Lunch from the Garden

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes, green beans with a small chunk of salt pork, sliced tomatoes and cantaloupe, how does that sound for lunch? I grew the green beans, tomatoes, and the bell pepper in my garden. I make really delicious meatloaf, not to brag or anything. The cantaloupe was so sweet and the tomatoes were juicy. I made a pitcher of sweet tea and for dessert, pound cake. What did ya'll have for lunch?

First Fruits

This is the first basket full of the bounty from my garden. I have had tomatoes for breakfast every morning for at least a week, and cooked one pot of green beans. I have already harvested seven zucchini and made them into zucchini bread. I've cooked one pot of collard greens and made green chili cornbread to go with it. This is really satisfying. It makes me feel good.

Delicious Zucchini Bread

Fresh from the oven, my extremely delicious zucchini bread. It smells wonderful. Hey, what else can you do with all that zucchini? This recipe makes two large or three medium loaves. I prefer the medium - you can make more neighbors happy!

Zucchini Bread Recipe
3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 c. shredded zucchini
1 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray pans with Pam for Baking. Assemble all ingredients. Sift together dry ingredients in one bowl. Cream together eggs, sugar, and oil in larger bowl. Mix in dry ingredients. Add zucchini, nuts, and vanilla, stir until well blended. Divide batter evenly between 2 large or 3 medium loaf pans. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool loaves on wire racks. Cool completely before wrapping in wax paper to give away or slicing to eat.

Dirt Endorphins

Gardening is Therapy. I heard on the news that digging in the dirt releases endorphins. Which makes sense, did you ever see an unhappy kid playing in the mud? Gardening is expensive. Someone wrote a book titled "The $60 Tomato". Mine probably cost that or more, but growing things makes me happy. In the backyard, I have tomatoes, peppers, okra, collard greens, green beans, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, rosemary, lavender, basil, thyme, and giganto sunflowers. In my front flower bed, I have roses, daisies, delphinium, daliahs, marigolds, carnations, lavender, mint, and May night sage. I have been taking pictures of my progress. It has been money well spent, just counting the pleasure and personal satisfaction that it has given me. I totally dig gardening.