Garden ~ Canning Halted ~ Butterfly Pea Flower Tea ~ Power Outage Preparedness ~ Lap Afghans Donated

 Garden clean up is very late this year, due to circumstances beyond our control.  Now we are delayed with rain, but we may have a few warmer days this week.  We may only have two days left to finish the removal. In hindsight, we should have hired help, but.....

The sunshine kabocha produced a few, although most do not look completely ripe (by color), and the butternut is pretty small.  The cocozelle zucchini we left on the vines is the perfect size for seed saving.

Although most of the mashed potato squash was cross pollinated, we got a few that produced to enjoy.  We literally got zero spaghetti squash (which is very very rare, but we did have a bad drought year).  The Mashed potato squash is the white one in the above photo.

Russian red kale and a mix of Swiss chard were washed, sliced, blanched and frozen for winter use.  The bugs got to most of the Swiss chard.

Green onions were dehydrated for the first time ever.  I froze some as well, but we now have two options.  To dehydrate the green onions, you want to leave them whole (like I do with chives).  I store them as whole as I can in a canning jar, which is vacuum sealed.  I will snip or grind them as needed.  Each preservation method produces a different flavor and different texture.  

Snow is in the forecast, along with the rain.  Who knows what we'll get.  There are coyote and raccoon droppings all around the property as fall weather turns.

We've been trying to focus meals on meat and vegetables lately.  Easy, healthy and lower cost.  Fruit is always in the mix of course, but we are thrilled to find a new butcher for most of our meat (lowering our cost).  In the photo is a roast I put in a crock pot by itself (veggies in another one), and simply topped it with salt, pepper and a container of homemade mushroom soup (which I pre-make and freeze).  Absolutely delicious.

(Applesauce cake baked with home canned applesauce and a bit of molasses, topped with crock pot baked {similar to fried apples} apples)

Sadly, my canning is halted for the season (again, out of my control).  I have more apples, but we'll be adding them to salads, cooked meals (with vegetables), added to yogurts, crock pot "fried" apples, and such.  I want to try an Einkorn applesauce cake next.

I have already listed plans for apple canning next year.  I'm not sure if we'll get apples every year yet.  We'll find out next season.

Tea time . . .

New medicinal/herbal tea tried.  I have had the flowers, but brewed the tea for my facial toner.  I finally had to the time to brew some, and try it as iced tea.  I have discovered that adding lemon infused honey makes this the best.  It's butterfly pea flower tea (organic).  I will be trying it hot in the future.  I'm on the fence with buying another herbal tea recipe book.

I have since located two stores that specialize with teas, and one particularly with medicinal herbal teas.  Both are a bit of a drive, but on the radar for when there is time to check them both out.  

A recent power outage (actual two days of outages within one week)  gave us the chance to try out some portable, battery operated light bulbs.  I do have chargeable light bulbs in some lamps as well (some charge as they are used daily).  I do see how more canned fruit would come in handy for power outages, so that is on my radar for next year.  We also have two solar chargeable light bulbs, and are interested in expanding more preparedness for such times.  Our portable (small generator) can run the portable electric water pot, coffee pot, or other appliances.

On the handicraft front . . .

Seven crocheted lap afghans were donated to an organization that helps veterans and first responders this year.  I package each one in a zipper bag.  It keeps them clean for transport, and eventually to the new owner.

Started a new lap afghan.  I'm currently searching for new blanket patterns using stripes of different colors of yarn.

I had purchased a snap project bag for another crochet project, and needed one for traveling back and forth for appointments, and they did not have the same one in stock.  I ordered this one, and was not disappointed, although more expensive.  The larger part has a side zipper area, shoulder strap, and comes with a scissor holder and smaller zipper storage bag.  It works perfectly for the size I needed. 

It's been one doozy of a year, and we are so ready for it to be over with, so we can start a new year with renewed inspiration. 

It's time to finish up notes in our garden journal for the year.  We did not plant fall garlic (beyond our control), but we do plan to plant it fall of 2026.  I have dug up two chive starts, and already have someone to gift them to.  Thanks for reading today's, much longer than usual, blog post.

Garden ~ Canning Halted ~ Butterfly Pea Flower Tea ~ Power Outage Preparedness ~ Lap Afghans Donated  ©  November 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Fall is Here

 It's officially "fall" here now.  Woke up to 40°F and boy it is very chilly.  The leaves are turning even more, and more are falling.  The tomatoes are done for the garden season too.

5 pints of Lemony-Basil Tomato Soup was canned.  I normally get about 2-3 batches canned, but not this year.  I am thankful for what we did get.  The cold weather has started to diminish the amount of herbs we are getting from the herb garden now.

There are other goals now that the tomatoes are all processed. We will need to pull everything left in the garden(s), and do other prep work to put them to "bed" for the season. 

I still have apples to process, but they are in the fridge for now.  I need to get caught up with other work and I have a strainer full of garden bell peppers to dice and freeze.

I totally forgot that I planted several rosemary plants inside the garden this year, so I will need to process those (have no plans to try for the umpteenth time to keep them alive all winter indoors).

I now have a container labeled "canning" that holds old towels, and hot pads, and one apron.  It is now where I will be keeping all those items involved with canning.  They will not be taking up space in my kitchen, and I can grab the container when needed.  If you have canned with tomatoes or anything that stains or splatters, you'd understand why I would only use the older items to can with.  

In the meantime, I am writing up a plan for winter.

Fall is Here  ©  October 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Rain ~ Spicy Barbeque Sauce

 We finally got rain!  So thankful for it.  There was a field fire near us the night before the rain arrived.   It's been so dry, and the field dust was causing upper respiratory issues for so many people (wind didn't help with that).

Spicy Barbeque Sauce was canned.  It takes a lot of ingredients, so it's not my favorite to can, but it is real ingredients.  Yes, it has brown sugar.  It's a canning recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, that we have been using for several years now.

Rain ~ Spicy Barbeque Sauce ©  October 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Cranapple Butter and tidbits

 One more "first" for me this year (something new to try/experience). . . 

Cranapple Butter ( A Ball Canning Recipe).  I read this is good to top your turkey at the holidays, but we plan to try it on toast too.  Why did I try it?  Well, we had more apples from our trees.  Yes, I could can apple pie filling, but it may still happen too.

Wow! October is here already

 

Wow, the time has really flown by, and it would take a very long post to update every single thing.  Goodness. Thank you all for your advice on recent post question.  

Apples and Tomatoes Oh My!

 The early morning weather here has been downright chilly.  One morning it was 42 degrees.  Flower beds have been weeded.  The herb garden is next in line, but I do need to figure out what to do with all the rosemary plants I planted in the actual vegetable garden.  I have not mastered keeping them alive all winter indoors.  They will not survive the winter if left outside.

Did any of my blog writing followers locate a better "blog" platform online?  Just curious if anyone is moving from blogger. 

Embracing the Late Harvest ~ First Canning of the Season ~ Crocheted Cord Keepers

 

(picked one for canning)

All in one day's picking.  The bell peppers are on, but not all  ready yet (very late harvest year).  Those pickling cucumbers can hide so easily, even after making a thorough attempt to check for any.  The chickens were happy with their treat, and the kitchen was busy again.

Both went into meals.  The kale went into a breakfast, and the beans went into a dinner.

The English type (will have to look up the actual name) cucumbers we planted are about between 11 and 12 inches long.

Two large cucumbers went into making a cold salad with some cherry tomatoes from the garden, along with some fresh parsley, dill and peppermint.

We have been pretty creative in consuming the cucumbers.  Needless to say, I am finding some nice salad recipes that we are really enjoying.  

Canning season officially started this late month of August - sweet pickle relish.  We did not get enough of our cucumbers last year to can this, but we did have enough already canned to last 2 years.  We were down to the last 3 jars, so this is a blessing.  We use it to, no only as a condiment, but to make chicken salad, tuna salad, homemade tartar sauce, and more.

                             

 A bit of our lemon balm was dehydrated for tea making.  I'm in the process of starting more plants (for our soon to be designated garden area for perennial weeds/herbs). 

I also ground some dehydrated lemon balm for a lemon balm powder. A "first" time for us to make the powder.  I'll use it for baking, smoothies, and possibly other uses.  Possible uses:  salad dressings, pesto (fresh is best I think though), desserts, infused honey, infused sugar (just a thought), iced tea, and more.

I used some garlic scapes to make compound butter for cooking and grilling.  It is a "first" for us to make and try.

I followed the instructions and blanched the scapes first, and rolled it all into waxed paper to freeze first, then later slice and store for easy access.

Everything else garden related seems to be coming at us all at once.  I'm just taking a deep long breath and taking it one day at a time.  Every day there is garden goodies that need tending to - hot banana peppers, sweet corn, green beans, cucumbers.....you get the idea.  It is a blessing.

Although, the heat is returning for a bit, we have really enjoyed the much cooler weather.  It has been a delight to work outdoors, go for walks, read on the porch, grill outside dinner, and so forth.  Early morning sunrises are the best, and enjoyed, as you cannot get that moment back.

Unfortunately, we are going on a 10-day plus stretch with no rain.  The garden is suffering, so days are spent watering, which takes day off canning, freezing or other needed work done.

(this one was for our travel/camping tea-pot)

A larger amount of do-dads today require so many charging cords (trying to eliminate those with solar charge when we can), and one morning I decided we needed some "cord keepers" to keep things organized.  I crocheted us two to try out, and see who well these snaps will last.  I used no-sew snaps for the first time.  I had cotton yarn in my stash, so that is what I used.  I need about three more, but I am hoping the snaps hold out.  If not, I will be switching to the sew-on snaps.

Book reading has really slowed down, so no new granny squares for our book blanket.  I have added a few titles to my reading list, and (gulp) purchased two more books.

On the news front, a local food pantry distribution closed it's doors earlier this week, do to lack of food to provide those in need.   I offered our extra produce one year, many years ago, and they refused it.

It's been one hum-dinger of an August already, and no camping trips planned to offer some R & R yet.  A busy garden season is a grand happening, but it does tend to rob me of my self-care time.  I'll be working on that this month.

Embracing the Late Harvest ~ First Canning of the Season ~ Crocheted Cord Keepers  ©  August 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Just the Bits

 

I'm not sure who is happier when all the canning supplies go back in storage. . . my husband or myself, ha ha!  We got very little canned this year.  In fact, I only canned ketchup and tomato sauce.  Very strange garden year this year.

The majority of our own tomatoes were very very small.  Most likely due to the second planting (rabbits ate the entire first before we fenced it), and the drought we are having.  I was gifted enough tomatoes to can what I did this year.

The hot peppers are nearing the end of the season, and if you have been following my blog, you read that our "hot" banana peppers were not hot this year.  I yanked the plants and pickled the rest for the season.  These were not canned, but will last 3 months in the refrigerator.

I bought us a new tool for when we stuff jalapenos, or when I need to de-seed any hot peppers.  Call it being prepared for the next garden year, as we decided to freeze the jalapenos this round of picking.  I leave the seeds in when I freeze hot peppers.

I have pulled half of the bell pepper plants this season, as they are at the end of their harvest as well.  I have never seen this on a bell pepper until this year.  I am guessing it's sun scald.  It appears "burned" and a few other ones had it.

It's the end of the garden season, so we are pulling plants when we have the time.  I have already pulled some tomato plants, but hoping for a rain soon, so I can get those stakes out of the ground.

I started my yarrow infused oil.  I will eventually use it to make a yarrow healing salve.  I am learning a lot about yarrow this year.  If you have a tried and true salve recipe, please share.

Last year I made garlic honey, to use as a medicial if we needed it, but we did not, so I'm contemplating what to make instead.  I typically have Four Thieves Vinegar on hand every year, or even Fire Cider.  I'm just not sure yet.  What do you have on hand for the "in case" you need it medicinal?

My attempt to propagate our Thai basil failed.  They grew mold and zero roots.  The cuttings also attracted flies and that drove me nuts.  Out they went.

I have more herbs to stock up for winter.  It's on the to-do list.

The chickens have slowed down with egg production, as it is the typical time of year.  I will start rotating in our breakfast oatmeal bakes, to stretch those eggs out in our meals.

I can't remember if I shared this new recipe we tried.  It is a cookie recipe that uses tahini in place of the "oil" and has dates in them, oats (no flour), and honey.  At first, I thought I'd never make them again, but we love them!  A soft, chewy goodness.

We purchased some local beef tallow for the first time.  If you have used it for cooking, let me know what you used it for. 

Our weather is surging up to the 90's this weekend (making any outdoor recreation or work miserable).  We have not had rain all month long, and many parts of our state now have burn bans, including some campgrounds.  The drought has been pretty bad this year.

On the book front, I have only purchased one book since May. I'm so proud of myself.  I have purged more that I need to get rid of, and have more to read.  I started the year off great using the library, but have not been back since May I think.

Oh, and I used to be a hoarder of printing new recipes to try.  Way back in the spring, I started using a notebook.  Instead of printing the recipe, or holding it up in my tabs on the computer, I write the recipe name and location in a notebook.  When I have time to try it, I locate it, and try the recipe.  Nine times  out of ten, we don't keep the recipe.  I have only printed one recipe since spring.  I have hand written a few down on recipe cards.  No more wasting paper, ink and time.  I am pretty proud to end that cycle of waste and time (not to mention clutter).

Why do I look for new recipes?  Well, for starters, if we have a bumper crop of bell peppers like this year.  I look for new ways to make stuffed peppers for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Or I look for recipes regarding herbs, or medicinal herbs, or the like.

We also have a bumper crop of basil, and for the first year ever, I can freeze either pesto or just the basil.  

Now I am on the hunt for a new, and better tasting pie crust recipe for the holidays and other entertainment.

Just the Bits © September 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

What?! Learned something with my sauce maker

                                       

The sauce comes out of the center piece and into a pan (white part), and the "trash" comes out the left side and I put a pot there to catch it.  It's the seeds and peelings of the tomatoes.  Basically, anything sauce made, I do not have to de-seed or remove peels, as this hand cranked machine does it for me.

However, I always assumed it was doing it's job well the first time.

(second time running it thru)

I have no idea why no one, who uses a sauce maker, ever told me this tidbit!   I always "assumed" that my sauce maker worked well enough to give me the "goods" when saucing anything.  Wrong!  Run your "trash" thru the sauce maker a second time to get the most of those tomatoes.  I am still using my old sauce maker, as the new one has not arrived yet, and boy did I get more doing it twice.  I found out about this information, by reading comments on reviews of other sauce makers.  

It was the first time canning this year, hence the first time trying this.  Just wanted to share for anyone with a cheaper version of a sauce maker.

What?!  Learned soemthing new with my sauce maker © September 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Hot and Humid

 

I debated just freezing the last of the peaches, but canned a smalled batch early in the morning.  We'll get more peaches later this summer.

I made a new recipe for pomegrante vinaigrette.  One recipe uses the seeds (using a blender) and the other uses juice form concentrate (the one I tried).  I used a bit more dijon in ours to thicken it just a bit more, and we love it.  We are enjoying more salads this week with the heat index so high.

I was out checking berries and taking the chickens fresh cold water, when I discoveredd this growing between the raspberries and asparagus patch.  Does anyone know what it is?  The plant itself is growing just like a red raspberry bush, but it obviously is not a raspberry bush.

I have never see this before.  In finding this, I do see some poison sumac in another area, so we need to remove it.  Always something to take care of around here.

It was so humid and hot, I was getting seriously worried about my chickens, and I was about to go look for a box fan and extension cord, when I heard thunder.  The heat index was 103°F and extremely humid.

Soon enough we had not only a few hours of pouring down rain, but thunderstorms.  I'm not sure what took out our power, as it could have been due to everyone's AC on, or the storms.

Thank goodness I keep extra watering units for this purpose, and had them filled for the chickens.  I had to take them fresh cold water almost every 2 hours, due the heat index.

We also have several battery powered lights in each room, candles, a portable phone charger (however even 5G was not working to get weather updates), and I am very thankful I purchased our power source that runs on the same battery our power tools run on.  It has one outlet, a light, and a few charge ports, so we can charge our chargeable fans (we have two) to stay cool, and charge anything else.

In light of this, and for the fact the power has gone out more often, we plan to add some new items to our list.  A generator has always been on the list, but they are expensive.  We do have a plan to keep the lights on (more than the one the power source can run).

 By the way, we took the power source off of the lamp, used some candles for light, and plugged a laptap into the power source to watch a DVD.  Save your DVD's and don't get rid of them.  Our interent was out until this morning, so no netflix or amazon.  We were thankful we kept the DVD's and the old laptop for this purpose.  Otherwise, we could run one lamp and read books or play cards.

My husband is in agreement on keeping the lights on, so I'll update you if/when we locate what we are looking for.  We have considered a well hand pump in the future as well.  When the power goes out, we cannot get water from the well otherwise.

Once our power was back on, we could only watch a DVD using a DVD player.  Our interent was out the entire night and we had trouble getting connection this morning, but it's back on.  It makes you wonder about everything digital these days, and what to do with the power/internet out.

(source:  Amazon)

Our smaller one is similar to this one.

As for the fans, I had a small chargeable fan with a clip, that we use on the treadmill.  It worked like a charm to cool us. 

(Source: Amazon)  Our foldable chargeable fan is similar to this one.

The other fan we have is adjustable in height, and folds up, and we take it camping, so we had that one too.  Both have been used a lot, and my husband was impressed how well the smaller fan worked.

Of course we purchased them many years ago, so I can't say for sure if it's still on the market, but there are some very similar to them.  I'm just glad we had them, along with everything else.

We are thankful for the rain, as the gardens got a good dose of goodness, and the temperature dropped just a bit.  It is still very humid here however.

It's been too hot to do any garden weeding or tilling/cultivating at all.  The weeds are growing, so I hope we get a break soon.  I was literally dripping with sweat just being out there for the watering of everything.

At the end of the day, it's too exhausting to crochet, read or do anything really.  We are thankful for the AC (when the power is on) or the fans.

Hot and Humid© June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

This and That

 I've been keeping an eye out for spring wild violets.  They make the most delicious jelly, and the color is so pretty (and different, which makes it great for gifting).  

Rain continues here, so we may see wild violets earlier, but with snow in the forecast for today, we may not see them until next month.

Are you seeing wild violets yet?

If you have wild violets growing, or you are able to forage for them, you can read about the first time (May 2, 2018 is the day I picked the violets) I made this jelly on this blogpost (link).  It's not only a delicious and beautiful jelly, it smells wonderful while you are making it.  The next year I canned it, I used the 4 oz jars for gifting.  You do need to pack your cups when measuring the violets.  The less you have, the lighter the color and less of flavor.  

(photo from The Crochet Crowd - they are currently working up a pattern/diagram)

It's been so refreshing to walk into our living room and not see my unfinished doily sitting on the coffee table anymore.  What a relief it was to finish it.  However, I have stumbled upon a new pattern coming out for those liners you put between glass dishes (or pans).  I have seen the photos, but the patterns are being written right now.  It would use up some more of my yarn ha ha!  And it would be a small project for hot summer days.  Two wins.  It's just something I can make for ourselves, and use up the yarn stash.

The weather, like I said has been off the charts.  The rain is once again pouring down.  Severe weather returns later in the day and throughout the night - Thunderstorms, and the threat of tornados.

This and That © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Hot Peppers, Garden Updates, and other Tidbits ~ Released from Kitchen Captivity

 

I've gotten most of the jalapenos sliced and frozen for the winter/spring season.  I used a few to make another batch of fresh salsa as well.  There are a few more hot peppers to pick yet.

I canned one batch of hot pepper relish, using up the hot banana peppers, two bell peppers and some jalapenos.  I am not getting enough hot banana peppers to make it twice.  I'm okay with that.

We are still enjoying our slicer tomatoes for meals like tacos, breakfast side dish, topped on burgers, or in other meals.  

I will do a re-check on our hot pepper jelly, but I honestly don't feel I will get enough hot peppers over all to can any this season.  The evenings are dipping to the 40's here, so unless we heat up again, the plants won't last much longer. 

We never did get any fall planting done.  Life can throw a wrench in your plans once in a while.

We hope to get back to the chicken coop this week, during evenings.  It's on the top of the list right now.  The floor in the old coop is about to give way.  I had to crawl inside to fetch an egg, that one of the littles laid on the floor of the coop.  The floor is not in good shape right now.

My husband has been battling ear pain, but twice at the doctor, they said they see nothing wrong with him.  The ear pain is slowing down projects, so I am praying it gets better, or he'll have to go get x-rays or something.  He has ear drops, but he cannot sleep well, and days at work are rough with ear pain.

It's a freeing, and exhilarating moment, when you wash, dry and put away the "big pots."  It's even more freeing, when you can put the canner pot back in storage (even if it's for a weeks or months).  I have felt like I have been released from kitchen captivity!!