A Day Off

 

Lord have mercy I am tired! I finally finished the last of the green beans yesterday. I went out and pulled up them plants quick and threw in the chicken yard before they could bloom again. There are jars all over my house waiting to be put up. Not today though because I am taking the day off. 

I canned ground beef the day before yesterday. I think or maybe the day before that. Lol

The dehydrator has been going pretty steady these days.

I wanted to show everyone how I freeze my yellow squash. I take a potato masher to them and freeze in small square container then put in vacuum bags. I use this to make a cream of squash soup with onions and garlic, butter, chicken broth and heavy cream. I also make a casserole with it like this. 

These days of plenty are daunting as I watch the arm loads of food come in several times a day. Something always seems to need picking. 

My kosher dills have fermented and now I have two half gallons of vegetable pickles fermenting. We seem to like fermenting our pickles so much better. For the small amount of pickles we eat between the two of us this is enough to last for months in the refrigerator. 

I hope you all are also experiencing such abundance. And I am off to start some laundry and maybe read some. It is raining today so maybe curl up and take an afternoon nap. 

See ya over the back fence!

https://thebackfence.freeforums.net/

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Canning Season Love

Nothing a cat loves more than warmth. Phineus  has a great fondness for canning season and warm jars and especially the dehydrator.  He is convinced that God has placed this heavenly invention on earth just for him. CATS! 
Blessings from The HollerThe Canned Quilter

Counting One's Blessings

Such a busy time of year for us. Phineus the big yellow tom cat is just wore out. Never let a table full of warm jars go to waste. A little afternoon nap with an automatic bed warmer is always in order.

This time of year is always humbling to me but especially this particular year. A year of shortages and hunger in so much of the world. A year of sickness and death. Yet here we are surrounded by such blessings. Good health and food so plentiful.Tomatoes hanging heavy on the vines. Beans, squash, okra, cucumbers, melons. Eggs in the hen house. Far too much to name. Herbs and vegetables and fruit galore. Ripening in the sun. 

Squash, cucumbers and zucchini.

Red beans and green beans canned, fermenting dill pickles, hen eggs drying and a warm stuffed pepper casserole.

Squash and sausage dressing,

Frozen okra to be vacuum bagged.

We rarely leave the place anymore as the turmoil and sickness in the outside world increases. We continue to put away as much food as we can unsure of what times lay ahead. We are so fortunate in that our bills are paid, our health is good, our table is overflowing and we have each other.

With every jar of food we can we are thankful for the health to produce and preserve it. May you all be equally blessed!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

New Ball Lids

ALERT

I want everyone to beware that Ball has changed their lids yet again. The new lids are not to be simmered on the stove and require no pretreatment of any kind other than maybe washing. I am also hearing lots of complaints about them not staying sealed. Even though they may seal at first they are coming unsealed weeks and months down the road.   

According to the Ball site these are the new instructions. 

Wash jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Dry lids and bands; set aside. Jars must be preheated and kept hot until they are used. To preheat jars, completely submerge them in water that has been brought to a simmer (about 180°F). They should remain at this temperature until they are used, removing one at a time as needed. If jars are used for any recipe that is processed less than 10 minutes, the jar must be sterilized. To sterilize jars, submerge jars in water and boil 10 minutes. (For altitudes higher than 1,000 feet above seal level, refer to Canning Basics.) Allow sterilized jars to remain at a simmering temperature until they are used.

freshpreserving.com/fresh-preserving-faqs

On a more personal note I am hip deep. With nightly rainstorms we have had to pick the beans that have been beat down by torrential wind and rainfall. I have buckets of both shell and snap beans that must be tended to immediately. On top of cucumbers to pickles and squash and okra in the freezer. Dehydrator full of onions. Translation....Hip deep!  

"Know also friend that we live a life of labor, therefore, if at times we separate ourselves from thee, do ye occupy thyselves according to thine heart's desire."

See ya on the other side.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Garden Tip

My back is old and achy. I feel all these years of weeding and planting. Arthritis has set in.  A couple years back I saw a trick somewhere that works great for me. It helps so much with planting. O Wise One cut off a piece of scrap PVC pipe the length of a little above my waist to the soil.  I can simply go down the row and drop my seeds in the PVC pipe without ever bending over. Genius! Then we realized we needed something to hold the seeds so we added a tuna can. just drilled a little hole and wired it to the PVC pipe. Then we added a leg on the bottom in front. The front leg makes the hole in the soft soil. It has a cap on it so it is solid. We got the idea from this image on Pinterest. 

Greatest invention EVER! My back loves it. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter