Canning

Wow!   Where has the time gone?  It's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted.   I can tell you what I've been doing.......canning.    And more canning.   And working on plans for our soon-to-be-installed kitchen.   That's a lot to do at the same time.

We seem to be swimming in tomatoes these days, but I'm excited to see how many jars of tomato sauce and tomato paste I've been able to can recently.

Notice the crock sitting on the floor in front of the A/C register.  That's our sauerkraut fermenting in the cool breeze.   Pretty soon it will be time to can the sauerkraut, too.  

This is the handiest gadget ever.   Tomatoes get fed in the funnel on the right while I hand crank the workings.   And the seeds and skins automatically come out in the green dish while the good pulp and juice travels down the chute into the white bowl.   Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Well, you get the idea.  All the pulp in the white bowl is dumped into a pot to simmer for hours on the stove and turn into sauce.  And in a separate pot, the plum and paste tomatoes become paste.  Yummy!

Today I picked 64 lbs. of tomatoes and then got caught in a downpour so I had to stop.   There are still ripe tomatoes out in the garden but they will have to wait till the morning.   It's so rewarding to cook out the watery part of the tomato and end up with nice, rich tomato sauce.  I know we will really enjoy consuming all these tomato products in the dead of winter when we crave fresh flavors from the garden.

And then there is this delicious plate......Linguini with Summer Sauce, a favorite recipe of Joel's from cousin Linda's recipe box.   To do this dish proud, you need to make it in the summertime when the tomatoes are at their peak.   It's simply chopped tomatoes simmered on the stovetop with garlic.   After the linguini is cooked, butter is melted in the pan and dried basil is added and then the pasta is tossed in the golden herb mixture.   Throw the tomatoes on top and shave some Parmegiano Regiano cheese over the whole glorious mess.   Yummy, yummy!

Since it won't be summer for another 10 months, it finally dawned on me that I could can up some Summer Sauce and we would be able to enjoy it year round.   Oh, my, Joel will be overjoyed!

Um, yeah, we've been going through a few canning jars lately.  

But I have been doing other things besides canning.   I've made some new acquaintances lately at a new quilt guild that I joined.   Two of the ladies in particular have taken me under their wing and we took a quilt field trip last Wednesday.   This pic is of Becky's Barn in Clark Range, TN.   Her hubby renovated this barn that used to house critters and hay and now it's an awesome quilt shop/retreat for ladies who travel in from all over the country to stay in one of the 4 bedrooms and quilt as long as they want to without interruption.   Some quilters only stay for a couple days, others stay for a week!

There's a fully equipped kitchen in the back of the barn where the ladies prepare their own meals.   Each has their own bed with a lovely quilt gracing it and the bedrooms come complete with a full bathroom.   What a great idea!    Last year they even added a covered porch with a picnic table, chairs for relaxing and overhead fans to help keep a cool breeze blowing.   Becky even has a wonderful quilt store inside where you can purchase fabric, books and patterns galore.   Sounds like a fun way to spend some time with friends, doing what we love best.....making quilts.

After hitting another quilt store, we retreated back to Crossville to have lunch.   Valerie on the left is the applique teacher extraordinaire and Kathi in the center creates the most beautiful art quilts.   It's so nice to have met 2 women who are kindred spirits and I think we may get into a lot of mischief, er, um, I mean, I think we will have lots of fun together in the future.

But back to the farm, during a break in the rain this afternoon I went out to the blueberry bush to pick some of the last berries off the bush.   I will miss these little beauties until next summer.   It's been such a pleasure to walk outside and stand at the bush and pop the warm, sweet berries right in my mouth.

While I was standing there I looked off into our woods and spotted the first tree with red leaves on it.....yes, Fall is right around the corner.   And I can hardly wait.   This year will be the first time in 35 years that I will experience all the nuances of Fall from start to finish.   I plan on cutting down our cornstalks and using them to decorate our porch, along with the pumpkins we've been growing in the garden.   I just love Fall and the change to crisp, cool days.....perfect blue jean weather.

But it's not quite time for all of that yet.  For now, this is my life.....rummaging through the garden in my pink Real-Tree camo boots, picking all the harvest I can reach.  

What a blessing,
Debbie

Peaceful Day

One of the benefits of living where we do is the peace, quiet and solitude that can be found by simply walking out our back screen door.   Today is one of those days I'd like to "can" so that when I feel stressed I can recall this wonderful feeling of contentment.   There is a mist covering the high spots of our valley below the farm and all I can hear when I step outside is the twittering of birds around our feeder.

The flowers hanging from the pavilion are giving up the last of their colorful blooms as August begins to fade into September.

And I noticed that the oak trees are getting ready to drop their steady supply of acorns.   A few trees have leaves that have started to turn yellow.   Wow, is Fall really that close?

 Yesterday Joel and I double-teamed the tomato picking in the garden and we managed to pick on just one side of the garden before the rains started.   The crazy thing is, we brought in 56 lbs. of tomatoes!  Yes!  I know....and you should see the green tomatoes yet to ripen.  

 That meant that today was "let's cook the tomatoes" day.   They all got a quick wash in the sink and cored.   Then I brought out my trusty gadget that separates the pulp from the seeds and skins.   It sure makes quick work of prepping the tomatoes for the cook pot.

The two largest pots have sauce simmering in them and the small pot in the front has paste tomatoes cooking down into a thick tomato paste.   Later today it will all get canned and processed for use later this winter.   I wonder how many lbs. of tomatoes are on the other side of the garden waiting for us?  

Even though picking, cleaning, cooking and canning all this produce means hours in the kitchen most days, I have to say that I am loving every single minute of it!    This has been a dream of mine for years and now it is my reality.  It brings me a feeling of deep satisfaction to grow these organic veggies that I know are nutrient dense because of the variety of plants we grew and the soil in which we have grown them.

Yesterday I also went out and dug up another 20 lbs. of potatoes.   Those needed to be canned in the pressure canner because they are so low in acid.   Now all I have to do to make mashed potatoes is open up a jar and heat and mash!   And potato salad only requires that the potatoes get drained and mayonnaise added.  It's worth the work up front to make meals so much easier to prepare the rest of the year.   I kept thinking I'd have the potatoes done by the time the tomatoes needed to be dealt with, but the constant rain kept me from digging them up.   Now I guess I'll be working on both at the same time.

Every once in a while a girl has to take a break and love on her favorite puppy, Molly.   I still can't believe how much I've grown attached to a dog.  A Dog!   I know!   Who knew there was a dog person hiding somewhere deep inside me? 

Ok, time to get back in the kitchen,
Debbie

Harvest Time

 Yes, we are in the thick of it.   August is that time of year when it seems all the plants have decided to give you their greatest yield....all at the same time.  

Our fennel has done really well.    I love slicing fennel and root veggies like sweet potatoes and carrots, drizzling olive oil over the whole happy bunch and roasting them in the oven so the outside of the veggies caramelize.   You've never tasted sweeter vegetables than when you roast them.   Yum!

And the 4 cherry tomato plants in the potager garden have gone nuts.   Seriously.   There's just no other way to describe it.   The plants are so large that they have toppled one of the cages and spread out over an 8' area of the garden.  I had no idea they would get so large and yield so much.   Next year I need to build an arbor to attach them to so I can manage them better.  And the tomatoes are just delicious.

Every time I lift a branch I find more and more of these luscious tomatoes.

This was the yield we had after picking just one day.   And we can pick this many every 3-4 days!

And we also have these wonderful yellow tomatoes out in the main garden.   Hmmmm, now what should I do with all of these?   Well, how about roasting them?

That's exactly what I did.   After cutting the larger yellow tomatoes in half, I placed parchment paper on a sheet pan, put both kinds of tomatoes and several cloves of garlic and a few sprigs of fresh thyme on the paper.   All the happy veggies got drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven for 45 minutes.   You should have been in my kitchen that day.....it smelled like Nona's Tuscan kitchen.....
 Giving the veggies a quick whirr in the Cuisinart produced a chunky sauce.  

I spooned the sauce into jelly jars and topped them off with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and put the lids on and popped them into the freezer.   Now, deep in the winter I can thaw out a jar,  toss it with some freshly cooked pasta and grate Parmesano Reggiano cheese over the top and we'll have a taste of summer in our mouth. 

I also used up some tomatoes by making a batch of salsa.   Experimenting with different recipes is the theme of the month around here.   Well, I had better close for now because the garden is beckoning me back out there. 

Keeping my tan going,
Debbie

The Great Pig Escape

Yes, you read it right.....the pigs escaped from their pen.   I had spent hours in the kitchen canning and was taking a break mid-afternoon reading my emails on the computer.   Something outside caught my eye and I looked up to see Pork Chop and Bacon romping thru our trees and heading down toward the seven acres of woods.  Oh, man!  If they get lost down there we may never recover them.

That's not good.   I yelled out for Joel and Jeremy and the three of us took off outside, trying out best to herd the pigs back in the general direction of their pen.   Hahahahaha.....like that was going to happen!

Ummmm, looks like Joel forgot to chain the gate.   Bet he won't do that again.  We ran behind the pigs and tried to lead them back to their pen.....Joel was talking to them like he always does when he goes to feed them, hoping that they might follow him because they were familiar with him.    They weren't having any of that!   Did you know that pigs can run really fast?    Yeah, really fast.

It's been raining here all weekend and the sun had just come out when the pigs escaped.   The temps soared as well as the humidity and we were all dripping wet from running around trying to corral the little suckers.    The chickens were oblivious to all the carrying on outside their run.   Just pecking and scratching going on inside their little world.

Uh-oh.   The side property line of the farm has a barbed wire fence running the entire length of our property.....except for a few feet.   Wouldn't you know it, those industrious critters found their way past the barbed wire and into our neighbors field.   The brush is so thick thru there that the guys didn't even attempt going in there.   Joel and Jeremy kept running down our fence line trying to keep the pigs in sight.

Pretty soon I spotted them coming back the same way they went into the field.   Jeremy had gone up to the house and grabbed some apples, one of their favorite treats.   He was hoping that they might be enticed to follow Joel if they knew he had apples waiting for them.   Nope.   Nadda.   They could have cared less.   They were having the time of their lives.   At least they stayed together.   That's one good thing about them being siblings, I suppose.

Good girl, Bacon.   Come on girl.   Well, at least they came back onto our land.   We spent the better part of an hour trying to prod, push, corral, and lead them back to their pen.....all of it was in vain.   By now the pigs were panting as it was really hot and they hadn't had any water.  Every once in a while they would lie down next to each other under a tree, trying to cool off.   I went off searching for rope, thinking that if we could just lasso them while they were down and out, maybe we could finally get them into their pen.

Guess what I found out?   We are a farm without a rope.  Not a single, lousy piece of rope was to be found.   Nowhere!   Unbelievable!   You know what I'm buying this week, don't you?   Yessiree!

Just when it seemed we had all reached an impasse, Joel remembered some red nylon rope-like stuff in his truck.   We ran up to get it while Jeremy sat with the pigs.

But the pigs were on the move again.  Seriously???   Now we were just plain old irritated that they wouldn't cooperate.   Another 15 minutes and they laid down under the trees again, really panting hard this time.

Joel made a noose of sorts with the rope and managed to get it around Bacon's neck.   She was not too happy, let me tell you.   There was quite a bit of squealing going on while Joel and Jeremy pulled her into the pen.   Ok, one down, one to go.

It took us another 10 minutes, but we finally got Pork Chop in the pen, too.   Boy, were they ever glad to be back where they had access to water and their mud hole.

Jeremy sprayed them down to help cool them off and they both promptly laid down in their mud hole.   It's a pig thing.   Joel still had to remove the red rope from around Bacon's neck and we were done.   And it only took us an hour and a half.   Brother.

As the three of us wearily walked back toward the house, the pigs laid in their wallow....happy to be home once again.  Let's hope we never have to repeat this adventure.

Going rope shopping this week,
Debbie

Our "New" Old Kitchen Table

Yippee!   I finally found a kitchen table to replace the bad boy that opened Joel's skull 3 weeks ago when he passed out.   The old table was too "Florida" for the farmhouse and it was way too large for our little eat-in kitchen.   Last Thursday I was traveling back home after a trip into town when I passed some furniture set up for the 127 Yard Sale.   More on that later.

I pulled in and explained what size table I was looking for and there she was.    A table that came from an estate of a 90+ year old woman.   The table is from the 1930's and I instantly fell in love with it.   The antique dealer and I loaded it into the back of my car and I brought it home.  And left it in the car until the next day.   And then.......I got up the nerve to tell Joel I had bought a table for our kitchen.   Sometimes he loves when I "find" things like this and sometimes he doesn't like my treasures as much as I do.   

The joke was on me this time.   When I finally took him outside to see the table that was hiding in my car, he loved it!  How about that?    Even in its dirty state he could see what I saw in it.....a sturdy white oak table with really cool lines.  

Yuk!  I told you it was dirty. 

And the front wasn't much better.   After a good scrubbing it started to look a little bit better.     Well, just a little bit.

I spent the better part of an hour getting up close and personal with an orbital sander and some 150 grit sandpaper.   Next,, we hauled it into the kitchen onto a tarp for a fresh coat of paint.   Molly was my helper, can you tell?  I painted some strategic places underneath just to freshen things up a bit.   The legs and apron got 2 coats of paint....my favorite color.....Linen from Benjamin Moore.
After painting the top we hauled it outside again and I took the sander to the top once again to create a worn look.  

And this is how it looks with our old pineapple carved kitchen chairs.    I think we're going to like it!

Here's a close up of the table top.   At each short end of the table there are narrow leaves that come out from underneath the table and snap into place level with the tabletop.   When both leaves are up in place it turns the table that seats 4 into a table that seats 6.  Perfect for our eat-in kitchen.

And this is what the table looks like with the extensions back in place under the table.   Ta-da!   Works for me!

And I like the crossed leg supports under the table.  We're really glad this table is nice and sturdy.   All it needed was some TLC and a little paint.   Tonight I applied the first coat of clear wax to the table.   Tomorrow the second and third coats will be applied and then I think we can start using the table for our meals.  Waxing the tabletop gives it a soft patina and makes it impervious to liquids.   This table should last another 30 years now.

The size of this table is so much more appropriate for our kitchen and the worn paint finish certainly looks more farmhouse-like than the modern glass and metal base table we removed.  It also feels good to be one step closer to having a completed kitchen....even if it is just a table.  

Gonna put a heating pad on my sore painting, sanding, waxing arm now,
Debbie

Tea, Anyone?

 Don't you just love a good cup of tea?  Steaming hot, flavored with some honey or raw sugar...maybe a dab of milk or cream to color it.   Even though I talk about my beloved cappuccino all the time, I really do enjoy a cup of my favorite tea, raspberry, every once in a while.   Especially when it is served in one of my pretty tea cups.   But, sigh, all the tea cups are still packed away until the kitchen cabinets get installed.  So for now, I'll just settle for using a big mug instead.

Recently I bought a book entitled Homegrown Tea by Cassie Liversidge which describes how you can grow so many different herbs and flowers to create your own tea (tisanes, actually) and I was hooked.    It is amazing the variety of plants that our great-grandmothers used to make teas and tisanes.   And each and every one of the plants used has a different flavor and some even possess healing qualities.  While all true tea is derived from one plant, Camellia sinensis, whether it is green, oolong or black tea, a tisane refers to other plants that can be brewed just like tea leaves.

To that end I installed some plants this Spring into the potager garden in their own section near the herbs specifically to be used for tisanes.   I thought it would be fun to experiment with different combinations of the dried plants in my tea cup.  So far I've grown lemon verbena, lemon balm, lemon grass, 2 different scented geraniuims(yes, these can actually be used for tisanes!), chamomile, lavender and varying mints.  Even the leaves of the strawberry plants can be brewed into a tisane.   Who knew?

Over the last few weeks I've been dehydrating my herbs and the plants I plan on using for tisanes.....which has kept the dehydrator running almost 24/7.  And next I'll show you how I turn them into a tisane.

One ball jar has a tea sized measuring spoon and tea bags meant to be filled at home.   The bags are sealed on 3 sides with one remaining side left open for you to fill.   I like using these bags as they are not bleached and no chemicals will leach into the hot water in my cup while letting the contents of the bag steep.

When herbs are dehydrated and stored in a ball jar, it's best not to crush them yet.   Crushing them at the time you plan on using them releases the scent and oils that are naturally stored in the herbs and gives you the peak flavor at the time of cooking/brewing.   So I took some dehydrated peppermint leaves and placed them into a tea bag until I had it just over half full.   Then, it's off to the ironing board.  Yup, you heard me right.   The ironing board.

The bags will seal shut with just a few seconds under a hot iron and, voila!   You have your very own tea bag ready to brew a fresh cup of tea.

Pretty slick, huh?  While I have the iron on I usually make up a few bags of different types of tisane and slip them back inside the jar so the next time I want to brew a cup, I have a tea bag all ready to use.  Just before putting the bag into the cup I crush the leaves inside the bag, releasing all those heady aromas and oils.  Pour water that has just been boiled into the cup and let it steep for several minutes until the liquid has the amount of scent, color and taste you desire.    Experiment!   It's fun to mix various plants to create your own flavored tisanes.

Ok, so that was your lesson on tea and tisanes.    But there is more going on here during this busy harvest season.   Joel and I went out every third day the last few weeks and picked more blackberries, brought them into the house and picked thru them to remove debris, and layered them on baking sheets to freeze them.   Once frozen they were measured and packed into bags to be vacuum sealed and dated.   Then they got popped back into the deep freeze to become pies and cobblers later this winter.   I think blackberry season is finally over.  Whew!   That was a lot of picking....and I still have a few tiny thorns in my hands to prove it.

 And this is what my kitchen looks like everyday now.   Full of fresh produce from the garden.....you can see our first couple of bowls of yummy tomatoes, and the never ending supply of yellow crookneck squash and zucchini.   The carrots are still producing and so are the radishes.   And I have beets to get pulled sometime this week and pickle them, too.

Let's not forget the dehydrator.   Thank goodness for that baby!  After I'm done drying the herbs I'm going to try making sun dried tomatoes in it.....and then they will get packed in virgin olive oil.   Yum!

Yup.  Nothing like organized chaos.   Canning lids, jars and pectin.....all necessities for putting up our bounty.   At least we found a way to make this busy season work in my makeshift kitchen.  It may not be pretty, but it's functional.

Seeing these beautiful veggies and knowing we grew them makes them taste all the better.   Now does anyone out there have a new way to use up zucchini?   bah-ha-ha-ha!   But seriously, you gotta love how pretty all these veggies are.

Oh, yeah.  In the midst of all the veggies I still needed to separate the cream from the raw milk we picked up at the Farmer's Market.  Every Friday is "make butter" day.   With the help of my Cuisinart, in just minutes we had butter and buttermilk for the next week.

Friday is also "Bar Food Friday" at our house, so I made up some pizza dough and let it rise in the warm kitchen.   Making pizzas at dinnertime is a snap after a long day canning and freezing foods.

Well, that's what I did last Friday.   This week is going to be all about digging up potatoes and canning them.   Last night Joel and I dug up a 3' section which yielded 7-1/2lbs. of beautiful white potatoes.    Hmmmmm......we have 2 rows, each 22' long to dig up yet.   And then another 1/2 row of Yukon Gold potatoes.  I can't even begin to imagine how many pounds of potatoes that is going to yield!

Still at it,
Debbie