And The Winner of the $50 Penzeys Spices Gift Card Is...

 Drum roll please.....



















Congrats! Please contact me on Facebook to make arrangements to receive the gift card! Thanks, everyone! Happy Holidays!
I hope to do more of these in the future.

Gift Card Giveaway

 I'm rather surprised. I thought there would be a lot more than this wanting to get in on this giveaway. You guys have 4 days left. Make sure to share this blog with your friends. Tell them to sign up to follow for an extra entry. Remember, only those of you who have followed and commented on here will be entered for that $50 Penzey's Spices gift card giveaway. It ends on November 11th at noon, Pacific Standard Time, via Rafflecopter, and is only available to residents of the United States. Sorry, but I don't know all the countries that Penzey's ships to. I'm am not being compensated by Penzey's Spices for this giveaway. Bob and I bought this gift card.
Time's a'tickin' away!

A Look At Our New Place & Seed List For 2022

We drove up to the new property yesterday. This photo was taken when it was a bit warmer out, of course, but this is the apple orchard. 

The guy, who was there before, had raised meat pigs. He had a boar and this was where he kept his boar. I'm going to turn this area into my chicken run. 

 Our pigs will be pasture raised. I'm grateful that he left this pig area up. All we need to do is get the box and a battery to turn on the electric fence. 

That trailer has been sold and it just needs to be removed. That is where our canopy and fifth wheel will go. 

We have all this area. I want to turn a good chunk of it into garden spaces. 

All of this area will have raised beds. I want to put my herb garden where I don't have to walk very far to utilize it.

This is where we will put a hot water tank and a washer and dryer. Yes, we will be buying a set, for sure! It is too far to run to the laundromat every week.

That is a beautiful deck, but it will have to be moved. We're not sure if the person who bought the trailer has bought that, too, or not. If not, we'll move it out a bit and we'll set up an outdoor dining area. I can put cute little pots of trailing flowers at each corner. It will be cute.

These terraced gardens are really cool. There are a ton of strawberry plants. I'm going to need a couple of ducks for slug patrol.

My lavender plant will join a couple of lavender friends.

• 

So there's a better look at where we are moving to. I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Now, onto my seed list. I'm taking on a huge project here, but I want to be self sufficient, this coming summer, as far as produce goes. I also want to be self sufficient through the winter, too.

Heirloom Tomatoes

*Julia Child
*Great White
*Coyote
*Lagidnyi
*Zena's Gift
*Alice's Dream
*Broad Ripple
*Orange Jazz
*Mushroom Basket
*Principe Borghese
*Girl Girl's Weird Thing
*Lipstick
*Amana Orange
*Barlow Jap
*Trip-L-Crop
*Green Ghabdan's Danish Orange
*Vintage Wine
*Moonlight Mile
*A Grappoli D'Iverno
*Pit Viper Dwarf
*Amish Paste
*Groovy Tunes
*Egg Yolk
*Red Beefsteak
*Clay Family Red Cherry
*Sart Roloise
*Dancing With Smurfs
*Oregon Spring
*Campbell's 1327
*Kentucky Beefsteak
*Dr. Wyche's Yellow
*Old German
*Kaleidoscope Jewel
*Yellow Pear
*Red Ruby
*The Thong
*Snow White Cherry
*Nizami
*Zlatava
*Red Charcoal
*Riesetomate
*Heaven Oregon
*Join Or Die
*Kazachka Cherry
*Stripes of Yore
*Pink Egg
*Rutgers
*Kentucky Yellow/Orange Slicer
*Super Steak
*Pork Chop
*Delta Dawn
*Marge's Polish Pride
*Sgt. Pepper
*Rose Beauty
*Piovano
*Pineapple
*Red Pear
*Northern Lights
*Zebra Rita
*Gold Pearl Micro Dwarf
*Valencia
*Xanadu Green Goddess
*White Wax
*Mortgage Lifter
*Red River
*Marianna's Peace
*Mix (Roma, San Marzano & Rio Grande)
*Amethyst Jewel
*Carbon
*Cereza Amarilla
*German Queen
*Black Krim
*Big Rainbow
*Black Sea Man
*Isis Candy Cherry
*Red Dumplin Winner Pink
*Vnucen'ka
*Iva's Red Berry
*Blondekopfchen
*Lille Lise
*Solar Flare
*Sub-Arctic Plenty
*Aussie Pink
*Hawaiian Current
*Rebel Alliance
*Black Dragon
*Gargamel
*Nina's Heirloom
*Pink Yellow Stripe
*Firesteel
*Cherokee Purple
*Aunt Ruby's German Green
*Arubuzunyi
*Lemon Boy
*Matt's Wild Cherry
*Georgia Slicer
*Lavender Lake
*Green Zebra
*Skykomish
*Black Beauty
*Cosmic Eclipse
*Pineapple
*Midnight Snack
*Dr. Caroline's Cherry
*Black Pear
*Brad's Atomic Grape
*Bulls Heart Red
*Indigo Pear Drop
*Blue Berries
*Thorburn's Terra Cotta
*Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye
*Red Crystal
*Chameleon
*Malachite Box
*Spoon
*Landreth's Surprise
*Speckled Roman
*Paul Robeson

Beans:
*Laura
*Parpl Tippi
*Blauhilde
*Calypso
*Tanya's Pink Pod
*Tongues of Fire
*Blooming Prairie
*Unknown brown variety that I grew out that was mislabeled
*Unknown grey variegated variety that I grew out that was mislabeled
*Arapaho Fish Hill
*Watkdnono'saingwimr'd (Yellow Dog Belly)
*Purple Podded Pole
*Red Yard Long
*Green Yard Long
*Coco Rose De Prague
*Flood Pole
*Haricot Dolique
*Scarlet Emperor
*Broad Windsor Fava
*Dragon Tongue
*Succotash
*Dixie Speckled
*Old Joe Clark
*Robert Hazelwood
*Kebarika
*Sacre Bleu
*Black Nightfall
*Dapple Grey
*Seneca Cornstalk
*Palomino
*Senate Soup Navy
*Cannellini
*Chester (Skunk)
*Tonawanda Strawberry
*Plus De Soleil
*Wing
*Greasy Grits
*Christmas
*Kabouli Black Garbanzo
*Extra Precoce A Grano Violetto Fava
*Cherokee Trail of Tears
*Hobbs Goose
*Chickpea (Garbanzo)
*Chinese Red Noodle
*Cranberry
*Slippery Silks

Peppers:

*Sweet Bonnet (hot)
*Peter
*Nadapeno
*Poblano
*Choricero
*Jalapeno
*Peperone di Senise
*Liebesapfel (Candy Apple)
*Dulce Rojo
*Ljubovs Dlan
*Rdeca Spic
*Ros de Mallorca
*Najerano
*Laylak
*Trontarolo
*Yaglik Biber Salacalik
*Sweet Cherry
*Hong Gochu
*Shishito
*Sirenevyi
*Habanada
*Early Jalapeno
*Brazilian Starfish
*Serrano
*Corbaci
*Ajvarski
*Murasaki
*Calabrian Hot
*Sweet Ratunda
*Jimmy Nardello
*Rezha Macedonian Hot
*Sugar Rush Hot

Herbs:

*Fenugreek
*Lemon Balm
*Tulsi Basil
*Sweet Basil
*Garlic Chives
*Florence Fennel
*Lime Basil
*Bouquet Dill
*Sweet Thai Basil
*Giant Italian Parsley
*Dill, unknown variety
*Parsley, unknown variety
*German Chamomile
*Borage (blue)
*Cilantro
*Lemongrass
*Cinnamon Basil
*Garden Chives
*Single Parsley
*Clary Sage
*Persian Basil
*Lettuce Leaf Basil
*Borage (white)
*Culantro
*Mammoth Long Island Dill
*Provence French Summer Thyme
*Giant of Italy Parsley
*Anise Hyssop
*Dwarf Lemon Cilantro
*Zloty Lan Chamomile

Eggplant:

*Comprido Verde Claro (orange)
*Japanese White Egg
*Listada di Gardia
*Casper
*Petch Siam
*Ping Tung
*Eastern Prince
*Golden Eggs Indoor

Peas/Lentils:
*Sugar Snap
*Tom Thumb
*Favorit
*Mixed (from what I grew last year, including Spring Blush)
*Lentils
*Carouby De Maussane
*Sugar Magnolia Tendril
*Oregon Sugar Pod II
*Cascadia Snap
*Adagumsky
*Miracle
*Easy Peasy
*Sugar Daddy

Lettuces/Salad Greens:
*Castelfranco Radicchio
*Mixed Lettuce (from what fell out of the packages that I planted)
*Mesclun Mix
*Iceberg
*Sword
*Drunk Woman Frizzy Head
*Mache Corn Salad
*Marville Des 4 Saisons
*Parris Island Cos
*Buttercrunch
*Landis Winter
*Chinese Narrow Leaf
*Butter King
*Bronze Beauty
*Outredgeous
*Saguine Ameliore
*Brune Percherone

Chard/Spinach/Beets:
*Malabar Spinach
*Mangold Alyy Chard
*Matador Spinach
*Strawberry Spinach
*New Zealand Spinach
*Yellow Mangel Beets
*Chioggia Beets
*Golden Detroit Beets
*Detroit Dark Red Beets
*Golden Beets
*Ruby Queen Beets
*Nokhovskaya Beets
*Giant Noble Spinach

Brassicas:
*Michili Cabbage
*Golden Acre Cabbage
*Chinese Yod Fah Broccoli
*Spring Rapini Broccoli Rabe
*Chinese Chirimen Hakusai Cabbage
*Rosella Brussels Sprouts
*Calabrese Broccoli
*Violaceo Di Verona Cabbage
*Shanghai Green Choy
*Purple Vienna Kohlrabi
*Delicacy White Kohlrabi
*Beni Houshi Mizuna
*Early Mibuna
*Pac Choi
*Granaat Chinese Cabbage

Root Veg:
*Purple Top Turnip
*Gold Ball Turnip
*Shogoin Turnip
*Zlata Radish
*Rainbow Blend Carrot
*Little Finger Carrot
*White Icicle Radish
*French Breakfast Radish
*Uzbek Golden Carrot
*Parisian Carrot
*Pusa Jamuni Radish
*Longue Rouge Sang Carrot
*Chinese Red Meat Radish
*Gniff Carrot
*Pink Glitter Daikon Radish
*Pusa Gulabi Radish
*Giant Red Carrot
*Kyoto Red Carrot
*Hida Beni Turnip
*Parisienne Carrot
*Purple Top Rutabaga
*White Egg Turnip
*Black Spanish Radish
*Chinese Shawo Fruit Radish
*Japanese Wasabi Radish

Cucurbits:
*Bottle Gourd
*Rocky Ford Cantaloupe
*Arctic F1 Cucumber
*Early Crookneck Summer Squash
*Korean Melon
*Svitozar Zucchini
*Boston Pickling Cucumber
*Marketmore 76 Cucumber
*Birdhouse Gourd
*Waltham Butternut Squash
*Fanfare Cucumber
*Pattison-Panache Jaune Et Vert Scallop Squash
*Iran Squash
*Parisian Pickling Cucumber
*Red Kuri Squash
*Baby Pam Pie Pumpkin
*Table Queen Acorn Squash
*White Bitter Melon
*Balcony Swallowtail F1 Cucumber
*Jealous Neighbor F1 Cucumber
*American Tondo Pumpkin
*Calabash Bottle Gourd
*Pineapple Squash
*Zucchino Rampicante Squash
*Kajari Melon
*Luffa Gourd
*Fordhook Zucchini Squash
*Ronde De Nice Zucchini Squash
*Siamese Bitter Melon
*Chinese Python Snake Bean Gourd
*Mexican Sour Gherkin Cucumber
*Rich Sweetness Melon
*Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe

Flowers:
*African Marigold
*Snow Princess Calendula
*Melba Peach Double Nasturtium
*Coral Glitter Nasturtium
*Double Gold Nasturtium
*Kroshka Double Nasturtium
*Royal Robe Nasturtium
*Orient Mix Zinnia
*Jerusalem Gold Hybrid Sunflower
*Candy Cane Mix Zinnia
*Classic Artistic Mix Bachelor Button
*Yeti Nasturtium
*Pink Surprise Calendula
*Tip Top Alaska Salmon Nasturtium
*Tall Trailing Nasturtium
*Alaska Red Shades Nasturtium
*Tower Custom Mix Aster
*White Single Clitoria
*Mixed Zinnia
*Orange Cosmos
*Mixed Marigolds
*Cockscomb
*Oklahoma Mix Zinnia
*Love In A Mist
*Peppermint Stick Zinnia
*Single Blue Clitoria
*Blue Double Clitoria
*Red Cardinal Vine
*Dwarf Yellow Snapdragon
*Rose Campion
*Lilliput Zinnia
*Tower Purple Aster
*California Giant Zinnia
*Pink Mix Zinnia
*Cactus Zinnia
*Cupid Mix Zinnia
*Mixed Snapdragon
*Gumdrop Zinnia
*Thumbelina Zinnia
*Out Of Africa Nasturtium
*Blanket Flower
*Shasta Daisy
*English Daisy
*Forget-Me-Not
*Black Oil Sunflower
*Pink Dandelion
*Japanese White Dandelion
*Purple Emperor Nasturtium
*Strawberry Blonde Calendula
*Chinese Wool Flower
*Zeolights Calendula
*Fiesta Gitana Calendula
*Hungarian Blue Bread Poppy
*Passion Flower
*Purple Balloon Flower
*Blue Disc African Daisy
*Freckles Viola
*Brush Strokes Viola
*King Theodore Nasturtium
*Bloody Mary Nasturtium
*Lime Zinnia
*Bright Orange Zinnia
*Mixed Dwarf Zinnia
*Canary Nasturtium
*Bronzed Beauty Calendula
*Tetra Mix Snapdragon
*Mongolian Giant Sunflower
*Yellow/Orange Mix Calendula
*Teddy Bear Sunflower
*Toothache Plant
*Yarrow
*Feverfew
*Persian Carpet Zinnia
*Rainbow Mix California Poppy

Other Misc. Garden Seeds:
*Red Shiso
*Green Shiso
*Red Orach
*Old Tokyo Komatsuna Spinach Mustard
*Red Russian/Ragged Jack Kale
*Blue Scotch Curled Kale
*Pink Plume Celery
*Okra (unknown variety)
*Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale
*Premier Kale
*Chijimisai Chinese Greens
*Pascal Celery
*Chinese Pink Celery
*Jing Orange Okra
*Morris Heading Collards
*Clemson Spineless Okra
*Green Wave Mustard
*Granaat Chinese Cabbage
*Orchard Baby Corn
*Tokyo Long White Bunching Onions
*Mavka Onion
*Onion (unknown variety)
*Red Beard Bunching Onion
*Green Calaloo Amaranth
*Verde Tomatillo
*Yellow of Parma Onion
*Love Lies Bleeding Amaranth
*Golden Giant Amaranth
*Mullein
*Lion's Mane/Tail (not sure what this is. Obtained in a trade. I always thought that these were mushrooms)
*Etiole Jaune Alpine Strawberry (yellow)
*Metsa Muinasjutt Strawberry
*King Richard Leeks
*Elephant Head Amaranth
*Brightest Brilliant Quinoa
*True Potato Seeds


Am I being overly ambitious? Yes. But, I can always store seeds that I won't be using in the freezer for another year.

Let me know in the comments if I'm missing anything. Make sure that you have signed up to follow The RV Homestead and share with your friends.
I'm giving away a $50 Penzey's Spices gift card on November 11th.
You can read the details here.

Hopefully, I'll have an update soon as to the actual move date. Right now, I don't have that available.
So, make sure to get entered for the giveaway and let me know if I'm missing anything in the garden.

Penzey's Spices Gift Card Giveaway

 Don't forget to get your extra entries in for the $50 Penzey's Spices gift card giveaway that ends on November 11th.
Unfortunately, Penzey's is not shipping out of the country, so this contest is only open to US residents. I am not being sponsored by Penzey's. I just like the company and thought I would buy a gift card and give it away.

You must be signed up to follow this blog. You must comment. That counts as one entry. You can also get an extra entry for every person that you can get that signs up to follow The RV Homestead, as well, so share this with your friends and on your social media pages.

Good luck!

Big Changes Are Coming & A Giveaway

 

 

 

I just want to let everyone know that we have some major changes coming up soon.

I'm happy to announce that Bob and I are coming to the end of RV park living.

After a dozen years, we've had enough of nosy neighbors watching our every move. We are done with the gossip mongers. We're just done with the whole works. The cherry on the top of this mess was when a neighbor went completely off their rocker because my sister came over and I gave her some of my garden produce. This neighbor started screaming and calling my husband names and acting absolutely ridiculous. Apparently,  they thought they should have gotten any extra produce just because they gave me a few broken down raised beds that they were going to throw out anyhow. What this neighbor neglected to mention is that I had already sent up 4 big grocery bags of produce to them. It was, quite seriously, something that a restraining order could have been issued over.
I'll not have neighbors spying on who I have come over to my home and what I give them. It's none of their business. The creepiness factor just takes it to a completely new level and I'm not going to live where I'm uncomfortable just going out my door because some weirdo is spying on me and what I'm doing. Just no.

We are moving onto acreage. A lot of acreage.  Nobody will be there.
I'll be able to have chickens. I'll be able to have a few ducks. I'll be able to raise some rabbits and we could raise meat pigs, if we wanted.
The sky is the limit.
There's even an established apple orchard there.

This place is out in the country, at the end of a 1/3-mile private driveway, at the end of a dead-end road. No neighbors. None. This is what my concept of heaven looks like. Our dogs can run. The cats will have a big catio that they can play in. This is a great thing and we couldn't be happier. This also means that my garden area just got exponentially bigger, too. I'm looking into getting a 20-foot high tunnel/greenhouse...whatever you want to call it...it's on Amazon for a couple hundred bucks.

Yes, we're moving this trailer up there and we're taking the canopy. The outbuilding will remain here, most likely, as it looks to be a pain to move it. Our shed will go, of course, and all my raised beds and so forth. It will take us a while. We are already planning on having a group of people come over to get this canopy down.


Wish us luck!

Now, on to the other part of this blog post.

I have a $50 Penzey's Spices gift card that I want to give away to one of you guys that are signed up to follow The RV Homestead. Here's the catch. You must be signed up to follow this blog. That will get you one entry. If you comment, you'll get an extra entry. If you can get your friends to sign up to follow this blog, you'll get an extra entry for each one that signs up to follow me.

I'll announce the winner on Thursday, November 11, 2021 at noon, Pacific Standard Time. Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter.
*This contest is only open to USA residents as Penzey's Spices has a limited shipping area.
I also want everyone to know that I am not sponsored by Penzey's Spices at all. I paid for this gift card so that I could give it away. This is not a sponsored post.

Good luck.

Vanilla Bourbon Cheesecake

 I may be channeling my inner Golden Girl here, but is there anything more delicious and decadent than a homemade cheesecake?
It's getting to be that time of year when everything turns to pumpkin spice, apples and all those delicious fall favorites. To me, it means that it is time to create a new cheesecake.

I have another blog post about making homemade vanilla extract. Click here to view that post. I find that vanilla and bourbon are a marriage made in heaven. I don't buy vanilla flavored spirits, but I will certainly make my own! I used some of my homemade vanilla Jack Daniels in this creation. These flavors scream fall to me.

This recipe starts out with 32 ounces of room temperature cream cheese. Do not use a lower fat or fat-free type of cream cheese. Now is not the time. Use the full-fat variety. Make sure it's at room temperature. Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature.

The first thing you want to do is spray a 10-inch spring-form pan with nonstick cooking spray. Then, assemble your graham cracker crust. Make sure to use brown sugar in your crust. It makes a difference in how the taste of the crust melds with the taste of the cheesecake.

Here is a photo of my homemade vanilla Jack Daniels. This is such a delightful fall flavored ingredient.

Everything gets blended up. Again, to reiterate, make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature.

The cream cheese mixture gets poured into the crust and it bakes up in just over an hour into something extraordinarily decadent and delicious.

Vanilla Bourbon Cheesecake


For the crust:

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons pure cane sugar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
7 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

For the filling:

32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup pure cane sugar
2/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 pinch of sea salt
3 tablespoons vanilla infused bourbon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
To make crust:
Mix all crust ingredients in a large bowl and press into bottom of a 10-inch spring-form pan. Set aside.

To make filling:
Blend cream cheese, with a mixer, until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar until it is dissolved. Add sour cream and mix to just combine. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing to just combine. Add salt and vanilla infused bourbon.

Pour into prepared crust. Put in preheated oven, on center rack, for 75-85 minutes, or until the center looks jiggly, much like jello. Turn off the oven and prop open the oven door with a wooden spoon and set a timer for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove cheesecake from oven to a rack to cool for another hour. Chill in refrigerator at least 6 hours to overnight.
Refrigerate leftovers.

Chicken & Dumplings

 I had Bob buy that rotisserie chicken yesterday. I made enchiladas with half of the meat. To view that  recipe, click here. Tonight's Chicken & Dumplings utilizes the other half of the meat and the carcass. This recipe took me all afternoon to complete and was worth every minute.

I boiled the carcass with all the vegetables that I had that were starting to dry out or look tired. I love that this is a great way to clear out the crisper drawers of stuff that I had just hanging around. I didn't bother to peel anything. I threw in bendy carrots, celery (that was way past its prime), half of a sweet potato. I let it cook down for about 3 hours. 

I strained it out and I was left with some fantastic looking broth. 

This is only the first part of this recipe. Congrats, you're advancing to level 2.

I wanted to do these two recipes to show how economical it can be to buy a rotisserie chicken, especially if you are feeding just 2 people. My sister always jokes with me because I'm not usually one who takes all this time to do things. I usually have several things going on at once. Anyhow, I was watching a YouTube video last night on how to make your food budget stretch and I got to thinking about just how much food is simply thrown away. It's appalling, if you think about it. So, I was determined to get every cent's worth from that rotisserie chicken. 

We just so happened to get our first storm of the year today. I don't think I'd really call it much of a storm, though. There was a bit of thunder and lightening and it did pour down rain a few times. I have to admire the grit of these two fishermen. They were dedicated there on the opposite bank of the river.

I salute them!

The next half of this recipe starts out by boiling the reserved chicken meat and whatever veg you like in the chicken stock that you just made.
There's no right or wrong way to do this because taste is subjective.
I used onion, garlic, celery, carrots and a parsnip. I thought I had another sweet potato, but it was purple and I didn't think that would look so nice. I wouldn't care but I knew I was going to take photos of this for this blog post and purple...not so much.

I let this come up to a boil with everything in it and cook until everything was soft enough to mush against the roof of your mouth with your tongue. 

This is sure comforting on a rainy day, I do have to say!

Chicken & Dumplings


1/2 of the meat from a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket
The carcass of the chicken
Any vegetables that you want to sacrifice to the stock pot
Enough water to cover
Salt and pepper, to taste

Boil all this together in a large pot and strain the solids out and throw those away. Put the rest back into a pot. Add the chopped meat, chopped vegetables, like celery, carrot, onion, garlic and parsnips. Add as many or as little vegetables as you like.
To that, add salt and pepper, to taste, 1-1/2 teaspoons Penzey's Bouquet Garni spice blend, 1 teaspoon dried parsley and some chopped fresh rosemary, optional. I grow it, so I always have it on hand.  Bring all to a rolling boil, lower heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are very soft. Add 3/4 cup of heavy cream to the soup.
Make dumpling dough.

Dumpling dough:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Mix all ingredients together until a dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls into liquid. Cover, cook about 20 minutes or until dough is cooked through.

*Please not that I am not compensated by Penzey's Spices. I just really like their products and use a ton of them.

Chicken-Green Chili Enchiladas

 Since Bob had all of his teeth pulled, it's been a struggle to find foods that he can eat because he has the added problem of having scar tissue in his throat, from the radiation treatments when he had throat cancer. He has to eat softer foods because he can't chew it up and certain things will hang up on that scar tissue and choke him. His medications do that to him all the time.
Anyhow, I digress.

We ordered some Mexican delivery for dinner the other night and Bob decided to give enchiladas a whirl. He ate them. He enjoyed them. I'll make enchiladas for him.

One thing that I think we're going to do more of, simply because it's cheaper for us to do so, is buying rotisserie chickens from the supermarket. There is a supermarket, here in town where the majority of the shoppers wear masks, that I will venture into. They sell their rotisserie chickens for like $6.50 or something. I cannot buy a whole chicken for that price very often. This week is one of those weeks, but I haven't placed my grocery order yet. I sent Bob for a chicken and some corn tortillas. 

Now, this rotisserie chicken is going to make 4 meals for us, 2 meals of enchiladas and 2 meals of what I'm going to make a blog post about tomorrow...5 if you count the chicken stock that I'll cook down, but I'm using that for meals 3 and 4, so I'm not counting it. We'll have enchiladas again on Sunday.
I pulled the meat off half of the chicken and cut it all super small for Bob. Next, it's as easy as opening a can of enchilada sauce, a can of green chilis and opening up a package of shredded Mexican blend cheese. 

Now before anyone goes off about these not being "from scratch", let me just say that I realize that. I'm working with a food budget and I try to stretch my dollars so that I can get a bit more of food put up so that we can enjoy the summer flavors this winter. My thinking is that the more economical I can make our dinners, the more of my budget I can spend on fruits and veggies to can up. I am tossing all of my previously canned up goods. Our shed had gotten rats in it and with those boxes of jars stacked on each other, I don't feel safe consuming any of it.

But I did feel entirely safe consuming these! Bob bought the street taco sized tortillas. At first, I thought that they would be WAY too small, but they were perfect sized. I made us each 3 enchiladas. I have enough filling, cheese and tortillas for another batch on Sunday and all we need to purchase is a 15-ounce can of enchilada sauce.

So, this may not be all from scratch, but it is delicious and it's economical and, all together, it will make 4 servings of 3 enchiladas each. 

Chicken-Green Chili Enchiladas
Makes 4 servings

1/2 of rotisserie chicken, chopped
2 tablespoons minced sweet onion
1 4-oz. can mild green chilis, drained
1 15-oz. can red enchilada sauce, use 1/4 cup on a deep plate to dip tortillas in, use 1/3 cup in the chicken mixture and use the rest add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of the baking dish and to pour over the top of the enchiladas
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (or cheddar)
2 green onions, chopped
12 street taco size corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shred chicken, put in a bowl and mix with onion, chilis, sour cream and 1/3 cup enchilada sauce.
Pour 1/4 cup enchilada sauce into a deep plate or pie dish. Dip each tortilla into the sauce, coating both sides, sprinkle a small pinch of cheese down the center of the tortilla, add a few spoonfuls of the chicken-green chili filling, top with another pinch of cheese, roll up and put in a baking dish that has a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom. Place seam-side down.  Repeat for all the tortillas.
Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas in the baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and green onions.
Bake 30 minutes, uncovered.
Remove from oven, let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

*You can assemble these and freeze. Use within 3 months. The leftover filling will last for 3 days in the refrigerator.
*I wore disposable gloves while I assembled this dish.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

 Vanilla is a necessity in any baked good. Any rich chocolate dessert that is delicious beyond belief has vanilla in it. Describing vanilla is like attempting to describe a color. It's strongly aromatic and it's warm, floral flavor gently and distinctly compliments many other spices and foods.

Most vanilla is grown in Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, which, in the past 20 years, has experienced 35 cyclones, 8 floods and 5 periods of severe drought. 

Vanilla is an orchid. There are hundreds of types of orchids, but only one, the vanilla planifolia, produces vanilla beans. They are finicky and very hard to keep alive. I keep thinking back to all those times, in my younger years, that I bought an orchid and brought it home and tried to keep it alive. I failed every single time. I couldn't even imagine trying to grow one outdoors!

Vanilla orchids have a short flowering season and each one has to be hand pollinated by someone who knows what they are doing. Hand pollination is a difficult process. Once harvested, the job is not over, either. From growth to export, the entire process takes about a year.

For a while, consumers were content with synthetic vanilla flavoring, which can be bought for super cheap. Today, it's trending that we only use the real stuff, so that drove up the cost of vanilla beans. They are roughly $300 per pound. This is the most labor-intensive spice to grow and it is the second most expensive spice in the world. It costs us, the American consumer, roughly $20 for 4 ounces of real extract.

So, when I was able to find some Tahitian grade B vanilla beans, 10 for less than $15, I was all over that deal! I decided to make my own extract. I started into this with a pint of Jack Daniels and a couple of vanilla beans that I wound up buying from Penzey's Spices (on a side note, here in a few weeks, stay tuned for a great opportunity, that is not sponsored, that the RV Park Homestead will be hosting. A clue is Penzey's Spices!). I was hooked. That was THE BEST extract ever! There is something about chocolate and that sour mash that is just magical to the taste buds! I wound up using that bottle up and buying another bottle and putting all the old beans into it along with 10 more! Then, a few years ago, I bought a fifth of locally made craft vodka. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it because neither of us drinks anymore, so it sat in the cabinet until I decided that I would turn it into vanilla extract. I stuck 10 vanilla beans in there and forgot about it for about 8 months. The result is a golden bottle of vanilla loveliness! So, I bought 20 more vanilla beans and some different types of booze and I'm making vanilla!

I believe in using alcohol that you would drink. I think it's the same concept as cooking with wine. If it's gross from the get-go, it's not going to be a top quality product at the end. The taste of that craft vodka puts it in the same league as Grey Goose, as far as I'm concerned. It's a shame that they went out of business.
I just started the rum and the Wild Turkey today as my 20 vanilla beans just came in. Rum extract is tasty. I like to use it in tropical flavored desserts like pineapple upside down cake or a from-scratch coconut cream pie. Vanilla rum extract is simply going to put rum extract into a league of its own. Same with all the others. Suffice it to say that I have a tidy little sum invested into my extracts and we'll enjoy them for many years to come.

The Exalt vodka used to be a clear liquor, just as the rum is right now. I've had the beans soaking in the vodka for over 8 months now. The Jack Daniels has been soaking even longer than that!

Can you tell which has been my favorite so far? 

In a few months, this rum will be the same color as the vodka is...and just as flavorful.

If you want to learn more about how vanilla is grown, here's an excellent video. Click here.

So, thank you for having this vanilla chat with me. I've really enjoyed it. I'll leave you all with some furry kid photos.

Peace!

Giardiniera

 I love giardiniera mix. I've been wanting to make some for a long time now, so I figured that it was as good of a day as any to do it since I had taken advantage of a local farmers market for some awesome produce.

At first, I thought I was going to make that chunky mix that I like to buy occasionally from the supermarket. I read up about it and found out that there were two different types. There is the original Italian version, which I do love, and there is a Chicago-Style, which is more of a condiment.
If you know me, you know I love condiments. I usually have no less than 15 in my fridge at one time. I have an entire shelf dedicated to my condiments and, all I can say is that it's a good thing that we have a spare fridge in our outdoor kitchen! This is supposed to be spectacular on a hot dog. In a month or so, I'm going to get some really good hot dogs and I'm going to try it.

I found a recipe for a small batch. I didn't want half of a leftover head of cauliflower, because I'd be the only one eating it and, while I do like cauliflower, I don't like cauliflower enough to eat half a head of it by myself. I chopped up the whole thing. It was tedious, but I think it will be worth it in the end.
The beauty of this recipe is that it will utilize most all of your garden produce harvest! Celery, onions, carrots, eggplant, cauliflower, red peppers, hot peppers...it's all in there! Since I decided to use the whole head of cauliflower, I used 1/2 cup of kosher salt and just over 5 cups of water to brine. You want the veggies to be covered by salt water. I left to soak, refrigerated, overnight.

While my jars were getting sterilized in boiling water, I drained and rinsed the veggies off. I split them in half into my two bigger sized pots and I used vinegar, sugar and spice in each pot and boiled for about 15-20 minutes. 

I made exactly 3 quarts. Ideally, this can be canned up in pints, but I'm saving those for other things that need to be consumed quickly after opening. This stuff can last in the jar for months, so this was just the way that was logical for me. 

I processed these quarts for 20 minutes to be on the safe side. I don't think I'll use that particular pot to can quarts in anymore. It's great for pints and half pints but not for quarts. That's why I processed for 20 minutes...better safe than sorry.

Viola! Enough giardiniera to use for the whole year!

Giardiniera
*makes 3 quarts or 6 pints

Ingredients

Day 1-cut all vegetables into small-dice sized pieces, enough to make 3 quarts. There are no measurements because these ingredients are all to an individual's preference.

• Cauliflower
  
• Red bell pepper
  
• Sweet onion
  
• Celery
  
• Carrot
• Hot peppers (optional)
  
• Eggplant

Other veggies can be used, too: zucchini, green olives, banana peppers, etc. 

 

Day 2-cook vegetables in brine. I split between 2 pans and split the brine in half, as well.

• 8 c white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
  
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp each celery seed and fennel seed
  
• 
  
  On the first day, chop all vegetables and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over veggies and stir to combine, then add water until veggies are submerged. Let set for 12 hours or overnight.
  
  On day two, rinse the veggies well under cold running water. Combine all the Day 2 ingredients in a large pot with the veggies and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Place into sterilized, hot jars. Seal. (Please look at the safe canning guidelines. Click here for link.) Process 15 minutes for quarts, 10 minutes for pints. Let cool thoroughly.