Fire and Ice

I have been really happy so far with my little frozen cubes of tomato sauce.  They have been handy when I have had a recipe that just calls for a little tomato sauce (like the squid ink sauce recipe my brother sent me from his trip to Venice).  

I still have a few tomatoes left and I have some ghost peppers... so, I'm going to make ghost sauce cubes.  I found out last year that an entire pint of ghost sauce is often a bit much- but sometimes things need a little kick.  So, I'm gonna make fire ice!!!

Wish me luck!  The range hood will be running on high!

Trying something new

Since my tomatoes are kind of a bust this year, I think I'm probably done with canning. 

I had enough that I had to do something but not enough to fire up the canner.  So I'm trying something new: tomato cubes!

I made a really thick sauce - almost, but not quite paste - and loaded it into old ice cube trays.  Now, when a recipe calls for a tablespoon of tomato paste or I just need a little to liven things up, I don't need to open a whole jar.  We'll see how it works out.

Tomatoes!!

Woo hoo!!  The tomatoes are finally starting to come into their own for the season. 

I have 12 pints of diced tomatoes in the canner and the counter is full of tomatoes that will become sauce tomorrow.  

Whew!  I was worried I wouldn't get much this year.  I still know I won't have a 36 quart year but we'll get enough to see us through.  Good thing too, with tuition and expenses to get Justine moved into her apartment, finances are going to be 'interesting' for a few months.

Halfway through!

So... my eldest son (I17) and I have been running together off and on since spring.  I have been plagued by a knee injury and ended up taking it pretty easy this summer. But, in the beginning of August, we started running again, using a wonderful training app called Zombies, Run! that tells you a story of survival during the zombie apocalypse while putting you through interval training.
This evening we finished week 4 of the 8 week training for a 5k.  Once we finish this, we will probably move on to the next app that has numerous 'missions' you can run.  I've found it fun and motivating and you never know what's gonna happen next- except it generally involves being chased by zombies!  of course, right up my alley!!  And I'm finally at the point where it feels GOOD to run again and not so much like work or "Oh, God! I'm gonna die!!"

In other news, the tomatoes are finally kicking into high gear so I guess I'm going to be spending my Friday night canning tomatoes while the boys are off at the first high school football game of the year.  Oh well, it will keep me out of trouble.

Canning joy

You know that feeling you get when the amount of tomato sauce you have made exactly fills the number of jars you can fit in your canner?  Oh, Yeah!

But, it looks like it's gonna be a skimpy tomato year.  They just aren't doing very well.  But, boy, oh boy, I've got cucumbers and summer squash!  Only 4 quarts of dills made so far but we've been eating a lot of cukes.
The potatoes are dug and there are hot peppers in the freezer again!


And, yeah, I know, I've been gone for a long, long time.

But, I've got my darling girl moved into an apartment in another state, finished some outdoor and indoor projects, been running some more and been really, really busy at work.

The local plate contest- the last day and other nonsense

Today was a busy, busy day.  We picked apples- probably about a bushel.  Not bad from a neglected and totally unsprayed tree.  And the apples are huge and delicious.

 K13 and I wrangle the big pole apple picker.

 V climbs a tree.

 Look what we've got!!

And today is the last day of the local food challenge.  Here is my submission of the day:  Lunch

Bread from the New Pioneer Bakeshop.  Chipotle chevre from Triple Creek Dairy and fresh tomato slices (German Pink) from the garden.  Plus one of our fabulous apples.  I could get away with a light lunch because V and I went to the food co-op (the one's sponsoring the local food contest) for the local vendor's fair.  They had lots and lots of vendors of local produce and products there handing out samples.  Yum!

After lunch, I froze some tomato sauce I cooked up yesterday and worked to process some of the dropped apples since I knew they wouldn't keep.  An apple crisp was baked and a pot of applesauce made.  These really aren't cooking apples as they hold their shape too well to make good sauce.  But it is tasty anyway.

And finally, my favorite creation of the day.  I used some of my frozen raspberries to make raspberry/ghost chili jam.  Oh My!!!  This may actually be he most delicious thing I have ever made.  It is the perfect blend of sweet, fruity and HOT!  Definitely not for the faint of heart but oh, so yummy.

A ghost of a sauce

I think maybe I'm going to try Sundays as a regular blogging day.  Of course, we'll see how long that lasts, LOL!
Today I'm cooking with fire at home.  Ghostly fire!  Naga Jolokia or Ghost Chili fire,  that is.  This spring, my friend Roger gave me a seedling pepper plant.  A ghost chili.  I'll admit, I'm a little frightened by it.  These are the second hottest peppers in the world, topped only by the Trinidad Scorpion (also to be found growing in Roger's garden!), so they are nothing to take lightly.
Today, I'm canning tomato sauce.  We do like it spicy here so a few weeks ago, I made some enchilada sauce and tossed in a small ghost chili.  Yowza!  So, today, I'm making ghost sauce for other purposes. In with about 8 quarts of sauce I've got onion and two and a half peppers.  I've got one hungarian wax 'Volcano', one Bulgarian Carrot and half of a ghost chili.  Whew!  Spicy!!! but incredibly tasty.  All these peppers have the bonus of not only being incredibly hot but also flavorful.  And 2.5 peppers is plenty.  This sauce will go well over pasta in the cold winter months.
I've got a few things crossed off my list so far on my vacation and a few still to go.  I still need to get in and weed and prep the greenhouse for planting.  Of course, this has to be the hottest weather we've had all summer so working in the greenhouse will have to be done early- probably tomorrow morning after I get the boys off to school. I also want to make some reusable bags.  I saw these at the farmer's market and want to make some myself:  The woman dubbed "the cookie lady" long, long ago by Justine was also selling tote bags made from feed sacks.  I've got quite a stack of chicken feed sacks- those lovely, sturdy, rip-stop affairs- and I thought they may make fun holiday gifts for family members.  I brought in a couple of sacks so maybe tonight after dinner?  Maybe.  We'll see.

Anyway...  I'll leave you with a few photos of my walkabout yesterday afternoon.

 The bees are loving the touch-me-nots. And it is a good year for these flowers.  They seem to have taken over along the creek for a stretch.

 The groundnuts are blooming.  This is the first year I've noticed the blooms.  I've spotted the vines and we noticed the little tubers washing out of the stream bank after a flood this spring.  Nice to know that we have another wild edible around.

 Not wild.  But I do love my scarlet runner beans.

 One of the squash that came up volunteer by the chicken run.  There are three large acorn squash on the vine.  Awesome!

And the cherry roma tomatoes are doing well.  In fact... I think I need to go pick them.

A new beginning?

Wow.  I have been really bad at this, haven't I?  I was gently reminded by my sister that I haven't posted in a while.  My bad.  Time just seems to get away from me these days.  But, now that school is back in session and things will be settling down into routine again, I'll really, really try to be better.

To catch up, I'll share a few photos.  We've been having quite the social life here this summer- much different from our norm.  We've hosted several gatherings of friends in recent weeks as well as all the usual 'stuff' that happens.

 I've been canning.  Raspberry jam and red currant jelly are here.  I've also done tomatoes, sauce and enchilada sauce.  And...  I invested in 7 dozen Tattler reusable lids!  Justine and I went to Kalona to pick up a few things at Stringtown (the Amish bulk food store) and they had Tattlers for $7.56/dozen.  Having recently purchased regular lids (for $2.39/dozen!!!) I got a dozen to see how I liked them.  LOVED THEM!  So I made another run down and picked up another 6 dozen boxes.  That price is cheaper than I can get them online and no shipping!

 The hens have been providing us with lovely eggs.  Now three of the new four ladies are laying.  Only Tabitha hasn't started yet.  But she is looking all nicely red in the comb and wattles now so hopefully soon.   Above is an egg and cheese Frittata.  With local cheese from Kalona, everything was from within 30 miles- mostly from our backyard.  Mmm...

 One of the social gatherings.  We hosted a meteor watching party during the Perseid meteor shower.  While we waited for it to get late enough, the youth sat around and did dramatic readings:  Classical Shakespeare done as a valley girl and a play written by one of Justine's friends- you know, the usual stuff.  We also hosted a series of Dungeons and Dragon adventures this summer with V as the DM.  Epic adventures were had!

 V has finished his office in the basement.  Since this photo was taken the room has been painted and trim installed.  The first finished room in the basement! Woot! Next, we move on to Justine's room since she is off at college again- they left yesterday :(      All drywall is up, we just need to do the finish sanding and paint.  But, we've been waiting for Justine to leave so we can take everything out of her room and then play musical belongings as we move from room to room while we work.

 V celebrated another birthday.  Justine did a wonderful job with the lettering on his cake.  The Reading Lines logo completed in frosting.

 And of course, there was the obligatory slicing of watermelon with a katana.  Doesn't everyone do that?  This was one of two melons we picked up at the farmer's market. Justine starts it off

 And V slices off a bit to eat.  We did have something on the ground to catch them as they fell.  It's a messy way to slice it but well worth it just for the fun factor.

I had the day off yesterday.  This was my project. Our trusty dining room chairs had these old, fake-leather seats that recently started disintegrating (I'm sure the cats didn't help that at all!).  So I spent the day recovering them with a lovely, sturdy fabric.  Looks much better, I think.
I'm taking a few days off while V takes Justine back to college and I'm enjoying my alone time again. Of course, I've got the boys with me this weekend but I've still got plenty planned.

I really need to figure out a good blogging schedule so I can keep up to date here.
Sorry again for the long delay.  I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth... much.

So... I lied

I have obviously NOT been posting more regularly like I promised last post.  Yeah... I lied.

But, in my defense, things have been really hopping around here.  In the past week I have processed 17.5 dozen ears of sweet corn, weeded the garden, done bulk shopping at Stringtown (an Amish store near here), traveled to my parents to help around the house with things they can't manage anymore (K13 and I washed all the windows), attended a 50th anniversary party, helped hang ceilings in the basement, worked my paying job (while short staffed and supervising a student as well) and have done all the usual household 'stuff'.

The tomatoes are just starting to ripen and I made my first batch of salsa yesterday.  Mmm!  The peppers and tomatillos have been ready for a while but we finally had tomatoes. And I'm a bit frightened of one of my peppers.  Our friend Roger gifted us with a Ghost Chili (Naga) plant this spring.  It has been growing in the garden and now one of the peppers is beginning to ripen.  Considering that these are reported to be the heat of police grade pepper spray, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it.  I have heard that you need more protective gear than just rubber gloves to process them.  Hmmm....

And one of the new ladies has started to lay!  This afternoon there was a lovely, little, brown, pullet-sized egg in with the others.  My bet is on Bettie Page but Ishtar would be the second guess.  Beatrice and Tabitha still look not ready yet.  Bettie was always much bigger than the other chicks so I'm thinking she was a few days older and as a black sex link, she is likely to mature faster than the others.  And they are just over 4 months old now.

That's about it.  Justine has only a few weeks left at home before she heads back to school. This week she is off in the evenings as she is helping as a stage hand in a community production of Rent that one of her friends is acting in.

So, things are still moving here.  I'll try to keep up.  You know, sometimes I really, really just want a day to do nothing.

The last canning of the year

I had lots of tomatoes ripen at once from the ones I had picked green before the frost.  I mean, A LOT of tomatoes.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them but I started out making puree.  I had about 18 cups of puree. What to do, what to do...   Let's see, I don't need any more plain sauce, or diced tomatoes, or enchilada sauce or pizza sauce... not enough peppers for salsa... what's left?  Hmm... barbecue sauce?
I did find a recipe that called for 20 cups of chopped tomatoes or about 16 cups of puree.  So... it was a go.  I tried the recipe as written... and then tweaked it.  I didn't like the way it was spiced so I played around with spices until I got it how I liked it.
I ended up with 6 pints of lovely, thick, sweet/spicy barbecue sauce.  Pulled pork, here we come!   Not bad for a last minute decision from salvaged tomatoes. But this should be the last canning from the garden this year.  I still have some green tomatoes but we should be able to eat them as they ripen-  fresh or sauced for a meal from here on out.  And I'm OK with no more tomato processing for the year... really.  I have had enough of simmering tomatoes for the year.  But no worries, by next August I'll be pumped again.

It was cold here today.  We had a high of only about 45 today after a low of 28 this morning.  Definitely fall-like.   But it was a great afternoon for a few chores. K12 and I cleaned out the chicken coop and put in new bedding for the winter while I15 was off at the State Marching Band Contest.  Brr... a chilly day to be marching.  It's supposed to be another cold night tonight.  Good thing V started the furnace.

No Doubts

If I had any doubts about the end of the main season garden, they were erased with the dawn.  We a record low temp this morning and it was just barely above 29 degrees F when I got up this morning at 6:15.  Brrr!!  So, after that, the garden is officially done. It didn't matter if anything was covered, it was frozen.  I even had to wait for a clump of ice to clear the hose this morning when I went to water the chickens.  This is such odd weather.  We don't usually get temperatures like this until sometime in mid to late October. Global weirding strikes again.
I thought I'd share a few photos of my Manic Monday (and last night)

Last night's dinner- affectionately known as Zombie Smush.  It's really enchilada casserole made with blue corn tortillas.  It's built like lasagna: layers of tortillas, a mix of corn, chili beans & hamburger and cheese. With enchilada sauce poured over all.  (for a vegetarian version, just leave out the hamburger)

The blue corn tortillas make it totally gross looking but it tastes fabulous.  And the boys love to eat it.

The tomatoes have come full circle.  I've got green tomatoes ripening on my seed starting racks, nestled in flats.  They end where they began.  Somehow fitting.
And what's a girl to do on her day off when she can't play in the garden and has TONS of salvaged peppers?

Make fire roasted peppers, of course!  After a frosty morning, it turned into a lovely day- a bit windy but not too bad. It was too windy to fire up the grill on the deck so I  worked in the little 'porch' under the deck by the back door.  Sheltered enough from the wind but still enough air circulation that I didn't get smoked out.
And... I'm sure that none of you, nor I, have any personal experience from our misspent youth to be able to answer this question but I'm going to ask it anyway:  Did you ever notice that chiles on the grill smell kind of like pot?  Just a thought.  Not that I know what it would smell like from college days......
The peppers got chopped and frozen into little recipe sized packages.  While I had the grill hot I also grilled a few eggplants.  One I had for lunch and the others I made into little single serving faux eggplant parmesan casseroles:  grilled eggplant layered with roasted peppers, cheese and tomato sauce.  I had one for my Meatless Monday tonight while the guys had spaghetti.  And I've got more tucked into the freezer for later.  Hmm, I've finally got a use for all those little pyrex dishes from college that I've been lugging around for 20 years.
And finally...

the pathetic end of the garden.  If the weather is nice, next weekend I'll probably pull everything except the broccoli, fennel and kale and put the garden to bed for the winter.  Of course, we probably have enough warm weather left that if I till now maybe a bunch of weeds will sprout only to get frozen off, Mwahahaha....

So, with the end of the garden season and only straggling tomatoes inside it looks like I'll be able to get started on quilting season early this year.

Feeling a little saucy!

I had a wonderful day off today.  I had a bonus day off since I worked last Saturday.  The day started off with something I rarely do.  After the boys left for school- I went back to bed and slept for another 2 hours!  I must have really needed it since I can rarely sleep during the day unless I'm sick.  I have been running ragged for the past two weeks and for the last week on 6 or less hours of sleep per night trying to get everything done.  I needed to catch up!
After I woke I cleaned the kitchen because I knew I had to clear the decks for the afternoon's projects.  V and I ran some errands over lunch and when we got home I started saucing!  I started off with a straight tomato/pepper/onion sauce that became part of this evening's lasagna.  And then, I made another large pot of sauce that I boiled down and spiced up to make pizza sauce.  This is a new one for me.  It tasted really good and I've got some extra in the fridge that we'll try for on pizza on Sunday or Monday night for dinner.  But I've got 10 lovely little half-pint jars of thick, spicy sauce cooling on the counter.  The recipe I used said to put it into pint jars but that seems like so much.  We would never use a full pint at a time.  Usually when I make pizza, even with the store bought cans, I always have left overs.  So half pints should do fine.  I can't wait to try it out.
The weather here has been fall-like.  We were at about 50F this morning.  Definitely chilly after all the heat of the summer.  It struggled to reach the lower 70's today but the sun was glorious.  Too bad I was stuck in the kitchen tending bubbling sauce.  But the weekend is supposed to be equally fabulous so I hope to be outside most of tomorrow.
V has the foundation done for the greenhouse and we'll probably put it up tomorrow.  HOW EXCITING!  If you can't tell, I'm pretty pumped about this!  He is also working to re-build a little garden shed that we disassembled when we moved in.  It was in an inconvenient place and the previous owners had used it for a chicken coop. It's one of those plastic-paneled jobs that we have kept all the bits to, just haven't figured out where and when until now.  It will go outside the fence at the North end of the garden to house garden tools, wheelbarrow, tiller and lawnmower.

Slowly but surely things are coming together.  V is finishing work on the basement.  I finally have a ceiling and insulation in my sewing room.  There is only one basement window left to replace so we're finally winding down.  It will take quite a bit more time for the finish work but things are starting to be finished.  It's only taken three and a half years!

Love and Hate

This has been such a sorrow and hate filled day.  Why, oh why do there have to be haters in the world?  A few hateful people can give all the great people out there a bad rap.  Terrible things are done in the name of God and country all around the world.  On all sides- Christian and Muslim alike.  For some reason there are people who just seem to need to hate what is different from them.  I will never understand.
But enough of hate.  There is also so much love in the world and I want to focus on that.
Today, V was definitely loving.  Look:

V is working on the foundation for my greenhouse!  He spent much of the day digging trenches and worked until dark to get the foundation set.  This is the little 6x8 greenhouse he got me a while ago as a gift but we have never had time to get it set up. Other things were always taking precedence.  But now, he hopes to have it done this weekend in time for me to get some winter greens in.  It is going up on the South side of the barn where it will be sheltered from the fierce Northwest winds we get in the winter but will still get plenty of sun.

I've been busy the past few days.  I've canned more tomatoes, frozen more peppers and made several batches of salsa.  I finally found a recipe that V likes- one that has a serious KICK to it!  As of this evening I've got 12 pints canned.  I'll have to do something with tomatoes again tomorrow though, I made salsa and still have lots of tomatoes left.  And I picked more this afternoon.  Oosh.  I think I've got tomato overload- finally!  But as much as I complain I'll keep at it.  Hmm... I wonder about pizza sauce....  I'm running out of ideas for tomatoes.

I figured out my treadle machine.  And I feel really stupid now. Everyone kept asking me if it took flat or round shank needles- I had put in a flat needle and it was secure but I wanted to check for sure.  So I got a mirror and flashlight to get a good look at the underside where the needle goes.  I was right, it does take a flat shank needle but to my surprise, the flat side wasn't facing the direction I thought it should go- I had to rotate my needle 90 degrees from where I thought it would go.  Amazingly enough, that solved the problem and it will now pick up the bobbin thread- although I still need to fiddle with the tension which is all messed up.  Who knew?

Thistle mitigation and transformations

I have been declaring war on thistles in the yard in the past few weeks. I have discovered a very effective yet easy and non-toxic way of getting rid of them.  This is tomato season, and when I've taken the last jars out of the water bath, I remove the rack and then lug the entire pot of just-recently-boiling water outside and pour it splash by splash onto the thistles in the yard.  We have such a lot of thistles growing about. I've tried digging them, I've tried poisoning them (eww, roundup- I was desperate!) but this is by far the most effective (and easiest!) way I've found. They start to turn brown immediately (they've been cooked!) and it seems to kill them by the root because none have tried to come back.
Today was a busy, busy day of transformations.  I started the day off early, up shortly after 6 making five quiches to take to our 4th annual pie sale at church.  I even made one with a gluten free crust.  And they all sold- three of them as whole pies- the other two pieced out by the slice.  With all the pies there, we brought in $539 that will go to the Common Fund at the Crisis Center.  This is the fund that keeps people's power on and the water flowing.  Sadly, all that money will cover less than a week of need.  sigh...
After church and clean up, I headed home to pick tomatoes and peppers.  Then I started the transformations.
This:

A sink full of heirloom tomatoes... became these:

Seven quarts of tomato sauce.
And this:

and another similarly full pail (love those ice cream buckets!- they are a harvest necessity here), became 3 quarts of diced frozen sweet peppers.  I just LOVE the purple peppers. The flesh on the inside is almost white so it's a wonderful contrast in color.   And look at the size of that sweet italian! They are huge this year!  I've got my day off tomorrow so I think I'll be harvesting, dicing and freezing hot peppers.
I may also take a trip to Kalona tomorrow to check out the quilt shops there to see if they can be any help for needles for my treadle machine.  Plus, there are always cheese curds to be procured....
I'm sure my day off will be a usual Manic Monday.  So, I must sleep.  V has had a stomach malady so my sleep was interrupted overnight Friday into Saturday and then last night Mandy was being a pest and woke me up shortly after 3 and I had a hard time falling back to sleep.  And having worked this weekend and getting up early to make quiche today, I didn't get a chance to sleep in.  I don't ever really sleep in (I'm usually up by around 7 or 7:30 at the latest) but I do love at least one day on the weekend where I can sleep until I wake up.  And I won't get that until next weekend.

Thank you Mother Nature

You got my letter!  Thanks for the 1.3 inches of peaceful rain today!  And thanks for throwing in a little lightning and thunder early this morning.  It made for great sleeping knowing that there wasn't wind.  And the shower later this afternoon... BONUS!  And neither time did the rain interfere with my getting to and from work.  And that was important, especially today when everything was thrown into a tizzy by a visit from the President.
Yup, The POTUS and the VP and their ladies descended on our fair town this afternoon, snarling the entire day's traffic in the process.  All the buses were re-routed all day which meant I got a lovely walk in both before and after work- and it had stopped raining each time.
And speaking of work, it has been hectic this week.  Today was finally more manageable and I was able to get my required annual 'fire extinguisher training' in this afternoon.  (oh the things we do)
I've been canning tomatoes again this evening.  7 quarts of sauce are in the canner at the moment.  That brings the year's totals up to:
Sauce: 31 quarts, 1 pint and a half, 5 pints
Enchilada sauce: 20 pints!
Diced tomatoes: 18 pints
I may make some salsa next.  I'm not sure.  V has never been fond of my salsa and our local store produces such tasty salsa that it's hard to pass up.  We'll see.  I may make some yet.

It is Friday and time for a quick IDC update before my sauce is ready to come out.
Plant something- Not a thing!
Harvest something- tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, melons, cucumbers, basil, eggplant, eggs.  There is a little broccoli out there that I'll harvest tomorrow.
Preserve something- Tomatoes!  Sauce, enchilada sauce and diced.  Froze peppers.
Waste not- Not much other than the usuals
Want not- Nope- very few purchases or acquisitions this week.
Eat the food- where to begin.   I LOVE this time of year!
Build community food systems- took a goodie box to Jim.  And while not officially this week, I'm going to be taking several quiches to our church's annual pie sale fundraiser.  They have been such a hit in the past.  Many people don't want sweet pie at 9 in the morning but quiche goes well.  I'll be using ingredients from the garden and lots of our eggs.
Skill up- nope.  I've been too busy!

I've also been musing on the question "Are we better off than we were 4 years ago?" while processing tomatoes this evening.  I may or may not do a post.  We'll see.  I try to not get too political here (although I do have very strong opinions!)  I turn on the TV to listen to the local news and weather in the mornings while I'm getting ready for work.  Let's just say, living in a 'battleground state',  I heard Mitt Romney assuring me that I was NOT better off- in fact I must be miserable- at least 4 times before breakfast.  I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THIS ELECTION IS OVER!!!

Once in a blue moon...

... it may rain.  Of course, on the night of the blue moon (the last until 2015) it is cloudy as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac makes its way toward us.  Oh well, at least I saw a bit of the moon on the western horizon this morning as I was doing chicken chores before heading off to work.
It's a quiet evening here. I15 is off at a football game (the first of the year), V is downstairs in his office and K12 is on the computer in his room writing a story.  I am feeling better, thanks for all your concerns.  I really think that all I needed was a good night's sleep.  I did get my tomatoes canned last night.  6 and a half quarts of tomato sauce.  Not too shabby.  I really do need to reorganize the pantry and the shelves in the canning room to make room.  I picked a few more tomatoes so I'm probably going to be canning again over the weekend.  And I've got TONS of peppers out there that I need to do something with- but I'm waiting until a few more turn red to process them.
And I have to share my find from last night:

Vulture Capitalism has nothing on Vulture Tomato!!

But, it's a Friday and time for a quick Independence Days Update.  So here goes:
Plant something- nothing
Harvest something- broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, eggs, basil.  I keep meaning to go check out the elderberries but it just hasn't happened.
Preserve something- froze 11 packages of broccoli, canned tomatoes
Waste not- The usual: composted, recycled and scraps to chickens.
Want not- hmm, nothing I can think of.  Although I suppose I could use my research for needles for the treadle machine in here.  We're hoping to go to Old Threshers this weekend (depending on the remnants of Isaac) and it occurred to me that I may be able to find something there as well.  I mean, where better to ask about treadle sewing machines than in a place dedicated to steam power and all things old.
Eat the food- quiche- yum!  some great tomato sauces, and tonight, tortellini with pesto.
Build community food systems-  Not a thing.
Skill up-- only sewing machine research.  I found a great online book on cleaning and maintenance of treadle machines.

That's about it.  I'm guessing that I15 will be calling soon for a ride home.  Oops- here he is now.

Big Baskets of Broccoli, Batman!

Yes, it was definitely a harvest of epic proportions here this afternoon.  But is now all chopped, blanched and cooling off some more before I package it up for the freezer.   Not a bad harvest from second and even some third heads!  I really had given up hope for much from the broccoli because it was so hot.  In fact, I nearly ripped it out before we went on vacation.  Fortunately I ran out of time, LOL!    With the rain and slightly cooler temperatures it is growing and producing like mad.  I'm not hoping for this much again but there may still be enough for a few meals out there.  Good thing we all like broccoli!  I think I may do some little "quiche packs" since I don't use as much in a quiche as we eat as a side dish for a meal.... and of course there is soup....  Mmmmmm.......

Wonderful Weather

... if you consider 70 and rainy wonderful.  I certainly do!  It has been a cool drizzly day here all day.  I got up early since I had so much to do and wanted to pick tomatoes before it rained again.  I was a bit disappointed.  I lost more than I would have hoped while we were gone.  The first week in August would not have been my first choice for a vacation but we were coordinating with 4 other schedules and this was the one week that worked for everyone.  sigh.  I probably would have been better off if it hadn't rained. I lost quite a few ripe tomatoes because they split due to the sudden influx of moisture from the big rain last weekend and rotted.  But I still got enough to can another 7 quarts of tomato sauce today.  And the cool weather made canning a joy- well, as much of a joy as canning tomato sauce can be....
I fed overgrown zucchini to the chickens and picked a couple of small ones for dinner tonight.  I discovered only 4 oversized cucumbers so that's not too bad.  But the weeds.  Oh dear. The weeds have grown huge in just a week.  And I discovered that a couple of the tomato plants blew over in the storm last weekend.  But since the tomato vines, too, have had explosive growth in the cooler, damp weather we've been having there is no way I will be able to right them now.  So, it's a tomato jungle out there.
I'm trying to have some of Justine's favorite meals in the next few days since they leave on Wednesday morning to take her out East for college.  V will be back home on Monday.  So, the boys and I will be here by ourselves for a few days.  We would all go east but the boys start school on Thursday this week.  It seems so, so early.  And we've got to get them fully registered for school.  We missed registration/fee paying days last week when we were gone.  K12 has Jr High orientation on Wednesday so I'm sure we can get it done then.

V picked the dog up from the kennel this morning and oh, my he was stinky and tired!  So, it was dog bath day as well as tomato and laundry day.  The cats have started to forgive us for abandoning them for a week.  At least things are starting to get a bit back to normal.  NORMAL!?  hahaha  We'll never be considered normal!   And thank goodness for that!

Another Manic Monday

It was a busy day here.  My Monday off, as usual, was packed full.   I got up fairly early and spent about 90 minutes out in the garden this morning before breakfast.  It got hot fast today but I managed to get my little seedlings planted, mulched and watered before it got too bad. Hopefully they will survive.  I also watered the vining plants.  Chickens fed and watered, I headed inside to work.
After breakfast, I worked on cleaning and doing a bit of hand washing.  After Justine got up we went off on a mother/daughter trip to Kalona to the Stringtown Grocery (the Amish bulk food store) and the cheese factory.  There we picked up flour (unbleached and whole wheat), some cornmeal, popcorn, dried fruit and more pectin.  A quick stop at the cheese factory for cheese and curds and we were off to the Hawkeye Food Outlet.  We're getting together with V's family soon and I wanted to pick up a few things.  I was amazed to find organic udon noodles for $.75 per package.  Since we like these with stir fry I stocked up.  We also got some tortillas for $.50/pack.  And they're having a sale- 10% off all week leading up (I think) to inventory on Friday/Saturday.  We may go back in a day or two since they were out of something I was looking for.
Home again and purchases stowed, I worked on tomatoes. I got another 7 pints canned.  So I'm up to a dozen pints of diced tomatoes in the pantry so far.  Now I'll start working on sauce as I hopefully will start getting a few more tomatoes per picking.  I also dried the skins again.  I've got quite the collection going so I'll have to break out the coffee grinder soon to finish them off. I also whipped up a bit of fresh salsa.  Mmmm....
Late afternoon, we had a family swim, I watered the rest of the garden, made dinner and then it was time to watch Warehouse 13. Now, I've got to head to bed soon since it's back to work tomorrow.  V's mother will be here in a few days so I really need to re-convert the sewing room into the guest bedroom tomorrow.  Looks like it will be a busy week...

Ready to cry

Frustration is my middle name at the moment.  We got a little rain last night (about 0.06 inches) with lots of wind, lightning and thunder.  I'll take any rain I can get at the moment but I could have done without the wind that knocked down my cherry tomato, a pepper plant and broke a few branches on other tomatoes.  With the new drought monitor maps out this morning we've moved into the extreme drought zone.  No surprise there from me.
My big frustration comes from work.  I left a bit early today for a dentist appointment.  Later, I checked my work email account.  There was a message that our new therapist- who started last week, and on whom we were counting to take up some of the load that has been nearly unbearable in recent weeks- didn't pass her national certification boards.  AAACK!  So, effectively immediately, her temporary license is void and she can no longer work until she successfully passes.  And she can't try to retake them for a minimum of 45 days.   So, the stress will continue- and get even worse since my student that I've had for the past three months will be finished next week.  She is fabulous and has been a great help.  But, we will survive- we always have in the past.  I just may be ready to check myself into the unit after a few more weeks.  I do feel very sorry for her, though.  I can't imagine what is going through her mind at the moment. How awful for her.
I made peach jam this evening.  Mmmm... tasty!  It is a different recipe than I have made in the past and while it's really good, unfortunately it didn't seem to make much.  I got just over 2 pints.  I've still got some more peaches so maybe I'll have to make another batch as more peaches ripen.  Of course, as I was skimming the foam off the top, V came by with a dish of ice cream and Justine came by with a cup of vanilla yogurt for me to add a bit of jammy goodness to so I may have not ended up with quite as much as I could have.
We're nearly out of peach jam in the pantry. K12 has been inhaling it recently, having suddenly 'discovered' the pantry.  He has also been going through another growth spurt. I'll have to check to see if any of his pants fit before school starts next month.  I think he has grown another inch or two this summer.
I had hoped to get a few pints of diced tomatoes canned this evening but I ran out of time.  There is always tomorrow- and maybe I'll have a few more tomatoes ripe by then.