September~

 It's September~

Can you believe it?

September is that nondescript month without a season.

It makes up for it with all its activities.

For me, it's a time to preserve.

The gardens are growing in full force since the Heat Dome dispersed.

I've done pretty well this year so far.

The heat made things a little wonky, but it all somehow works out.

Now I'm down to tomatoes.

I was completely out of sauce and down to 5 jars of diced.

That's only 2-3 meals of diced for us depending upon what's cookin'.

I did not photoshop this pix.  They really look like that 😂

So I am trying to get them canned up while I can.

I have reusable lids so am getting used to those on things 

that only require water bath canning just in case of operator error.

During the 2 months of triple digit weather,

anything outside wilted about as quickly as the sun rose.

By the time the weather broke, most flowers at the markets 

were marked down for quick sale.

I happened upon some of them and rescued them from their

garbage bin destiny.

They have thanked me in the most generous way.

Their blooms are beautiful and though my little area

is still a work in progress, it is a welcome spot.

And I am thankful I was able to have a few flowers

to brighten the area even if a little later than usual.

My bean wall took forever to get going but now is going crazy.

The bean blossoms are usually white and some have been, 

but we are also seeing these beautiful spice colored flowers.

I think I have 3 different kinds of beans in here due to

them being eaten in the spring.

I have potatoes to dig and will be rearranging the raised beds 

before next year.

I have another idea for next year (heehee, go ahead and shake your head.)

And lastly, I started this post the beginning of the month,

but we've been hoppin'.

Hubby had a goal of 60 gallons of salsa this year.

We have currently made 99 quarts.

I had to chime in and tell him he can't hog all the tomatoes.

I still need more sauce.

Our pepper plants are going like gang-busters also,

and he doesn't want them "to go to waste."

I told him we could freeze some poppers to use some up.

I will get this posted and hopefully be able to put together

a more reasonable post soon.

Hope each of you is enjoying the turning of the leaves.

The Summer Kitchen

 One of the unexpected perks we discovered once I finally got to see our “new” home was the way the original garage and the newer garage were joined.  The wall between the two structures was not removed.  The newer larger garage would obviously be used for its intended purpose, and will house Vern, our 1948 Ford 8N tractor (more on him another time.) 

The small original garage then became an easy choice for the summer kitchen.  I had a makeshift set-up in the shop at the old place, but did a lot of going back and forth between the house and shop.  This gets to be the real deal!  I do a tremendous amount of food preservation, soap making, and candle dipping, as well as daily cooking.  The old saying (since we are in the vintage era here) “Make hay while the sun shines,” holds true for people food as well as hay for stock. Canning season is typically during the hottest months of the year.  It is so nice to be able to have the stove going and not heat up the house.  Or dehydrators going.  Or the mess corn makes.  Or…

(The "before" shot)

In case you aren’t picking up on it, I am over the moon excited!

Here, let me show you~

It has two windows both of which are broken.  The one over the sink was missing a large shard and had a scrap of cardboard propped over it, not even secured, just kinda sitting there - Classy I know.  MrLB was walking out behind the building to check the roof (which leaked but is now fixed) and noticed the shard on the ground.  Without saying anything, he got gasket maker and applied it to the edges of the shard and put it back in place.  I was cleaning inside when he came in and took the cardboard from the window and said, “There.”  I was amazed.  He’s just so sweet.

I still have my old pantry shelves which now house canning pots and empty jars.  I might change things up a bit as I use it and get the space figured out, but am just smitten with it all at the moment.  

I have the igloo set up by the sink for water since there’s no water to the building.  There is a large bucket under the drain of the old concrete sink to catch the water which will work well so I can water plants with it.  

Next is the hutch I recently acquired and cleaned up.  It will house pretty much what it did in the mountain house other than my herbs and spices.  My bowls aren’t out here yet as there was a bit of a mouse problem so we had to get that under control before I store things like that out here.
I haven't seen any "evidence" of the little rascals for nearly a month now.
I'm sure it will be on-going, but at least now maybe we can have a bit better control over the situation. 

Next is the harvest table.  I had this at the old place too, but honestly, it was usually covered with junk.  It’s an old library table about 7 feet long, and I love it!  It is a perfect height for me.  I am rather vertically challenged :-)  Standard kitchen counters are high for me and when working at them all day, my neck and shoulders get tired/sore.  It’s right next to the stove so I can move heavy canning pots to and from or have a handy work surface when dipping candles, etc. The cauldron fits under it which makes use of that space as well.

A couple other tidbits are the old yellow table and chairs so we can sit to shell peas or string beans or whatever the task at hand is (a cup of tea?)  The cushions actually go to our outdoor furniture, but rather than figuring out just where to store them for winter, I just put them on the chairs. 

And at the moment, I have the clothes line set up in here though it's easy to move outside if I want to.  We get more wind here which sounds like it would be great for drying clothes, but it's often dusty as well so this works out well.
  I've just brought the clothes trees out and will cover them, but
that would be unsightly for the photo.
The shelves will go in the house eventually, but for now they are just sitting there reminding me that I have more to do.

And in this corner which is actually a bit embarrassing at the moment, is where I will put my potting/gardening bench - against the same wall as the freezers.

The fabric on the hutch.

Last but not least, is the guard bunny.  Hucklebunny Hideaway is right out the door so she can be sure to help “recycle” any veggie leaves or goodies that become available.

The funny thing about all this is that when we figured out this space would be the summer kitchen, I hopped online for ideas on how to set it up.  If you do a search for “Summer Kitchen,” you will either see the Hollywood pool-party version or a fireplace in a historical cabin - no happy in between for practical use.  I do realize we are not exactly main stream in our ways, but I would have thought there would be a few.  I realize it looks rather rudimentary, but I assure you it all gets scrubbed before food is processed.  I would love to know if any of you have a summer kitchen or if you set up a temporary one for canning 
(or other specific tasks.)  
I've been busy amending soil that doesn't appear to have seen a spade
 for a decade or more.
Nearly everything is planted.  There are a few more things to get in the ground tomorrow then it will just be whatever progressive planting I decide upon.
I pulled out first radishes today so it won't be long, and I will be putting this space through a real workout.

Hope you are enjoying spring.

It Begins with Peas

From now until late fall,

the pressure canner will be a constant part of the kitchen decor.

Peas are the first crop to harvest.

They are also one of the easiest things to can.

To can peas:

Fill the jar with fresh peas to 1 inch below rim,

add 1/2 tsp sea salt,

fill jar with warm/hot water to 1 inch below rim,

make sure rims are clean,

secure lid - just finger tight

place in pressure canner w/ water (follow canner instructions,)

bring up to pressure (often 11# but 12# here)

let 'cook' at that pressure for 40 min.

Note: check your canner chart for elevation / pressure requirements.

The peas start out a bright green.

After they are canned,

they become a bit darker.

Once they cool, the "water" in the jar will solidify slightly.

This is pea oil.

Peas are a bean so produce an oil.

When I heat the peas to eat, I leave this in the pan.

We add no color enhancers or chemicals to our foods.

(Yes, technically salt is a chemical.  I know.  But we can pronounce it:)

The first time I canned peas,

I called a friend, because I thought I did something wrong

when I saw the pea oil.

She was kind and didn't even laugh at me.

This has been our evening entertainment for the past couple evenings.

One of my goals this year is to keep better track of how much we preserve.
I have a hard bound cheapo notebook
that I have began keeping a log with the dates as well.
This will help us to know how much we eat each year
as well as when we need to be ready next year.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches