Dead, Dead and MORE DEAD!

So I brought in a few plants for the winter, thinking they would be better off in my care then to the harsh winters....... well currently of the four plants I've brought in, all four are dead. I then purchased one more plant and that croaked before the first week was up. Not sure what I am doing to these poor plants, but my house is beginning to resemble something from the Adams Family!!! Seriously, how bad can one person be?????? I best not ask, I fear it could get worse!

Canning Pumpkin!

As I sit here writing this blog, I am also in the process of canning pumpkin for the very first time. My time typing is often interrupted by running to my pressure canner (which I am also using for the first time) to be sure my pressure remains at 11. (pause for checking canner... I just checked and my canner was approaching 12. It needed to be at 11, so I turned down my fire but it seems it was very low and I am afraid of it going too low..... so it looks like I'll be pausing more than I originally thought--- sorry folks).

In any case, back to the pumpkins. I purchased 4 sugar pumpkins from the farm a few weeks ago. I hadn't gotten around to canning them until today. Boy am I glad I didn't do it before today. My kids have gone to grammas and so I had all day today to fool with these new gadgets. (Pause for checking canner.... still good) I first cut the pumpkins and fished out the seeds and guts. Although the taste of pumpkin and squash is AWESOME, I sometimes wonder why it takes so much muscle and effort to get the damn things to their cooking stage. I almost chopped my fingers off too many times to name. The one thing that is both annoying and interesting to me is when you first cut open a squash--- it starts oozing what look like beads of sweat, but it is a sticky but slick nectar. This nectar makes them a hazard for cutting as it is quite easy to slip and slice something off..... however I find that part very magical.... like the beading its way of saying, "yes I am alive" or as if out of some horror show, "NO! DON'T EAT ME!!". No other fruit or veggie does this, just squash. (pause for checking canner.... slight adjustment needed, it was at 12 instead of 11) Don't you find this amazing? I sure do. Mother Nature never lets me down with her variety of life.

Back to pumpkins- I cut the four up into chunks and put it on the stove with a bit of water. Boiled the hell out of it and then sent it through a medieval looking device. It was my moms and it basically takes squishy fruit and veggies and grinds them up into a thickish paste. I LOVE using this thing. It really grinds up the good stuff and spits out the rinds and unusable parts. I then added that "paste" into a big pot and boiled it again. Until my jars were done being sanitized. (pause for checking canner.... it is running a bit high, but I think it is still OK).

Now during this time, the prep did not go as smoothly as I have let on. I do not have a manual to the medieval grinder, not good, so I was running from memory, also not so good. I had a slight memory of last year me standing out on my porch, grinding tomatoes. It seems with evolution comes thicker countertops and thicker tables. My old grinder needed a thin table. So today I improvised and used a 2 foot table which belongs to my kids. With some additional help from the hubby and a few phone calls to see if anyone else could remember how to put it together, I got her working. Then I turned my attention to begging hub man to put my pressure canner together. It had been a birthday present from him last year and I still hadn't put it together. He begrudgingly obeyed and a few minutes later I was testing it out. I also endured some heckling as to why I was just getting around to using it..... afterall, "it was expensive". MEN!

In the meantime, my jars were done, my pumpkin puree paste was boiling and I had just OKed my pressure canner..... life was good. So I unloaded some jars onto the table and began filling them (not before raising the temp on the pumpkin so high that it suctioned the lid of my pot right on. I had to bang it with a wooden spoon to free it!) . And I am going to stop here to explain something (but not before checking my pressure canner again!!! I feel like a pregoid running to the bathroom every 5 minutes!) The USDA claims that because pumpkin puree is so thick, pressure canning is unable to raise the temp enough in the middle of the jars to kill all of the bacteria. Now, people have been canning pumpkin puree to use in pies, cakes and cookies for ages, so what has changed? Government intervention. With all of that in mind, I used precautionary measures while still preparing my pumpkin in the most user friendly form. First, I canned most of my pumpkin into 4 ounce jars but followed the instructions and cooking times as if my jars were pints. Second, the 5 or so pints I have canned are for my use only- I plan on using them to bake up pumpkin yummies. Let me just say this. If a microbe can live being steamed for 40+minutes, then boiled again, then put into hot jars and pressure canned for 55 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure then baked again in a 350-400 degree oven, my friends that is one microbe I don't think could be stopped by anything! (pause... less than 15 minutes for my first batch!!!) The USDA does its job and tries to protect people, but without getting into a lengthy discussion of my beliefs, I'll just say this--- If someone is unwilling to eat my stuff, I will totally understand but I believe some things are not meant to be messed with- especially food stuff!

I am logging off this blog for now so that I can clean up the pumpkin dishes and prepare to remove my first batch from the canner!!! I believe I will be using this pressure canner more often! Afterall, it was the first "microwave" if you will!

Jelly, Jelly EVERYWHERE!

Last weekend, I decided to, even though I was sick, make jelly from the Quinces. I had Matt pull out the ladder and I parked Oliver at the bottom of it with a bag. I was quite disappointed as I climbed the ladder. Most of my precious fruit was browning, full of worms or past it's prime. I pulled what I could salvage from the tree all the while taking in the intoxicating smell of the quinces. Someone on the internet said they smell like a cross between a pineapple and a mango and they couldn't have said it better. From the smell of these small, fuzzy, pear shaped fruits, you would think taking a big bite out of one would yield a happy picker. On the contrary, they are sour even though they smell sweet. Not as sour as a lemon, but much more sour than a granny smith apple. So I took what I had, not even a quarter of a bag, and brought them into the house. I began cutting around the brown spots and worms. I thought I'd get maybe 12- 4oz jars of jelly from my crop. I quickly found that from the small amount I had, I was able to fill two pots full of the fruit. This was my first time making jelly and the recipe I found hadn't called for any added pectin. So I foolishly continued cooking, mashing and straining the juices from my beautiful quinces. Now after doing all of that, I ended up with 25 cups of juice!!! AND had I been able to pick a few weeks earlier, I would have doubled if not tripled my yield. To that juice, the recipe called for an almost equal amount of sugar to be boiled down with the juice. I followed the recipe to a T but ended up with a slightly congealed consistancy. It tasted delicious though and I ended up with 24- 4oz jars, 9- half pints and 4- pints (I would have done all 4oz or half pints but I ran out of those jars). The former yellow/green fruits turn a gorgeous red color when turned to jelly!!! All I can say is YUMMY IN MY TUMMY- And guess what you all are getting for Christmas :)

QUINCES you dumb ass---- QUINCES!!!

So today I was quickly looking through my Bon Appetite Magazine....... in there was an article on what is in season during the fall. Drawn in pencil, quite nicely I might add, was a picture of my Peapples- They aren't Peapples, they are Quinces!!!! And after reading online that those babies go for about $2 a pop, I am quite excited that I have an exotic tree in my yard. Now, I just need to find out why they weren't there last year. Are they biannual? Who cares at this point! I got 'em and I plan on cookin' em!!!

Funny thing is my Great Aunt came over today for a party, walked out onto my porch and said, "Oh! Danielle has a Quince tree." We all asked where she was a month ago when we were trying to convince my future brother in law to eat one.

Fall is upon us!!!

So I guess it is official, according to the calendar at least, that fall is here. Being sick this entire month has made me feel as if we are just entering September, not leaving it. I did manage during my "sickies" to venture out last saturday with my husband and children to pick up the sticks that the wind storm had shaken loose from our huge oak trees. All around us were "sticks" if you can call them that, some of those suckers looked like full blown limbs. Matt, earlier in the season, had travelled about an hour south of us to purchase a chipper from a guy. He had posted it on craigslist and it seemed to be the perfect price. So Matt went and brought it home. We lovingly call it "the beast". It is much heavier and bulkier than the newer models, but we got it for a steal, saved it from a landfill, and it is quite a useful tool for us. Last Saturday, we dragged out the beast, and fed it for 9 hours straight. What we ended up with was a beautiful green tinted mulch that I was able to put all around my plants. It looks so pretty. Even though the soreness set in shortly after finishing, I was so proud of my new green, green mulch.

In my big session last saturday, I also pulled up my tomato plants, my eggplant, my spicy peppers, and my cabbages. In their place I planted my three mums, who by the way aren't looking so good. I have heard NOT to give them a boost with fertilizer, BUT my MIL gave hers a boost and they look gorgeous. So I am in the midst of the "should I or shouldn't I" battle that happens so often in my head. ARGH! I just need to do it and deal with the consequences later.

This past spring I purchased a Eucalyptus plant. I put it into a container, knowing come fall it needs to be moved indoors. But for the summer, I parked it right outside of my front door. That sucker has grown so beautifully!!! I am getting ready to move her inside and into my sunroom. The Eucalyptus plant is from Austrailia and is really good for when you have congestion in your chest. You crush up some leaves and steep them in hot water and then breathe the scented steam in. Before buying this plant, I bought the essential oil and added it to my shower in the morning. The water and steam would waft up and help me breathe a little easier.

I also recently purchased some herbs. I put them into a planter and put it out in the yard to get sunlight. I will be moving that indoors and look SO forward to fresh herbs all winter!!!!!

This past week, I was shopping at Sam's Club. This past spring I bought one of their boxes of Dahlia's. I planted them and low and behold, when they finally bloomed (which took a while), they are now the highlight of my yard. Everytime I look at them, I just smile. I absolutely LOVE them. So I didn't even hesitate for one moment when I fell upon the spring bulb display. On it were GORGEOUS bright red tulips and a mixture of crocus' of different purples and whites. I bought one of each and mixed them up with the daffodils I dug up last spring. I had a bucket FULL of yellow and off white daffodil bulbs. I planted all 60 tulips, all 100 crocus and about 100-150 daffodils in three areas of my yard. I plan on going back to buy more tulips and also some hyacinth. I have a few Iris' I need to get in and I may buy some of them too. I have at least three other areas in the front that need some spring love, not to mention the back of my house. Come spring, I am going to be one happy little girl!!!!

It's ALIVE!!!

NO KIDDING! The Oakleaf Hydrangea I killed is coming back!!! I was heading out the the compost pile the other day and was thinking I really need to chop back the dead branches of this bush. Afterall, my yard is beginning to look like the Adams Family. So I got my pruners and started chopping away and then realized from amidst the roots of the plant were new "oak leaves". Upon further inspection, I realized that the damn thing has rerooted and is sending up a new plant! YEAH!!!!!! I'll take pictures and post them in a day or so.

Also, I have a fuzzy apple-ish looking tree/bush. Not sure what it is and so far everyone I have shown it to, scratches their head....... I think I'll start calling it the Peapple tree..... half peach, half apple. My sister's boyfriend was gonna take a bite of one and see what it tastes like, but my mom and sister put a stop to it. They were afraid he'd get sick. I personally was hoping he would have. Oh well, I'll give it a few more weeks and see what happens.

We have a harvest!

So after this whole summer NOTHING- Now all of a sudden my whole yard is in bloom (or most of it is)- Today Gaby and I picked a basket full of tomatoes!!! And there are many oranges and greens on the vines. I think by the weekend I'll be able to can my first batch of maters!!! I also cut our first eggplant off the vine. It is purple and gorgeous!

Then after picking those maters I travelled around to the front of the house and saw an explosion of jalapeno peppers- Matt's mouth is salvating about these!! I had planted a bunch of different hot peppers, but forgot the ornamental grasses take over--- so a few plants adapted and grew through the grasses. We have buds on them!! I am so excited to see what they are!

We have a new Eggplant starting and several other buds on that same plant!! Our Cabbages are looking quite swiss-cheesey, but I am hopeful that I'll still be able to eat them!

I purchased three mum's yesterday and am photographing them and posting them so maybe I'll be able to say in a year or so that I actually didn't kill them!!! I bought one bright yellow, one purple with yellow centers and one called salsa- it is bright red with yellow centers. I hope to buy more, but we'll see how these ones do first.......

BABY STEPS!!!