I Know, I Know!!!

Woah now, no hate mail please!!!  I know it has been way toooooo long since I posted. With work, church, garden, chickens, b-days, house, trips, and what the heck lets throw in the hubby too, it has been BUSY!!!!  I almost don't even know where to begin. Ok, here goes.

GARDEN

Didn't get everything out of the garden that we had hoped for but overall it was a success. As usual we learned a ton which can only help in the long run. The following list is everything we planted and how it turned out.

Asparagus- plenty to keep us happy
Corn- did fairly well for selected strain, we let it dry due to cob size and will use for parched corn
Beets- good harvest, picked them a bit early
Yams/Sweet Potato- tops eaten by animal most of season, upon harvest were small in size but edible
Carrots- good yield for amount planted
Cantaloupe- demolished by CHICKENS (little buggers)
Zucchini (3 varieties)- did amazing
Squash (2 varieties)- did amazing
Watermelon- fair (planted to late)
Bell Peppers- half did nothing, other half did great but we're extremely late for harvest
Jalapeños- good harvest
Green Beans- great harvest
Half Runner Beans- good yield, should have trellis to vine, hard to pick
San Marzano tomato- great harvest
Tomato- multiple varieties; did OK
Kohlrabi- great harvest
Peas- good harvest, need to plant more next year
Greens (including lettuce)- amazing harvest
Herbs- (sage, onion chives, garlic chives, basil, thyme)- all abundant, my basil plants were BUSHES!

Here are a few pics I took throughout the season.

Asparagus and Herbs

Garden/New Grapevines

Squash/Zucchini

Basil

Cabbage/Tomato/Cantaloupe

Peas/Watermelon/ Sour Cherries

I am proud to say we used, canned, or gave away most everything we had from the garden.  We canned green beans (regular and pickled), tomato, beets, and made jelly with the sour cherries.  We froze cabbage, jalapeño's, basil, and bell pepper purée. I am sure there are tons of info I am leaving out but my memory is failing me at the moment!!

I will continue updating on the past few months as time allows. Maybe the next update should be CHICKENS!!!!

Enjoy!

YES... it was Delish!!

Well the warm weather day before yesterday was just a teaser. Yesterday back to the 30's and possibility of snow tonight.  On a brighter note I wanted to share some pictures from the canning we did the other night. Last night we went to my mother in laws house and had homemade spaghetti and meatballs with some of the sauce we canned and it was DELISH! I think we decided it was even better than what we canned in 2012.  It is so nice and convienent to be able to come home and pop open a jar of homemade sauce. Since we can so much at a time it last at least a year if not longer. Well WORTH it!!

Sauce ready for Jars

Packing the Jars

Double canners going!!

After 3 rounds in the canner...DONE!!

Oh so worth it!! Give it a try sometime. 

The house is a Poppin'

Wow what a BEAUTIFUL day we had here today.  After getting over five inches of snow last week it was almost 70 degrees today.  Must have been something in the air but this weather put us in the canning mood.  While our nephew Max kept the chickens on their toes this afternoon Nicky started the process of homemade tomato and pizza sauce.  I don't think any one would argue that nothing taste better than homemade....anything!!!  When I got home from work Nicky had the sauce almost ready for the jars.  It could be a one man process but we like the two man/woman method.  Ya know... BONDING time!! Dr. Phil says it's important (kidding, I don't watch Dr. Phil). After all was said and done we canned about 11 gallons between the tomato and pizza sauce combined. I have to say the most satisfying part of the day is when the house starts a "poppin".  Anyone who has canned before knows exactly what I am talking about.  After the cans are removed from the pressure cooker they slowly start to seal. Once they "POP" the process is complete. So tonight I just wanted to let ya know that the house is a "poppin".

Pictures to follow!!

Frigid COLD....

Well I have only one thing to say... COLD!!! Yes, this is what my phone said at about noon today. And this was the high for the day!!

Needless to say I really found no need to leave the house. Work never called so I spent my day studying for a class in front of my cozy little space heater.  I only took two breaks today: one to give the chickens some warm oatmeal (SPOILED) and once to make myself some dinner.

When I say make dinner it was nothing extravagant. With the hubby not home tonight it was just me and a nice biscuit pan full of Redneck Nachos.  One of my culinary delights.  You would be amazed at how delicious they are when you are hungry and LAZY!!

Don't they look Delish!! Chips, cheese and HOMEMADE Salsa is really all you need. BUT tonight I wanted to spice it up a bit so I broke out the sour cream and a jar of my HOMEMADE Jalapeños. Now I must give away my personal secret...I like to put the salsa on the nachos before they go in the oven. Nicky prefers to add his salsa after they come out of the oven.  I promise you one thing, those jalapeños from my garden are HOOOTTT! I love it!

That's it for now. If you are around here stay warm tonight... and if you aren't from around here send some $ for our heating bills.

Strawberry Jam

Although we had a few flurries this morning I still can not forget about SPRING coming!! Between looking out the window for HAWKS coming after the chickens and flipping through seed catalogues all I can think about is what to plant. It is so nice to have home grown products stuffed away during winter.  One of my favorite things that I have tucked away is Homemade Strawberry Jam.  If you are lucky enough to get some of this jam then you are special.  I have to admit that I have not made it yet. I get it from my friend Amanda.  Amanda and her mom have a tradition of making several batches every spring once the strawberries are ripe and ready.  There is nothing like a nice homemade jar of jam.  I sometimes panic when I get low (Amanda is in N.C.) but this year she really stocked me up. There is a ration program that we have to follow so it lasts us all year long..kidding... but I do keep an eye on how much is left. Amanda and her mom even put these cute labels on last year.

People are always looking for something special to give as gifts, especially to those who seem to have everything.  Most people would be more than happy to receive something homemade/handmade. Whether it is food, a scarf, or a nice photo in a frame.  Nicky and I have given small baskets of our homemade goods and it always brings a smile.  Plus if you make it in advance it's always ready to go... just add a bow and GO!!

THANKS Amanda and Cindy!!

Strawberry Jam

• 5 Cups cleaned/crushed Strawberries
• 1 box of fruit pectin
• 2 Tablespoons Butter (may use less according to the internet)
• 7 Cups granulated Sugar

* Bring Strawberries, butter, and pectin to a boil. Add sugar and bring to a boil for 1 minute, no longer.

* Scrap off excess foam and ladle into HOT sterilized jars. Make sure top is clean and seal with lid.

* Turn jar upside down till cool. (The Ball Blue Book says to process in a water canner for 10 minutes)

I am sure if you ask around there are hundreds different varieties/opinions on how to make this but I know this one is Delish. And for those of you who aren't sure I just saw this handy Jam Maker online. 

PS- all this talk about jam has made me hungry...I'm off to get some toast!!

Using your Own

My husband and I decided when we bought our house that we would garden and Can food for the winter. We have been doing it successfully for two years now. Considering the learning curve I think we have done pretty good. Neither one of us grew up canning food although I do remember going to my Great Grandparents house and seeing shelves full of canned food. THAT is now my inspiration.

So far we have harvested and either canned or froze everything from cabbage to chili. We even make our own stocks and sauces. It has definitely been a learning experience and let me tell you everyone has their own opinion on how to do it "RIGHT". For example, most people would agree the safest way to can is to follow the "canning bible", aka the Ball Canning Book. However if you talk to some old school canners they have a very different idea of what is right. So over the past two years we have taken in as much info as possible.

Most everything we save we have grown in our own backyard, which is nice because we know exactly where it came from. We chose to use heirloom seeds this year to see what the yield and taste difference might be. We also grew a few things we have never done before like popcorn, artichokes, many different beans, broccoli, beets, and brussel sprouts.  Some turned out and some didn't but we learned a lot and have modified our plans for next year.

Now we are just making sure the garden is prepared for winter...pulling everything, tilling and fertilizing. That is were the chickens come in.  One good thing about chickens is they give their poop for FREE.