Jam and Jelly

Peach, strawberry, mint, and blueberry.

The peaches are leftover from last year and have been biding their time in the freezer.  In order to use them up, we made a batch of jam.  I think next time we'll blend it more...

Two batches from strawberries we picked this summer.  These have also been waiting use in the freezer, pre-measured and pre-crushed.  It was just TOO HOT this summer to even think about canning.

Three batches of mint jelly that Myle picked and saved.  The mint is the ONLY canning today that didn't gel, and I suspect, in retrospect, that we used too much of the mint liquid.

One batch of blueberries we picked this summer.

It's amazing that we picked/harvested all the fruit included in these beautiful jars.  We filled 37 8-oz. jars and 2 pint jars (we ran out of jelly jars... we didn't realize we would fill so many!  Pint jars aren't recommended for canning jelly or jam, so we'll be popping these in the fridge and consuming them first).  Our goal each year will be to can at least a year's worth of jelly.

One realization we have had is just how much fruit we need to grow to be able to keep up with our kids... dozens of apple trees, gaggles of fruit bushes, hundreds of strawberries... WOAH.  I bought 80 pounds of apples a few weeks ago.  Where did it all go?  I think my kids ate 10 pounds.  Then there were a few pounds of peelings (our kids eat them dried), seeds, etc.  6 pints of apple pie filling.  3 quarts of apple juice.  1 quart of apple leather.  Only 11 quarts of apple sauce, which, when split between two families, is only a few weeks of apple sauce!

So far, the reusable Tattler lids are sealing properly.  Let's see how they work over the next year!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

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Apple Preservation

Start with a "few" pounds of apples...

Use one of these fabulous gadgets (by Norpro... I b ought mine from Pleasant Hill Grain as I love their fast shipping!).

Make it look like this...

and this...

Use a few of these...

And of course, a lot of this...

Our apple pie filling did not gel... Ah, well.  I think I was too impatient.

Our apple sauce is much smoother than last year, but also juicier (you can see the juice at the bottom).

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Sweet Potato Harvest

... 3 slips, leftovers from the ranch, produced 17 pounds of sweet potatoes, ranging from a bitty 3 oz. to over 3 pounds!

The Assistant is modeling our largest sweet potato.
Yes, it's dirty.  I don't want to scrape the fragile skin any more.

I think this one is as big as Jimmy's head.

Planting, hacking, and weeding

A week late is better than never, right?

Our garlic was supposed to be planted by Columbus Day, but I forgot.  Then, I received a notification that our Jerusalem artichokes had shipped, and since those were due to be planted at the land too, maybe it was a good thing I forgot.

After school on Tuesday, we packed up and drove to the land, where I marveled at how quickly weeds will grow.

After hacking down the honey locusts attempting to control the drive, we hacked the foot + tall weeds (yes, next year, we'll be planting a cover crop.  Immediately. after. digging. potatoes... speaking of which, we uncovered another 2 pounds).

Then we planted our artichokes, garlic, and tree onions.  I love planting, freshly dug ground, and doing something to further our self-sufficiency goal.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Canning Adventures

Last week, I picked up my order of 80 pounds of "juice quality" apples from the Azure Standard route.  I love apples for $.50/lb.  What to do with all these fresh goodness?

I prefer to can with Myle, but I wanted to cut down on the four crates of apples hogging the counter space in my kitchen, so...

8 pounds, still cutting

half done cutting!

 I made apple juice.  24 pounds of apples and a chunk of finger later, I have three beautiful quarts of juice.  Do you know what I REALLY want to know?  Why, even when I follow a canning recipe precisely, I have significantly less yield than expected.  This time, I should have had 6 quarts and only have 3.  What am I doing wrong?

Isn't it beautiful?  (Ignore the dirt... there's a pile of tomatoes from the the garden just out of sight!)

Apple leather in progress.

With 56 pounds in my basement, I see lots of applesauce in my future, and I might even branch out and try apple pie filling or some other tasty variation.

Didn't you ever play in the dirt when you were little?

Check out her stance.

Lacking-a-Name Pond
also lacking water

Hard to see, but there's a pesky stump in the middle of the picture.
It had to come out before we could safely drive on our new access point.

See how much trouble we would have been in?
We are grateful to "Uncle" Bruce for loan of his tools and teasing.

After.  Isn't it beautiful?

First use of our new access point to the land.
No more driving over the neighbor's hayfield!

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.

Please Excuse Our Absence

Homesteading recently has involved plenty of activity, but none of it very entertaining.

The heat has broken.  We desperately still need rain, but in essence the garden produced very little.  Frequent watering could not overcome the overwhelming heat.

We took our house in town off the market.  New windows were installed this week (let's not even talk about contractors and all the fun involved with them, 'kay?).  We had to move out during the replacement, and 34 windows later, we can already tell a difference.

Twice we've been laid low by feverish children.

In an effort to contribute to continued preparation to move (which includes paying off the mortgage and land debt), I am preparing for a craft fair.  Please pray that my efforts will be successful (at least I would like to pay back to the family budget what I've spent in yarn and other supplies).

The Assistant loves school, and being with other kids all day is great for her!

I have returned to teaching Catechesis of the Good Shepherd 5 times a week, although the above-mentioned sick kids have caused a few cancellations.  I began training for Level II, which necessitates travel to another city.  I'm not sure I will be able to complete it... 14 trips may be took expensive for our already-strapped budget.

We begin to prepare our food stores and activities for the long cold of winter.  It is good that we have over a month before the fire place will be needed again.

What is God's will for us now?  We don't yet know.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise.  It's Purgatory Ranch.