Yes I Can!

Adam enjoying a walk through the "corn forest" as he called it with his flashlight for safety.

This week has been all about beginning to can and preserve the bounty of our harvest from the garden and orchard. It has been fairly hot here- in the 90's many days- so it is very hot to be canning but well worth it!

I love the bright and cheery Black Eyed Susans in the side yard!

Suburban Garden Report:

With all of the canning going on I have not been documenting our yard/garden as much this week. We did get out on Labor Day and do a lot of yard clean up. While Adam played with the hose and his pool we cleaned up some defunct water toys, trimmed back some tree branches, mowed the lawns, etc. It felt good to get lots of clean up done. We found out we had a climbing vine in the corner of our side yard that was poisonous and a member of the nightshade family, so Paul pulled that one out. It is all gone- hooray! The yard is looking nice and there is still a bit of fall maintenance to be done such as pruning the rose bushes and moving a few plants but it is largely ready for fall and winter now.

Finally! A ripe tomato in our garden! Hooray!

We finally have a couple of ripe tomatoes in our garden due to the warm weather. Adam picked one up yesterday and took big bites out of it! Yum!

I love how our side yard has grown and it looks so pretty now.

Also, I was able to get out the other day and weed the side yard and water all of the flowers out there. I really love that area because there are so many pretty, bright flowers in it. I love that Paul said that it looked "like Disneyland." What an awesome thing to say!

A flower blooming on the large perennials in the side yard.

I have also been harvesting a lot of rhubarb to make jam. It is so delicious in a variety of jams. It feels good to make good use of it. I plan to harvest as much as I can to make preserves and then freeze the rest before the season is over.

The next major thing to do in the garden is to collect and dry herbs. I will have to look up some information as to how to go about that.

The other day while I was weeding the garden Adam had fun sitting in the cul de sac drawing on the pavement with his sidewalk chalk. He had such fun! I love how he can really concentrate and get engrossed in an activity. It is so wonderful to see!

Adam drawing with sidewalk chalk on the pavement near our house.

Country Garden Report:

This is a beautiful cabbage growing in the country garden.

Last Friday Adam and I got a chance to visit the country garden at my folk's place. Everything is really coming along! The corn is over seven feet tall! It is a sight to see! It is great to see everything growing. I got to take home 3 lovely zucchinis as well as a big container full of blackberries and two large bags of apples! While I picked blackberries Adam and Grandma Serena went on a long walk through the orchard and some of the woods. They ended up near the shop where there is a large blackberry patch. Yum!

The blackberries that I picked last Friday.

In the following photos you can see what is going on in the garden and in the orchard. By this Friday there may be some more apples and pears to bring home as well as more produce from the garden. Also, with the hot weather, I'll bet it is about time to start preserving some tomatoes.

A very large beet in the country garden.

A pumpkin forming on the vine.

A winter squash.

Bell peppers in the garden.

More lovely squash.

A tomato ripening on the vine.

Jalapeno peppers- ready for salsa!


Corn forming on the stalk.

Some cucumbers that my mom uses to make her famous pickles.

Lots of grapes are on the vines.

Some of the big Gravenstein apples on the tree.

Me picking some Gravenstein apples.

Canning: Applesauce, Blackberry Ginger Jam, Rhubarb Fig Jam, and Apple Pie Filling:

I have been doing a lot of canning in the past few days. I was able to can many half pints of jam (about 10-12 or so), 15 pints of applesauce and 6 quarts of apple pie filling. It has been hard work but I really enjoy it and it is great to know that I will have delicious, organic food to eat in the winter that I prepared myself. Here are a few recipes for things I have made this week:

Swirls of cinnamon being stirred into my applesauce.

Apple Pie Filling:

The apple pie filling that I canned.

This is a recipe from my mom Serena Johnston. It yields 6 quarts- each quart can fill an 8 inch pie shell.

Ingredients:

5 1/2 to 6 pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 tablespoons lemon juice + water in a large bowl

Syrup:

4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 quarts water

Instructions without canning: (if you want to use the filling right away)

Add lemon juice to the prepared apples to keep them from turning brown. Stir remaining ingredients together in a dutch oven, adding apples. Cook until the mixture has thickened, stirring just enough to keep it from sticking to the pan.

Instructions with canning:

1. Put lemon juice in a bowl and add about 1 quart water to it. As you peel and slice apples add them to the bowl.

2. Cook all of the ingredients together except apples and lemon juice on the stove in a dutch oven, until the mixture is thickened and bubbly.

3. Pack apple slices into hot jars (that have been boiled for at least 10 minutes), leaving 1 inch head space. Fill with hot syrup, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Use a spatula to help distribute syrup. Adjust lids. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Make sure all of the jars seal- if they do not, boil them for a few more minutes.

Blackberry Ginger Jam:


Yields about 5 half pints of jam.

This is a recipe that I found online but I changed it a bit. I did not add the pectin that it called for and I did not strain out the berry seeds.

Ingredients:

5 pints or 10 cups of blackberries
4 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup candied ginger, minced

1. Combine the berries and the sugar in a large pot on the stove.

2. Mash the mixture with a potato masher.

3. Cook the berry-sugar mixture over medium high heat until it is thickened. This process takes around 20 minutes or so.

4. Take the jam off of the heat. Stir in the lemon juice, ground ginger and candied ginger.

5. Fill hot half pint jars, place hot lids on and seal.

-Tips for canning: I like to have on the stove: a pot with hot sterilized jars, a frying pan or pot with hot, sterilized lids and rings, a towel on the counter to put jars on and paper towels for wiping the jars if I get jam or applesauce on the rims. I want to make sure the jars are clean and seal so I make sure I wipe them off.


Fig-Rhubarb Jam:

My fig rhubarb jam in the pot on the stove.

This is another recipe I found online. I followed the instructions but I did not use pectin. It set up quite well without it.

Fig-Rhubarb Jam:

2 1/2 cups fresh figs (stemmed and chopped)
2 1/2 cups rhubarb (unpeeled and diced)
5 cups sugar
2 lemons

Cut rhubarb into small pieces, add sugar, chopped figs, lemon rind and juice. Let stand for a couple hours. In a preserving pan, bring to a simmer. Pour into a ceramic or glass dish, cover with parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, bring mixture to a boil while stirring gently. Cook on high for about 10 minutes, then check the set. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Jar and seal the jam immediately.

A Trip to Camp 18 and the Beach:

Last Sunday we decided to take a day trip to Seaside. First, we went to breakfast at Camp 18. They have a really neat old-fashioned log cabin restaurant. Outside there is a lot of old logging equipment and other machinery that Adam was very excited to see! After breakfast we toured around the grounds a bit before continuing on to the beach. At the beach Adam and Paul found lots of sea creatures. They saw a crab, a live razor clam, a fish that ended up on shore and two live sand dollars! It was quite a day! We had fun playing on the beach, then we got some lunch at a nearby cafe and then got ice cream bars at a local store. What a nice day we all had!

Adam on some "stairs to nowhere" near Camp 18.

Adam on one of the logs at Camp 18.

Me with Adam by a creek that is near Camp 18. Adam had fun throwing rocks into the creek.

Adam throwing a rock into the creek.

Paul with Adam by a power generating machine at Camp 18.

Adam and Paul with a crab they found in the water near Seaside, Oregon.

Two live sand dollars that Paul found. It was amazing to see them moving.

I love the purple color of this live sand dollar. After looking at them we put them back in the ocean.

Me with Adam playing in the sand.

I can't believe that tomorrow Adam will be starting preschool! We will be telling you about our new adventures next week and will have a lot to share about school as well as our gardens, cooking and other adventures! Enjoy!

Harvest Time and Fun!

Some of the huckleberries that I picked near the Peterson Prairie Camp area in Washington.

Wow! The past 2 weeks have been very busy around here so I haven't had a chance to get a blog post done! And, it's just going to get busier with Adam starting preschool next week! So, I wanted to make sure and post an overview of what has been going on in our gardens as well as fun, celebrations and recipes to share with you all.

Suburban Garden Report:

Our garden is coming along well this week. My lettuce is starting to bolt. It has been a great season for lettuce and we have enjoyed a lot of salads from it. I will let some of the lettuce go to seed and try to collect the seeds. We still have many green tomatoes but I got our first two small, ripe ones today. Adam ate them both right away! Also, we still have many huckleberries on the bush as well as herbs. I am collecting some lavender to dry and make some shortbread cookies with.

Our apple harvest from our dwarf apple tree in the backyard. Hopefully we'll make apple and blackberry turnovers soon. Adam said he'd like turnovers. Yum!

Adam eating one of the apples off the tree.

Our tomatoes are growing well, but I hope for some red ones soon!


A handful of my own lavender blossoms!


Huckleberries on one of our bushes. They are loaded with berries!


Some huckleberries that Adam helped to gather.

I just love these roses!

This impatien in the front yard is spectacular!

As the gardening season draws to a close and harvest season is here, I still really enjoy my flowers but many of them are waning. I have to pick and choose what I decide to do day by day because I cannot do everything. As a result, there are many weeds to be pulled and things to be done in the garden, but it will have to wait until later in the fall. Right now I am going to concentrate on harvesting everything from the garden and preserving as much as I can of it. At the beginning I was overwhelmed by everything but I decided that if I could do one preserving project a day, that would suffice. I am happy with that and pleased with all I have accomplished. I think it is better to take it one step at a time.

Country Garden Report:

This report is brought to you by my mom Serena. I didn't make it out to the garden last week because we all went camping. Here is what my mom had to say about what is coming along in the garden and orchard this week:

"There are lots of blackberries for Adam to enjoy fresh, besides picking them for other purposes. We also have Gravenstein apples ready for sauce and pie slices.

I have three huge zucchini on the counter right now, and smaller ones in the garden, so you can do anything you want with zucchini. There are some pumpkins and winter squash developing.

The corn has finally begun to tassel, and I see silk on some of the cornstalks.

I have a small batch of sweet cucumber pickles started. The beets are fairly springing out of the ground, so maybe we want to start using them in some way. Uncle Mark won't be making his pickled beets, so we could do some of those besides enjoying them fresh. I haven't looked at other recipes to see possibilities.

The green beans along the fence are in full flower, with some small beans forming. One variety of bush beans has been producing very well, but about 3/4 of the row didn't come up, so we don't have as many as we might. The other type of bush beans has flowered, but none have developed so far.

The tomatoes continue to be green. We have jalapeno peppers forming, and one green bell pepper.

My lettuce has begun to bolt. It has given us many nights of salad and sandwich and burger fixings, so I can't complain. I will probably pull up most of it and let some go to seed to save for next year.

We need to assess the kale and chard. I wonder if it would be a good idea to pick it and freeze some, so the plants will continue to produce. I am going to see what I can find on the subject.

The dill is beginning to flower. Again, I am going to let some go to seed to save it for planting next year, and the rest will be used fresh for pickles or dried for seasoning during the year.

The prune plums and Bartlett pears are close to ready to pick. They are right on schedule. I can always count on them around Labor Day more or less.

There are other apples and pears that will be ready to pick toward the end of September or October.

We can look over the other plantings in the garden and see what else might need to be done, but I think that is the majority of the possibilities. I enjoyed walking down the row, looking and the corn and beans, and saw one winter squash vine climbing up into the corn, about as high as the stalk of corn could take it. There was a lovely big blossom on it, and a bee was happily investigating the interior. It will be interesting to see what we might get from the corn patch besides corn!" Serena Johnston- Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

Adam turns Three!:

On Sunday, August 21, 2011 we celebrated Adam's birthday with a fun, traditional barbecue. Fun was had by all as the kids enjoyed playing in little pools and a slip n slide outside in the backyard. We also had snow cones, hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages and chicken along with baked beans, potato salad, green salad and chips. It is hard to believe that Adam is already 3! Time sure does fly when you are having fun! We had a wonderful party but we missed most of my side of the family because my Dad got the same illness we battled part of the summer and we were afraid of others at the party getting it. They surely were missed!!

Adam with Mommy and Daddy during his birthday party on August 21, 2011.

The peach cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes I made for Adam's birthday.

Adam working on blowing out his birthday candle on his cupcake.

Adam taking a swing at his kitty pinata. The kids sure had fun with it!

Camping/Staying in a Cabin in Washington:

Last weekend we took a lovely family trip to Trout Lake/Peterson Prairie in Washington state. It was fantastic! Many family members stayed at a big campsite in the Peterson Prairie area while we stayed in a nearby cabin in the little town of Trout Lake. The town was very charming with a general store that had everything! It sure was lucky that the store was well stocked because as soon as we arrived at our cabin Paul and I realized that we had forgotten our suitcase full of clothes. We had all of our supplies and plenty of clothes for Adam but nothing extra for us! So, off to the general store we went where we were able to find sweatpants, yoga pants, t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. They were all very well made and comfortable! How lucky! What an adventure! We enjoyed sharing some meals with my parents, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Mark, Stuart, Kim, cousins Helen and Rachel at the campsite as well as exploring a bit on our own and enjoying the peaceful cabin.

Adam enjoying a smore around the campfire.

Ladies at the campsite: Kim, Me, Aunt Debbie and Mom.

Paul with Adam along the trail. Adam loved to hike around the camp area.

The cute cabin "Songbird" we stayed in at Serenity's in Trout Lake. We enjoyed evenings out on the porch chatting as Adam slept.

Paul and Adam in a cave that connects up with an ice cave near the camp area.

The berry pickers: Me, cousin Rachel, Aunt Debbie, cousin Helen, Mom and Dad after picking lots of huckleberries.

Dad and Uncle Mark enjoying a beer along the road near the berry picking area.

Paul with Adam at Langfield Falls. Adam wanted to get close to the falls!

We sure had a wonderful trip! It was fun to visit with family, pick berries, enjoy meals and relax on our vacation. We are already ready for next year!

Camp Chili:

On Saturday night we were in charge of dinner so we brought some of our favorite chili and corn chips to share. Here is our recipe:

The corn and beef chili I made for a camp dinner.

This is a James Beard Recipe that I just love!

Chili Con Carne:

6 tablespoons butter
6 medium onions, sliced
2-3 pounds ground beef (I only used 2 pounds of beef)

3 20 oz, cans tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup beer or ale
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
1-2 tablespoons chili powder (or to your taste) ( I only added 1 tablespoon to make it mild)
5-6 ears of fresh corn on the cob, boiled and cut off the cob

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions and cook until they are tender but not brown.

2. Add the ground beef and cook until lightly browned, breaking it up with a fork.

3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, salt, Tabasco and chili powder. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

4. Add the corn and simmer 15 minutes longer.

In order to take this to the campsite in a container already cooked, I simmered the chili, added the corn but did not simmer it again the full 15 minutes. I wanted to corn to stay fresh and vibrant.

This chili was a great hit! We served it along with some corn chips and some lovely fruit that my cousin Helen brought to camp.

Making Jam:

This week I have made rhubarb-cinnamon, huckleberry, rhubarb-strawberry and rhubarb-fig jam. Last week I made spiced peach jam from the peaches we picked in the peach orchard. Next week I hope to make some blackberry jam and some applesauce and apple butter with apples and blackberries that we are going to pick at my parent's place this Friday along with other produce from the garden. Delicious! I will post more jam and other canning recipes next week when I get a chance.

Here is the spiced peach jam I made last week:

Delicious spiced peach jam bubbling away!

Spiced Peach Jam:

I really like the flavor of this jam. It is similar to the recipe that my Aunt Norma gave me. Because I could not find her recipe I used this one.

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 lbs peaches, peeled and chopped (about 6 cups)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a heavy large pot; stir to combine. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain an even boil.
2. While the mixture boils, mash fruit with a potato masher to desired consistency. Boil an additional 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until slightly thickened (you'll see the bottom of the pot when stirring) and set.** (Temperature should be about 221 F.) Remove from heat; remove cinnamon stick. I found that I needed to stir the jam for 30 minutes or more.
   
3. Pour hot jam into 4 sterilized 8-oz. jars. Carefully wipe jar rims; cover. Place jars upside down on a clean towel until sealed.
   

* To test jam, before you begin cooking, place a small plate into the freezer to chill. When jam begins to thicken slightly, place a small amount of jam on chilled plate; return to freezer for 1 to 2 minutes (remove jam from heat during testing time). When set, jam will be slightly set and will not run on plate. If jam is too liquid, cook an addition 1 to 2 minutes before testing again.

Here is a simple recipe for huckleberry jam that I found. It was great because I had exactly the amount of berries it called for:

Huckleberry jam cooking in the pot.

Huckleberry Jam:

4 cups huckleberries
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch

To prepare fruit: Sort, wash and remove any stems from fresh huckleberries.

To make jam: Measure fruit into a kettle, cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes — stirring occasionally. Add sugar and cornstarch and stir well. Boil rapidly, stirring constantly, to 9 degrees over the boiling point of water, or until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and skim. Fill and seal containers.

Jam making tips:

-I always have boiling on the stove along-side my jam pot: a pot of boiling water with clean half pint jars in it and a frying pan of boiling/simmering water with lids and rings in it. This way, as soon as the jam is done I can take some tongs and get a sterilized jar out and then seal it. I like to put the lid on, seal it tight with a ring and then turn the jar upside down to let it seal. This is the way that my mom taught me and it works very well.

Enjoy your harvest season!