Cinnamon Burning Pumpkin

This idea came from the aHa! Modern Living website seen here   http://www.ahamodernliving.com/blog/holiday-stuff/5-cool-unexpected-uses-for-your-fall-pumpkins

We used cinnamon and cloves for ours and it smelled just like pumpkin pie.

3rd Place Pumpkin 2010

One of my dad’s larger pumpkins that placed 3rd in a contest at a local fair.  I may try to grow one of these next year for the fun of it.

Danger: Men Canning

My wife and I started canning this year for the first time. We are officially addicted, but also realize how much work it is to prepare all the food.  I had the help of  my brother and sister in-law’s pressure canner.   Our canning adventure included bread & butter pickles, peppers, salsa, tomato sauce, lemon curd and strawberry jam.

My wife’s chocolate Croissant with strawberries from the garden

My wife made croissants last night and we had them with some strawberries picked from the garden.   I prefer the plain ones over the chocolate but both are very delicious.

Tomato harvest from our garden

This year’s tomato harvest include 3 different varieties. Heirloom, big beef and Heinz 1439.  There’s still quite a few green ones that will be picked in September.  We’ve been doing a lot of canning lately so these will come in handy.

Bruschetta from the garden on a homemade baguette

Made from fresh yellow grape and red heirloom tomatoes with sweet basil on a homemade french baguette drizzled with olive oil and topped with mozzarella cheese.

Red Danver and Coreless Nantes Carrots

These are some of the carrots my wife planted in late spring.  They need to grow a bit more before the rest are picked. We found the Red Danvers to be more juicier and sweeter than the Coreless Nantes as they seemed more dense and crunchier.  Both were very good and we’ll be defiantly growing more of the Red Danvers next year.

Veggies in our garden

Bitter Melon

These are some bitter melon plants that were planted from seed for my in-laws.  They’re slowly producing melons this summer but I’m sure they prefer more ideal growing conditions as they are a tropical fruit.  Bitter melons are known for their many health benefits and are used to help with a variety of medical conditions.

AeroGarden Veggie Pro

I was looking after my brother in-law’s AeroGarden while he and my sister in-law were on vacation.  They’re back now but haven’t picked it up yet.  Maybe they forgot about it? I would like to get one of these eventually as it really works well for herbs and anything that will fit under the light.

This one measures almost 3 feet  high and 1 and 1/2 feet wide.  It has a timer for the light so you don’t have to keep turning it on and off.  There’s six seed pods in this one but only 2 are in use.  I’m trying to root some Thai basil which are getting quite comfortable here.