Blackberry Jamboree

We're still in high blackberry picking mode over here. I just can't pass up the plethora of free fruit sitting in the back yard. The passion fruits are sloooowly ripening, there must be at least a dozen of them. I have store away about 4 pounds of blackberries in .5lb zippy bags in the freezer but they're coming in faster than we can eat them. Preserving and using them is top priority.

I took approx. 5 cups (which is about 2lbs) and cooked them down to a low sugar blackberry jam. I used Sure Jell's low sugar pectin this time and had a much better gelling than with the Gel-EZ I bought in bulk on Amazon. We use one of these little half pint jars in our house during one meal of PB&J. Stockpiling jam is a serious necessity. I also found RealFruit Low/No sugar pectin in a jar at Walmart which I will try with a second batch.

Blackberries are a funny thing, they're tart cousins of raspberries. You either love them or hate them, there is no middle ground I've found. But I dare anyone that dislikes the tart juice of a blackberry to refuse a slice of this blackberry buttermilk cake. It's OMG good and easily devoured. Make two, you're going to need it.

The bushes that were brimming a few weeks ago (yes, I've been harvesting 1-3lbs a day for weeks) are dying down and the last patches that held out are bursting with fruit. I give blackberry picking season another week at most. By preserving them, I can relive it the rest of the year.

Conquering fear with copious cuteness

After my successful canning of a few jars of cranberry sauce I decided to gung-ho it and just can up a bunch of stuff. I went to the grocery store Wednesday which was an enormous mistake. The asiles were packed with cart weilding maniacs hunting down the last minute trimmings on their lists. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised that my kids weren't the gawd awfulest behaived in the store. Nope, that award went to the middle-aged moron wearing safety headphones hooked up to his MP3 as he yelled at people to "Move please" as he shoved his cart around the tightly packed lanes, tailgaiting and cutting people off as they reached for the cumin as if he were driving his mid-life-crisis convertable down the highway.

I wanted to trip him but I refrained. It was a pre-holiday after all.

Wednesday was also the final day of the buy one get one free bags of fresh cranberries. I bought nine bags. And forgot the sugar. So, the wild canning frenzy didn't start until today when I not only picked up the much needed sugar, I also snagged 10lbs of organic pears.

After adding too much water to the cranberries and having to boil them down for over an hour, I finally got 12 half pint jars (plus another half pint that I put in the already opened last batch pint jar). I minimized the sugar to just enough to knock down the tart of the berries but not enough to make it at all sweet. The berries have plenty of natural pectin as to not need additional through sugar. Then I wasted the 15 minute hot bath processing time by making cutesy labels for the tops.

The image is courtesy of The Lily Pad, a company I've purchased clip art from before when I made the Lacing Cards. Don't ask what a hedgehog has to do with cranberries and/or canning. It's cute and that's enough reason for me.

The Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving is a plethora of wonderous canning information and I took the time to really read the proper way to process the pears. I ended up using Florida grown honey and water to make the syrup instead of white sugar. While the jars could have been packed a bit tighter (there is a gap at the bottom where they've floated to the top) I think I did a smashing job on them and their labels. I wish I had gotten more out of the 10lbs but the chickens and rabbits loved the peels and leftovers.

Therapy Smerapy. I can conquer my own fears.

I am scared of my pantry.

One of the quintessential homemaker ideals that stretches across doily covered borders to encompass a myriad of topics like budgeting, shopping, gardening, nutrition, and apocolyptic meltdowns is canning. Taking food (preferably homegrown, organic and the like) and recreating it so that it lasts without the modern conveniences of space-aged vaccuum sealing and electrically cold storage devices.

I can't tell you how in love I am with those little embossed jelly jars. I look at them with stars in my eyes as I imagine myself in a sparkling white apron and June Cleaver skirt humming a tune whilst filling them with fabulous concoctions as I flitter around my checker board floored kitchen -which is also sparkling clean. And no, there is no word to describe my imaginative super self other than flitter.

I do not flitter. At all.

The dream dissolves like sugar in boiling water as I carry the cases of jars into the house. My heart sinks, literally. I know its true because I can feel it rest on my stomach -which at this point is churning madly threating to topple over in a very un-June way- as I put them away, wiping the dust off the top of the canning pot and push my love of a stacked pantry overflowing of gorgeous little jars in between my gut and heart so I don't throw up.

 The fact is, I'm terrified of canning. Those pretty rainbow filled jars scare the crap out of me.

Yuck it up, laugh all you want, I can't hear you and I'm grateful for that. It is a completely irrational fear. Rationally, I realize that but it doesn't really change it. Why, you ask am I scared beyond reason of canning? Two words.

Food. Poisioning.

I also realize that if you follow proper canning instructions, work in a clean environment with sanitized equiptment and check freshness seals before ingesting that the percentage of actually obtaining a food-borne illness is relatively slim to none. Dying from it, again high on my list of irrational canning failures is even less emminent. But it still freaks me out.

Which is why I have a cabinet filled with what was supposed to be strawberry jam but is now renamed "Strawberry Cheesecake Topping" (remember to follow fruit to sugar ratios and pectin is your friend). The pretty little brass ringed jars have been shoved to the top most cabinet above the stove out of sight and mind, the contents of which will probably never see the light of day again until we move and I empty the vials of death and diarreah down the drain.

Ridiculous, I know.

But if I can ever redeem myself of this absurd fear I have to contiuously try my hand at canning. I want to master my fear and my incompetence in this vital homesteading area.

Today, I made cranberry relish. And I canned it.

ooohh, aaahhhhh

Please tape your cheers and post congratulatory videos on YouTube for all to see. Though two jars didn't seal those will go in the fridge to eliminate any misgivings about their viral content. The other that did will only be canned until next week when I go to the in-laws for T-day but it's a step, people. A big one.

Now pray no one gets sick, it would be the end of my canning career.

Goings On

I have been carless since last Monday. Rob made it home from Army drill Sunday night with assistance from a tow truck. Since he has to go to work every day, he's been taking my car. He worked hard Saturday and Sunday to get it fixed but there's still a few more things that need to be done. Which means I'm housebound again this week and kinda going nuts.

I did get out on Saturday with only three kids in tow and made it over to the grocery store and farmers market before the skys opened up. We have a seven day a week farmers market over here that I've been going to for years. It's where I get my local Amish made onion cheese which is to. die. for. This past weekened they had a sale on bing cherries. $1.49 a pound. I bought about six dollars worth.

Sunday, that got turned into this.

Yesterday, after watching numerous YouTube videos, I decided Conner needed a haircut. I only very poorly trimmed him once. In these 100 degree- 100 percent humid Florida days, I have to be vigilant in the care of the Angoras. It's one of the reasons we have so few breeders in the state. I hadn't realize how long his coat had gotten until I got the shears in there and started cutting it away. His coat was at least 2.5" long. Three is the recommended length for trimming but I can't wait for that.

He was such a good boy, sitting still in my lap while I slowly clipped away his winter jacket. He's been having a rough time of it. Duncan has been marking him (which means he's been getting pissed on). Being first time rabbit owners and not having this problem until about a week ago, had no idea why Conner was getting so dirty! We thought maybe he was too young to know how to care for himself or maybe he was sick. But upon closer inspection and research I realized Duncan was the culprit. We put a board between the cages and the problem has been solved. Now to clean up the bunny.

I didn't get quite all of him done yesterday. Today will start round two of his haircut. I still need to do his neck, shoulders and cheeks where a lot of mats form, around his sides and tops of his feet and trim off a bit on his belly. The belly and bottom of feet hair have to stay to guard against the cage wire but it needs to be cleaned up.

It's gotta feel so much better out there.

I ended up with almost a full ounce of hair that I've put in a plastic bag to save for spinning. I also found a breeder up near our land that has a good bit of does ready. We're going up to the land on the 4th weekend and could pick them up on the way back home. I still have a little trepidation in my heart after Flora but I need to move on if this is what I really want in life. And it is.

Last night, while Rob and Alex were at puppy class with Leeloo and the other kids were already tucked in bed, I decided to pull out the knitting. Most of the sewing projects are either completed or at a stage where I can pause. It's nice to mix it up a bit. I started a gnome.

Sometimes, I look around and think my life would be so much easier without all the constant projects. I can't go anywhere without something new piquing my interest, something I want to try. My to-do list is miles long as it is. But in all honesty, the life of a homesteader is chock full of things to be done everyday, as is the life of a mother and homeschooler.

To be self-sufficient means doing things yourself. It's not a life for everyone but it is the life for me.  

Watermellons and Sugar Babies

As I mentioned in another post, I have a watermellon that needed support rigging. I headed outside the other day in the terrible Florida heat to set up some sort of make-shift hammock thing with a pair of pantyhose. I really had no idea what I was doing. I had heard of others doing this, supporting their produce with support garments, but hadn't had anything to try it with. Two years into gardening and there is still so much I don't know, which is okay. It's exciting learning little things, especially on my own even if they don't work out and I disappoint myself.

I found a circular tomato stake lying in my gardening supplies and set to work.

It's not perfect but, so far, the watermellon seems supported quite nicely. The hose gives it breathability and are strong to hold up the quickly growing fruit. They were also only $2 for a queen size. I don't think I'll let it get tremendously big though.

In other new, Max -my sugar baby- has taken up co-sleeping again. During his horrible week of being sick two weeks ago, his only comfort at bedtime was sleeping on my chest while I was propped up a bit. It helped to keep his lungs and nose clear of congestion. Max is almost eighteen months now and had quickly grown out of co-sleeping as an infant, preferring to sleep in a bed in our room on his own. 

We considering ourselves Attachment Parents, taking cues from our children as to what they need when they need it. Cordelia co-slept for close to two years, Olivia only about six months and still dislikes sleeping with others. Alex slept in our bed for about four months then returned to our bed at about two and a half years old. Emmy was in her own bed out of our room before she was one.

This morning, I woke up with baby Max snuggled next to me. His head supported by my arm. His toes wriggling against my leg. He turned and looked at me through sleep-slit eyes and smiled. He climbed up and threw his whole twenty-three pound weight against my chest in a great big good morning hug. Tiny arms wrapped around me as far as they'd go. My own grin split my face as I hugged him tightly back.

He's my baby boy. He's my last baby. I am going to miss this.

I wish I had prolific squash.

Someone *ahem, Emmy...* stuck a quarter in my SD card reader so there was a moment there where the possibility of getting new photos up for all these new posts was almost nonexistent. I skillfully pulled it out. A few days ago Max popped off the space bar, relieving me of the ability to separate words. I think the kids are mutining against my computer...

In other -better- news the summer garden is getting prepped. I bought this Hydrofarm JSV2 2-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System grow light and mentioned getting it on Saturday. Monday, I planted the seeds and Tuesday set up the light.

It's on the top shelf of the homeschool room. It literally touches the ceiling. I'm really overall very happy with the light. For under fifty bucks shipped, there isn't anything I can complain about. I'll have more of an opinion though, after the seeds sprout. I bought some square pot plates but didn't realize they were too big to sit side by side, so I'll have to use the remaining space for more of the little yogurt cup planters without drilling holes in them to drain. No biggie, but I have to wait till we eat more yogurt before I can plant.

I planted bib lettuce, rosemary, pumpkins, watermellon, yellow summer squash, chives and parsley. From the garden I pulled out the remnants of the seven romaine plants, the blueberries that got fried and the cut down broccoli stalks. There's a lot of room out there now. The tomatoes have pretty much finished, I lost a lot to the stink bugs but did get quite a few in. There are still a few more cherry tomatoes going.

The one watermellon also is a loss though the vines are twining beautifully, I suppose it grew to fast and it split itself. I've never grown watermellon before so that was a learning experience. There is another getting quite big on part of the vine that's vertical. I bought some cheap pantyhose today to make a sling for it since it's dangling heavy in the air. I'll post photos on that soon. Should be quite a sight.

The couple of carrots and the canteloupe seem stunted and the Kiwi burnt out. It's just so hot here. The banana peppers are looking good though, and a few of the herbs are really thriving. I'm doing better this year from last but there's still quite a lot of disappointment out there. Seventy square feet isn't much but it's more than I've ever done.

I think I might be the only person on the planet that can't grow zucchini. I planted eight seeds. Four sprouted. Only one has really thrived and has given me three tiny shriveled stubs of what had been promising shoots and one good sized fruit. There are two more that look good but we'll have to see. I envy those that have to give zucchini away or find four pound fruit hidden in the vines that they were completely unaware of.

I wish soul-deep that I had prolific squash.

Garden News

The summer garden is in full swing. While I've had some set backs; the dog eating some plants, a couple stink bugs eating the 'matos, a few plants getting burnt in the sun, sprouts not sprouting, things are going fairly well in my little seventy square feet of city dirt.

When I dug up the ground that was covered with creeping grass and a multitude of weeds and laid down my simple garden frames, I knew I was in for some weeding since I didn't use anything to kill off the unwanted growth. So far it hasn't been too bad. Some stray grasses and weeds poke through here and there, some worse than others but a quick pull and they're gone. If I stay on top of it, it's really not a problem.

But somewhere during the earth turning and seed planting, I got an unexpected surprise. A shoot came up near the snap peas and lemon grass, a place I didn't plant anything and I didn't know what it was. It didn't look like a weed.

I have very limited plant knowledge but this didn't seem to be something I wanted to yank out just yet. It wasn't close enough to harm the other plants by choking them out so I let it be. I could always pull it later. Plus I had a fair idea of what it could be.

It grew. It vined. It got little flowers on it. And yesterday I found this.

And this.

These are the kind of funny things that happen when you garden with kids and don't crouch over them, watching like a hawk that they do everything exactly as you tell them. Seeds get planted that you don't know about and you get plesant surprises in the form of baby watermellons. Watermellon being one of Emmy's favorite food groups, I'm really hoping these babies thrive and she gets to savor the labors of her works. Even if they weren't what was intended.

I have a confession

I used to not like tomato plants. At all. I know, I know! What was wrong with me?? It was that sharp earthy aroma that had me crinkling my nose in distaste. I couldn't stand it. It would permeate my hands and just UGH. Really, though, as much as I love eating tomatoes (and I seriously do love them), I can't fathom why I didn't care for the smell of the actual plant they come from. It was odd.

But now? Now, it's like a sweet perfume. A balm to all my garden woes. Perhaps, it's because last year I didn't harvest anything really except tomatoes. Maybe it's because I finally, finally, figured out how to actually grow something. And not completely obliterate it. And even get it to harvest.

These photos are of my three tomato plants. There is a cherry, a beefsteak and...another one. All three have blossoms. Every day I come out and they have exploded with more new itty ripening 'matoes. The smell doesn't bother me anymore, I love it dearly now. I would probably wear it as perfume if it was available (ooh, tomato vine essential oil?) I love those little guys so much I'm planning on getting a tomato blossom tattooed on my person.

Yeah, it's that kind of crazy love.

Smoothies a la Me

I like smoothies in all their forms. Juice based, milk based, yogurt based. You say smoothie I say "yeah!" I've always thought it was a great way to use up too ripe fruit and get much needed vites into the kiddo's. I have just one little problem.

I don't know how to make a smoothie.

Well, that's not entirely true. I know how to get a packet of smoothie mix from the store and blend it with frozen fruit and milk but after that my knowledge, experience and confidence in smoothie making goes flying out the window. Right along with all the amazing benefits of this simple treat. I have friends that make smoothies with vegetables (vegetables!) and still I sat on the fence mystified, thinking there must be a book, a website, to learn from. Some carnal knowledge that is ingrained in their bones giving them the keys to successful smoothie making sans powdered mixes and hip juice joints.

So I asked, and guess what? they just winged it. I've been known for sucessfully winging. Heck, I do it daily with five kids running around. Maybe smoothie making isn't too far out of reach for me.

Yesterday, I set out to confront my uncomfortableness. That's part of this whole big scheme I have going on with farming. Looking at a project or problem and not walking away. Not taking the easy road and letting someone else do it. Standing up to it and my inadequacies and head butting them like one of the goats I want to raise.

I stuck some stuff in a blender.

That there is Kefir (another new headbutting thing I'm trying), Strawberries, raw Wheat Germ, organic Whole Milk, Kale and Honey. I only added one leaf of Kale for the whole smoothie. I might be ramming things with my head but I don't want a concussion. Easy, baby steps over here.

I had to tweak it a bit. The strawberries weren't very tasty, actually a bit too tart so I added about a tsp of Raw Sugar to round it out.

I might not have blended it quite enough, the Kale pieces were noticable and a bit large but I did get most of the kids to drink it and I had some too! I encourage you, if there is a thing you want to try but are unsure to just go ahead and do it. The final product might not be perfect but it'll be yours and it'll be good.

Productivity Reins

Yesterday was quite a busy day. First, we woke up at seven...I mean eight. I haven't caught up to Daylight Savings yet*. Rob put together the bike trailer and hooked it up to my new bike. Did I mention we bought bikes on Saturday? Cordi got a new one for her birthday and we picked up a brand new two seater trailer at Target a few months ago for 90% off. All that was left was getting bikes for the rest of us.

The kids were excitedly donning their helmets as they raced impatiently around the yard. Emmy couldn't stay out of her "carriage". It was nine -no that would be ten- before Max got up. We rode a half mile down back streets over to the local highschool where, once a month, they have a farmers market. The day was gorgeous; blue skys, puffy clouds, a high of 70 and a cool breeze. Perfection. Or as close as we can get in Florida. It's days like this that make me long for more moderate climates where these pitifully few days we have down South stretch weeks long. But then we remeber that it usually snows in those places and how much we really actually do hate the cold.

The small turn out of last month's market left me sorely unprepared for this one. The small lawn of the highschool was packed with people, kids and pets. The number of booths grew, practically spilling into the street with local vendors. It was marvelous.

We got a nice bunch of organic veggies and fruits. A head of cabbage for making the sauerkraut in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook that should be here today. Crisp lettuce and perfectly red plum tomatos for a salad. A huge ripe papaya for Duncan's wool block issue. Heavenly organic oranges and local strawberries. We got fresh squeezed orange juice (that we watched the see-through machine squeeze into our cup, mystifying our techie kids) and real brick fired pizzas that were cooked in a portable handmade oven, mystifying me.

My bike trailer trunk was loaded with goodies as we headed home after loosing Emmy for about 5 minutes, alterting the band to make an announcement and being emotionally reunited with my precious wayward daughter. Loosing a kid for any amount of time is terrifing. My heart thumped in my stomach and nausea soured in my throat. It happens, though. Especially, in highly crowded places. A kid walks around a corner, across an asile in a busy place, or follows a new "friend" (meaning some other kid) away from you when your attention isn't laser beamed on them. They're not really "gone" but try and tell it to a parent's kick-drum beating heart. If it hasn't happened to you yet, it probably will at some point. Thankfully, it worked out positively today.

After getting home and gorging on oranges we set out for the yard. Rob "tilled" the beds I was having trouble clearing, using the motorized edger. I made the fourth, and last, bed frame. Now there are two four by eight foot beds, separated in the middle to make four 4x4' beds. Cordi and I bonded over weed pulling. She's my little garden girl. She loves the work, the dirt and the rewards of the harvest. We weeded and added more dirt to the bed, manure mixture and top soil. We planted two fruited pepper plants, seven sprouted romaine, and one lonely basil.

my garden and my girl

We hung the ladybug house and read the instructions on how to release them, which we'll do later this evening. I added a trellis to the zucchini that are growing quite rapidly. The aphids aren't as plentiful as they once were, I don't know it that was because of the two ladybugs I saw (and possibly more hidden ones) or if they just flew away. I don't really care as long as they leave me the hell alone. The broccoli is indeed flowering and I think the carrots are sprouting.

While I was working on the beds, Rob was putting together a wooden picnic table so we can eat outside more and enjoy the work we're doing in the yard (and bonus, not have to have the kids eating in the house for every meal). Maybe we can all fit on this table too so we can enjoy the same meal at the same time. Wouldn't that just be a thing.

Leeloo seems to be a bit better today so her issue might have been the food change. Duncan gobbled up the papaya and is drinking water so maybe his wool block isn't such an issue. Maybe he's just "off feed" because of the climate change.

I made my first bunny poo harvest and generously fed the surviving single tomato and distributing the remainder over the already formed beds. I also drew out some worm tea and gave everyone in the garden a good splash (the plants, not the kids).

We're ate pizza again for dinner, leftovers from our visit to Rob's aunt Saturday night on a new stoneware pizza pan. I've been drooling over switching out our teflon coated ones for the stoneware equivalents but the price is holding me back. What a wonderful woman for giving me a brand new one! We also were gifted her upright full-size freezer (see the big white rectangle on the porch in the photo with Rob and the table?) All that and I still uploaded photos from the visit and got in a few rounds of Mafia Wars. I'm excited with the days' happenings, thankful for the opportunities -and gifts- we've been given and optimistic after a bad day of worry.

*It's stupid and I hate it and it will take me until a week before the time changes again to get used to it...and change all the clocks in my surrounding area to the correct time.  

In The Yard

I'd like to post that I got the entire third garden bed dug out today. I'd like to tell you that my back didn't hurt. That I didn't get dizzy and light headed. That I managed to get those poor romaine sprouts in the ground that are stifling in the little pots I bought them in weeks ago. I'd like to, and I probably could if I wasn't being honest.

A strawberry that has so far eluded Emmy.

Truth is, after two hours working out there I'm beat. My head is a little fuzzy, my shoulders are killing me (Thanks a whole lot to the guy that hit me last July). I'm too young to feel this bad after just a little bit of work. I really need to focus on my food intake and stop eating tons and tons of Girl Scout cookies with every meal while trying to convince myself I'm just doing it to support my two new Brownie Scouts  food that's not very good for me. I have a sweet tooth. A bad one. And I'm picky. And an emotional eater. But that's a whole other post.

One of the blueberries.

The 3rd plot got about half way cleared out. That creeping Florida grass just doesn't want to come up! Cordelia was a trooper and hung though it, helping to pull up as much as she could after I broke it up with the three prong handheld garden rake/fork thing*. We'll have two 4x8' beds once I'm done plus the various potted trees.

Garden so far.

I did get to replant the pineapple which Leeloo has been battling. Did you know various long green things are a puppy's sworn enemy? She got the broccoli too. And the Elephant Ear tree has been taking some hits.

Unmarred Broccoli

Days like this are precious in the hot as Hell state of Florida. It's gorgeous outside a high in the low 60's. Bright blue sky the perfect shade without a cloud in the sky to take from it's brilliance. Birds swooping and singing to me while I work. The bugs are still laying low since the temps do tend to dip. I have to covet these kinds of days while we have them.

The sky above my house.

Seeing the veggies and fruits sprouting and not having to worry quite yet about the bugs is a huge thing for me from last years horrific, heart crushing invasions. Everyday I pray they'll survive. I go outside filled with hope and a little bit of fear. In a few years we might be banking ours and the lives of five little kids on what I can grow and actually get to harvest. The garden could make or break us. It's a liberating feeling, exciting too and yet very, very scary.

Zucchini

Sorry the photos aren't cleaned up more. My editing software seems to think the photos are being used elsewhere and refuses to save any changes. I haven't been having a very good relationship with technology lately.

*Does that thing even have a proper name?

Pineapple Not So Express

Raw Food Energy Bars

Looking back again, I found THIS post and since the ingredients to make these are sitting in my pantry I thought I'd do a recap...this time posting the recipe I forgot to do last time (oops).

Today I made cherry and apple raw bars. Of course, I forgot to take photos today so the above is from when Livi helped me make them over a year ago. It's a pretty basic formula I think

equal parts dates to whichever dried fruit you prefer and about 1 cup of nuts per 3/4 cup date/fruit mix.

Here's what the cherry bars were

2 cups dried cherries
2 cups dates
2 cups WHOLE nuts (I did a mix of almonds, cashews and walnuts because I didn't have enough of any one kind)

I just wing most recipes. For this I chopped the nuts fairly well in the processor but still left some nice chunks. Then removed those and did the dates and cherries together until it made a pastey kinda gob. Took that out, hand mixed them together.Basically, I used as much nuts as I thought looked good in the bars as I mixed so the proportions will vary. Lined a deep sided cookie tray with saran wrap and used that to make the squared sides by pressing the mixture into place.

Apple bars

1 1/4 cup apples (because that's all I had)
1 1/4 cup dates
a dash of cinnamon (I just dumped a little in)
2 cups nuts (I used the remainder of the above mix plus added a bunch of walnuts)

Much the same directions as above; nuts first and remove, dates/apples/cinnamon to paste (I had to add a little water to make it sticky), mix together by hand, used the opposite side of the same cookie sheet to make them square.

Cut into bars and individually wrap in cling stuff. All in all, these took maybe 20 minutes to make and both recipes made approx 15 good sized bars. Happy not-cooking!