Sally's GF3 thread

[Sally PB]

We got about 1/4" of rain yesterday. A nice drink for the plants. It softened up the clay in the heavy soil garden enough for me to dig crabgrass out from around the onions. The tomato plants are so close together that they're shading out the weeds, for the most part. They're also a bit too close to walk down the rows easily. The tomato cages seem so far apart when the plants are only 4" tall!

A hot day on tap for tomorrow (90 plus humidity), but then a cold front moves through and breaks it all up for a week. A couple of nights in the upper 50s mean opening the windows and having a fan pull in some refreshing air.


I have so many green tomatoes. I wish they would start ripening. I wish I could get a few quarts canned, get that project started. I need to do ~50 quarts, I think, this year. Plus salsa.

Definitely going to make more green tomato salsa this year. I loved it, and it was a great way to use up the extra tomatoes left at the end of canning season. DH likes the habanero stuff, but I'm a wimp. I don't like my tongue to be scorched numb. Food as pain. Or pain as food. What a concept.

 

[Sally PB]

Today is the last day of horrid heat/humidity. The trade off is another chance of severe thunderstorms over night tonight. High wind/heavy rain is the biggest worry.

I got the compost pile turned. By the time I was done, I looked like I'd eaten some of DH's hot salsa while watching a tear jerker. Even the folded handkerchief in my pocket was damp through.

I have to think of this as cleaning out my pores. Man, the skin on the front of my shins sure is clear!

 

[Sally PB]

My chicks are growing up. Their voices are starting to change.

I had a live feather boa on my neck for a few minutes this afternoon. I took pictures with my phone. When I looked at the picture, I realized what iphone cameras need: A filter to get rid of second chins and jowls.

 

[Iluveggers]

My chicks are growing up. Their voices are starting to change.

I had a live feather boa on my neck for a few minutes this afternoon. I took pictures with my phone. When I looked at the picture, I realized what iphone cameras need: A filter to get rid of second chins and jowls.

That’s called photo shop!

 

[aart]

I realized what iphone cameras need: A filter to get rid of second chins and jowls.

I'm sure there's an app for that!

 

[Sally PB]

That’s called photo shop!

Tripping down memory lane here...

Back in the darkroom days before Photoshop, we got a printing job in the lab. Picture of mom and daughter, and mom had crow's feet; probably a gift from her daughter. The printing instructions were:

--Dodge out wrinkles by mom's eyes so that they look like sisters
--Do a good job! This is a Mother's Day gift!

"Dodging out" wrinkles was not possible. That would require serious retouching back in those days, a service we didn't offer. The head of the print department took the job back to customer service. The head of customer service didn't care, we were a custom lab, that's what the customer wanted, that's what we'd do.

The head of the print department took the job to the owner (very small company, so we could do that). The owner looked at the job, lined through the first line, underlined the second, wrote his initials by it, and handed it back.

When Photoshop came around, several people said, "Hey remember that job about dodging out wrinkles so mom and daughter look like sisters? It's possible now!"

 

[Sally PB]

We got about an inch of rain in the thunderstorm last night. No wind to speak of, so no damage to anything. I put the garlic back out on the porch to continue drying.

Tomorrow we're opening the bee hive. We're putting on a queen excluder and honey super. Any honey will be for the bees to eat over the winter, but I think we might sneak a taste.

The goldenrod is just about to bloom. Honeybees like goldenrod, and we have a field full of it. I used to hate the stuff; it's very difficult to get rid of. Now I'm very happy to see it all over the field.

 

[Sally PB]

Queen excluder and honey super on, and no stings! Whew.

They have been very busy. I see some burr comb in a few places, which means they want more room. We looked inside two weeks ago when we put the formic acid mite treatment on, and saw that at least 6 frames (out of 8) were built up.

The queen excluder keeps her out, because she's a bit wider than the workers and doesn't fit through. They put honey up there.

 

[Sally PB]

I haven't posted any GF recipes recently. I'm making Grownies today, as it's cool enough to bake.

Origin of the name:

I wanted to make granola bars. I made up my own recipe, based off several I'd found on the internet. I baked them and they were a bit moist and crumbly, but ok tasting. The next time I made them, I baked them longer. They tasted like over baked brownies. Well, phooey.

I like brownies. A lot. Moist, fudgy, chocolate brownies. Forget the ice cream on the side, just give me a second brownie. GF brownies are pretty good, for the most part, but usually the GF flour has stuff in it. Xanthan gum, other gums, that kind of stuff. The stuff that makes it try its best to be like regular wheat flour, but not do a very good job.

So, what if I abandon the idea of granola bars, and make them like brownies? I could use granola-y ingredients to make them seem half-way healthy? Ish? Thus, grownies.

Grownies

2 cups old fashioned oats
½ to 1 cup quinoa, depending on how much you like quinoa
2 cups liquid of some kind (see below)
Cocoa, 2 T to ½ cup
Cinnamon, 1 t to 2 T
2 eggs
Raisins
1 or 2 very ripe bananas
Honey
¾ - 1 cup peanut butter, any style
Other things

Mix the oats, cocoa, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. (I’m vague about the cocoa and cinnamon; if you like a lot, use a lot.) Add the liquid and combine. Cook the quinoa in twice its volume of water, and mix into the oats. Cover and let sit for a few hours to overnight. At least for a nice long dog walk or chicken visit.

Mix in the peanut butter. Beat the eggs, add. Mash the bananas, add.

Add as much honey as you like. I don’t measure honey for this; I just guesstimate about 1/3 cup.

Stir in a bunch of raisins. Like a cup, more or less. Leave them out if you don’t like raisins. (I actually know someone who doesn’t like raisins. I love her anyway.)

This is when you would add in the Other Things. Nuts, if you like them. The pulp from juicing, if you do that. I’ve used carrot, cranberry, and blueberry pulp. Other dried fruit. Ok, chocolate chips, if you must. The consistency of the batter is somewhere between cookie dough and cake batter.

Now… the liquid part. I’ve used: applesauce, whey, regular yogurt, pureed apples, mashed canned peaches, and I’m probably forgetting some. The more liquidy, the longer I let it sit to let the oats absorb the liquid. Or bake it longer.

Grease a 9x13 pan. Scoop/pour the mix into the pan and bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. Check at 25: use the toothpick test. When it’s done, the edges will pull away from the pan, and the top surface will have a few cracks in it.

Set it out to cool until you can put your hand on the bottom of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a few hours.

When you take it out, there will be a LOT of condensation on the plastic wrap. Peel it off as fast as you can; blot up the drips that fall on the grownies.

Chilling them in the fridge is what makes them moist all the way through. Cut into however many pieces you want to, and store, covered, in the fridge.

 

[Iluveggers]

Those brownies sound great!

My family wanted quiche, and I am GF for now (appointment not til fall). So I made it with a shredded potato crust, sautéed the shredded potato first, then lined the bottom of the pie pan with it, and added the egg mix on top, cooked like a normal quiche. They actually liked it better than regular crust!