Heavenly Apple's

I think I just love to have any and everything to do with food, I grew up in a house where my parents loved to cook and have beautiful dinner party's, and in high school I became accustom to having birthday party's with fillet of beef  and  caviar.  I love food because I grew up with parents who taught me to appreciate your pallet. I told my mom the other day  that I just loved my new obsession with canning and  she told me that   it is a Blessing to your family and to God to work eager with your hands, (proverbs :31-13)  and that really   hit  home for me, I love to take care of my family and the house we have been blessed with. I love to cook and to serve, everything I make and cook I make with love, as corny as this sounds it couldn't be more true. So long story short, canning is a new passion and it would only make sense that it has to do with food, because I have such fond memories of family and friends and it all comes back to FOOD:)

So with out further a do, the best apple sauce you will ever taste in your life....
This recipe I got from the cutest little web site http://www.make-it-do.com/
I followed her recipe pretty much step by step although I  added to my sauce at the end 4 scoops sugar, a few dusting's of nutmeg and of course cinnamon to taste, it was allot of fun to make and I am planning on buying an attachment for my kitchen aid which will make it allot easier then the food mill was today!!
Now don't forget to save your skins and any leftovers for that apple tini that is sounding so good right about now, cheers!!

Fall Harvest

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One of my girls

Apple's from my backyard

I know what most of you are thinking, fall? Already? Yes fall....In my opinion the way you know that fall has arrived is when you see the first  apple falling from the tree, the first leafs changing its colors and  when you start noticing acorns on the ground and the squirrels hoping around gathering there food for the winter. That's when you know the chill is coming, the warm cozy fires will be lit and the cider and soups will be made. Fall my absolute favorite time of year. So on my upcoming menu for canning I think it will go like this, First Apple sauce, and most likely apple butter, Pear something to be determined and raw cider, I found a recipe for canning cider how cool will that be! Of course I 'll be posting my fall favorite foods and drinks as well, so thanks for taking the time to share in my joy of learning how to can, cook and much more! Cheers!

Dutch oven pot roast

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

This was something I threw together mid -day because I was craving a warm cozy meal.

One rib roast

1/3 cup olive oil

2 handfuls new potato's

2 handfuls sliced carrot

3 cups organic chicken stock

1 med white onion

1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup

handful fresh torn parsley

salt and pepper

handful fresh thyme, stems removed

3 cloves garlic chopped.

Pre heat oven to 3.75

Heat olive oil in  a heavy cast iron pan

or dutch oven, salt and pepper meat generously( I always use kosher salt)

brown meat until nice golden crust forms on all sides

remove meat set aside.

Add to hot pan chopped onion, carrots, and garlic

salt and pepper stir about 2-3 Min's until partially cooked

return meat with drippings back to pan and add potato's, stock and cream soup

Give it a stir until soup  is blended in

Put lid on pan and cook in the oven 2-3 hrs or lower temp to 350 and cook 4 hrs

Enjoy!!

Peach Honey

http://www.pickyourown.org/peachescanning.htm

If you could only smell my house right now, honey and peaches fill the air, it makes me want to go and buy crates and crates of peaches so I can just make more of this sweet nectar. Its a process but so very worth every step. Tonight I got about 6 little jars full of this liquid gold....this might have to be apart of my private  stash or I must really love you to give you some:) I have to tell you this is unlike any honey you will ever taste, rich and silky fresh honey with hints of peach. AHHH peach honey, yummy, yummy, yummy!

Peach juice

  I used my peaches and bee honey from Olson farms here in Salem. Now I realised that it is best to do after you can your peaches that way your ready to go and you can make the most out of your peach!

I have some fun photos for you and I really hope you'll try this while peaches are still in season, and next to come will be apple sauce with of course apple butter, happy end of summer and happy fall to all:)

Oh and don't forget to save your peach left overs for delicious peach Bellini's,peach margaritas, and of course peach sangria or peach mojito's! The website I used for peach honey is at the top of the page:)

2 honey bees wondered in my house looking for the honey..

Peaches Baby

Peaches are sweet and luscious, they melt in your mouth and get all over your hands! Parker and I go to our favorite farmers market about once a week to get our fresh milk, fruits and veggies, and of course to see what is in season. On this particular trip as Parker is doing his usual pointing  at all the fruit saying BOOBERRYS! BOOBERRYS! I noticed the beautiful peaches, $10 a crate for #2's which mean there very ripe ready to eat and some bruising, Perfect for canning! 2 boxes later  I was ready to go, I got my recipe fromhttp://www.pickyourown.org/peachescanning.htm

its a great site and step by step directions....this was allot more work than I realized, but sooo worth it, and as usual by the end of the day I thought to myself no more canning this week! Until I woke up the next morning thinking of peach honey!! Stay tuned:)

This is his 4th peach he kept grabbing peaches from the crate:)

After a full day of canning these beauty's, I knew I had to make a peach drink,  Here's what I did

Put a couple handfull's of  ice in your blender,

add some rum however much you like

then add 4 or 5 peaches and some of the simple syrup left over from canning or just use one of the jars you just canned, juice and all.

one banana.

Blend and sit some where cozy and enjoy! Cheers!!

Spicy Dilly Beans

 I have now canned at least 35  of these spicy dilly beans this year and I think that it should be enough for gifts and to last me through the winter. I feel more confident each time I do a recipe and learn as I go....for instance, I learned that the beans have to be at there prime for canning, crisp and snappy or else you'll get shriveled beans which will still taste great but look rather disappointing as I learned on my last batch:)

Next week I will be canning sweet apple sauce from our little orchard of 3 different kinds of apples, also to come I am going to be making peach honey from the leftover skins I saved from my peaches I canned last week I will post that as well but for now enjoy the Dilly's there so crunchy and spicy I love them by themselves or in a dirty martini and of course a bloody Mary... cheers!

Spicy Dilly green beans

Makes about 4 pints so ( I always triple the recipe depending on how many I want, I bought a 22pd crate this year which made 24 cans and then I just bought 10 pds yesterday which made ten quart jars)

2 pds green beans

1/4 cup canning salt, I perfer kosher.
2/1/2cups vinegar
2 1/2 cups water

2 or more teaspoons of cayenne pepper ( depending on how much kick you want)

4 garlic cloves

4 heads fresh dill

Trim ends of green beans. Combine salt, vinegar and waterin a large sauce pot. Bring to boil. Pack beans length wise into hot jars( wash jars and lids in hot and soapy water, then sterilise them in boiling water ten mins, dry lids and wipe jar rims)leaving 1/4 in head space add cayenne pepper garlic and dill to each jar, ladle hot brine into jars over beans, remove air bubbles, add lids process pints and quarts for 10mins in a boiling water caner. Let sit 12-24 hrs to cool and listen for the pops! If your new to canning like I am make sure to  read the step by step process to canning safely.

This recipe from Ball blue book

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Canning, canning and more canning!

So last year was the first time I canned anything in my entire life, I guess I figured canning was an old lady thing to do....and last year when mom asked me to can with her I said sure why not, how hard could it be?
Well after hours of hard work and 3 dozen cans of spicy dilly beans later I thought for sure I would never can another thing in my life. Until the day I opened up one of those cans and enjoyed the fruits of my labor.....OMG! As my sister would say, they were amazing and until I ate the last jar this year I decided to brave it once again and start what would later become an obsession if you will, something I would enjoy doing, something for me and so it starts....this week spicy dill's and spicy green beans.

Spicy Dills
Ingredients


8 pounds 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers

4 cups white vinegar

12 cups water

2/3 cup pickling salt

2 - 3 cloves garlic per jar, peeled and halved,

3 - 4 sprigs of dill per jar

1 -2 chili peppers per jar

Directions

Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink (I use the bathtub!) with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice as required. Sterilize 8 (1 quart) canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil.

In each jar, place 2 half-cloves of garlic, 2 - 3 sprigs of dill, 1 - 2 chili peppers then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves. Fill jars with hot brine. Seal jars, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue.

Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes.

Store pickles for a minimum of 8 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place
 

I'll post the spicy green beans later:)

My Girls..( my chickens)

After being a so call city girl most of my life I have to admit living out in the country is just right for me.
I wouldn't have it any other way, I love the fresh country air and having a lawn that never ends and one of my most favorite things of living out here  is I get to have CHICKENS!!' I love my girls just like they were pets, they garden with me,  they come when there called and best of all they give me such beautiful fresh eggs.
Lulu the white one is my favorite she is very sweet tempered and I have had her the longest. I now have 15 hens and a rooster named Sirly...and that he is. I am raising a gentleman or else he becomes coq co van.

Lulu

Sirly

Here are some pics of my sweet and broody girls......oh and in about 16 days I should have some new additions to add to the family my sweet twin silkies are sitting on there eggs so faithfully I just couldn't say no:)