A lot of my blog friends are thinking about the coming growing season. It makes me itch to get out and dig in the soil. Feel the ground in my hand...get my fingernails so dirty they don't look like they will ever come clean again. Anyway, the talk of the coming growing season spurred me to look back at photos of the past.
I don't recall what kind of bell peppers these were...
I think the above was taken the same day....
This is from a couple years later. I sure have missed having my own bell peppers to freeze the past couple or three years. They are so handy to have to add to chili, or spaghetti sauce or whatever else you use them in. Instead of making stuffed bell peppers, I slice up a couple bell peppers in the bottom of a casserole dish, add my browned ground beef which I have also added onions too, cover with tomato juice and bake in 325º oven for about an hour and a half. (I don't like to eat big chunks of cooked bell pepper, so I came up with doing this.) Roger still gets the bell pepper, and I get the flavor...I used to add a bit of rice and cheese, but we like it simple the best.
And this is one of those dishes that I love better the second time around. If I have enough to have it the second time around. Both girls loved it, and I served it to one of Roger's friends one time and he loved it. I want it with mashed potatoes of course.
Though I love to add a few red bell peppers to things...I add red ones for the color. But I want to add lots of green ones for the flavor.
One of my loves is salsa...
but above all else, I love home canned tomato juice. It is like sunshine from a jar! In the winter if I am sick with a cold, etc. there is nothing like it. The stuff you buy in the store does not compare.
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The last time we had tomatoes was not good. I had 16-20 plants and only ate one whole tomato...the flavor was not good and all the tomatoes were all messed up...you can see samples HERE. It states that they did not all look like that. The thing was, I would pick a pretty one and cut into it and it would have a mess inside...
The next year I bought a couple of the tomato plants they have in huge containers, thinking maybe I could at least have some to snack on, but they did not grow good either. I messed around and did not try anything in 2016....and that August is when Roger had his stroke. So I have not tried any since. But I would love to try some this year...just to have a few to eat fresh from the garden.
Do you grow your own tomatoes and if so, how do you grow them, specially if not directly in the ground?
Because sunny spaces are precious in our back yard we have in the past grown tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets. It's not too pretty but we've had good results. I buy "Early Girl" or, if I can't find them I settle for "Early Boy". They are relatively early to ripen which is a plus but the tomatoes themselves are not much bigger than an extra large egg.
ReplyDeleteI have had no luck with growing tomatoes or any vegetables since we moved to town 27 years ago. I used to have a large, beautiful garden in the country and there are time I really do miss it.I now get my produce at the local farmers market in summer.
ReplyDeleteIs this a picture of Roger? I have never seen him! Your recipe sounds so good! I have copied it, and will make it. I think we tried growing tomatoes decades ago! And they did not do well.
ReplyDeleteWe hope to get a stock tank and grow some tomatoes this year. We like Early Girl and Romas...Romas are full of flavor. I know everyone has their own opinion. best of luck with your gardening adventures!
ReplyDeleteI have never grown any food, but daddy did. he always bought seeds and planted them in a box on the ground, that had old French doors over it. when the seedlings were ready he planted them. they were the best, but he did buy some plants, but that was way back when. those peppers are amazing. I love the red and yellow ones because they don't have the sharp taste of the green, but use the green like you do, for seasoning. peppers cost 1.69 each now. green are 99 cents. these are indeed fond memories.. I love the canned tomatoe juice to. mama canned everything daddy grew.
ReplyDeleteYour mason jars of salsa look so tasty! I love vine ripe tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteSuch gorgeous photos of the fresh veggies. Oh, you are so smart to be able to put up your own juice, salsa etc.
ReplyDeleteWe've tried many times to grow tomatoes, but don't have good success.
Wow! Very good bell pepper harvest! I have tried to grow a few types of tomatoes but not successful. The plants are so prone to pests especially the mealy bugs even before they started to fruit. I only managed to harvest a few cherry tomatoes. So discouraged.
ReplyDeleteI just planted a bunch of peppers in a tray for a headstart, so your pepper photos were exciting to see. Beautiful! Hoping the weather cooperates for planting season.
ReplyDeleteI like the unstuffed pepper idea......
ReplyDeleteThose are not only tasty vegetables but such a pretty color combination. I would love to grow my own vegetables. Love the recipe idea, thanks Rose. I will give that a try as that is a favorite vegetable, love red sweet peppers, love tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos . . . I was out turning soil today. Since we moved here and started growing our own vegetables, life has been richer and so satisfying. The thrill of raising what you eat and canning it for the winter . . . we love it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really enjoyed my visit.
Thank you for your prayers, you have no idea how much we appetite all the prayers, love and friendship. Today was a chemo day and afterwards Steve wanted a burger . . . I almost fell over . . . it's been an amazingly glorious day. He's feeling so good today. Praise the Lord!
Again, thank you for your prayers.
Connie :)
We grow veggies every year, but each year it becomes more challenging with the pests and weather. Last year was the worst garden ever, and we ended up pulling out the plants in early August. There is nothing better than a warm tomato fresh from the garden.
ReplyDeleteI know the variety of the peppers - DELICIOUS! They look absolutely delicious!
ReplyDeleteToday I worked in the garden for a little while. It does get harder and harder every year yet we crave the fresh vegetables more. I tell myself, just 15 minutes, I can do anything for 15 minutes...then I get to rest.
I also planted some seeds in cups for an early start. The tomatoes are sprouting!
Jeannie@GetMetoTheCountry
Oh, I used to can salsa and all kinds of things, two friends still do, and one does ketchup, even. I don't have the knack for growing in Tennessee. That's odd, because most people don't know how to grow in the desert, but I think that's easy! LOL It's all what you are used to, I guess. It's too wet here, and everything seems to rot. But I usually have a big planter with cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes on the back deck (2nd floor deck), and those seem to do okay.
ReplyDeleteOne year I got something from Kroger called Tiny Toms, which are small tomatoes about 2 inches across, and they did well, but I haven't seen them again. Big tomatoes all seem to crack, so I don't grow them any more. All the herbs do well in pots, and so do sweet yellow banana peppers. I had just one plant one year, leftover from a friend, and it probably put out 25 or more peppers that summer.
So if you want a pot of tomatoes, I think small is the way to go, and a big pot that is well drained. You might or might not need stakes or a tomato cage, depending on the variety.