Welcome to my kitchen! I'm Jennifer, and I am thrilled to have you here. From delectable meals to homemade bread, desserts, gardening or food preservation techniques, I've got you covered. I post cooking videos every Tuesday, garden Vlogs on Friday and sometimes shorts or lives in between.
Join our vibrant community here and let's whip up some magic together!
Edited.....GREAT Haul Jen. And those Voodoo pretzel sticks are awesome. And far as finding one of the stores near us, I finally found one just SE of us in Hiram, GA. Might be going to take a ride down there this weekend.
I did some today! After it cooled I had the puree float to the top, is that normal? And there was foam I forgot to skim 😬 hopefully the foam doesn't ruin it.
Separation is totally normal. Just shake it when you open the jar. The foam won't affect the taste, it is purely an aesthetics thing. I don't mind the foam.
@@letssummondinner One has to be careful, too much can be too much. Just blended a cherry/cowhorn 2 week ferment. It’s different. I have a bunch of green jalapeños and I’m tired of poppers, lol. I had been told not to use green peppers because it makes it “bitter”, but I think they were misinformed. That’s why I watched your video, thanks btw. Sometimes the vinegar can make it a bit thin, so I add about an 1/8 teaspoon of xanthan gum, which has the added benefit of keeping it from separating as bad. Thanks again, my jalapeños will start tomorrow.
@@choccolocco I think that the vinegar is a fantastic idea. I really like this sauce so I am gonna try it with vinegar next time. I think the acid would be fantastic. FYI it isn't bitter at all.
@@letssummondinner Good to know. I use a cup of brine. One cup white vinegar will do it, two cups will give it a good twang. Sometimes two is too much, better to taste it as you go, as I went with two and it’s a little bit more than I prefer, but the wife likes it. Thanks again for the video.
It's definitely on my list of things I want to try lol. I really don't like store bought bread but my kids do. I would rather make it myself so I can enjoy it too lol.
@letssummondinner yes, I had started making it because it's so much cheaper (especially gluten and corn free), but bought a loaf for convince once. That was a disappointment 🤣
Wonderful haul, Jennifer! That is so sweet of your momma! I don't have one anywhere near me here in FL, but I am definitely keeping it in mind as I look for places to live in TN. I think there might be one place in southern/mid Florida (Sarasota) but that's a 4+ hour drive one way. As I look for properties, I may cave and even try just over the border in surrounding states, depending on the property, just prefer no income tax in TN and have lived in and loved being in TN before. 💚
You will absolutely love TN. Its beautiful and outside of the major cities the people are pretty friendly. Depending on where you end up I bet you would have an Amish salvage store not too far away in just about any direction. 😀
I don't math very well lol. I tried to figure up price per pound on the tomatoes and peppers but then I just kind of gave up lol. I know if I get four small tomatoes (disappointment tomatoes lol) from the grocery store for like 4 bucks, then 22 lbs for 15 is certainly a good deal. I don't even need to see the numbers. I would like to get to the actual auction at some point but my anxiety would never let me go by myself. So for now I will just get them at that store.
WE LOVE Amish/Mennonite Salvage stores. We grow a lot of our own food, as you know, and their stuff is a great supplement for what we don't grow/convenience food type stuff. The bulk produce is great too and always a great price! Awesome haul!!
Yum yum, these look delicious Jennifer! I bet that crunchy exterior with the yummy veggie interior was really nice. I wonder if they'd turn out as good baked in like mini muffin tins? Thank you for sharing, definitely a keeper to try out myself. 💚
This is the tranquility in the harvest that is accurately conveyed in this video. (Perfecto!) And oh yeah - every one of those ripe small tomatoes would have "disappeared" before reaching the basket! LOL Mine almost always do - so I have to harvest AFTER supper if I want to be able to bring some insode. 😂
Trust me, I have eaten my weight in tomatoes lol. I bring in about a quart every other day of cherry tomatoes. My son grazes on them when he walks through the kitchen lol. I sprinkle the spoon tomatoes on salads. They are cute but TEDIOUS to harvest lol.
Oh, man! That salsa has to be delicious! I used to grow tomatillos. Some kinds were small like those, some were larger, but still smaller than your tomato. Yum!
Looks beautiful and fresh, Jennifer! Super easy and appreciated the tips. I'd probably sprinkle some kind of cheese (parm or asiago maybe?) on top at the end, if serving warm.. hahahahha. I couldn't handle the heat with the seeds in, but really love knowing de-seeding would help with that. 💚
Ohhhhh cheese would be so good! Maybe even some Queso Fresco or Oaxaca. I am totally doing that next time lol. With the seeds in it made my ears sweat 😂🤣😂
Even though you said salsa verde and I read salsa verde, my brain kept SEEING guacamole! Weird. Anyway, this looks like an easy, tasty recipe. Thanks for sharing :)
That looks amazing. I need to harvest my tomatillos again. I started to, but my kids hated them fresh. They won't like the spicy ,so when I make this, it's all mine and my husband's anyway 😂
Honey, gardening is life! Some seasons are rough & the weather is hot enough to destroy the leaves. Sometimes critters come & steal all your hard work. Sometimes we can’t figure out for the life of us what we aren’t doing right. But it’s ALL right because it teaches us to be fluid, adaptable & resilient. You’ve played God in your garden and maybe even watered the soil with a few tears. You’ve healed yourself. Gardening is LIFE! And you’re doing a great fucking job. 🤗
Oh My Goodness! What a gorgeously HEALTHY garden! No shame in letting the plants do their thing - that's a wonderful thing! And because the tomatoes are able to set roots along the ground, they're probably able to have less stress overall. Less stressed plants attract fewer pests because bugs and disease attack the weaker plants and the ones getting enough nutrition, water, and sunlight are carefree darlings that are likely to be too tough for those pesky things to bother. And hey - who HASN'T had crabgrass or some other weed take over at least one garden bed after a short absence in the garden? Last year, I wasn't able to spend much time in the garden and I had grass of all kinds growing in my asparagus bed! It was so bad, I had trouble telling what was asparagus and what was grass. So, once the asparagus died back, I started weeding! We added more compost and mulch this year, so it's much easier to stick to the "pick 3 weeds" every time I'm in the garden now and have much less trouble in that bed. But goodness - getting a harvest despite weed pressure is AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing, Jennifer!
I have noticed very little disease in the tomatoes. I was expecting to see yellowing and all sorts of stuff on them just letting them crawl like that but nope lol. I haven't even seen pests in there which is a pleasant surprise. I managed to get about half the weeds taken care of and I will get to the other half as time allows. The way I look at it is life happens. Garden doesn't have to be magazine perfect to be doing its job.
I think the garden is doing quite well, especially considering it's been hot, crazy storms, and you were away for vacation. Loved the "chaos" and "feral" tomatoes naming, hahaha. Lots of yummies, and whoa the cucamelons! The strawflowers are gorgeous, and I have heard they actually dry very nicely for decoration because of how papery they are. 💚
Even though its messy it is still giving me food so I try and remind myself it is a win lol. It is so easy to get lost in comparing your garden to what other people's look like and get trapped in thinking it MUST be aesthetically pleasing. It is serving its purpose well, even if my tomatoes are sprawling across the ground lol.
Nice quick and delicious ranch dressing, Jennifer! I love the idea of using kefir in it. I bet someone could use fermented mayo and get double the probiotic loveliness. Thank you for sharing. 💚
I was fascinated by this. Using exactly the same ingredients, jam making in the UK looks nothing like this. firstly, after we brought the jam to a boil we would be looking to identify it reaching the setting point. So, either using a thermometer to check it had reached 105c or using a cold plate we would us a wrinkle test to check that. Secondly, cooking the jam in a water bath just isn't a thing in UK jam making. I would simply decant the jam into sterile jars and screw on a sterile lid. Then leave it on the side to cool. Never had an issue with spoiling.
OMG when you said Kewpie mayo I almost knocked my computer over laughing! That stuff is like GOLD here. If you happen to want to make your own, just make mayo with double the amount of egg yolks. Anyway - I love the idea of substituting milk kefir for the buttermilk! Oh and one more thing - and it's gonna sound insane BUT - if you have some dehydrated mushrooms, blitz them into a powder and then add a couple of teaspoons of that in that dressing for anyone who likes Hidden Valley brand Ranch. It actually brings that "something" without bringing anything questionable.
I like the mushroom idea. That umami from the msg would put it over the top. Fantastic idea! I make my own mayo sometimes, but on the day I filmed this I saw a jar in the fridge and just decided to use up what I had open already. I REALLY wanted to use that kewpie lol, heads would have rolled though 🤣
