When life gives you lemons.

OR, as in my case, when your aunt, who's really more like your sister, gives you a really cute wire basket from Crate and Barrel FULL of gorgeous Meyer lemons from the tree in her backyard for Christmas...make frozen lemon juice cubes to use later for cooking!

She gave me so many lemons I couldn't possibly use them all. And I knew I wanted to juice them to use later to melt in sauces, etc. So I went on a search for ice cube trays. And would you believe I could not FIND any? Someone said they might be a summer thing? Whatever the reason, I couldn't find any. But the other day I stopped by the local thrift shop and found two ice cube trays for a quarter each! They were purple...which threw me off for a minute...but then I got over it and realized they weren't going to be on display or anything so what did it matter?

Last night I squeezed all of the lemons into a measuring cup, poured the juice into the ice cube trays and froze them overnight. I'll put them in zipper storage baggies for later use! This makes me so happy...for so many reasons. I love the fact that the lemons were free. I love the fact that they didn't go to waste. I love the fact that I was able to find the tools I needed to do what I wanted to do at the thrift store...for VERY inexpensive.

The only downside to this? Now I need something else to display in the cute wire basket!

Commitment One

Grow My Own Food.

This spring, after the last frost of course, my boys and I are going to plant food in our backyard. I don't necessarily want to call it a garden because it's not going to be your typical rectangular plot of land with everything planted in nice, pretty rows. Not that that's a bad thing. As a matter of fact, if it were possible, I'd have exactly that. But since my backyard is not designed in such a way, my garden will be different.

Last summer my husband planted grass in our backyard and installed some lawn edging all around the yard, leaving a 2 foot border for planting all around the perimeter. Originally I was going to plant it full of drought tolerant, low-maintenance plants...mostly flowering for some color. But since last summer I've done lots of research on gardening, sustainable living and canning. And because of this I've decided that, while flowering plants are nice and beautiful, I would rather fill my planters with homegrown vegetables and fruit. This will be a challenge because we have a HUGE pecan tree that shades half of the yard. So I can only plant in certain areas where there is enough sun. But it's doable. Definitely. I have a lot of containers that I can utilize as well. I've got pots and barrels and two raised beds. And then the areas in the yard where there is full sun.

Ideally I would have a rectangular plot of land to call my garden. Instead, I've got areas. I've also got a dog that likes to let us know that the backyard is HIS territory...if you know what I mean? So fencing would be ideal. But seeing as how I'll be gardening in strips, containers and borders, a fence isn't gonna work. Any ideas? I'd love to hear any tips or advice.

What will we grow?

Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Strawberries
Zucchini
Tomatoes (for eating and for canning my own sauce)
Cucumbers
Green Peppers
Hot peppers
Green beans
Sugar Snap Peas
Garlic
Shallots
Carrots
Sage
Cilantro
Flat leaf parsley
Thyme

Have I forgotten anything? It's dangerous reading the gardening catalogs. One could go a little over the top with the order form! But I will try to keep it to what we'll eat...regardless of how beautiful the pictures are. I would love to grow corn but we really don't have room. Not to mention we've got a great fruit stand nearby that sells delicious corn that is grown locally. So I'll utilize them for whatever I don't grow.

I also want to plant a Meyer lemon in one of my half barrels and possibly a dwarf orange or a tangerine. I'm leaning toward the tangerine because they're beautiful and delicious. But I am not sure yet. I have to read up on citrus more. I haven't researched it enough yet.

I'm so excited to grow my own food. It's my first step in becoming less dependent on "the man". Ha!

Green Frugality

In my quest to live a frugal life I am finding myself more and more interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle. In researching sustainability I am often led to other areas such as "green" living and the idea of leaving smaller "footprints". I love this. While I know that I cannot save the world, I can make a difference. And that is my intention. To live more frugally also means to live more simply. What could be more frugal than growing your own food and canning and preserving it? (Other than using solar and wind power, digging a well, raising chickens and cows, etc. of course...I know. But you gotta start somewhere, right? I'm choosing to start with a garden.)

My oldest son has taken to calling me a "health freak". He's 12. So I take it with a grain of salt. AND as a compliment.

My 9 year-old, on the other hand, likes to read labels, too. We've decided, he and I, that the only way to get around high-fructose corn syrup in our jellies and jams is to make it our dang selves. In preparation for this I've been watching for canning supplies at the thrift store. And I have a vast Wish List over at Amazon.com of books that will help me learn the art of canning! And my 90 year-old grandmother told me I could have her canning supplies, too. So I'm pretty excited really!

Anyway...not quite "green" yet...but definitely a strong chartreuse! It's a start!

Kartoffelpuffers anyone?

I found this recipe on a blog I love to read. Her outlook on life and simplicity is admirable and insipring. And this recipe is so timely! I just bought a 5lb. bag of potatoes last night at Lucky for 79 cents! Could it be true? Dinner for 4 under $2? I see a challenge in my future!

Want to make Kartoffelpuffers for YOUR family? Head on over to down---to---earth and read a few posts down. I'll let you know how mine turned out!