In case you didn't already see it at Facebook or Twitter (where I share far too many things about myself, right, Amber?), here's what we've up to the past few days.
I finally mailed off the hand-made paper that dh's wonderful cousin and his wife pre-paid for. Unfortunately, we've not perfected envelopes yet, so I had to include store-bought ones. The dark thing on the paper is not a bug; it's a blossom on the paper that we embedded flowers in.
We froze a whole bunch of beans (I wish I could remember how many bag-fulls); here they are being blanched:
Some time last week, I tried a new recipe. I actually wanted to make the one Sherrie posted on her blog, but didn't have almonds, so I made the King Arthur Flour's Blueberry Buckle instead.
It was just O.K.
Some of you might remember that last Saturday, we got about 19 quarts of tomatoes canned. Well, by Thursday (Aug. 27th), we had to can again. Here's the pile of tomatoes right before we processed them. And you know what? On Saturday (Aug. 29th), we processed tomatoes again! This time, we did 10 pints of salsa, and 7 quarts + 6 pints of tomatoes. I'll give you three guesses as to what we'll be doing in another couple of days. ;)
Because Megan asked, I thought I'd post some photos of projects I've finally finished. Ok, this one is sort of finished. I knitted a very plain scarf (but up close, you'd be able to see the lovely multi-colored strand of thread woven through this mohair yarn...from this distance, it just looks like a scarf that a 4 year old threw together after 5 knitting classes), but what I plan on doing is weaving some lovely little beads through it to give it an extra sparkle. It's for dh's cousin who has given me and the boys many great gifts throughout the years.
I finally finished the hat for dh...and guess what? He said it feels too big and he doesn't like it. Maybe I'll list it on Etsy.
Not made by me, but by the lovely Heather...she added these goodies in when I bought some liquid soaps from her (my favorite: Peppermint Party).
Here's the salsa I was telling you about:
Oh, we canned our first green beans (we normally freeze them) using our new pressure canner...here they are, ready to go into the canner:
And here's the canner...think I'll call her Big Bertha. If I dropped her on my foot, I can forget about walking on it the rest of my life:
I also made tsukemono using my friend Grace's recipe (or Grace's mom's recipe, if you're gonna be picky). They are soooo delicious!
Dh made a pork stir fry that evening using our own onions, our own squash, our own peppers, and our own green beans. The pork was from a local farmer. The only thing that was not local or grown by us were the shitake mushrooms...which prompted a conversation about trying to grow our own again next year.
And now for something totally different: in case all that food has made you hungry, I'll help you not go gorge yourself by showing you a parasitized caterpillar. If you click on the photo, you'll see the eggs laid on it. I think they're wasp eggs...but I need to check with ds#1 or dh.
Hope you had a more exciting weekend than we did doing all that canning. ;) Did you see anything quite as gross as the caterpillar? Do share!"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams
15 comments:
Whew! You've been busy!
You never call, you never write... And then you make us hungry!
I can't believe how many tomatoes you have! Homemade salsa is the BEST. I miss having someone to give me a jar every year. :(
GOSH Teresa, blah blah, me me me, blah blah blah. ;)
This was an awesome post. I love seeing all the things you are up to! Especially beans and tomatoes. Mmmm. :) Okay what else? The scarf looks lovely and I want that hat! No, seriously. Would you want to swap anything? Anything at all?! Perhaps a lovely handbag like this one? I am dead serious here.
Ok, I'm starting from the bottom up because that egg grossed me out. I saw a few of those in my basement, does that mean wasps are going to emerge??
BTW/I love photos so I'm always happy to come to your blog and see all your pretty pictures!
The food is always wonderful and LOL @ Big Bertha. You are a brave girl using a pressure canner. LOL! (I think you saw my post on FB).
Lots of goodies from Heahter, she makes wonderful products!
You are so creative and talented. I'm jealous, I can't knit :( Make sure you share your scarf once you add beads, it will look so pretty. I've attempted crochet with beads but I don't have your talent so I get something that looks like a pot holder but not quite. LOL!
I didn't know you made paper. I love handmade paper! Where is your etsy shop?
What a wonderful busy you have been! You need to write a book--keep a good journal!
mmmmmmm!!!
(is there much more to say?) your food photos are so amazing - it makes me want to sink my teeth into your tomatoes and finish up with that yummy blueberry crisp!
Ok, before the end of the poll, I'm going to continue replying to people here. :>
Blonde Duck, I was kinda busy, wasn't I? ;)
Wendy, OMG, that sounded just like my mom!! LOL!
Amber, yeah, me, me, me...it's all about me! Heh heh! It's a beyootiful bag - if you seriously want a trade, I'll do it! Or, instead of your bag, something like your Blueberry HP soap would be divine too.
Michelle, you need to put your mom's scary words about pressure canners and try one! All my friends who have one (take Amber, for instance!) love it. And oh, stop it, dear woman...you are VERY creative, and I have your cards to prove it! (ok, I have some of your cards...I made myself part with a couple, but only for very special friends) Ack...Etsy shop! I need to set one up (or Artfire...I've still not decided yet...)
Carrie, you're so right! I do need to keep a journal. I'm really bad about writing things down (hence not being able to recreate a nice glaze on a ceramics piece).
Meg, food...I live for food. Glad you like the food photos! =)
Love seeing pics of your produce and baked goods, but much prefer eating them!! You guys HAVE been busy and deserve the bounty as I know you have worked countless hours weeding and tending the crops.
And the caterpillar is very cool. They do not look like braconid wasp eggs like we had in our tomato hornworm back in IN. Perhaps you should keep it in a jar and let me know what comes out of it? Please?
Wow! You are a earthy version of a domestic diva! We were just talking about making homemade salsa. I had to look up what tsukemono is. I don't think I've ever had that, which is weird because I used to work in a Japanese restaurant (now that experience was interesting and funny, I don't eat sushi and I do not speak any Japanese, so customers would order things and I'd get one syllable wrong and they would get something quite different than what they ordered!)I love seeing your photos, it makes me want to garden so much! I did not opt to close up on the caterpillar. It is dead right? Sometimes these things don't get killed so that the larvae can eat the bug once they hatch... I know it is how Mother Nature works, but that has to be one of the worst ways to die.
Oh
My
GOSH
You are a BUSY BEE!!!
So many tomatoes!! That is just crazy! Oh, and Alton Brown has a FABULOUS blueberry buckle recipe. I made it this last spring and it was really memorable.
Oh, and did you see? I'm BACK! (But sorta flying low under the radar . . .)
The fruits of your diligence certainly show in your bountiful harvest! Dosent it feel great when the shelves are lined with the seasons bounty produced by your own labor? Looks wonderful!
Followed you from Wendy's blog and had a comment on YOUR comment. :)
You said that your kids like Legos and it's hard to do history lessons with Legos.
So I thought about it a little.
They could build architectural wonders from history Leaning Tower of Pisa for example... and you/they could cook foods served then and now in Italy.
The Taj Mahal! Build it and talk about how people lived then and now in that area.
As for the canning and cooking you're doing (getting on topic here, :)..)
I stand amazed and awed. I'm doing well if I manage to get all the berries I've rendered made into jelly within two years. (We freeze the juice for 'later')
Of COURSE I read just as I'm about to cook dinner! I'm famished!
The geese like you too.
I am so impressed with all that canning. Makes me want to plant even more tomatoes next year so we'll have enough to can. As it stands, we are picking enough for our meals every night.
And I always love posts with lots of pictures. Keep bringin' 'em on.
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