Using our finishing salt on a roast turkey

No, it's not Thanksgiving! We had a turkey in the freezer and decided to cook it for dinner. 

We used our Rosemary, Sage and Thyme Finishing Salt to season the turkey.  Wow, did that make a difference!

We always try to use what we grow in the backyard garden. The Finishing Salt is made from herbs grown in the herb garden.

Just an FYI. We will not be at the market in Monticello this week (May 18) but we will be back the weekend of Memorial Day to satisfy your jelly/jams and herb needs. Looking forward to seeing new friends again. 

Fig jelly glazed chicken breast

We use our jams and jellies for a variety of food preps. One of our favorite use for fig jelly is a glaze for oven roasted chicken. Served over a bed of brown rice, cranberries and almonds.

Check out the pic below, doesn't it look delicious?

Farmers Market in Monticello

Another successful day at the Market on the Square in Monticello. Met some new friends: Kathy from Kathy's Kookies and her friend Wendy who bakes the best cupcakes! Also, saw Tom and Barbara again who have been a tremendous resource for us.
Can't wait to go back again!!

Our First Farmer's Market

We took our jams, jellies and other produce to the farmer's market on the square in Monticello Saturday. Truth be told, we were a little nervous not knowing what to expect but everything was super organized and laid back at the same time.
Customers were scarce early but as the day moved on more and more customers stopped by to taste and purchase what we have grown in our Backyard Garden.
Best sellers were of course, strawberry fig jam, tomato jam, pineapple jalapeno and zucchini peach jelly. We hope to become regulars at this market and are searching for other markets in the area.  Big thanks to Tom who helped out early, Katie Cannon, and Mandy Tanner. Loved meeting new friends from Monticello.

Garden beginnings

The garden is 95%  complete with just a few tomatoes left to be planted.
Tomatoes, peppers, squash, corn, zucchini, beans and cucumbers are all growing strong in this warm weather. 
Pictured below are the corn patch, an early tomato and of course the mint.

Something new for us this year, because of the overwhelming support, we will be selling at several farmers markets in the area during the summer.
This Saturday we will be selling our jams, jellies and seasoned finishing salt at the Market on the Square in Monticello. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and see what we have to offer.
Be sure to check back often for updates.

UPDATE!! It's gardening time!

I'm 9 weeks out from bypass surgery and I'm so happy to finally be in that 8-12 week window of how long the healing actually takes. I did not like hearing those numbers while still in the 4-6 week window. I wanted it to go faster but learned it does take time to heal and patience is a virtue.
It is gardening time though. 
Despite my precautionary limitations of not being able to lift very much, we have created two new raised beds in the garden. (75 cinder blocks).
We  have also prepared two beds for corn, shovel turned all beds, tilled, amended the soil, and smoothed and raked for planting. Planting will begin on Saturday, the 30th.
We also discovered figs already on the trees.....can't wait for some more strawberry fig jam.

 

Recovery going well and look what we picked

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who have sent me encouraging notes and kept me in their thoughts and prayers. It's humbling to know so many people are there for me. My recovery is going well but slower than I anticipated. I should have known when you are dealing with bypass surgery and bones mending, it does take awhile for the healing to occur. I am being patient and following the doctor's instructions.
Walking is something I now look forward to with newfound enthusiasm. On today's walk we stopped by the Backyard Garden and look what we picked-regular and purple carrots. These were planted last fall and have been "on their own" the entire winter. This find really boosted my spirits. Can't wait to get back to this type of activity every day.