Frugal and Repurposed

As it's Monday, I suppose you know I'm joining in with Frugal Accomplishments.  I transplanted the tomato seedlings into bigger pots, bought 4 larger tomato plants, swiss chard & basil with a gift certificate a dear friend gave me.   These were all planted in the garden.  The tomato seedlings I'm growing are still pretty small, so this should give us tomatoes quite a bit sooner.  I walk with the pups for exercise most days.  If there is a light misting rain, I typically walk, but if it is a harder rain or an especially raw feeling day, I tend to skip it.  Some bargains found at the discount grocery store were 25# sunflower seeds, organic apple juice, organic crushed tomatoes, 3 liter tins of olive oil, and novena candles.

trillium

I canned the second #10 can of olives, & got 16 half pints.  One jar didn't seal, so I made pizza using them, our garlic, mushrooms I canned, & frozen red peppers.  We had another cold spell, with nights in the 40's, so I cooked up the last winter squash and canned the olives to add some heat to the house.  Switched from cool weather to warm weather clothes and sheets.  No air conditioning or woodstove were used.  On one morning, J ran our heat pump to take the chill off.

Made quiche with our eggs, peppers and garlic, along with store bought ingredients.  Made a green bean dish with our beans, garlic and thyme.  Made tomato rice loaf, using our tomatoes, garlic and celery.  Vegetable scraps went into the broth bag or the compost.  Used our oregano and chives in a potato dish.  Made Brandy's black bean burgers.  Fixed ravioli with our garlic, and made a vinaigrette using muscadine syrup I had canned.  Frugal Fail: with the last winter squash, I tried a new recipe, a soup with coconut milk & garam masala spice.  I had to come up with plan B, as we both tasted it and said "yuck!"  Good thing I had some leftovers and a fresh out of the oven Fig Sherry bread... still trying to empty the freezer.

J transplanted a large portion of our asparagus patch last year, as bermuda grass and mint had overrun it, and he wanted to get all perennials out of the garden, so he could till as needed.  The asparagus has really been set back by the move.  There are very few spears large enough to harvest, as they're putting energy back into the root system.  I did harvest two spears from what's left of the original bed.  These plants still need to be moved, when we have time.

I've been collecting canisters for several months, and got to work on them this weekend, turning them into compost crocks.  The holes are drilled in the lids, they were washed & measured as to what they will hold.  Once I've fit them with carbon filters, taken photos, and calculated shipping, they'll be listed in my shop.  Are you planning on growing any edibles this year?

The clematis have started blooming, as well as a few others.  Once the rain lets up, I'll be getting photos of those to share with you.