We made crabapple jelly today, albeit a very, very small batch. But we learned some things and it apparently turned out tasty, so it was not a complete waste of time. First thing I learned; ignore the recipe when it tells you to put the jelly juice on to boil before the jars. Get the jars warming first, otherwise the jelly is ready before the jars. Bad. Also learned; no matter how often you think you have enough, it isn't. Keep picking. But above all, look for the beauty in your day. Today it was in a sunbeam through a full jar of crabapple jelly. Can't wait to make more!
There's a lot of work to do here, but I expected that. There's garden beds to lay out and make. Lots of space to do that in though. There's a few piles of junk that can be sorted through, reclaimed and re-purposed. The composter needs to be emptied, repaired and moved. There's lots of weeding, lots of trimming and bush-whacking to do. It seems as if the woods have been pretty determined over the past 12 years to take back the yard. I shall prevail. I have to learn about pumps since the one we have is like a cranky old man determined to ruin everyone's day. I don't think it's big enough, but then again, I doubt I'm qualified enough to have an opinion. It seems all we ever do is cook and do dishes. You would think that at some point we'd get ahead of it, but no.
I have visited a website once or twice that's written by Amish women (I think), and they share recipes they've enjoyed when they've cooked for crowds of 15 or 20. I think perhaps it's time to revisit that website! I need to re-learn how to cook for a crowd!
So in the spirit of Sharon Astyk's Independence Days Challenge:
Plant something: not yet, but tomorrow is peas, mesclun and lettuce
Harvest something: beets the other day
Preserve something: made crabapple jelly today
Waste not: well, nothing to report there I'm afraid
Not much else to report for this week. It's been so hot that just thinking about working outdoors has made me break into a sweat!
4 comments:
I'm so glad things are going well for you Tankeboo. Oh, and I'll be posting some 'big batch' recipes in the not too distant future...hopefully there will be something you'll find helpful.
Love and hugs to all!
Oh. I was also thinking that "Hit the Ground Running" might be an appropriate new blog title. ;-)
Well done. Hope it starts to feel like home as soon as possible. Sounds like you got your canning gear unpacked. ;)
How many acres are you lucky enough to have?
Chris, we're lucky to have just under an acre at our disposal. Well, a little less once we factor in the large propane tanks, the space used up by the house and shed and old coop. Lots of space still to grow lots of food. Now I need to decide where the fruit trees are going to go.
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