STRAWBERRIES AND RHUBARB

Friends are angels on earth! Have you ever noticed how they show up just when you need them and sometimes even when you didn't know you needed them? They are there in times of trouble and also in times of just because!

Just a hand full of juiciness! They are small, but mighty tasty!

Nancy DeBerg is one of those generous souls who showed up in my life. She shares her time, talents, and her plants! She shared a shovel full of her over-crowded strawberry plants with me one spring. We discovered 18 plants in that shovel full of dirt! My sweetheart JoPapa created a strawberry patch for us to plant them in and they have taken off and produced lots of deliciousness! Sometimes when I'm picking them, it difficult for me to get the berries past my mouth and into the house!

After sharing a photo of my joyful harvest, one of my cousins mentioned rather humorously, that he'd fight for some of my strawberry preserves! 
Why can't we all just get along?! 

:-D

I promise, I'll save up some strawberries and make enough preserves to share.

I also remember some of my family members love rhubarb jam.

Yes, I followed this recipe exactly!

Fortunately, one of my hobbies involves the kitchen and canning! So to keep the peace, I decided to get busy! Again, with the help of Nancy! But get this, she said my request for rhubarb was an answer to her problem of what to do with hers! We had a lovely stroll around her yard as we visited before we harvested rhubarb. And a few hours later...rhubarb jam to share!

How about some rhubarb jam on toast, biscuits, or ice cream?

Thank God for gardens, abundant harvests and friendships!

I love how God provides for us. 

Food for our bellies and food for our souls. 

Thank God for angels on earth!

STUFFED SHELLS

"Ooooo! That smells so good! What are you making?"

There's something wonderful about filling the home with delicious smells! The fragrance fills the air, whets the appetite and the anticipation builds. Are you hungry yet?

How about now?

This recipe is a family favorite from a dear neighbor who not only shared the recipe, but she also shared delicious pans of this treat! Joni Rogers is a treasure! And friends are angles on Earth!

The path between friend's houses is never very long. And neither was the path between our hearts!

As you can see, this recipe has been used many times!

Here's a clearer version for you to use.

This recipe takes a little pre-planning and preparation. The spinach must be thawed and drained well, unless you chop up fresh spinach. Then it's just a matter of boiling the pasta shells according to the package directions,...

Italian sausage, hamburger and sauce

...cooking up the meat, and simmering with your favorite sauce,...

Spinach, ricotta, eggs, spices

...mixing together the spinach, cheese and egg mixture, then filling the shells.

I used fresh farm eggs from the Farm Wife's Table. I'm so thankful I can buy fresh eggs from Angie Viebrock!

Spooning sauce on top of stuffed shells 

Then, comes the fun part of taking a scoop of cheese and filling each cooked shell. Place them in pans (notice I made four (4) pans! There is plenty to share and/or freeze for future meals. Once all the shells are placed, cover with the meat sauce and bake or wrap the pans tightly to refrigerate or freeze. I've found that it takes longer to cook once the pans have been chilled, so the baking time is approximate.

If I were a tall dog...
 (sung to the tune from Fiddle on the Roof)

Special note: make sure you don't have a tall dog, or these may get tasted before you serve them! Tara was really hoping I'd spill some so she could clean it up for me!

Please let me know what you think if you try this recipe. I love to hear your thoughts!

P.S. If you see Joni, tell her that her recipes are famous! (I've lost track of her, but I think she's in Arizona). Another one of her recipes is for the salsa that I make every summer!

Enjoy!

SMOKED TOMATO SALSA

Fall weather makes me want to warm up from the inside out! Makes me want to eat something spicy like my salsa! Or making soup or chili using some of my salsa instead of plain old tomatoes.

 
At the request of my kids, I tried a new twist with my salsa…actually I finally got on board with the fad of smoked and roasted vegetables! We sliced up our tomatoes and put them in the smoker. Wow! What a wonderful flavor that incorporated into the finished product.


Smoked tomatoes

Make sure you keep your smoker at the correct temperature.



Starting with the gardening process, a hobby I enjoy because I get to be OUTSIDE, we till, plant, water, weed, and anxiously wait for tomatoes, onions, and peppers to appear and ripen. Why does that seem to take sooooo long? When we finally get to harvest the produce, I set aside a couple of hours to cook and can.

Collecting my fee!

Homemade salsa is a labor of love…and I enjoy sharing my labors – for a fee of course! My fee varies depending on who is asking. ;-) I delivered my smoked salsa in person, to Portland, Oregon. That fee included several days of visiting, camping, one river float trip, and LOTS of hugs!


The first step of canning is to make sure everything is clean.  Sterilize the jars and lids you will be using. Place the jar lids and rings in boiling water just before you are ready to fill the jars.

Use a jar lifter to put the jars in boiling water and to put the filled jars back in to process.

SALSA
Thanks for this recipe goes to Joni my long, lost neighbor and friend!


4-5 onions
2 bell peppers
9-11 jalapeno peppers with seeds
¾ cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
8 to 12-oz tomato paste (depending on your preference for thick salsa)
Approximately 22 medium tomatoes un-peeled
Chop in food processor until chunky.
I put all these ingredients in a 6-quart pan and put the tomatoes in last to fill the pan.
Bring to a boil and gently simmer 30-40 minutes stirring ocassionally.
Fill jars to within 1/2 inch. Clean the jar rims and place lids on just finger tight.
Process filled jars in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.



Stir up all the chopped ingredients and gently simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Then fill the sterilized jars.


If you would like more detailed information on canning, the internet is full of helpful tips or you can invite me to your kitchen for lessons.



Salsa!



Favorite Cookies

I always enjoy making these Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  I can pretend they are a health food because of the oats and raisins.  My mom used to try and convince me to let the kids eat these cookies for breakfast.  She did weigh 200 to 300 pounds most of her life and thought this was a good idea, but I didn't. God bless her! She did know how to enjoy life! I enjoy a good breakfast and a mid-morning snack and that's when I prefer to enjoy these cookies.  My friend Ann at KYOO asked me for these cookies - while she was on the air doing Swap Shop.  It's hard to refuse a request like that.  So...since I had baked these yesterday for the Polk County Bike Club (PCBC) meeting and had cleverly bagged up a dozen just in case, I took off in my car and delivered her cookies. She threw her head back and laughed and laughed! I enjoy shipping my treats or in this case delivering them so that I can share the bounty which I've been blessed to have. If you need cookies, you can bake them yourself, or for a small fee, will send some to you too!

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
¾ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon soda
1 cup raisins
3 cups oats
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix thoroughly shortening, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 1 inch apart onto greased baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched with finger. Immediately remove from baking sheet. Store in tightly covered container.
Makes about 5 dozen cookies – 74 calories each.