We traveled down to Crown Center this past Friday to spend the night at the Westin. We enjoy hanging out down there because between the lights, the music, the atmosphere, well, it just feels like Christmas. Friday night we had dinner at The Classic Cup on the Plaza. The grilled duck was awesome! Wholeheartedly recommend it. Jill had the Mahi Mahi.
Saturday morning we had breakfast at Eggtc. My Eggs Benedict were perfect. The french toast and omlet were really good!
The Classic Cup for dinner- 4 stars
Eggtc for breakfast- 4 stars
If you have a chance to visit either one, please do so.
Tomato Harvest Thus Far- August 28, 2009
407 Tomatoes have been harvested!
That is 38 more than all of last year.
That is 38 more than all of last year.
In Honor of Top Chef- Homemade Enchilada Soup
So the Top Chef Masters finale was last night and Top Chef Las Vegas started. What a great evening. Usually, on Top Chef nights we cook something from one of the contestants or inspired as such. Last night we made enchiladas (Jill) and I (Jeremy) made vegetarian enchilada soup. Go Rick Bayless!
Here is Jeremy's recipe for vegetarian enchilada soup-
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can of tomato sauce or 4 small tomatoes blended
1 can of water
1/2 cup of diced green peppers
1/2 cup of diced red peppers
1/2 cup of onions
1 cup corn
1 cup black beans
1 tbls of cumin
1 tbls of red pepper
1 tbls of chili powder
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of black pepper
1 cup of Cheddar cheese (or whatever you like- the cheese makes a huge difference)
Cook on medium for 1 1/2 hours
Sprinkle crushed tortilla chips on top for some crunch!
Season to taste and ENJOY!
You can add chicken if you want- dice it, cook in skillet and toss it in!
Here is Jeremy's recipe for vegetarian enchilada soup-
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can of tomato sauce or 4 small tomatoes blended
1 can of water
1/2 cup of diced green peppers
1/2 cup of diced red peppers
1/2 cup of onions
1 cup corn
1 cup black beans
1 tbls of cumin
1 tbls of red pepper
1 tbls of chili powder
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of black pepper
1 cup of Cheddar cheese (or whatever you like- the cheese makes a huge difference)
Cook on medium for 1 1/2 hours
Sprinkle crushed tortilla chips on top for some crunch!
Season to taste and ENJOY!
You can add chicken if you want- dice it, cook in skillet and toss it in!
July 31, 2009 Tomato Report
210 Tomatoes Harvested as of today!!!!
76 Yellow Pear-thanks Tomato Fest for the free seeds
New Vickers Family Salsa Recipe (Jeremy's experimental salsa)
1 Mortgage Lifter Tomato
1/2 Vidalia onion
1/2 red pepper
2 banana peppers
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno pepper
1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of cilantro
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
Blend well!
And of course, was have canned:
Sweet Pickles
Pepper Relish
And working on Cinnamon Cucumber Rings
FAVORITE TOMATO SO FAR IS STILL- The Black Zebra
MOST DISAPPOINTING TOMATO- Mortgage Lifter (hence, the use in salsa recipe)
The Black Zebra Heirloom Tomato
(Black Zebra)So far this has been the most interesting heirloom tomato in our 2009 garden. Here is what someone wrote about the Black Zebra-
"This stunning, perfectly round 1½" to 2" fruits with tender, deep dark red to caramel colored skin beneath vertical dark green and mahogany streaks . . .Black Zebra has opulent, rich flavor with hints of smoke and sweetness"
It is an absolutely stunning and delicious tomato. We had no idea that a tomato could have so many flavors all wrapped up in one small package.
I (Jeremy) have been anxiously awaiting this one to ripen and after months of waiting, we finally tried it.
This is the best tasting tomato (or maybe a close second to the whopper) I have had this year. I encourage you to find one of these and try it with anything and everything. It is perfect on BLT's!!!!
Our List Thus Far of Top Five Favorites-
1. Black Zebra (heirloom)
2. Whopper
3. Dixie Golden Giant (heirloom)
4. Argentina (heirloom)
5. Bull's Heart (heirloom)
We have 41 tomato plants (6 whopper plants-year, we like whoppers)
And our total harvested tomatoes-
134
And it's not even August.
Total Tomatoes As of July 16, 2009
17 Yellow Pear Tomatoes
75 Tomatoes
And we just picked the first Black Zebra....it should be very interesting.
Right now, impressive of course, the Whoppers-23 of those so far. The perfect and best tasting tomato out there.
The Mortgage Lifter was interesting and we are excited to taste the Ultimate Golden Giant.
75 Tomatoes
And we just picked the first Black Zebra....it should be very interesting.
Right now, impressive of course, the Whoppers-23 of those so far. The perfect and best tasting tomato out there.
The Mortgage Lifter was interesting and we are excited to taste the Ultimate Golden Giant.
The 1st BLT of the Season
It's July 11, 2009. 2 pm. Simply perfect. 
Smoked Bacon
Iceberg Lettuce
Tomato- Mortgage Lifter
Wheat Bread
Mayo
July 11, 2009 Garden Report
A total of 35 tomatoes have been harvested.
67 Cucumbers- ready for pickling.
55 potatoes
9 Okra
45 onions
8 peppers
67 yellow beans
The heirlooms are doing really well this year. Absolutely beautiful. We anticipate the last week of July to be the BIG harvest.
Fresh Summer Salad
Jeremy's version of a great salad that Jill would enjoy (and she did).
Iceberg Lettuce
Spinach leaves
Basil
Red Onion
Feta Cheese
Croutons
Bacon bits
Fresh Strawberries
Pecans
Lightly peppered, lightly drizzled with EVOO and homemade pepper relish.
And as a side note- basil and fresh strawberries (lightly sugared) is amazing.
Iceberg Lettuce
Spinach leaves
Basil
Red Onion
Feta Cheese
Croutons
Bacon bits
Fresh Strawberries
Pecans
Lightly peppered, lightly drizzled with EVOO and homemade pepper relish.
And as a side note- basil and fresh strawberries (lightly sugared) is amazing.
Heirloom Tomatoes- Still Growing and Keeping the Bunnies OUT!
June 4, 2009
Our tomato plants continue to grow well. We did plant them a little early this year, so we have almost 10 little green tomatoes already. We also are using the Topsy Turvy to see if it really works. We have two patches of cucumbers, two patches of potatoes (red and white), two patches of beans, lots of okra. And of course 42 tomato plants. Not sure if they will all make it, but hopefully we will enjoy some tomatoes by 4th of July! There are three bunnies that have decided our yard is interesting. They appear in the mornings and evenings. Rheau has done her best to keep them out. One of the little ones is making it's way over to the herb garden. Rheau can't protect that. So it looks like it's time to pant a few extra marigold flowers. We've heard they keep away the bunnies. We will see. We will keep you all posted.
These pics were taken with our brand new Canon Powershot. Our last camera died. This one works great and we found it at Office Max on sale.
Our tomato plants continue to grow well. We did plant them a little early this year, so we have almost 10 little green tomatoes already. We also are using the Topsy Turvy to see if it really works. We have two patches of cucumbers, two patches of potatoes (red and white), two patches of beans, lots of okra. And of course 42 tomato plants. Not sure if they will all make it, but hopefully we will enjoy some tomatoes by 4th of July! There are three bunnies that have decided our yard is interesting. They appear in the mornings and evenings. Rheau has done her best to keep them out. One of the little ones is making it's way over to the herb garden. Rheau can't protect that. So it looks like it's time to pant a few extra marigold flowers. We've heard they keep away the bunnies. We will see. We will keep you all posted.
These pics were taken with our brand new Canon Powershot. Our last camera died. This one works great and we found it at Office Max on sale.
Heirlooms- Giveaways- Bunnies
As of yesterday we have given away 105 tomato plants, mostly heirlooms. The plants grew well on our shelves with the grow lights purchased from Westlake. Almost every tomato plant has done great, except the Aussie and the Blue Ridge Mountain. The Aussie seems to be a late grower and we have two plants doing much better. So we will hopefully see a few Aussie tomatoes this year. As for the Blue Ridge Mountain, we have one plant in the ground and it's not going to make it. We do have one under our grow lights that might be able to replace the one already in the garden. We hope. Right now we have 40 tomatoes growing quite well. 30 different varieties. Last year we harvested 369 tomatoes.
We are trying to reach 500 this year, which we might easily do if the weather cooperates. We have already had to spray for blight once. Now all we have to do is feed, water and keep the plants safe from bunnies. Several of you have told me that bunnies have already destroyed a few of your tomato plants. Sorry to hear that. We are more than happy to share the harvest. So throughout July, August and September there will several tomatoes at the church during the week and on Sundays. Hope to also take some to Restart if they harvest falls correctly.
We have seen one baby bunny running around the yard but that poor thing has no chance against the mighty Rheau (roo).
She stand guard over her backyard like no one else. Bunnies have a very small chance of taking out the garden, as do squirrels or another other rodent. She chases them and when she catches them, it's playtime!
Here are the tomatoes we can't wait to harvest- Whopper (6 plants in), Valencia, Church, Grandfather Ashlock, Yellow Pear, Aussie and the Black Zebra. Very unique sounding eh?
Alright, good gardening to all.
Mother's Day- The Time to Really Plant a Garden
Well, as many of you know, we already planted most of our garden. We are up to 41 tomato plants. 15 heirlooms and 26 regular. We planted 5 whopper plants because those are our favorite tomatoes for BLT's. Why 41? Well, we could plant more and probably will but that is how many we have planted so far because we grew most of them from seed and were not sure how many would take. So far the Church heirloom is doing very well, as is the Grandfather Ashlock. The Blue Mountain and Aussie are absolutely terrible. They did not grow well in the seed starter and after transplant into the garden did not do well at all. Could be the climate, could be the seeds or maybe it's just a crummy plant. Not sure. We also planted cucumbers, green beans and red/white potatoes. Everything seems to be doing well.
The herb garden has already yielded spinach and onions. We are pleased with it's progress and hopefully will see some of the herbs we planted- cilantro, oregano, thyme and chives start really growing. The pepper plants are growing nicely, but some bugs are starting to eat them. Have to get rid of those pesky bugs soon.
Finally, we are still giving away tomatoes. We have given away of 30 of them so far and will continue to do so. Get those plants in the ground soon so you have ripe tomatoes in June!
The herb garden has already yielded spinach and onions. We are pleased with it's progress and hopefully will see some of the herbs we planted- cilantro, oregano, thyme and chives start really growing. The pepper plants are growing nicely, but some bugs are starting to eat them. Have to get rid of those pesky bugs soon.
Finally, we are still giving away tomatoes. We have given away of 30 of them so far and will continue to do so. Get those plants in the ground soon so you have ripe tomatoes in June!
The Harvest Begins- 2009
Last night we had our first meal from our 2009 Garden. Alright, the whole meal was not from the garden, but we did have spinach salad. Here was the bountiful delight that we experienced.
1. Spinach with carrots, celery and relish. The relish was a gift from Beth Mumper (member of the church I serve).
2. Toad in a hole.- if you don't know what this is then well, sorry you are really missing out.
3. Fried Morel Mushrooms!!!! (Jill picked them yesterday)
So Morel Mushroom season has started, as has the garden harvest. I guess Spring really is here. We did finally put the peppers and herbs in the "herb garden". Hopefully this rain will do everything some good. Might have to go out to Longview Lake in between rains to see if any more Morels pop up.
Happy hunting!!!
1. Spinach with carrots, celery and relish. The relish was a gift from Beth Mumper (member of the church I serve).
2. Toad in a hole.- if you don't know what this is then well, sorry you are really missing out.
3. Fried Morel Mushrooms!!!! (Jill picked them yesterday)
So Morel Mushroom season has started, as has the garden harvest. I guess Spring really is here. We did finally put the peppers and herbs in the "herb garden". Hopefully this rain will do everything some good. Might have to go out to Longview Lake in between rains to see if any more Morels pop up.
Happy hunting!!!
Garden Continues for 2009- April 24, 2009
28 Tomatoes went in this weekend. We grew them from seed. They were ready to be planted before we wanted them in the ground but, we had to put them in because they outgrew their little planters. We will probably plant another 14 tomatoes. Potatoes are looking great, as are onions and spinach. Here are a few pics of today. What a beautiful day, despite the wind.
It's Almost Time
We uploaded a few pictures for everyone to see our seed progress. Also, Heartland Nursery looks like they are full of plants and flowers again. We will be visiting them soon.
Here are the pics.
Here are the pics.
Preparing the Garden and Herb Garden
Monday March 16, 2009
Well, it is that time of year. We purchased 1 yard of compost/top soil from Randy's Lakeview Nursery on Friday and went back for another yard on Monday and we were told that they were unable to sell it because it was too wet. So we traveled out to American Topsoil and picked up a yard and a 1/2 (their bucket was a little more full than Randy's) for $10 more. Jill went to tilling on Monday afternoon, and sadly, cut the cable line ;0(
Well, it is that time of year. We purchased 1 yard of compost/top soil from Randy's Lakeview Nursery on Friday and went back for another yard on Monday and we were told that they were unable to sell it because it was too wet. So we traveled out to American Topsoil and picked up a yard and a 1/2 (their bucket was a little more full than Randy's) for $10 more. Jill went to tilling on Monday afternoon, and sadly, cut the cable line ;0(
Sometimes it good to have no cable and no access to the internet.
Anyway, we planted potatoes and onions.
The new herb garden we added is coming along nicely. We still need to put up edging to keep the soil from washing away, but we will do that on Friday. Here are a few pics that might show the scope of our amazing garden.
560 sq ft main garden --------105 sq ft herb garden
Gardening Tips from Jeremy and Jill
So a few of you have asked about planting your own garden. If this is a recession necessity or maybe a new hobby, let me say that it's not that difficult to have a wonderful garden. The soil around here is great for tomatoes, okra, peppers and cucumbers. Here are a few things we have learned over the years.
1. Plant potatoes and onions around St. Patricks Day.
2. Plant tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, etc. around Mother's Day.
3. Place a few tablespoons of fertilizer below the plant as you plant it.
4. Water your garden
5. Weed your garden
6. Search the web for tips on how to fight pesky bugs.
7. Leave the rabbits alone, then need to eat too.
8. If you want to get rid of rabbits, get a puppy, they chase everything.
9. Till up the area you are going to plant in, don't just dig a hole.
10. Great places to shop- Heartland Nursery is awesome!!!
11. Never buy cucumber plants, use seeds.
12. Plant whopper tomatoes, they are amazing.
13. Plant a few herbs, basil grows well here.
14. Plant at least one heirloom tomato just to see how difficult it is to garden.
15. Don't garden alone, get the family involved.
Last tip- Make some great dinners with the bounty of your garden.
There is much more to share, but that is a good start for the first time gardener.
1. Plant potatoes and onions around St. Patricks Day.
2. Plant tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, etc. around Mother's Day.
3. Place a few tablespoons of fertilizer below the plant as you plant it.
4. Water your garden
5. Weed your garden
6. Search the web for tips on how to fight pesky bugs.
7. Leave the rabbits alone, then need to eat too.
8. If you want to get rid of rabbits, get a puppy, they chase everything.
9. Till up the area you are going to plant in, don't just dig a hole.
10. Great places to shop- Heartland Nursery is awesome!!!
11. Never buy cucumber plants, use seeds.
12. Plant whopper tomatoes, they are amazing.
13. Plant a few herbs, basil grows well here.
14. Plant at least one heirloom tomato just to see how difficult it is to garden.
15. Don't garden alone, get the family involved.
Last tip- Make some great dinners with the bounty of your garden.
There is much more to share, but that is a good start for the first time gardener.
Seeds That Have Been Planted So Far
Alright, here is the list of seeds that we planted. Mostly tomato seeds and they are all heirlooms. We have others ordered from Park Seeds and Henry Fields, but are still waiting.
Heirlooms from TomatoFest that received a place to grow.
Argentina
Aussie
Black Zebra
Blue Ridge Mountain
Bull's Heart
Church
Cuostralee
Church (personal favorite)
Grandfather Ashlock
Carol Chyko's Big Paste
Dixie Golden Giant
Giant 11
Giant Belgium
Giant Oxheart
Green Giant
Ultimate Giant
Don't all of those sound just amazingly strange and beautiful? Well, the seeds are planted and now we are closely watching for that first sprig of green to pop through the soil.
Hope you have a wonderful day and of course we planted way too many of these so there might be a few plants to give away.
Heirlooms from TomatoFest that received a place to grow.
Argentina
Aussie
Black Zebra
Blue Ridge Mountain
Bull's Heart
Church
Cuostralee
Church (personal favorite)
Grandfather Ashlock
Carol Chyko's Big Paste
Dixie Golden Giant
Giant 11
Giant Belgium
Giant Oxheart
Green Giant
Ultimate Giant
Don't all of those sound just amazingly strange and beautiful? Well, the seeds are planted and now we are closely watching for that first sprig of green to pop through the soil.
Hope you have a wonderful day and of course we planted way too many of these so there might be a few plants to give away.
Seeds and the Garden
We planted seeds on Friday. We are starting Tomatoes from seed. It should be a very interesting year in our garden. Right now we have 24 different varieties of heirlooms planted. Many of those plants will be given away because we are also planting regular tomato plants. Here we are planting the seeds and prepping the garden to be planted in early May.
Seeds Have Been Ordered
The tomato seeds have been ordered, as have numerous other plants. It's a time of anticipation. Waiting. Patience. And yes, one order is on it's way. We received the confirmation today. Friday, this Friday, a great Friday, not Good Friday, but a great Friday, we will have seeds to plant. This year we ordered from several different places. We ordered from TomatoFest, Park Seeds and Henry Fields. Lots of heirlooms and many other tomatoes. Hopefully soon we will begin to plant, grow and maybe, just maybe give a few plants away.
To Dig or Not Dig
So our lovely, amazing, beautiful and brilliant puppy dog Rheau continues to dig. Now, when we picked her up a last April we knew she was a dog who liked to dig. We walked to the back yard to pick her up and she was digging. We never knew how much she liked to dig. Saturday when it was 70 degrees out (in February), I walked into the backyard and noticed that Rheau, had been digging up against the house behind the bushes. There are probably six holes there. That is now in addition to the eight holes in our back yard, plus the hole she dug that is deep enough and wide enough for her paws and head to get down in. So, yes, our dog is amazing, but geez Rheau, quit digging up the backyard!!!!!
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