Pink Phlox

I started my day early by going into town to do some grocery shopping at 8 AM. I checked the grocery flyers last night and did not find too many bargains, so I decided to get my "must-have" items from No-Frills. I will go to Bulk Barn on Wednesday  (Seniors Day) to take advantage of 20% off. I would rather buy my dried beans and spices there. I bought ground beef, Italian sausage and chicken legs with backs attached. I also took advantage of the clearance cart in the produce aisle. Have any of you bought fruit and veg from the "scratch and dent" section. I got some incredible deals today....6 large red peppers for $1.49 (they were fresh, just mutant peppers), the equivalent of 4 containers of mushrooms for the same price, and more bananas than we could possibly eat in a week. We prefer to eat bananas with yellow skins, as opposed to green ones. We will eat fresh as many as we can, but I am guessing that I will peel and freeze the bulk of them for baking later on. The mushrooms have been washed and the ends trimmed. I sliced them up and froze each serving individually for adding to hamburger stroganoff, or frying up with onions. The red peppers have already been washed, seeded and sliced for the freezer. The only thing wrong with them was the shape of them. People won't buy misshaped peppers  for the same price as perfectly formed veggies. I also picked up 5 lbs of red potatoes for $1.49

I don't always find such great deals on these veggies, but this morning was a goldmine. 

     I have already baked the chicken legs. I will take the meat off and freeze for stir fries and casseroles. Then I can put the bones into the crockpot with lots of water to make chicken broth. I go out every day into my veggie garden to check the broccoli. It is getting to be a nice size. I have to harvest it before it develops yellow flowers on the head, so I guess it is almost ready to harvest. I have never grown broccoli before, so I will rely on my "gut" feeling. 

One of my cauliflower plants has a tiny white cauliflower centre today. When they get about the size of a tennis ball, I have to wrap and tie four leaves around it to stop the production of chlorophyll. I may have a photo of that in a few days. The bean seeds I planted a week ago, are up out of the ground and about 3 inches tall. There is no sign of carrots yet. I picked more yellow summer squash this morning. Last night I sliced one of them with some potatoes to make scalloped potatoes and zucchini...surprisingly delicious.  This weekend when I cook up my "stretched out" hamburger for the freezer, I will add some shredded zucchini. Otherwise, anyone have a terrific recipe I could try? I know I can always bake with it. 

You might remember me talking about a website I visited a few weeks ago about the U.S. government publications during the first world war. Well I have since discovered on You Tube an 8 part  BBC series of the British during the second world war, called Wartime  Farm. Excellent!