O.k. i did it! That was fun! Great idea!
We have an interesting spread. Do you think folks in the almost western states just don't have internet? Just kidding.
If TPHTF
Well, we're blessed in that if they had to, my chickens could really survive on just the foraging. It very rarely snows around here, and there is pretty much always something growing.
But because i love my chickens, i also have plans (shamefully not action quite yet) to start raising...
Two days ago, we picked 4 or 5 cucumbers (picking and burpless) from our garden. They were the first of our cucumber harvest.
We left them on the counter, and this morning, they felt spongy. Ew.
I peeled and sliced them, and they were ok, but how do you keep cucumbers from getting weird...
Thanks very much!
That helps.
I also posted on a more local thread, and someone told me that you can blanch these kinds of pears to get the skins off very easily. How exciting. =) I am encouraged.
I'm having an idea.
Well, first, i think i'm going to give them another couple of days and see if they're any better to deal with.
But my other thought was this:
I'm thinking of making pear butter out of them. So would i be crazy to peel them whole and then boil them down and then pick out...
Pat, i live in deep east Texas. Spring starts in February. ;)
I don't really know that much about fruit trees, etc., but i can tell you that we picked very ripe peaches and plums almost a month ago. So i feel fairly comfortable that the pears are timely - though i guess i don't really know...
Well, they're slightly soft to the touch, and we "picked" them by shaking the trees. What fell off, we picked up off the ground. I would have assumed that would mean they were ready.
The pears have a weird texture that makes it a big effort to slice through - well to do anything. I even just...
Last weekend, hubby and i took advantage of a freecycle offer to pick pears off of someone's trees.
The owners said these were "canning pears," not "eating pears."
That's fine. I figured they would just be a little harder than what you get in the grocery store.
They are. And i put a paper...
Incidentally i did start with that one, before you said so.
I haven't gotten to read much of it yet, but i have it in my favorites for quick reference. Hopefully, this fall, we'll finally get our garden really ramped up for serious production.
I am liking that idea. Especially for gifts. It doesn't seem like the crust should be any smushier than other store bought pies that are sealed up...if you let them cool anyway.
If you're trying to seal them up for long term storage, i would be very interested in that outcome also. Is that...
While planning our fall garden, my husband noted that beets and turnips grow well here, but he doesn't want to eat them.
And i thought that's ok if the chickens can eat them.
And i'm sure they CAN eat them. Lord knows they eat everything - but i'm talking about on a beneficial to their diet...
I love that idea.
And i'm going to collect as many pears as i can pick from a freecycle offer tomorrow. How timely! Now if only someone will offer up some of those perfect little jars.....
:rolleyes:
So nice to meet you! Welcome to SS! I think you're the envy of a lot of us who would like to be off grid but haven't made it yet.
I might be from Texas, but i've been out of Texas long enough to know there's no such thing as too much rhubarb!
HELP!
I cut up my apples, etc. to make acv about 3 weeks ago.
I also did what someone suggested or mentioned ( i don't remember ) and did a separate jar with the cores and pulp, etc. of the apples and covered that with water.
I just went to check on my jars, and the one with the cores and...