Veggie Burgers Recipe

 Veggie Burgers (better than store bought)

1 cup bread crumbs (100% whole-wheat bread put in the food processor becomes bread crumbs)

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen kale or spinach

½ onion

2 potatoes, sliced in food processor, squeezed out in a dish towel to remove liquid, then chopped again

1 can white cannelloni beans (drained)

4 small garlic cloves

1 carrot

2 eggs

½ tsp. Cayenne pepper

½ tsp. Salt

Easy as 1 2 3
Steps:
1.  Place ingredients in food processor, a few at a time to process, then add to a bowl.
2.  Mix by hand.
3.  Cook:  Use an ice cream scoop to put burger size patties in a pan greased with 1-2 Tbsp. Olive oil or Coconut oil. Heat to medium high. Turn when brown.  Add sliced cheese, avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, or any other toppings.

Jedrek's variation, with added cheese and eggs.

To freeze some of them and keep them from sticking together, place one layer of burgers on a cookie sheet, covered with foil and olive oil. When frozen, place them in a freezer bag. (This recipe makes about 10-14 burgers, depending on the size)

The Gift of Time

Making candles

With the craziness of our American culture, everyone is running here and there.  Do you  feel the pressure to enroll your kids in another program, another class, another team?  We do too. However, a few years ago we felt the need to step back from the programs to just enjoy being together as a family, enjoying various activities together.  We wanted to focus on the most important things in life.  It has given us time.  Can you imagine?  Time!

Our bird watcher and catcher.

Elena with friends that came to perform the play she wrote.

This time has given our children the opportunity to make up their own events and activities.  I have been amazed as they formed their own sports teams, written their own plays and puppet shows, had their own art and music shows, and performed their own magic and circus acts.  

This time has allowed them to read, play music, and enjoy nature.

This time has strengthened our family relationships and allowed time for Michael to lead in teaching the Bible and music lessons.  Investing in their futures helps them to feel loved and safe.  The best program or team cannot replace the family.

It is not always easy or fun.  Sometimes, when I'm tired and the kids are loud, I want them to grow up.  I need to step back and remember that these years are precious.  

Elena showing her dad the garden she planted.

clowns after the circus act

scaling a fish to eat

Blane caught his first fish this spring.

Time is a precious gift.  

Square-Foot Garden and Other Spring Garden Pictures

For those of you who helped plant our Square-Foot Garden at the Vegetable Gardening Workshop:  The seeds are emerging!!!

radicchio

spinach

lettuce

white onions

radishes

swiss chard

What fun!  I hope you are enjoying your gardens, as well.  You all did a great job! 

I am looking forward to teaching a canning workshop in June.  I would like to teach you how to make jam and can it.  It is so fun!  Stay tuned for the date.  

Here are some pictures of the other gardens we talked about in the Vegetable Workshop and Spring Workshop.

cold frame with parsley, lettuce, and spinach

Potatoes.  I  pushed the soil up on both sides.  Yesterday, I added straw to keep the weeds down.

Cabbage and spring greens in the area where I demonstrated the use of row cover.  I am currently using the row cover for my small tomato plants.

We are enjoying the asparagus, almost everyday.  I love this season!

These are the small apples in Michael's orchard.

strawberries

grapevine guild, with strawberries, horseradish, and raspberries 

I would love to see pictures of your garden!  

Homemade Blueberry Yogurt Pops

This recipe was a big hit with my kids this week.  

We save money by using the plastic pops molds and adding ingredients we have on hand.  

Blueberry Yogurt Pops (No refined-sugar added)

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 frozen 100% apple juice concentrate

1/2 cup blueberries

1 cup water

1.  Stir together in a pitcher.  2.  Pour into the pop molds.  3.  Place on a tray (so they don't run over in the freezer).  This recipe made around 16 small pops.  Freeze.  When then are ready, hold them upside down under running water so they easily can be pulled out of the mold.  Enjoy!

Easy Spinach Lasagna

This is a quick and delicious lasagna that I made last night.  We have been enjoying Eggplant Parmesan, but my family needed a break from eggplant.  Of course, you may already have a favorite lasagna recipe.  Why not add some spinach for some vitamins A, C and K?  As Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin say in their book, The Cleaner Plate Club, "It is also loaded with flavonoid compounds that function as antioxidants and as anti cancer agents."  Sounds good to me!

Easy Spinach Lasagna

9-12 lasagna noodles (uncooked)- that is what makes it so easy!
1 large jar of organic spaghetti sauce
1 container of cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1 8 oz. block of mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1 small frozen block of spinach, thawed (or fresh spinach from your garden)
2-4 Tbsp. basil pesto, or fresh basil leaves (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Layer in 9 X 13 pan:  small amount spaghetti sauce, 3 noodles, small amount of spaghetti sauce and 1/2 spinach, 3 noodles, cottage cheese and 1/2 mozzarella cheese, 1/2 spinach with basil pesto and minced garlic, 3 noodles, the rest of the sauce with 1/2 cup water, shredded cheese

Cover with foil and bake at 300 degrees for 45 min.  Turn up to 350 degrees  until done (15-30 more min).

Gather a salad from the garden, and you have a meal!  Don't forget to plant some lettuce seeds anywhere you can find the space, about every two weeks.  Then, you will have lettuce for fresh salads all summer.

This was a good salad:  lettuce and spinach, walnuts, sunflower seeds, carrots, red onions, and Parmesan cheese.

Planting Vegetables Gardening Workshop

I had such a fun time talking about gardening with friends and meeting more friends.  Thank you for attending and participating!  For those of you who couldn't make it, at this workshop we focused on planting vegetables in various gardens: traditional row gardens, square-foot raised bed gardens, and gardens using permaculture ideas.  We learned how to make the soil fertile through composting, so that we can have strong plants.  We planted potatoes, beans, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, swiss chard, and other common vegetables.  We even learned how to grow wine-cap mushrooms on wood chips and straw!

Making a Square-Foot Garden

Planting the Square-Foot Garden at the Workshop

It may look like we just planted milk jugs, but there are vegetable plants in there!  The milk jugs will protect the plants until the danger of frost is gone, then I'll take them off.

The plants are doing well, and the seeds are beginning to peak through the soil!  How is your garden growing?