Monday, October 17, 2011

Well Hello there Blog!

I have been so busy reading other people's blogs, and testing new and improved recipes, that I have been neglecting my own.  As you might guess, I am not one for a daily routine so to speak, and in fact I am really quite random!  That's me, scattered!
I am very proud to say that I have made my first ever attempt and canning!  And I have successfully preserved some apple butter, raspberry jam, and some apple jelly.  Nothing broke, shattered or exploded!  I am thrilled to say that both the jelly and jam were "thickened" with pectin that I made from the apple cores, and peels from the batch of apple butter I made in the crock pot.   I was impressed with myself that I made something from, basically, garbage.  The apples, and raspberries were given to us, so it really only cost me some time, a few cups of sugar and a little cinnamon.
My canning debut (while only with a hot water canner, no pressure cooker yet) has inspired both my husband and I to increase the size of our garden, which was also a first for us this year.  It was a learning experience to say the least, and while we did get plenty of zucchini, a few cukes, some leafy green lettuce and one tasty watermelon (Bob the goat got the 3 ears of "10 kernels on an ear" corn)  We do know that he put way toooooo much compost on the soil too soon to planting time, and I won't waste my time starting seeds inside.  I am excitedly planning for more veggies, and will gear up sooner with out fruit trees in a better attempt at sparing them from the bugs!  We have a great apple tree that has tried since we moved here 3 years ago to actually produce, this year there were tons of apples on it, but each of them were wormy.  We did get some yummy pears off the tree, but I think I will have to save the milk jugs and bait them with cider vinegar early on and often.
I have tasted the fresh from home difference, and I can't wait to stock the pantry next year.
Well there I feel satisfied that I have paid a little attention to the blog...I am off to check on the sick boy, and get a few chores done around here.

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