Monster Greens, Zombies & Frugal Accomplishments

                            

Hello, friends.  Since I was here last, I picked the last of the summer garden when a frost was threatening, harvesting eggplant, okra, swiss chard, tomatoes, basil and lots of lima beans from the main garden.  J got home before dark & helped me pick the last tomatoes in the pond garden.  I covered lettuce and chard with a protective cover, and froze the basil with olive oil in an ice cube tray for future meals.  The following night, we shelled all the limas, and I froze enough beans for 6 meals.  After delivering soap one day, I shopped at a nearby thrift store, & found a nice area rug for $5, then went to Harris Teeter, stocking up on some things I don't have locally, as well as sale items.  I used a $10 off $50 coupon and $20 in gift cards that HT sent me, saving $30 on the total.  I'm happy to be joining in with Frugal Accomplishments today.

I don't know if you can get a sense of the true size from this photo, but these mustard greens are an impressive 2 ft. long.  I cut 6 leaves to make a "mess" for J.  We've not had any that grew to this size before.  They're not my favorite green, but he always enjoys them.  I redeemed Swagbucks points for an amazon gift card, and made tomato rice loaf using our tomatoes, garlic, onion and homemade bread crumbs, and steamed our chard to go along with it.  We've been enjoying the herb butter my friend gifted me on bread many nights.  It's so good, I'm thinking about making some myself.  I went through ebates to buy a Christmas present.  Our first fall kale salad was made for dinner one night, &  I cooked some of our red potatoes with a rutabaga to go along with it.

The first killing frost was in the forecast, so J & I picked the last of the dill, covered the lettuce, & dug the last of the potatoes, which were volunteers from ones we missed this summer.  I will miss the flowers, but really do enjoy the change of seasons too.  Our chicken coop has hardware cloth rather than glass over the window.  We stapled a feed bag on the outside, which we'll lift up on all but the coldest days for cross ventilation, then secure it each night.  Our Aldi's will have it's grand reopening next week, but had a soft opening this week.  It looked as though there were no more groceries, just wider aisles.  I hope they're still getting stocked up, & that will change.  After another errand, we stopped at the local microbrewery.  They were giving a $10 voucher to veterans for the pizzeria next door. J used the voucher for a dinner of calzones, which we enjoyed along with good beer & some good conversation.  While there, I purchased some beer to make soap with, something I've been intending to do since they opened.  I chose their Potter's Clay brew, added in a bit of local Seagrove clay for exfoliation, and some homegrown hops.  We enjoyed leftover calzone another couple of nights.  

                           

I tried a new fresh cranberry recipe.  It's fermented, using whey that I strained from my homemade yogurt, which should provide some good probiotics.  I hope it's as good as it is pretty.  We'll know in a few days.  We didn't have as much garlic planted as usual, and planted some more that arrived this week.  It's a Sicilian variety, which we've not tried before.  I used our potatoes and parsley in a potato soup.  A pan of bread ends I'd been drying were made into bread crumbs and frozen.  The bumblebees have been sluggish from the cold.  I've taken the opportunity to pet a few while I can :o).  I made my first ever herb butter, & froze it for gift giving.

This is a tea infuser that my stepdaughter gifted me a while back.  How can you not be cheered by a mug with a yellow submarine floating in it :o)?  The chai tea came from this local shop.  Last week, I colored my hair at home.  Paid bills online, saving stamps.  I gathered mature red noodle beans, and shelled them for seed.  The upcoming week will be a busy one, as I'll be working at two of my occasional jobs; one of them will have me working off & on until the end of the year.  It's been a tough week for many folks.  My friend M shared this song, which provided some levity & seemed appropriate for this week.  Did you know yesterday was World Kindness Day?  Each of us has enormous power to make a difference.  Be well, friends.  Let's all work together to create the kinder world we envision.