Morel Mushroom Harvest

I'm in heaven! We found 58 nice size morels May 13th in the pine trees.

Besides the usual frying them in egg, crackercrumbs and butter I like to prepare morels stuffed with cheese to freeze and enjoy later.

Here's my recipe.

Morel Mushrooms Stuffed With Cheese

• 2 8oz pkg cream cheese
• 8oz finely shredded cheddar
• 1 bunch green onoins finely minced
• 1 pkg imitation crab finely minced
• 1 pkg thin sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• garlic salt and onion powder to taste

Mix cream cheese, 1/2 cheddar, onions, crab and bacon. Slice mushrooms in half, wash and dry on paper towels. Fill each mushroom half with cheese mixture and lay on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt and onion powder. Top each with remaining cheddar cheese and press down so it sticks to the top. Freeze until firm then layer into container seperating layers with saran wrap. Store airtight in freezer. To prepare either fry on med heat with butter and olive oil, or heat in oven at 350 until cheese is bubbly.

Lots of Herbs for my garden

Stevia
does not tolerate temperatures below 45ºF
Stevia stem cuttings root easily without hormones, but only under long day conditions. A fluorescent shop or plant growth light both work well. Leave the light on 14 to 16 hours per day, 5 to 9 inches above the cuttings.

Use dried, powdered leaves as a substitute for sugar. One tablespoon of stevia or less is equivalent to about 1 cup sugar. liquid sweetener is made by pouring 1 litre boiling water over 1 tablespoon dried leaves and leaving to infuse. Refrigerate and use within a few days or freeze for later. To make a syrup, place 4 teaspoons dried powdered leaves in a saucepan with 2 cups water, simmer slowly for 10-15 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. A teaspoon of Vitamin C powder may be added to act as a preservative.

Sweet Basil
Annual
height of 1-2 ft
propagate by cuttings

To store, place the cut basil sprigs in water and keep them on the windowsill. Or layer between sheets of waxed paper and freeze. You can also fill ice cube trays with chopped basil, and then cover with water and freeze. Basil ice cubes are great for soups and stews. Basil leaves have the best flavor just before the plant flowers, and if you plan to preserve some of your basil or make a big batch of pesto, this is the best time to harvest.

Pesto Recipe
3 C Basil Leaves
3 Tbs Walnuts
2 Cloves Garlic
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 C Olive Oil
Salt to taste

Cilantro
propagated by division or cuttings
Leaves most fragrant on a dry day before noon just before plants bloom

Sage
Perennial zone 5
height 2-3ft
propagated from cuttings, divisions
does not tolerate poorly drained soils or excessive watering

For drying, wait until after the plants have grown back after pruning blooms. Wash the plants in the garden with a fine spray of water the night before; and the next morning cut stems as long as possible without cutting into old wood. Hang these in bunches of three of four in your basement. Once they are dry strip the leaves and seal in an airtight container out of direct light.

Thyme
perennial zone 5
height 12 inches
well-drained light soil, it should not be too rich in nutrients which will only make the plant 'leggy' and loose its compact shape

Oregano

perennial zones 4 to 10
height 2ft
propagate by cuttings or division. Divide plants every couple of years, or they get woody and unproductive.

To dry hang oregano upside down in a dark, dry place. It dries very fast and retains most of its aroma and flavor. Discard stems, and store crisp leaves in airtight, light-tight containers.

Mother's Day

Yea! Dh bought me the perfect Mother's Day gifts! The greatest being a new gazebo for our back deck! This is going to be perfect as our old one was destroyed by a downpour of rain last year. The gallons of rain collected on the top tarp and so much weight bent the frame. This one has a new design with small holes to allow the water to drain off the top. It is also much sturdier than the old one. Now we just need to get a couple cans of fabric gaurd to spray the tarp with before we put it up. This will prevent the tarp from fading in the sun and make it more waterproof.


Second, this cute little swinging garden gnome. I hung him from our cherry tree. Isn't he cute!

Third, some nice solar lights.

We drove to Neligh to visit my mother. It was a beautiful sunny day for the drive up there. On the way we picked up her favorite lunch KFC, lol, we all like it and moms shouldn't have to cook on Mother's Day. Kyle was already there so we all ate lunch and visited. Jeanna kept busy texting on her new phone and Joel helped mom oil her grandfather clock. On the way back we spotted some buffolo grazing and stopped to take a picture. Don't see those everyday.

Some random garden pictures taken today . . .

Daffodils

Indoor tomato plants

Busy Bumblebee in the Azaleas

Pear tree in bloom, lots of bees in there look out!
Asiatic Lily
Peony
Miniature rose bush

Morel Mushrooms

I'm getting ready!! The asparagus is coming up now so it's about time to go hunt for these delicious fungi. Aren't they pretty springing up from the woodland floor? You can look for morels in any thicket of trees. Once you find a good spot remember it cause they will grow right there most every year.

Our best ever harvest was back in 2006. We guestimated 33lbs in one afternoon's hunt.
Would you eat this?

Wall-o-water Experiment

For the first year we will be utilizing the kid's sandbox for growing all our vine crops. The kids no longer use it and the weeds seem to grow well in there so why not give it a try.
Here's what we will be planting:
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Spaghetti Squash
Watermelons
Honeydew Melon
Yellow Squash
Acorn Squash

First we planned out where we will have our 'hills' and dug down in the sand clear down to the soil underneath. Then filled each hole with dirt/compost/sand mixture.

I've started all our seeds indoors and have some extras. So time for an experiment using our 3 wall o waters. Planted a cucumber, a zucchini and a yellow squash, one in each. This is way ahead of 'proper' planting time for our zone, so we'll see how they do.






Once planted I bunched up the tops of each so those little plants will stay nice and snug and warm in their water tents. Wish me luck!

Container Flowers

Since it was so cold and rainy Friday and Saturday I made up a couple pots-o-flowers for our deck.

I used the diaper method, placing 3 baby diapers on the bottom of each pot before adding soil and plants. This really helps keeps the soil moist during those hot dry summer days. Instead of having to water daily, they only need a good watering once or twice a week!