Pickled Okra!!!

Well it's been awhile since I last put a post up, but I'm back and geared up for summertime canning.

Brandon and I got off to another great season. We started with pickling sweet peppers and pickling cucumber and quickly turned to Okra and Peach Jam. On that note, read on for a step by step process.

First, you start off by getting about 5 lbs or more of smaller size Okra. Fill your sink up with cold water, add okra and baking soda.

Then rewash. If you're wandering about the baking soda, it's a cheap cleaner that works great. It pulls all the pollen and sand off the vegatable before beginning.

Next, give your Jars and lids a hot water bath and trim the ends to the Okra.

In a large saucepan combine vinegar, water, mustard seeds, pickling salt, celery seeds. Bring to a rapid boil.
Meantime pack the hot jars with peeled garlic, peppercorns and okra; making sure the okra is tightly packed.

Ladle the hot liquid over the Okra in the jars and seal the jars. Remember to heat up your lids so they will seal. Tighten the tops, turn over upside down for 15- 20 minutes, and wallla!!!!

Wait two weeks for okra to set and enjoy!!!!

Been awhile....

I know it's been awhile since my last blog... So a quick update.

This week has been a busy week. I processed tons of berries for my Jam and hoping to get it all cooked this weekend since I ran out of Jars and Sure-Jell. Didnt get much exercise in since the heat here in good ol Smyrna has been horrible. Looking forward to changing up my routine alittle thru the summer and going to try to get into that "hot yoga" and maybe even some step classes.

Like always today is FARM day! I just love helping my mother and father out on the farm and today I get to help harvest the first picking of the spring season, Itialian Flat Beans!!! Now we're just a small farm so we dont grow everything but yesterday when the truck came in from South Florida it was filled with lots of fresh stuff... So my bright ideal for the week is to make a 3 bean side dish, it's going to be full of color and I can't wait to post pics.

Next week the cukes should be about ready which means my cannin will turn to pickles and relishes.

Stayed tuned for I have been picuture taking and soon to blog them

Sad day today....

Just wanted to take a moment to blog before my day gets any worse and I'm too stressed to blog. My wonderful co-worker of alittle over a year is leaving me. I am glad that she has the courage to leave and straighten out her life instead of stayin and not truely seeing if it was meant to be somewhere else in life. I know she has other reasons for leaving but has yet to tell me, but I am not worried about that; she will in time tell me if shes wants to let me in on it.

Now as for today being one of the sadess days... The calls begin on her replacement. She thanks it'll be easy but as I have been here for over 4 yrs now and finding someone with enough common sense and enough will power not to flirt with every man that walks thru the door is truely hard to do.  It took her awhile to get it but she did... I hope this process will not be as painful as it has been in the past but for reason something tells me different. Ugh is all I can say... I will truely miss you sweetie you have been a blessing and best of luck to you.

Beginning of Blogging...

Good morning, Good morning - Day 2 of the Blog and I am already here blogging... I thank I can stick with this.

 I am so excited that finally we're getting in lots of summery veggies. Last night we made a delicious dinner consisting of Fresh Half-runners (which is a type of green bean for those of you who dont kno much about veggies), Fresh New potatos, and baked Chicken Leg Quarters. And oh yeah don't forget the stuffing. The night before we had Fresh Fish (Brandon and Brian caught while out on the waters) with sauted Summer Squash ( 3 kinds: yellow, zuchinni, and the newest addition to summer squash a light green zuchinni) with bacon bites (which we know isnt the best but wanted them) and sliced portabela mushrooms all sauted in Seseme Oil... Umm. Tonight Brandon has to work so wont be much cooking unless I decide to but that a rarity since I love to next to him ;)

Now alittle fitness talk since I am hungry from the food talk... Yall will be too once I start posting pics. Well alittle preview: for those of you who dont know me but are starting to follow my blog... I am 27 yrs old and on a mission to get in the best shape i have ever been in. For self esteem reasons I am working on getting that "fitness body look" defined muscle tone - not too big and too skinny. I have always been alittle chunky. At 12 I was chunky by 16 I was heavy, at 18 I was pushing 250 lbs and wearing a size 20 pants. Talk about depressing. At that point I began my quest to lose weight. I was of course younger then and the weight came off pretty quickly - by 21 I was 150 lbs ( total lost 100 lbs!!!). I was happy but then of course got happy in a relationship and got fat again... you know the route fat skinny fat skinny. They say if your happy in your relationship then extra pounds show up - hmm. Nice. Well that has been my road to getting in shape - fat skinny fat skinny...Never that body I want. So now mmy goal for 2011 is to achieve that body.

I have been walking 4 miles aday since January almost everyday (generally 5-6 days a week) I have never seen results although people who surround me say that have "toned up". Well I'm batin down the hatches and taken full contoll of this - If I am going to see the results I want I am going to have to push myself all the way there. On days that my walking patner cant make our walk - I do the running thing (honestly - I am loving it!!!) I wish I could Brandon into running I would be even more attracted to him ( which I dont thank is possible but hey its worth the try). I always get exhausted about half way thru the jog/ run and cant honestly go that far but everytime I do I try to go just alittle farther than before. This summer is really gonna hender my exercising since we live in area with so much fringing humidity. Well I am going to keep track of progress and how things are going thru here along with other bloggable things.

Getting Started

Good Morning, Just getting started with this blogging and stuff so please just bare with me. I am starting this blog to share cooking tips, reciepes, back yard gardening tips that work for me and so much more. I am excited about this. Something new to me but I love sharing information and thought this would be a great way to do it!!!