Pickle Time

Sis is out of town for a week and her garden is way ahead of mine. Mom has been overseeing it and yesterday plopped a large basket of cucumbers on my counter. Today I canned 8 pints of a combination of spears and slices.

 When done I still had a pile of slices left so I decided to try and make old fashioned salt pickles.. Apparently cucumbers are bad to mold so we will cross our fingers they turn out. In one jar I put 2 grape leaves (for added crispness) fresh dill, garlic and red pepper flakes. The other jar is the same except I put a fresh horseradish leaf in. I used a 5 % brine made with pink Himalayan sea salt. A 5% brine is supposed to make a "full sour pickle".

Now they will sit covered for 7-10 days. I will let you know! 

Ready For Tea!

A few weeks ago I harvested the chamomile flowers and put them in my dehydrator to air dry. Today I pulled out the trays and Wha-la! perfectly dried flowers ready for making hot tea when the months turn cooler. I wish you could smell this. It is amazing!

Solar Sun Oven

I have wanted a sun oven for years. The concept of using the sun to cook has always intrigued me and I finally stumbled on a deal I couldn't refuse! Anything that bakes in a regular oven can be baked in the solar oven, even bread and cookies. Today I cooked a whole meal in it.
I set it out around 11 this morning and while it preheated I put my meal together.

My menu was chicken quarters over a medley of root veggies of purple sweet potatoes, carrots and Jerusalem artichokes. I seasoned them with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

The oven was ready to go so I popped my covered roaster in and walked away. The only thing I did was occasionally reposition it in the direction of the sun.

Supper was served at 6:30 this evening!

The kitchen has smelled delicious for the last few days as a large pot of lamb stock has simmered for the last 48 hours. Freezing and canning season are just around the corner, not to mention we will be processing our meat birds very soon. I have been trying to make some room in the freezer so I pulled out a large bag of bones to cook and can up some stock.

Today I strained it and canned 7 quarts of a gorgeous stock the will add nutrients and a rich flavor to soups and dried beans!