New England native, Florida resident. Blogging about boating, beach-combing, gardening, camping, and knitting. Work for Zazzle as a designer since 2008.
I sautéed lots of green pepper (from my garden) and onions in oil for a few minutes. Then I added chopped garlic and cooked a bit longer. Then I added the turkey broth (thawed), can of organic diced tomatoes, and spices. I chopped the leftover turkey into bite size pieces and threw it in. The spices I used were parsley and basil from my garden. Dried spices would work too. I had bought some jalapeño peppers at the local farm stand so I chopped a small amount of one jalapeño to add some heat.
To begin with uncooked meat, brown it first then remove from the pan. Add the pepper and onion with oil and sauté. Add the liquid broth and scrape the bottom of the pan. Add meat, spices and tomatoes.
It’s really your choice about how hot and spicy you want your chili to be. I like a little heat, but not overwhelming. If you don’t have flavored broth, use broth granules in water. About a cup or 2 is needed depending on the amount of meat, tomatoes and veggies you use. I basically wing it!
Once those ingredients simmer for about an hour, I add the black beans (or kidney beans can be used) with the liquid (I use organic beans only). Then I simmer for at least another half hour. Don’t add the beans too soon or they will get mushy.
Because our turkey was smoked, this chili has a slight smoky flavor. Between the jalapeño pepper and spices and melding of the flavors while it slow-cooks, it turned out super yummy!
When I make chili or soup I fly by the seat of my pants and add whatever I have on hand or seems to work.
I had made a batch of cornbread (recipe on the cornmeal box) and froze it. That way I had ready-made cornbread to add to my chili.
Use your freezer. It’s your best friend. BTW I froze a serving of this chili to enjoy later.
It’s the end of 2018 and I have decided to share some recent yard happenings. One of my orchids is blooming. My orchids don’t look too good, so I was surprised to see two blooms on one of my plants.
My orchid is blooming!
The orange hibiscus plant is growing like mad! I have neglected this plant and am frankly amazed it is doing so well. I’m planning a new garden along the front of the house and another hibiscus is in the plans.
The hibiscus is huge now!
One of the plants you must have if you are a true Floridian is a Staghorn fern! And now I have one hanging from the trees out back. I had a Staghorn fern which I gave to my best friend before I left Florida and she still has it hanging in her yard. She offered to give it back, but her yard is much nicer, and if the plant is happy there then I’m happy to leave it with her. This new one is in a pot but I will re-pot it into that hanging basket eventually.
My new little stag horn fern
The rubber plant I propagated is still growing nicely out front under the oak. If I can keep it from freezing over winter it may grow and live to be tall and beautiful.
New little rubber plant in the yard
Hope you have fond memories of 2018 and the new year brings all good things!
I’ve been growing fresh vegetables in my backyard for years. Now I struggle to get food to grow.
We learn from experience and observation. Life is about change. If we are wise, we will go with the flow and not waste time with something we cannot change. I am applying this philosophy to my backyard vegetable garden.
Observation and Common Sense
One thing I have observed since I began gardening in Florida is that a lot of vegetables simply won’t grow here. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I grew veggies fine in New Hampshire. I am not an inexperienced gardener, but vegetable gardening in this climate is obviously beyond my grasp.
It’s been two years. That is plenty of time to grow something well. I’ve built up the dirt with compost and fertilizer, watered like mad, and thwarted raccoon attacks on the plants. I’ve picked worms, loved the lady bugs, and sprayed off mites. My little raised bed garden has given me very little to eat in return.
With the exception of about three eggplants (total) and occasional small bell peppers, there is little food coming from the backyard.
Herbs Seem to Flourish
On the other hand, my observation is that many herbs do grow very nicely here. In fact, my parsley, basil, thyme, mint and fennel have lasted a very long time.
In Florida I have had the same parsley plants growing in my garden for over two years! Parsley not only survives the cold, it can take the heat and oppressive humidity.
It is depressing to put work into trying to grow decent tomatoes, squash, zucchini and root vegetables, only to watch them rot, wilt or end up too tiny to bother with.
How long do I keep trying, only to watch the plants produce nothing I can eat? I’m about over it.
Changes All Around
My life is always changing, and recently it went through another change. My youngest son has moved out. He’s nearly done with college and does online classes, so he went back to the northeast to live. Good for him. Wish I could afford to do the same. I did take a trip back to stay for a week, which was so nice.
My youngest son has always been a very picky eater. If I don’t make food he likes, he could literally go all day long without eating. So, I tended to make food he would eat. That type of food was very different from the type of food I eat. Now that he has moved out, I can concentrate on cooking for me only.
This is a very new idea and it will take a while for my brain to wrap around the concept. I’ve been cooking for my children for over 40 years! My way of cooking will be changing. Although I am not crazy about spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I am a very good cook. As an “almost vegetarian” meat is not my main focus. I love to cook soups, stews and one pot meals (using my Dutch oven) which are full of fresh vegetables.
Since I can’t grow all the vegetables I’d like to, I will concentrate on growing the herbs. I learned very late in life how much herbs can brighten the flavor of a meal. Now I can’t make anything without using herbs because it’s not worth eating.
Because my herbs will grow year round, I don’t have to spend time drying or freezing them. Sometimes I even get to collect their seeds. I still need to find a store that sells good fresh, organic vegetables. Publix is a good store, but as I have discovered, their produce is not the best.
I also have access to fresh citrus, which I should begin incorporating into my food as well. Both my lime tree and lemon tree are still growing, but the lime needs re-potting.
So I’m collecting recipes to make for myself and will concentrate more on eating healthy. The weather is much cooler now here in Florida, and I do get outside for walks as much as possible. My neighborhood is a boring place to walk, and there are no hills to get my heart pumping, but I do what I can.
(They Yacht is not mine. Photo taken at a nearby Marina.)
It’s November and my Florida vegetable garden is a bit of a mess. I don’t do much with it, but I look at it every day out my bedroom window. And today, I noticed a lavender-pink flower that was out of place. The outside color is about the same as the eggplant flowers, but this bloom was larger. It looked like it was on the trailing vine of the sweet potato plant. And sure enough it was!
The inside of the flower is darker purpleSweet potato vines can flower!
Any day I can learn something new is a good day, in my opinion. And today I did. After neglecting my overgrown raised bed garden for months due to the heat, I am pleased to see new things happening in November. Maybe a cool down was all it needed.
Sweet potato vines trailing over the garden bed
After doing a quick search about flowering potato vines, I found an article at The Walden Effect which said flowers on potatoes were unusual. Then, I read comments from lots of people who have had flowers like mine. So whether it is uncommon or not, I don’t know. Maybe flowering sweet potatoes are only common in Florida, or other humid areas. It certainly looks like more flowers will be blooming on my vine. And yes, as someone mentioned, they do look like Morning Glories.
Blue morning glory flower and buds – my photo
At my house in New Hampshire I grew a big Morning Glory plant with blue flowers. The vine grew up the side of my deck railing, but the plant was frozen just as loads of buds were forming. I decided not to grow them again, but the blue flowers were gorgeous. The buds were twirled around and unfolded like a mini umbrella. You can see that in my photo above.
Getting Seeds From Sweet Potato Flowers
Another interesting sweet potato article talks about how sometimes the blossoms can turn into tomato-looking berries. This is where the seeds will be. I have never grown a sweet potato from seeds, only from tubers, or bits of old sweet potatoes with eyes.
Potato vines climbing through tomato cages
I will watch and see what happens to the flowers, and if I get any of those seed pods.
Here in Florida it does not feel like the end of summer transitioning into Fall. The September garden is overgrown and producing little. My garden looks like a mess. Temperatures are still in the 90’s and it’s too hot to stay outdoors for any length of time. I water the garden at least once a day, and usually twice, and it still wilts in the heat.
September Garden
I now have two new bell pepper plants growing from seeds. One is tall and has given me a few green peppers. The other is still tiny. You can see the big (old) pepper plant in the raised bed, front left area. The peppers are small and thin walled, but I use them in cooking.
I’ve cut back the eggplant once more and haven’t had an edible eggplant from it in a long time.
The tomatoes are long and gangly and will probably just die before they produce edible tomatoes. I may try to grow them again in early spring.
And I have a couple of squash plants – one has a tiny squash growing. I honestly can’t remember what type of squash it is. Either a winter / butternut or spaghetti squash. I threw seeds in the dirt to see what would happen. I can’t grow summer squash or zucchini for some reason. (This little squash rotted and fell off the vine.)
Little yellow squash, not sure what type
The most beautiful plant in my vegetable garden right now is the fennel. I had two plants and one died, but the other has grown tall stalks of pretty yellow flowers which bring bees every day. This is why I let my plants continue to grow even if they don’t produce. Their flowers bring bugs searching for nectar and birds hop through the garden in search of bugs for dinner. Eventually seeds will form.
Flowering fennel
I was inspired to draw the fennel with flowers and turn it into a custom card at my Zazzle store.
I’m not sure what will become of my vegetable garden. I’m considering giving up on growing my favorite vegetables. I seem to have more luck with herbs, so maybe I need a big herb garden. I love to pick fresh herbs from the yard.
The parsley that has been growing for over 2 years is finally dying. I let it go to seed and maybe it will produce new plants. I haven’t seen any parsley worms for a while.
My neighbors across the street told me they turned their vegetable garden into a citrus garden. They said that bugs ruined everything they tried to grow so they gave up. It seems that the smart thing to do is grow what works in this tropical climate.
My Little Citrus Trees
I am happy to see that my lemon tree is making a come back. Once it gave up trying to produce lemons, it could concentrate on new growth, and the greenery is beautiful. I have it planted in a fabric pot and it seems very happy.
The lemon tree is making a come back
The new orange tree still has one orange growing. The tree is small, and I did have 2 oranges, but one fell off and was no good.
A single green orange on the little Valencia tree.
The Persian lime tree is full of limes, which I will be able to start using soon, but the tree and fruit don’t look as good as last year. I think it needs a bigger pot. With all the spikes on the stems, that will be a chore!
I take a lot of photos of my two black cats, Skittle and Fontana. Fontana has been living with me since 2010 when she and Richie (a crazy male cat who is now deceased) were adopted from a shelter in New Hampshire. Richie met an untimely end when he was killed by a fisher cat one early morning. Fisher cats are stocky, muscular beasts that hunt mostly at night so I kept my cats inside overnight. Richie always wanted to go out very early in the morning to hunt and unfortunately a fisher cat was out hunting too.
You can see photos of Richie at my New England blog. He had unique blotches of white on his face.
Fontana the Beauty
Whereas Richie was a hunter extraordinaire, Fontana was always one to sit and watch wildlife with big eyes and not try to kill everything that moves. She spent one night in my old house playing with a mouse in the kitchen, which she let get away to bother us another day.
Fontana’s black coat
Fontana was, and is, a beautiful, medium long hair cat. Her fur wasjet black, but now that she has spent lots of time outside in the Florida sun, she has turned chocolate brown. Yup, she’s fading.
Fontana’s fur has faded to brown in the Florida sun
Then, Along Came Skittle
Skittle became part of the family shortly after Richie had gone. My son and I went to the local shelter where a room held some free roaming kitties. The shelter manager told me to go in and visit with those cats and as I opened the door a little black cat bolted out into the main part of the shelter. We had to round her up and put her back. My son decided that was the cat he wanted. Of course, the troublemaker!
Her shelter name was “Love Bug” but before we left the parking lot my son said, “Lets call her Skittle”. The name is perfect and she still does the “skittle out the door” maneuver very well.
Skittle is the kind of cat that makes her needs known one way or another. She drinks out of cups, knocks things off counters and tables, and races through the house to get attention. As soon as I go into the bathroom she is up on the counter wanting to drink from the faucet. She stays outside almost all day long, even in the terrible Florida heat. I am home and can let her in, but she prefers outdoors. She seems to be happier in this climate away from the snowy New England winters.
Cats are known to choose to sleep in some strange places. Usually they choose a place that will bother the owner the most. Right on a book that one is attempting to read, or on the desktop when one is trying to work. The fact that Skittle thought the indoor woodpile would be a comfy place for a nap really confused me. But she saw that I was using that wood to stoke the wood stove and probably decided she would be in the way. It’s how her little mind works.
Skittle
I have some great photos of skittle, but none as funny as when she plopped her head down onto the fruit in my fruit bowl and made herself comfortable. Did she think I would want some fruit and having her head in the way would annoy me? Probably.
Sleeping in the peas
Let me in!
In my New Hampshire home, Skittle had perfected the art of letting me know she was ready to come inside. She stood on the deck railing and pawed at the window in the kitchen making as much noise as possible. If the railing had snow or ice she would simply climb to the top of the screen on the sliding glass door and hang there hoping to annoy me enough to open the door.
When winter ended in NH and I began to go outside to do my gardening, Skittle was always somewhere close by. She loved to have my company in the yard. The photo below is one of my very favorites and was taken on one of those gardening days. It captures her typical look which seems to be saying, “Come on, what’s next? Lets get to it.” Skittle is always ready for an adventure.
If I didn’t get around to mowing the grass as much as I should, the cats didn’t mind. They both like to “hide” in the greenery.
One of their favorite things to do was to walk with me in the woods behind the house. I had a big backyard forest area with rocks, water and downed trees to climb. I miss being outside with them. In Florida, I don’t go out much and there are no fun places to explore in my yard.
Fontana in the grass
Just like siblings, cats can have radically different personalities. Anyone who doesn’t like cats probably hasn’t met a cat with the “right” personality match for them. Fontana and Skittle are very different from each other.
Skittle will sleep on my bed at night, but Fontana doesn’t.
Fontana will jump into my lap, but not Skittle.
Skittle comes when I call her, like a dog. Fontana usually ignores my calls.
Skittle catches lizards and then meows, while the poor thing dangles from her mouth, until I come see. Fontana ignores the lizards.
Fontana is a beauty
The cats are weird, funny, sweet or annoying and they’ve wormed their way into our hearts, as all pets do.
Hydrangeas Blue 