Way Laid for the Moment

For the last week I have been ordered to slay off the roof since I wrenched my back on September 11. How did I achieve this? Well I was sitting on the roof scraping paint off the wall. Trying to keep your balance on the roof and keep both hands free (one to hold the heat gun and the other to hold the scraper) is a feat. I twisted my body in funny positions and aggravated a minor back injury to a major one. I spent most of last week off from work barely able to get out of bed. I guess four to six hours a day for four days in a row was more than my body could stand.

I did get most of the scrapping done with only about 2 hours left to do. My biggest problem is that most of the caulking along the roof and wall needs to be replaced before winter comes. I can leave the rest of the work until next spring. I hopefully I will be able to get back on the roof in the next two weeks to caulk the roof line with removable caulk for the winter then next spring I can properly prepare the wall by sanding and priming it before applying the permanent caulk. I also removed all the old glazing from the window on this wall so I will most likely be using the removable caulk there too.

The small area on the wall left to scrap.

Roof eve area left.

My brother is visiting me for the next two weeks and will be helping me clean up the yard for winter but he is not a handyman when it comes to working on the house. I am more afraid of him falling off the roof than I am going up there to do the needed roof caulking for the winter. Yesterday I received a notice from Burpee’s that my raspberry plants are coming in the mail this week so Art will also be digging the holes so we can plant them too this week.

It’s Done!

I finished painting and staining the deck on the last day of August. All I needed to do was unpack the new wrought iron furniture

and hang the sherpherd hook and lantern brackets.

I decided to spray paint the brackets the same accent color I am painting the screen and storm windows. They were finely ready to hang last Friday. The finishing touch came in the mail yesterday. The previous owner left lanterns with candles in them but I found solar Arts & Crafts lanterns to replace them and they look perfect.

The umbrella fabric needs to be replaced and that is my current upholstery project. Here is a picture of the new cover. I was checking the fit before I start covering the seams and umbrella edge with dark green binding. The umbrella should have the new cover on by mid-October.

To celebrate the finished deck I pulled this out of my pantry.

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor Day Weekend, I was planning on spending just Friday canning tomatoes but things changed and I spend the entire weekend preserving food. I started by collecting the last of my 2009 whole canned tomatoes and reprocessing them into 6 quarts of tomato juice. Then I took 10 quarts from the 2010 whole canned tomatoes, made vegetable juice from them for a total of 8 quarts. On Saturday at the Dodgeville Farmer’s Market I brought large chili pepper for a Canned Tomato Salsa recipe I found on Simply Recipes web site. The recipe says it makes about 5 pints but I got 13 ½-pint jars of canned salsa. The previous weekend I tried Simply Recipes Tomatillo Salsa Verde and it was great. I used my new pressure cooker to can this salsa.

Once I finished with the juice and salsa, I started roasting tomatoes in the broiler, removing the skins and placing them in quarts jars to can. I roasted both paste and regular tomatoes and ended up with 7 quarts of each type. I still had some tomatoes left some I roasted them up and made “Hot and Spicy Chili Sauce” to use on hamburgers and sausages. This gave me 15 ½-pint of chili for my pantry. Then I pulled the last of the 2009 strawberry and rhubarb from my freezer and made jam for a total 3 pints of strawberry and 12 pints of strawberry rhubarb jam.

In between all the canning I did find sometime on Labor Day to wash the basement floor and apply hydraulic cement on possible leaks in the floor. Next Monday I can start painting that section of the floor.

I still want to roast another 5 quarts each of the paste and regular tomatoes before I call it an end to the canning season.  I am still picking bean, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers and freezing them.  My winter squashes are dying off and soon will be ready storage in my basement pantry.  The gardening season may last until the end of the month if I am lucky and the weather remains mild.

Things are Moving Along in the Basement!

The floor along the east basement wall is now painted. I finished putting the fourth coat on the floor at 4:50 AM on Tuesday before going to work. Now I need to allow the paint to cure one week before I can set up my shelving.

Last night I started to move the jelly cabinet and other items so I can start to prepare a new section of the floor for paint. I noticed there is an area by the chimney which needs a coat of hydraulic cement before I can start painting it. So I will do that over Labor Day weekend and then I can paint it the following weekend. I cannot believe I might finally finish working on the east basement wall section this fall and I will be only six months late of my goal. I still will have the 2/3 of the north wall left to do and that is where the laundry tub, washer and dryer are located.

PS: I done painting the deck but need I want to put out the new furniture and put the hanging baskets up before I show it off.

Can you Count the Ways To use Zucchini #3

Zucchini-Eggplant Casserole
 
This recipe is also from my Mom.  I use hot chili peppers in this recipe since zucchini and eggplant are mild to add more flavor to the dish.  The cream cheese reduces seems to reduce the heat in the chili peppers. 

6 medium Zucchini, ¼-inch slices
1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
1 (8-oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 (4-oz) can chopped green chilies, drained
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted

Simmer zucchini and eggplant in boiling water 15 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Beat cream cheese in a medium-mixing bowl. Add eggs and blend well. Stir in zucchini and eggplant, green chilies, salt and pepper. Spoon in oiled 1-quart casserole. Combine breadcrumbs and batter. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

Can you Count the Ways To use Zucchini

I guess this is number 2.  As with many gardeners who plant zucchini I am runneth over with them.  When I first was introduce to zucchini as a kid (and yes I was once a kid) my Mom would make a mixed vegetable stirred fry dish.  Back then I enjoyed it but now I just will not make it anymore I guess I just had it too many times.  So the hunt was on to find as many I can serve zucchini. 

This recipe is from my Mom and I have no idea where she found it.  This dish would make a nice main course or side dish.

Zucchini Provolone Bake

Vegetable oil spray
1 medium onion
4 cups thinly sliced zucchini
2 tbsp. minced fresh or 2 tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. salt and pepper
1 cup shredded Provolone cheese
½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten

Spray oil on to skill. Over medium heat add onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally; add zucchini and cook until crisp tender, frequently stirring. Remove from heat and stir in basil, salt and pepper. Add cheese and eggs; mix well. Spoon in oiled 1-quart baking dish. Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is browned. Serves 4.

A Day's Harvest

Yesterday I spend most of the evening working in the garden picking vegetables or dead heading flowers.  Here is the result of all that work.