Can we talk greenhouses? We bought a small lightweight greenhouse to try to keep our pool plants alive over the winter, but they basically all froze to death anyway. We are in North Carolina. What kind of heater should we have put in?
I can't invest like them but at least I can eat like them
Years ago, we took a trip out Hwy 5 here in MO just to see what was out there and it's also a scenic route. We stopped at a little home cooking restaurant and I got the white beans. They were very tasty and had carrots. There was no visible meat but it didn't taste full vegetarian so I'm thinking maybe it started out as ham/bean soup like above. Bean soup tends to thicken and turn into just a bean dish in time. Searched the web and came across this one that has carrots which not all versions have but is what I think is key to the taste.
from Taste of the South June/July 2009
Rinse beans and place them in a large bowl. Next, add water and let the beans soak covered overnight. Drain beans and place in a large pot with a ham bone. Add cold water to cover, plus two additional inches of water. Bring to a boil. While that’s happening, make a cheese cloth pouch containing the bay leaf and cloves. When the water is boiling add the pouch, onion, celery, carrots, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and the meat is falling off the bone (about 3 hours). Remove the pouch and the bone. Before serving, shred the meat and add it back to the soup.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
I'll pass on the bay leaf and have a spice ball for the cloves. Going to increase the recipe to as much as will fit in the instant pot.
Here’s my Spicy Navy Bean soup recipe:
I scrub, rinse several times, and then soak 2 cups navy beans with fresh water overnight.
In the crockpot with water 1 1/2” over beans for 5 1/2 hours on high:
1.0 ounce of vegetable oil max (heart healthy Omega 3) Sunflower/Canola/Olive oil mix, no Soybean!
2 or 3 small okra (sliced up)
3 small green onions (sliced up)
7 or 8 small dried whole red pepper pods (Hot) Cayenne
1/4 teaspoon Mexican chili powder (just for the beautiful golden color)
3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (add at the last 2 hours only!)
After in the bowl I give it a couple twist of a McCormick Peppercorn Medley Grinder and serve with a hard loaf style bread or corn bread
Odds & ends this morning, not ‘soup’ related:
The Berkshire sow (due date yesterday) is about to farrow any minute ... literally. Her nest is built, milk coming in fast, & she is VERY uncomfortable. I am getting reports about every 10 minutes. Last litter of 2023 .... the Gloucestershire Old Spot sow is due Jan. 6 ... first litter of 2024. Time is marching on!
A near/dear relative (ok, it’s my mom) got a super nice jar of chamomile & lavender flower buds tea & a ceramic tea set for Christmas from a beloved granddaughter. So pretty!! She liked the tea and drank quite a bit in a short amount of time ... went through about a quarter of the loose tea. Did you know that both chamomile and lavender, taken in doses larger than a cup or two of tea, have the effect of “loosening the bowels”?? Neither did we, but we know now!!
Looking at chicken tractors ... I found one this morning I haven’t seen before and I really like it. Ignore the price, just look at the design. Since I will be converting the “man cave” shop (it even has a wood stove & a half bath!) into my “country girl” shop and taking most of dad’s tools with me*, I might try using this design as a ‘pattern’ for building one myself. You can buy the wheel lift separately ... the wheels & being able to move the tractor easily is the hard part.
I am looking at the ‘mini’ - I like the ‘classic’ better & if building, would maybe do this one because I like the looks of it better than the ‘mini’, which is for 4-5 hens and I don’t want more than that. The ‘classic’, for 8-10 chickens, would give 4-5 hens a lot of room and have ‘expansion’ room if I got ambitious with chickens (I have nearby relatives who would buy eggs). For sure we’ll have coyote & fox predators. The ramp pulls up so even if they dig in (raccoons dig, too), the chix should be safe above. I can also use my wire/metal zip-tied garden fencing for added protection - lay the panels on the ground (secured) around the tractor to prevent digging.
Headed for the grocery for soup & bread bowl ingredients! By the time I get back, there may be piglets!!
*You’re probably picking up that I’m moving ... we close on the new place Jan. 4 ... if all goes well (fingers crossed) and the place is ours after that date, I will fill you in on some details.
This is a Spicy Beef Soup recipe my daughter sent that she says works wonders for when you are sick. The link that it was at no longer works, so the recipe is no longer online, unfortunately.
However she did have the presence of mind to copy it and send it to me before that so I still have it. I use portabella mushrooms, although any exotic ones should work as well. Beef bone broth would be good to use as that is very healing.
SPICY BEEF NOODLE SOUP
Active: 35 min. Total: 1 hr. 40 min.
This sinus-clearing, immunity-boosting bowl of soup is inspired by Szechuan beef noodle soup
Because some of the ingredients to make the traditional version require a trip to an Asian market, we
approximated the flavors with easier-to-find items.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided (I use olive oil)
2 b. boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-in. pieces
1½ cups chopped white onion
⅓ cup minced garlic (15 cloves,
1 Tbsp. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 plum tomatoes, chopped ¼ cup sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
3 Tbsp. white miso
1½ tsp. ground coriander
1½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
8 cups unsalted beef stock
2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1½ Tbsp. light brown sugar
8 oz. pre-sliced vitamin D-enhanced mushrooms (such as Monterey Mushrooms)
1 (8-oz.) pkg. pad Thai brown rice noodles
4 (4-oz.) baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise ½ cup sliced green onions ¼ cup cilantro sprigs
Directions:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Add half of beef; cook, turning occasionally, until
browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer cooked beef to a plate. Repeat procedure with 1
teaspoon oil and remaining beef.
2. Heat remaining 4 teaspoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, and ginger; cook,
stirring often, until onion is almost tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, sambal oelek. miso,
coriander, and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, and
browned beef. Bring to a boil; partially cover, and reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Cook
until beef is almost tender, about 45 minutes. Add mushrooms; cover and cook until beef is tender, about
30 minutes.
3. Cook noodles per package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.
4. Add bok choy to soup; cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Arrange about ½ cup noodles
and 2 bok choy quarters in each of 8 bowls. Ladle about 1½ cups soup into each bowl; sprinkle each
serving with 1 tablespoon green onions. Top with cilantro sprigs.
*This soup freezes well, except for the noodles and bok choy (both get really soggy when frozen). I always freeze
before adding either, and then reheat on the stovetop so I can add the bok choy and let it cook.
SERVES 8 (serving size: about 2 cups)
Calories 459; Fat 20g (sat 7g, unsat 11g);
Protein 31q: Carb 39g; Fiber 5g; Sugars 8g (added sugars 3g): Sodium 736mg; Calc 4% DV: Potassium 10% DV
I got an extra large Harvest Right freeze dryer to process food from the garden rather than canning and freezing.
Just did apples, leeks, and onions. Next is potatoes.
It is amazing that the FD food tastes so good. Long shelf life, maintains most of the vitamins and nutrition, and really easy.
These recipes look delicious, perfect for a cold day.
I just made potato soup yesterday.. So easy and everyone loved it.
Saute chopped onions in butter/olive oil until tender. Set aside.
Peel, cut and boil (about 6) potatoes (as if you were making mashed potatoes) until potatoes are just tender.
Drain potatoes and add fresh water to pot to cover potatoes. Add about 1 cup milk/heavy cream. Pulse with immersion blender to desired consistency, leaving some chunks of potato. Add in saute’d onions.
Dice 1/2 large carton Velveeta cheese and add to soup, simmer on low until melted.(I freeze the other half of the Velveeta to make more soup on another day.)
Add more milk/water until soup is desired consistency, if needed.
Season to taste with salt/pepper/parsley, etc.
You can add bacon or ham bits. I did add in some shredded carrots (cooked to just tender in the microwave) while simmering.
This is my go-to winter easy-yet- filling quick soup.
Soup is my favorite thing, and I am the soup queen!!!
Easiest that I make is zucchini soup. Good if you aren’t feeling well.
1 zucchini sliced in bite sized pieces.
put in a pot and barely cover with water or stock (I use chicken stock) Cook till just tender.
Mix 1 egg with a large handful of parmesan cheese, salt pepper and parsley. It should almost be a paste. Stir into the soup, cook 30 seconds and serve.
For the most complex soup I make I use my 2 gallon pot, and quit adding ingredients when I run out of room. My record is 24 different kinds of veggies. It is almost a stew it is so thick. Fresh if you have them, canned for those you don’t. I use the liquid from canned veggies (except things like black beans which will make the color murky) I find the chopping and adding to the soup to be therapeutic, and then I have a bunch in the freezer for later. I don’t use white potatoes so it will freeze well. I also don’t use okra, because I hate it. 8-)
Vegetable soup.
Saute 1 pound of bulk sausage. (can be omitted for vegetarians)
Add chopped onion, celery and carrot and sauté just to soften.
Add 2 large cans of tomato juice, or V8
Start adding veggies. A partial list....
Mushrooms
broccoli
cauliflower
zucchini
yellow squash
acorn squash
butternut squash
green beans
wax beans
sweet potato
corn
black beans
chili hot beans
kidney beans
lima beans
tomatoes
green pepper
red pepper
red or green cabbage
A tablespoon of oregano, or to taste.
Simmer all till tender.
It is a hearty meal!
Bkmk/soup
Minestrone Soup is IN the pot .... first piglet is OUT!
When I went to the grocery, the roads are so crowded, they were backed beyond the turn lanes, couldn’t get in until the regular lanes got a green light & moved. The grocery stores were packed, long lines at the checkouts. At Aldi’s, the lone cashier’s line was halfway down the first aisle ... they finally called another one. I was kind of surprised so many were out shopping today.
You can arrow forward and back through the book. (Link open to Knickerbocker Bean soup.)
Pollard; General link for your (Or anyone who is reading this post's) Prepper files and just in case SHTF and everyone decides to bug out and show up at your place! Feed them for cheap with soup (like the Navy) and avoid having to shoot them, at least for a while!
***The front has info on using dehydrated foods.
I make 5 kinds of soup -— bean, potato, chicken noodle, egg drop, and vegetable beef, unless you count beef stew and chicken and dumplings. Egg drop is the fastest and easiest. I cut egg roll skins into strips and flash fry them to serve with the soup.
We had a nice visit with the kids and grandkids Friday and Saturday. After foundering ourselves on prime rib of beef and spiral-sliced ham, we got to watch Mizzou bring home another Cotton Bowl trophy and send THE Ohio State foosball team back to where they came from with a big red L tattooed on their foreheads.
Most of the mess has been cleaned up already so Mrs. Augie and I are relaxing a bit today before we hit the town tonight in celebration of our 32nd wedding anniversary. We're not part of the hoop it up til midnight crowd so we'll get downtown around 4:00pm, meet up with our friends, find a nice place to eat, then be home by 8:00 so we can get to bed before we turn into pumpkins.
