Allelon Farm

Mostly the Same

2008-11-15T10:12:00.004-06:00

Here's the updated list--just about all that's added is the muscadine jam that Keith made (and is DELICIOUS!!) and drying rosemary, I think. I would say this is probably all, but we'll make Christmas jam soon. We would use our strawberries for that (frozen from early summer), but we just used the last of those, so we'll have to use some from the store.

Food Preservation 2008

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
6/30 Wild blackberries / froze 1 qt
7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints
7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts
7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2 pts
7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts
7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts
7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt
7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts
7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts
7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts
8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts
8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts
8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)
8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts
8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup canned 4.5 qts
8/12 Crushed tomatoes / canned 19 pts
8/13 Garden-fresh-tomato soup / canned 12 qts
8/14 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/14 Pickled peppers / canned 8 ¾-pints, 3 ½-pints
8/15 Peach freezer jam / froze 4 pts
8/15 White peaches / froze 7 qts
8/16 Basil pesto / froze 3 half-pints
8/18 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/19 Elberta peach jam / canned 4 pts
8/19 Elberta peaches / froze 4 qts, 4 1.5 pts
8/19 Keith’s salsa / canned 13 pts
8/25 Pickled peppers / canned 7 pts
9/8 Pepper jelly (red) / canned 7 ½-pints
9/10 Pickles peppers / canned 8 pints
9/15 Applesauce / canned 10 pts
9/16 Applesauce / canned 8 pts
9/16 Apple butter / canned 6 ½-pints
9/17 Sliced apples / canned 9 qts
9/18 Sliced apples / canned 8 qts
9/19 Apple butter / canned 10 ½-pints
Sometime this past week, dried about a qt of apple slices
9/22 Sliced apples / canned 8 qts
9/24 Apple cider / canned 15.5 qts
9/24 Apple cider / froze 4 qts
10/11 Muscadine jam / 4 ½-pints

Fresh apple cider: 8 gallons (?—some of this may have gone toward the 15.5 qts of canned cider??)
Apple cider vinegar: 3.5 gallons
Drying/dried: basil, sage, feverfew, red clover blossoms, rosemary
Collecting seed: butternut squash, Cherokee purple tomato, plum lemon tomato, var. peppers, var. beans

Mary Susan

2nd Amendment

2008-11-15T09:53:00.003-06:00

Here's a video which many of you have probably already seen regarding the 2nd Amendment. I'm not sure when this testimony was given or to what legislative body/committee. I found somewhere that the witness's parents were killed in 1987. (The hair/fashions seem to support that.) Regardless, it's a powerful statement.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4069761537893819675&p

I'm amazed at how many rights we allow to slowly (usually) be taken from us. And somehow "we" are able to be convinced that it's a good thing! And those who see at least a bit of what's happening and try to open others' eyes to it are radical, suspect, fringe-element trouble-makers.

Okay, I don't generally make any sort of political statements, but there you go.

Mary Susan

BTW, if we should happen to receive any nasty comments, they will be deleted.

Food Preservation

2008-10-01T22:04:00.003-05:00

I'm guessing this is about all for now. A friend has a loaded pear tree we could go pick from, but I'm thinking we'll probably skip on that for now. Space in the pantry is being better utilized than it ever has been, but we still had to use some space in the library for a few jars, mainly of beans and cider.

We've got a lot of garden clean-up to do, now!

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
6/30 Wild blackberries / froze 1 qt
7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints
7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts
7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2 pts
7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts
7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts
7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt
7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts
7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts
7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts
8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts
8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts
8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)
8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts
8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup canned 4.5 qts
8/12 Crushed tomatoes / canned 19 pts
8/13 Garden-fresh-tomato soup / canned 12 qts
8/14 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/14 Pickled peppers / canned 8 ¾-pints, 3 ½-pints
8/15 Peach freezer jam / froze 4 pts
8/15 White peaches / froze 7 qts
8/16 Basil pesto / froze 3 half-pints
8/18 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/19 Elberta peach jam / canned 4 pts
8/19 Elberta peaches / froze 4 qts, 4 1.5 pts
8/19 Keith’s salsa / canned 13 pts
8/25 Pickled peppers / canned 7 pts
9/8 Pepper jelly (red) / canned 7 ½-pints
9/10 Pickles peppers / canned 8 pints
9/15 Applesauce / canned 10 pts
9/16 Applesauce / canned 8 pts
9/16 Apple butter / canned 6 ½-pints
9/17 Sliced apples / canned 9 qts
9/18 Sliced apples / canned 8 qts
9/19 Apple butter / canned 10 ½-pints
Sometime this past week, dried about a qt of apple slices
9/22 Sliced apples / canned 8 qts
9/24 Apple cider / canned 15.5 qts
9/24 Apple cider / froze 4 qts

Apple cider: So far, 8 gallons of fresh, 3.5 of which have gone toward making vinegar
Drying: basil, sage, feverfew, red clover blossoms
Collecting seed: butternut squash, Cherokee purple tomato, plum lemon tomato, var. peppers, var. beans

We've never canned or frozen apple cider, but figured we'd give it a try this year. I'm sure it can't be as good as fresh, but we're looking forward to some good mulled cider during the holidays.

One of the cows (#31) gave birth to a bull-calf sometime while we were gone over the extra-long (6 or so days) weekend. This can pose a problem, since a calf gains strength fairly quickly. Also, the cow can be quite protective (frighteningly so, sometimes!). However, #31 is generally not aggressively protective, and is fairly trusting, as far as Angus cows go. She's not our friendliest (which is just a strangely friendly cow for an Angus), but she's not nearly as skittish as the others. We're excited to have a male, but it did pose an extra problem: not only did he need an eartag (which we sometimes forego), but he also needed banding. With his growing strength, and knowing the task at hand would not be a welcome one, Keith and 13yo were ready for a struggle. However, 13yo drove the Mule, circling the calf, while 6yo sat in the Mule with the eartag equipment, and Keith knelt in the back, attempting to rope the calf--and succeeding! They got the calf tagged and banded and were back inside in 20 minutes or so! So we'll soon have a steer calf, instead of a bull calf. What great cowhands!

We'll probably be slaughtering a steer sometime soon. And oh, we're so looking forward to having beef in the freezer again! We ran out awhile ago, and buy very little of it at the store. We've been living on chicken since the pork and beef are pretty much gone, and although at one time, I probably would have said chicken was my favorite meat, I'm all for beef now, since we've had so little lately!

Mary Susan

Gadgets

2008-10-01T12:14:00.002-05:00

Our apple peeler/corer/slicer is the one from Pampered Chef, and we like it. 18yo daughter, who did most of the apple-peeling the last few weeks really likes it. We took the slicer/corer blade off when we didn't want slices, and she peeled them with it. Personally, I think hand-peeling is a bit faster, but she prefers the gadget. However, when we are also coring and slicing, I prefer the gadget. It gives uniform slices, which is especially nice for drying. Also, it takes care of the peeling, coring, and slicing all in one operation. This has two slice-thicknesses to choose from. It doesn't take up much room, and we feel it has been worth the purchase price.

I really like the food mill, too. We use it mainly for tomato sauce, although I also used it for (extremely) crushed tomatoes this year, too. We don't have any additional blades/attachments that are available, but it says it has a salsa blade, which sounds wonderful. This takes up more storage space than I'd like, but we don't use it often, so it gets tucked away somewhere until time for sauce-making. It's a Universal Gourmet Tomato Sauce Maker and Food Strainer, model #800, which I'm fairly sure we got because it's what we could find that fit our desires. (Friends told us to go with this type of food mill, instead of the kind that is more commonly found, and at the moment, I don't recall what that kind was, unless is was one that has some sort of arm/blade/scraper thing that turns horizontally on a screen. They had that kind and switched to the kind we got and said it's a far superior design.)

Mary Susan

Catch-Up

2008-09-23T09:59:00.006-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat busy, what with apples, birthdays, and bluegrass.

Actually, we celebrated three birthdays a week or so back: 17yo daughter is now 18yo daughter; 5yo son is now 6yo son; and mother-in-law, who shares 6yo's birthday is a year older (won't divulge age on that one). We are very blessed by these three, and celebrate and give thanksgiving for them.

6yo's new favorite: Magnetix, given to him by Keith's mother. Loves them so much that they had to be confiscated a few days after he received them so that I could get a proper response/attitude from him about doing chores and academics. (He has re-earned them.)

As I said in the post below, we have been busy with apples since picking them last week: we've put up sliced apples (wedged, really), applesauce, apple butter, cider, and cider vinegar, and aren't done, yet. Hopefully in the next day or so, we'll get the rest of them made into cider. We may try canning some cider, although that sounds disappointing, the fresh cider is so good.

13yo setting up the cider press.

18yo has been at the peeler/corer/slicer a great deal over the past week, but she takes advantage of sitting in one place for awhile by watching multiple episodes of "Jeeves and Wooster."

This past Saturday, the Lingos of Beaverdam Creek Farm had a booth at Belle Meade Plantation's Fall Fest, and asked if our kids could play there, so we took advantage of the opportunity and enjoyed the day at Belle Meade with the Lingos. The Lovetts also were there for awhile; some of the Stouffers dropped by; and it was great to see the Clarks again.

On the way to Belle Meade

6yo, playing with a Tennessee spinner gourd at Belle Meade. He's gotten quite good at spinning it.

Coming up this weekend: the Williams/Logan wedding. We're headed up Thursday (or earlier??) to provide some help; rehearsal/dinner is Friday evening (15yo is helping with the music for the wedding); wedding Saturday afternoon, followed by reception/dinner/dancing/visiting into the night, I'm sure; and church the following day in the reception tent (because it's big enough for the crowd that's coming in for the wedding, some of whom will be attending church). Sounds like it will be a busy weekend, but we're looking forward to it--especially to seeing some of you folks we haven't seen in awhile.

Mary Susan

Apples and Food Preservation

2008-09-23T09:36:00.005-05:00

Last Monday, the kids and I went to the Smiths' place and picked about 5 bushels of apples. It was great to see the Smiths again, and oh, the trees are chock-full of fruit! Mr. Smith says that next year will be something of a down year, since the trees are somewhat stressed with so many apples this year.

After the picking and visiting briefly with the Smiths, we had apples and burgers for lunch at a nearby state park.

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
6/30 Wild blackberries / froze 1 qt
7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints
7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts
7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2 pts
7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts
7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts
7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt
7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts
7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts
7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts
8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts
8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts
8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)
8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts
8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup canned 4.5 qts
8/12 Crushed tomatoes / canned 19 pts
8/13 Garden-fresh-tomato soup / canned 12 qts
8/14 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/14 Pickled peppers / canned 8 ¾-pints, 3 ½-pints
8/15 Peach freezer jam / froze 4 pts
8/15 White peaches / froze 7 qts
8/16 Basil pesto / froze 3 half-pints
8/18 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/19 Elberta peach jam / canned 4 pts
8/19 Elberta peaches / froze 4 qts, 4 1.5 pts
8/19 Keith’s salsa / canned 13 pts
8/25 Pickled peppers / canned 7 pts
9/8 Pepper jelly (red) / canned 7 ½-pints
9/10 Pickles peppers / canned 8 pints
9/15 Applesauce / canned 10 pts
9/16 Applesauce / canned 8 pts
9/16 Apple butter / canned 6 ½-pints
9/17 Sliced apples / canned 9 qts
9/18 Sliced apples / canned 8 qts
9/19 Apple butter / canned 10 ½-pints
Sometime this past week, dried about a qt of apple slices
9/22 Sliced apples / canned 8 qts

Apple cider: So far, 8 gallons, 3 of which have gone toward making vinegar
Drying: basil, sage, feverfew, red clover blossoms
Collecting seed: butternut squash, Cherokee purple tomato, plum lemon tomato, var. peppers, var. beans

Mary Susan

More Juggling

2008-09-12T09:18:00.005-05:00

Okay, I don't know why or how I've gotten on this juggling kick--somehow I keep following links that take me to juggling videos. I've never been a huge fan of juggling, and I can't juggle even one item--even after trying out the Klutz book on juggling years ago! Anyhow, I found these guys yesterday, and really enjoy them.

The Passing Zone

Their videos from "America's Got Talent" are also enjoyable. (If you check these out, watch "America's Got Talent - Wicked Juggling" followed by "America's Got Talent - Passing Zone - Over the Hasselhoff".)

Mary Susan

Hope Chest Done!

2008-09-10T19:46:00.003-05:00

After years of procrastination it is finally done. Prompted by Laura's birthday (tomorrow), I have managed to save my marriage and provide a reasonably decent birthday suprise.

Keith

New Entrepreneurial Idea??

2008-09-03T13:38:00.003-05:00

Way-yonder-cool juggling by Chris Bliss

More Food Preservation and RAIN!!!

2008-08-27T09:21:00.005-05:00

The garden is slowing down, now. We're still getting peppers and some tomatoes--Roma, mostly. However, we're slowing down, too, with the garden, canning, etc., and are gearing up on other things, primarily school.

Here is the updated food preservation list. Unless we get some apples from somewhere, this may be our final totals for the summer.

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
6/30 Wild blackberries / froze 1 qt
7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints
7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts
7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2 pts
7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts
7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts
7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt
7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts
7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts
7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts
8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts
8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts
8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)
8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts
8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup canned 4.5 qts
8/12 Crushed tomatoes / canned 19 pts
8/13 Garden-fresh-tomato soup / canned 12 qts
8/14 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/14 Pickled peppers / canned 8 ¾-pints, 3 ½-pints
8/15 Peach freezer jam / froze 4 pts
8/15 White peaches / froze 7 qts
8/16 Basil pesto / froze 3 half-pints
8/18 Pepper jelly / canned 6 ½ half-pints
8/19 Elberta peach jam / canned 4 pts
8/19 Elberta peaches / froze 4 qts, 4 1.5 pts
8/19 Keith’s salsa / canned 13 pts
8/25 Pickled Peppers / canned 7 pts

Drying: basil, sage, feverfew, red clover blossoms

Other news: RAIN!!! Yes, we've had something like 2.5" of rain in the last three days--no downpours, just good, steady rain with some breaks. I was going to collect my dried basil this morning, only to find that it's no longer dried! It is on our screened-in backporch, and is out of the rain, but I suppose the humidity has somewhat rehydrated it! And I don't mind one bit waiting for it to dry out again; the rain is much needed. The lawn and pastures are already looking better!

Mary Susan

Cinema Verite?

2008-08-20T11:05:00.007-05:00

...or What-Happens-When-a-Bored-5yo-is-Granted-Use-of-the-Camera.

Food Preservation Thus Far

2008-08-18T16:21:00.001-05:00

Fine Pickins

2008-08-16T22:48:00.006-05:00

This weekend, we had some fine "pickins".

Last night, we attended our first 3rd-Friday-at-New-Union-Fire-Hall, hosted by the Flatts, who live in New Union. They've been hosting this since soon after the Pickin' Parlor closed a year or so ago, but this is the first time we've gone. (This is not because we've not wanted to go; quite the contrary. We've either had other commitments, or, a couple of times when we could have actually gone, we completely forgot by the time Friday evening arrived. And once, I think, we intended to go, but were so wiped out from the day's work that we decided not to.) The kids were excited to get to pick and jam some again, and it was great to see some of the folks we used to see regularly at the Pickin' Parlor.

Pickin'...

and grinnin'??

(You can't tell from their faces when they're picking, but they say they truly enjoy it, and are always excited when we're going somewhere that will have some picking and a chance to jam!)

As a matter of fact, playing the mandolin hurts 17yo, but given the opportunity to do a little jamming, she chooses to suffer a bit in order to enjoy the music and the camaraderie.

Some of the former Pickin' Parlor regulars don't let us leave a place until 15yo has sung "Blue Moon of Kentucky."

And tonight, 15yo's fiddle teacher, Tom, hosted "Pickin' at the Grove" at the church he now pastors, Beech Grove First Baptist. This was a fund-raiser for the church, where they sold hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, and--stroke of genius (Why has no one done this before--at least as far as I know??)--Cracker-Barrel-country-ham sandwiches! Mmmmm, good! (Let's see...hot dog or country ham? Is there really a decision to be made here??) They also auctioned desserts--cakes, pies, and cookies went for anywhere from $30 to $100 or so before we left, which was quite early. We did leave early, but Tom made sure the girls had a chance to play a couple of songs first.

Tom and the girls playing with members of The Creek.

The opening act tonight was the Rigney family, out of nearby Normandy. They were good; the boys are 14yo and 11yo. One song the family performed was written by the 14yo son. And the 11yo could tear up the fiddle and the mandolin!

The Rigney Family

Mary Susan

Puzzled Over Pickled Peppers

2008-08-13T21:50:00.004-05:00

One of the kids came up with a conundrum during family worship tonight:

Just how did Peter Piper pick pickled peppers?

Our solution: Peter Piper picked a peck of pre-pickled peppers.

Mary Susan

(Don't ask how we got to pickled peppers from Psalm 41; that's an entirely different conundrum!)

Roasted tomato garlic soup

2008-08-09T14:30:00.003-05:00

Currently having an abundance of tomatoes, I decided to try canning some tomato soup. In searching for a recipe, I quickly found roasted tomato garlic soup and decided to give it a try.

A few problems:

We didn't have enough garlic to triple the recipe. However, I was able to use three bulbs, anyway, and went with that.
Roasting the veggies. The recipe says to fill a cookie sheet with the veggies and roast them. Fine, but I wanted far more than a cookie sheet's worth! So I did three cookie sheets (all I could fit in the oven). I used the convection option, hoping to get an even roasting, but the carrots and onions still had a hard time getting done, so I finished them off by boiling them in the broth while 13yo son and I peeled the roasted tomatoes (which was very easy, as long as they were cool enough!)
Again, roasting the veggies. The juices ran over in the oven, which is now a mess! Thankfully, the bottom was lined with foil, which has been replaced, but some of the mess is under the foil, too. Hopefully, I'll get this cleaned up this evening (maybe?).

The three cookie sheets made 4.5 qts., which I consider not really enough to fiddle with canning! I mean, it's not even one load!

However, I did not add the cream (I decided I'd rather do that when we warm up the soup for serving.), so technically, I suppose it's more than 4.5 qts. But like I said, I'd rather not can unless I have a canner-full (which would be 7 qts.)

We tried some for lunch today, to see if it was worth doing again and worht figuring out a way to do more at one time. It was good; Keith really liked it. 5yo, however, who normally likes embellished tomato soup and often requests it for lunch, did not like it. Not sure what his problem with it was, but he said he did not like the taste.

Some of the best tomato soup I've ever had away from home (possibly because it may have been the first that didn't require a can opener!) was at Macaroni Grill in Franklin, TN, a few years ago. It was so fresh-tasting! The waiter told us it was a secret recipe that a customer's mother had given them, with their promise that they would not share it with anyone, not even other MG's. They've never had it since, there or at other MG's, when we've eaten there. However, sometime after this, Keith's brother became a manager for MG. He said the whole story was probably a line the waiter made up! Oh, well, it was still good.

Mary Susan

Newly Updated List

2008-08-09T14:19:00.003-05:00

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts

6/30 Blackberries (wild) / froze 1 qt

7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts

7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags

7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts

7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts

7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts

7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts

7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts

7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts

7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts

7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints

7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints

7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts

7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts

7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts

7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints

7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints

7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts

7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2-pts

7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts

7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts

7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt

7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts

7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts

7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts

8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts

8/5 Diced tomatoes (mostly Romas) / canned 7 qts, 7 pts

8/6 Okra (breaded) / froze 7 bags (app. 3 c each)

8/6 Carrots / froze 11 pts

8/7 Roasted tomato garlic soup / canned 4.5 qts

Mary Susan

Wal-Mart Rant

2008-08-08T07:56:00.002-05:00

As if Wal-Mart doesn't give us enough to grieve over, they're now taking away their sewing sections--at least, the ones around us are, as they are "remodeled."

Yes, it's the old story we've all heard before: Wal-Mart comes into a small town, eventually forcing small businesses to close. But, at least for me, this version has a new chapter: most small towns are doing good to have even one fabric store, so that when Wal-Mart forces that one out of business, and then closes out its own fabric/sewing section, that leaves the folks in that town without any fabric or notions.

We now have to drive close to an hour to get a zipper.

Mary Susan

Updated Updated List

2008-07-31T21:38:00.005-05:00

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
7/4 Kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Basil (whole leaves) / froze 2 qt-bags
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints
7/25 Tomatoes / canned 28 pts
7/25 Tomato sauce / canned 19 1/2 pts
7/26 Blueberries (from B. Case's) / froze 7 pts, 2 1.5-pts
7/28 Corn (from Short Mtn) / froze 5 qts, 3 1.5-pts, 10 pts
7/29 Squash / froze 1 qt, 1 pt
7/30 Cowpeas / froze 8 pts
7/30 Carrots (shredded) / froze 6 pts
7/31 Salsa ("Judy's Salsa") / canned 10 pts, 2 1/2-pts
8/1 Speckled butter beans / froze 15 pts

Mary Susan

Interesting Quote

2008-07-30T21:34:00.005-05:00

From A Reverence for Wood, by Eric Sloane (1965):

...It was at this meeting in 1765 that the word "independence" took on a special and widespread meaning.
"With our land's wealth," said one Boston merchant, "we can all afford to be independent. There is probably nothing a man needs that we cannot make or grow in America. Look about you! Except for a piece of silk here and there, the clothes on our backs and every stick in our houses is American. We can be, indeed we are, the most independent people on earth!"

Mr. Sloane goes on to say:
Those days, when the nation was struggling to be born, were perhaps our most poignant times, for it was an era when each man was forced to live with piercing intensity and perception. Two centuries later, when an American turns on the water and the lights in his apartment, he has little awareness of where those things come from; the greatest pity, however, is that he says, "Who cares where it comes from, as long as it keeps on coming?"
In 1765 everything a man owned was made more valuable by the fact that he had made it himself or knew exactly from where it had come. This is not so remarkable as it sounds; it is less strange that the eighteenth-century man should have a richer and keener enjoyment of life through knowledge than that the twentieth-century man should lead an arid and empty existence in the midst of wealth and extraordinary material benefits.
Mary Susan

RAIN!!!!

2008-07-26T07:29:00.004-05:00

[Warning: This post contains many exclamation points--justifiably!!]

Yes, RAIN!!! And not just one day, but two days...IN A ROW!!!

We got around .5" of steady rain yesterday, so that the ground was able to really soak it up. And today, I awoke to the sound of rain, and it's still going. Rather exciting.

And we've had beautiful, cool weather, too--in the 50's a couple of mornings ago--and it's July...in Tennessee! Our milkers even took out long-sleeve shirts yesterday, in case they got too cool while milking--and it's July...in Tennessee! 17yo daughter, who often works and reads on the screened-in back porch, went out one morning to do so, and soon came back in because she was too cool. And it's July--in Tennessee! If this is global warming, I'm fer it!

Mary Susan

Recent Happenings

2008-07-24T17:18:00.005-05:00

Thankfully, so that I don't focus too sharply and constantly on squash pests, we have done a couple of fun, out-of-the-normal-daily-routine things lately.

First of all, the kids and I visited my sister for a few days. She lives about 2 hours and 15 minutes away, and we try to get to her place for a few days each summer. She lives in a condo, with the pool just 30 or so feet around the corner from her back door. (We didn't get there one summer--six years ago, I think--and I've been held accountable ever since!) So anyway, we had a great time, as we always do with her, swimming and, this time, watching a lot of "I Love Lucy." The girls and I also got a trip to the Goodwill store there; it's one of the better Goodwill stores I've been to, and I always like a bargain. (Some of their merchandise was $.50 each; at that price, even if you're not sure about something, you have to get it!) And we all went to Franklin one evening. BTW, sister's birthday was two days ago; hope you had a good one!!

This past Saturday, we attended the Daniel Brantley Foundation Benefit Concert and Auction. We went to the afternoon show (probably go to the evening one next time), in anticipation of Sunday morning. Anyway, the auction was the most entertaining one I've been to, and the concert was great!! Of course, Tom Brantley and his buddies were wonderful, as always. Big Country Bluegrass was also there--saw some great clawhammer banjo playing from one of them. And the headliners--Dailey and Vincent--were incredible!!! Tom told us he's already working on getting Dailey and Vincent back. (He and Jamie Dailey played together with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver for awhile.) The banjo player/guitar player/bass singer (the guy on the right) turned 19yo on Friday!

Guess that's about it for now.

Mary Susan

Updated List

2008-07-24T17:03:00.002-05:00

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
7/4 kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts.
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts
7/22 Carrot relish / canned 15 pts
7/24 Cowpeas / froze 4 pints
7/24 Corn / froze 5 pints, 5 1.5-pints

Mary Susan

Weather

2008-07-22T09:36:00.003-05:00

We had some much-needed rain about ten days ago--1.25" or so. What a blessing for the whole area! Of course, it's hard to tell now that we had any.

Yesterday afternoon, the sky darkened and some strong winds came through. The "mountains" in front of us looked hazy, so we figured they were getting rain (which occasionally happens). However, with a harder look, 15yo daughter realized it wasn't rain: it was dust! Yes, we had a mild dust storm, I guess. And no rain. Not a drop.

Better go; we're doing carrot relish this morning, something we've not done before. But then, I don't think we've ever grown carrots before, either, at least not very successfully. This year, we don't know what to do with them all!

Mary Susan

Freezing Okra and Canning Quantities Caveat

2008-07-22T09:17:00.003-05:00

In the previous post, Julie commented:

Could you share how you freeze okra? Our family loves it breaded and fried,
but I have never had any success freezing it so we only eat it in the summer
time. Thanks! I like reading your list because I can compare mine with you and see if I am on track with certain amounts.

First of all, let me qualify my amounts by stating that, for some reason this year, we had an incredibly disorganized pantry and, for a time, "lost" quite a few jars of green beans and of tomatoes.

Also, last summer, Keith assigned lunch prep to our now-15yo daughter, and dinner prep to our now-17yo daughter. This has been wonderful for all of us (and for their future husbands!), but it took them awhile to get used to using the resources we had on hand.

Therefore, we had more canned goods left over this year than we normally would, so we're starting with more than normal.

Now for freezing okra. We're like you on that; we haven't frozen it because it just didn't seem to work well. Then we had some that friends of ours froze last year, and it was so good, that I got the instructions from them.

Clean the okra. Blanche it 3 minutes. Slice it to desired size (we found that close to an inch was better than smaller, which didn't seem to hold up as well when we were slicing and breading it.) Toss it in flour, then buttermilk, then seasoned-to-your-taste cornmeal. Set them on cookie sheets so that they're not touching; freeze. When frozen, put in bags and place bags in freezer until you're ready to devour them!

Mary Susan

BTW, we used parchment on the cookie sheets, just to make sure the okra was easy to remove. I don't know if this was necessary, but I didn't want to risk losing any!

Put Up Thus Far

2008-07-21T17:28:00.007-05:00

[This is primarily for my information, so I'll have a back-up of the paper copy I have, which I have a difficult time finding, even though it's in my gardening notebook in the same location it's been in since we put up our first beans a few weeks ago!]

6/25 Lazy Housewife beans / canned 7qts
7/4 kraut / canned 21 pts
7/5 Contender bush beans / canned 3 qts
7/5 Cherokee Trail of Tears beans / canned 4 qts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 23 pts
7/10 Maude Wall beans / canned 28 qts
7/16 Beans (mostly Maude Wall) / canned 19 qts
7/17 Okra (breaded) / froze 3 qts
7/18 Tomatoes / canned 14 pts
7/18 Tomato sauce / canned 8 half-pints
7/18 Pickled peppers / canned 7 half-pints
7/21 Cucumber relish / canned 11 pts
7/21 Squash / froze 4 qts

At some point--July 5?--froze 2 quart-sized bags of whole basil leaves. (Experimental; found on internet; will give it a try. Would be great to have fresh-tasting basil in the middle of winter!)

Currently drying basil and feverfew.

Mary Susan