Onions and Garlic, too.

My onions had started to become prey to voracious slugs, so I pulled them the other day.  They'll dry happily for a couple of weeks (more or less) in my rigged up rack on the porch.  It smells very pungent out there right now--not a bad smell, but quite onion-y!

The garlic finally dried down the majority of the way, and now just needs storage in a cool, dark space.  My pantry closet will be perfect, and the garlic should keep for a long time.  I plan to use some of it for next year's crop, but it can wait in the pantry until October.  That will give me plenty of time to decide which cloves look the best for seed stock.  Right now, they all look pretty good!

Tomatoes!

It always seems to take forever, but finally the day arrives: the first of the homegrown tomatoes are ripe!  This variety is called Julia Child, a nice medium sized round fruit that smell heavenly.  Based on the state of the plants, it looks like Gardeners Delight and Orange Banana may not be far behind.  I am so happy, because that means putting up jars of bruchetta topping and salsa may not be far behind.  Ooh, and let's not forget dried tomatoes.  Those are my favorite for pizzas and pasta...gosh.  I sure hope those tomatoes don't take long to ripen, I can hardly wait!

Homemade Chili Starter

Some evenings, after a long day of work, it's so nice to have canned soups waiting in the pantry.  Homemade ones, of course, with far less sugar and no weird additives like the store-bought stuff.  Part of my less busy days of summer I spend restocking the pantry for the rest of the year, and making soups to can is a change from making jams and jellies.

Typically I use the recipes in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (as I did to make this batch of chili starter), but I also like the basic recipes in So Easy to Preserve, a publication of the Extension Service in Georgia.  One of my favorite recipes is beef with peppers and onions, a simple mixture of lightly seasoned beef with peppers and onions canned in beef stock.  Using the formulas in So Easy to Preserve, it's a simple matter of calculating the appropriate pressure and time to process.  I don't add any thickeners, those come later when I reheat the stew for dinner.

There are hosts of recipes on the internet for homemade soups that can be processed and canned for later meals, but be sure to cross check them.  Be cautious of any that claim you can add flour, or pasta, or simply water bath them.  The flour and pasta will become straight mush, and you can't water bath a soup because it isn't acidic enough to be processed that way safely.  If you can't pressure can, then freezing is an excellent option.  But, speaking from experience, nothing beats a good home-canned soup, stew or chili!

Knitting Projects

 I've been working away on some knitting projects this summer, to get a head start on holiday gifting.  So far, I've made a version of this:

photo by beth whipkey, www.ravelry.com

The Rosie Cowl, by Beth Whipkey, is sweet and simple and a relatively quick knit.  It reminds me of something Little Red Riding Hood might wear to visit Grandma...

I've also made a version of the Wren Wolf Cowl by Heidi May, also findable on ravelry.com.  It's super simple, and really fun.  Here's me, modeling it:

Fun, right?  Here's the cat's reaction:

"uh..I think you need to back off those pain pills."

Next up, this sweet little hat called Black Forest, by Caitlin ffrench:

perfect for adventures, photo from www.ravelry.com

Not only is it a cute pattern, but I'm making it with one of my favorite yarns, a blend of mohair and silk.  Ooh, it is nice to work with!

After that, well, I've got a good half-dozen more projects lined up, including some illusion knitting.  I am fascinated with this process.  Rows of knitting and you wind up with a fools the eye, 3D "picture" at the end.  I'm planning to tackle the Green Man and a couple of Celtic knots...but all in good time.  Anyway, check out this video below and maybe you'll be inspired to give illusion knitting a try, too.

Outside Digs

It's been four days since the teenage meat chicks moved outside, and they are loving life in the Little Coop.  They've weathered two storms in fine style, and are having a great time frolicking about in their new space.  They are growing like weeds--somehow, I think I got sent Cornish Cross chicks in my frying pan special, instead of the slower growing White Rocks or Leghorns that were advertised.  I don't mind too much, really, but I may need to move my butcher date up a bit sooner!

Peach Season

Earlier this past week, I talked a friend into stopping by the farmers market and picking up a box of peaches for me.  I don't do peaches every year, as they are a lot of work and a half-bushel box means you get a ton of peaches, but this year, is a peach year.

So for the past couple of mornings, while it is still relatively cool, my kitchen has become an assembly line of sorts.  Each peach needs to be washed, then the bottom marked with a shallow "X" cut.  A brief swim in a boiling water bath, followed by a dip in ice water helps the skin to slide right off.

Once the skins are off, it's a matter of slicing or dicing and placing the peaches into a bowl of lemon water.  I made a batch of honeyed peaches, using a lightly sweet syrup made from local honey and water.  Sixteen pints later and I think I'm good on peaches for the next year or so.  All that peeling and slicing leaves quite the bowl full of debris: skin, pits and bits of peach flesh not fit for canning as is.

What to do with all that extra bits?  Well, I opted to put it in a sauce pan and add water, simmering to make a deeply pink and fragrant juice.  I added a few whole spices to the mix: cinnamon stick, star anise, whole allspice.  Then it was into a jelly bag to strain slowly overnight, and today (after adding sugar and pectin) I made seven half-pints of beautiful rosy Spiced Peach Pit Jelly.  My whole house smells like peaches--it's heavenly!

And still,  I have more peaches.  I'm thinking of making a slow cooked batch of Brandied Peach Butter, which if I cook it overnight should be perfect for both canning and adding to my morning porridge.  If any peaches are left over after that, I may just bake something with them...peach crumble, anyone?

Mid-July Jelly

One of my favorite daily "chores" is to wander around the yard and see what fresh fruits and veg are ready for picking.  Some days, it's a glut of squash and cucumbers.  Other days, it's fresh chard, kale and lettuces.  But my happiest days are right now, when currants, raspberries and gooseberries are ripening daily.  While many don't make it into the house, devoured by the handful as Head Gardener perks, those that do make it in get transformed into something to be enjoyed in colder months.  Sometimes it's jam, chunky and seedy and deliciously simple.  But other times, I like to do the slow process of making homemade jelly.

Jelly is, actually, very simple to make.  It just takes time, because you need to first process the fruit, then allow it to drip through a jelly bag overnight.  The slow drip-drip-drip from the jelly bag is soothing, a promise of delights to come.  The next day, the actual jelly making begins.  After measuring the juice, and measuring out an equal amount of sugar, it's onto the stove to come to a rolling boil.  A packet or two of liquid pectin followed by a hard boil for one minute, ladle into clean sterilized jars and process for the allotted time, and there you have it: beautiful clear jelly to stock the pantry and give as gifts.

Generally, I start with four cups of juice (you can add a cup or two of water as needed to make this amount) with an equal amount of sugar.  The above jelly, made from black and red raspberries and my first crop of delicious gooseberries, measured 2 1/2 cups after dripping all night so I added enough to make up the difference to reach my four-cup measurement.  I put the juice and sugar into a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Usually, I add two pouches of liquid pectin (I use Certo brand as my mainstay) and then bring it up to a very hard boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Don't stop stirring, and don't let it boil over!  It is very hot, and will burn both you and whatever it touches...plus it stinks like heck if it gets on the burner.  Jelly notoriously gets a foam on top, but its easy to remove if you let the jelly cool for a minute and then use a metal spoon to scoop the foam off the surface of the jelly.  Ladle into the hot jars, and process for fifteen minutes in a hot water bath canner.

Four cups of juice will yield about six half-pints of jelly, more than enough to enjoy and give away as presents.  I don't make huge batches of jelly, because who can eat that much?  I much prefer my daily wanders through the garden, and making small batches of delicious, jewel toned goodness.  Plus, you can call it anything you want: Mid-July Jelly?  Yes, please.