More Strawberries

Leona picked some more strawberries yesterday.  I am surprised that we are getting so many berries this year.  They sure tasted good with sliced almonds and non-fat kool whip.

Strawberries

We have been getting a few strawberries from the plants we planted last fall.  I'm surprised that the frost didn't kill them but they survived and are producing. 

The Earwig Wars

The earwigs have assaulted our garden with an army and a "take no prisoners" approach.  We decided to fight back with liquor.  Leona made this little trap with an empty koolwhip container and a Bud lite beer.  As she filled it, I heard her measuring out the dosage - "a little for the earwigs, a little for Mike".  As you can see it was effective in catching the earwigs.  We will continue the fight as long as the beer holds out.  I enjoyed the battle as well.

Strawberry and Spinach Salad

Leona uses this recipe from Allrecipes.com to make an excellent strawberry and spinach salad.  We have just enough strawberries to pull this off.  It is a great salad.

Ingredients (for two servings)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons minced onion
5 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
2 cups strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
2 tablespoons almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions

This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 4 servings.

1.In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.

2.In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 491
Total Fat: 35.2g
Cholesterol: 0mg

Lawnmower Maintenance 051410

I performed a little lawnmower maintenance today.  Changed the oil and sharpened the blade.  The lawn will now receive a more even and less jagged cut.  Being the procastinator that I am, I have been putting these two chores off for awhile. 

Spring Planting 050710

We returned home from vacation to find that earwigs had eaten our Zuchinni, Yellow Squash, and Cucumber plants.  So, off we go to Green Acres Nursery to purchase more plants.  We replanted Zuchinni, Yellow Crookneck Squash, and a Spartan Valor Cucumber.  We also put out some earwig bait around the gardening beds.  In the other raised bed we planted one row of three vegetables - Squirrel's Choice Chantenay Red Cored carrots, Champion radishes, and Detroit Dark Red Table beets.  In about two weeks we will plant another row of these same veggies.  We hope to extend the time with which to enjoy home grown salads.  We also planted a small amount of Squirrel's Choice Blue lake pole beans - just enough to grow on the trellis that I made last year.  (See pictures previously posted)

We have recently been enjoying both peas and spinach from our winter garden  Last night we had an excellent meal of new peas, sauteed spinach, baked cod, and baked sweet potato.  Yum, Yum ! It is great fun to eat home grown food.