Tomatoes!

I was given two cases of tomatoes a couple of weeks ago. They were mostly green, so I laid them out on a picnic table in the sun to ripen. Finally, they were ready. I canned 24 23 pints and 3 quarts today. (One pint broke.)

Pineapple Preserves

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try! I used the Diana #2 version by adding fresh orange zest. I used fresh pineapple that was on sale at my local grocery. Doubling the batch gave me 7 jars and a container for the refrigerator. It is very yummy! I will be on the look-out for pineapple bargains now!

Real Food

In an effort to become healthier, Mr. B and I are now on a Real Food diet. We are eliminating pre-processed foods that contain more than 5 ingredients, buying organic whenever possible, and exercising more. It's not been easy, especially since my bread machine died. So, my goal today is to make a loaf of Italian bread from scratch.

Mr. B has become interested in aquaculture and is currently researching the possibility of starting a small system in the garage. We would raise talapia or lake perch in the fish tank and grow fresh greens.

2012 To-Do List:

build small chicken pen
get chicks
increase the garden size
install soaker hoses in garden
start aquaculture program
repair greenhouse
fence in goat pasture
get two goats
grow enough fresh food to feed us through the next year
start a small home-based business

Failed Fudge

Ok, what happens when you make a batch of peanut butter fudge and it fails to set up? I really didn't want to throw it out because it tastes yummy. So I bottled it into cute little jars and created a label, tied it up with ribbon and will be giving Peanut Butter Fudge Topping as Christmas gifts!

The labels say:

Peanut Butter Fudge

Topping

Spread on toast

Use as a yummy pretzel dip

Warm in microwave and serve over ice cream

Great with celery

Scrumptious on apples

Add a dollop on pancakes

Eat straight out of the jar

I may have to make another batch and not cook as long as needed just to have more. This stuff is really good!

Merry Christmas!

2011 Garden

Ok, I have avoided posting for a while, because there wasn't much to say. The dry summer caused an almost complete failure of the garden. We were able to get more turnips than we could eat, enough tomatoes to keep us in fresh tomatoes and make pasta sauce twice, and the cabbage was successful. Out of the 40 planted, we harvested 38. We ate several, gave away some, and attempted to make sauerkraut. A fly got into the crock and ruined the kraut. When I went to can it, there were maggots crawling all over. Next year I will make the kraut in individual canning jars.

So, this year was a bust. And even if the garden had produced, it wasn't large enough to provide for a year of food. We will be expanding for next year.

The plan: increase the size. Roto-till the area, rake smooth. Layer newspapers over entire area, then cover with thick layer of straw. Come spring, we will put in soaker hoses.

In the meantime, we are working on a way to keep the greenhouse above freezing, and will be planting more in there to grow through the winter.

The fruit trees we planted are doing well. I also discovered a crabapple tree at the back of our property.

I purchased 12 pounds of raw honey today. Most of it will be stored for future use.

With the help of family and friends we made and canned 74 pints of apple butter.

Goats and Chickens

Well, due to finances, we are holding off on the goats and chickens. The goal now is to get these in the early spring of next year. That will give us the rest of this year to get the goat fence installed, build a chicken coop, and remodel the barn with stalls for the goats.

I am using any free time I have to research and learn as much as I can about both of these animals.

First Produce from the Garden

Turnip Greens! We had some for lunch today. Not too bad. I also noticed that we have small tomatoes coming on, and lots of tiny peas. They will probably be ready in a week or two.