Spring Gardening with OXO

One of my favorite things to do during the month of May is to visit a local greenhouse.
We have so many of them to choose from here in the Shenandoah Valley!
The greenhouse I go to most often is located way out on a country back road and
it's so pretty and peaceful. I could stay there for hours!

I love brightening things up around our yard with pretty flowers and fresh herbs.
After a long drab winter it so nice to add color around the deck and pool.
With all of the trees in our yard, it takes a while to get things in shape around here.
There is always raking, weeding and mowing to do.
The right tools can make the job so much easier!

Fresh Garden Salsa

I stole some tomatoes from my parents garden when they weren't home.
Shhh....don't tell.
Oh yeah - my mom reads my blog - busted!
Hi mom - hope you don't mind :)

You see....I was in a salsa kind of mood and I already had the jalapeno peppers from my own container garden and I had the onion (from a previous theft - ha ha) and why pay for tomatoes when your own parents have a million of them.  Seriously....they do! 

Anyway, I took my stolen goods and made some awesome salsa. 
It was so easy - give it a try :)

Fresh Garden Salsa

3 tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1/2 cup onion, diced fine
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1/3 cup chopped,  fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt
juice of one lime

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
Place in the fridge for at least one hour for the flavors to combine.
Serve with multi-grain tortilla chips - yum!

Note - To easily peel tomatoes, place them in boiling water for about 20-30 seconds and then put them in ice water for a few seconds more.  The skin peels right off.
To remove the seeds, cut the tomato in half and give it a little squeeze over the sink. 
Then scoop out the rest with a spoon. 

My Parent's Farm

I stopped by my parent's farm on Sunday afternoon for a little visit, but they surprised me by not being at home. I decided to just hang out a little and enjoy the sights and smells of the country. My mom has been canning a lot lately, guess she is a little behind on her tomatoes. I just couldn't resist taking this photo! Of course I couldn't help taking a couple of these delicious, red beauties either - think she'll miss a couple?

My mom has such pretty gardens. I definitely did not inherit her green thumb. She even comes over to my house and plants my flowers for me - what a great mom she is! She doesn't even mind if I help my self to a little bouquet when I come over. These zinnia's will look so pretty on my kitchen table. Now that I have shown you where I get my garden veggies and flowers, I guess I'll go on back home now. Thanks for visiting with me! I'll post a new recipe soon.