Planting Garlic

Unwrap your seed garlic and pick your jaw off the floor. This gigantic bulb is Chesnok Red from Filaree Farm. Nope, it's not elephant garlic--it's the real thing. Peel the paper off and separate the cloves.

Ask BrownThumbPapa to make you a Plantermajigger, which will make evenly spaced holes at the correct depth for garlic planting. Convince him that you don't need one with a motor, rotating spikes, or worse. Compromise on a nice piece of 1 x 6 with dowels on one side and handles from an old dresser on the other.

Apply the Plantermajigger to the ground thusly.

Grab the nearest clove and plant it pointy side up. Cover with a bit of soil and pat lightly.

Repeat until you run out of garden or garlic. Since I ran out of garlic with garden to spare, I zipped off to the nursery and picked up some red onions and shallots.

Following that logic...BrownThumbPapa wants to buy more books, since he has bookshelf room to spare. Guess I need to think of another garden tool for him to build!

P.S. Those gloves are the amazing and durable Ethel Jubilee Glove. They're designed for women, fit comfortably and last forever. Fellow garden blogger Katie alerted me to these--thanks, Katie!

Garden Tool Care: Winter Edition

Winter is here! Well, at least for the rest of the country it is. For those of you who are bundling up in thermals and earmuffs, here are some ways to get your tools ready for winter storage.

Clean and inspect your wheelbarrow. If you see any rust, sand the spot down to bare metal and paint. Spray paint works well, or if you aren’t worried about looks, grab whatever extra paint you have on hand in the garage. The weeds won’t care.

Care for tools with wood handles. The fastest way to ruin these tools is to leave them outdoors. Sun and rain can cause the wood to warp, split, or rot. If you have left tools outside in the past, sand any rough spots and apply a bit of linseed oil to keep the wood from cracking.

Clean your tools before putting them away. This applies to daily use as well as winter storage. You want to prevent any moisture from causing rust. If you see any rust, scrub it off with a wire brush or steel wool. Give it a shot of rust-preventing primer to save you from having to do the same thing next year.

Sharpen the blades of cutting tools. I haven’t done this myself and am not sure if I’ll try it or have a professional do it. Seems like the kind of thing I’d learn best by watching someone (as opposed to reading about it).

Remember, those seed catalogs will be here in a couple of months and you’ll be itching to get outside. Take care of your tools now so they’ll be ready when you are!

Why Didn't I Think of That? Wednesday

Each Wednesday I'll share a tip to make your week go more smoothly or just make you say "aha!"

Scrub your tub and save your back: sprinkle some cleanser in the tub after your bath or shower. (I like Bon Amibecause it's made with minerals and doesn't contain any chlorine, perfume, or dye.) Then grab your mop and scrub away! You'll get great leverage from the long handled-mop and save your back from unnecessary bending.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Apple butter in the crock pot is easy to make, and it is super-tasty. Try it on some english muffin bread!

The players:
10 or more apples (I used Fuji apples this time)
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt

Wash a bunch of apples. Don't these look delicious?

Cut off the tops and bottoms, since that makes them easier to peel. Save the trimmings and peels for your compost! I like to put the scrap bowl in an open drawer so it's lower and easier to peel into.

Once they're peeled and cored, enlist your Noble Assistant to chop the apples. Butter knives are strongly recommended (as well as an extra apple or two for him to eat).

Chop and chop until the crockpot is full. Then add the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. No liquid is needed!

 

Stir carefully and cover. Cook on High for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Then turn down to Low and cook for 9 hours, stirring occasionally, until dark brown.

 

If there are any lumps, use a hand blender to smooth everything out. If it's not thick enough, cook for an additional hour with the lid off. Pour into a recycled jar or two and refrigerate or freeze. Yum!

 

(This batch made two jars' worth, but I gave one away before remembering to take a picture.)

10 Weeks Until Christmas

Don’t Panic! Start saving and looking for sales now so you don’t have to charge gifts on your credit card. Here are some ideas—a collection of links from BrownThumbMama and friends.

Earn extra money with surveys.

Make gifts, like this cool knitted washcloth or homemade lotion bars from Little House in the Suburbs.

Choose a special poem, message, or inspirational quote; have it written in calligraphy by CalligraphyGirl.com and then frame it.

Earn gift cards by doing web searches.

Select or commission a photo from Katie Hobson Photography--choose a special place or a scene that evokes a special memory.

Use your skills/hobbies to make extra money.

Make treats for your doggie friends with this recipe from Down To Earth.

Participate in online psychology studies.

Why Didn't I Think of That? Wednesday

Each Wednesday I'll share a tip to make your week go more smoothly or just make you say "aha!"

Today's tip comes from the USDA. If your power is out (like ours is due to the recent storm), don't open your fridge or freezer. The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed.
When the power comes back on, check everything carefully. If in doubt, throw it out! Don't risk your family's health over a few dollars' worth of groceries.

Why Didn't I Think of That? Wednesday

Each Wednesday I'll share a tip to make your week go more smoothly or just make you say "aha!"

Don't spray pans with non-stick spray on the counter or even over the sink. You'll have an overspray of oily film to clean up! Instead, place the pan on the dishwasher door. It will clean itself with the next load of dishes.

This is Terrible

"Now I know she's lost her mind," you say. "How can a tree full of apples be a terrible thing?"

Because when the trees are in an abandoned orchard, this is the result.

Consider the following:
--Approximately 40% of families now on food stamps are working families--up from 25% just 2 years ago.
--Over 15,000 men, women and children benefit from free goods and services each month at Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS).
--This July, SFBFS provided a 4-day supply of groceries to nearly 1,000 individuals at a mobile food event--in two hours.

Do you see those apples differently now? You aren't the only one.

Enter Harvest Sacramento, a volunteer organization that harvests extra fruit from backyard trees, then passes it along to local food agencies (like SFBFS) to feed the hungry.

These pictures are from an abandoned orchard that we'll be harvesting later this month. We went on a site visit last week and the trees stretched as far as we could see. We’re gearing up to harvest more than 10,000 pounds of Asian pears, plums, apples and more.

If you're here in Sacramento, we'd appreciate your help. Or if you or a neighbor have a tree that produces more than you can eat, let us know!

Not in Sacramento? No problem. Find the food bank that serves your area at FeedingAmerica.org and keep them in mind the next time you pass a tree full of fruit. You don't need an official group--just a giving heart.

How to Save Money on Groceries

When we first got married, our grocery budget was—are you sitting down?—$25 a week. Naturally, we brought our lunch to work every day and didn’t buy extravagant things like soda. Or crackers. A lot of things become a luxury when times are tight!

Thankfully, our grocery budget is a lot more generous these days. But it’s still important to save whenever you can. Here are some easy ways to save money on groceries.

Go shopping with a list. Check your pantry and freezer before you go so you don’t end up with five jars of mayonnaise.

Buy spices in the ethnic foods aisle or in an ethnic market. I’ve seen bags of oregano, parsley, cinnamon, and many others there for less than a dollar. Compare that to the teensy little bottles on the spice aisle that are $2.59 or more.

If the kids want you to buy junk food, have them spend their own money. Too young to have spending money? Tell them that you’re only buying what’s on the list, and that item isn’t on the list this week. I do this often—by the time our next shopping trip rolls around, Jackjack has forgotten all about his request.

Look up, down, and all around. Food companies pay to have their products placed at eye level on the shelf. You can often find a better price by looking on a lower or higher shelf.

Determine which store brands or generics work for your family. We can’t tell the difference between branded and generic long-grain rice, but if I came home with generic mac-n-cheese, there would be a riot.

Don’t go to the store hungry. When you’re hungry, everything sounds good.

Buy drugstore items at the drugstore, not the grocery store. I worked at a grocery store in college and the markup on items like shampoo, toilet paper, medicine, toothpaste, and makeup is outrageous. Get those items at Target or CVS instead.

Eat vegetarian once a week. Scrambled eggs, French toast, and fruit are popular, as is chili-stuffed baked potatoes. Cheese quesadillas with refried beans and Spanish rice is easy and kid-friendly. Our “resident carnivores” gobble these up without a peep.

Know your prices. We eat a lot of chicken, so I compared prices between the warehouse club and the grocery store. When our local grocery store has a sale, it’s cheaper than the warehouse club!

Stock up when you see a good price. When chicken goes on sale, I buy at least 10 pounds. It’s expensive at the time, but lasts us for a few months. If you can combine coupons and a sale price, you can do even better.

Buy fruits and veggies in season. My grocery store carries fresh strawberries, cantaloupe, and blueberries all year long—but if you buy them in the middle of winter, you’re paying to have them flown in from South America. Ouch.

Know when things go on sale. Turkeys are super-cheap at Thanksgiving; stock up on ham at Christmas and Easter. Get barbecue condiments like ketchup, relish, and mustard in June or July. Diet foods and 100-calorie packs are on sale in January because it’s New Year Resolution time.

Try a couple of these and see how much you'll save!