Sunday, July 17, 2011

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars and the Garden

     My mom and I picked a nice hot day to hike a mountain and pick blueberries. It sounds like a terrible idea, but it actually wasn't bad since there was a nice breeze up there. I always forget how long it takes to pick blueberries, particularly the small wild ones. I like to pick them clean (making sure there are no stems or leaves attached) before I put them in my container, which makes the cleaning process faster at home; just rinsing and a quick look over. These berries have so much more flavor than berries from the store and they're free, so the effort is worth it. I cleaned them as soon as I got home and then made blueberry oatmeal bars. I got the recipe from The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog. There are a ton of good recipes on this site for using up veggies. After the blueberry oat bars were done and the rinsed berries had dried a bit, I froze the rest of the berries whole, leaving a couple handfuls in the fridge for snacking. In the end, I froze one and a half quarts of whole berries to use later.
Blueberry Oatmeal Bars fresh out of the oven.
     Meanwhile, the garden is coming along nicely. I've picked a ton of peas (well, maybe not really a ton, but a lot). I have four pumpkins growing, as well as tiny green beans and Vermont cranberry beans. The cucumber plants are growing nicely, as are the tomato plants. The potted Roma tomato plants both have tomatoes already growing on them. The first site of small green tomatoes forming is so exciting. Finally, the herb pot is out of control. The basil is starting to flower even though I keep pinching off the tops, so tomorrow I'm going to try making pesto and freezing it in ice cube trays.









     The chickens are growing fast and I'm pretty sure I heard the maybe-rooster trying to crow yesterday. It was a pretty pathetic sound and he was doing it while hiding in a bush while the hens gathered around outside the bush looking in curiously. Apparently, he wants to practice unseen until he gets a good crow going. I can't wait till the hens start laying, but I still have to figure out what to do with this rooster.

This black chicken insists on sitting on the wheelbarrow when ever I bring it out.

Chickens found a shady spot on a sunny day.

   

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