hillbilly caviar

I found this recipe several years ago after having had it at a bbq joint in NC. It is quite a nice salad taste wise and makes a very pretty dish. I have substituted home grown and cooked dry beans instead of cans and it works fine.

salad
2 cans black beans, rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can black eye peas, , drained
2 large tomatoes,chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 diced jalapenos, deseeded
optional gr or red pepper bits, olives or diced avocado

For the dressing I generally use an Italian dressing. Is quick and its simple.
or you can make this

dressing
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
3-4 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

mix all ingredients, chill several hours or overnight and serve

It makes a great light summer meal with with tortilla chips.

for those that like meat-- chicken, ham, summer sausage, salami or pepperoni are all great additions

today's tally

Things are finally starting to ripen a little bit more and the other day I canned the first dilli pickles of the year and some green tomatoes. We have never tried pickling the maters before so I only did a small jar to allow us to get a taste and see if they are something we like. This weekend we should be canning up the first of the tomatoes as they are finally coming in faster than we can eat them. If we would get a bit of rain things would really pick up production and bury us in veggies. The peaches from the orchard trees are all ripened now and boy are they pretty lil buggers. We are happy since they have not even been in the ground 9 months. All total from the two new peach trees we got about 15 peaches after I removed the majority of them this past spring. This morning I harvested maters, cukes, zukes, yellow squash, beans, peaches and herbs. Since I don't have a scale I just have to guess at the weight and would say 20-25 pounds. Needless to say we are eating good and healthy around the ol homestead. Yes the tomatoes are not quite ripe because that is how I pick them. We have much less damage that way and gives me a better idea of when I will have to do some preserving.

outdoor kitchen renovations and eating pine bark

Ahhh, gotta love those jobs that seemingly start out small and simple and turn into a big and difficult one! Measa decided to roof the kitchen at the cabin with a more permanent covering than a tarp. Unfortunately, once he got to working on it, he found out that the old frame was in need of not just repair but complete replacement. Since manthing was off today they set about cutting logs to put up a new one. This means peeling the bark off a few trees they had cut down and it meant that we could finally try eating pine bark. Yes, I mean actual pine bark not some gourmet treat. Here is our little adventure of making our pine bark appetizers this evening. It was not half bad and is definitely edible if in need. Just remember to carve a tooth pick for the inevitable fibrous ones that get all tangled in your fangz!