Spicy Cucumber Salad

This is a really simple, healthy way to use up fresh cucumbers from the garden. My friend Juan taught me about this way to prepare cucumbers and I absolutely love it.

Ingredients:

7-8 fresh garden cucumbers

2 limes

Tajin seasoning 

Peel and slice cucumbers.

Juice two limes over them.

Sprinkle with Tajin to taste. I would start out with just a little and then add more if desired.

I just keep a container of this in the refrigerator for a simple, guilt free snack.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Homemade Cherry Crisp

One of my favorite things about the start of summer is the return of fresh fruit from fruit trees. This spring we planted an apple and a pear tree so that we can have fresh fruit in the future. But they won't produce for a few years. Luckily I have a very nice neighbor whose cherry tree was doing very very well this year.  My husband and I spent some time picking cherries and we got about 16 cups.

After a few hours of pitting I was ready to make some sour cherry goodness. I made a batch of  sour cherry jam, some dried cherries and a couple cherry crisps. Today I will share the recipe for the cherry crisp I made. 

Sour Cherry Crisp

Filling:

1 lb pitted sour cherries (you can use sweet cherries or frozen cherries from the store too)

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Topping:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cherries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a stock pot. Heat on medium heat until cherries start to juice. Bring it to boil, stirring constantly. Turn down heat and simmer until the mixture starts to thicken. Pour into 9 X 13 pan.

Place all ingredients for topping in medium bowl. Mix together with a fork until well mixed. Sprinkle on top of the cherry mixture. Put in oven uncovered and bake for 30 minutes or until topping is browned.

You can also use this topping for other crisps as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sour Cherry Jam- Guest Post at Garden Therapy

Hello everyone- just wanted to pop in and let you know I am guest posting my Sour Cherry Jam recipe over at Garden Therapy today. Go check it out and check out Stevie's amazing blog while you are there!

Have a great day!!

Zoe

First Harvest From the Garden

Yesterday was our first real harvest from the garden. We had been getting a little bit of lettuce, spinach and peas before, but yesterday was the first cucumbers, squash, peppers and tomatoes.

Obviously, the produce is what we do all of the hard work for and it is so satisfying to search through the leaves and find that perfect little cucumber that will turn into that perfect little pickle.  

It makes all that time spent watering, weeding, and planting worth it.

So far the garden is producing very well. My plans for the produce this summer are to make a lot of jalapeno pickles, salsa, spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes and canned green beans.

Oh yeah, and those grape tomatoes did not survive the day yesterday. I missed the taste of garden fresh tomatoes!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!!

What I Have Been Doing

So you may have noticed that I have taken a short break from blogging.  It was not intentional, but I needed to focus my energy on other areas of my life.

Some things have changed in my life. The biggest change is that I have quit my job as a WIC Dietitian. I am not working right now and it is a different experience for me.  I have put in a few resumes and I am really excited about the opportunity to do something new in my career.

But even though I have not been working at a job, I have been very busy.

Swimming at the lake. Cross Stitching. Working in the garden. Running with my dogs. Cooking and baking. Keeping the house clean. Life is good!

I have a few recipes and projects I am looking forward to sharing soon and I hope that you all will enjoy them!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!