In Full Swing

Well, as I sit here this morning, I am again canning more pickles. Today's flavor is bread and butter pickles. I am trying a few different flavors to see which I like the best, then I will know what I want to continue to make in the future. Actually, I probably will continue to make all the flavors, as I am not sure what flavor my child will like the best.

The harvest is in full swing here, as I am getting a bit out of my garden. To be honest, my garden isn't doing as good as I thought it would. My peas are spotty, and we have resorted to just eating them straight off the vine. My daughter gets a kick out of being able to pick them and eat them herself.

My corn I started about 2 weeks later than most people, so as some of the corn around here is tasseled out...mine is not. My chili peppers are doing great. Them I am having a great go at. Unfortunately, my green bell peppers....well, let's just say I am glad the farmers market isn't far away.

My zucchini is producing just enough for me. I am glad I have what I do...no more, no less. My acorn squash is going to be coming out of my ears...LOL Oh well.

As for my cucumbers, I am getting enough to pickle, and my tomato plants are full, and starting to ripen. I am a bit disappointed with them, as I thought that my fruit would be bigger, but I have a lot, so I will be able to start canning my salsa soon as well. I also want to try corn relish this year....I like corn relish, corn salsa...whatever you want to call it. I have liked it when I tried it before...I think I am going to try making some of my own. I had thought about zucchini relish, but I think I am going to keep it simple this year. I don't want to go overboard.

That is what is happening at our place. =)

Zucchini Pickles...

I canned my first batch of pickles for the 2012 season this morning. In stead of all my jars filled with cucumbers, I filled 2 jars with zucchini slices. I am going to see how that works. I didn't do anything different than what I would do with cucumbers...so we will see.

I didn't think to take a picture this morning, but they look good. I am actually really excited about how they may turn out. I will let you know.

If you are looking for my recipe...I will be honest...I cheated. I used the Mrs. Wages Kosher Dill Pickle packet you can buy at your local supermarket. I didn't mix a big batch together, just for the fact that I only wanted to make the small 4 pint batch to see how it would work out with the zucchini. I am going to do more later...like I said, I just wanted to try the zucchini.

The news in my life.....

Good Morning all...

I hope this post finds you well and life is treating you the same. It has been a couple weeks since I have posted anything. Quite frankly, I have been busy. It has been a terrible busy couple of weeks around here.

The garden is getting to the point where I am starting to harvest and get ready for canning items. I have been looking for new recipes to try along with some of the old favorites. We have been foraging for wild edibles when given the chance and just beating the heat. We had a week almost week and a  half of terribly hot and dangerous weather. My child and I spent many hours at the lake cooling off and staying refreshed.

Today brings us to the 19th of July. Wow...we are over halfway to Yule, Christmas, Hanukkah...whichever holiday you celebrate. Even if you don't....then the Winter Solstice (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere).

Back to my garden. I realized as I planted this year...that I got some of my seeds mixed up. When I thought I was planting cucumbers for pickles, I guess I planted acorn squash...So instead of 4 plants of cucumbers, I have 4 acorn squash...and only 2 cucumbers. I seemed to do okay with zucchini...as I only have 2 of those plants, but I think I am going to use zucchini to make pickles this year as well as cucumbers. I am going to try something different. I will let you know how that turns out. In face, I will probably be pickling early next week...so watch for that post coming up.

Hmmm...what else is new...Not much. Life, like anything else keep going and going and going. I didn't even honestly realize it has been so long since I was on here until I checked in. I guess being an active member of the nature community, I take advantage of the outdoors when I can. With the weather being so nice, we are out there a lot.

On that note, I hope you all have a wonderful day. Like I said, look for posts next week on pickling. I will post my recipes as I go along as well. Many blessings to you and yours!

Happy 4th...a day early!

I want to wish all of you in the US a Happy 4th of July. As the barbecues are rolling and drinks passed around. Remember why we have this "freebie" day off in the beginning of July.

Be safe as well... =)