Summer... I love Open Windows, Garden Food, Wash on the line...Bliss.

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I dug in the archives for some old Summer photos...and some of these just made me smile...so I thought I would share them. My photo stockpile is hitting the 16k point and sooner or later I will have to purge, but not these photos of my blogging years of summer, enjoy...

What could be more summer than brilliant RED Geraniums in morning light?

 One of my first garden posts.

Last years crazy Phlox, they bloom and bloom.

Just smell the scents of free air...

My long gone Dragon Flies, they finally died after 16 years or so. Saved the pieces to try and make new ones.

Garden produce...probably an August photo.

I could do a whole post of just sunflower photos!

My favorite spot on the porch!!!

A library table with a top added, we can seat 8 friendly people here! Tablecloth cushions...all the furniture is covered in Cotton vintage tablecloths.

 

Hubby built the cabinet...with a seasonal sink. My wood painted artwork and ceramics are on the counter.

Granny's tablecloth...I think they were called Williamsburg lace, thick and cotton! Basically indestructible.

My Grandmother's cookie jar and coffee pot. My favorite for Poorman's Bouquets.

Earlier in summer/spring...summer morning light and fresh muffins!

Our huge windows in the kitchen face East and South...so lots of light all year long.

Fresh Strawberries and blue and white! One of my favorite tablecloths, thrifted.

Spring Peonies and strawberries...a thrifted Teapot!

My old kitchen, brown sticky cabinets from the Mediterranean period...I made it work with light wallpaper and lots of color. This basically was my pantry then. I still use jars for beans, noodles, spices, salt, popcorn, etc.

The first version of my utensil wall...it morphs and changes with different additions and removals. 2017, I think when we redid the kitchen.

The top shelf is a super for storing those big roasters my husband is obsessed with. His family cooked everything in the oven in roasters. 

When we redid the kitchen we added this super Ikea shelf full of my mom's cookbooks and grandgirls art supplies. It changes with the years...and the art stuff is going away soon.

A friend finished this cute towel that I thrifted half-stitched...so cute and it's always time for coffee!

I love using these red linens in late summer for sunflowers. I also have the HUGE tablecloth from this set, it was a splurge. I think it was Laura Ashley, I know I scoured the internet on ebay when the pattern was discontinued.

I've always loved vintage linens and have so many...look at all these French knots...so pretty!

Thrifted towels...these are so delicate and used variegated blue thread on the flowers...which makes them looks so detailed.

A thrifted collection, the brown pitcher was reproduction slag glas, the yellow bird was Czech, the silver on glass set really is lovely, and the moriage shaker I use to hold hatpins. The picture is 40-50's...and I'm hoping to put it in a new shop this Fall.

Close up of the lace...so pretty!

Summer in the bedroom....Organ top shelf holds treasures...I love whites in the summer and the blue walls are perfect with whites.

An other heavy cotton lace, I use this over my dark woods in summer.

This window has had 4 different pieces of furniture...this desk is now my art desk. I've always had plants in the bedrooms.

A Danish roses tea cloth with cutwork. I use this in summer.

The Chandy in the bedroom, love the light it throws...and it's so summer!

Hope you enjoyed these photos over the years of what Summer means to me! 

Thanks always for visiting, 

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All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own unless identified, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown.  

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission.  

Thank you for your cooperation, 
Sandi 

OldNewGreenRedo

Delicious, Thrifty Homemade Turkey Soup

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A repost of an old Favorite...homemade Turkey Soup. Turkeys are plentiful this time of year and mixed with lots of Fall vegetables such a healthy choice.

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Once upon a time, I said I was an awesome cook and yet I seldom write food posts. But, when I think of Fall, I just have to think of a steaming kettle of homemade soup. Fresh turkey legs were in the counter this week and they were huge. So I picked up a package of two with the intention of making soup for our healthy living style.

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If I were going to make a kettle full, I would use a 16 quart large kettle. But for a single turkey leg, I pulled out my trusty 8 quart crock pot. Then I cleaned out the refrigerator of the vegetables we had on hand.

At this stage of my life, I'm a taste cook for many recipes, in other words I don't use a recipe.

I know what I want something to taste like, so I start in my mind and use what I have basically in the house or freezer and go from there. No running to the store ten times a week, not really a GREEN thing to do. I shop when I'm out for other reasons, and avoiding extra carbon emissions by running to the store for a couple of ingredients.

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My Version of 
Crock Pot Homemade Turkey Soup

1 fresh or thawed Turkey leg 1-1/2 to 2#
6-8 quarts of water depending on the size of your crockpot
Seasoning (I use 3 tablespoons of dried chives, 2 bay leaves, pepper to taste 2 tsp. salt, 3 Tblsp of salt free-Garden seasoning, or with fresh chopped or dried garlic)
2-3 small onions, chopped
4 stalks of celery including tops, chopped

Cook on High for 3 hours or more, until meat begins to separate from the bones. Remove turkey to cool. Remove fat, skin, and bones.

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Soup is a great way to utilize what is in the refrigerator or your garden. 

Other great soup vegetables are tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, yellow summer squash, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Broccoli, mushrooms, Potatoes or your own favorites. I've even made Turkey soups with corn and crumbled cornbread to make a tasty hearty soup. 

 Just Take your pick in the amounts you desire. My soups tend to be stew with more vegetables than soup stock. The more vegetables the more flavorful the soup.

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These large carrots have been particularly sweet and tasty.

I rough cut the cabbage also using the outer leaves.

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today I decide to add a Small head of cabbage and chopped peppers.

Add:
5 large carrots sliced thick
1 1/2  cups of assorted chopped sweet peppers
1/2 small head of cabbage sliced thin

Add chopped parsley or cilantro with vegetables or fresh rosemary or all

Cook on high for 1 hour or until vegetables are all cooked. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Add all chopped turkey and cook on high for 1-2 more hours.

Finally Squeeze juice of one lemon or 3Tbsp lemon juice as a non-salt enhancer and also to clarify the soup. (We use very little salt in our home, but use as needed for your tastes.)

Hint: if your pot is going to be too full, remove 2 cups of broth. Your vegetables will cook down and you can add the broth back in.

Optional Overnight Method or all day at work method.
Throw everything together in pot and cook on low all day or over night. You can also add 1 cup of: rice, navy beans, barley or wild rice with this method. I squeeze the juice of one lemon into the soup to help clarify it at the very end, when I chop the turkey up and put it back in.

PS Smoked Turkey legs are awesome for bean soups--and healthy and inexpensive choice over ham/pork hocks. Smoked Turkey is not as intense with smoke flavor than other meats, our favorite for navy bean soup.

oldnewgreenredo

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Super Healthy Living

Fresh vegetables and Turkey!

Enjoy!

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

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Sandi

My August Working Country Kitchen

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Good Morning, welcome to my working kitchen.

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Summer is such a busy time in a gardener's kitchen. Between our 'mess' from the basement damage, and the garden which is now 'giving up its bounty', I haven't really showed any photos of my house, porch or garden. 

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But Velkommen have a cuppa in my kitchen and we will catch up. I always have blue and white in my kitchen. In the summer I opt for dashes of red and yellow added. 

(The kettle is vintage Swedish enamel, I've always had some pieces of this from my family and I pick them up whenever I see them.)

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Gnomes all year round, thrift store find in porcelain.

You can have tea from the caddy...or...

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Have some coffee at our coffee machine. Yes, that is a big arse restaurant coffee machine. My husband bought this on the sly, and well, we had to design the kitchen around it.

But, IT IS THE BUSIEST

in the morning and also ideal for company. (I can have hot water brewing or decaf and regular...kept hot on the burners.)

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Sugar, sweetener, flavoring, creamer and spoons...it's all here, just pick your cup!

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Hubby also bought the towel...cracks me up.

Monday cup...please!

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And this service area works well, just to the left of the sink and filtered water.

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Another busy spot is the cabinet by the windows I have covered with a vintage tablecloth. I use this location in early spring for seedlings and now it has been full of tomatoes ripening for the last three weeks. We have to pick tomatoes before totally ripe--or the critters sample them.

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Our tomato crop was weird is year...we ended up with tons of small tomatoes, the yellows and the yellow pears.  So, I roasted most of them on parchment paper in large trays by slicing them in half.

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We did have plenty of reds and they are still producing, but only 4 plants.

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NUM!

They really are scrumptious and sweet.

So I CANNED TOMATOES!

3 BATCHES in the last week and a half.

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I put two large spoons (3-oz or so) of roasted tomatoes in each hot jar, added extra lemon juice(2 tsp.) and 1/2 tsp salt. Then added the cooked boiling tomatoes over the roasted  ones, then water-bath processed the jars for 15 min. A bit more than usual, but the roasteds weren't hot.

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I ended up with three batches over a week and a half, or 27 pint jars, of which 7 were made into sauce by cooking for 10 hours. 

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We've also had LOTS of cucumbers...yesterday I cut and seeded two large ones, some radishes, 2 small yellow squash, red pepper, onions, parsley, fresh oregano into a bowl. I added Italian dressing, some garlic oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper and a bit of Western dressing for tomato flavor and some sweetness. Num, this will keep until the weekend if we don't eat it all.

Sorry no recipe, I just sort of wing this by tasting. Once it sits for a day, it's even better.

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Last weekend I also made refrigerator Dills. This is a fast, easy and detailed recipe I shared HERE. They stay crunchy in the refrigerator for a year. My mother-in-laws recipe and it's fool-proof.

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This time of year fresh dill is plentiful normally, mine dried up in the hot weather, but the grocery had plenty.

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We ended up with a gallon and a half which I keep in the refrigerator. The sons will come and probably split the smaller jar.

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The island is always in use, but I try and have some fun seasonal decor on the end...what is more summer than a jar of old marbles, antique crocks, an antique French enamel lidded coffeepot and well something yellow to go with the sunflowers, my vintage McCoy yellow shoe.

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PHEW! Now you know why I called this my 

Working kitchen. 

Do you want another cup and stay awhile?

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All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sandi