The Garden & Dinner

 Good Wednesday morning to you. Half way to the weekend. No Madeline this weekend so it will be a working weekend for me. My garden, front yard and house all need me.
   I have been getting in the garden a little each day this week, but not as much as I would like. There is a black bear in the area and because the garden is surrounded by woods and so far from the house, the wisest thing is not to go out alone. I wait for Dziadzi to come home and we go out together. I have gotten all my zucchini seedlings and cucumber seedlings planted, some weeding done, of course feeding was the first thing to get done. I strung another row of string for my tomatoes that are growing so fast, and I got the first round of string strung giving the cucumbers I planted at the start of the season a place to climb.

 I am so happy  Dziadzi and I decided to use fabric in the garden this year. It is so much easier to work with plants and weeding is less intense. We use no weed killer or pesticides in the garden so the only weed control we have is our hands, the fabric is a big help, as well as staking the tomatoes and cucumbers. It takes a little more work and effort in the beginning but saves so much work in the end. A fair trade off I would say. All of our neighbors are so impressed with how the garden looks this year and how well it is growing. For dinner tonight Dziadzi and I will go out and pick the last of the broccoli. I can't tell how nice it has been to just walk to the garden and cut the broccoli you want just when your ready to cook it.

 Diffidently planting that again next year and hopefully a little more.














It won't be long before we will be enjoying fresh green and yellow zucchini with our dinner. 

I planted loads of zucchini in stages to make sure I had plenty all summer long.

 It tickles me to no end to see all the fruit on my tomato plants. No sign of turning red yet but I have plenty of fruit. I see fried green   ( well baked ) green tomatoes in our near future. 






Taking a break from stringing  my stakes I just stood in the middle of the garden and looked around me. I feel my grandparent all around me all the time, at that moment however I saw my grandfather smiling at me and I knew, know in my heart of hearts that he would be proud proud of me and the garden I am helping to grow. 

That's me in the front.

He always had a back yard garden and while it seemed  huge to me I am sure it wasn't. It was big enough to keep Grandma in tomatoes and cucumbers all summer along with some to can for the winter.

  This is where I was going to start What Was Dinner, instead I took a break and went for a ride to see if I could see the bear. He was just in my garden about 30 minutes ago. He walked into the neighbors yard and into the wooded area there. We figure he will settle down to nap soon and then continue on his journey in the cooler evening weather. No out to the garden for me today. I was out there taking the garden pictures just 15 minutes before he walked through. I have to admit I am a little disappointed that I didn't even get a little glimpse of him let alone a photo.
  Now " What Was Dinner "  Finally at long last I am sharing one the dinners I made and kept putting off to share other more exciting things. That doesn't mean this dinner wasn't exciting because it was it just isn't new to me. 

I make this all the time. In fact I keep ham broth in the freezer just so I can make Bean Soup when ever I want. I love when my sister in law has ham at her parties, 9 times out of 10 I get the bone. I boil that bone down to very marrow and then freeze the broth. I like doing it that way then I can use the broth for anything I like from potato soup to green beans and potatoes in a pot. 

There is nothing to making bean soup once you have your ham broth. soak the beans over night if using dry beans or drain and rinse the beans if using canned beans. I like a mix of red, black and white beans in my soup. Perks it up and gives it color. add garlic and onion into the mix for a little added flavor, I tend to put a finely chopped carrot in as well. I never knew what the carrot did for the soup but I added it anyway. Put every thing in a large pot cover and bring to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer an hour or two covered. Uncover and simmer another hour give or take depending on the bean tenderness and how hungry you are. Keep a close eye on the soup after you uncover and add water if needed. I grew up eating bean soup with chopped onion and a tablespoon of vinegar on top.

 I assume that is a German tradition or trait because I have never seen a southerner eat it that way and the person that introduced this way of topping the soup was indeed German. Either way with or without the onion and vinegar bean soup is a very filling meal and extremely comforting too.
 Happy Wednesday! As always thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit.