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Category: Homestead and Garden

All Good Things: 116 Farmstead Market & Table Softly Opens

Posted on May 15, 2016July 22, 2016 by Red Dirt Kelly

One glimpse of her yellow, brown and button-accented apron encasing the junior waitstaffer and I was smitten – dually smitten with the wearer, as well as the space within which she was ringing up a coffee for me and a “Dublin Dr. Pepper” for my husband. We were standing at the counter of 116 Farmstead Market &…

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My Little Victory Garden: Lessons We Teach Our Plants

Posted on April 8, 2016April 10, 2016 by Red Dirt Kelly

Over half my vine’s branches were hewn and burned this past February. “Give up the weight, dear vine, so you can focus your energies upon doing a smaller job very well.”  My enlivened whispers continued as I ripped a full nine feet of harsh, brown-dry entanglements from the left side. Then again on the right….

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How to Make Redbud Jelly

Posted on April 12, 2015April 16, 2015 by Red Dirt Kelly

Redbud blooming season has almost passed in Oklahoma, but the opportunity to make delicate, floral jelly happens every year. These easy step by step instructions, plus a few common questions and answers should help guide you through the process easily.  Once you’re finished, stand back and admire your stock of unique gifts for friends, or…

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How Billie Holiday, Hoboken Coffee and The Pioneer Woman Talked Me Down from my Starbucks Addiction

Posted on June 14, 2014December 12, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

Technology news is full of information about self-tracking apps helping to “quantify” yourself.  Fitbits track your sleep and exercise.  Apps like Mint help you track your spending habits. And…no, let’s just stop right there.  Apps like Mint track your spending patterns and help you see how out of control your coffee drinking habits are. Okay,…

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Mother’s Day Strawberries

Posted on May 11, 2014May 11, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

As my blade makes its way through a cool, ripe Stilwell strawberry, I breathe in the heady sweetness wafting upwards and across my face. It’s Mother’s Day, and I’ve just returned from a two-day road trip to places I’ve not been, visiting with people I’ve only just met, with one daughter at my side. A…

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My Little Victory Garden: Pesto Party

Posted on September 12, 2013May 17, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

Our kitchen smells like buttery toasty garlic-y basil. Tonight at 8:15 p.m. I was so tired I had contemplated going to bed when I recalled a phone call from my younger daughter a few days earlier. “I’m going to get a few groceries, mom.  What do I need to make pesto?” And so the discussion…

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My Little Victory Garden: The Sauce Tomato Crucible

Posted on September 8, 2013May 17, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

There are always the less-than-lovelies.  And, they have a purpose. My sauce tomatoes are not sliced nor diced.  They are not stuffed with glorious salads, nor wedged and placed on top of beautiful pizzas. My sauce tomatoes have a mission.  They are ridded of spots, bruises, overripe sections and holes bored by grasshoppers.  They are…

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My Little Victory Garden: Salsa Like Wine

Posted on September 7, 2013May 17, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

Who needs chips?  A spoonful into my mouth, oh my…I close my eyes. Green coolness, fragrantly salted hits the tip of my tongue and Garden onion aroma goes up my nose; Black pepper accompanies the bite  And as it slides toward my throat I taste Fire grilled chilis, and a garlic finish. I exhale to…

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My Kitchen Utensils Deserve a Service Award

Posted on September 5, 2013June 27, 2022 by Red Dirt Kelly

This past weekend I was preparing pan fried okra.  I gently lifted one of my range fed eggs from its nest in the carton. My left hand opened the refrigerator, grabbed the milk, and closed the door in one fluid sequence. My fingers slid over the smooth chrome edge as I choose the proper sized…

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My Little Victory Garden: Secrets to Making Crabapple Jam, Jelly, or Jamly

Posted on August 18, 2013October 24, 2022 by Red Dirt Kelly

When my neighbor and I see each other in the back yard, we almost always say “hi, there!”  Sometimes we yell a question or check in with how each other is doing.  And about twice a week, we start a conversation by walking toward our adjoining fence.  By the time we reach the fence, we’re…

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My Little Victory Garden: Jam Therapy

Posted on August 5, 2013May 17, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

Three times my friend communicated that “the blackberries are ready,” and to “meet me at Wellston…we’ll drive down together to pick them.” But the first time they weren’t really ready. Then the heat was too extreme. Then it rained. And then I think my friend might have gotten tired of trying, and we dropped that…

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Oklahoma Cooking: Cheesy Spring Green Grits

Posted on April 9, 2013April 9, 2013 by Red Dirt Kelly

Across Oklahoma today, the wind is preparing to sweep across the plain. Big time. I planted my peppers and tomatoes last Saturday, and Mick promptly dug them up and stored them in our garage last night! Why? Evidently storms are coming: thunder, lightening, rain, hail, possible tornadoes and ice? Yes! While outside surveying what plants…

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My Little Victory Garden: “The Shadow” Voice is Haunting Me!

Posted on February 21, 2013February 21, 2013 by Red Dirt Kelly

Somewhere under this blanket of ice are several new veggie sprouts! This morning I was awakened at 5:50 a.m. by a text message tone: “Be safe. Get to work when you can. Late is okay. Jeans ok.” My blurry vision sent the message to my tired brain. This was followed by my body bolting upright…

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My Little Victory Garden: A Gal Can Only Wait So Long…

Posted on February 4, 2013February 3, 2013 by Red Dirt Kelly

For two weeks I’ve been dropping hints to Mick: I was wondering if you might be in the mood to till my garden? It’s almost time, ya know. Hey, so what exactly would need to be done in order for you to till my garden? Do you need oil or spark plugs or anything? I…

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A Sweet Secret for your Sweet Potato Fries

Posted on December 1, 2012May 17, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

I’m an Oklahoma local cook through and through.  Tonight I made locally grown sweet potato fries to go with our teriyaki grilled beef and cucumber salad.  I roast them by brushing the pan with olive oil, then brushing the thinly cut fries lightly with olive oil once they’re “single-layered.”  I roast them for about 15…

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Whistle While You Work…or Cook!

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Red Dirt Kelly

I have no idea what happened but my theory is that the Anaheim turned into Seymore one night and ate the bell pepper plant – then had bell babies.

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Rachel’s Little Winter Victory Garden

Posted on October 17, 2012May 17, 2014 by Red Dirt Kelly

We stood in her backyard, surveying the fence line.  Which side got the most sun, or the least? Where would the shade be too much for young plants? What would the soil prove to be worth when we dug under the Bermuda grass? The answers to these questions came to my daughter and I over…

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Simple Ideas: Apple Cider with a Breath of Rosemary

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Red Dirt Kelly

A serene view helps the cider be that much better. This morning’s walk to the Intellegentsia coffee house was interrupted by the Chicago marathon.  Everywhere we tried to walk, our path was blocked with thousands of runners being cheered on my a supportive crowd, offering an endless supply of water cups.  Dance music filled the…

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My Little Victory Garden: Rustic Baked Hen Legs with White Toscana Poached Pears

Posted on October 3, 2012October 2, 2012 by Red Dirt Kelly

Sometimes I think I should change the title of “My Little Victory Garden” posts to “Scrappy Cooking.”  Indeed, the theme is most often: do what you can with what you have. So this week I once again looked in my freezer for forgotten protein and found…a bulk pack of 14 chicken legs I had purchased…

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My Little Victory Garden: Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Posted on September 23, 2012September 27, 2012 by Red Dirt Kelly

Three days ago I carefully chose 1.5 pounds of beautiful ground sirloin from the meat market. I had big plans for that meat. And by “big” I mean burgers. But when I returned home I discovered only a mere five or six ounces of charcoal left in the bottom of the bag on our patio….

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