HELP!!! HELP!!!

My yellow squash bush is blooming and producing like crazy. The only problem is that the poor little squash keeps rotting on the bloom end. Does anyone know why this is happening and what I can do about it?

I am also fighting wilt like crazy on my tomatoes. They are in a bed that has never had tomatoes in them before and live in the hotter regions of AZ. Any suggestions on how to control that problem??

Promised Results . . . with pictures

1. This is what I added to the two to two and half lb. roast: potatoes (cut up in about 1 inch pieces), 1/2 medium onion, (sliced), carrots, chopped in bite sized pieces, fresh rosemary leaves, stripped from stem and chopped fine, 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper to taste. At the last minute I threw in small can of mushrooms, drained, that's why it isn't in the picture. 2. Brown the roast while you are chopping up the veggies. 3. Place the flour, all the veggies in the cooking bag. Shake them around until everything is coated. Add the roast and shake it all around . . . one more time.

1. This is what it looked like before adding the roast. Place the bag in a pan deep enough to cover it all with water. Gather the edge together, close it securely. (I used a black binder clip) Make sure this is out side of the pan with the lid on. Add enough water in the pan that the cooking bag was covered. Bring to a boil I for 15 minutes. I put this in the "nest" (wonder box) at about 9:30 am. When I got home at a little after 6:00pm. I stuck the remote thermometer (thermometer attached to a cable that is attached to the in to see what the temperature was. It registered 139 degrees F. the veggies were done, but not mushy. The cute little roast was pretty tough. 3. I took it all out of the bag and put it all into the oven to cook it a longer, at 250 degrees, until the roast was tender. I should have left the veggies out, they are a little softer than I would have liked.

I think this would work better with the meat cut up in bite size pieces, as well as the veggies. The heat could penetrate it and tenderize it a lot better, just like it does in a foilie dinner on the coals around the camp fire. A little more moisture would also help. Liquid would help distribute the heat faster. I left a little air in the bag as well. I believe that the heat would have penetrated better if there had not been the air pocket to insulate the food.

THE WONDER BOX, STEP-BY-STEP PICTURES

Well, I finally got around to making the wonder box. When I sat down and really read the directions, they weren't vague, I was just tired and dense. They are great and I have just added some pictures. I also had to think dimensional and not flat to get it. I suddenly remembered making stuffed toys, many years ago, and realized why I wasn't getting it.

June 7-- I have put a pork roast with mushrooms, potatoes and carrots in the wonder box. Tonight's post will have the pictures of the process and the results . . . sure hope I don't embarrass myself putting this one on!

1. This takes about 3 yards of fabric or one old sheet that was on the top, so it has lots of wear left in it. Thanks Bri! 2. Lay it out so that you can cut 4 of each piece. 3. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses . . . OK, maybe just to share the table for the most important things in life. "Fun" with the little ones who are growing up way too fast.

1. I blew up the pictures to try to show the broken lines I put in on the stitching line . . . to make sure that I did it in the right places. I had a four year old "helping" me. I can get sidetracked pretty easily without help . . . and this morning was a k'nex morning besides! Remember that you just need to leave an opening for filling. I almost started filling without closing the second one. That would have been lot of fun!

1. Sew the two long sides starting at the 90 degree mark to the opposite end. I used dark thread so that you can see the stitching. I also used a stretch stitch in case it is pulled. It makes three rows of stitching that have some give and may avoid escaping beans later. They make a horrible mess. At least the bean bag I had in the 70's and 80's did! 2. Find the right sides, put them together and stitch all around. 3. Here is the whole thing sewn together. Turn it right side out and it is ready to fill!

1. I lucked out and had a big funnel from a strainer that I use to make apple sauce, tomato sauce and stuff like that. I taped it on to make it easier to fill the bag myself. 2. It worked really well. 3. Sew the opening up with just regular large stitches, in case the amount of styrofoam beans needs to be adjusted.

1. This a six quart pressure cooker that is 10" in diameter & 6 " deep. 2. 8 inches wide and 4 deep inches . I was pleased to find that the bottom was versatile. 3. I'm not sure how they got the whole thing to look so symmetrical in the internet article, but I suppose that it would cook just the same looking like it was from a Dr. Seuss book :-)

August 7 - - - -Just found these great pics to demonstrate the construction of a Wonder Box. Click HERE.

More Soap Results

The wonder box is on the way!!! The directions are a little vague, but I think I have it figured out now. I am taking pictures so hopefully, I can put them on tomorrow (dare I say that?). I can't even blame having the grand kiddies over, just have to many irons in the fire!! Please be patient, I am anxious to use it myself!!

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It cost $1.30 for 1 quart of dry laundry soap. If you have a regular capacity washer and average soiling on your laundry, that will take 1 Tablespoon. That would give you 64 loads of laundry. I have been using 2 T. per load because I have the largest capacity washer, made by Maytag about 1998 0r 1999. I did use 3 T. on an especially dirty stinky load. I should get 30 loads for $1.3o. I am pretty pleased with that.

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1. This spot has been washed, bleached with a Clorox pen, soaked, treated with a grease buster, you name it! It got the color out finally, but never would just disappear for me. 2. Today it did!

1. This stain had not been treated or washed before today. 2. It is lighter, but not completely gone. I'm going to bleach it now with the bleach pen, wash it one more time and see if the discoloration can be wiped out.

TOMATILLO SALSA . . . under the tutelage of a really great cook!

To make the Salsa Verde, you will need:

• Tomatillos (Ihappened to have 3/4 pounds, so Maria gave me amounts according to that)
  
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 6-7 Tepin chiles
• Salt, to taste, I used 1/4 teaspoon

All of the recipes I found on the internet didn't seem quite right. I went to my friend Maria and found out why! The ingredients needed to be roasted! She grew up in Sonora, Mexico and knows the real thing. I have never tasted anything that she has cooked, Mexican or American, that wasn't out of this world. She has agreed to let me document her making the best tortillas in the world for the blog. You will see that she is a beautiful person, through and through!

1. Pan roast the 3/4# tomatillos, for the best flavor, roast them on the BBQ. I have never BBQ 'ed tomatillos, but it sure makes green chiles fantastic! It's easier if the tomatillos about the same size. Mine were very different and it made it a little tricky to get them all done without burning any of them.

2. Pan roast the 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced and 6-7 tepins for mild (Maria uses 10-12!). 3. Cut the little cores from the tomatillos. 4. Put everything you have toasted into the food processor or blender and give a good whirl! ( I used the highest speed) It made 2 full cups of salsa. 5. Time to do the "QC" (quality control) test! 6. Salt to taste, I used 1/4 t. Most would want more than that.

Before and After Pictures . . . sorry, I couldn't post the smell of CLEAN!

These are my hot pads, yes I actually use them  . . . .  that is why they look the way they do. They go well with my poor old stove  ;-)  They have gone and done some serious cooking at girls camp, turkey looking (I camp while Jon goes hunting), other camping and at home on a daily basis.  Even though you can see some difference in the two pictures, it really doesn't do justice to the difference.  They were really greasier than you can see in the first pic.

My and Rob's work clothes are very fresh, with no odor left at all.  I had been wearing mine every day for a week working outside.  The best thing is that they smell clean . . . as in, nada!  Can you tell that I have never bought into the "fresh scent" line?  The only thing that could be better would be if they had hung our on the line . .  . sunshine is the best!  Too bad it fades everything at the same time. 

LAUNDRY SOAP . . . the Results!

1.  These are the ingredients you need:  

• Borax--1 cup -- found in your laundry soap aisle
  
• Washing soda--2cups-- this is the baking soda from Costco, I have used it for years in my laundry for blasting odors, and conditioning the water.  I used again in this experiment.
• Ivory bar soap-- 2 bars, 3.5 oz to equal 7 oz.-- I found Fels Naptha at Ace Hardware and Fry's grocery store.  the "scent" (more like stench!  NOT a floral smell, unless it was stink weed) was so strong it gave me an asthma attack in the car, even though it was wrapped in a grocery bag and heavy duty ziplock bag.  = {   Had my daughter return it so I could stay away from it . . . she put it into her trunk so that she didn't have to smell it!

1.  Take your little hammer to the bars of soap.  (Do you just love my "little" hammer?  I use it to drive rebar into the hard caliche we have for soil.)    2.  The bars break up easily if you start on the edges and work you way into the middle of the bars.

1.   The pieces were all under an inch when I put them into the processor.  2.  After 20-30 seconds of whirling.  I did it for  a minute to minute an half until it was very powdery.  Don't open it right away.  It floats into the air, not so good if you have asthma or allergies!  Sure glad that I returned the Fels Naptha!  

I forgot the last step!  I put all three ingredients into a big bowl and stirred them with the whisk, while standing outside to avoid breathing the dust.   The whole process took about 5 minutes. 

I washed my very dirty, smelly work clothes and my son's very dirty, sour smelling work clothes to test it.    We had spent most of a day working outside and they were really "ripe".  They came out of the washer smelling clean!  I also put in my hot pads that have been camping.  I will share the total results, including some before and after pictures tomorrow.

Thanks to Liz for letting me know what I had forgotten to put into this.  Now you know why my daughter has appointed  herself my editor!!