Putting up peaches the easy way

This is a post I meant to write a couple of months ago. Sigh.

At the end of the summer a dear friend gifted me with a half-bushel of local peaches – talk about a good gift!

I feel so blessed to live in Alabama where we have access to a wide variety of local food year round.

I’m trying my hand at a fall/winter garden this year, and I’m longing for broccoli, turnips, and spinach!

Our weather is just now cooperating and accommodating to cool season veggies.

But, back to the peaches… these are soooo good!

I really meant to get a batch of preserves made, but it didn’t happen.

I have a feeling that my family won’t mind all the winter cobblers we’ll be having when there’s no more fresh fruit.

The freezer is stocked!

Pickling Lemon Cucumbers – spears and slices

I’ve been a busy woman lately. The lemon cucumbers have been prolific around here…

And aren’t they gorgeous all quartered, salted, and ready to be pickled?

I thought so.

I chose another recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving:

Pick-a-Vegetable Dill Pickles (page 16) for all of you who might have the book or be interested in what this beautiful goodness actually is…

Garlic, jalapeño, red bell pepper, and dill seeds. It smelled heavenly!

Yeah, this makes mama happy.

And while I was busy in the kitchen, my sweet boy was out picking figs. Fig preserves, anyone?

These are the slices – absolutely perfect for a sandwich, if I do say so myself.

Just look at that big guy up there! Most laid flat, but I wanted you to see this one.

They are admittedly a little seedy, but I didn’t let that stop me. Nobody is perfect.

And these are the spears… or wedges, is more like it.

These are the most beautiful pickles I’ve ever canned. Lemon cucumber dill pickles – a new favorite is born.

There’s just something about those stripes that does it for me.

And just so you know, the figs are beyond delicious… words fail me. Fig preserves will be happening soon.

In case you’re wondering how I keep my littlest one entertained while I can…

We have lots and lots of puzzles…

And lots and lots of breaks!

I’m up to my ears in tomatoes!

Do you remember these? Some of them were finally ready to be canned today.

I chose to do half of them with an Italian herb seasoning (recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving).

And the other half went in au naturel.

There’s my fluke… right over there… in the bottom right corner. Yep. I canned him, too.

Here’s a batch of tomatoes all blanched and ready to peel, core, and quarter.

According to my very scientific calculations (guess-timation – you’ve heard of this method, right?), I canned somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 tomatoes today.

I should warn you, I have an unnatural affection for canning jars.

And lately, I’ve become quite obsessed with seeing these jars fill up.

Canning Season

Slowly but surely, my canning pantry is beginning to fill up with deliciousness.

There are plum preserves… and fig preserves will soon follow. The figs are plentiful, but not quite ripe.

And one of my favorites, bread-and-butter pickles. I have a dear friend who gave me some yellow squash pickles this winter and I knew I would make these this year. Aren’t they gorgeous? I’ll make some dill pickles out of my lemon cucumbers soon. I’m planning to pickle them whole which I think will be lovely.

And I’m on the verge of a tomato canning marathon. There will be salsa, spaghetti sauce, and stewed tomatoes to enjoy this winter. Yum!

I had to share this fluke with you…

Have you ever seen such? I’d never seen anything like it, and oddly enough, a friend of mine had a couple of these turn up in her garden, too.

It’s a mystery to me.

Yes, it brings me happiness to see these empty jars being filled. I know we’ll appreciate all of this hard work come winter. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than nourishing my sweet family. It just feels right to be doing these things. I don’t plan to do much canning this summer. Only tomatoes, pickles, preserves, apple pie filling, and applesauce. I simply won’t live without these things in the winter. For everything else, we’ll enjoy it while it’s in season. I’m planning a fall and winter garden this year, and we’ll enjoy what the ground offers then. It just makes sense to eat this way - with produce at it’s peak. Besides, I love cabbage, rutabagas, turnips, broccoli, and other cool weather veggies. There will also be stored winter squash to enjoy, as well as onions and potatoes. I am grateful that God allows us to enjoy the fruits of our labors and find joy in the simple things. This is such a good life He has given us. I purpose to make the most of it each and every day. What a magnificent creation he has given us to enjoy!

Bitten by Blight

Want an indication of how things are going around here lately? Here you go…

Ugly blight.

Miserable blight.

I’ve just pulled up 9 plants, all of which were Homestead tomatoes, and disposed of the diseased material.

Fortunately, my other heirlooms seem to be doing well. These are Yellow Jubilee tomatoes.

This end of the bed is looking okay for now.

I spotted my first Cherokee Purple tomato.

And a gigantic Brandywine.

My yellow crookneck summer squash is looking bad, too. There are signs of black rot… but I’m holding out hope for it yet.

I harvested 3 healthy squashes from it and pruned back some of the wilted foliage.

 

The Black Beauty zucchini is doing much better.

And the Black Beauty eggplants, too.

The kids are thrilled to have several Sugar Baby watermelons growing nicely.

But, I am not thrilled to have had to harvest all of these green tomatoes. I guess I should be thankful that I have these tomatoes at all.

The fruit is fine. It will ripen on it’s on and go into canning jars for us to have this winter.  They’ll be a mere shadow of the glorious tomatoes they would have been if left to ripen on the vine. But, I couldn’t risk letting it spread to the other plants… and they may indeed develop blight before it’s over. Fingers crossed. Prayers said.

I love this little girl… wearing my glasses and examining my tomatoes. Just like her mama.

We call her the ‘Chicken Wrangler’… little girl loves her chickens.

        

And you’re probably wondering what has gone awry in my garden. We’ve had intermittent periods of drought followed by storms so severe we lost power. Torrential downpours in the evenings which are not good for the health of a garden. We’re making the most of what God has given us, thankful for his many blessings.

I’m off to see my Papa this morning. I hope you’re garden is growing better than mine!