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!!   

Out with a Bang! ~ Paste Tomatoes are Done!

Lemony-Basil Tomato soup (BHG recipe).  One last canning day with paste tomatoes. Next year we plan to grow several types of paste tomatoes.  I have put a towel over my sauce and put sticky notes until the 24 hour period has passed, so I can label before I forget what is what ha ha!

The big pots are being put away, and tables taken down and folded up.  The tomato splatters all washed away, stove top scrubbed down.  It's a hoorah moment today.

It's a good feeling when the tomato season (other than our slicers left to enjoy) has come to an end.  I have been canning daily here for almost 2 weeks, and it will be a fine joy to have a day off today.

As most of you know, when canning season is in full swing, other work suffers inside and outside the homestead.  It will be nice to get some things in order today.  I hope to get my emails read finally too.

Canning season is not over yet.  At least I hope not, as we need hot pepper relish in the pantry.  I most likely will not can hot pepper jelly this year.  I guess we'll see, as some of the kids like it.  It just depends on supply and time.

I took a look-see at the other squash, and I do not see one acorn squash on the acorn squash plants.  Strange, unless the bees were so busy on the zucchini this year, they didn't make it over there??  I will take a closer look after the garden dries out a bit.

The rain that came through here, and even last night, has brought us a welcomed cooler weather.

One last note:  I asked my husband to pick me up a few pounds of ground pork from a local butcher.  He didn't.  He went to the store and got 2 pounds of grocery store "country" sausage.  Read the labels, and this is why I make my own breakfast sausage.  It contained "corn syrup" as the 3rd ingredient.  No wonder some people are diabetic and have other health issues.  Just an FYI.  You'd never think, corn syrup would be in sausage.  They often use a sweetener in store breakfast sausages and roll sausages.

Broken Waste Funnel ~ BBQ Sauce ~ Bell Peppers ~ Tidbits

Here is a photo of the waste funnel that goes to my food strainer/sauce maker.  There are 3 plastic tabs that secure it onto the metal strainer.  One tab broke off.  It has happened before, and I have talked to my husband about upgrading to a metal food strainer.  I have now figured out how I broke it off too.  If you are not careful when you slide the  the piece on, that is the splash guard/strainer, it will brake those tabs off.

The white tray that drains it off into your pot is what I am talking about.  Now my gasket has gone bad that is inside the metal stand part of it, and where you insert the handle to hand crank it.  Juice from the tomatoes now seeps out, so when I crank I have to wrap a towel around the base.  I could not replace the funnel for a year, as it was out of stock, and now the gaskets are out of stock.  With the amount of paste tomatoes we grow, and the amount of sauce making I do, I think an all metal food strainer/sauce maker is going to the top of our wish list.

I am making it work for the season.  I have to hold the funnel, so that the waste does not fall into the sauce pot.

BBQ sauce was canned  (day 7 of "sauce" canning).  We have been super blessed with paste tomatoes this year, but it is exhausting, and heats up the house.  I have been running a dehumidifier this year, to help with the humidity created from the sauce reducing all day.

I have finally caught up with bell peppers, and we are thankful for all that we are getting this year.  Most of the peppers went into the freezer, but we are still enjoying them with our meals.  I made more breakfast stuffed bell peppers and gave some to one of the kids.  They are so good.

Some of the produce we grow is needed ingredients for recipes I can too.  I have a growing list of new items to grow next year, crossing my fingers we get raised beds built.  I did not grow greens, due to the busy spring (husband had crazy work hours), so I have to find local greens and have a day of putting them up for winter.  

Update on the potluck . . . we ended up taking watermelon.  What happened?  Well, we went to Wal-mart to find me some summer slacks to wear to it, and because they renovated and moved everything around, it took us forever to shop and we were late to the gathering.

There were so many high carb sides served, so we ate at home afterwards.  They had lots of chips and dips, pasta sides, creamed corn (starch that we limit), and lots and lots of sweet desserts (so I'm glad we too the fruit).

As for the "slacks" I came home with 3 pairs, and ended up wearing a pair I had in the closet.  Not one of the ones I brought home fit well.  I am tall, and now losing some inches off of me, so it's been hard to find the right fit.  Anyway, I have to return them all now.  At least the return station is in the same place in the store (ha ha!).  

Oh, also, we ran all over tarnation to look for a farmstand with cherry tomatoes.  Not one had them.  I'm planting about 3-4 of those plants next year.

Paste Tomatoes ~ Spearmint ~ Cucumber Powder ~ Bell Peppers

I'll admit, that some things suffer this time of year, and yes that is a big ol' pile of towels on a kitchen chair.  It's been there for 2 days now, as I have been very busy, and too tired at the end of the day.  We still need to eat and we still need to have clean clothes and linens.

Tomatoes are still rolling in.  I've canned ketchup and Lemony-Basil Tomato Soup, and a 2nd batch of ketchup.

I've put a start on dehydrating spearmint finally.  I've also made dehydrated cucumber powder.  Spearmint is for tea and both of them are for Tzatziki Sauce this winter.  It is the first year to make cucumber powder, and I am researching the uses for it.  It sounds like it would be great in sauces, dips, and other recipes.  I had a few cucumbers getting too soft to make a salad, and didn't want to waste them (although I am sure the chickens would have loved them).  I do have a better plan to keep the cucumbers "fresh" after picking them.

The weather is heating back, so any dehydrating is on hold now.

I used some of our regular beefsteak type tomatoes to make fresh salsa.  I just throw it all in my food processor.  Our jalapenos are hot this year.  Woooweee! 

I have a few more bell peppers to take care of, but we found our newest, favorite breakfast. 

 I stuffed them for breakfast with some sage sausage, egg/cheese mixture with spinach.  The one in the middle spilled out, but you can't get "perfect" bell peppers when they are homegrown ha ha!  These were so dang good!  I used a recipe online from The Recipe Rebel, and just used the sausage vs. ham.

Has anyone frozen halves of bell peppers to make these over winter?  If we get more bell peppers in the garden, I may try freezing some in halves, just to try this breakfast.  I'm just wondering if they will be too soft after freezing.  Anyway, that is a quick catch up on what's going on here.

I found a quick pattern, to use up leftover cotton yarn balls, and I have a small container (one of the kids hand crafted me and gifted me one Christmas), in my kitchen now.  It's holding the leftover yarn, so I have a special place to work on them while watching the sauce reduce or canning. 

They are cup coasters, and after making 2 with the leftover balls of yarn, I had enough yarn to make one facial scrubbie, and still had a small bit of yarn leftover.  These are balls of yarn leftover from knitting dishcloths.  I do love the edging.  I now have learned a new stitch believe or not.  I'll get a better photo to share.  I plan to sell them all at the last, and only fall craft show this year (which I still have to locate and sign up).

I thought I took a photo, but will be back with that, as I am wondering what to do with the last small bit of yarn leftover.  I may call the local school and ask the art teacher if they could use it.

I am still putting up paste tomatoes, and may be doing it all next week. I am devoting Saturday to a day off from them, as we need to get the chicken coop worked on.  It seems that everything was put on hold, because of tomatoes.  I'm too tired at the end of the day, and I am my husband's only help.  If I am not available, it's not getting worked on.

We got a hot minute of porch time last night.  We grilled burgers and topped them with home canned pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, and grilled corn on the cob.  The weather was oddly chilly.  The Labor Day weekend will be hot, with temps up in the upper 90's.  I'm glad I did not turn the AC off.