I don't think anyone really expected the heat that came on Saturday. Maybe it's going to take me some getting used to but I was absolutely miserable!
I felt suffocated it was so hot.
My friend Carol had a beautiful Belmont Stakes Party at her house with a whole Pig and fabulous sides, and a delightful drink called a Belmont Breeze. I don't know all that was in it, but it was very punchy and fruity not too sweet, and the moment I felt as if the drink was going to my head, I prespired the very thought out of my mind.
After allllllllll of the rain we have had the garden plants didn't know what to do with themselves on Saturday either.
Once Sunday morning arrived the poor Brussell Sprouts were wilted, and droopy. They looked like they wanted a drink of water, but the ground had more than adequate moisture.
Thankfully, the temperature didn't feel quite as hot on Sunday as Saturday's oppression, and by day's end they looked like they felt much better.
I did have lots of weeding to do. As I mentioned last week, when I stepped in to pull a weed my foot sunk in almost to my knee!
I went through with the hoe and cultivated everything and it looks once again like a cared for garden. I am having some concerns for the leeks however, I think the rain was too hard on them as they were all fallen over and looking pretty sad. I took dirt and propped around them, and now today they look a little better.
I still have to cut the grass, as I have been cutting at it, and have yet to complete it.
It's just toooo darn hot.
Maybe after the sun goes down tonight I wack at it some more.
4 comments:
Can you give any pointers on Canning veggies? You seem to have a wealth of knowledge on gardening, and I need help :(
My best advise is to purchase or borrow from one of your 'Home' girls the 'Ball' (yes as in, Ball canning jars) Big Blue Book of Canning.
This book tells you how to can any and everything.
Canning definitely requires specialty equipment, all of which can easily be purchased at flea markets and yard sales, since no one cans anymore.
You will need at least one huge pot. But your clam/crab steaming pot will work.
Start saving jars.
You can buy them by the case, but glass ones that you buy your groceries in will work as well.
You will have to buy 'tops' and 'rings'. I like wide mouth jars personally (they are easier to fill), so purchase both size (wide and regular) rings and tops depending which size jars you have. The reason I suggest you purchase both is that I invariably have a little extra of something that I have made and find myself pulling an extra jar from a cabinet and it is always a different size than the tops that I have.
Tongs (regular size and giant size that you can pick a jar out of boiling water with)
Lots of kitchen towels.
At the yard sale or flea market keep your eyes out for a nifty jar holder that will slip into your pot that has a handle on top that you can pull multiple jars out at one time with.
Depending on the type of food you are canning determines the length of time that you boil it in jar in it's 'bath'.
Ph is the issue here, as you can 'can' just about anything, but pickles and tomatoes are the easiest for beginners (they are high acid). Beans, Peas, and other veggies will require a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are one of those things you here horror stories about and I have only used them with other experienced canners.
Stick to the pickles and maters and you will only need a regular pot.
You can probably go the Ball Canning site and read the same info as in the book, but I know for sure that the book has a lot of old recipes.
I highly recommend the 'Lyme Pickles'. Cut them into big chunks about the size of an ice cube, and enjoy the crisp crunchy sweetness of these delightful little things.
My daughter won 1st prize at the Worcester County Fair one year using heirloom Moon and Stars Watermelon rinds in the recipe instead of cucumbers. They were absolutely scrumptious. Talk about using everything you have.
I had never heard of Watermelon Rind Pickles before, and she found the recipe and insisted on making them. It paid off!
Anyway read the book or the site and see what you think.
If you proceed, I will offer you this tip.
After your jars have properly sealed ( you will know this when you start hearing popping sounds emitting from their vicinity), and you put them in your cupboard for long term storage, turn the jars and store them upside down.
This will ensure no air leakage.
Another tip, canning makes your kitchen really hot, so if you have any red neck friends that have those burners you see people cooking outside on; I highly recommend using them. This way your not steaming up the hole house during the hot weather.
I know it all sounds a little overwhelming, but it is pretty simple. It is a little steamy, but it is definitely a memorable event, and if your going to proceed with it get your recipes together, gather your supplies, and do lots of veggies on the same day so that you have a lot to show for all the work you did. Doing a little bit at a time isn't worth it, as I will usually double the recipes, so that I have a lot of jars to put up or give away.
Happy Canning!
Wymzie - Thank you. All useful advice:)
No "store-bought" cans of tomatoes, green beans, pickles or anything else that you purchase off the shelf can compare to the taste & quality of things that you "put up" yourself. We have been growing and canning our own for quite a few years.
The best memories of selfpreserved foods comes from my childhood years. In the summer, Mom, Granny, Sis & myself would head out to the pastures & fields to go blackberry pickin'. When we came back with buckets loaded down, Granny would make one of her delicious blackberry cobblers, make a few jars of jam, then can some of the blackberries for later use.
In the fall we always had a couple of hogs to slaughter. Granny would make her delicious sausage that we would always have for Sunday mornin breakfast. She would always fry up some of the sausage and can it foe use late in the winter.
On cold Sunday mornings before we went to church, Granny would make some of her light & fluffy biscuits, open a can of the preserved sausage patties and heat them up, then open a can of those blackberries and heat them up in a pot. We would take a couple of biscuits, open them up, lather them with REAL butter, spoon some of the blackberries with their juices over the biscuits, take a couple of sausage patties and dive in for a great breakfast treat. MMMM. Those were great memories.
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