I Feel Like I Gotta Ramble On...

Due to an unexpected trip to Jonesboro on Wednesday Lamar and I had the opportunity to visit with Jessica and Emmy for a few hours. Of course I had my camera! I took several pictures and I'm just going to post them to the left without captioning them. Everybody already knows Lamar, Jessica, Emmy and me by now without me having to give all the particulars.

This was the first time Lamar had seen Emmy in 2 weeks and I think he could see quite a bit of difference in Emmy's appearance. She's staying awake longer at a time and is more alert. She focuses on faces more and is beginning to smile more often. Grandpa isn't taken with Miss Emmy in the least, as you might gather by the sappy look on his face. No comments from the peanut gallery about the sappy look on Grandma's face, if you please!

Jessica and Emmy have an appointment with the doctor next week so we should find out then how much Emmy weighs now. She's doing very well on her formula and is taking 6 ounces sometimes! I told Jessica at this rate she'll be asking for a pork chop before too long. :-)

I'm doing my best to make sure that none of that sweet baby sugar goes to waste, and I have the pictures to prove it! Emmy likes sugar and smiles when you smooch on her. Grandma likes it a little bit, too. I'm not too selfish though. I do leave a little sugar for Jessica, as you'll see in the next pictures.

GreenEyes, that second picture of me? That sugar and that snuggle is for you. :-)

If all goes as anticipated Jessica and I have our day planned for Friday. Jessica is going to pick me up Friday afternoon and she and Emmy and I are going to run some errands then I'm going to spend the night with them so I'll be there to watch Emmy on Saturday while Jessica works. I could have watched Emmy here at my apartment but this way it saves Jessica from having to haul all Emmy's paraphernalia back and forth between my place and hers, plus it will save her a little gas.

Changing the subject just a bit, I mentioned a couple of posts back that I'd been promised some garden produce. Well, I've been given so much yellow squash, green snap beans and cucumbers that I've been sharing what I haven't cooked, pickled or frozen. Not that I'm complaining by any means, mind you. I'm thrilled and very grateful that others share their garden bounty with me. But I'm very careful to share with others in turn and I'm even more careful that I don't let anything ruin or go to waste.

When I bought groceries Tuesday I didn't buy as many fresh, canned or frozen vegetables as I usually do, keeping in mind those garden goodies that I knew would be forthcoming. I wanted to take full advantage of the fresh stuff while it's in season.

One thing I've been doing with the yellow squash is grilling it. I slice it 1-1½-inches thick then drizzle a little oil on both sides. I grill it over medium heat until it has good grill marks on it and it's tender crisp. It is absolutely delicious!

Another way I've been preparing the fresh green beans is to stir-fry them in a little oil until they show a little brown color and are tender crisp. I sprinkle on about a ½ teaspoon of sugar and soy sauce to taste. Stir until the sugar dissolves and serve immediately.

I grilled yellow squash, stir-fried green beans and grilled country style pork ribs tonight and Lamar and I almost hurt ourselves. I wish you all could have tasted it and I hope you'll try the squash and green beans prepared that way.

My mother in law, Lida tells me that the corn is still a few weeks from being ready but I'll be glad when it's ready for grilling, frying, steaming and just generally any way it can be eaten.

One hint I can share about freezing corn you probably will shake your head and think, "That's silly and it'll never work!" But I promise it will. I freeze whole ears in the shucks, just like it comes from the field or garden. The shucks prevent freezer burn and keep it from drying out. The corn is much better quality than the traditional method of shucking the corn and blanching it then freezing it. I put several ears into a plastic grocery sack, tie it up, then put that bag in another and tie it up. Then I put the grocery bags of corn in a large heavy garbage bag and put it in the freezer.

When I'm ready to cook the corn, I take out the amount of ears I need then retie the bags. I thaw the corn under cold running water just enough to peel back the shucks and desilk them, then break or cut off the shucks. Trim the top of the ears if needed, then boil or grill, or thaw completely and cut off the cob for whole kernel or cream style corn.

It may sound like a lot of trouble but it's not, and it's totally worth the little effort you put into it. It beats all that blanching and bagging at one time and you have a better product in the end. It tastes like it's fresh from the garden.

I gave away squash and green beans today, and I still have both in the fridge. I gave Cecil and Sue squash when they were here Tuesday, plus cucumbers. The rest of the cucumbers I used to make my Kosher dill pickles and my homemade refrigerator pickles.

Dawn asked for a picture of my pickles, so here it is. The 3 jars in the middle are quart jars of small Kosher dills. Those are mine! I like the little bitty ones that still have the bloom attached. As my Mama would say, they're still cryin' for their mamas, LOL. ;D

The two big containers on either side are gallon jugs of homemade refrigerator pickles. These are Lamar's and Jessica's favorites. The jug on the left is slices only, and the jug on the right has whole cucumbers in the bottom and slices on top. I keep these in the fridge because they aren't sealed. The containers are recycled gallon birdseed containers that I scalded and washed. I like glass gallon jugs for these but they're getting harder to come by in these days of plastic and they're much heavier and more breakable, so my recycled containers work just fine for this.

The refrigerator pickles will be ready in about a week for full flavor and the Kosher dills will be ready to eat in about 2 or 3 weeks. Of course you can eat any of these anytime before then but they won't be at peak flavor.

As I get more cucumbers and other produce we'll eat as much as we're able, freeze, pickle and can some and share some with others.

Since Jessica and Jason don't have internet access I'll be out of pocket for most of Friday and Saturday. As far as I know I'll be back home to do my Sunday Dinner post sometime Saturday evening but it may be late by the time I get it posted. I won't be leaving until sometime Friday afternoon so I'll be making the rounds, reading and commenting on my buddies' blogs until I have to leave.

I still have to pack for my overnight trip to Jessica's so I'll post this and wish everyone a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend.

Blessings to all,