Tag: summer

homesteading, in the kitchen, Seasons

Apple Processing Day

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Our backyard apple tree produced 14 pounds of usable fruit this year. It took two of us, with the ladder and some careful contortioning, to harvest nearly all of it. I don’t do anything to protect the fruit from the rest of Nature, no spraying and no little fruit socks. (I bought a package of fruit socks one year, and the process of getting one sock on one apple while I was still standing on the ground was challenging enough that I’ve never been inspired to try to do it from the top of a ladder.) The resulting fruit is …

homesteading

Harvest Time: Grapes

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This is the third bowl of grapes harvested this year. This is the biggest bowl I have, sitting here in one of our patio chairs. I didn’t weigh it but I expect it’s about 25-30 pounds of grapes. At the time I brought this bowl in, I already had 8 pints of home-dried raisins in the fridge. I now have several pounds of frozen grapes in the freezer. And I’ve given away grapes to several neighbors, at least one of whom had jelly ambitions. I have not made grape jelly this year as we are still eating our way through …

homesteading, in the kitchen, Seasons

Harvest time: Tomatoes

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I think I’m going to stop trying to grow any tomatoes that aren’t a cherry variety. For the last few years, I’ve put in a couple cherry tomato plants and a couple of others. I get little tomatoes, Sungolds and Sweet Millions, not loads, but some, but very few of the big tomatoes. My neighbors last year got lots of big tomatoes, so it’s probably more my fault as a tomato grower than the fault of the tomatoes or our summers. But perhaps it’s time to acknowledge and run with what I appear to be good at. Because I can …

homesteading, in the kitchen, Seasons

Preserving Season

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I’ve discovered Preserves this summer. Sure, I’ve been “preserving” for a few years now: freezing, drying, canning, etc. And I’ve certainly preserved fruit before. But a Preserve. It’s not whole or sliced fruit floating in simple syrup. It’s not jam or jelly. It’s somewhere between the two: chunks of fruit in a syrup, often with additional flavors. I know it sounds strange, but I’m finding preserves to be a little bit more flexible, more “ready to eat” than just fruit in jars. See, I canned apricots back in 2010. Almost 20 pints of golden orange yumminess. We’re still eating them. …

field trips, Seasons

Summer Journal: Wandering in Canada

 

Back in July, we took a two week road trip to break in Caitlyn’s passport. I mean, Canada is right there. How is it that we hadn’t gone yet??? So we raided the library, mixed up some gorp/trail mix, loaded the car and embarked on a trip that turned out to be mostly about boats, trees, and swimming in everything possible. Here are a few highlights: Caitlyn sights Canada. We enjoyed an afternoon tea at Butchart Gardens. Food and setting were lovely. I felt underdressed (but then anything short of Lady Grantham would have left me feeling underdressed). Our smallest …

in the kitchen, Seasons

Pesto Time

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I admit I have a tendency to over-stock. I routinely add extra fabric to whatever I think I’ll need for a project. I like to have extra time to get from here to there. My idea of what is “enough” food to have on hand is frankly a bit ridiculous. I keep a pantry like I imagine someone might if they lived on a tiny forested island where the nearest grocery store was 100 miles and a boat ride away. If we ever have a real zombie apocalypse, I know of several people who plan to come camp at our …