The peppers are coming in! Once they start it’s crazy but we love them. This recipe is something I have just cultivated over the years, really with our favorite foods.

• 6 to 8 bell peppers
• 1 lb ground meat
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can tomatoes with green chilies
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp each: garlic powder, salt, cumin
• 1 cup shreddedsharpe cheddar cheese

I cut my peppers lengthwise and arrange in a shallow baking dish. In a large iron skillet brown your meat then add your chopped onions and drain any grease if needed. Now add beans, corn, rice, chilies and spices. When you get everything combined spoon out into your peppers and heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 20 minutes then add cheese and return to the oven for about 5 more minutes. Note: if you like your peppers a little softer then blanch them about 2 minutes in boiling water before stuffing them.

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I know Spring is usually when we are talking about landscaping and planting etc.  But I could not let this wait till Spring.   The Colocsia or as we know them Elephant Ears that I moved from the little house  on the back of the property to the new house, did really, really well!  I have managed to grow some big Elephant Ears in the past but nothing like these.  The only thing I may have done a little extra was mix in a little cow manure in all my landscaping around the house.  But these ears are excellent fillers and backdrops for landscaping.  Going to try some around the fence posts next year and entrance to the property.  

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We are home after spending 5 days in Mobile, AL at the Vintage Market Days of Mobile.  It was a great event where we made new friends and met new customers and yes even did a little shopping.  As I did a little shopping through other vendors booths there were countless antiques pieces, some valuable and others not so valuable but very much a sign of the past. A lot of these pieces of history stir something inside of us, memories of a time gone by.  I talked with several of my customers about some hobnail lamps I had and how they remembered some like them on their grandmother’s night stand.  A young lady in her 20’s bought a pair I had, I ask her what she liked about them and she said I saw them and the first feeling I had was a warm and homey feeling.  She told me she had a new apartment and wanted some things that would be timeless.  

So hang on to some things from the past or look for something that warms your soul.  I have my grandmother’s Speed Queens washer tubs.  I remember them being in her basement my whole life.  Even after she had a new washer and dryer she still unloaded laundry in them while hanging clothes or moving them to the dryer.  I have hung on to them for years the whole time having a picture in my head of how they could be given new life in my home.  Finally last year while building our house here on the farm it all came to pass.   And yes every time I use it I think of her.

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 Cups Fresh Blackberries, washed
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 Cup Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Stick Butter, melted

First mix the blackberries and your sugar together and set aside for 30 minutes. Preheat oven 375 F

Next mix together all the dry ingredients, then stir in milk. Now stir in melted butter and hand mix until all ingredients are incorporated and you have a few lumps.

Now pour batter into a 9×9 baking pan, smooth batter out and pour blackberry sugar mixture over batter evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour depending how golden brown you prefer your cobbler. Let stand 15 minutes and it’s the best. And a little ice cream on the side won’t hurt. Enjoy!

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