VickiLynn - Finding The Balance

[VickiLynn]

Never say never... Especially around here!

So true!!!

Are you feeling better?

 

[Farmfresh]

Thanks for asking...

Actually we went ahead and came home. My hubby was sick of me and truly I was being NO FUN. Still VERY stopped up, sore throat and tired, but no more fever.

I have spent the day just resting. I need to run a few errands, like buying some milk etc.. - but so far nothing.

Salsa IS a lot of hard work as far as the prep is concerned, but I always simmer mine down using a crock pot which saves the day. Also I feel some things like salsa, and spaghetti sauce are really WORTH $$ the effort. Try running some cost comparisons. Jar salsa and quality jar spaghetti sauce (remember to compare apples to apples) are EXPENSIVE. Well worth your time to make your own.

I think getting VERY cozy with the BWB canner is a great idea. After a while ... when you are ready... you can always branch out. The online class sounds like a wonderful idea as well. I'll have to check that out and take some of those tests and see how I fair on them.

 

[VickiLynn]

That salsa I made was really good. And I was so proud that all the ingredients came from my garden. Maybe if I'd make the recipe one day, and do the canning the next day. Can you let that stuff sit in the 'fridge overnight and reheat it to can the next day?

Now see what you've done!!
You've got me thinking about doing things I said I'd never do again!

 

[Farmfresh]

Yes, I sometimes do that. I just be sure to bring it up to a boil again before putting it in the sterile jars.

Or sometimes I just prep the ingredients and put them in the crockpot on "stay warm" overnight, checking it in the night to stir a few times (when you are old and arthritic like me you often find yourself up in the night anyway. ) Then it is ready to can the next morning. I use a grease spatter screen lid instead of the crock pot lid when reducing my sauces.

Some stuff like salsa and even stew seems to always be better the next day anyway.

 

[VickiLynn]

STRAWBERRIES - 'tis the season!

I am very disappointed in my strawberry bed. The plants were given to me and now I wonder if they are ever-bearing instead of June-bearing. The plants look great, but not much for berries.

So, DH, DS and I went strawberry picking at a local farm. $6 for a 5-qt pail isn't bad. For that price I may give up trying to grow them.

Anyway, we picked 6 pails full. It took an hour to pick them, and five hours to process them. I froze some sliced, and made some into jam, and still have a bowlful for eating fresh. I was seeing strawberries in my sleep! I probably should have made more jam, since I'm so proud of it, every time someone stops by, I give them a jar. Hmmm... I wonder if word got out because I seem to be having more visitors the past couple of days.

I used my BWB canner to haul some of the berries home, and somehow it got a dent in the bottom. I told DH that is a problem because it won't sit flat on my ceramic-top stove. So, trying to be helpful, he put the canner on the floor and jammed his foot into it (after the berries were poured out). The dent is gone. Now I have a crack and a lot of enamel chips. I don't think that will work on my ceramic stove either!

 

[mamaluv321]

Thanks for posting the link to that class, I just did my first batch of strawberry-blueberry jam and... it's pretty much just really chunky sauce. But on the upside my blackberries are in season and I'm ready to try again!! Btw, great journal, you're a wonderful writer!

 

[VickiLynn]

Awww... how sweet of you to say that. Thanks!

Too bad about your jam. I have made some freezer jam in the past that ended up being used as syrup. It's all good. Better luck with the blackberries!

 

[VickiLynn]

Its been a busy week. DH has started building a permanent chicken coop. The getting started is always the toughest part. Its right next to the garden, and hes planning an area in the coop to keep garden tools. Im looking forward to that. It means I dont have to tiptoe through the area in the lawn where the dog likes to leave his droppings, heave open the big shed doors, push the bikes out of the way, climb over the tractor, and reach behind the lawnmower every time I want to use the hoe.

Our Lodi apple tree has ripened three weeks early this year. Yesterday I canned 17 pints of applesauce. I bought a pressure canner, but for now I'm using it as a BWB canner. At least I'll have it on hand if and when I decide to tackle pressure canning. I used the Tattler lids, and two didnt seal. With the Tattlers, its very hard to tell if they seal or not by looking. I had to unscrew the bands and lift each one by the lid to check.

 

[framing fowl]

The chickens have been spending a lot of time under the apple trees. I dont know if it was the advice I got about chickens eating the worms before they can get up into the apples and lay more eggs, or if it was the early ripening, but unlike other years, there were no worms in the apples!

Hurray! You've been busy! Don't you just love this time of year!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

wow! great work! we have far fewer bugs and such with all this poultry as well... they really do a great job of getting up the pests!