Tuesday, June 30, 2009

" The 40 % Was Bull "

I did a post on Sunday that got accidentally deleted, for the 8 who got to see it and comment please scroll past what you've already seen and look at the additions. The 40 % rain forecast yesterday, never came. The bull, Bocephus, was the only one who got rained on! Never let anyone tell you cattle are dumb. He figured out how to walk through the ponds edge and get in the garden yesterday morning. He was after the grass that grows between the garden and pond. Hubby first tried to shoo him out but Bocephus was having none of that! He just blew, snorted and pawed the ground.



So Hubby got the water hose and let him have it! That put him on the move! He DID NOT like it!

Remember when " the girl " came to visit and nearly killed me shopping everyday? For those of you who are new to the blog, "the baby girl " is my third child and only daughter Melanie, (named after Gone With The Wind's Melanie). These are the table clothes I got for nearly nothing at Hudson's in Meridian to use as curtains. We finally got them hung last week!


Hubby put up light weight metal pipe for rods. They are hung with metal clip rings.


They also have clear plastic shower curtains attached to the backs. I turned the shower ring holes to the bottom and plan to attached cup holder hooks to the wall so the holes can be hooked to keep blowing rain out. ( I WISH )




My friend Angie @ Gumbo Writer blogged about this great Cobbler Mix last week so I sent Hubby to Wally World for a few bags. I made a Peach Cobbler that day that was delish! It was the Blackberry Cobbler I made Saturday though that was to die for! This stuff is wonderful!
EASY and FAST ! Thanks CUZ!




That's it behind our dinner plates. We had Grilled Tilapia over wild rice covered with Fruit/Chili Sauce along with steamed veggies and garlic cheese bread!And BC for desert!





The Fruit/ Chili Sauce! I first heard about this from Sweet Susan @ 29 Blackstreet. She sent me the recipe and I set out to can me some. It has peaches, pears, tomatoes, onions, celery, red and green bell pepper, sugar, salt, apple cider vinegar and pickling spice!






I used a coffee filter tied with string instead of cheese cloth for my spice bag.









I got 9 twelve ounce jars of delight!







Yesterday I canned! Three 12 ounce jars of Hot Garlic Pickled Okra, plus Okra in the freezer.









I put up two pans like this full of tomatoes and got 9 quarts, 1 pint and a quart of juice!









Saturday I also put up 6 quarts of Refrigerator Pickles. I got the recipe from Colorado Lady
who posted it on her blog. These can be eaten after 24 hours and last 6 months in fridge.
These things are awesome, I kid you not!






The end result so far of my canning is this. Hubby is gathering now and says there is just as many tomatoes as I canned yesterday!He just reported he picked 46 big ones! OH ME! They sure will be good come winter! My Daddy gave me this cabinet which belonged to my step mom and dear friend Tena, who passed away in July 2003. This is what she kept her canned food in. :)





Well, today the Grandogs are a week old and Sadie and I are taking them to the Vet for a check up, of course Sadie will get her check up too! :D
Hopefully after we get back from the Vet, I can visit everyone and comment. I didn't get to make my rounds yesterday, too exhausted so thanks for all the sweet comments and e-mails! I have the greatest blog buddies out there !











28 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Good Morning Friend, You are just too creative!!!! Love the curtains (made out of tableclothes).. Neat idea!!!!

AND--your dinner sounds great. We eat alot of Tilapia. It's my favorite fixh since it's so mild.

The cobbler sounds great. I'm going to look at our WallyMart to see if they have that cobbler mix. Thanks!!!!

Hope you get a great report at the vet.
Love you,
Betsy
P.S. We got NO rain either--but at least it's cooler here.

Reader Wil said...

You have been busy,girl! That looks awfully delicious! Well your husband did a great job using the garden hose to chase the bull away.
We didn't have any rain for quite a few days now.

Anonymous said...

Oh so clever!

I'm REALLY envying those tomatoes you have lined up on the sill! Not one single ripe tomato here so far.

I'll have to show my husband the bull scenes. He ran a cattle farm to put himself through college. He can shoot the bull with your husband, so to speak. :)

Becca's Dirt said...

Good Morning Carol - such a beautiful day it is (here anyway). Funny about the cow - she wanted some different grass - the other was stale.

I will have to try the cobbler mix. I've seen it but haven't tried it. What a scrumptous meal. I love tilapia.

Love the old cabinet and you sure have been busy with all the canning and veggies in the freezer.

Hope those babies will get a good report and momma too. They are so cute.

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Good luck with the vet report, and pet those babies for me !

I have only canned twice in my life, tomatoes both times. It takes an awful lot of time, to grow the veggies, and oh my kitchen was a disaster. I worked full-time so it was something I just never made time to do, but oh I so admire people who can.
One of these days, I hope to try it again, there is nothing better, than opening fresh tomatoes on Christmas morning.

A little cooler today...hallelujah

T said...

Those curtians are the BOMB! I'm going to have to remember that little trick!

Canning.....so going to give it a go one of these days (used to do it with my Grandmas, but haven't done it on my own yet).

BTW....Bocephus (sp?) is an awesome name!!

Vicki Lane said...

That fruit chili sauce is something I'm going to have to try -- sounds great!

Susan said...

Can On !! Girlfriend. I'm so glad that your Fruit Chili sauce was a success. I can't wait to make a new batch this year. xo S & les Gang

crochet lady said...

Hi Carol, so cool that you and Kathryn are friends. A blog interview sounds fun!

Neat trick with the curtains. Yummers, blackberry cobbler is my favorite. I can't wait till our blackberries are ready to pick.

Angie Ledbetter said...

Talent's just dripping off you (along with the summer sweat) LOL!

Glad you liked the cobbler mix. Wasn't it super easy? Hugs

Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Muses said...

OMG - this fruit/chili sauce looks unbelievably yummers!!! ALL of it looks yummers!

Tess Kincaid said...

I remember Susan posting that fruit chili sauce and thinking it looked/sounded devine! I just might have to give it a whirl.

Love your tablecloth curtain idea.

Dirt Princess said...

That is so funny, my husband was telling me about that same cobbler mix! We LOVE all the Louisiana fish fry products, so I know that cobbler mix has to be great! I am going to go get some!

Sharon Rose said...

What? Is that more tomatoes in those pictures! Dear Carol, my blogging friend, I want you to know, my mouth refused to go to sleep last night with tomatoes! Seriously, it was midnight and I was at the grocery store looking over the tomato section, smelling them to see if they even came close to comparing to your home grown ones.
I ate four big tomatoes. . . right by themselves, well, with a little salt. . . but seriously. . . can I say, "I love tomatoes!" YUM!
You will have a nice furry visitor tomorrow. . . She has been froliking around the computer again! Oh my!

Deb Shucka said...

Reading this post has made me so hungry I can hardly stand it. We are weeks away from ripe tomatoes in this part of the country. Lucky you! Loved the pictures with the bull and your creativity with the curtains.

Elizabeth Bradley said...

Hubby is brave to go after that bull with a hose! And my, you have been so busy. Everything looks delicious. I am going to keep my eye out for that cobbler mix.

Merisi said...

The tablecloth curtains and the shower liner together take the price, what ingenuity! :-)

Love seeing all those canned goods, mamma mia, you are one hard-working person. I never owned a garden and I feel somewhat sad about that, but I know from my parents how much hard work it takes.

Renie Burghardt said...

Carol,

We haven't had rain either, but the weather is quite pleasant these days.

Everything looks so delicious, and since I do have cukes galore, will have to try the refrigerator pickles. Tomatoes are starting to blush, so the first ones will be ready soon! Can't wait!

Carol, I don't know where you get all your energy from, especially in the hot weather, but I wish I had some of it.

The curtains look great! What a neat idea,

Hope Sadie and the little darlings get a good report.

If it doesn't rain soon, I'm gonna have to get out there and do a rain dance.

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Huggies,

Renie

Rosaria Williams said...

My, my, you've been busy! Table cloths as curtains? What a great idea, indeed. With all those jars, you're set for winter.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

The curtains are great; love the idea and hope the shower curtain liner works.
I use the cuppa cuppa cuppa cobbler mix...TOO easy and tastes wonderful.
Carol, I'd like to give you an award; please visit at your convenience if you're interested.

Janet, said...

Love your curtains. My tomatoes are still little bitty green ones. I can and freeze tomatoes and I also make and can spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce with them.

NitWit1 said...

Wow I'm going to look for the cobbler mix tomorrow at WM.

Your canning looks beautiful in the cabinet, but I fear you will need more than one cabinet.

good Luck with Sadie and the kids. Luckie is getting 3 days/nights at her unfavorite spa (the vet) next week, and also a few nights the next week after that.

Wobegon Cottage said...

I miss the blackberries. I bought some at the grocery store the other day and was dissapointed, not bad but I think they came from Mexico. I will have to make a visit back home (Washington state) They grow wild there. I found it funny when you said wally world..my husband and I call it that and your the only other person I know who uses that term. I wonder if they will have that mix at our store...I will have to check...I love cobbler. Hope the babies are fine, and mommy too.

Eggs In My Pocket said...

Well the grass is always greener on the other side, even to the bulls! We got some wonderful rain here in Texas....a welcome treat! Talking about your daughter tiring you out shopping, makes me miss my daughter. While she was still at home, she would spend hours looking at clothing....I was so tired of waiting. She graduated, joined the Navy and is now a thousand miles away, enjoying her busy, busy life. I have not seen her in over a year.....how I wish she would come wear me out shopping! The food looks great as well as your canned goods! There is something so pretty in a shelf with canned foods. Blessings,Kathleen

Sanity Fair said...

This made me laugh - spraying the bull. I've never tried that method before, but it's worth a shot! Enjoying your blog - can't believe I've never visited before!

Glynis Peters said...

Oh my word you have been busy! It wore me out just reading about it all. :)

Unknown said...

I love the look of the canning pantry! It is so rewarding isn't it? I'm just getting started, but look forward to the home made delights of green tomato relish and harvest stew! I'll share the heirloom recipe's when the produce is ready at the farmers market. Oh and the bull getting hosed is hilarious!

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Hi Carol, you not only have a busy mind, very busy hands as well. The pickles look delicious and the cupboards with all the goodies in it...wonderful. It is always the best and healthiest, your own products. I also think it is very satisfying to produce food!
Is this the "Monster" Bull who chased you? We had a few of those on the farm.