Wasn't I supposed to be resting today?

Last night we had a storm and it rained cats and dogs, I slept through it all even  the thunder and I'm glad I did..I was supposed to just rest today in order to ready and able to put away some Brocolli Rabe tomorrow., since they had grown much from the last rain.
Cecil checked out the property this morning too see if we had any damage, and coming back to the house remarked how the greens had grown so much, I peeked from the Patio and decided I better walk down there and get a closer look. Before I knew it I was picking them and muttering to myself "never put off tomorrow what you can do today".. Well, they looked so good and Cecil took pity on me and decided to "hire" himself to me... So as we worked he saw that it's not an easy task to pick and clean a lot of greens! He did everything he could to get fired :o) but I reminded him I would be the one to cook them and he better earn his plate ..so he gave up and went to work :o)...the chair is empty cause I'm taking the pictures.

This was a perfect day to get the job done. It was windy and cloudy, but that kept Cecil, me and the Greens cool. we had a good system going and had a little fun doing it. Talked about the kids and old times etc. I wanted to make sure I had more greens this time than last..(4 jars)...By the time we were done
it was nice to sit in the "Chair Beds" for a rest. Dinner was Bar-b-que sandwichs made from the last of the delicious Pork roast I made Sunday.

The jars will be cleaned tomorrow and put into the "Canning Closet".
It feels real good to get that job done, and I'm pleased that I got  7 fully packed quarts. Cecil says he wants a little rice and he is good to go...Give me some hot fried cornbread with Jalepeno's and I'm good to stay :o)
Turned out to be a good day,
lets see what tomorrow brings!!

"Today it's a little bit of squash"

Today was a good day, First to the Dr's to get a vitamin B12 shot  (I think it's my last one of the series)  Then off to vote...I tell you some of those people I never heard of !!! and it was almost hard to tell who was what and what for or against..So I just prayed God direct my finger, and I know there are many out there feeling the same.
Then a stop at the store to pick up some Zero's while they are on sale  (sorry ladydi, I've got a lot of work to do and with a Zero I can get it done :o)
 I'm also feeling somewhat  like a squrril, putting away every thing trying not to waste, least I want.  
I think it was around May or June that Acorn Squash was plentiful and I had read somewhere (probably the internet) that it would last at least 4 months without spoiling in a dark closet, so into the canning closet they went.!

Well, that was something I had to try, since this year was the first year I had them. I'm happy to say that it worked! I probably could have waited a couple of weeks longer to test them out ...but I figured today is the day and time. I only had three of them left , so I cooked them in the pressure cooker and was able to get 3 full cups pulp (meat) from  the inside, plus more than enough seeds to grow my own next year :o)  .I'm such a smarty pants ..just imagine if I had more than "One Acre", I'd work myself to death.

Persimmon Harvest"

Well this years Harvest was a few less than last this year ( I didn't count how many I ate straight from the tree :o)  Any hoo, I'll put these up in the freezer in "Pulp Stage" and take them out at random for pies or puddings ...I found a great source on the internet on how I can use them for different things,  Jams and Preserves. I'm still too busy to fool with them now.

Lipton's Centennial's Jar

Surprise Surprise!

When I picked up this jar it was so repulsively dirty I couldn't see (or notice) the writings completely, I just saw "Lipton Sun Tea" since I'm always making sun tea I thought it would serve me well! 
There was no top to it ,but I thought surely I'd find a top to fit it sooner or later..in the meantime nothing wrong with some suran wrap and a rubber band to keep anything from creeping in....Just a giant tea bag and sugar (hold on ladydi :o)
I ran out of Stevia and didn't feel up to the trip to the health store.
It won't hurt to have a cup in that large jar..and add some Equal to my taste..I like things sweet. 
I thought what a surprise to find a jar that's a 110 year old celebration,  Who knows it might be worth a few bucks one day :o)  Glad I didn't keep my nose up in the air and looked pass the dirt. I'm certainly not Mr. Cleans wife :o) but I am a lucky thrift shopper :o) anyone jealous. hehehe.

"Thrift stores Bargains and Pride"

Today was a  good day, Cecil and I got out early today and decided to take a little ride to get some country sites under our belt :o).
Ran across a "Thrift" store and decided to stop in...Well to my surprise ..under the counter were some nasty little quart jars..I started to turn my nose up at them being somewhat of a neat freak! and then quickly decided
" You will be sorry, remember "pride goeth before a fall" so I turned my little fat butt around and took all 12 of them ...plus 2 bigger jars one to hold Sweet Tea (had it's own label, no top , but I have tops) then one with it's top ..all for $6. All went into the dish washer on heavy wash and came out clean as whistles..You have to do a close up to see the large bottles in the bottom rack. I paid less for the dozen than the dozen I got on sale at Walmarts...Hooray for "Thrift stores and Goodwill" And thank goodness my good sense outweighted my pride. Sometimes lessons come in different ways..

My thriving Little Garden :o)

This is a plot of Brocolli Rabe! which gave me 4 quarts yesterday
When I tried to upload it earlier it would not take .Sooo I cleaned my jars and added them to the "Clanning closet" :o) maybe if you do a close up you can see the tender greens..(it took a lot to make one quart jar) So I'm going to try and wait for them to get bigger.
Behind them is my Garlic, which shot up so quickly. I should have enough once they are ready for the year ..

Next to them are the Rutabaga, whose leaves are really nice and big and look so healthy and tempting.
          

This is a long shot of the garden at one end to the other..as you can see we seem to have nothing but a field of greens :o) We both love them and I hardly think they will go to waste :o)  A couple of neighbors have already expressed their disire for 
Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll be able to show you the "Side Garden "  that's where I have most of the cabbage and more Collards :o

There are also some Mustard greens just peeking through Rutaba and turnips both sides.

My Poor Lil Herb Garden

Our First Box Has Many Herbs

Our Second Box
Basil, Cabbage,Collards

I had such high hopes for this first Garden Box. It really petered out of my expectations :o(  First of all the Basil which I expected to jump up high didn't do doodly squat & lt ( an old expression of something that failed :o(Even though the Basil didn't do well in this box it went terrific in the second box, that had  different and better soil in it.
The soil was so rich and the Collards grew so fast 
that the worms began to eat them..we had to hurry up
and do something. So I cleaned picked them and we had three
good meals of them  in one pot, I made up my own insect repellent to kill the worms! and so far so good. 
UPDATE: no wonder the worms tried to eat them up from us! They were simply delicious, so soft and tender and with a hint of country ham and some cornbread with Jalapeno's ..yum what more could you ask for, but more :o)

The Persimmon's are ready :o)

It always seems like such a long wait for the Persimmon Tree to ripen and bear it's fruit.
The first year I had about 17-18 pieces of fruit
It's a pretty nice size fruit..and sells expensive at our local store.That's what made me buy
the tree in the first place. Cecil doesn't like the fruit, I'm real happy about that! he eats faster and more than me. :o)



While I'm at it, let me warn you all of what the stores latest tricks are. You ever see a price marked down on the shelf and when you take it to the register, the price is regular? Well, that's the trick, I think it's done intentionally, Why! because it happened to me three days in a row at three different stores. Their excuse is that the clerk stacked them in the wrong place.
Don't believe it! Leave it there on the Counter, they will eventually get tired of re-placing it.These are not little stores doing this . It's the big boys. They figure you will have gotten tired standing in line and the item is one you don't want to come back for ...so what the heck! your going to bite the bullet. Cecil is embarrassing, he talks about it and Loudly! Me I leave it on the counter , give a silent Birdy and walk away! :o) I'm terrible.

Sweet potato vs Yams

These Sweet Potato's almost made it into jars, first i baked a few to get an idea of their taste.
1.They weren't naturally as sweet as I've had before..
2. They were too "stringy" not a good candidate for my "Sweet Potato Pie's"
3. You don't get better out of a jar than what you put in.

So these will not be "Canned" I will wait for the "Yams" to come forth which should be quite soon.They are always here in time for Thanksgiving. Just in case someone doesn't know it ...Yams don't have the "strings" like sweet potatoes, so they are a better candidate for sweet potato pies...and they are sweet. One is yellow (Yams)and one is red (sweet potatoes).
According to Cecil :o)...He is supposed to be the "Country One".
UPDATE: There is a lot of articles about sweet potato vs Yam..on the internet if you google for it....I just gave a "laymans" explanation. :o)

Another Tomato Day

Here's the start of another Jarring session with tomato's ..or I should say the other half of tomato's for soups or Okra with Tomato's.
I already put the pot on with the processed tomato's to cook for sauce while I wrestle with the rest of these to leave whole.
Compared to what I saw at the Farmers market and decided I may as well bite the bullet and get them, didn't want to be sorry about it later in the year's end. I was pretty snug about going into the box garden and picking up some basil to cook into my sauce..It was to cook until the sauce was half of what I put in the pot. That worked out pretty good  for me  I ended up with six quarts of sauce and four quarts of whole tomato's.

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The This pot full cooked way down to about half the amount it looked pretty good at the end of the process.Since the Basil cooked down with it , I just left it in.
The pot had to be skimmed from time to time but it worked out fine ..I used the new "best friend" ( new food processor).
One day soon I'll be  showing off  the "Canning Closet" that I converted from the sewing supplies closet. ( I think I need another shelf. ( Don't tell Cecil).

I don't think that's too shabby for a day's work!
In fact I gave myself a reward WE didn't need. It's enough to last all week and into the next (maybe) then I'll make a cake! Not that we need a cake, but the house is awful boring without some kind of sweets.

I decided to make a Pear and Apple Cobbler. Making sure it had enough liquid to make a nice juicy cobbler I put a little too much of every thing, good thing it boiled over on some tin foil :o(  it was tasty as all get out :o0

Cecil's Birthday

      Happy 84th      Birthday to Cecil

I have no idea what this item was used for..but I have invented a use for it. In the spring when my garlic comes up I will hang it outside on the Patio and let them dry lying on it. This way the smell can stay outside ,instead of inside with the dehydrator. It's hung up by it's own little hanger attached to it. Good idea right! and it only cost me $2. at Goodwill :o)
I thought it was a good little item and the price was right. :o)

A Farmer never knows what the Day will bring!

This morning when I got up, I knew I wanted  Pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and that's what we had. Then I took a walk outside to view "The Farm" ;o)  and before I could get too far, the Collards in the new box were calling for my attention. When I checked them out, I heard them say  "its time to pick me," Some of the smaller leaves at the bottom were touching the ground and some were turning yellow from it.
The leaves were getting so large I couldn't see them growing any larger and they were truly growing "out of the box". I'm a city girl, but nature talks to you if you listen!

So picking I did,and after Cecil took a look, I had to pick more than I thought I had.
They were beautiful, a few worm holes here and there, but not enough to destroy them. I literally washed each leaf to make sure I didn't miss anything clinging and making sure the "dust" we applied was washed off throughly.  I surprised myself with the way in which I changed my usual way of canning greens, I added some Country ham bits (tablespoon) that I was going to use for cornbread to each jar. (saw that on the Internet, and thought it a good idea, did it with 3 jars which I will label as such).
Not too shabby for a day's work! Greens grown on my own land by my own hand. Gives one a sense of satisfaction.

Today while checking the Acreage Cecil spotted these mushroom growing along the neighbors fence on our side. They look somewhat like the ones I had growing in the front yard last year..I was afraid to eat it (being not familiar with it). The old adage "When in doubt throw it out".

I wish some mushroom expert out there would  take a look at these pictures and tell  me what you  know (or think). Is it a special blessing or "Forbidden Fruit" in our little "Almost an Acre" Paradise.
The meat is a milky white color,and quite solid. I can't think of any other description of it in comparison except the white around the store mushrooms, there just isn't any gills.

They look as if they would fair well saute with some onions for many dishes besides eggs. Do a closeup and let me have your opinion, Especially you readers that have those massive farms. Thanks.
UPDATE: The mushroom is a " Puff Ball" and its edible.

Here are the mushrooms being fried in a little butter and oil. I put about 1/2 cup into Saran wrap packages, into a container and ended up with about 7 packages. They will go into scrambled eggs, omelets or anything else I can think of. Yesterday I made Spaghetti sauce and added one of the  packages to it and the sauce was delicious.