Spring is here so my mason bees are busy. They are great early spring pollinators! They don't sting and they don't swarm off to the neighbors as long as they have plenty of flowers to work on. In the fall I put them in cold storage until it is time for them to go to work in the early spring as soon as blossoms appear. They do not produce honey but that's OK.

My pimento peppers are ready to harvest! These were started from seed on March 30, 2014, up-potted on April 30 and set out in the garden on May 22, 2014. These will be diced and frozen to use in various dishes.

My Stanley plums are ready to pick. These will be dried for prunes and enjoyed throughout the winter!

Canned pickled dilled beans  are wonderful treats! This is my first batch made from green beans, garlic, fresh dill and peppers all from my garden. This recipe is on page 184 of my cookbook: Dad's Home Cooking; Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals available on Amazon.

Red beets from my winter garden make a wonderful vegetable for any meal. I like mine pickled using the recipe in my cookbook Dad's Home Cooking; Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals available on Amazon. These beets were planted August 8, 2013. Since the weather was below freezing in mid December, I covered the beets with a layer of tree leaves and secured them with row cover to keep the leaves from blowing off. They came through the freezing weather just fine!

Yesterday I cooked 2 Rouge VIF D'Etampes (Cinderella) pumpkins for making pumpkin pies and pumpkin bread using recipes in my cookbook, Dad's Home Cooking; Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals available on Amazon. The 2 pumpkins will make enough for 11 pies so I froze some of the puree for use later. I peel, chunk and cook the pumpkin in boiling water until fork tender. The pumpkin is then drained and run through a sieve to remove any pulp. Refrigerate the pumpkin puree for use within a day or two and freeze the remainder in 1 quart freezer bags. Each bag will provide the 3 5/8 cups of pumpkin needed for 2 pies. Enjoy!

I cooked some rutabagas pulled from my garden yesterday. They are open-pollinated Marian variety. Rutabagas are a cross between turnip and cabbage. I planted them on August 8, 2013 for late fall harvest. They can be peeled and chunked then oven roasted, boiled or used in dishes, soups or stews. They are also delicious raw.  I boiled these in salted water and after draining, added butter before serving in lieu of potatoes. My cookbook, Dad's Home Cooking; Traditional Recipes for Preparing Healthy Family Meals has a rutabagas au gratin recipe!