It's been a bit since I posted but I sure have been busy. Summer temperatures have finally gotten here with a few 90 degree days forecasted for next week. Other than that the days have been mild here with cool temperatures and plenty of rain for the garden. With the garden harvest coming in my time has been spent picking and preserving. green onions, peas, turnips and mustard greens. I picked the first of my beets this last week and pickled them and picked my first thinning of baby carrots and canned them.
I also received some corn from a relative that came to visit from down south and I canned 21 pints of whole kernel corn. With fruit hanging outside I went through the freezer and decided to take what fruit that was left over from last year that we had not ate fresh from the freezer in cobblers, yogurt, smoothies and oatmeal to put in jars and make room for the new harvests. This will help make room in my freezer for this years crop and make the fruit in there now shelf stable for future use without relying on the freezer.
In the photo above are corn and baby carrots that I thinned as well as some pickled beets. Also pictured is canned gooseberry pie filling, canned elderberry pie filling, elderberry jam, plum syrup for pancakes and ice cream topping, blackberry pie filling, and a spiced plum syrup with cinnamon and almond flavoring.
I will post some of the canning recipes individually as I get time to type them up and add to the canning recipes section. I still have rhubarb, blueberries, gooseberries and strawberries left to deal with. But that is next weeks projects. And the first of the gooseberries are starting to ripen.
The Small green peas are done now and have been pulled and relegated to the compost piles. In their place are tomato plants just in time for this upcoming warm weather. With the last of the peas I made a nice pot of fresh creamed peas and new potatoes for my husband. It is one of his favorites.
The green onions have all been pulled and chopped and are in freezer bags ready to use throughout the year. I may plant some more for fall. We eat lots of onions, garlic and other herbs and seasonings. I can always dehydrate them for storing if nothing else.
We also enjoyed lots of baby spinach salads over the spring season and finally pulled the last of it and froze it for soups and such. I have enough turnips in the bottom of the refrigerator for one more scalloped turnip casserole. Another family favorite. The remaining bok choy has been allowed to set a seed head and I left a couple mustard to flower for seeds as well. As usual the Jericho romaine lettuce is holding up wonderfully and I have one selected to go to seed also. The onions are starting to bulb up and the broccoli is starting to put on heads. The cabbage are huge and have really had very few bugs so far.
So in a nutshell it has been a cool, rainy and very productive spring in the garden. With rising grocery prices we have preserved almost everything that we have raised so far and will probably plant a bit more than we usually do.
We remain healthy and active with taking care of the gardens and lawn and keeping up with the canning. I also was notified yesterday that I am up for jury duty for the next 3 months. UGH! I dread it and think I have PTSD from the last jury duty and seeing all those pictures of that 4 year old boy ran over by a tractor. I still have nightmares. Keep your babies close you mamas out there.
Well I am off for now and will hopefully have a little more time for blogging as I catch up with all this canning.
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
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I've wondered if you were okay! Looks like you have been busy. I need to go through our freezers too.
ReplyDeleteI work in the records department at our local PD. This spring makes 23 yrs working there. I hate having to see the pictures and read the details when children are hurt or killed. All of them stay with me. I hope your next turn of civic duty is not as ugly.
ReplyDeleteYour area does jury duty for three months at a time? That's a lot. The prior case you mentioned is so sad.
ReplyDeleteThe canned goods look amazing.
Yes they do. My husband did it 2 years ago and they can call you anytime during 3 months. He had to call a number weekly to check in and they would tell him if he had to report and when. This is the first place I have lived that does it like that.
DeleteThe tend to like us! He has even been called for Federal grand jury once.