harvest is at its peak!

The last couple of weeks have been picture-perfect...sun-shiny days filled with blue skies, just-right daytime temperatures and chilly evenings. Each morning is fresh and crisp with the rising sun, and then each night is aglow with an autumn moon...fall magic.

When October comes to the country, it's a gloriously busy time; harvesting the garden and "putting things up"  (as our grandmothers would say). Canning season is notoriously hot & humid, but not this year...temps in the 50's and 60's made it an easy task. With that done, we can now stack wood, order hay, and make plans for winter.

There is plenty of time to wash quilts, shake rugs, bake bread, light candles, make soup, sweep the porch...all the things that were easy to put off in the humidity of summer are now quickly done without a second thought. It's a happy time!

Today, sharing some snapshots of our harvest days on the farm...happy October!

 

And today's burning question...

I planted zucchini alongside white pumpkins:

this is what I got...

pumpkin body

zucchini skin

Have I created the first ZUMPKIN?

(I'll be cutting into it to see if the inside is pumpkin-like
or zucchini-like, stay tuned!)

canned banana peppers...handed-down, tried & true

The last few days I have been in a tizzy. Webster's Dictionary is spot on when it says a tizzy is: 

"a highly excited and distracted state of mind"

Yep, that about sums it up. 

In a frenzy.

In a panic.

Riddled with guilt.

And why? Because with canning season here and the garden overflowing, I couldn't find my grandmother's recipe for pickled banana peppers...it wasn't in the spot it's "always" in. Anxiousness set in...this was her handwritten recipe, what could I have done with it? The last time I made it was for our County Fair, but I was sure I didn't take it with me to the fairgrounds.

I looked through my cookbooks...had I tucked it away? I looked through kitchen drawers...was it with other loose recipes? I called my mom...she tried to recall it from memory, but wasn't sure, and she didn't have a copy.

Feeling defeated, I decided I had to go through cookbooks again, this time not looking for the recipe card, but looking at cookbooks I had helped write. Once upon a time I was a Cookbook Editor, and surely somewhere in those dozens of books I had written, I had included her recipe. 

I sat on the floor, and began all over again. Finally I pulled my very first cookbook off the shelf, and there it was: Maymie's Canned Peppers. I was thrilled...while I still need to find that heartfelt, original recipe, I at least HAD the recipe. And so today, the canning began!

I'll share it with you, but remember, this is an old recipe...probably 80 years-old if not older. I don't claim to be an expert at perfecting the pickling salt/water/vinegar ratios, I just know that this recipe has been enjoyed for generations and it has worked just fine.

You'll also see she listed just brine ingredients. Today I picked as many peppers as I could, doubled the brine, and had some left over. I can't give you an exact count or weight of peppers...for me, that's the beauty of this old-fashioned recipe.

My grandparents in 1918

Maymie's Canned Peppers

Banana Peppers; hot or sweet

1 cup pickling and canning salt

9 cups water

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 garlic clove, peeled, per jar

1 Tablespoon Wesson Oil, per jar

Prepare peppers...if leaving whole, cut two slits in each pepper, or you can slice peppers into rings discarding the stems. 

Prepare a boiling water bath and sterilize jars, lids and rings. If you have never done this before, please read the step-by-step instructions shared by the National Center for Home Food Preservation by linking HERE.

To create the brine, combine salt, water, and vinegar in a stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir, and simmer until salt is dissolved. Set aside, but keep to a low simmer.

Add one garlic clove to the bottom of each sterilized jar; then pack peppers tightly into jars. Slowly pour hot brine over peppers leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Add Wesson oil to each jar.

Use a small non-metallic spatula or plastic knife inside the jar between the peppers and the side of the jar to remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims, apply lids and rings.

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. 

When I first went to look at Mae, my 1950 Hotpoint stove, the lady selling her asked if I canned...I'll be happy to tell her that today Mae and I canned for the first time and tomorrow we'll be canning tomatoes.

If you try them, I hope you enjoy these banana peppers...salty, with a hint of garlic and oil.  I'm oh-so grateful to have jars lining my pantry again! 

happenings on the farm...

I admit it...I am finicky when it comes to the seasons. Going through a store or receiving a catalog and seeing Halloween candy in July or Christmas decorations in August just makes me crazy...I will stop, look, and then roll my eyes.

Times like those always bring to mind the quote by Jeffrey R. Holland:

"Nature has its rhythms and its harmonies.
We would do well to fit ourselves as best we can with those cycles
rather than frantically throwing ourselves against them.
be calm, be patient, be happy with the season you are in."

Well, with that being said, I broke all my own rules a couple of weeks ago. The weather had been so hot and humid and we'd been cleaning out barns and the basement and well, I snapped. I needed Fall, so out came the pumpkin-vanilla candles and pumpkin-scented hand soaps. I just couldn't help it...I was NOT happy with the season I was in!

Ahhh, never underestimate the power of fragrance...sure, it may still be hot & humid outside as harvest and canning season begins, but somehow the scent of pumpkin and vanilla help me remember that soon sweater weather, colorful leaves, and the sound of a crackling fire are all just around the corner. Ahhh... 

And so, for us it's harvest-time, I'll take you on a little walk about the farm for a peek at what's happening in our part of the Midwest...

just-picked radishes and carrots...

sage I'll dry for Thanksgiving stuffing, peppers for canning...

flowers still bursting with cheery blooms... 

tomatoes for sauces and busy bees in pumpkin blooms.

 

                     

 
   

                             And somehow...our daughter turned, gulp, 20! 

             

Thanks to the pandemic, we celebrated in style at home...silly style, including a candy-filled pinata, musical twirling birthday candles, and a family glow-stick selfie!

And lastly, for anyone wondering about Bailey, no worries, she's fitting in just fine!

Who rescued who?

 

oven-roasted tomato sauce recipe...tried & true!

The temperature this morning was 48 degrees...ahhh, absolutely perfect to me. And because we are in the heart of tomato season, and with cooler temperatures predicted, it's a good weekend for canning garden veggies!

Just in case you're thinking the same thing, I'm re-posting the recipe...

SO easy!

SO delicious!

1 - quarter as many tomatoes as will fit a 13"x9" pan.
      (no need to core or peel, just slice off the stem end.)

2 - add garlic to taste

3 - drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper; stir to coat tomatoes.

4 - place baking pan into a 400-degree oven for 45 minutes.

5 - Cool tomatoes slightly, spoon into a blender and puree. 

6 - Add 3 T.  Italian seasoning, or fresh herbs to taste 
     (oregano, garlic chives, rosemary, basil, French tarragon); blend to combine.

7 - Add a peeled, quartered onion, and a pinch of sugar; if desired.
     Blend until smooth.

8 - Spoon into freezer containers; freeze.

That's it!

You're done!

I'll also be making canned peppers...will share that recipe with you soon.

4 farmhouse fallacies...(don't you love alliteration?!)

Like so many of you, our days on the farm are full...trimming, mowing, tilling, watering, harvesting, only to fall in bed at night "bone tired" as the saying goes. And the next morning we get up and do it all again. During summertime especially, I am grateful Sunday is set aside as a day of rest...it's much needed.

A couple of weeks ago, while I was working in the garden, it dawned on me that I had some myths to debunk. "Wisdom" that was shared with me that I've found, well, just isn't so wise after all.

1-don't mulch with hay...it's full of seeds and your garden will be full of weeds.

NOT true! We always seem to have some hay at the bottom of our stacks that turns a bit moldy. While definitely not good for the goats, it's perfect for mulching garden plants. I pull apart the flakes and put them around all my plants. Not only does it do a terrific job of keeping the weeds at bay, it does NOT sprout seeds and cause new weeds.

2 - potatoes that have sprouted in your kitchen will not grow in your garden.

Hog Wash...each spring I have potato sprouts that I plant in the garden, and each year we dig up oodles of potatoes. They will grow and they're delicious!

3 - don't plant volunteers that have survived over winter, they won't produce in your garden.

Each spring, before tilling the garden, I stumble upon a volunteer or two...this year it was pumpkins and gourds, tenacious little seeds that survived and then thrived. Won't produce? Look at this photo!

4 - Now, while not a garden myth, this may be one of the most important myths to expose of all.

Pit bull dog breeds are bad.

Now, hear me out...because I was wary of them at one point. Yes...stories in the news do carry powerful influence. 

Several weeks ago we discovered a dog sleeping in our barn. At the sight of us, she would run as fast and as far as she could to get away. And yet, each morning we'd find her back in the hay, curled up. We began looking on lost animal websites and in the paper thinking surely someone had lost their family pet. But in the backs of our minds, we knew...it's happened before; we live in a spot that's just right for dropping off dogs unseen.

Weeks went by as we tried to gain her trust. The running away slowed and in time, she began to trust us, but would still hang her head and flinch at unexpected noises. Slowly, we did gain her trust...and I'm here to tell you, she is the sweetest dog and we've named her Bailey. 

While most likely a mix, she has the main markings of an American Staffordshire Terrier. She is stocky and muscular with wide-set, dark round eyes. People will say, oh she's related to Pit Bulls; however Pit Bull isn't a breed, it's a catch-all for several breeds descended from Bulldogs.

There are a lot of stigmas that surround theses dogs and they face a lot of discrimination. The Bulldog breeds were originally bred as working dogs, while, sadly, in later years because of their strength and muscular build, were bred to fight. They are not inherently aggressive, but gentle, intelligent, and affectionate. All dogs are products of their environment as well as genetics. 

Because we don't know her background, we're still getting to know Bailey...as we would do with any dog breed. But when I see her soaking up the sunshine peacefully alongside the barn cats and watch her snuggle up to each of us for affection, I think a gem has found her way to our home.

 

 

the dog days are here...

Today's expected high temperature is 96 degrees...for me, that is too hot, at least 25 degrees too hot. I am a fall & winter kind of gal, loving every minute of sweater-weather from autumn's crunch of leaves to the silent beauty of a snowfall.

And yet, here we are in the hot, hazy, humid days of summer; The Dog Days of Summer as they're called. A quick look at The Farmers' Almanac tells me why they have this name...called the Dog Star, Sirius rises and sets with the Sun from July 3 to August 11. It's said the ancient Romans believed Sirius gave off heat, making the summer weather even hotter...and so they called the 20 days before and after its alignment with the Sun,  "dies caniculares", or dog days.

Today is filled with the whirring of locusts and the distant sound of doves calling...farm lore says that doves calling means rain will come, and with fingers crossed, we're hoping so. 

Summertime days begin early, before the sun is high...the garden and flowers are watered, animals get buckets of cool water along with breakfast, bird baths are filled, and any weeding, tilling, or harvesting is done before the sun creeps over the tall maples.

Now, if you ask my family, they will tell you I am a broken record, with my favorite 3 words this time of year being...

I
Hate
Summer

But really, it's only the heat and humidity that make me cranky. I can sometimes be found splashing my face at the outdoor faucet or, on particularly hot days, putting my entire head under it...how's that saying go, "Farm hair, don't care!"  Whatever it takes to cool off and get the job done.


I love summertime flowers...

I love  the garden...

I love the look of rain in the distance over the cornfield, and the fireworks at sunset...

I can't do anything to change the heat of summer, but with the blessings of smiling goats and tag-a-long cats, it's not so bad. 

And really, is there any better time to make homemade ice cream? Hmmm, guess what we'll be doing tomorrow!

flowers, rainbows & homemade bread

This week the sun has been shining, temperatures have been fall-like, and there's been a brisk breeze from the North...absolutely perfect in my mind. Days like these are never long enough, and they can lift the spirits and lighten the heart.

My daughter and I spent several nights in our camper Maizy, and although we didn't leave our own 10 acres, it was memories in the making...we laughed, watched Netflix or our favorite British shows on Acorn, scattered several little lanterns for glowing light, and had a sweet cat curled up at our feet.

Flowers have started to bloom on the farm and it makes me happy to see all the cheery colors...

iris and perennial geranium...

baptista and peony...

and even more springtime color as we spotted a pretty rainbow on a trip to a nearby town!

I've been trying sooo many new bread recipes from my MaryJane's Farm Wild Bread book...find it here, you have to have one!  

Worried about running out of yeast? Worry no more, these breads are made with a starter capturing the wild yeast in the air around us. There are step-by-step instructions so we can't go wrong, and there's even a Wild Bread chatroom for questions.

Sandwich and Epi Breads

Fougasse and French Breads

Flatbread and Batter Bread

  

                          

So here we are, almost to the official start of summer, taking in everything around us, and keeping mindful that time is fleeting.

Make sure to enjoy every minute...plan a backyard Mid-Summer's Eve party for your family, hang a sheet and have movie night outside, pitch a tent and make s'mores, fly kites, stargaze, play favorite games like hide & seek, Red Rover, or flashlight tag.

Ahhh, the joys of June!