I could love fall, if only winter wasn't on it's heels...Spring was nonexistent, summer maybe two weeks long and now the nights have turned cooler...I keep telling myself, make the best of it, things could be worse...Fall colors are starting, tomato season is here.
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| Beet Pickles |
So I throw myself into preserving food to fill the cellar shelves for winter...Yesterday I harvested beets and did eight jars of beet pickles...I love the smells of fall in my kitchen...Beets and vinegar simmering on the stove, pungent spices added in, cloves, allspice and cinnamon and sugar...A bunch of dill stands alone in the corner...garlic cloves peeled in a dish and basil freshly washed, stuck into a vase to keep it fresh...All ready for another day.
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| Berry Jam |
Later in the day I gathered all the berries into one pot, mashed them, added pectin, brought to a boil, then added sugar, boiled for three minutes and ladled this dark, almost purple, liquid into thirteen half pints, added lids and left them to seal.
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| Fresh from the garden |
Our dinner was a succulent lamb stew made from one potato, one onion and three carrots from the garden added to the leftover lamb and gravy from last week...simmerd until the flavors melded together...Add to our plates, a sliced Imnaha tomato, fresh coleslaw, sliced cucumber and baking powder biscuits, warm from the oven...Heavenly!
Imnaha tomatoes arrived but I was a little disappointed, they look more like culls than canners...Not a good year for tomatoes...I picked out the one most red and grabbed the salt shaker...Oooooohhhh, the flavor is there, and in a few days they will be ready to roast...If we don't eat all of them first.
Daylight is burning, busy day ahead, yard sales, maybe the Juniper Jam (music at the fair grounds), finish my essay, make dinner rolls for Becky and John BBQ tonight...~OWAV:)
Photos look good. Wish I was there to help with all the harvesting.
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