Spoiled Squash Part 2: Return of the zucchini!!!

Well I now know to never give up! If you read my earlier post about my squash I actually almost pulled them all up because they were taunting me with their yellow leaves and puny vines. But, alas they have returned!! I have acorn squash, zucchini, and even a little cucumber!! My pumpkin is growing like its creating a magical carriage to take Cinderella to the ball, it has 3 small pumpkins on it and more coming!

pumpkin...can't even get it all in the shot!

I'm not to sure if anything will actually ripen enough before the cold sets in, but I may at least get to eat a baby zucchini or a baby cucumber. I think with the pumpkins I will pick all the new growth so the plant can put its energy into creating a couple of MONSTERS for Halloween.

baby cucumber (maybe good for one dill pickle??)

Now I'm torn for next year! I was sure the bark mulch was ruining the plants, but perhaps it was just the transplanting and then the serious lack of sun this spring? Do I put them there again next year? I think I  may have to wait to see how many garden boxes I can get out of my Husband!!

For now I will bask in the glory of my revitalized squash and worry about next year......well, next year!


One thing I know though is that I will never give up again on my little plants!! And, its amazing what a little sun can do to garden, perhaps it was a bad year for me to start experimenting with my veggies, with our serious lack of sun and warm weather. All I know is next year I am one more step ahead, and maybe one day (in the far future...) I can claim to be a pro!!



acorn squash

Peas, Glorious Peas!!!

Well my first attempt at a veggie garden has taught me many things. First of all, I need more sunshine for almost all my plants. The exception to that? My peas!!

My peas have turned out some kind of wonderful and everytime I look at them I want to sing, "peas, glorious peas!", to the tune of "food, glorious food!" (from 'Oliver' for those who think I have gone nuts...) The reason they have grown so well is they have the ideal amount of sunlight, sunny in the morning and evening without the hot midday sun. Either that, or Elysabeth has a magical touch, as she was the one to plant them!



My only regret is that I should of grown a whole garden box full, not just a few rows. I planted the first rows just before May long and the second rows a couple of weeks after. We have been enjoying them now for a couple of weeks and they are so superior to frozen peas. Also, they are fun to pick and shell for the girls and I only lose a few to some hungry little mouths along the way!!

I am yet to come up with some clever recipe in which to incorporate them, so stay tuned, but for now we like them just plain ol' steamed, I kind of don't want to mess with a perfect thing.

Next year I am hoping to plant enough so I can freeze them, I also want to plant enough of everything so I can really save on groceries! With two growing girls, (I swear girls can eat as much as boys) and us I will do anything these days to save a few bucks at the grocery store! Oh, did I mention I am sooooo into couponing these days? But that's another post I think.....
What I will say is, "Mr. Hillis, I need a deep freeze and more garden boxes!!" Now I will sneak off to bed so I don't have to deal with the repercussions of this statement till tomorrow...ha ha ha....

60 cupcakes!!

Well, this last weekend I had my first attempt at making 60 cupcakes! I haven't ever actually made more than a couple dozen, but I had two events on the long weekend so I decided to go for it.

Here is the lot! Minus a few casualties that we had to sample of course...

6 hours and one frazzled Mother later, I had completed this wondrous feat! I don't remember the last time I wore an apron all day and to be honest, I'm sure now I would never make it as the next Martha. The time and effort, although worth the outcome, is tedious! The very act of just getting them baked took over two hours! Then I had to make the fillings, put the filling in, make the buttercream and decorate. Needless to say I am taking a cupcakes break! Well, actually there was this recipe I was maybe going to try...hmmmm.....

So my tips for anyone who wants to tackle this challenge? Here they are...

• Be prepared to be fully stocked in ingredients. I used 16 eggs, 2 lbs. of butter, 4 cups of milk, 5 peaches, 1 lb. of blueberries, 6 cups of flour, about 5 cups of sugar and a package of chocolate chips. (not to mention small quantities of other things)
• find a babysitter for all children who require attention (so like any children), mine are great beater lickers and taste testers, but they may have watched some cartoons this day...
• get ready for a HOT kitchen! with the oven on for so long I had to open all the windows and wait awhile to make my buttercream so it wouldn't melt!
• don't stress when you over mix your batter and it tastes a but funny, you already made a double batch of it anyways and you can always use extra buttercream!! (this is what I told myself as I sampled my first cupcake out of the oven...)
• And always make extra buttercream!! (Darn it!!! I ran out of butter and time, and these cupcakes could of used a little more icing.)
• have fun!! I mean, this is why we do it right??!! Its all in the learning!

All in all it was a lot of fun and I felt pretty proud looking at my accomplishments. And over two nights and two parties, and a bit of sampling at home, they were all gone but a couple!
Thanks to all my wonderful family who gobbled them up, despite the slight baking soda taste and lack of buttercream! I love you all for eating my creations :)

Here is the vanilla cake recipe I tried, it was good, but I did over mix it. Because I made a double batch my bowl wasn't quite large enough and mixing was a bit of a challenge. (This just proves that I soooooo need a kitchen aid mixer!) I think I will try it again next time as I did like the texture of the cake.

http://52cupcakes.blogspot.com/2006/05/billys-vanilla-vanilla-cupcakes-with.html

This fillings I made myself. I just cooked up the fruit and mashed it, added some sugar, and cornstarch mixed with water to thicken, then after it was cooled I put it in the cooled cupcakes. This time was my first time putting the filling in with the piping bag, and it was definitely faster, but the downside was that the chunks of fruit got stuck and it was hard to tell how much filling I had got in. I usually cut out a cone shape, spoon the filling in, cut off the bottom of the cone, then place the top of it back on. This is more time consuming, but better results I think.

The buttercream was the same as my last cupcake recipe and was oh so yummy yet again! But, I should of made more, you can never have too much buttercream!

http://kristin-amateurmother.blogspot.com/2011/07/chocolate-cupcakes.html

So, would I do it again? Absolutely! Although I don't think I could handle it as a weekly occurrence, it certainly was fun and another great experience in my quest for the perfect cupcakes.

Here they are... Both vanilla cake, one chocolate buttercream and blueberry filling, the other vanilla buttercream and peach filling.

I also added some fuzzy peach candies to the top, which I believe made these the most popular ones!

Now, what kind can we do next........