Tomatoes and onion and peppers and.......corn?

Yes, indeed!  Corn!  Our garden is going insane.  Well, really it's supposed to be producing way too much for us.....Richard is selling it at the local farmer's market.  But goodness, we can't eat all the extras.  After he picks the produce, he culls out the items with blemishes.  Those are mine!  

I'm okay with it because I know the blemishes are not harmful and, because I hate for any food to go to waste, I've been trying to use up the culls.  I can't eat cook it up fast enough!

I can put it up though.  I've canned 25 pints of salsa.  There are two batches: one is kind of plain, the other has corn added.  I had that idea when Rich came in and said that he would pull corn to take to his parents.    

Isn't he wonderful?  He pulled and shucked the corn for us.  Cleaning didn't take long and then it was quick work to cut it into the tomato recipe.  

 I must be getting better at this chore: every one of the lids sealed.

I love the sound of that little pop!  If the cooked salsa tastes anything like the raw version, I'll love it as well!

Since corn is one of my favorite veggies, I'm excited to try the corn version, but they both tasted pretty good!

What are you up to during these hot summer days?

A little of this, a little of that

And a lot of corn!  Again!  Yes, we finally finished pulling the corn and it is now in the freezer.  I won't give any numbers of how many bags are in the freezer.  Let's just say it's a good thing the grandkids love corn and it's my favorite vegetable.  The good news for the Marcotte clan is that we can have this corn in a variety of ways: added to cornbread, smothered with seasoning meat such as bacon, baked into a sweet casserole, cooked down with a dab of butter, souped into Maque Choux or shrimp and corn bisque or chowder.  And more.  But you get the idea.  At the very bottom of this post I'll add my grandmother's recipe for Maque Choux.  Yummy!

A little of this might be this:

Isn't it sweet?  I had the idea this morning while finishing up Diane's bed runner.  I also had the idea that I'd get the bed runner boxed up and mailed today on my way to the doctor's office.    Poor darling is bound to be disappointed to discover that it's not in the mail.  Sorry Diane.  I tried but my attention span is pretty short and I forgot about the box.  I promise tomorrow it's gone!


So back to the pillow: I started with the fabric, appliqued the circles on, quilted the top, then made and stuffed the pillow.  Easy peasy and lots of fun.


I plan to add it to my Etsy shop when I'm finished with this post.  I haven't added anything new in a while and it's time to get busy doing that.  


Oops, almost forgot.....I did take one more pic of Diane's bed runner.  This one is of the quilt on my floor, which I use for squaring up quilts.  There are lines on the flooring every six inches which is why I use it.  Note how nice and straight the bed runner is.  Yes, everything is a potential quilting tool, even the lines on the floor.

Last up of a little of this and that: I worked on my final lesson for Quilt Campus.  Of course, I'm not done, but I'm slowly getting there.  I figure a few more days and I'll be emailing the last bit. 


Volcie's Macque Choux
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups corn
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 ounces of ham, cubed
2 quarts water


Fry the ham in the butter until it begins to brown.  Add the onion and saute until golden, add tomato and saute until wilted.  Add tomato sauce and half the water and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and add corn.  Cook for 30 minutes.


And that's it, pretty much.  Lots of little things to fill a day.  How was your day?  Lots of little things, too?  Share them.  We'd all like to know what kind of little things fill your days.  Leave a comment.

Green Groceries and Fried Salad

Our garden is really starting to come up.  The corn is getting as tall as I am and today we noticed a few tassels.  That means it's just a matter of a few weeks before there will be small ears ready for picking.  We like the baby ears raw right off the stalk--cob included.  My father-in-law used to call us the possums because we ate the ears before they're ready.  Then a few years later a company started pickling the baby ears and selling them.  I enjoy telling my father-in-law that I was (and still am) on to something.

Richard planted some pole snap beans in the hopes that he wouldn't have to bend down to pick the beans. His back and neck give him trouble, so he figures standing to pick the beans will be easier.  Either way, these beans are really growing.  They haven't put on any buds yet, but I imagine that they will soon.  There are a few hills in this small raised bed and another row in another garden.  The hills in the raised bed look much prettier than the others, but they are about two weeks ahead.

Our tomatoes are doing well, also.  They have lots of blooms and a few tomatoes.  It will be a few weeks before they're big enough to consider picking.  I can't wait to have enough green tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, okra, and bell peppers for picking.  We make something called Fried Salad that is just awesome and is part of our summer treat.  We don't have it too often because, well, it is fried which sort of negates the value of eating veggies.  I use whatever is in season or I happen to have available at the time. I've included the recipe below in case you're interested in eating some not-so-healthy vegetables that are really the best tasting veggies ever!

Fried Salad
1 med onion sliced into thick rings
2 med bell peppers, sliced into thick slivers
1 lg zucchini, sliced into thick slices
3-4 yellow squash, sliced into thick slices
8-10 okra, cut into large pieces
2 med green tomatoes, sliced into thick slices
1 lg egg
1/4 cup milk
Tony's seasoning
1 cup flour
1 cup fish fry
4-6 cups cooking oil

Mix cut up vegetables in a large bowl.  Scramble egg and milk in small bowl and pour over veggies.  Sprinkle Tony's on veggies, mix well and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

In heavy skillet or deep pan, heat cooking oil until hot.  Mix flour and fish fry in a large bowl, and dredge vegetables in flour mixture, then drop into hot oil.  Fry for a few minutes, and turn over.  Remove to platter covered with several paper towels.   Serve while hot and crispy.

Variations: mix and match vegetables to serve the ones you prefer.  Other vegetables that can be used include Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, scallions, califlower, carrots, and mushrooms.

Enjoy and let us know how your dish turns out.