No, I didn't really go foraging. I remember when I was little, my Grandpa and I would go together to the woods to pick berries, wild lettuce and mushrooms. Yes, even mushrooms :) And they were delicious, by the way. I miss those times...
We live in a cute suburban neighborhood but there is not much wild life (or even a naturally green patch) anywhere in close proximity. But when my neighbor and I went for a walk, we stumbled upon some grapes that didn't belong to anybody:
They are wild but so good. I picked up about a pound for the kids, and they really liked it :) There were still plenty left for somebody else to enjoy. It's nice to get a little surprise like this once in a while...
What was not a surprise is the huge box of pears that I ordered from a friend of a friend a few weeks ago:
It's not my first year to order them, and they are just so good! But it also meant that I was canning today:
I made twelve quarts of sliced pears. Don't these cans look so summer-y? :) Yum! And just because I can never stop, I also made some cinnamon apple-pear sauce for the kids:
The big quart of sauce on the right is actually made from the apples in our back yard (free is always good, right? :) They are not quite ready to be picked, and, honestly, this year the apples are not very good. For those of you who might be new here, we share a tree with our neighbors. It's technically on their side but lots of branches hang over our fence and they are OK with us picking them. The apples I used were the ones that fell on the ground. They were in pretty bad shape, so I had to cut around a lot. I didn't seal this can. It will go in the fridge for the kids to enjoy right now. But I'm still planning on canning at least 30 pints of applesauce before the season ends :)
And as I was passing our garden today, I also picked up a few zucchinis to freeze for winter for breads, quiches and meatballs:
Now I'm beat but almost ready for the colder season. Almost :)...
And how was your day???
We are planning a weekend of cutting down veggies and freezing next weekend. Then probably getting some stuffed canned during the week. With me working crazy hours a lot of the canning will fall to my mom and my youngest!
ReplyDeleteBut I'm glad you, at least, get some help! And it will be a good thing to practice for your youngest :)
Deletemorning Lena,how do you preserve your pears,could you possibly let me have a step by step guide.Also your zucchini(courgette) do you just grate and freeze?
ReplyDeletetia
How about I post a tutorial on pears a little later today? :) And as for zucchinis, yes, I just wash them really well, grate and freeze in special freezer bags.They usually last me through the whole winter.
DeleteGo you!!!! We have 3 pears on our tree this year, no canning will be needed. Ha
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a tree with at least three pears :) I'm grateful that we can, at least, get apples this year.
DeleteI am quite familiar with canning dropped apples. When I was in high school, my father would pick/forage them and we would have to can a canner load (9 quarts) every day after school. It does take a while to cut out all of the bad places.
ReplyDeleteWe would do this too!! My Dad would bring bags full of dropped apples, and it would be a family activity for us :)
DeleteI guess you are beat, but isn't it a great feeling when you look at those lovely jars all lined up? xx
ReplyDeleteOh, it's an awesome feeling to see how my pantry stock slowly grows :)
DeleteThose pears look delicious. I haven't done any canning this year but I will be making salsa soon.
ReplyDeleteMmm, salsa sounds good!! I'm yet to can anything with tomatoes this year. We'll see if I will because I still have a few cans left from last year.
DeleteYou got a lot more accomplished than me!
ReplyDeleteYeah, right :) I saw your quilt....I think, it's quite an accomplishment :)
DeleteWell, my day was no where near as ambitious as yours. :) It all looks for lovely, great job!!
ReplyDeleteHey, there is a little person growing inside of you right now! You have all the rights to slow down :) And thank you :)
DeleteGreat job and canning Lena!! I am waiting for the Apple season to begin soon and can't wait to make applesauce! My son has Mulberry trees and Hickory nut trees in his yard! Can't wait to make something with the hickory nuts:) Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
ReplyDeleteForgive my ignorance but I actually had to google hickory nuts, lol :) I bet you'll create something absolutely amazing :)
DeleteYou are such an INSPIRATION!!! I wanna be you when I grow up! Your house is perfect, you are saving your family with a great budget, and you can and craft! Again, I want to be you when I grow up!
ReplyDeleteI don't know...I'm yet to make my own detergent, lol! And my house is far from perfect, I wish...:)
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