Bloomin' Tuesday

It's Tuesday and it's definitely bloomin'

around Maple Hill.

Welcome to a small sampling of our garden.

cosmos

cosmos & ageratum

not sure what these are,

but they were worth saving off the "dead" rack

corn plant

brilliant visitor

A freebie from the last Spring Obsession

A-HA!

He's a big 'un!

Loaded with lemons

My favorite color in the garden.

Another mystery to me

 Newly refurbished butterfly in the ageratum

A self-seeder of unknown origin

Blue-eyed grass sways in the wind

Enjoy your time in the garden.

Blessings abound...

Secret Gardener

Wanna have some fun?

Start the Secret Gardener

in your neighborhood or workplace.

It's easy and makes you feel downright mischievous.

A friend of mine and I

decided to start it here in the neighborhood .

Here's how it works...



Make up a card with the instructions

 that can be passed on with the pot.

The other side introduces the game to the lucky recipient.

(Two cards are shown here.)

Take a bloom from your own yard and pot it up,

including the two-sided instruction card.

I used heavy packing tape to seal it

so it could be used again.

It's nice to add a tag identifying the plant too.

Remember playing the doorbell ditch game?

This one's more fun because you brighten someone's day.

I didn't ring the bell, just left it here and cruised on by.

Have a little fun and keep the good stuff movin'!

Country Garden Showcase

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Black Beans and Rice

Beans are one of nature's most perfect foods.

They are packed with minerals, protein and fiber.

Here's one of our favorite ways to enjoy them.

Black Beans and Rice

2 C cooked black beans (any kind will do)

1 onion, diced

1 tomato, diced

1 t cumin

2 t salt

sprinkle of red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

Sautee onion with spices until tender (6 minutes).

Add cooked beans and tomato. 

Let simmer at least 10 minutes.

(This dish is actually better the next day.)

Remove bay leaf.

Serve with white or brown rice,

pasta or added to tacos or chili.

Enjoy!

See our simple method for cooking beans here.

Thrifty Thursday-Dishwasher Rinse Aid

Homemade cleansers have been used here for quite a while.

In the last few months, the effort has been made to

assemble new recipes for even more household products.

Recently, a dishwashing powder was posted.

Using straight vinegar in the rinse compartment

was working fine.

I thought I'd give this one a try to compare results.

We've been using it for about a week now

and it seems to take care of the cloudiness.

I'm still not sure about using the alcohol though.

I'll post an update as we continue to experiment.

Rinse-O-Matic

(fooddotcom)

1 C vinegar

1/4 C alcohol

1/4 C hydrogen peroxide

2 T citric acid

(I reused an old squirt bottle I had as a dispenser.)

Let me know if you try it!

farmgirl friday

Wordless Wednesday-Cosmos