Seeing Red

Last night something amazing happened here... the a/c was turned off, temps were in the 60's - that hasn't happened since early May!  Last night I couldn't even concentrate on my book because I kept getting surprised by a wonderful cool breeze blowing through the house.  Today was more of the same.  I put off working in the garden today in favor or more "seasonable" activities like canning and going to the library.  Today was cool, in the 70's and breezy, and just felt like fall to me.  (I wasn't so happy the past 2 days, when we were cleaning up Irene's mess in the 90's!)  Fall always means putting up the last of the summer garden and activities like reading a book outside or a visit to the library.  After that library visit with the kids, I tackled the red stuff!

Left:  Poblanos, Right: Bell Peppers

Since I already have oodles of Poblanos hung to dry into Ancho Peppers...

I thought I'd try roasting and canning them to use as Stuffed Poblanos/Chiles Rellenos this winter.

Roasted, peeled, seeded and left whole for stuffing - pressure canned at 10 lbs of pressure for 35 minutes. 

The very, very last of the large tomatoes and beans.  These were harvested the day before Irene stormed through, and sadly the plants were damaged to the point of being ripped out.  All that's left out there are 2 little Juliet hybrid plants that I will use for drying.

 

One thing is definitely done for the year, no more tomato canning!  The kids go back to school next week, so I will have more uninterrupted time to continue the fall chores outside, but for today it felt nice to just do whatever felt like fall to me :)

Maintenance Day

Yesterday Mama Pea posted about taking inventory of what canned and frozen goods she had left from past season's harvest, and I thought I'd take advantage of our day of thunderstorms to do the same.

Ugh!  One thing led to another and next thing I was cleaning both the side by side fridge, my little chest freezer, and started throwing things in a crock pot madwoman style.

I only had 2 jars of pickled jalapenos left in the pantry so that wasn't too difficult.  The freezer however was a different matter, it was horrifying.  Like a "B" horror movie, Attack of the Beans!  I still have about 20 bags of Chinese Long Beans, and to think I planted twice that much out in the beds a couple of weeks ago.  FOUR gallon size bags of whole jalapenos, LOL.  It also became very evident the pros of using the Food Saver.  I ran out of Food Saver bags late in the season last year and everything that was in Ziploc bags had lots of frost inside.  I even straw-sucked the air out!  Needless to say I threw out the frostbitten stuff, as the new beans will be coming in soon.

I still had 1 gallon size bag of last-run tomatoes I had frozen whole, so I popped them in the crock pot with a few jars of sauce and the beans I had soaked last night and after adding some other "stuff", cranked out a nice batch of chili for the freezer.  It won't last long though, since any premade stuff gets eaten pretty quickly with hubby having to take his evening dinner to work with him.

If you haven't done this, give it a try with the odds and ends tomatoes you have.  The texture won't resemble tomatoes after freezing, but you end up with an easy way to preserve a few here and there to use as a substitute for stewed tomatoes.  The freezer breaks the skin for you so all you need do is thaw, peel and throw into a chili or sauce to make it chunky.  Don't get me wrong, not a substitute for a real batch of stewed tomatoes, but when you don't have enough to do anything with, just keep adding them to a bag in there.

One thing led to another...

This had been on my to-do list for a few weeks now.  I always dread the yearly defrost since that means I have to cram it all in the fridge-freezer, which is impossible.

I was ruthless in throwing stuff.  Below, now the freezer is clean and ready for this year's harvest.  The only thing from last year are the 5 jars of tomato sauce and salsa on the bottom.  I "sort of" have a plan... the basket on top with hold frozen baked goods and cookies, and the bin on the left will hold pre-made dinners.  I want to can all the tomato sauce instead of freezing, this tiny freezer gets so packed that I can't find a thing otherwise. That's the plan anyways...  

So where did the rest of the stuff go that was in there?  I put the rest of last summer's corn, beans and pepper strips in the main fridge, where they will be smack in my face while prepping dinner, more likely to be used up.  The shelf on top of that is all fruit.  I still have 4 pints of strawberry puree, 3 pints of jam, 1/2 gallon bag of whole blueberries, and 10 pints of pure blackberry juice - blackberry vodka lemonade, anyone?  You may notice I don't have any root vegetables, we can't store them here.  In our part of the country the water table is only about 6 feet down so no root cellars or basements, and the high temps and humidity make storage impossible.  I do have about 6 shallots and 4 garlic bulbs left, so we did well with those over winter.

Last night I treated myself to a few "cute" canning jars.  I wanted to get some little ones for pesto, herbs and the like, and also grabbed some of the small with the wide lids for homemade sugar scrub and foot scrub.  The wide lids make it so much easier to get hands into and the small size makes for a great stocking stuffer or gift.

That of course, led to a whole cleanout and inventory of the canning supplies...

Hubby and the kids got out of my hair for awhile today and when they came back the kids brought me some wheat they picked on the side of the road.  I hope they didn't expect me to make something out of the 8 or 9 stalks LOL.  They did make for a nice accent next to the bread I baked though!

  

Getting rid of pumpkin puree....  I love my new square mini cake pan/muffin thingy.  I'm not sure what it's for technically, but it makes cute loaves/muffins perfect for packing in a lunch.

Will it do any good to vow yet again that this year will be different?  That I WILL keep better track of what I have and not forget about stuff in the freezer?  We won't count the times I ran out to get red sauce since I was positive we had no more... yet as of this evening there are  3 more jars in the freezer.  This year I will can more of it instead of freezing, last year with hubby deployed I honestly didn't think we would need much.  Of course I planted fewer tomatoes in anticipation of that but then disease took many of them, still leaving me with less than I wanted.

In summary:  more sauce, less beans!

I hope to make the kids a batch of strawberry ice cream tomorrow with some of that puree, but then again I might do nothing at all, I just want to sit down and call it a night!

Caffeine Rush

I got so much accomplished today! My "BFF" is having a BBQ tonight and I had self-imposed a deadline of 2:00 to get my kitchen cleared of all to-do items as well as mow the lawn, I did it! My one-woman show would never have happened if my kids hadn't been so cooperative, I consider myself very lucky! I kind of felt like Ma Ingalls sending her kids out to play with badgers in the crick, but whatever, they were safe and within earshot. I usually never let them go outside without me (we have a sex offender that works across the street, lovely, huh?) but it was a lovely 83 degrees and they played Lincoln Logs on the deck in the backyard almost all day. Does that mean payback will come tomorrow LOL?

0600: First shot of espresso...made garlic pepper dill pickles! I used my crushed dried chipotles from last year so this batch will be screamin' hot

0715: Child wakes up (probably from the vinegar smell LOL) and is overly excited about our newest vegetable to make it's debut, Yard Long Beans! These were so fun to grow and look like they will be beautiful in stir fry, my favorite winter dish for all our frozen harvest. I think we will always grow these from here on out.

0800: Sliced every pepper that dared cross my path and froze. Check this one out, is it a pepper or an ultrasound picture LOL?

0830: An iced latte, made all the berries and grapes that were in the fridge into juice and froze

0855: Watch with amazement at this little weird creature that hitched a ride in on the oregano:

0900: Decided to actually remember to dry some herbs and peppers this year, harvested and hung oregano and a few fish hot peppers and watched the kids fold my laundry - yep, you read it right! I was in shock so I had another shot of espresso

0915: Decided to clear my fridge of those damn watermelons. Can't bring myself to throw them away so I froze chunks to put into smoothies later.

0945: Decided to try EG's idea and feed watermelon to the dog.

Update: I forgot about Sprocket and the watermelon until the kids yelled "she ate it ALL"! I ran in to see that she did indeed eat it ALL, even the rind... I'm sure we will have a mess on our hands later...

1000: Made potato salad to take to the BBQ tonight

1100: Found every random tomato I could to make sauce before they spoil on my counter, still not enough so I made stewed tomatoes, 1 pint for the freezer

1200: Trip to the garden to make sure nothing else was left that I could possibly clear out (except the jalapenos of course, they are ALWAYS there!)

-saw that my Climbing Malabar Spinach had bolted in the heat, pretty little flowers though

-Noted that the Orange Wellington tomatoes that fell over during the storm are indeed dead. Drooping more with every passing hour. This is very bothersome since there are a couple of dozen green full size tomatoes on there that I was planning on saucing. Pizza Boy will not be happy about this. My Romas are my last hope I think.

1245: Mowed the lawn. I cheated a bit. It is so thick and damp from all the rain we have been having I didn't bag it ( I should have because it is too much mulch!), I just put it on the highest setting and zoomed around it quickly, 90 minutes is quick in my yard! It's still thick, damp and yucky but now it's thick, damp, yucky and all one length!

1415: Enjoyed a popsicle in the sandbox with the kids, then inside for another iced latte.

1445: Added the bleu cheese into my potato salad

1500: I asked the kids to pick up their mess and they actually did it (I'm sure this is because they are eager to go to the BBQ too since my BFF's 2 boys are their BFFs too!

1600: Ran everyone through the showers, clean clothes, yay! Kids were nice enough to let me blog, I think they have figured out their Type A mom is way more pleasant to be around when I have a clear head and counters.

We're off to the BBQ, and some much needed adult conversation time! I can truly relax now that I won't be accosted by random vegetables when I walk back in the door tonight. Although I am sure to be attacked by BFF's vegetables, but that's okay since I don't have to take them home with me! As long as she doesn't stuff any of that godawful Kolhrabi in my car. She loves that stuff, blech LOL! I think it's not the right time of year for it, so I should be safe!

One might think I was on crack today, but from what I understand crackheads bounce off the walls without getting anything done!

Now, where's my adult beverage?!...

How to make 9 lbs of harvest disappear in 2 hours...

did you guess?

SALSA!

Most of you are well aware of the usefulness of this particular condiment as a way to "get rid of" almost anything! It's delicious, nutritious, keeps well, and is always beautiful, whether fresh or cooked and preserved. Of course you can't ask for a recipe, since it's different every time depending on what I have harvested, but here's a short tutorial for putting some salsa away for another day! Beginners are often very leery of canning their harvests, and rightly so, it can be a time consuming operation and food safety is always paramount, so here is another way, just freeze it! I know many of you are well versed in this, but there are always beginning gardeners that just don't know where to start - we were all there once! Canning has its advantages, like shelf life and not having to rely on uninterrupted electricity for your freezer, but for stress free stocking up, freezing is the way to go! I figure I will be stressing over the canner soon enough in September when the backyard is nothing but a tomato jungle, so tonight is all about keeping it simple.

Looking again at today's harvest - Red Norland Potatoes, Quadrato Rossi Bell Peppers, oodles of Heirloom Jalapenos, Heirloom Yellow Sweet Bell Peppers, Heirloom Fish Hot Peppers, 4th of July Hybrid Tomatoes, one more big UFO Tomato, 2 little Cucumbers, and a bunch of Cilantro

We won't worry about potatoes, never a problem using those up, and the 2 tiny cukes will be eaten with a salad for lunch tomorrow.

I will add to this another 7 4th of July tomatoes, 1 UFO, 4 Orange Wellington tomatoes that were harvested over the weekend, and some garlic, shallots, and onions from my stash.

Here we go!

Assemble your ingredients. Use as much or as little of each as you want! Taste whatever hot peppers you have first to give yourself an idea of the heat. I have had jalapenos that ranged from almost sweet to habanero-ish towards the end of summer!

In my case:

1 bowl of all of the above tomatoes, chopped

1 bowl containing 6 small yellow bell peppers & 3 large green bell peppers

1 plate containing 10 chopped Fish Hot Peppers and 8 chopped jalapenos (they were med-hot today)

1 plate containing 2 chopped onions, 1 whole head of garlic chopped, 4 chopped shallots, and a bunch of cilantro

Olive Oil

Coriander

Cumin

Kosher Salt

Lime or Lemon Juice (just a half to one will suffice usually, start with 1/2 and taste)

Use whatever fresh herbs you want! If you have coriander, basil, rosemary, whatever, it's all good!

Step One: Heat up olive oil and add onions, garlic, sweet & hot peppers, cook over med-high heat for 5 minutes

(at this point you may want to remove some and save for later - you can always add more hot peppers, but it's hard to take them out LOL)

Step Two: add your tomatoes and toss

Step Three: add your seasonings and herbs, cover and cook over low heat 20 minutes

Step Four: Let cool a bit, then ladle into containers, label with date and contents, freeze!

When you are ready to enjoy, simply take out of the freezer and let thaw in the fridge. Suitable containers include plastic, glass mason jars with lids (remember to leave 1/2 inch headspace for frozen expansion), even baggies sealed and laid flat on a cookie sheet while they are freezing will enable you to stack them using less space.

Mission Accomplished!

4 pints of Salsa for the freezer, a half pint for using now in the fridge, 2 quart bags of frozen bell pepper strips

(note to newbies: you don't even have to blanch peppers before freezing, they are super easy to preserve for a garden fresh stir fry in winter!)

I love salsa on eggs, omelets, quiche, whatever... we're gonna' need alot of eggs since this is only the first day of the peppers!

Produce has disappeared! (of course it helped that I saw my next door neighbor have a friend over - fresh meat! I promply brought over 2 lbs of those jalapenos, she obviously hadn't got the memo yet)... only these few remain! But what am I going to do tomorrow LOL?

Last year I planted 9 jalapeno plants, waaaayyyyy too many! I still have 7 jars of pickled leftover from last year, and I use 1-2 jars a month! This year I cut it down to 6 plants and there still appears to be a problem, like 2-3 lbs a week! Either they really like producing in Southeastern VA or there is a conspiracy. I am a closet survivalist/prepper, so I will always go with the conspiracy theory! Some people have zucchini problems, I have jalapeno problems! Stay tuned for more exciting ways to dispose of jalapenos!

Today!

I am hot, tired, and cranky. That's the best post title I could come up with!

We really need to get on a better schedule again. I have been letting the kids stay up late, not even letting them out to ride bikes and such until after 7 pm, gardening up until it gets too dark to see at about 8:30 or 9 pm, and then watching tv, reading, etc until well after midnight! I am an early riser usually so being tired in the morning or the alternative, sleeping later and then feeling lazy for it, well, it's just not working! Today was the hottest so far, actual temp of 103 at 5 pm, heat index of 117. I knew it was going to be bad when I woke up and could barely see through the haze in the backyard, so I forced myself to do inside chores, but ended up really happy that I used the time wisely instead of just laying around all day!

Today's chore: Onion Day!

Because of the humidity, I have had my onions hanging and curing in the house for several weeks. I was able to ignore them for quite awhile since they were so pretty, but lately every time I walk by them or look at them sideways, the browned skins and tops would crumble and fall all over the floor! I took today as an opportunity to clean it all up finally. The few that were perfect were hung in mesh bags, but many were already bolting with wide necks when I harvested them, so all of those got chopped for the freezer.

I'm only cooking for myself and 2 little kids, so this will do nicely for stir fry and salsas into fall.

On to my pathetic garlic harvest. I "forgot" to order my garlic last year and on my way out the door headed to Minnesota for Thanksgiving I hurriedly planted a few of the previous year's harvest, thinking I would do more when I got back, but never did!

That's all I've got for this year, yikes! Good thing hubby the pizza chef isn't here, because I can hear him now, "oh, this won't do at all"!

The shallots, however, completely rocked out this year and I have no shortage of!

On the right is the remaining 1/2 garlic bulb and 3 shallots leftover from last year, I planted exactly enough!

Tonight, it's supposed to thunderstorm again so I didn't do anything in the garden except walk around with the camera wondering how the heck that stuff is living out there...

(sorry for hazy photos, humidity got inside my camera!)

The 1st Brandywine of the year

Sorry, I am obsessed with these Polish UFO's... they are getting so big!

"We're gonna need a bigger boat"

What am I going to do with all these peppers?

I just love the variegated leaves, even if the peppers look like yucky Okra, LOL

I didn't even know these were out there!

All those peppers are in this one bed!

Yuk, the Japanese Beetles are here... luckily they prefer my grapes and I noticed them over there tonight. These are my first apples, ever, so I really want them to live!

heehee, anyone have a bed that looks like this? pretty bad....! I kind of forgot about it back behind a shed and now it's full of weeds and Sassafras tree seedlings. I just dug it a month ago, but it's already been taken back by the yard.

Bells of Ireland - won't grow again, they fall over and look horrible!

My favorite right now!

I heard a rumor about the weather breaking tomorrow - I hope so because from the looks of things, I have some harvesting and spraying to do!