Just a normal day right?

We're gearing up for the fair, and by gearing up, I mean getting ready for the 9 most intense days we'll have all summer.

We'll get up early, and go to bed late.  I'll wash loads of clothes everyday that smell like pig, because we've been at the fair all day.

I'll pack lunches every night at 11:30 so that we're not spending a fortune on food each day of the fair.

We will scurry to find clothes for the next day, and show clothes for the day after that.

The kids are PUMPED to hang out with their friends, ride rides, and just be kids.  Oh, and maybe take care of their pigs, and show them since that's why we go to the fair in the first place!

So, yesterday, we took care of some business.  We had to.  The fair allows for no time doing anything else.

I picked up my apples from the amish neighbor

in anticipation of doing applesauce in the afternoon.  My "appliances, boxes, sugar, cinnamon, etc. were already set up waiting for the chore.

I went to the bank, got gas, headed to pick up Grace from a sleepover, and came home for lunch and for her to get ready for her orthodontist appointment.

Once she was ready, we headed to town, had the appointment, dropped off things at the library, and got some new ones...

Then we took a donation to Goodwill, shopped a little, stopped for cokes at McDonalds, headed to Walmart for some last minute fair supplies, and apparently some goofing off...

Once done there, we went to visit my Grandpa in the nursing home, and then went home to make supper,

and start the applesauce.  The kids and I worked on the sauce for 4 1/2 hours, minus Brent taking Evan to help get our load of hay for the sheep.

Grace and I worked like crazy, laughed out loud many times, listened to music at full blast, and waited for the boys to get home, and the pile of apples to shrink.

At 11pm, I called it a night.  We had put all the applesauce in the freezer, I had cleaned up, and I went to sit down on the couch.

Whew.

Getting ready, or not since it's in the high 90's today, to set up our showbox, fans, and feeders at the fair tonight.  We take the pigs in at 7:30 am tomorrow.

Wish us luck!  We're gonna need it!

Swimming in Sweetness

I use each and every summer to grow a garden that helps me have enough food to eat fresh and preserve for the coming winter.

Since I don't have any fruit trees of my own, however, I have to buy some of it elsewhere.

When I made my yearly call in April to the small orchard where I get my extra produce (Lodi apples for applesauce and peaches) I was told with the crazy spring we had, and all the freezes we had late in the season there would be NO apples, pears, OR peaches for me this year.

It's a matter of fact.

I heard the same thing about the concord grapes I make grape juice with.  I have my own vines, but we're just getting started, and I buy elsewhere to supplement all that I make.

What a blow.  What a shock.  Poor farmers who rely on this income yearly.

I felt slighted, and I had no reason to.

Each and everytime we heard the weatherman say there could be frost, Brent and I religiously went outside with the old sheets I keep for this very reason, and covered the strawberries and grapes.  It was a pain in the butt!

We covered every night but one.  Then we got a frost late in the morning, and it took all the grapes that I had started to get.  Everything was gone, shriveled up, brown.

I was heartbroken.  I was mad.  Just one time we didn't cover...

Fortunately, my grapes came back...but the apples, peaches, and pears are not in abundance for anyone this year.

I did find some the other day at one of the farmer's stands that I have frequented in the past.

They are from South Carolina and they are called Big Smile.  I tried them last year for the first time, and they were pretty much the same quality and taste as the Red Haven peaches I typically get in August.

Since I knew about the bad luck the farmers had this spring, I bought 1 bushel.  I knew I had to put something in my freezer for the winter.

Aren't they beautiful!

The smell when you walk in the kitchen is intoxicating!  And the peaches keep coming up missing.  I think I have peach thieves in my house!

So, for the last couple of days (that's right...peaches can't all be ripe at the same time unfortunately!)  I've been covered up to my elbows in peach juice, slicing and putting them in containers to freeze.

I have a secret recipe (that won't be secret any longer...) from one of my good friends.  She gave it to me a couple years ago, and I swear by it.  It's delicious, and when you pull the peaches out of the freezer in the middle of January, they taste completely fresh!

To get started, you'll need:

6 c water
4 c sugar
1 3oz. box peach jello (can be sugar free)

Warm this all together in a saucepot on the stove.  You don't have to get it boiling, but everything needs to be dissolved.  Then, you must let it cool completely!

Slice up your peaches and put them in whatever container your heart desires as long as it can be used in the freezer.  Leave at least 1/2" headroom at the top.  Pour your "peach juice" (above recipe) over the peaches,  leaving 1/2" headroom.  Put the lid on and pop in your freezer.  They taste amazing.  My son likes to eat them partially frozen, but I like mine thawed all the way.

We've been eating fresh lettuce, peas, zucchini (I also shred and freeze this) and soon cabbage, but the next I have to preserve is probably tomatoes and corn.

What are you enjoying eating right now?

P.P.S.  Somehow I totally screwed up my old format of my blog, and now it looks like this with a wonky header not in the middle.  If anyone knows how to help me fix this....PLEASE let me know!

-----signed,
           Desperate!

This is what I vow...

I've been reading alot already this new year.
Now, this is no surprise, I read everyday...I can't get enough reading, but I've been reading some, I guess you'd say, interesting subjects lately.
I already told you that I read this over Christmas because my sister got it for me.

It was great, it was awesome, it was radical.
Then, while I was at the library the next week, I got this book.  Just by accident, just because the subject sounded interesting.

It was even more radical.  The story was all about a couple who reside in British Columbia and who decided to start at 100-mile diet.  They ate no food out of season, or what they couldn't get from 100 miles away.  They ate, and this is totally my opinion, some very disgusting things.  They lost alot of weight, and craved food like mad, and hardly every shopped in a grocery store, and paid extravagant amounts of money for things they had to travel 100 miles to get, but it was a good book.  I took away SOME things from it.

Then, every spring, and it's about that time for me...I read this book, which I own.  A friend recommended it to me a couple years ago, and I read it, and loved it from the first moment.

It too, is about a family who decided to eat just what was in season, for one year.  They also ate at restaurants that supported local farmers by preparing food in season, and grown locally.  It's a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this sort of thing.

You're wondering where I'm going with all this right?

Since I loved a part of each book, and each book talked about how important it was for us to eat things grown in season...I decided I wanted to do something for my family in 2012.
I decided I wanted to be more conscious of what we eat.  We need to eat healthier.  I want  need to lose weight, and I want the food we're eating to not cost us a fortune every time I get it from the grocery store.

This means, I will grow more in my garden this year even though that means more work, more weeding, and more planning in the beginning stages.
I will also do more canning.  (I can't believe I just said that.  I do alot as it is...) But I want to be able to know the ingredients in MY canned products are real things, and not some fake fillers.

I will buy products from the new local bulk store in town because I know they buy from a man locally who grows lettuce and other vegetables in a greenhouse over the winter.
I want to be more conscientious about this.

Now, I'm not gonna get as radical as the people in all the books I read.  I'm not gonna suggest to Brent that we buy a cow and milk it ourselves, and make our own butter and cheese (although that sounds pretty cool, just alot of work!)  I want to start slowly, and work myself up to maybe some things more out of my comfort zone.

So, today, I started small.  It was our last day home for Christmas Break, and I told the kids I would make them bacon cheeseburger pizza.  In the past, we've just bought frozen versions of this.

I got out the Boboli whole wheat crust that I bought at Meijer.  (Yes, I should've made my own, but I am terrified of yeast.  We don't have a good relationship, and I can never get it to work.)

On the crust, I put some of my Pizza Hut copycat pizza sauce that I canned this fall.  (By the way...it is GOOD!)

Then I browned 2 lbs of hamburger that came from one of my uncle's cows.  My grandparents traded it for 2 dozen eggs last week.  (A great deal in my opinion.  Can't get more local than that considering I can see the cows from my backyard.)

To the hamburger in the skillet, I added a little garlic and some Italian pizza seasoning.
I used Cheese from the store, and bacon too since we are already out of the bacon from the pig we butchered this fall.

Into the oven at 450 for 10 minutes.

It was pretty good.  I'm making it again on Friday when Brent is gone.  The kids must've thought it was good too, cause it was mostly gone by the end of lunch.

So, hold me accountable if you must.  I will try to do the same for myself.  I want this experiment to work.  I want to stay in my grocery budget, however, so I will not pay exorbitant amounts for my food.  I will use what is currently in my freezer that I spent all of last summer and early fall putting away.  I will used my canned grape juice and pizza sauce, jelly, and tomatoes, and I will plan to can some other things as well this summer.

Hopefully soon, I will be healthier.  I will be more in shape, and I will be happier about what I'm filling my family's bodies with.

So, welcome 2012!  Here we go!

A Blazing Accomplishment

All my life, (well, as much of it as I can remember) I've tasted my mother's delicious applesauce.

When I got married, some applesauce came with us, and soon I started making my own.

It's a lot of work. Don't be fooled. It's an all day kinda thing.

When my sister still lived close, we would do our applesauce together (2 1/2 bushels each) and it LITERALLY took at least 8 hours to get it all done.

I refer to the stuff as liquid gold. It's that worth it.

So, the other day, while I was minding my own business, I got THE CALL.

Each spring I put my name on a list at a local orchard for Transparent apples. Once they are in, they call me, and you GO the minute they call, or someone else might get your apples.

They were 3 weeks late in ripening this year, and of course this week was crazy anyway, but I knew I needed to get my applesauce made before fair starts tomorrow.

I just made it.

Oh, and did I mention, when I started yesterday morning at 6:30 am, that our air conditioner decided to quit, with a predicted 95 degrees as the high? Oh yeah, baby, I couldn't believe it myself.

Of all days....

With these babies waiting for me...

I started working anyway, and the repair man showed up about 12:30. The temperature in the house was already 80 degrees. It was warm, and we had every possible fan we own downstairs.

The apples cooked on the stove

and deliciousness was made, all the while we're sweating like bullets!

I had some great helpers

and some resistance from the Queen herself.
The fan was aiming for the table, and once she found her "spot" she wouldn't budge.

I finished about 2:30pm. A long day. The air came on about that time too, and it took the rest of the night to cool the house down.

Needless to say, we spent the evening hours at my uncle's pool, after we grilled him supper.

63 containers of applesauce later, I'm a happy woman!

All for a Peach

There is no secret that I LOVE to read. I'm in a book club, after all, and we meet once a month.

About a year ago, one of my fellow members, Greta, picked a book by Sarah Addison Allen. It was called "The Girl who Chased the Moon." It was great, in a quirky, magical kind of way.

A year went past, and I came across a book in our library, by the same author. This one was called, "The Peach Keeper."

It had a little mystery, romance (the author is VERY good at describing romance in all her books), magic, and just a good story. In short, I LOVED it. Everything about it. But also in the book, the author described a character who smelled like peaches. She described him so well, I actually SMELLED the peaches as I read the book, which then got me thinking about and wishing for peaches.

Funny how things like that work!

Needless to say, on my routine grocery run last Wednesday, I drove past the small farmer's stand I drive past every week on my way to the grocery store. They, magically I think, had a peaches for sale sign at their stand.

Now, usually I don't freeze my peaches until August. That's when the Red Haven kind I usually do are ready. BUT, because of the very wet/cold spring we had, all the fruit/veggies are ready later this year. I know I would be back in school full time when they would be ready, and let's face it, after working all day, it's not very fun to come home and can/freeze produce all night. It's just not. SOOOO....I decided to stop at the farmer's stand and check out the peaches.

The aroma coming from them about knocked me over. They smelled and looked so good.

I asked the lady selling them all about the difference between this kind and the kind I usually buy, and she reassured me, these would be just as sweet. SOLD. I brought 1/2 bushel home to try them.

I made up a batch of 9-3cup containers last week and froze them, and then went back yesterday for some more. Cause, let's face it, 9 containers WILL NOT last all winter for my family.

Now that you're all thinking of the sweetness of peaches, remembering the sticky, sweet mess they leave on your hands, and wishing you could bite into one right now, I'll fill you in on the step by step process my good friend Carla (known each other for 20 years kinda friend) taught me.

First, get yourself some sweet good peaches. They must be soft to the touch to be ready to do this. If you feel any hard resistance, they are not quite ripe enough.

You'll also need plenty of sugar, and some peach jello (6oz. for each recipe). I can only find it in 3 oz. boxes, so I get 4 to make two batches if I have alot of peaches (2-3oz. boxes will make 1/2 bushel worth of peaches)

On the stove in a saucepan, put together 6 cups water, 4 cups sugar(or less if you want...doesn't make much difference on taste), and 6oz. peach jello. You'll also need fruit fresh (for later). Warm on med heat.

It will look like this when you've first started.

When it's ready, it will look like this...

Mostly clear, and all the sugar/jello is dissolved.

You'll want to let this cool for awhile. It shouldn't be warm when you put it in the boxes. I've actually put it in the fridge to speed up this step, but it's up to you. Plan ahead for this part. Don't cut your peaches too soon.

So, go away from the stove for awhile, let it cool, do some laundry, sweep, whatever, and when it's getting cooler, start cutting up your peaches.

I use my favorite BIG bowl for this. 1/2 bushel is alot of peaches.

You'll get sticky. So be prepared. This is when you'll need your fruit fresh.
Cut the peaches, put in your bowl, and every so often, sprinkle some fruit fresh on them and stir. This will keep your wonderful peaches from turning brown. Pretty soon your peaches will all be cut. Start putting them in freezer containers. Doesn't matter what size. It's up to you.

I use ones that can easily be stacked in the freezer, so I can use as much freezer space as possible. Don't put your peaches ALL the way to the top, leave about 1/2" head space. Next, fill with the cooled peach jello concoction you made earlier. Make sure most of the peaches have been covered with the juice. Don't fill to the top, you need to leave some room for expansion.

Close, making sure all the air bubbles are out. I just mark mine with masking tape. It works fine, and comes off good, once I take it out of the freezer.

And you're done. Feels good, doesn't it. When you take these out of the freezer, whenever you do, they will taste very fresh. This syrup you made IS NOT heavy at all, it just preserves them well, and keeps them from turning brown.

Don't fear, however, if you do open up a container, and after it's defrosted you have some brown ones on top, it just means, they weren't totally covered by the jello mixture. Discard them, stir up the rest, and savor the fresh taste.

I also use this same recipe, except with strawberry jello, when I freeze my strawberries. The only difference, you do not need to use the fruit fresh with the strawberries. They won't turn brown while you're cutting them.

My next project (probably, unfortunately, the week of the fair....is applesauce!)

(fake, not real, but pretty on my kitchen shelf none the less.)

Happy Freezing!