Baking, Canning & Company

Oh how I love this time of year!

 Baking

(zucchini breads)

and more baking 

(more zucchini breads)

and canning 

(green & wax beans)

and pickling

(vegetable medley) 

and more pickling! 

(pickled radishes)

And to top it all off we had company!
My oldest sister and her husband spent
this past weekend with us!
Always a good time! 

Great Day

We had a wonderful sunny day today.  Started it out by treating Thom to one of his favorite breakfasts - which I seldom make because they are just too darned good to be healthy!! And of course homemade is always made with love so they just have to taste the best! I know it's not quite the same but  here's a little food for your eyes: 

Cher's Cherry Cream Cheese Crepes

Recipe:  I just kind of make it up 
as I go along ... somehow they always turn out 

We ended the day with going out to eat with our new neighbors. If you remember my Dec 12th posting about the world renown organist Dave Wickerham stopping in for a visit ... well ~ he and his family moved next door to us. We have new neighbors!  Good food and good company is a great way to end a perfect day. Hoping your day was as good as ours.  Have a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday! 

Squash Pecan Pie

~ all calories magically removed ~ 

I love that wand!

Sharing a Recipe

I've had requests for the

Apple Pie in a Jar

recipe so here it is:

Apple Pie in a Jar



Peel and slice apples into clean jars. Have syrup ready to pour on as you fill them up. (Option: peel and slice apples into water with lemon juice added to stop the apples from darkening then drain and fill jars)


Syrup:


4 c sugar 1 c cornstarch 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. salt 8 c water


Bring to a boil.


Add 3 tbsp. lemon juice to syrup after removing it from heat. Pour over jars of apples, clean rim, seal and process 20-25 minutes in hot water bath method.


One jar makes one pie.


Fill pastry pie shell and bake at 400º F for 30-35 min.

I'm Done; or Am I ?

I honestly 'thought'

that I was done canning

for the year

But ... that was before

making 8 half pints of apple butter

21 pints of plums

& 14 quarts of apple pie filling

 But what would you do 

if someone gave you some plums

 and a neighbor offered some apples

 We cooked them up, sauced them

and made some crock pot apple butter

 then we found some more apples

and a friend had just shared

a recipe with me for

Apple-Pie-in-a-Jar

So tell me what would you do?



End of Summer Chores

The end of summer means

bringing in some of the plants

we hope to keep going 

until next spring.

 and herbs

 and the rack to hold them

 and sorting through

tomatoes and plums

 and doing yet another batch of canning

once you thought you were done

who would have thought we still

had that many vegetables left ?!

I believe I may have reached the

end of my canning for the season!

Canned Carrots and Pickled Vegetable Mix

 Refrigerator Pickles

 and now to keep up with the tomatoes as

they ripen, if we can't keep up - I think I'll freeze them

 Cherry tomatoes ripening every day

 but somehow we manage to eat them as fast as they turn red

Yummy!

I haven't been posting much lately

because I've been

keeping myself busy

 preparing for winter

Apple Butter

 "In an orchard

there should be

enough to eat,

enough to lay up,

enough to be stolen,

and enough to rot

upon the ground." 

Samuel Madden

We picked enough to 'lay up'

some apple butter & some dried apples

 they required very little sugar

added along with

cinnamon and nutmeg

 cooking in the crock pot all day

until it becomes a delicious

apple butter

 the dehydrator worked its magic

and with time 

these apples became tasty treats

Fresh & Colorful

I love when fresh fruit

is in season

even if I have to buy it at a store

 hand picked garden fresh tomatoes

 and cucumber sandwiches

from a new picking

 vegetable palooza

 topped with fresh herbs

 and some chunked kielbasa

roasted on the grill

 and a little corn on the cob

to finish off our vegetable laden meal

Green Gate Garden

Fresh from the garden

 Herbs, tomatoes, a pepper and

a handful of beans before the raindrops fell

enough to make a great spaghetti sauce

 with some spinach on the side

along with some garlic herb bread

and swiss chard for the freezer

Spanish Rice

With this heat hanging on

I hate using the oven

or steaming up the kitchen.

And seeing how I've made

sandwiches and salads

for the past week or two

we were getting hungry for a

'hot' meal.

So I made some homemade

Spanish Rice

a fast and easy stove-top meal!

I browned ground beef then added

chopped onions, celery, green

 and red peppers.

Add a can of tomato sauce,

diced tomatoes and mushrooms.

Add dry rice and water per servings desired.

Season as desired.

(I used paprika, chili pepper,

cayenne pepper, onion powder,

a dash of salt and pepper,

basil and oragano.)

Bring to a boil, stir, then cover

and set on simmer for 15 minutes

without peeking.

Triple Layer Chocolate Cake

Do you ever get a craving

 for chocolate cake?  

My craving came just in time

for my daughters

and granddaughters

to join in the pleasure

of eating it

It was a sad day when

the last crumb disappeared

~

Just ask the grand-loves.

Back in the Apron

I baked two pies today. 

~  Rhubarb Custard ~

and

~ Shepherd's Pie ~