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What's for Dinner- Sausage Pesto Casserole

Sausage Pesto Casserole

2 cups uncooked Rotini pasta
1 pound Italian sausage links cut into 6 Pieces (I used 1 pound bulk Italian Sausage)
7 oz Pesto (I used prepared but you could make it fresh and use)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Cook and drain Pasta per directions

Cook Sausage in saucepan until brown. Drain.

Stir in Pesto sauce water and pasta into sausage. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

Sprinkle with Cheese.

Serve.

Do you have a Plan B?

Nasturtium Vinegar

Nasturtium Vinegar

Ingredients
Nasturtium flowers
1 c White wine vinegar

Combine 12 rinsed and dried nasturtium flowers and 1 cup of white wine vinegar in a glass jar with a screw-on lid (if lid is metal, line it with plastic wrap).

Let flowers steep for 3 weeks to a month.

Strain and rebottle in decorative bottle.

Planting Seeds

I planted some seeds in the Square Foot Garden today:

Simpson Elite Lettuce
Gypsy Hybrid Broccoli
Baby's Leaf Hybrid Spinach
Chantenay Carrots
Scarlet Nantes Carrots
Snowball X Cauliflower

I also planted some Marigold seeds in the 4 corners

By the end of the week I will have transplanted the Contender Bush Bean Seedlings

FRIENDSHIP CAKE AND STARTER

FRIENDSHIP CAKE AND STARTER

STARTER:

1 large gallon jar
1 cup cubed pineapple
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1 cup maraschino cherries including juice
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1 cup sliced canned peaches including juice
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brandy

CAKE:

1 box cake mix
1 small box instant pudding
3/8 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts
1 portion fruit

In the one gallon jar, combine the pineapple, 1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of brandy. Let ingredients sit in jar for 2 weeks, stirring daily. At the end of two weeks, add the maraschino cherries, 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of brandy. Let the mixture sit for two more weeks, stirring daily. During the forth week add the canned peaches, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of brandy. Let sit another two weeks, stirring daily. Separate the liquid. DO NOT refrigerate the liquid.
In a large gallon jar, put 1-1/2 cups of the starter, 2-1/2 cups of sugar and 1 large can (28 oz.) sliced peaches. Mix well and cover jar with a paper towel. Do not refrigerate or screw lid on jar. Stir every day for 10 days. Next, add 2 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 can (16 oz.) crushed pineapple. Stir everyday for 10 days. Add 2-1/2 cups sugar and 1 can (16 oz.) fruit cocktail. Slice contents of 1 jar (10 oz.) maraschino cherries and add with juice. Stir every day for 10 days.

On baking day, drain the fruit and divide it into two equal parts. Save the juice and use it as starter for friends. You will have enough for five starters (approximately 2 cups each). DO NOT refrigerate the liquid because it will stop the fermenting action.

For each cake you will need: To each cake mix, add pudding mix, oil, and eggs. Beat until smooth and fold in fruit and nuts, batter will be thick. Pour mixture into a greased tube pan, then bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes. Turn cake out of pan while hot.

When cooled, the cake freezes well. The choices of flavored cake mixes and pudding mixes is yours and coconut may be substituted for nuts.

Blackberry Bush

Blackberry Bush with straw mulch

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Ingredients
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups white sugar, divided
3 cups milk

Directions
1.In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

2.On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.

3.Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).

Another Kind of Raised Bed Garden

Key Hole Gardens






Keyhole gardens are a technique used to grow vegetables in a dry climate. They are actually a special form of raised bed gardens: circular waist high raised beds with a path to the center. Walled in by stones, there’s a basket made from sticks and straw in the center that holds manure and other organic kitchen waste for compost.
Since they look like a keyhole from above, they are often called keyhole gardens and also promoted under this name in Lesotho, where the charity organisation “Send a Cow” has been promoting the creation of these special gardens for some time now.

So what makes these gardens so special?

•the surrounding stones retain the rich soils and keep it safe from erosion
•the round shape retains moisture
•compact size, even small plots can be used for gardening
•raised beds enable the sick and elderly to help with the gardening work
•center in the middle is used for composting and reuse of greywater (= reuse of nutrients)

Tomato Ladders

These are we chose to support our Tomato Plants with.
We have used them in the Family Garden with success.
They also are space saving which is a priority since we are planting using the Square Foot Gardening Method


                                                            Red Tomato Ladders, Set of 3

Tomato Ladders
Heavy-Duty Tomato Ladders Hold Over 100 Pounds!

If you have a really big tomato crop this year, will your plant supports be able to handle the load? Our exclusive Tomato Ladders are the sturdiest you can buy, because they’re made with 7mm steel uprights — 20% thicker than others on the market! They’ll last season after season too, thanks to a weatherproof powder coating. Best of all, our Tomato Ladders are better for your plants. The rounded-V shape protects plants from wind and accidental breakage. The seven cradle-shaped cross-members give multiple places for vines to rest, and make it easy to set the ladders into the ground. Tomato Ladders will make the most of your garden space, reduce pests and disease, and give you a bigger harvest of juicy, unblemished fruit — guaranteed!

-Ladders hold a huge harvest — over 100 pounds
-Ladders cradle fruit-laden vines more effectively than stakes
-V-shaped design protects each plant's main stem
-Ladders nest for compact off-season storage
-Add our new Ladder Extensions to support your tallest tomatoes

You can check out the Tomato Ladders at www.gardeners.com/ or click the links below!