Bowl 1 of 2015 Potato Harvest – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
2015 Potato Harvest
We just harvested our potato patch this evening. My husband was not wanting to do the harvest so early.
However, when the plants turn yellow (and you can see potatoes on the surface), a harvesting we must!
My oldest son began harvesting…it took him longer than he and I both anticipated.
K harvesting potatoes 2015 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
The harvest was a success!
Here is the first bowl….we thought this would be all of it.
Bowl 1 of 2015 Potato Harvest – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
We were wrong!
There of six of us in the family so a few potatoes go fast. (I do not eat potatoes anymore due to a nightshade allergy.) I was happy when we were able to fill up a second bowl of potatoes.
Here is the second bowl…
2015 Potato Harvest Bowl 2 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Think there is more?
You are right!
Here is the third (and final) bowl…
2015 Potato Harvest Bowl 3 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
It is nice to know we have a good amount of harvest for our potatoes this summer. After all, these potatoes help stretch our food budget by reducing how many we purchase at the store.
So the harvest is done…now what?
There are a few potato plants left which are still green and thriving. We’ll harvest these once the plants turn yellow.
2015 Potato Harvest – Just a few plants left – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Our plans for 2016
We know this spot is great for potatoes. They grow well and the soil stays well drained.
For this last growing season, we used potatoes from our pantry which had started to sprout.
It is recommended to purchase seed potatoes for growing potatoes at home.
Did you plant potatoes this year? How was your harvest? What is your favorite variety?
Let me know!
~Adrienne
Note: This post contains my affiliate link for Amazon.com. Please see my Disclaimers for more information.
Canning Pickle Relish – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Canning Pickle Relish
My husband and I have been making pickle relish for years. We only use his Grandma’s recipe.
Why Grandma’s recipe? Well, it tastes so much better than the store bought relish.
I grew up not liking relish – any of them. I did not like the taste at all.
I also did not like pickles.
Enter Grandma’s Pickle Relish
I was willing to support my husband in making his Grandma’s Pickle Relish. I said I would help him make it. I reserved the right to taste and not like it.
We made it and only changed one thing in the recipe: We increased the cucumbers and onions to compensate for not including the bell peppers listed in the recipe. (I cannot eat nightshades and bell peppers are in the nightshade family.)
Cooking up the Pickle Relish
Canning Pickle Relish – Cooking up pickle relish – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Canning plans for rest of 2015
I am planning to get some pickle relish canned next month when my aunt is in town. I’m not sure how much we will be canning, though.
2015 Tomato and Pepper Harvest – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
2015 Tomato and Pepper Harvest
My husband and I love growing tomatoes and peppers in our garden. This year was no different!
We decided to use the two Topsy Turvy Tomato Trees we had in the garage for our tomatoes and peppers this year.
We planted three tomato plants in each tree. We planted Roma, Beefsteak, Cherry, and Grape varieties. We planted three peppers in the one tree which had room – bell pepper and two chili peppers. (Two of the chili peppers are included in first photo above.)
2015 Tomato and Pepper Harvest Tomato Tree – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Bell Pepper almost ready to eat
The bell peppers pictured here are not included in the first photo above. The tomatoes have been eaten straight off the vine since the first ones got ripe. My boys love walking outside and grabbing tomatoes to eat.
Bell Pepper 2015 Tomato and Pepper Harvest – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Our 2016 Garden Plans
We have really enjoyed the ease of harvesting with these two tomato trees. We have not had problems with slugs this year eating the plants and fruit. (Slugs are a big deal for gardeners in the Pacific Northwest.)
For our family of six, we used to buy a lot of Gluten-Free flour. I mean a lot. I bake often and have gone through phases where I was baking daily.
Purchasing Gluten-Free flours can be expensive.
The cost of purchasing these flours began adding up especially as food prices increased. We decided it was time to look at grinding our own flours.
Not all Grain Mills are alike. Which one do we purchase?
I researched for months and asked friends who milled their own for mill recommendations. One friend, Jeni, swore by the Country Living Mill she was borrowing. As she and her family live without gluten, she was milling the grains I would be once I had a mill. I had seen their website so went back and read it some more. The detailed explanations of their mill and why they designed it intrigued me.
I had previously shown the mill website to Jonathan. He asked me to keep researching.
The Country Living Grain Mill with milled Amaranth – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Flour mill is high on our priority list.
After our fourth baby was born, we were deciding what on our “wish list” would be purchased with our tax refund. A mill was high on the list for me. I wanted to save money on Gluten-Free flours.
We finally decided to call the company one day. We spoke with Joel, one of the owners of The Country Living Grain Mill, who answered our questions. He said it would be no problem to test the mill with rice instead of wheat (as this option is mentioned on their website). He asked if we were local to him. We were about two hours south. He said he was happy to ship it to us or we could go pick it up and test the mill ourselves.
We drove up right then and there. We tested our mill with rice. We chatted about Gluten-Free grains and how the mill handles them.
We set it up when we got home. We have not looked back or regretted it.
The Country Living Grain Mill with Amaranth Flour 2 – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
Gluten Free Flours using The Country Living Grain Mill at Home
When specific flours gets low in my Tupperware™ Modular Mates, I grind some more. Usually, I add the grain and Jonathan makes sure it gets milled. He is great about turning on the mill first thing in the morning. The mill is as quiet as one would expect from a mill grinding grain. It is now white noise for me most of the time.
You can taste the difference between freshly milled flours and ones which have sat in a bag on a shelf for months.
Oh, one of the best parts of getting my Gluten Free Flours using The Country Living Grain Mill is I have total control over how fine or how coarse of a grind. I can have coarse cornmeal and then (after cleaning out the mill) can do super fine brown rice flour. (Super fine does take longer to grind due to the finer grind.)
Now, when gluten-eating people mention “I don’t taste any gritty flour – are you sure you used rice flour?”
I just smile and say, “Yes, I did using my Country Living Grain Mill.”
Amaranth Flour from The Country Living Grain Mill – Copyright Adrienne Z. Milligan
I would love to hear what grain mill you use to grind your own Gluten-Free flours. If you do not have a grain mill, have you considered it?
