Pumpkin Cookies!

Welcome to Simply Sweet Sunday!

If you've been on pinterest at all lately you've seen the pumpkin explosion that's been going on there.  Pumpkin decorations, pumpkin parties, and pumpkin recipes galore!  Fall is truly in the air! So we're jumping on the band wagon and sharing our best pumpkin recipes.  Today it's our favorite pumpkin cookies. 

My mom got this recipe from our neighbor who was pretty much like family to us.  They are so good! The recipe makes a good 5 to 6 dozen cookies which is perfect if you're hosting a Halloween party but not so perfect if you just want a cookie or two.  These are not the type of cookie where you can stop after one!  The recipe can be halved fairly easily but I like to freeze about half the dough and then it's ready to go for the next time.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons all spice
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 large can of pumpkin (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups chocolate chips

Super simple instructions.  All you have to do is first cream shortening and sugar.  Next mix in eggs and vanilla.  Then stir in flour and spices then the pumpkin and chocolate chips.  Easy peasy!  Bake these tasties at 375 for 15 minutes on a greased cookie sheet and then enjoy a taste of the season!

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Growing Basil

I have tried growing basil in the past, but the bugs got to enjoy more of it than I did.  I would get a few leaves but not enough to make I worth the effort to fight the bugs.  I think it was earwigs, but since they feed at night it's hard to know.  The earwigs didn't eat my beans, squash or tomatoes; just the basil.  Do you think they have taste buds and enjoyed the basil?  So I had the idea to grow some  in a container on my porch, maybe the earwigs wouldn't find it there.  The problem with growing anything in a container in South East Idaho is the dry hot summers make it so that you have to water it almost every day.  I like to have fun in the summer which means I go out of town quite often.  I don't like asking someone to come and water everyday.  The solution was to make a self watering container.  It's not pretty just two buckets, but it works!  I put it on casters so I can move it out of the sun when I leave town and out of the wind when it's really windy.  You can see in the picture I have lots of basil to enjoy.  I try to keep it pinched back, but as you can see I need to again.  Today I'm going to harvest a lot today so I can make pesto!  

How to pinch back basil, where you cut would depend on how much you want to cook with.

It is best not to let basil bloom.  Pinching back will make a bushy plant.  You can add your trimmings to your dinner.  They don't stay fresh very long so do your trimming just before you start dinner.  The flowers are edible, but the leaves have more flavor if you harvest before the flowers bloom.

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Red plastic for tomatoes

      I live in South East Idaho where our growing season is short (zone 6a).  We certainly can grow tomatoes but the season is never long enough.  Since I love home grown tomatoes, I try a few tricks to get my tomatoes to produce as soon as possible.  This year I planted my tomatoes the first week of May using Wall of Waters to protect them from frost and to give them each a tiny green house to grow in.  I took the Wall of Waters off 6 weeks later in the middle of June.
     I use to use black plastic mulch to warm the soil but the last few years I've used grass clippings as a mulch.  I've read about how red plastic mulch is suppose to produce earlier tomatoes.  Something about the red color reflecting far-red light that stimulates plant growth.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend money to test the idea myself.  Then I had an idea!  The Dollar Store sells red plastic table cloths, for two dollars I can put red plastic under my tomatoes.  I usually plant 6 tomato plants in a 3 ft x 12 ft raised bed.  The plastic table cloths they sell at the dollar store nearest me are 54 in x 88 in, so I needed two.  If I had room to grow more tomatoes, I wouldn't put red plastic under all of them.  The goal is to get enough to eat fresh as soon as possible.  Can't wait to have fresh tomatoes on tacos, hamburgers, bacon and tomato sandwiches, salads, pizza, enchiladas.......

     If your wondering, with six plants I usually get enough tomatoes to eat fresh and make a couple of batches of salsa.  If I get some given to me I make tomato soup to freeze.

Have any of you tried red plastic for your tomatoes?
Did you think it made a difference on how soon they ripened or how many tomatoes you harvested?

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Growing Strawberries!

For the first time I'm actually getting strawberries from my small 3 ft x 8 ft strawberry patch.  Other years I've only gotten a few berries.  This year my first picking, (we had been gone a few days) I picked a bowl full of strawberries.  I wish I had taken a picture, but I'd say it was about 2 cups of strawberries.  Most of them are small, but they are sweet.  We were so excited to have so many from our own garden we celebrated by making strawberry shortcakes.  We had plenty of strawberries for our two short cakes.  When I thought about it the one thing that amazed me was how few of the strawberries had holes from slugs.  Slugs eating my strawberries has been a problem other years.   The one thing I had done different from other years was, I had seen on pinterest to sprinkle crushed egg shells around your plants to discourage bugs.  Now with gardening, there are always varying factors.  The weather this year could have made a difference, but I for sure will be sprinkling crushed egg shells again next year.  Janet of Homemade Simply says to wash the egg shells and let them dry before crushing.  I don't wash mine I put them in the oven when I'm baking to kill any bacteria.  I've been composting egg shells for years.  It does help to crush them first.  You'd think they'd crumble in the compost pile, but in a moist compost pile they don't crumble that easy.      

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Composting Worm Tower

Composting, let the worms do the work!

It wasn't long after planting my first vegetable garden in Southeast Idaho that I longed for soil that wasn't clay.  So began my efforts to improve the soil in my garden by composting.  Sure I could have bought bags of soil conditioner.  But composting is free, (one of my favorite words) at least I thought.  Besides, composting keeps my grass clippings, leaves and kitchen waste out of the landfill.  So composting is a win win.  Over the years I've tried different systems, once I even tried a "Worm Factory."  Today I'm going to make what some people call a worm tower or a worm cafe.  We'll see if I have better success with this idea.  I've read some good results so why not give it a try.  I know improving the soil with worms will take time.  But like I say it's free.

I've seen plans using large plastic pipe or wood but I want this to be as cheap and easy as possible so I'm using a 5 gallon bucket that I have.  I think the larger opening will make it easier to add items to be composted.  The idea is to put the compost where the worms already live, in the soil.  As the worms come and go they will improve the soil with their castings and tunnels.

I could have cut off the bottom of the bucket, but I thought it would be easier to drill a bunch of  1 inch holes in the bottom.  I used a 1 inch drill bit.  The small holes were already in the bucket.

I drilled some holes on the side, not going above 10 inches up.

I put the bucket in the torn box to catch the mess.

Ready to "plant."

I dug a hole in the soil of my raised bed large enough for the bucket and about 12 inches deep.  This leaves 4 inches of the bucket above the ground.

I put some wet brown leaves in the bottom then added some partially composted kitchen waste from my compost pile.  Later I will put waste from the kitchen directly in the bucket.

I didn't have the lid from the bucket so I covered it with a lid from a metal bucket.  I put a rock on top to keep the lid from blowing off.

Now I just have to wait to see if this idea works.
Today is April 11, 2012.  I will update in a few weeks, it is still cold here so it will take a while to see any results.  I wanted to put this in the soil before I planted my peas.

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