Wordless Wednesday - My First Egg!

Pics!

Our newest additions... a Red Haven peach tree and Bing cherry tree. I will need to get another sweet cherry later on to pollinate the Bing. I'd like to get apple trees also.

Connor loves to play on the tractor with Daddy!

And chickens!

Trees?

I just got an email from a local nursery... select fruit trees for $5. I might just have to check them out. I really want apple trees for next year and don't want to spend $50 on each. Of course, it doesn't say which trees are available, just "select".

It's been raining quite a bit lately, so no growling chicken video yet. Hopefully I'll be able to do that this weekend!

More Canning!

We went to the local apple orchard with my mother-in-law and niece last weekend. Connor and Kate had fun playing in the petting zoo and riding the Moo Train. It's a tractor pulled ride made from plastic barrels painted to look like cows. Connor loves anything train/tractor and had a blast.

We picked apples, which I don't think I've ever done before. Galas, Jonathan and Golden Delicious. Honey Crisps are technically done, but we found a few good ones on the ground. I picked 11 lbs of apples... It's amazing how good an apple tastes right off the tree. I love that they tell you to try them right there in the orchard. Connor ate at least two apples.

I made 4 1/2 12oz jars of caramel apple jam, 2 12oz jars of spiced applesauce and 2 12oz jars of sweetened applesauce. I still have 8 apples left. I'm probably going to make more sweetened applesauce. We plan on going back in October for the next round of apples. They have some kinds I've never heard of that will be ready then - Shizuka, Sundance, and others.

I think I'm hooked on canning. It's so rewarding to see the jars stacking up, knowing that I'm "putting up" for later on. We are considering buying three apple trees next spring. I'd like to get a few blackberry bushes too.

Household Goals

I'm going to use this space for a sort of household goals list. It will be mostly cooking/canning/gardening list with no set time frame.

Cooking/Baking
Bake sandwich bread
- Made the perfect recipe 9/17/11 - will continue to make this one.
Bake and freeze banana bread

Canning
BBQ Sauce
Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Applesauce
Cinnamon Applesauce
Peach Cobbler Jam (8 half pints 9/12/11)
Fiesta Salsa (4 half pints 9/15/11)
Blueberry Butter
Caramel Apple Jam (4 1/2 12oz jars 9/19/11)
Sweet Relish
Blackberry Jam

Garden 2012?
Multicolor Bell Peppers
Red Onions
Sweet Onions
Green Beans
Roma Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Canning Tomatoes
Carrots
Herbs
Pumpkins
Zucchini

Other
Red Haven Peach Tree
3 varieties of apple trees
Blackberry bush

Peach Cobbler Jam

I guess I didn't realize that jellies and jams could be more than what's available in the stores. I made beautiful Peach Cobbler Jam last night with Red Haven peaches. Peeling the peaches makes a big mess, but it's worth it. I didn't finish till after 10:30 pm, so need to finish cleaning up this morning. This time, all the lids popped. It's just so pretty!

Here is the recipe.

Canning Plans

I canned for the second time last night. Now, I do not have a canning pot. These two jars are pints and are now in the fridge... I realized that the pot was going to be too short too late. The water is supposed to cover the top at least an inch or so, it was maybe half an inch. I didn't want to take the risk and put them in the fridge after they cooled. The lids didn't pop, but the buttons were down. Oh well, I know it will get eaten!

Ball Fiesta Salsa

I went out today to get Red Haven peaches for jam, completely forgot the lemon juice. I'll pick it up on Thursday along with a half bushel of tomatoes for bbq sauce and more salsa. In half pint jars this time...

Next year, I'd like to have raised beds for a real garden. I want to do tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, various herbs, etc. I'd love to have a Red Haven peach tree, but the "dwarf" varieties are still 15 ft tall! I'd also love to have blackberry and blueberry bushes. Someday...

I sort of remember my grandmother canning. She only canned tomato juice for soup from what I remember. We used to mix it with milk and simmer it till heated. It was wonderful with salt and pepper.

I want to make peach jam, caramel apple jam, more salsa, bbq sauce and a few other things. No pickles! I don't like pickles. Although maybe homemade ones would change my mind.