Sugar, Sugar, Ahhh, Honey Honey, Ahh, Bunny Bunny, Ahh, Berry Berry

We're going into our third year of beekeeping.  The first year was a total failure for several reasons.  We didn't even make it to winter with the two hives.  Last spring we started over with one hive and while we had some honey at the end of summer, we left it for the bees to help them through the winter.  I am pleased to say that over the last two weekends we have extracted our first honey.  We've processed one full super consisting of ten frames and four frames from another super.  We still have six frames in the 2nd super that are almost capped so we expect to harvest them in the near future.  Additionally we have another 10 frame super that is full of honey but yet to be capped.  I cannot express how utterly excited and pleased I am about this.  All of our frustration, disappointment, sweat, bee stings and tears have come to fruition in the form of 28 pints of honey so far.  We are averaging two pints per frame, so if we harvest the six frames that are almost capped, we should get another 10-12 pints of honey.

All of the angora babies have new homes.  I'm always sad to see them go, but I'm happy with the people who bought them so that makes the letting go easier.  Both of the does went to the same home, so they get to be sisters together.  The new owner emailed me a few days ago with photos and told me they have personalities plus.  She has named them Lucy and Ethel because of their craziness.  She said they have already been to show and tell for three different classes at school. 

the blue tort doe

   












the blue-pointed white doe (She was our absolute favorite, and I almost kept her.  I mean, look at that pose.  She knows she's cute.)

the blue-pointed white buck

This mess of bunnies is my first meat rabbit litter.  They just hit six weeks old and are growing well.  It's time to wean them from mama. 

Yesterday, I was given a huge bucket of organic strawberries, so canning season started early this year.  I put up (12) 12 oz. and (7) 8 oz. jars of Strawberry Ginger Jam today.  It is so freakin' delicious!  It has been ages since we had strawberry jam mainly because my strawberry growing skills are less than ideal, and I don't buy strawberries because I worry about the chemicals that have been used on them. 

That's it for now, folks!

Happy homesteading,

Candace

Vintage Apple Butter

Last weekend, my neighbor, who knows my love of canning jars, stopped by to tell me he scored 20 boxes of jars at a nearby estate sale.  He said he bought them all because his sister had recently expressed an interest in canning and he knew I would want some as well.  Of course, I wanted some!  I had to buy canning jars this year, and it killed me to pay full price for them.  He said he didn't know how serious his sister was about canning, so I only took 1/2 and told him if she decided it was a passing whim to let me know and I would take the rest from him too.  The kicker is most of them are still full of food ranging in dates from 1980 to 2005.  Being full of food, the jars make me feel connected with someone I never met who spent time preserving food.  It also makes me sad that 20 years later it still has not been eaten.  I bet she never imagined they would receive a new start a few neighborhoods over.   

Happy homesteading,

Candace

Heat Delusions and Ramblings

This post is going to ramble.

I believe I'm melting!  It is SO hot and humid.  I've been trying to take care of outside chores in the morning or late in the evening, but major projects are on hold for now.  This morning I walked across the street to pick some figs, and I have to outfit myself to keep the mosquitos at bay.  Long pants, shoes and socks, long-sleeved shirt and gloves.  Otherwise, they converge on me like white on rice.  My neighbor was home, and he helped me pick figs.  Bless his heart!  He had the ladder out and was up in the tree picking figs that I could only gawk at from below.  I've managed to can 14 pints of pickled figs, a favorite of my fellow book club members.  As a matter of fact, I decided to offer them for sale this year to the ladies, and I've received several orders so far.  I've been dehydrating them as well, and I have enough in the refrigerator to make a batch of fig preserves.  I hope to get those done tomorrow. 

Yesterday, I canned some vegetable relish and tomato salsa.  I've been pretty pleased with my tomatoes this year.  The Black Krims and the Cherokee Purples are my favorite.  They are beautiful when sliced and are so delicious.  I'm not harvesting enough quantity to really brag about, but if I save them for a few days, I can make a small batch of salsa or tomato sauce.  Last year, we really only got enough for fresh eating, so that fact that I am able to can some this year is progress.  They are getting so much more sun where they are this year compared to last.  It's my goal to take down more trees in my neighbor's yard again this fall/winter.  The increase in my tomato yield is proof that the trees we took down this past winter have made a difference in my yard.  I want to build on that, so I'll keep saving my pennies for that project.

The rabbits seem to be doing okay with the heat.  They are in deep shade with good air circulation, and I usually switch out their frozen bottles at least once a day so they have a source of cool when they need it.  My dream is to have a mini-barn with electricity where I can house all of the animals and be able to run fans in the summer for the rabbits.  Plus, I was just talking with Nate today about really wanting some meat rabbits.  We don't have any place to put them at the moment, so that goal is on hold for now.

Surprisingly, the chickens are still giving us 3-5 eggs a day.  We've talked to other local backyard chicken keepers, and their hens have pretty much stopped laying due to the heat.  We have some really hard working good girls.  They lay in the stifling heat of summer and the brutal cold of winter.

Despite my best efforts, the vine borers destroyed all of my squash plants, even the ones I planted late.  I finally just ripped them out of the ground and threw them away a few days ago.  It's almost August, and the the vines were still covered with eggs.  I've started doing some research for borer resistant varieties for next year.  I'm just sick about it!           

Feedback on recent comments:

From http://theweekendhomesteader.blogspot.com/2011/07/pickin-and-cannin-and-backyard-garden.html

Homesteading Chic: You really don't have to have alot of land to make a big impact. We've made it a policy not to plant anything in our yard that doesn't either produce something edible or provide forage for our honeybees. Even thought I rarely see the little buggers in my yard. They go elsewhere!


Leigh: You will notice the photos of the backyard are not close-ups, and I only showed you a portion of the yard. LOL! We've waited many years for such a peach harvest.

TGL: I sang that song the WHOLE time I was harvesting peaches. It was on a continuous loop through my brain!  Millions of peaches peaches for me, Millions of peaches peaches for free, Millions of peaches peaches for me, Millions of peaches peaches for free.

Warm Dirt: I'm sure you grow something on your farm that I can't grow in GA, so I would be envious of that.
 
That's it for now.
 
Happy homesteading,
 
Candace

A Pickin' and A Cannin' and A Backyard Garden Tour

Sounds like a song at a hoe down, doesn't it?  Well, it isn't.  I've been a pickin' and a cannin' peaches since my first peach post here.  That was two weeks ago, and I have been absolutely buried in peaches.  I'm only one person, and I work, so it has been a massive project for me to tackle.  I've had to manage my time and squeeze in bits and pieces of canning prep work and canning in addition to the chores of necessity, such as feeding me and my husband as well as taking care of the animals and trying to keep up with the garden.  My house is in severe disarray, and I don't even want to know what's going on in the bathroom.  But, the peach tree would hear no excuses.  It reminded me I have been praying for peaches year after year.  Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.  The squirrels were held at bay and the additional sunlight from taking trees down came together to give me 127 lbs., 12.5 ozs. of peaches from one tree.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I have processed almost 128 lbs of peaches in the past two weeks.  At the grocery store this weekend, organic peaches were selling for $4/lb.  What a return one tree has made to our budget!  Now, what did I do with all of those peaches you may ask?  In addition to fresh eating, this is how I tackled them:

Peach Chutney:  1 pint, This was an experiment with green peaches, and it is delicious.
Green Peach Cake:  This was also another experiment, and it turned out great as well.
Frozen diced peaches:  9 quarts
Peach Sauce (for pancakes, ice cream):  8 quarts + 1 pint
Peach Tomato Salsa:  4 quarts + 14 pints
Peach BBQ Sauce:  4 pints + 9 12 oz. jars + 1 jelly jar
Peach Cardamom Jam:  6 pints + 13 jelly jars

I really wanted to try out the peach peel and pit jelly, but I just didn't have it in me.  I am one tuckered girl.  But, there's no rest for the weary because the figs are coming in, so onward I go. 

Here's a photo of the peach tree as well as a few shots of the top portion of my backyard.  It's a constant work on progress to be sure.

Happy homesteading,

Candace

   

Are You Ready To Can?

My canning season officially started today with none other than peaches.  Most of the peaches on the tree are still hard, and I am not 100% squirrel-free, contrary to my previous post, so it's really a race for the peaches between us and the squirrels.  So, after breakfast, Nate and I picked the peaches we felt were ripe enough for canning.  They really could have spent another day or two on the tree, but I'm not taking any chances with the tree rats.

(Disclaimer:  Sometimes I sub things in canning recipes.  That's a no-no since you can alter the acid content.  You can take inspiration, but don't necessarily do what I do.) 

I started with the Summer Salsa recipe in my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving book.  It called for 2 cups of chopped peaches and 2 cups of chopped pears, but I used all peaches.  It was supposed to yield approximately 6 pints, but I got 4 pints exactly with none left over.  I used the wide mouth jars, and I think they hold more than the regular mouth jars so I know the yield is probably off in that regard. 

Next, I made some Peach Cardamom Jam.  It's basically the peach jam recipe found in the Sure Jell Less or No Sugar Needed pectin box with cardamom and vanilla extract added.  I didn't have an vanilla extract, so I used almond extract.  I love cardamom, and I think it turned out quite tasty.  Although it doesn't seem like it's setting up that well.  I seem to be hit or miss with the low sugar pectin.  Regardless, it will be eaten and savored.  We can certainly use it as pancake syrup or an ice cream topping.

http://www.food.com/recipe/peach-cardamom-jam-390047

I'm saving my peelings and pits to try this recipe.  Hopefully I'll accumulate enough to give it a go.

http://www.food.com/recipe/peach-peeling-peach-seed-jelly-41035

(There is a warning from a reviewer about using the pits as pits contain cyanide.  So, use your best judgment if you decide to try this recipe.)

If you haven't checked out http://www.food.com/, you should.  It's loaded with hundreds of canning recipes, and what I love is reading the reviews from other canners. 

I hope to harvest enough peaches every few days to can some additional salsa and jam, and I want to try the Zesty Peach Barbeque Sauce recipe in my canning book as well.

So, peaches, pumpkin, apple pie, if you're ready, holler I!

Happy canning,

Candace

Things That Make Me Happy

First blueberries of the season

Not having to buy onions at the store

Gifts from a friend, loquat jelly and vidalia onion relish

Spotting the first tomato, a Green Zebra

Trying new things, garden huckleberries and ground cherries

The scent of a gardenia

Happy homesteading,


Candace

Canning Center

I've posted before about my canning jar fetish. I don't know how many dozens I have; I'm scared to count them. Some have been acquired new and others at yard sales, attic sales, from basements where they were headed to the trash heap, and from the kindness of neighbors. The vintage ones I love the most, and no one will ever get them filled with goodies. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.

I use my jars in a few different ways, first and foremost, to can, but I also store leftovers in them. My problem is, until today, I didn't really have a good system for storing them. I had some in a small cabinet in my kitchen, but I never seemed to have what I needed, and as we emptied jars, they would start to accumulate on the counter top because I wouldn't take them to the attic. Clutter overload for me! I have to have order, or I just can't function. Traipsing up and down the pull-down stairs to the attic to either put away jars or get them down for canning was annoying. Once in the attic, they were in such a varied array of boxes I had to search for the right box, and the boxes didn't match, which really got under my skin. I want to see what I'm looking for without having to search for it.

Today, I decided enough was enough, and the space in my office that was designated for my elliptical machine has become my canning center. Sorry elliptical; we'll get back together soon. Now, my jars, rings, and lids are easy to access and are organized, and I can see them. I even have space for my pressure and water bath canners and the jars that are still in my pantry and refrigerator filled with food.

I'm not quite finished because I'm thinking I might even bring my dehydrator down from the attic, so it would be my preservation center, rather than canning center.

I like it. I really like it!

Happy homesteading,

Candace

i be jammin'

Today, I canned some triple berry jam to utilize some fruit that partially defrosted when our refrigerator went bust a few days ago. Waste not; want not and a great way to make lemonade out of our old refrigerator, I mean lemons. Oh, our old refrigerator was a lemon. Canning this jam has been on my list anyway, but I put it off for other things and to save heating up the kitchen in the middle of summer. Today was the first time I've used the low-sugar pectin, and I really like it. The jam is just sweet enough, and I feel much better about the quantity of sugar used.

I have to say I've been loving some pepper jelly on biscuits in the morning, but this will be a great change up.

What's your favorite jam/jelly?

Happy homesteading,


Candace

Green Tomatoes

When the summer comes to a close and fall starts creeping in, a gardener's dilemma is what to do with green tomatoes. Some tomatoes store very well and can be ripened over the winter for fresh eating. While they are not as good fresh summer tomatoes, they are usually better than store bought ones or so I've read. I didn't really have the quantity I needed to attempt this and most of the tomatoes I had left on the vine were very tiny. So, with the few I had, I decided to experiment with some recipes. Fried green tomatoes immediately come to mind, but I really wanted to see what else was out there.

The first recipe was a Green Tomato Pie (aka Fake Apple Pie). It was decent and did resemble apple pie in texture and flavor. I would probably make it again, but it's not on the top of my list. I told Nate it was an apple pie, and he ate it well enough.

My next recipe is being much better received and is quickly becoming a favorite relish of mine. I made this green tomato relish, http://www.food.com/36487. The only modification I made was to use ground spices and put them directly in the mix as I didn't have whole spices to use. I'm so happy I tried this recipe, and it will become one of my staple relish recipes for next year. I only made one batch since I didn't know if I would like it, but now I wish I had made more. By the way, www.food.com is an excellent resource for canning recipes.

Finally, I had just enough tomatoes to try this last dish, and it is delicious. It's a very moist spice cake, and while some of the reviewers topped it was a cream cheese icing, I left mine plain. It is plenty sweet enough. This recipe I will also keep for next year. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Green-Tomato-Cake/

Now I wish I had more green tomatoes!

Happy homesteading,


Candace

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

I've had a glorious year of peppers, especially jalapenos. They just seem to keep coming, and I've done my best to utilize them in as many ways possible. Yesterday, this was my harvest.



Today, these are the products of this harvest, 14 pints of pickled peppers and 6 jars of pepper jelly.



I love stocking my pantry with homegrown homemade products!

Happy homesteading,

Candace

I LOVE MASON JARS!

I have this thing about Mason jars. To me, they are more than just a molded vessel of glass. They represent home and good food and security. When I open my pantry and see my jars lined up and filled with pickles and jam, chow chow and salsa, a sense of fulfillment and warmth fills my soul. I know they are there to feed me and Nate in the coming months and to provide heartfelt gifts to loved ones.

Most of my jars have been purchased at yard/attic sales or given to me by others. Those are the most special to me because they were once used by someone whom I've never met, but who used them to provide nourishment for her family and who knew what it was like to go out to her garden, pick what she was to can that day, and stand over a hot stove to preserve hard work and the freshest food possible.

Jars represent fellowship to me. I am blessed with some great neighbors. They think the chickens are great, totally support our newest venture, bees, and honor me with gifts such as Mason jars. Recently I saw one neighbor crossing the street with several old nasty-looking boxes, and my first thought was Mason jars. I was right. He was at a friends' new house helping them clean out the basement. He noticed several boxes of jars his friends were going to throw out. He immediately thought of me and ask if he could have them. This is the same neighbor who gave me free reign over his fig tree last year and will again this year. And yesterday, another neighbor brought me almost a dozen of the cutest jelly jars that belonged to her Mother. Rather than let them sit unappreciated in her storage building, she thought I could make good use of them. Boy, can I! Gifts like these help me fellowship with my neighbors and get to know them. In turn, as thanks, they get the benefit of homemade goodness throughout the Summer and at the holidays.

Right now, Nate has a thing about Mason jars too, but it's not the same as my thing. His thing is that they are all over the dining room table. I am slowly washing and organizing the jars my neighbor gave me, as well as, jars I recently bought at an attic sale. But, as soon as he spreads Fig Preserves over his bagel, he'll get over it and realize that mess of jars really equals love of my home.

Until next post, happy homesteading!

Candace