Harvest Time

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It's that time of year when all our hard work is paying off.  As we were preparing the garden for last nights frost we harvested about half of the tomatoes along with another picking of squash, chives, peppers and Swiss chard.  And I can't forget our one 'little' pumpkin.

 We only picked about half of the tomatoes - if that many.   We've already processed several jars of canned tomatoes and we made juice.  We've had a few meals of fried green tomatoes and lots of fresh eating.  Today is another day of canning more beautiful maters. Come winter, they are so flavorful.

I've been dehydrating herbs for several days too. The below pics are of the wonderful crop of parsley we had this year.  I planted them with my petunias and it was such a showy backdrop for the flowers. You can see pics of them on some of my past posts. 

I've had this dehydrator for so many years that I can't even think back that far.  I'd be willing to bet they probably don't even make this 'off-brand' unit any longer. It has seen a lot of use and  I will be lost if the day ever comes that it just plain gives up on me.  I've used it for everything from herbs to vegetables, jerky, fruits, you name it!  It's like an old friend that shows up for it's annual visit usually in the fall. 

 Once I had the dehydrator loaded for day and knowing we planned on working in the garden and yard for the day, I put a ham in the slow cooker.  Once we came in and got cleaned up I boiled some new red potatoes for parsley buttered spuds.  Oh my goodness ...  have I mentioned how I love this time of year!