Handmade Greenhouse

I know I have not been blogging as much, but with this warmer weather we have been having, I am beckoned to be outside digging in the dirt!  Plus, my wonderful, very handy husband just built me a greenhouse!  A few weeks ago, he install new windows on a older home.  Being the thrifty recycler he is, instead of throwing away perfectly good windows, he brought the old windows home.  They are the really cool looking old-fashioned white wooden window-pane kind.  Anyway, he thought they would make a perfect greenhouse, and so over the course of the weekend, he built me a greenhouse using the recycled "old" windows.  He sure knows how to make his wife happy.  I love it- it is like my own little retreat, complete with a planting shelf, planting beds, and sliding sides for ventilation.  He constructed it right next to the house, and the bottom portion of our house is brick.  So, during the day, the bricks soak up the sun's heat and at night the heat is slowly released into the greenhouse- passive solar heating at its best!  I have already started my seeds in there, and the boys love coming in there and planting with me, or of course, just digging in the dirt.  Give me a place to plant, good dirt, and some seeds, and I am a very happy lady.  Some women want fancy clothes and jewelry; no thanks, just some good crumbly black dirt and some heirloom seeds for me!  Instead of drooling over clothes magazines, I daydream over seed catalogs!  Takes all kinds to make the world go round, right?  Also, lately I have been cooking even more with pumpkin.  Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins.  This are wonderful for snacks and/or breakfast.  They also make great treats to share with neighbors, friends, teachers, etc.  All you do is take your pumpkin cut off top part, slice it in half, clean out seeds and save for roasting (great snack for kids as well), then place two halves skin side up in a large roasting pan with 1/4 inch of water in it (this keeps pumpkin for drying out), then you bake it in oven at 450 for 45-60 min. until you can easily pierce skin.  Then let it cool and peel skin off, then put pumpkin in a big bowl and puree using a masher or a hand blender.  Now you have fresh pumpkin to cook with.  Just scoop out desired amount for recipes or freeze into batches for use later in soups and/or recipes.  Update on cheese making:  supplies have been ordered from cheese queen and we have raw milk on hand.  Should be making fresh mozzarella this weekend- check back for update.  Also, going to try making butter again using raw milk- will keep you posted on success.  Until then, happy digging- and remember before you toss something into the garbage can, pause a second and think if it can be used another way or recycled.  You just might surprise yourself and get creative!