More Food Preservation and RAIN!!!

The garden is slowing down, now. We're still getting peppers and some tomatoes--Roma, mostly. However, we're slowing down, too, with the garden, canning, etc., and are gearing up on other things, primarily school.

Here is the updated food preservation list. Unless we get some apples from somewhere, this may be our final totals for the summer.

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
6/30 Wild blackberries / froze 1 qt
7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints
7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts
7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2 pts
7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts
7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts
7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt
7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts
7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts
7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts
8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts
8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts
8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)
8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts
8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup canned 4.5 qts
8/12 Crushed tomatoes / canned 19 pts
8/13 Garden-fresh-tomato soup / canned 12 qts
8/14 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/14 Pickled peppers / canned 8 ¾-pints, 3 ½-pints
8/15 Peach freezer jam / froze 4 pts
8/15 White peaches / froze 7 qts
8/16 Basil pesto / froze 3 half-pints
8/18 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/19 Elberta peach jam / canned 4 pts
8/19 Elberta peaches / froze 4 qts, 4 1.5 pts
8/19 Keith’s salsa / canned 13 pts
8/25 Pickled Peppers / canned 7 pts

Drying: basil, sage, feverfew, red clover blossoms

Other news: RAIN!!! Yes, we've had something like 2.5" of rain in the last three days--no downpours, just good, steady rain with some breaks. I was going to collect my dried basil this morning, only to find that it's no longer dried! It is on our screened-in backporch, and is out of the rain, but I suppose the humidity has somewhat rehydrated it! And I don't mind one bit waiting for it to dry out again; the rain is much needed. The lawn and pastures are already looking better!

Mary Susan

Cinema Verite?

...or What-Happens-When-a-Bored-5yo-is-Granted-Use-of-the-Camera.

Food Preservation Thus Far

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
6/30 Wild blackberries / froze 1 qt
7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints
7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts
7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2 pts
7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts
7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts
7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt
7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts
7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts
7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts
8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts
8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts
8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)
8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts
8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup canned 4.5 qts
8/12 Crushed tomatoes / canned 19 pts
8/13 Garden-fresh-tomato soup / canned 12 qts
8/14 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/14 Pickled peppers / canned 8 ¾-pints, 3 ½-pints
8/15 Peach freezer jam / froze 4 pts
8/15 White peaches / froze 7 qts
8/16 Basil pesto / froze 3 half-pints
8/18 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints

Drying: basil, sage, feverfew, red clover

Mary Susan

Fine Pickins

This weekend, we had some fine "pickins".

Last night, we attended our first 3rd-Friday-at-New-Union-Fire-Hall, hosted by the Flatts, who live in New Union. They've been hosting this since soon after the Pickin' Parlor closed a year or so ago, but this is the first time we've gone. (This is not because we've not wanted to go; quite the contrary. We've either had other commitments, or, a couple of times when we could have actually gone, we completely forgot by the time Friday evening arrived. And once, I think, we intended to go, but were so wiped out from the day's work that we decided not to.) The kids were excited to get to pick and jam some again, and it was great to see some of the folks we used to see regularly at the Pickin' Parlor.

Pickin'...

and grinnin'??

(You can't tell from their faces when they're picking, but they say they truly enjoy it, and are always excited when we're going somewhere that will have some picking and a chance to jam!)

As a matter of fact, playing the mandolin hurts 17yo, but given the opportunity to do a little jamming, she chooses to suffer a bit in order to enjoy the music and the camaraderie.

Some of the former Pickin' Parlor regulars don't let us leave a place until 15yo has sung "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

And tonight, 15yo's fiddle teacher, Tom, hosted "Pickin' at the Grove" at the church he now pastors, Beech Grove First Baptist. This was a fund-raiser for the church, where they sold hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, and--stroke of genius (Why has no one done this before--at least as far as I know??)--Cracker-Barrel-country-ham sandwiches! Mmmmm, good! (Let's see...hot dog or country ham? Is there really a decision to be made here??) They also auctioned desserts--cakes, pies, and cookies went for anywhere from $30 to $100 or so before we left, which was quite early. We did leave early, but Tom made sure the girls had a chance to play a couple of songs first.

Tom and the girls playing with members of The Creek.

The opening act tonight was the Rigney family, out of nearby Normandy. They were good; the boys are 14yo and 11yo. One song the family performed was written by the 14yo son. And the 11yo could tear up the fiddle and the mandolin!

The Rigney Family

Mary Susan

Puzzled Over Pickled Peppers

One of the kids came up with a conundrum during family worship tonight:

Just how did Peter Piper pick pickled peppers?

Our solution: Peter Piper picked a peck of pre-pickled peppers.

Mary Susan

(Don't ask how we got to pickled peppers from Psalm 41; that's an entirely different conundrum!)

Roasted tomato garlic soup

Currently having an abundance of tomatoes, I decided to try canning some tomato soup. In searching for a recipe, I quickly found roasted tomato garlic soup and decided to give it a try.

A few problems:

• We didn't have enough garlic to triple the recipe. However, I was able to use three bulbs, anyway, and went with that.
• Roasting the veggies. The recipe says to fill a cookie sheet with the veggies and roast them. Fine, but I wanted far more than a cookie sheet's worth! So I did three cookie sheets (all I could fit in the oven). I used the convection option, hoping to get an even roasting, but the carrots and onions still had a hard time getting done, so I finished them off by boiling them in the broth while 13yo son and I peeled the roasted tomatoes (which was very easy, as long as they were cool enough!)
• Again, roasting the veggies. The juices ran over in the oven, which is now a mess! Thankfully, the bottom was lined with foil, which has been replaced, but some of the mess is under the foil, too. Hopefully, I'll get this cleaned up this evening (maybe?).

The three cookie sheets made 4.5 qts., which I consider not really enough to fiddle with canning! I mean, it's not even one load!

However, I did not add the cream (I decided I'd rather do that when we warm up the soup for serving.), so technically, I suppose it's more than 4.5 qts. But like I said, I'd rather not can unless I have a canner-full (which would be 7 qts.)

We tried some for lunch today, to see if it was worth doing again and worht figuring out a way to do more at one time. It was good; Keith really liked it. 5yo, however, who normally likes embellished tomato soup and often requests it for lunch, did not like it. Not sure what his problem with it was, but he said he did not like the taste.

Some of the best tomato soup I've ever had away from home (possibly because it may have been the first that didn't require a can opener!) was at Macaroni Grill in Franklin, TN, a few years ago. It was so fresh-tasting! The waiter told us it was a secret recipe that a customer's mother had given them, with their promise that they would not share it with anyone, not even other MG's. They've never had it since, there or at other MG's, when we've eaten there. However, sometime after this, Keith's brother became a manager for MG. He said the whole story was probably a line the waiter made up! Oh, well, it was still good.

Mary Susan

Newly Updated List

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts

6/30 Blackberries (wild) / froze 1 qt

7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts

7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags

7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts

7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts

7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts

7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts

7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts

7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts

7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts

7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints

7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints

7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts

7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts

7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts

7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints

7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints

7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts

7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2-pts

7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts

7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts

7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt

7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts

7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts

7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts

8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts

8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts

8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)

8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts

8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup / canned 4.5 qts

Mary Susan

Wal-Mart Rant

As if Wal-Mart doesn't give us enough to grieve over, they're now taking away their sewing sections--at least, the ones around us are, as they are "remodeled."

Yes, it's the old story we've all heard before: Wal-Mart comes into a small town, eventually forcing small businesses to close. But, at least for me, this version has a new chapter: most small towns are doing good to have even one fabric store, so that when Wal-Mart forces that one out of business, and then closes out its own fabric/sewing section, that leaves the folks in that town without any fabric or notions.

We now have to drive close to an hour to get a zipper.

Mary Susan