For entertainment, are you watching grass grow or...

Trout are active.....

I've been making walleye baits.

I'm trying biquiho peppers for the first time this year, they germinated well.  Cayenne did not, might have to buy one of those.  Also trying yellow jalapeno, 7 pot lava, say cheese and mama mia.  70% germination this year disappoints me.  I need to get the trays outside soon.  

I'm plotting out my first garden in years.  I need to get going on seedlings.

My neighbor did ask about the odd purple light coming out of my basement window, but that is just because the wife doesn't want me taking up our big picture window with my seed trays and grow lights.  

El-Ka-Bong posted:

I'm trying biquiho peppers for the first time this year, they germinated well.  Cayenne did not, might have to buy one of those.  Also trying yellow jalapeno, 7 pot lava, say cheese and mama mia.  70% germination this year disappoints me.  I need to get the trays outside soon.  

Do you dry those after harvest?

The only problem I have with vegetable gardening is the same time my stuff ripens, so does all the pro's at the farmers market. They end up practically giving the stuff away, there's such a glut.

I mix a variety of hot and sweet peppers, dehydrate them and make the best cayenne pepper you ever had.  Most of the peppers go into bloody mary mix, pizza sauce, salsa and pickled peppers.  

grignon posted:

El-Ka-Bong posted:

I'm trying biquiho peppers for the first time this year, they germinated well.  Cayenne did not, might have to buy one of those.  Also trying yellow jalapeno, 7 pot lava, say cheese and mama mia.  70% germination this year disappoints me.  I need to get the trays outside soon.  

Do you dry those after harvest?

The only problem I have with vegetable gardening is the same time my stuff ripens, so does all the pro's at the farmers market. They end up practically giving the stuff away, there's such a glut.

 

Just like Bongwater posted above, my biggest venture from the garden will be in canning and creating new recipes.  I'm going for the experimental garden/food preservation environment.  Old school canning. 

I need to buy a yak too.  Always wanted a yak.

I have the huge, on the stove pressure canner I got from my grandmother.  

Pro tip- use bloody mary mix as the base for your chili

Did some spring clean-up in the yard and then cleaned out some kitchen cabinets. I try not to over do it. I will probably start all my seedlings this weekend. I don't usually plant the garden until Memorial Day weekend when all danger of frost is past. My parents used to plant a month ahead of me and then remark how my garden always seemed to "catch up" with theirs. I used to can my tomatoes but as I've gotten older I've switched to freezing them. Still pickle the beets. My pickles are down to one kind that I put up in 2-quart jars and store in the refrigerator. (Fridge holds six of the jars nicely with plenty of room left for other food.) Glad I bought all my seeds back in January. Trying to keep human contact to just the check out gal once a week at the grocery store. Having to get up to make the 7 a.m. store opening sucks. 

Checked out a ton of books from the library on the last day it closed until who knows when. We don't watch much TV anymore because we get only over-the-air and TV these days frickin' sucks. I check out quite a few videos from the library...mostly British mystery. Been taking quite a few walks to the back 40. 

Cripes this whole thing frickin' sucks. Mr. QO is a member of the vulnerable group, so we've been very careful.

Cripes, just checked my email, and ANOTHER one from some frickin' company telling me "We are here for you." Well isn't that grand.

If anyone winds up with too many tomatoes I have a great home made ketchup recipe.  Very thick and tastey.

    Mm mm, nothing is better than homemade ketchup; making your own ketchup is so EASY to make at home and making it yourself allows you to control what goes in it.    

I'm curious you ketchup making process.  

I make my own BBQ sauce, but do buy ketchup in the process.  I think start to finish would be fun.  

https://www.skinnytaste.com/homemade-ketchup/

• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup honey, or agave
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

• Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat; whisk until smooth.   ( whisking is the key. )
• When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
• Remove from heat and cover until cool.
• Chill and store refrigerated in a covered container                                      maybe it would be easier, just to buy a bottle of Heinz.  

To make 2 qts.

8 cups tomato puree.  I cook them and run thru a foley mill. Romas are best.

1 Tbl salt

1/4 tsp each: red pepper, black pepper,ginger, ground cloves, dry mustard, 

allspice

1/2 cup white vinegar

1cup sugar     Cook to desired consistency.    Easy peasy.

Better than any Hunts or Heinz you'll ever buy.

cloves.  Hmm, cloves are the cilantro of spices, only use the tiniest bit or your food will taste like bathwater

And it's either the ginger or the cloves that are hard to dissolve.   Really have to work the little clumps to get then broken up.

Made some CannaButter, added powdered sugar & a little almond extract. 

I'm frosting cookies. They're fabulous

1 heaping teaspoon is all you need

Any idea on how potent this is per heaping teaspoon? I've typically avoided the butter thing (and homemade edibles as a whole) because I've found that trusting anyone else's prediction on how much of that brownie I can eat without it destroying me is suspect.  

Yes....I tried the Chocolate Chip Cookies route but dosing was all over the place. 1 cookie sometimes nothing, sometimes higher than Krypton.

https://www.leafly.com/news/li...ke-basic-cannabutter

Check out The Dank Chef (Torrin). The 1st step "Decarb Cannabis" is very important.

The frosting thing is working well. 1 heaping teaspoon wait 60-90 minutes. Same high every time. Tested it 10-15 times on 4 different people. 

Best thing? Everything I'm posting here is legal in both our states. It's about time. Z'Darius would be proud 😆

A personal request....turn on Rick & Morty 1 hour after frosting your cookies. 😂

Finally some cookie icing I can get behind. 

I needed a break from work so took the day off.  Weather was awesome so went for a long run.  Then set up the trampoline in backyard for youngest kid so she can burn off some energy and not drive us all crazy.  Then worked on the deck out back that needed attention.   Wrapped things up with some family time, nice dinner and wine and watched a couple of episodes of the Wire (season 2).  

Have more outside things around the house to accomplish and now that it’s finally getting nicer outside it’s a good diversion from all the other crap going on around us.