Worked in the yard last weekend – and got so much done. Got out the weed-eater and trimmed everything (front and back), pulled weeds out of the flower beds and did some much needed raking as the leaves are starting to tumble from the old oak in the front yard. I love to burn the leaves – such a wonderful fall smell – but haven’t been able to do that lately as we’re still under a burn ban due to the drought. Maybe if we get some more rain we’ll be able to burn. I sure hope so. If not, I’m tempted to bag up some of those leaves and save them to burn somewhere along the way just so I can enjoy that lovely fall smell.

Bit of a surprise while coming and going getting out the yard tools on Saturday. Can you say snake? Yup – had another snake encounter, only this time it was just the skin. David found the snake ‘shell’ in what we call the ‘back shack’ where we keep yard stuff along with other much needed ‘guy’ stuff like grease guns, metal wall brackets, miscellaneous cans of paint and scraps of wood. The odd part of the whole encounter is that the skin was in a box of tools about 3 feet off the floor. Hmmmmm…. didn’t know that snakes could get that high. Considering that there was nothing under this shelf other than the ground. I have to wonder how he got up there. Guess I’ll need to be more watchful when getting things off of shelves in the future.

I’ve been experimenting with a new shrimp recipe. Lemon-pepper shrimp. These are so easy to make and to eat . . . too easy in fact. But we like them and they make a good compliment to Chinese fried dumplings or if you like, they would make a great appetizer… just pile them up on a plate and let people have at them with toothpicks.

The recipe is below,  if you want to give them a try. Serves 2. (Before I start, I do not measure when I cook – so these are approximate measurements. You may find you want more or less of something.)

Ingredients:

• 24 Medium shrimp, totally peeled and veined
• 1 Heaping tablespoon of corn meal (yellow or white)
• 1-1/2 Heaping tablespoons of flour
• 2 Teaspoons of Lemon-Pepper seasoning
• 1 Teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/4 Medium sized onion thinly sliced
• Dash of salt
• 1-2 Tablespoons of corn oil for frying

Directions:

1.  In a bowl mix together the corn meal, flour, lemon-pepper seasoning, black pepper, and salt.
2. Into the combined mixture add the shrimp and gently toss to coat. Set aside.
3.  In a nonstick skillet place the oil and heat to medium-high. Add in the onion slices and cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice to keep them from burning.
4. With the onions still in the skillet, turn up the heat a little and add in the shrimp. Try not to get any of the left over coating mix that may be left in the bottom of the bowl into the skillet.   Cook the shrimp for a minute or so and stir carefully. You want them to cook quickly but you don’t want them to burn or the coating to fall off. I think I cooked mine for about 3 minutes total. If your shrimp are larger – it will take longer. Just use your own judgement here.
5. Remove the shrimp from the heat once they are done as you don’t want them to continue cooking or they will get tough.

Hope you enjoy them!

And just in case you ever wondered, I’m a very messy cook – take a look at my sink when I finished fixing those shrimp! Please don’t let this deter you from trying them – they really are worth the trouble.

Texas Fall Get-Away

PS – If you’re looking for a Texas get-away this fall, consider a trip to the Lost Maples State Park.  The park is located near the town of Vanderpool.  For information about Lost Maples and Vanderpool – visit Day Trips on This is Our Texas or go directly to the Vanderpool - Lost  Maples page here. 

PPS – Check out I Can’t Believe It’s Sugar Free - I’ve added a couple more recipes.

What with the peach trees in full bloom figured I better use some of the frozen peaches   from last year – and I wanted to see if they would keep the texture  of  a fresh peach or turn into mush.

Put this to the test over the weekend by making some apricot-peach fried pies.   Recipe for apricot-pear fried pies is here - just replace pears in recipe with peaches for a new taste.

Took five of the frozen peaches to use in the recipe . . more than needed but I wasn’t sure how they would ‘defrost’.

 To get them ready for making the filling, dropped the whole frozen, straight from the freezer peach into boiling water, let them boil for about two minutes, and then placed them into ice water.

The skin all but slid off and the peach looked just like it had come straight from the tree.   My curiosity got the better of me – so I cut off a portion of one peach to eat  raw – wanted to see how it tasted.  Again, just like it had never been frozen. I was pretty amazed.

So I proceeded with making my fried pies.  Do have one ‘tip’ for you …. if you’re planing on cooking any fruit pie fillings with a combination of dried and ‘fresh’ fruit, pre-cook the dried fruit a little before adding in the fresh fruit.  If you do not, you’ll end up with either dried fruit that is undercooked and tough or fresh fruit that is overcooked and mushy.

Herbs Away!

Finally got started on the herb box!!  

Of course the whole process was more involved than we planned on. We ended up having to dig up all of the grass in the area so we could level the ground before doing anything else.

We then put down a double layer of weed barrier with the metal panels on top of that.  (Got the panels by taking apart  a roll-around shelf we had bought that we decided I didn’t need.)

We’re only going to this much trouble to try and prevent the moles from destroying the dirt and plants. If I didn’t have the mole problem here – I definitely would not have gone to this much trouble.

Right now the box is  two-stories tall - but I’m thinking that is too much. For one thing the dirt where the two frames meet will leak  and wash out.   And, I don’t think my short herbs need that much dirt  for their roots.  Anyway, I can always add on the extra layer if this doesn’t work.  My gardening style these days seems to be one of  ‘trail and error’.

Guess I’m not the only one looking to have a box garden with herbs.  I was stunned to see the ‘box gardens’ at the Lowe’s garden center selling for over $100.  WOW!!!   And, they were no bigger. Granted, they were prettier but when I get my $3 box garden finished and painted – it’ll be pretty too! and I’ll have $97 + tax in my pocket.

The trip driving to Palestine, i.e., Lowe’s on Monday was beautiful.   This time of the year all the flowers are beginning to bloom and we passed fields filled with flowers. The dogwoods are in bloom as well and since the trees don’t have all their leaves, you can see the white blossoms  scattered everywhere throughout the woods.

Even my pink dogwood decided to bloom this year.

Bluebonnet Trails

If you’re planning a trip to see some of the wildflowers,  Brenham is a good place to start.  For information on Brenham and to get the telephone number for the Bluebonnet Trails visit Day Trips – Brenham.

And… if you love antiques, don’t forget Round Top/Warrenton is in full swing (March 22 – April 2) For a list of the antique shows visit Texas Antique Mall- Antique Shows .

There are so many different kinds of wildflowers blooming right now . . . I don’t know their names but some look just like tiny little white bells, others I call wild verbenas simply because the leaves look like verbena leaves even though the flowers don’t – and then there are little blue-ish flowers that look remind me of violets. All the peach and plum trees are full of blooms with what seems like hundreds of bees everywhere.   I find it hard to believe that it’s been reported the number of bees are dwindling. Couldn’t tell it around here. We’ve got honey bees and bumble bees both. The bumble bees can be agressive if you get in their territory – so I stay clear of them. Lady Bugs seem to be everywhere as well – and they’ll fly right up and land on you. I’ve heard they are good for a garden and yard so I leave them alone.  

I’ve started cleaning out the garden along with the flower bed next to the picket fence. I’ve planted some Sweet Peas there – and will keep my fingers crossed that they make it. I love Sweet Peas – but have terrible luck growing them.  

 Also, set out some Zinnias and potatoes. Haven’t decided what else I’ll grow this year – probably the standards – tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans, maybe some okra. I did see an advertisement on television for a ‘Survival Garden’ – advertised as having enough seeds to plant an acre with all the popular veggies. Kind of reminds you of the 1940′s Victory gardens, doesn’t it? I can’t imagine advertising vegetable garden seeds to television viewers – especially if they live in the city. They have to be clueless as to how big an acre is and how much WORK it would take to maintain it. (I know I was.) We’re talking, tilling, weeding, planting, fertilizing, weeding again, etc. etc. I’m hard pressed to keep my small garden/yard going and it’s pretty much on auto-pilot. I plant it and if it makes it . . . great – if it doesn’t, it gets replaced with something else. My days of coddling flowers (i.e., city style) are through. I probably lost a few plants this winter thanks to that 13 degree night, but at least I know that the ones that survived have got to be hardy. And if I’m looking to replace something, I’ll certainly look for some more of those plants that survived.

I figure it will take me at least a month or two to get things back in order, but that’s OK – I’ll enjoy being outside listening to the birds and the bees, smelling the new clover, and pretty much just being thankful for all my blessings.

For those that enjoy driving through the Texas Hill Country during Bluebonnet season (they should be blooming around the end of March) – you can get more information about the different festivals and trails on This Is Our Texas - the weather will still be pleasant and there’s so much to see. Don’t forget the camera!