Bounty!

It has been the sunniest and hottest September that I ever remember!  Very grateful for a cold rainy start to October.  Some "dreary" weather is allowing me a bit of time inside away from the bounty of my gardens!   This has been an incredibly busy fall for us.  We took on a lot so we are truly looking forward to winter and enjoying the fruits of our labors!  Here is a bit of what is up on the this place on earth!! 

Firewood has just begun...

A very fine potato harvest despite lots of bugs & blight!

We finished the painting & cork flooring upstairs!  YEAH!  Waiting the 7 days for the sealant to cure, then mop boards, and then the moving back in process! 

 CANNING!!!!

Peppers are just so pretty!

I had an epic day of canning this week. I put up 14 quarts of green beans, 8 pints of spicy dilly carrots, and 23 half pints of my famous eggplant relish all in one day!  It was me at my time management best!  I got up early and headed out to the garden to pull carrots.  I had leftover brine from my pepper pickling so I decided to make a labor intensive carrot pickle for my son who has requested not to receive any holiday gifts from us!  He says that our help with college and medical expenses are enough!  Wow!  I haven't really liked making these carrot pickles in the past but, this year I assure you, there is an extra dollop of love in them! My son loves all things carrot!  

After pulling carrots and collecting fresh dill seeds I headed back to the house to start topping the beans I had picked the day before.  While prepping the beans I had my dishwasher full of jars running through the sanitizing cycle.  I canned the beans first.  It takes about an hour for each batch to pressure can start to finish.  During that time I prepped the carrots that need to be washed, peeled, cut, & blanched.  by the time the first batch of beans were decompressing I had my carrots in a hot water bath.  I did my second batch of beans and some clean up.  At 2PM I took a 30 minute break to eat something and stretch.  Then on to the eggplant!

This a recipe of my own design.  A few years back I grew some eggplants from a packet of seeds that I got for a dime just to give it a try.  Well I ended up with an abundance!  There is only so much eggplant parmesan & ratatouille a family could eat.  Enjoying the flavors of Indian Cuisine and always looking for something to put on my homemade crackers I came up with this recipe....that I happily share with you below!  I finished everything around 6PM.  I did sleep well that night, nothing like a productive day for a restful night of sleep.  Much more to do so I better get cracking!

Eggplant Spread with Indian Flair! ***** 12 – 13 ½ pints ***** Sterilize Jars *****

In a large stockpot add:

1 cup olive oil
4 lb eggplant; chopped into bite size pieces (about 16 cups)

Dry roast in a cast iron skillet until they pop:

2 tablespoons Cumin Seeds
4 tablespoons Fenugreek Seeds

2 tablespoons Mustard Seeds

1 tablespoon Coriander Seed

Add roasted seeds to oil and eggplant ~ cook until eggplant is tender.

½ cup minced fresh ginger~set aside (use mini chopper)

Add garlic to mini chopper 1^st  & chop

10 large cloves garlic; minced
4 tablespoons chili powder
4  teaspoons ground ginger.....................ADD to chopped garlic to form a PASTE
4  teaspoons turmeric

½ cup white vinegar

Now add to Eggplant in the Pot:

3 cups White Vinegar

2 cups sugar

4 Tbls Chili pepper flakes

4 Tbls Pickling Salt

Fresh Ginger

Above Paste

Stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until boiling***Grind up mixture with hand held blender

½ inch head space ~ Pressure Can 6lbs for 8 minutes

Gets BETTER with Age! (like me!) 

Deborah Diemer Copyright 2015

Gardens End ~ Years End

Hello!  I am still here.  I have my new computer... I am getting used to it....spending a good deal of time with the tedious task of transferring things from the PC to the MAC.  Which creates a great opportunity to consider what I want and what a do not.  A perfect task to be doing at the end of another year.  I haven't taken the time to get my camera software on this computer so in the meantime here is a blog I began in the fall that I never finished.  Another wonderful way to end a year with reflection on the things gone by.  (Plus I am getting used to my keyboard and trying out various heights to see if I need DH to make a custom board to get it just right...ergonomically!)

I barely remember this day of digging.  All this food is now nicely tucked away in the cold room.  Some of it has been eaten.  We are already through nearly half the carrots!  Guess I should plant more next year.  This is the time of year we tend to take stock in all that has passed.  A time for goal setting and getting busy again after all the celebrations.  I have begun my long list of desires.  Hoping not to make my Self crazy with my goals but, to always remember slow and steady fills the pantry.  There can Be times for flurry and time for reflection all mixed together.

It has been a nice and quiet holiday here.  Just the 3 of us enjoying good healthy food and each others company.  I declined most invitations for big parties and listened to my need for quiet.  I feel refreshed rather than drained from this festive time of year.  I hope to continue to improve my inner "hearing" in the new year!

Well, time to get back to the transfer work, year end bookkeeping, garden notes, seed order, Etsy creating, and all the day to day ~ buzz, buzz, busy-ness!  Hope this little blog finds you and yours well.  And if I don't get back "here" before the New Year... Wishing you a Very Happy One!

***Tuesday's Tip***

Ok Tuesday's Tip is a day late...but I was harvesting the carrots yesterday!  This is my LAST BIG outside job.  With what I did over the weekend and yesterday I can now make a new list! Woot! Woot!  I mean to blog more...but...this Is my first year blogging during  harvest, send a kid to college, way behind on Etsy, and need to add bookkeeping to my list, Autumn.  So NOW I hope to be more regular again!!!

Before Harvest (Kale in the foreground)

Carrot Harvesting Tips:

Pull your carrot on a cloudy dry day.  Leave them out in the garden before you pack them.  

Do NOT wash them before storage.

    

Get your boxes ready.  I found these Fish Boxes at Hamilton Marine, Searsport, Maine.  The work great and will stack inside each other for storage or flip them around and the stack on top of each other.  Then get your packing material ready.  I like dewy morning raked leaves.  I have tried a number of packing materials of over the years.  Wood chips were too drying, peat moss was too messy, sand was to heavy...but...leaves are juuuust right!  I have been using leaves for about 4 years with great success keeping my carrots until nearly spring and then I can just add them to the compost pile.  Leaves smell nice too.

A layer of leaves and then a layer of carrots.  I cut the tops off as near that carrot as possible without cutting the carrot.  My biggies are Scarlet Keepers and as their name suggests they keep well.  My skinnies are Nantes Half Longs, not the best keepers...if my son hadn't gone off to college there would have been none to harvest. (experimented today with shipping him some via priority mail...he is my carrot kid!)  The Nantes tops will snap right off but, the Scarlet's require a knife.  I sort out any weirdy or super small carrots to use first.   

I got done just as the rain started to fall!  Another layer of leaves..no cover just leaves and into the cold room they go!  We have an insulated cold room.  It is around 60 degrees right now but should cool down to 40ish by the end of the week ~~~ cold winds are coming!  

After all the carrotiness I feel a bit like a goofy carrot-actor....so time for some fun!

My favorite weirdy LOVE carrots of the bunch! 

Shel Silverstein 

 Natasha "Juice From a Carrot or Two"

CarroActer Cake

In a Bowl of Sanity
Add a Cup of Heartiness
a Cup of Wisdom
a Cup of Kindness
Two Drops of Tears  
And three Cups of Smiles

Mix Well Until Smooth

Add a Cup of Fate
a Cup of Compassion
And Two Cups of Passion

If It Feels Dry
Add Two More Drops of Tears
And Keep Mixing Without Fears

Then Gently Mix In
Two Cups of Sincerity
And a Cup of Attention

Mix Until It Sticks To the Bowl
And Until Foamy Peaks Form

Add a Cup of Strength
a Cup of Integrity
a Pinch of Doubt
And a Cup of Trust

a Pinch of Naivety
a Pinch of Bitterness
And a Pinch of Spice
Juice From a Carrot or Two
Be Very Careful
Not To Overdo

When It Feels Fluffy And Light
When It Tastes Pleasantly Right
Serve All Above
Generously Sprinkled
With Love

:) :) :)

~Natasha~

http://hellopoetry.com/words/carrot/poems/