beans
That Jack grew

These are the rows

Beside the contraption

That waters the sprout

That'll make the snap beans
That Jack grew

This is the stuff

That was raked into rows

Beside the contraption
That waters the sprout
That'll make the snap beans

That Jack grew

This is the poo

That became the stuff

That was raked into rows
Beside the contraption

That waters the sprout

That'll make the snap beans
That Jack grew

And all for the sake of a mess o' beans...

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I'd like to say a special hello to the HomesteadingToday readers stopping by today

....I'm so glad you're here! :)

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Pit Stop

Not exactly the most girly subject to write about, but I've tried one of those "rock" deodorants for the first time.

Hey, whether the homestead is a window ledge or a vast tract of acreage, we all sweat sometime.

For more of my thoughts on this "scent"-tillating (sorry! ha) subject, it's today's post over at NotDabblingInNormal.

Yeah, that's how to put regular readers to the test ...talk about body odor ...or the more elegantly spelled body odour if you hail from Across The Pond. The English do have a way with a word, don't they...even ones that stink ;-)

More later...I'm sooo tired. Worked last night and now it's shower time, and then to hit the pillow.

I watered in all the new seeds again before sundown yesterday. I love the anticipation that builds before the first shoots appear!

Have a wonderful day!