From my Garden to the Kitchen Avocado plant

I am into my garden every year and I love my avocado's. This year I decided to experiment and every avocado I did eat I would plant the seeds into a pond that we are covering. So one day when I was picking my tomatoes I noticed a strange plant emerge. At first I figured not sure if it is a weed but I will let him show his true self. Many of days went by and I said why not take this weed out of my tomato garden. Well much to my surprise when I did pull this guy out it turned to be an avocado plant. I did not recall that I must have planted this seed in my tomato garden and with all the watering well this plant adjusted and grew. I still do not see the other avocados that I planted in the buried pond but it still can grow. I looked up how to start a avocado from seed which I tried indoors. You are to take a few toothpicks and pierce the seed on each side and then put it into a glass of water.
Well that did not work for me so I just planted the seed and hey look what I grew.

This little guy will be planted as an indoor plant

I read that it could take many many years to get a fruit off of this plant.

I guess it's easier to just buy one and keep on planting the seeds.

Maybe my grand children which I do not have yet will reap the harvest 

of the Avocado fruit.

Baked veggies and chicken

Getting back to the Kitchen I have taken my zucchini and yellow squash washed and sliced them. I placed them into a glass baking pan lined with foil and olive oil. I also added fresh garlic cloves, tiny pealed carrots and one whole onion, I did kick it up and added sugar snap peas just bake until veggies are tender. I do cover the glass pan with foil to keep in the juices.
So today having my veggies baking I also have breaded chicken along side baking together. On the side I did make pasta and this lunch meal is oh so good.

Mixed veggies

Veggies and Breaded Chicken

From my Garden to the Kitchen Breaded Yellow Squash

Today in the kitchen I am making fried breaded yellow squash. I was lazy so I did wash and slice each squash but I decided to take a clear baggie and do a shake and bake with the bread crumbs. Boy I should had done this a long time ago. Thanks for being lazy today.
Well here we go it's simple all you do is cut each yellow squash I wet them instead of using an egg then put them into the bag with bread crumbs you can add anything you like say like Parmesan cheese shake and put them into a fry pan with olive oil. Fry and flip over until each one is forked tender. That's about it simple, lazy easy and great to enjoy.

Shake and bake with Italian flavored bread crumbs add your own touch.

Fried in olive oil until tender

Be Creative

Enjoy

From my Garden to the Kitchen Garden Veggies

Today at the Jersey Shore it was hot and humid but I had to go into my garden to finish picking my Cherry Tomatoes. I had to take a break and cool down inside with the A.C. I have picked tons and tons of tomatoes 

Then wash each one and separate them into sections. All red in one pot, orange and the green ones that had fallen off the plant, those I put in a brown bag to ripen. Every tomato is special to me so I try to keep every one. I also picked two habanero hot peppers that will be used when I make salsa dip. I also have zucchini and yellow squash that I picked today take a look.

pots full of tomatoes picked today

Assorted Veggies

From my Garden to the Kitchen

Taking a stroll through my garden I saw tons of my cherry tomatoes ready to be picked. I started picking a bunch from my smaller garden and today I have to do the same in my larger garden.

Husky Cherry Tomatoes

Oh so good

This year I planted 8 cherry plants in the small garden and I planted 16 cherry plants and 2 big boy tomato plants in my larger garden.

Everyone has been eating the tomatoes tons of them. I am waiting for my hot pepper to ripen so I can make a salsa dip.

Zucchini Breaded and fried

From my Garden to my Kitchen

This is very easy just wash your zucchini, slice and bread them with seasoned bread crumbs. I wet each one for the bread crumbs to stick if you want you can dip them in mixed egg.  I use olive oil in my fry pan and place them into the pan about 5 or 6 fits and then repeat the process. Option you can also add a little of parmesan cheese into the bread crumbs. Pan cook on each side until tender let cool.

If you do not like the seeds you can take your Zucchini and slice it in half then take a spoon and scoop out the seeds out. Then you can slice each half and repeat the above cooking method.

Be creative
Enjoy

Stuffed Red Peppers

Today we decided to make red stuffed peppers. This recipe is easy to make and so tasty.

Red Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients 

Red Pepper 4 cut in half 

Brown success rice 1 bag

Cheddar cheese 1/4 cup shredded

Parmesan  cheese sprinkle

V-8 cocktail juice 1 large can 

Diced pepper (red, yellow, orange or mixed) 1 half diced

Onion 1 diced and saute in stove top pan

Olive oil 3 table spoons 

Spice, garlic powder, onion salt, Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, dill, sprinkle a little of each

In a mixing bowl add the cooked rice  

saute onions (lightly until soft) add to the rice 

add

diced peppers

parmesan and cheddar cheese

spices

Mix above together and stuff each pepper

Put a little olive oil on the bottom of a large stove pot.

Add to the bottom of the pot a little V-8 juice

Place each stuff pepper on the bottom of the pot

Add more V-8 juice to meet the peppers half of the pepper (do not cover the pepper with the juice)

Place a lid ajar and steam the pepper until tender.

 

This time I added a few diced sugar snap peas around the pepper and one piece of fresh garlic.

Be creative

Enjoy

Recipes for Granny with Alzheimer's

Well today Granny did a little bit better she had her Insure strawberry plus with her medications crushed and finished that one and she was drinking her Boost with high protein. She loves Cheese so the block of cheddar cheese I dice into small pieces and give that to her. Everyday is a new challenge and everyone is happy when we can give her anything new and different when she eats.

So I have been trying out many different thing that she would eat and every thing has to be soft. Granny feels food with her tongue and if there is a texture she will not swallow it and rather spit it out. That is why we are putting many thing into the blender under puree.

I often look and look when I am in the supermarket and seeking different thing that may appeal to Granny just to try on her and this is what I found so far.

HapppyTot organic superfoods
3 fruit mix, super grain, omega, fiber, protein, antioxidant.
It's in a pouch and liquid which I can give to her on a tablespoon.

I had purchased 3 different ones to try on Granny.
Banana, peach & mango
Broccoli, peas & pear
Butternut squash & apple
I did try a taste and it taste good.

So far I have given her by spoon half of the bag container. This is what it looks like below.

Found in the baby food section 

Garden Flowers

Here are more photos of the flowers that bloomed in our yard this spring.

Rhododendron

Nova Zembla Rhododendron

Green praying mantis blending in the greens

Mantis light green 

hibiscus

Flowers and plants

tulips

more colorful flowers

Garden plants

marigolds

Recipes for Granny with Alzheimer's

Granny had the beginning of  Alzheimer's but she loved to eat a lot of food. Her lunch would consist of  fish, salmon, tilapia, flounder, pasta and veggies plus eat her cherry tomatoes and fresh garlic this did not exclude snacks the sweets. She was able to chew use forks and spoons and swallow.

Granny loves her Garden and every year we would plant those Husky Cherry Tomatoes which she loved to eat. When Granny was outside on her swing under the Gazebo I would give her a brown paper bag and she would walk slowly over to the garden to pick only the red tomatoes.

Granny has slowed down each year and the weather's heat does not help anyone. Picking the tomatoes has been a long struggle for her even now sitting in her wheelchair outside. So we decided to have her hold a small bucket and we would ask her "do you want this one?" And she would have a huge harvest to bring into the house to wash.

Now Granny has slowed down to a point that both my sister and I do not know what to feed her. Feeding her daily is a full time chore and we are happy when we could get solids into her.

So here is our plan for Granny.

We purchase Aladdin drinking cups something  like a little kids non spill drinking cup with a straw.
When she started to spit out her medication pills, I crushed them and put them into her favorite Strawberry Insure Plus for her to drink in this cup.

We give her Boost, Carnation instant breakfast and add wheat germ and add  yogurt and milk.

To hydrate her we give her water with crystal light which she loves here sweets and add Benefiber.

You can add Carnation Malted milk mix to your breakfast shakes.

Gatorade for electrolytes.

We also pure in the blender assorted veggie cream soups.

So for today I made my own puree in the blender.
Half banana, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 2 coops, O.J  1/2 cup, Milk 1/2 cup, Light cream 1/4 cup.

This is what I made for Granny.
So for today I also gave her pieces of bananas, goya wafer cookies, and she ate  a cherry tomato from our garden..

WOW  for today. Keep you posted on what Granny will eat or drink the next day.
Everyone Enjoy

From my Garden to the Kitchen

We have harvest tons of Cherry Tomatoes from our Garden the mid of July. Mom planted 24 plants and two Big Boy Tomatoes. Ever other day Mom picks the ones that are turning orange and if a few green ones falls off the vine she collects them too. Mom said that they are a special comity and puts the green ones in a small paper bag to ripen. Mom gets the mantis egg cases and places them into the paper bag in our sunny window in early June. Then she releases them into our garden when they hatch.
Boy oh Boy in the past two days Mom has eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between tons of those tomatoes. I would guess she has eaten over a thousand or more. She also gave me many but not as much I have seen her eat them. Anyway here is a picture what we have before she eats them all. Plus she gave a bag to our neighbor who has 5 children to enjoy.
I expect to see cherry tomato plants growing out of my Mom's ears. Boy she would be in heaven.
Enjoy

Garden Flowers

Here we go strolling on our land to see lots of beautiful flowers blooming and my new addition Birdbath placed next to the bird feeders. This year as every year we have lots of Bird Houses that my brother's build when they were children. We also have a big condo Purple Martins house 12 rooms which house chirping babies every year. My Mom spends lots of money on bags of different types of bird seed and bread. But it's worth it to hear the birds sing early in the morning and watch them feed their babies plus it's fun to watch.

pink rose of sharon

Bluish Hydrangea

Bleeding Heart

Strawberry from our strawberry patch

cone flower

Impatiens in container

Hanging petunias

Bunny Bird Bath new addition

3 Green bird houses in our Bradford Pear tree

Condo with babies

5 Bird house's my bros made as kids

New Bird House in magnolia tree we call this one Barefoot after the wine. We used the corks to enter the house and applied one inside to cover any nails inside the house