winners galore!

When it came right down to pickin' for the sweet pea seeds, I just couldn't do it.
I looked at my bowl of seeds and pondered.
Was there any way to get 20 seed packets from them?
I measured, divided, multiplied, subtracted, measured again, added, did some long division...
and decided...
YES!
EVERYONE who entered will get some seeds!
And by next autumn YOU will likely have enough to spread around!

So...it gets a bit more complicated, as I now need 20 snail mail addresses, not 3!
(Camille...please send your USA addy!)
Please just e-mail me individually, (there were 20 that actually wanted in on the drawing), and I will get them out as soon as I can.
Not promising you'll get them by the weekend, cause I have more than tripled, no wait, quadru..., aagghh....not good at the math, but you get the picture!

xoxo,
farmgirlcyn

cindy50@altelco.net

a giveaway of the utmost frugal kind!

old-fashioned perennial sweet peas in my garden

I have not done a giveaway in such a long time, and tho finances here have never been tighter, I wanted to do something special for my friends!

autumn sweet pea pods

So...yesterday I went out to the gardens and clipped pods from my sweet peas to send to 3 blessed winners!

Here in Michigan these sweet peas are perennials. I am not so sure how they would do in a perpetually warm climate, so one would take a chance on that.

They do need a place to climb, tho it does not have to be very tall. Mine are growing up along my courtyard picket fence, and also on one of those tall obelisk thingies I have in a corner of the courtyard.
They will bloom most all summer long with dark pink, light pink, and nearly white flowers, and are lightly fragrant.
Mostly, they are wonderful filler for when I have no extra cash for annuals!
And, if they overtake your garden spot, just hoik them out and start over!

sweet pea seeds

I am having this giveaway now, as this is when you need to sow these seeds.
At least, I THINK this is when you sow them!

All I know is the pods are drying, popping, and throwing the seeds willy nilly on the ground surrounding them, and that in the spring I will have more beautiful sweet peas!

My seeds just fall to the ground below, but if I were sowing these by hand, I would lightly rake them in, just ever so slightly burying them.

To win one of these packets, just leave a comment.
I will draw 3 names on Tuesday, and the winners should have their seeds by next weekend!
And perhaps next year, the winners will have enough seeds to host their own giveaway!

I wish "I" was one of the winners!
Oh, wait! I already own these seeds!

xoxo,
cindy

ps....due to the "nature" of this giveaway, I must limit the participants to the United States. I am thinking other countries might not take too kindly to the shipping of "seeds" into their lands!

Beans & Beer!

Tortilla Black Bean Pie

I DO try to plan a weekly menu, and I also try to incorporate at least one new dish that we have never had before.
Cause I like surprises.
And with the internet and blogging, I am never at a loss for fresh ideas.

This recipe came from a blog called 2 Equal Parts.
(click link for recipe)

It was absolutely delicious.
And pretty darn easy-peasy!

And it came together in about 20 min. of prep time and 20 min. of baking.
It calls for simmering 2 cans of black beans in 12 oz. of beer, which, if you know about cooking with alcohol, the alcohol content is gone after just a few min. of simmering.
BUT...the flavor it imparts is wonderful!
I DID increase the garlic and cumin,
(cause I'm THAT kinda girl)
and I also topped each individual serving with thinly sliced scallions and chopped cilantro.
The cilantro is not in the original recipe, but I think it adds a great amount of flavor.
I would also add more jalapeno, but that is because the ones at the grocers right now are very mild, and I think it could have used a bit more heat.

Also, not in the original recipe, but I baked it in a round tart pan, and it needs to have a spray of Pam before laying down the 1st tortilla.

I served mine with tortilla chips, some lite sour cream and homemade salsa.
Would have had guacamole, but the avocados at the grocers were rock hard.
Next time I will plan a bit better!

Do you all plan a weekly menu, or are you flyin' by the seat of your pants every day around 4pm?

hookin' and an easy-peasy recipe

crocheting in the round

I've been so inspired by the many bloggie friends I have who can pick up needles and yarn or fabric and thread, and create something beautiful out of it!
While visiting Lucy, over at attic24, I became enamored with her little birdie ornaments and decided I would try something similar myself.
Well, I got carried away, and wanted to keep going with my crocheted circle, so I am now headed in a bit of a different direction and making a round crocheted pillow.
The photo above will be the top of said pillow, with an old man's navy blue sweater which has been felted (by me!) to be the backside.
Now, I just have to figure out how I want tp connect the two parts!

fresh, homemade naan

The kitchen duties have not been neglected tho, and I had come across a recipe for Naan, (from Allrecipes.com)which is a bread typically served with Indian meals, that I desperately wanted to try.
Naan at my local grocers sells for around $3 for a small bag of about 6.
This recipe makes 14, and I can tell you for absolute certainty, it did NOT cost me anywhere near $3!!!
I did mine on a very hot cast iron skillet, which is recommended in the coments section at the recipe site. They cook up in about 2-3 min., so keep an eye on them!
This was SO good, warm and fresh. And incredibly simple.
I can truly say it was
Easy-Peasy!

coconut chicken curry

You can't serve Naan without some kind of Indian food to go along with it, and my choice for supper last evening was this delicious curry, whose recipe I got from Prudence Pennywise.
The only things I did differently was to not add the raisins and the nuts.
And I used nearly a full can of Lite Coconut Milk.
She strongly suggests you try it with the raisins, but I didn't have the energy to run down the cellar and hunt them up.

Not too spicy, with just a hint of heat, it was the perfect accompaniment to the naan.

I'm smellin' Christmas in the air...how about you?

I've been "beavering", as Dottie Angel would say, busy getting my projects up and running, for it is to be a thrifty Christmas this year. Lots of homemade, handmade, and thrifted presents!

Lots to do to prepare for the upcoming hoilidays, and for heavens sake, Thanksgiving is just 3 weeks from now!
YIKES!

I'll be back right straight, to show you my finished pillow!

xoxo
cindy

PILLOW TALK!

inspirational book

I have been inspired by the sweetest book I requested from my library.
Somewhere out in blogland someone had this book on their sidebar, and anything that has the word "simple" in it's description is one I am naturally drawn to.
Isn't the cover "inspirational"?
(now, if I were that tall and thin, that apron would be right up my alley)
But, alas, I am not.

My 3 button, YES!, I said 3 button pillowcase!!!

So instead, I tried my hand at this linen pillowcase.
Linen being the key word here as I have simply yards of it left from when I had slipcovers made for my sofa 3 years ago.

My handmade linen, 3 button, pillowcase
(did I mention there are 3 buttons on this?)

See how nicely it matches my other pillows and quilt?
And I have heard linen feels wonderful as bedding, all wrinkley and lineney, and such.
I'll find out tonite.

There are lots of simple projects in this dear book, and I believe it could be on my Christmas wish list.

Can you believe I had to make 3 buttonholes for this????

Who would have thought, 6 months ago, heck, even 3 weeks ago, that I could accomplish such a feat?
And I didn't shed one tear.

EASY-PEASY APPLESAUCE!

CHUNKY APPLESAUCE IN SHEET PAN

Armed with a bushel of low-spray Jonagold apples graciously delivered by Ang from Maple Valley Farms, I set out to make a simple applesauce.
No fuss. No muss.
I don't think it gets any easier than this....

Chunky Homemade Applesauce Recipe

• 8 medium, firm apples, such as Granny Smith or Rome Beauties
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• cinnamon/nutmeg to taste
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Peel, core and dice apples into one-inch chunks. Try to make all of the apples roughly the same size, so they cook evenly.
3. Place apples in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle honey, olive oil, brown sugar and kosher salt over the apples. At this point you may add a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Stir the honey mixture till evenly coated. (this does NOT make a huge amt. of "sauce")
   
5. Spread the apples out in an even layer on a heavy roasting pan, or a sturdy baking sheet.
6. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the apples are golden brown and soft, but still retain their shape. They will exude their own juices so the pan never really gets burnie stuff on it.
   
7. Remove the apples from the oven and mash lightly. Serve immediately.
8. Or cool. Whatever you like!
   

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

APPLESAUCE!

We are serving this as a side dish to a simple baked ziti.
Supper's almost ready....gotta run!

EDIT.....THIS IS THE BEST APPLESAUCE I HAVE EVER HAD. NOT KIDDING.

TO THE DARK SIDE....

FarmgirlCyn...for now

With separate knee surgeries comin' up after the 1st of the year, I am looking for ways to streamline my life a bit.

Simple soups and salads.
De-cluttering.
Handmade instead of store-bought gifts.

And...

No more highlights/lowlights in my hair.

My dear daughter Gina, a hair stylist, has been most obliging whenever I have felt the need for a trim, root touch up, or highlights.
But...with the whole first half of next year being spend either in surgery or recuperating from surgeries, I thought it was time to go au naturale.

Yes, in real life I am a natural brunette.

For now.