Brief Update
Aug. 1st, 2012 12:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amberfocusOne of the problems with having a productive garden in the summer is that it can be hard to keep up with it, especially when it is hot. Today I picked 1 gallon of raspberries and 2 gallons of blueberries, probably 3 if you count what I fed to the super demanding chicken flock. They are not shy at all about asking for blueberries. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, considering the newbies are starting to lay eggs. Finally earning their keep! I have barely made a dent in the blueberries, either. I could probably pick another 5 gallons tomorrow and the next day and still have some left to do. Plus there are tons of red and green ones still. The raspberries won't be ready again to pick for 3 or 4 days. I picked the blackberries yesterday and I think I've got a week before I need to pick those again.
I won't be processing jam until the weather breaks so most of the berries are just going directly in the freezer. I did process a batch of apricots, a batch of blackberries, and a batch of blueberries a few days ago though on a cooler day, so I am not horribly behind.
I have a few things I need to get planted. More kohlrabi and broccoli, some cabbage which overwinters well here, and I'm going to poke in a few more green bean seeds just in case we have a great October. If they don't make it, it's just a few seeds. I need to transplant some everbearing strawberries, too.
I made bread today and made chicken in the crockpot. Tonight before I came to bed I threw all the bones back in with the drippings, added a gigantic leek (seriously, it took up half my eight quart crockpot), all of my veggie skins and peels that I had in the freezer (a quart baggie full that I save for stock, it is amazing how much flavor is in garlic and onion skins and carrot peelings and celery leaves and parsley stems that would normally be thrown away or composted without being used in most households), 2 carrots, 4 stalks of celery with leaves from the center, the rest of the parsley that was starting to turn a tiny bit yellow, smashed 5 cloves of garlic and threw in some peppercorns and sea salt.
I covered it all with water and it will go all night and I will have lovely broth in the morning. At noon I will strain it (and toss the solids in the compost) and add in fresh vegetables (onions, green beans, carrots, potatoes, garlic, peas, and celery), and some herbs. And then at 5:30 when we get back from swimming add in some cooked chicken to heat it up. Which means chicken and vegetable soup for dinner a half an hour later with today's homemade bread, sweet cream butter from the local dairy farm, fresh ground peanut butter from the food co-op, and homemade jam, plus about 4 pints of broth for the freezer (I'd pressure can it, but it is way too hot). And a simple cole slaw. Some days I just really love simple, down home, easy to make food. And the crockpot does not heat up the house.
Tomorrow I am going swimming with the kids. It will be nice to get some exercise of the non-garden variety (ha!) in. I do miss the pool when I can't get to it. I am going to get at least three hours of writing done tomorrow morning. My eye is healing, for those who asked. Starting the steroid drops right away this time meant the eyelid gland never got a full on infection and the swelling only lasted about a day and a half. I am still using the drops because it is tender though, but at least I don't look like Quasimodo.
I won't be processing jam until the weather breaks so most of the berries are just going directly in the freezer. I did process a batch of apricots, a batch of blackberries, and a batch of blueberries a few days ago though on a cooler day, so I am not horribly behind.
I have a few things I need to get planted. More kohlrabi and broccoli, some cabbage which overwinters well here, and I'm going to poke in a few more green bean seeds just in case we have a great October. If they don't make it, it's just a few seeds. I need to transplant some everbearing strawberries, too.
I made bread today and made chicken in the crockpot. Tonight before I came to bed I threw all the bones back in with the drippings, added a gigantic leek (seriously, it took up half my eight quart crockpot), all of my veggie skins and peels that I had in the freezer (a quart baggie full that I save for stock, it is amazing how much flavor is in garlic and onion skins and carrot peelings and celery leaves and parsley stems that would normally be thrown away or composted without being used in most households), 2 carrots, 4 stalks of celery with leaves from the center, the rest of the parsley that was starting to turn a tiny bit yellow, smashed 5 cloves of garlic and threw in some peppercorns and sea salt.
I covered it all with water and it will go all night and I will have lovely broth in the morning. At noon I will strain it (and toss the solids in the compost) and add in fresh vegetables (onions, green beans, carrots, potatoes, garlic, peas, and celery), and some herbs. And then at 5:30 when we get back from swimming add in some cooked chicken to heat it up. Which means chicken and vegetable soup for dinner a half an hour later with today's homemade bread, sweet cream butter from the local dairy farm, fresh ground peanut butter from the food co-op, and homemade jam, plus about 4 pints of broth for the freezer (I'd pressure can it, but it is way too hot). And a simple cole slaw. Some days I just really love simple, down home, easy to make food. And the crockpot does not heat up the house.
Tomorrow I am going swimming with the kids. It will be nice to get some exercise of the non-garden variety (ha!) in. I do miss the pool when I can't get to it. I am going to get at least three hours of writing done tomorrow morning. My eye is healing, for those who asked. Starting the steroid drops right away this time meant the eyelid gland never got a full on infection and the swelling only lasted about a day and a half. I am still using the drops because it is tender though, but at least I don't look like Quasimodo.
