Our Herb Garden

Hello, Friends!  Happy Tuesday to you all!

This week my husband is back to school.  We had about a month of summer fun with him home and it was glorious.  Now we are back to reality, which can be horrible and yet okay at the same time.  The boys and I will miss you, Jason!  We also have company coming at the end of the week.  This is quite the busy week!

I figured since summer is "almost" over, I would finally put up a few pictures of our yard and gardens.  This spring was a rough one for us here.  The weather was very cool, rainy, and windy from about late April until the middle of June.  Many of our plants were set back and just haven't done as well as previous years.  However, our herb garden never fails to produce results.  I love herbs.  I remember when my Dad made my Mom an herb garden when I was little.  He carefully cut pieces of wood to make a border around it from trees he had cut down from the woods behind our house.  I loved walking through that herb garden because it always smelled so good.  I loved how perfectly seasoned my Mom's food tasted because she used her herbs.  I also love having my boys with me as I pick herbs.  They are always interested in the things that are growing there and are pretty willing to try anything that comes out of it.  Jason also expanded my herb garden for me this summer so that we could try growing a few new things.  It has been fun adding new flavors to our food!

This year I tried growing radicchio.  I'm not sure about it yet.  We've had it in a few salads so far.  Does anyone have any recipes for it?

Basil Minette

Variegated Thyme

Summer Savory

Lemon Mint

Mint, which tries to take over the garden every year.

Lemon Verbena

Tarragon

Lemon Thyme

Bay Leaf 

Flat-leaf Italian Parsley

Sage

Rosemary

Marjoram

Have you ever wondered how they flavor creme de menthe?  Apparently with Corsican Mint.  I think it smells amazing.  It's like a carpet of deliciousness.

Oregano

Globe Basil

Chives

Dill

We are growing two patio tomato plants in our herb garden this year.  I know they're not herbs, but we have limited space on our tiny city lot.

Rosemary

English Lavender

From left to right, Basil Red Rubin, Rosemary, Silver Thyme 

Variegated Basil

Basil

There you have it!  We grow a lot of herbs and love using them fresh and dried.  Does anyone grow any other herbs that I just have to try?  Let me know!  Leave a comment, will ya please?

I'm also planning on sharing our flower and vegetable gardens soon.  There will be a lot of green pictures this week!  Please, contain your excitement!

Blessings on your day!

Coleslaw with Old Bay Seasoning

Hello! 

I'm here with another recipe for you all to try before this summer quickly fades away.  So fire up your grill and cook some of your favorite barbecued meats. Make sure to serve this delicious coleslaw right next to it.  My boys were big fans.  There are lots of versions of this recipe out there, but this one is by far my favorite!

You'll need:

1 head cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 large green pepper, sliced very thin

4 green onions, finely chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all of the vegetables into a large bowl and sprinkle with the vinegar.  Stir well.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the mayo, Old Bay Seasoning, and sugar.  Add this to the slaw mixture and stir well.

You may need to add salt and pepper to your coleslaw.  Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

I found this recipe on Pinterest the other day and just have to share.

It tastes even more amazing than it looks.  It was also very easy to make!

You have to check out this blog and make this bread.  Go.

 Visit Joy the Baker to see the recipe and see how lovely her bread is comparison to mine.

It's okay though.  I'm not jealous.

Well, maybe just a little.



Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Hello!

I've got a delicious recipe for you all today.  I got this recipe from my older sister and think it is one of my favorite ways of preserving the cucumbers and dill that come from our garden.  The pickles are crunchy and so tasty.  I hope you try it!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

15 (or so) small cucumbers sliced into four spears
40 (or so) fresh dill sprigs
2 large onions, sliced into rings
5 garlic cloves, sliced
1 quart of water
1 quart white vinegar
1/4 cup canning salt

Bring to boil the water, vinegar, and salt in a large pot until the salt is dissolved.  Stir the mixture occasionally.

Add the remainder of ingredients in a large bowl.

Carefully pour the vinegar mixture over your cucumbers, onions, garlic, and dill.   Really, be careful!  The mixture is hot and the smell of the vinegar can be very strong!  You can see how everything has wilted slightly after pouring in the hot liquid.

Cover the pickles and let them cool.  Once they have cooled, put them into a jar and let them sit in the fridge for 24 hours before you enjoy them.  The pickles will last in your fridge for up to three months.


This recipe yields roughly 60 pickle spears and takes about 40 minutes from start to finish.  They're my favorite thing to serve with grilled burgers, brats, or a favorite sandwich.  Enjoy!

Have a great day!

Re-do a Deer

This post could have had many titles, some of which include:

1.  My husband must truly love me.

2.  The most disturbing, bizarre diy project ever.

3.  No deer were harmed during this project (at least by us, anyway).

No, but really.  I have no idea why I wanted to find deer antlers, spray paint them, and mount them on wood.  And then hang them in my living room.  I had seen antlers in magazines, on blogs, and on pinterest, not to mention real deer heads in horribly decorated log cabins.  I had an idea in my head of what I wanted my antlers to look like.  I didn't want ones made from resin, not that there is nothing wrong with those.  I just wanted them to be real, probably because I live with boys.  I owed it to them!  Plus, this would be a lot less expensive.   My husband thought it was a little strange at first.  Being the wonderful partner that he is is however, he jumped on board and was the one who did most of the work.  Why?  Probably because I could have been found gagging somewhere from the grossness of this project.  Let me start from the beginning.

I found these antlers in a consignment store early in the summer while shopping with my sister.  I didn't buy them, but I wanted them.  We searched other places for antlers, but they can tend to be pretty expensive.  The ones I first found were the cheapest I had found.  I couldn't stop thinking about them.  So we went back, and we bought them for ten dollars each.

Yes, they had hair on them.  And they grossed me out.  But I still loved them.  So what exactly were my plans for these fine specimens?  I wanted the hair gone.  And I wanted them painted.  That's where Jason came in.  He was going to burn that hair off for me.  I actually remember him being intrigued about the whole process.  I, on the other hand, was not.  Have you ever smelled burnt hair?  The closest I have ever come to that is leaving my hair straightener on a section of my hair a little bit too long.  The smell is not one that you want to have on you all day long.

Obviously, the hair burning process did not go well.  It took forever.  So Jason switched to cutting the hair off.  And then he burned it some more.  What was I doing you ask, since this was my brilliant idea?  I was covering my nose with my shirt sleeve while taking pictures.

We resorted to a bonfire.  I know.  I told you this was the most bizarre project ever.  No marshmallows were roasted in this fire.  Because that would be gross.  Let me tell you that this process took forever.  Jason was burning hair for a long time.  Disgusting.

After the hair was burned off (Thank you Jason.  You win the husband of the year award for life!), I bleached them.  I actually bleached them a couple of times.  After they were dry, I spray painted them.  To mount them, I found some wooden plaques at Michaels.

I primed them with a spray paint primer,

sanded them because they were a little rough, and painted them.

I used the same gray Dark Cavern Behr paint I used on the dining room chairs. 

In order to mount the antlers onto the plaques, Jason used drywall screws.  He laid the antlers on the plaque to see where they should go and then traced around the base of the antlers.  He removed the antlers and then pre-drilled three holes into the wood inside of the tracing.  After putting the antlers back on the plaque, he drilled through the wood and into the antlers using a cement bit.  He used three drywall screws to secure the antlers to the wood and picture hangers to secure the whole thing to the wall.

Here is a close-up of the screw so that you could see how he screwed into the antlers.  You'll have to look closely to see it!

Just like that, the most disgusting diy project was over.  They're done!

Jason hung them up for me above our TV.

I couldn't let this post end without giving props to the man of the hour, who apparently grew his own set of antlers for this picture.  Thank you, Jason!  I owe you.

The picture below shows you just how badly I need to finish painting the woodwork in the hallway.  We'll see if that gets done this fall.  That's the goal.

What do you think?  Do you think we're crazy like our neighbors most likely do since they saw us putting antlers into a fire?  Are you into antlers or do you hate them?  Spill those beans.

  Are we crazy for going through all of that just for some antler art?  Maybe.  I'll let you decide.

Happy Wednesday!

I'm linking up to these lovely blogs:

Young House Love

Bower Power

A Beach Cottage

Once in a Great While...

Once in a great while I can get a decent picture with my boys.  It doesn't happen often because I'm usually the one behind the camera.  For once, everyone is looking and smiling.  I know all mothers feel this way, but I just love my little boys.  I thank God for the joy they bring into my life.

I will always treasure this picture and the fun that we had that day.