A Busy July- Preserving The Harvests (Part 1)

Though I have been absent from blogging life on the homestead has been a flurry of activity.
We have been busy preserving the harvests. It has been almost 3 solid weeks of canning, freezing and dehydrating, not to mention keeping up with the other chores.
The cucumbers and jalapenos were producing like crazy the first part of the month, along with the blackberries and blueberries. There was also a large harvest of Roma tomatoes.
The cucumbers and jalapenos were pickled. Blueberries were frozen for eating and making syrup later this Fall when things slow down a bit. Blackberries were turned into jelly. Roma tomatoes were sliced and dehydrated.

So far 9 jars of jelly, 4 quarts of blueberries, 13 pints of pickles, 17 jars of jalapenos and 7 quarts of dehydrated tomatoes have been tucked away for winter enjoyment.

A Sad Harvest

Well we dug our potatoes today. A sad harvest for sure. Just a couple of bushels and tiny to boot. This garden year has been extremely difficult on the homestead. A wet cold spring that jumped head on into a hot dry summer has stressed our garden to the max. On the bright side, they may be little but they are delicious.

We can only hope the sweet potato harvest will be better.

Salt Brine Pickle Success

We as promised I said I would let you know how they turned out. Success! I liked the flavor of the ones that had the horseradish leaf in the jar better than the grape leaf and I think they are crisper too.

A hint of dill and a bite from the red pepper flakes. YUM!
This will definitely be a fridge staple as long as the cucumbers keep producing.

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!