Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Busy Kitchen

I hit it hard Monday morning with canning.  Well sort of.  I ran out of sugar so it continued into Tuesday too.  There has been no weeding, as the rain keeps coming, but just enough to keep me indoors.   Last night it poured and we are due for more today.



I brought in one 5 oz dinky serving of green beans, and two dinky hot banana peppers.  No yellow squash yet.   Our harvesting days are pretty pathetic lately.











Peach jam got canned., along with sweet pickle relish, cinnamon-blueberry jam and corn relish.  Whew!



A few zucchini's made it sliced, blanched and into the freezer, but the blackberries are still red.  Also, so far of what we've tasted, the blackberries are sour this year.  I'm not sure what I will do with them if they are all sour



More blueberries made it to the freezer.

We have run into a small sna-foo with the camper.  Once we hooked it up, only the turn signals work.  Brake lights and hazard lights are not working for some reason.  I'm sure my smart husband can figure it out before we do go camping.


I lied.  Our peach tree gave us one very nice looking peach this year.


I finally got around to making stuffed shells again, and some went into the freezer for an easy meal on a future busy day.

As you can see no more greens have made their way into the freezer. I am hoping this rain provides us some.

My back was pretty sore and my entire body pretty tired, so after washing a boat load of dishes and putting them away, I took my handiwork to the porch.  


16 comments:

mamasmercantile said...

Wow, I am not surprised you ache. You certainly have been busy with all the jams/pickles. Try adding some apples to the blackberries that can sometimes help if they are sour.

Susan said...

It's been feast or famine, weather-wise, this year, hasn't it? I'm glad you took some porch time, too!

Harry Flashman said...

Raining here in the Blue Ridge Mountains as well. But you sure used your time to good advantage, even if you couldn't get out and work outside.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

mamasmercantile, thanks for the tip with apples.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Susan, I actually finished a lapghan too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Harry, I am not one to sit idle, and my house is a mess, ha ha! I just try to think about winter and running out of stuff, so that pushes me to get stocked up.

RB said...

You HAVE been busy, despite the rain. What kind of handiwork are you working on right now?
I need to get back to doing it, before the shaking in my hands (essential tremors) gets too bad for me to do any of it at all.
Still getting rain here south of Raleigh too though not as much as last week. I wonder if all this unusual rain in July means August or September will be parching. Hope not.
Prayers for a good week for everyone.
God bless.
RB
<><

Mary said...

From memories of my grandmother’s farm, their blackberries always tended to be sour until they lost their shine. They’d soften up and get sweeter and then it was all hands to the pump to pick and make jam. Some weeks ago I was gifted a bag of cherries that were sour, and we used them to make cherry clafoutis and it was delicious, blackberry clafouti would be a good way of using any sour berries you’ve already harvested https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cherry_clafouti/ Those pans of stuffed shells you’re putting up for freezer meals take me back to my days as a young married. They were my Steve's favorite meal and when I’d make them (on a weekend) I’d make a large batch to freeze.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

RB, I finished crocheting a lapghan. Thanks

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks for the tip Mary. I'll look that recipe up.

Debby Flowers said...

No wonder you are tired - you have accomplished a lot! Those stuffed shells look great!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you Debbie, the stuffed shells are always great for a crowd or unexpected company.

Henny Penny said...

Your canned goods are so pretty! So are green beans. This has been a bad year for beans, around here anyway. It's that boat load of dishes I always dread. You had good reason for being tired.

Leigh said...

It's that time of year! I seem to be chained to the canning kitchen as well, with only a long enough lead to make it to the garden to pick some more. We didn't get peaches this year, which is disappointing. Seems I've had few harvests of those. The stuffed shells are a great idea. Love those grab and bake meals!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Henny Penny, you are right about all the dishes.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Leigh, I haven't checked my pear trees, but yeah, only one peach this year.