A Thrifty Life. One man's trash and all that.

I love going to the Thrift / Junk / Salvage / Second hand store(s). I'm a treasure hunter to my bones but don't ever buy furniture because of the risk of bed bugs - they don't just live in mattresses....a couch/suitcase/cushion will work just fine.

Over the years I have bought real bargains and very high quality items for very little money.  The other day for example I picked up this really neat framed picture print from 1989 with a french title - that I think means 'the origins of the windsurfer boat' and a hand written love note message on the back! I was all agog. Who was this written for? Where did they go? Did they get married, have children.....then what happened? I wish I could show it to you but it has a nude person water sailing and my blog page is PG.

That same day for the vast investment of 99 cents I picked up this cute little vase. I love anything blue glass.

My roses look so adorable in there. Look how the glass glistens and takes on another dimension now it has some water and flowers in there...it's almost magical!

Yes! We Have No Bananas, But May I Interest You In A Strawberry?

My neighbor grows bananas in their back yard, Lady Fingers or something. I don't care for the taste so I'll just stick to Chiquata from Publix thanks. A mature clumping of bananas make a nice privacy fence though which is just as well since I was grinning like a fool over hosting Mama Owl and her baby this year. See my cute photo and bragging rights here.

Hosting The Hooters
Mama Screech Owl And Her Baby

However I do have one Strawberry, yes poor me just the one. 

One lonely, over-ripe and much heralded, little strawberry. I grew three Strawberry plants this year and all I have to show for all the lavish care and attention I have showered on said three plants is this.

And the only reason I have the solo Strawberry is because it's protected from those darn, pesky squirrels. Another recycling idea by Dawn. Use old birdcages, you saw it here first!

Meatless Monday - Tofu-Black Bean Enchiladas

"Dinner's Ready!"

I know it's Tuesday....this is what I would have posted yesterday, but I ran out of time! This dish makes 10 enchiladas. We had it for dinner last night.

You will need:
Flour Tortillas
Canola Spray
19 oz can Enchilada sauce
16 oz can Refried beans
10oz package of Tofu crumbles (I used "politely hot")
15 oz can Black beans, drain and rinse
Shredded Cheese
1/2 cup Corn (frozen is ok)
optional for garnish are some black olives, green chilies, chopped tomato


Mix together the tofu, corn, refried beans, the black beans and 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce.

Spray your baking pan 13 x 9 or larger. Spoon some of the tofu mixture into tortilla fold up and place - seam down - in pan. Continue until mixture all used up.

Cover enchiladas with the remaining
2/3 can of enchilada sauce. Top with the cheese and if you wish some sliced olives, chilies, tomato etc. Cover with foil and bake for 25 mins.

Serve with a side salad and salsa. It reheats in the microwave really well for a quick lunch the day after. If I made it again I would try mexican cheese and lots more of it!

Springtime Color & Butterfly Garden Re-Do

We had such lovely weather over the weekend, the boys cut the lawn, we had a BBQ dinner, enjoyed being outside and wandered around our garden paths.

Here was a nice surprise. An Airplant nestled in between two pine trees decided to put out a flower. A splash of color among a lot of greenery.

The little raised brick garden I put in about a month ago is coming along nicely with its red Salvias and white Pentas.

Looking South

But the butterfly garden is yet again sadly neglected and completely overgrown with Spanish Needle (which we all know the butterflies love). Also a pretty creeping plant Beach Sunflower (or something similar), has become rather invasive and crowded out the Milkweed and Coleus. Nothing will grow under Beach Sunflower. It's completely drought resistant and thrives in our sandy soils. So after pulling out two wheelbarrow loads of weeds............I was left with a whole lot of nothing butterflies like, except for the Dill.

Looking North

So a trip to the big box store was in order. Verbena, Lantana, Trailing Petunias and Kangaroo's Paw, Begonias, Pentas and Mona Lavender "Plectranthus."

Kangaroo's Paw

Verbena

Lantana

I have a rather shabby little fountain which I set up and got running. Maybe in a month or two I'll treat myself to a new one. The splashing of the water is very relaxing.

In order to define the space, I added some bricks around the revamped area and included a few pots of different colors and textures to add some height - Dianthus, Catmint, Mums. I'm fairly happy with the result. It just needs to fill in a little bit. Perhaps some Moss Rose/Portulaca would do the trick.

Tip: I added half a teaspoon of water crystals to each plant hole I dug and then I watered the area thoroughly with a soaker hose. 

This area is outside our patio so we can enjoy the view. Now I think I need a couple of pieces of garden art, but a gnome or plastic flamingo isn't on the short list. Something more rustic perhaps. I'll work on that and get back to you with an update in a week or two.

Meatless Monday - Mushroom, Spinach & Apple Lasagna

Complex and robust flavor. The apple layer adds an "oooh yum what's that?"
This healthy dish is wonderful for a light but filling dinner serving, a lunch dish or pot luck.

You will need:
10-12 No Boil lasagna noodles
3-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup dry Parmesan/Romano cheese
Cooking oil spray
2 peppers - I used one sweet and one hot banana pepper, slice and dice
8oz mushrooms, slice thinly
1 or 2 squash, slice and dice
1 cup onion, slice and dice
1 apple
2 cups of spinach leaves
salt and pepper (optional hot pepper flakes, if you like some heat)
snipped basil leaves
24 oz Jar spaghetti sauce

Heat oven to 450F and spray a glass pan with cooking oil. Add the sliced/diced squash, onion, mushrooms and spray with oil and roast in the oven for 30 mins, then flip veg over and cook another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and lower oven to 400F.

The roasted vegetables will look like this. Slice your apple thinly and remove core/seeds.

Take a 13x9x2" pan and spray with oil. Put a 1/2 cup pasta sauce on bottom and add 3 noodles. Add 1/4 cup pasta, cup of spinach leaves, all the sliced apples, 1 cup of the roasted veg mix and enough mozzarella cheese to cover. Repeat layers with a final noodle "crust" topped with a little sauce, sprinkled with snipped basil leaves, the remaining mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the parmesan/romano mix (and if you wish some red pepper flakes for a little "kick."). I top my dish off with some fresh tomatoes from the garden.

Before Baking

Bake for 35-45 minutes uncovered on middle shelf. Let stand 10-15 minutes and serve.

Makes 4 generous servings. Approximate cost $14. Total time from start to finish 1hr 40minutes. You might not go back to eating regular lasagna with meat after trying this!

Mama Screech Owl and Her Baby. "Awwww...How Cute!"

A Lucky Photo Shot. 

Mama Screech Owl and her baby. Isn't that just a precious thing?

Not as close up as I would have liked, look at those big yellow eyes!

Broccoli and Tomatoes...Oh My!

The temperature in Zone 10 is ramping up and the recent tropical thunderstorms have enhanced production in the garden.

Remember this? From my recent post. 

April's Yield - A Veggie Update

Give that Broccoli a good shearing!

After the main head has been removed from the Broccoli, and little biddy side shoots are still being harvested, just give the Broccoli a really good shearing. At least a quarter of the plant off. Cut off all those "healed" side shoots and put them in your compost bin.

And, after two or three fairly decent yields just from just the off - shoots, and after the shearing, here is the result a week later from just one plant.

And here is the total Broccoli produce - just from side shoots, along with my tomato yield.

I have a variety of tomatoes ripening on a western window shelf, because if I don't pick them the Woodpeckers will pick at them. The larger green/yellow tomats are "Lemon Boy," also the best tomato ever in my opinion.

The small red and green tomats are "Early Girl" a total dud in my opinion. Also non producers in my garden is the so called "Heatwave," and the equally misnamed "Solar Fire," (not shown here since all shriveled up and died in our 'heatwave' of 70 F, yup, totally worthless). I have yanked all three from the tomato bed. 

The temperature is already in the mid 80F here in South Florida, so Zone 10, do yourself a favor and stick with at least one Lemon Boy in your garden - they will still yield fruit into June.