Garden and Pickles Update

Pickle making is going well. Right now I'm up to 11 quarts and 19 pints of pickles. All are dill so far. Some are cucumber, some are squash and some are green beans. Isaiah loves the dilly beans!!


The garden is also going well. The squash have slowed down a bit but I think they'll perk back up. It's been 90 every day and it hasn't really rained in weeks and I think it's wearing on them. Here are a few snaps of the garden life:



I love how the cucumbers hide in little cozy spots to grow. They are doing so well!! I'm so excited to have cucmbers that actually grow unlike last year.



This is the first butternut squash to start really forming. I am so excited about them and making soup this fall!




The green beans are also doing well. I think they are so pretty. I love the dainty little flowers that form first. And I love how the vines with come out and attach to me as I'm searching for beans. They are also shy little things, hiding behind the leaves all the time.



The tomatoes are getting there... still green though. Isaiah's plant has been the only one to produce red tomatoes. And he's eaten them all up as fast as he can!



The zucchini leaves are back to looking prehistoric so I think they'll be back soon!

first big bounty of the season!

I'd been gone for a few days. When I went to water the garden today a lot had grown! I was so excited to have such a big harvest already. Especially after last year when the ground hogs ate everything.


I decided since there was more than I could really eat and there are cucmbers that will be ready in a day or two, that I would go right into pickles.



(sorry for the picture being turned, this keeps happening no matter what I do and I'm not sure howw to fix it yet. When I do, I'll fix it here)


These are a basic dill pickles with a little garlic and peppercorn. I made a salt/vinegar brine and put them in a water bath for 10 minutes. Yum!!

Pickled Eggs

Pickled eggs seemed like the logical conclusion to my obsession with making pickles all summer and the chickens really kicking production into high gear. So since I can't sleep in past 7 anymore, I got up and made pickled eggs this morning.

Fill a clear/sterile jar with peeled, hard boiled eggs, 1 sliced onion and 1 peeled clove of garlic.
In a sauce pan, heat just to boiling: handful of dill seed, handful of peppercorns, 1/2 handful of mustard seeds with 2 cups vinegar, 1 cup water and a few teaspoons of pickling salt.
Pour this mixture over the eggs and put the lid on tight. Let it cool on the countertop for the afternoon and then store in the fridge.
All the websites say not to store them in the cupboard anymore... but people did for years so I'm sure it's fine. As I'll probabaly be feeding most of these to my 2 year old, I'm gonna store them in the fridge just to be safe.

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Sorry I haven't been posting as often lately! I've started a knitting business and it's keeping me so busy! Come see my facebook page here .

how big is your pickle....

....cupboard??



Freezer: Strawberry freezer jam, Strawberries, Blueberry freezer jam, Blueberry Lemon jello jam, Blueberries, Raspberry freezer jam, Peach freezer jam.



Yellow squash pickles, Zuchini pickles, Dill, Bread and Butter, Hot and Sweet...



Pear Vanilla jam, Watermelon jam, Chow Chow, dilly beans, Gardina pickles, basil pickles...

I'm a very happy squirrel this summer :)

insert witty title here

Gardenia Pickles and Dilly Beans! Gardenia pickels are cauliflower, cucumbers (from the garden), zucchini (from mom's garden), green pepper (from TC's dad's garden), carrots, and green beans (from my garden). The dilly beans are thanks to my friend Amy who brought me a big bag of beans this morning.



cucumber from the garden


green beans and pea pods from the garden


dinner the other night: fresh biscuits, cherries and green beans. I love summer.


xoxo

more pickles and new sprouts

Making pickles at my moms today. We make dill zucchini pickles, bread and butter pickles and bread and butter squash pickles.


Cucumber sprouts! Take that, ground hog!!!


I love how tomatillas look like Japanese lanterns at this stage.


I picked a bowl of pears to make pear butter with tomorrow.

pickles and pants

Boy shorts I finished today. I didn't end up knitting them rainbow style, I like the stripes more. I think they will make good pajamas.


Canned pears from the pear tree in our back yard. They are cooked in simple syrup with some lemon juice. So good.


Zucchini Pickles


Bread and Butter Pickled Green Beans. Might be good?

summer bounty!

freezer corn

veggies before---

veggies after!!!

18 jars of pickles: 7 dill, 3 hot and sweet, 5 bread and butter and 3 yellow squash.
I also made zucchini bread and shredded 7 bags of zucchini ready for bread making this winter.

making sauerkraut

I used to think that I hated sauerkraut. I'm glad I tried it again a few years ago. Now we eat it all the time. The good, fresh stuff can be a little pricey so I looked into making it and found that it is quite simple. All you need is cabbage, salt, a crock or big jar and a knife.

I cut the cabbage quite fine. I've found that when I've tried to use my food processor it did not work very well. The kraut didn't turn out very well. So I stick with cutting it by hand. It's not as fine as what we would buy at the store, but it is still very good.

I layer it in the jar with a little bit of salt sprinkled over each layer.

It needs a little bit of a weight to push the cabbage down under the brine as it is released from the cabbage. I used a glass with some warm water on it. I generally cover this with a cloth (to keep out any flies or what-not) and leave it on the kitchen counter for a few weeks. I'll post again when it gets to that step.