Two weekends ago we were at the farm in Kent City and harvested our pumpkins and popcorn. It was a beautiful day and I didn't mind harvesting the popcorn by hand, picking each ear then stripping the husks back and throwing the kernels in the basket. I harvested 5 half-bushel baskets full of popcorn. The ears were very wet but I was hoping to dry them.
We brought them down in the back of my husbands truck with the tonneau cover over it. It was a couple of days before he opened the back of the truck.
Our popcorn was moldy. There was a white web on almost all of the ears. We have decided it is best to just throw it all in the compost pile.
The pumpkins were a different story. They are beautiful. A few are spoiled but there are many that are very nice. I hope to make a few pumpkin pies, but they may be decorations until Thanksgiving.
We also had planted some Indian corn. I picked a few ears and brought them back. They seem to be a success. Hopefully the raccoons will leave us some the next time we visit the farm I will harvest the rest.
I picked 6 half-bushels of apples, Northern Spy. I've made one apple pie but have a lot of canning to do to process the rest. When will I do it?
We're planning to make an offer on the house in Michigan this weekend, then come back and pack for a week. I'll need to do laundry on Saturday night and Sunday morning in order to be ready to go to work on Monday morning.
Arrrgh!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I'm Baaaaack!!!
So much has happened in the last few months with so little time to pause and reflect that it is all a blur.
I had knee surgery during August and had to use a walker, then a cane, to get around for a few months.
In mid-August, my father suffered side effects of a drug he was taking for his heart, a recurrence of the problem he had in February. This caused a major lung condition and he was in intensive care for six weeks. The drugs he took for the lung condition, plus the enforced stillness in intensive care, have caused his muscles to atrophy to the point where he couldn't stand, walk or otherwise move around freely.
Of course I spent as much time as possible at the hospital, while still doing the minimum high-priority tasks at work.
He is currently in rehab, and yesterday he stood five times for over a minute each time. It will be a long road to recovery, but he is definitely travelling down it.
While all this was going on, I was also searching for a new job since the manufacturing plant I work in is closing. I have found a new job that will entail moving to Michigan (my husband also will be relocating) and so we have also been house-hunting.
We found a couple or three houses that we both liked with a little bit of acreage (all under 5 acres) and we will be making an offer very soon. Imagine, taking on a new 30-year mortgage at our age! The home prices in this down market are very crazy. We haven't decided whether to sell our house here or not.
My new job starts November 2. We'll be staying with a friend next week. We'll see how much the "houseguest" stress and strain adds to the load.
All this life change has added a lot of "stress points" to my chart. I haven't been able to keep up with the Master Gardeners at all this year, and this distresses me.
One bright spot is that my daughter saw a post on Craigslist for "something that might be wool-pick it up and its yours" I picked it up, it was wool, I took it to Zeilingers in Frankenmuth, Michigan for processing one weekend when we were househunting and found out it was 10 fleeces, not two as I had supposed, and was "fine wool". It's since been cleaned and weighed out at 56 pounds of cleaned wool. I'm going to have 46 pounds spun into yarn and 10 pounds left as top for spinning.
My own garden hasn't been cleaned up yet and there are a LOT of weeds in it. I harvested broccoli side shoots for a casserole on Monday, though, and last night we had beets from the garden for dinner. Earlier this week I found a cucumber that hadn't been frost-damaged and we had it for our salad tonight. Planning when we are going to clean up the garden plot is beyond my capabilities right now, I have to take each day as it comes. I am only doing high-priority tasks, and sorry, the garden just doesn't qualify!
Thanks to everyone for bearing with me through this stressful period in my life. I hope to resume my blogging activities once we get settled in to our new home.
I had knee surgery during August and had to use a walker, then a cane, to get around for a few months.
In mid-August, my father suffered side effects of a drug he was taking for his heart, a recurrence of the problem he had in February. This caused a major lung condition and he was in intensive care for six weeks. The drugs he took for the lung condition, plus the enforced stillness in intensive care, have caused his muscles to atrophy to the point where he couldn't stand, walk or otherwise move around freely.
Of course I spent as much time as possible at the hospital, while still doing the minimum high-priority tasks at work.
He is currently in rehab, and yesterday he stood five times for over a minute each time. It will be a long road to recovery, but he is definitely travelling down it.
While all this was going on, I was also searching for a new job since the manufacturing plant I work in is closing. I have found a new job that will entail moving to Michigan (my husband also will be relocating) and so we have also been house-hunting.
We found a couple or three houses that we both liked with a little bit of acreage (all under 5 acres) and we will be making an offer very soon. Imagine, taking on a new 30-year mortgage at our age! The home prices in this down market are very crazy. We haven't decided whether to sell our house here or not.
My new job starts November 2. We'll be staying with a friend next week. We'll see how much the "houseguest" stress and strain adds to the load.
All this life change has added a lot of "stress points" to my chart. I haven't been able to keep up with the Master Gardeners at all this year, and this distresses me.
One bright spot is that my daughter saw a post on Craigslist for "something that might be wool-pick it up and its yours" I picked it up, it was wool, I took it to Zeilingers in Frankenmuth, Michigan for processing one weekend when we were househunting and found out it was 10 fleeces, not two as I had supposed, and was "fine wool". It's since been cleaned and weighed out at 56 pounds of cleaned wool. I'm going to have 46 pounds spun into yarn and 10 pounds left as top for spinning.
My own garden hasn't been cleaned up yet and there are a LOT of weeds in it. I harvested broccoli side shoots for a casserole on Monday, though, and last night we had beets from the garden for dinner. Earlier this week I found a cucumber that hadn't been frost-damaged and we had it for our salad tonight. Planning when we are going to clean up the garden plot is beyond my capabilities right now, I have to take each day as it comes. I am only doing high-priority tasks, and sorry, the garden just doesn't qualify!
Thanks to everyone for bearing with me through this stressful period in my life. I hope to resume my blogging activities once we get settled in to our new home.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Out of commission
My father has been suffering some pretty major health problems so I haven't been able to spend time in the garden or online much recently.
Will return as soon as possible!
Will return as soon as possible!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Disaster!
I've been canning all day and my efforts have yielded 7 quarts of garlic dill pickles, 11 pints of green beans, 3 quarts of sweet pickles, and one quart of dilly beans. (OK, I know, about $35.o0 retail, and it took me all day...with the big burner going on the stove... I wonder how much the electric bill will be this month?) But I know where this food came from, I know which chemicals were used on it (NONE!) and I know how it was processed. That can't be measured in dollars.
Because the green beans are a low-acid food, they must be canned in a pressure canner. The pickles, however, can be canned in a boiling water bath canner. So I had both canners going on the top of the stove, rotating them in as needed to sterilize jars or process a batch of food.
When I opened the very last batch of the night in the boiling water bath canner, I found that one of the jars had cracked around the bottom and all the pickles were floating in the canner! I was heartbroken.
I'm taking "The French Chef Cookbook" to bed tonight for some light reading. It is a compilation of the recipes from the first few years of Julia Child's TV show, and many of the recipes come from the book featured in the Julie & Julia move, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I don't know if the recipe for beef bourguignon is in it, but I certainly hope so.
I took 4 wheelbarrows full of weeds to the compost pile this morning. I quit when it started raining, but the rain didn't last long - fortunately for the weeds, I had already started my pickling adventures. Maybe I can do some more tomorrow.
DH went to the farm this weekend. He needed to get away, GM's bankrupcty is very stressful. He's not sure if the position in Detroit is secure or a good one, it could be a temporary position and he might have to take a pay cut. The cost of living is higher in Detroit than here, but that's true of almost any location other than here. Although Kiplingers seems to indicate that we're about average (100 on their scale) I will probably be taking a pay cut whether or not I relocate (see list of new items on google) so I guess it's a really good thing that I know how to garden and preserve the harvest...
I'm thinking about investing in a food dryer. Given my economic situation, does a $300 - $500 investment sound reasonable, or would I be better served getting a $40 appliance at WalMart?
Because the green beans are a low-acid food, they must be canned in a pressure canner. The pickles, however, can be canned in a boiling water bath canner. So I had both canners going on the top of the stove, rotating them in as needed to sterilize jars or process a batch of food.
When I opened the very last batch of the night in the boiling water bath canner, I found that one of the jars had cracked around the bottom and all the pickles were floating in the canner! I was heartbroken.
I'm taking "The French Chef Cookbook" to bed tonight for some light reading. It is a compilation of the recipes from the first few years of Julia Child's TV show, and many of the recipes come from the book featured in the Julie & Julia move, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I don't know if the recipe for beef bourguignon is in it, but I certainly hope so.
I took 4 wheelbarrows full of weeds to the compost pile this morning. I quit when it started raining, but the rain didn't last long - fortunately for the weeds, I had already started my pickling adventures. Maybe I can do some more tomorrow.
DH went to the farm this weekend. He needed to get away, GM's bankrupcty is very stressful. He's not sure if the position in Detroit is secure or a good one, it could be a temporary position and he might have to take a pay cut. The cost of living is higher in Detroit than here, but that's true of almost any location other than here. Although Kiplingers seems to indicate that we're about average (100 on their scale) I will probably be taking a pay cut whether or not I relocate (see list of new items on google) so I guess it's a really good thing that I know how to garden and preserve the harvest...
I'm thinking about investing in a food dryer. Given my economic situation, does a $300 - $500 investment sound reasonable, or would I be better served getting a $40 appliance at WalMart?
Garden update
Tonight I went, alone, to watch Julie & Julia movie. I read the book a few years ago, and posted on Mary Jane's Farmgirl connection about it, and the movie moved me as much, or more, than the book.
After reading the book I was inspired enough to buy a Julia Child cookbook, but after seeing the movie, maybe I should have gotten Julia's biography instead.
I was definitely moved to tears while reading both the book and watching the movie. I find parallels in the lives of both characters with my own. I was surprised to feel the emotions when Julia and her husband were talking about having to leave Paris - very similar to my own emotions right now when anticipating having to leave Ohio due to my husband's job change.
I haven't posted much lately, that is because of my guilt complex about not choosing a winner for the zucchini recipe contest...
Now that that is over with, I can tell you my gardening experiences in the last few weeks. Since my knee has been recovering, I've been limiting my gardening to just picking the ripe (or overripe) vegetables and letting the weeds go. Bad mistake!
Earlier this week I pulled a full row of beets. Using a seed tape for the beets was definitely a good decision this year, and I will do it again. My daughters came over and helped me can pickled beets and garlic dills.
I've been a little disappointed with the cucumbers, I noticed I have some cucumber beetles and many of the leaves are turning yellow and drying up. I did have a rather large harvest the night the girls came over, and the ghostly white cukes are the most productive of all. The lemon yellow round cukes (what was the name of that variety?) haven't done so well this year, I think I planted them too close together. I did pickle seven pints of dill pickles, and still have several left to make another batch.
As usual, the zucchinis are quite prolific, all varieties, and because of my neglect due to the surgery, many are as big as baseball bats. I've made zucchini bread, stuffed zucchini, grilled zucchini, the recipes posted on the contest blog entry, canned zucchini salsa (10 pints) and made deep-fried zucchini. It is an ongoing battle with DH to keep them out of the compost pile.
I've been picking green beans (and wax beans, and purple beans) for several weeks. Last night I pulled up all the plants and took them to the patio to sit in a chair and pull off the mature beans. It is much easier on my knee to sit than to stand in the garden on the uneven ground and pick them, and I felt that there wouldn't be many more anyway.
After pulling the beans, I found that I had a huge harvest of green peppers that I hadn't even seen because of the bean foliage. That is a crop to harvest tomorrow.
My tomatoes are FINALLY starting to turn color. I have one Celebrity that is slightly orange, and the plum tomatoes are looking a little bit yellow. I believe they are delayed because the weather has been so cold this year. I am afriad that all will ripen on the same day and I won't be able to keep up with the harvest.
I am still harvesting the Bibb lettuce variety (?) from Territorial that claims it is slow to bolt. Since we've had an unusually cool summer, the claim has held true, and it has been delightful in salads.
Two nights ago we picked the first ears of sweet corn. They were just a little bit under-ripe, so hopefully the rest will come (if I can keep the raccoons out) to enjoy with the tomatoes.
I am trying to clear the garden of weeds this weekend so that I can plant some cabbage, some cultivated arugula, some more beets, and perhaps some cauliflower. This is just about the outer limit for planting the fall garden, except for perhaps some radishes. That is my plan for Saturday, on Sunday I will be working and babysitting my newest little grandchild, he is just adorable!
After reading the book I was inspired enough to buy a Julia Child cookbook, but after seeing the movie, maybe I should have gotten Julia's biography instead.
I was definitely moved to tears while reading both the book and watching the movie. I find parallels in the lives of both characters with my own. I was surprised to feel the emotions when Julia and her husband were talking about having to leave Paris - very similar to my own emotions right now when anticipating having to leave Ohio due to my husband's job change.
I haven't posted much lately, that is because of my guilt complex about not choosing a winner for the zucchini recipe contest...
Now that that is over with, I can tell you my gardening experiences in the last few weeks. Since my knee has been recovering, I've been limiting my gardening to just picking the ripe (or overripe) vegetables and letting the weeds go. Bad mistake!
Earlier this week I pulled a full row of beets. Using a seed tape for the beets was definitely a good decision this year, and I will do it again. My daughters came over and helped me can pickled beets and garlic dills.
I've been a little disappointed with the cucumbers, I noticed I have some cucumber beetles and many of the leaves are turning yellow and drying up. I did have a rather large harvest the night the girls came over, and the ghostly white cukes are the most productive of all. The lemon yellow round cukes (what was the name of that variety?) haven't done so well this year, I think I planted them too close together. I did pickle seven pints of dill pickles, and still have several left to make another batch.
As usual, the zucchinis are quite prolific, all varieties, and because of my neglect due to the surgery, many are as big as baseball bats. I've made zucchini bread, stuffed zucchini, grilled zucchini, the recipes posted on the contest blog entry, canned zucchini salsa (10 pints) and made deep-fried zucchini. It is an ongoing battle with DH to keep them out of the compost pile.
I've been picking green beans (and wax beans, and purple beans) for several weeks. Last night I pulled up all the plants and took them to the patio to sit in a chair and pull off the mature beans. It is much easier on my knee to sit than to stand in the garden on the uneven ground and pick them, and I felt that there wouldn't be many more anyway.
After pulling the beans, I found that I had a huge harvest of green peppers that I hadn't even seen because of the bean foliage. That is a crop to harvest tomorrow.
My tomatoes are FINALLY starting to turn color. I have one Celebrity that is slightly orange, and the plum tomatoes are looking a little bit yellow. I believe they are delayed because the weather has been so cold this year. I am afriad that all will ripen on the same day and I won't be able to keep up with the harvest.
I am still harvesting the Bibb lettuce variety (?) from Territorial that claims it is slow to bolt. Since we've had an unusually cool summer, the claim has held true, and it has been delightful in salads.
Two nights ago we picked the first ears of sweet corn. They were just a little bit under-ripe, so hopefully the rest will come (if I can keep the raccoons out) to enjoy with the tomatoes.
I am trying to clear the garden of weeds this weekend so that I can plant some cabbage, some cultivated arugula, some more beets, and perhaps some cauliflower. This is just about the outer limit for planting the fall garden, except for perhaps some radishes. That is my plan for Saturday, on Sunday I will be working and babysitting my newest little grandchild, he is just adorable!
Friday, August 07, 2009
Contest Winners Announced! Finally!
OK, the contest is over, I've cooked the recipes (I apologize, it took longer than I thought) and I am announcing that Serene Bean is the winner for the squash-stuffed chicken recipe.
The runners up are 1badmamawolf for her stuffed zucchini, and Lisa Marie for the chip recipes.
Please send me an email through MFJ connection to claim your prizes!
The runners up are 1badmamawolf for her stuffed zucchini, and Lisa Marie for the chip recipes.
Please send me an email through MFJ connection to claim your prizes!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Zucchini recipe contest
The zucchini are coming in, and they are piling up! I still have shredded zucchini in the freezer from last year, so I'm sponsoring a contest. Leave me your unusual zucchini recipe in a comment!
By unusual I mean -
- No zucchini bread
- No chocolate cake
- No ratatouille recipe or anything with canned/jarred spaghetti sauce
- No faux apple pie
- No chicken/cream soup casserole with or without stuffing
- No deep-fried anything
I already have a lot of recipes like those.
What I'd like are hors d'ouvres, soups, salads, something for the freezer that doesn't result in an unappetizing green icicle. Your recipe should be YOUR original recipe, and you must give me permission to publish it, acknowledging you as the author.
First prize is a vintage hand-embroidered table runner and creamer/sugar bowl set with goldtone (or maybe gold?) trim. Second prize is a vintage apron.
Deadline is July 20th at 5:00 pm. Good luck!
By unusual I mean -
- No zucchini bread
- No chocolate cake
- No ratatouille recipe or anything with canned/jarred spaghetti sauce
- No faux apple pie
- No chicken/cream soup casserole with or without stuffing
- No deep-fried anything
I already have a lot of recipes like those.
What I'd like are hors d'ouvres, soups, salads, something for the freezer that doesn't result in an unappetizing green icicle. Your recipe should be YOUR original recipe, and you must give me permission to publish it, acknowledging you as the author.
First prize is a vintage hand-embroidered table runner and creamer/sugar bowl set with goldtone (or maybe gold?) trim. Second prize is a vintage apron.
Deadline is July 20th at 5:00 pm. Good luck!
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