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I dried celery in the dehydrator overnight because last night was cool. I only have a four tray unit so things take time. I grabbed a new-to-me, but very old family heirloom blue quart jar to put the dried celery in. The dried celery is going to be great in winter chicken soups. I picked up my Grandma's bowls and canning jars while visiting WI. Grandma was born in 1892. I also have colored glass pyrex, maybe circa 1950s, a large gravy boat, real family-sized, in mint greens and coral pinks. I also got 6 blue Mason Jars, quart-sized. I'm still unpacking and washing things, but the bowls came in handy to process food from the garden.
This morning I sliced potatoes, and then blanched them (5 minutes) and into an ice-water bath in one of my new bowls. Since I now had dehydrator trays empty, the potatoes went into the food dehydrator. This is the first time trying to dry potatoes. The idea is to store them until I want scalloped potatoes or potatoes au gratin. After that, I picked more celery in the garden. Washing and chopping were next. I put the diced stems into the refridgerator and the leaves onto an extra dehydrator tray. It can sit on top the unit until space becomes available.
I needed beeswax lids for my new bowls. I popped up to the attic to snag some light-weight cotton fabric. Last year we ended up with a bit of honeycomb from the farmer's market. It was just right. I put parchment paper in the solar oven. I layered the fabrics with beeswax bits and coconut oil on top of the parchment paper. They sat all day in the sun. Now they are hanging on the clothesline. There was a touch of honey mixed in which will wash out in the next rain. Meanwhile, the weekend's heat can drip out any excess wax.
After that, I decided to freeze some chard for winter. I picked off any sad leaves. Then I selected good leaves from the outside growth, leaving at least three leaves so as not to kill the plant. Growers recommend weekly cutting to encourage new growth. Surprisingly, the deer did not eat any of my chard. We've convinced them everything in that section is rhubarb. This year's chard is a rainbow variety from Botanical Interests. It likes the Mandala garden. I got about a quart frozen. I reused the potato water. The ice bath was stored in the fridge. Stems were cooked 3 minutes and the leaves 2 minutes so as not to have sad leaves. I dried the excess moisture with a fan. It's really humid today.
Once Chrono got up and ready, we headed out to run errands. First, the bank, then coffee ground pickup, and then Farmer's Market. We took in our extra egg cartons for a farmer to reuse. Conover Farms had organic blueberries to supplement our own. But mostly, we picked up meat. Ground beef from 4Farms, lamb shank from Ross Farm, and ground pork from Kern's. Herbold Farm had early honey. Chrono is so allergic to peppers that she cannot eat late summer honey. So we have to get light colored early honey when we can find it. We also stocked up on fair trade cocoa from the Presbyterians. I am worried we won't have enough food this winter. Climate is playing havoc with everything. 90 dead in Nepal with 17,500 displaced people due to extreme monsoon! I am not really a true prepper; I don't have enough cash to be one. But I have nightmares. Probably because we do not have food security.
I headed back out to the garden as it started to cool down around 6 pm. I picked more cukes and some tomatoes. A Caprese salad is in my future, fresh tomato, basil, olive oil, and mozzarella chunks. I may make another batch of bread n butter pickles if we can afford vinegar and sugar. Cash shortages are responsible for lack of stored food. (WW was about $200 short of breaking even. It affects my ability to pay bills.) I have had many people explain that I should just pop over to my local thrift store and buy a pressure cooker. These people are funny. Your store may carry these but mine does not. And yes, I do visit thrift stores when I travel. No, no one had a pressure cooker, or the wooden bread bowl that everyone in NJ owns, nor . . . Our stores are sad, which is why I was delighted my sister let me have Grandma's kitchenware.
I finished off the day by drying/curing potato onions on the window screens. I planted carrot seed in the empty places. The campstove is cooking dyer's coreopsis outside. Wool will be dyed for hat-making this evening. Dinner was made last night. Mango Chicken Salad, from here https://www.strongertogether.coop/recipes/mango-avocado-pasta-salad
The weather will be brutal until Sunday night. Temperatures will be in the 90s or above. We've no AC.
This morning I sliced potatoes, and then blanched them (5 minutes) and into an ice-water bath in one of my new bowls. Since I now had dehydrator trays empty, the potatoes went into the food dehydrator. This is the first time trying to dry potatoes. The idea is to store them until I want scalloped potatoes or potatoes au gratin. After that, I picked more celery in the garden. Washing and chopping were next. I put the diced stems into the refridgerator and the leaves onto an extra dehydrator tray. It can sit on top the unit until space becomes available.
I needed beeswax lids for my new bowls. I popped up to the attic to snag some light-weight cotton fabric. Last year we ended up with a bit of honeycomb from the farmer's market. It was just right. I put parchment paper in the solar oven. I layered the fabrics with beeswax bits and coconut oil on top of the parchment paper. They sat all day in the sun. Now they are hanging on the clothesline. There was a touch of honey mixed in which will wash out in the next rain. Meanwhile, the weekend's heat can drip out any excess wax.
After that, I decided to freeze some chard for winter. I picked off any sad leaves. Then I selected good leaves from the outside growth, leaving at least three leaves so as not to kill the plant. Growers recommend weekly cutting to encourage new growth. Surprisingly, the deer did not eat any of my chard. We've convinced them everything in that section is rhubarb. This year's chard is a rainbow variety from Botanical Interests. It likes the Mandala garden. I got about a quart frozen. I reused the potato water. The ice bath was stored in the fridge. Stems were cooked 3 minutes and the leaves 2 minutes so as not to have sad leaves. I dried the excess moisture with a fan. It's really humid today.
Once Chrono got up and ready, we headed out to run errands. First, the bank, then coffee ground pickup, and then Farmer's Market. We took in our extra egg cartons for a farmer to reuse. Conover Farms had organic blueberries to supplement our own. But mostly, we picked up meat. Ground beef from 4Farms, lamb shank from Ross Farm, and ground pork from Kern's. Herbold Farm had early honey. Chrono is so allergic to peppers that she cannot eat late summer honey. So we have to get light colored early honey when we can find it. We also stocked up on fair trade cocoa from the Presbyterians. I am worried we won't have enough food this winter. Climate is playing havoc with everything. 90 dead in Nepal with 17,500 displaced people due to extreme monsoon! I am not really a true prepper; I don't have enough cash to be one. But I have nightmares. Probably because we do not have food security.
I headed back out to the garden as it started to cool down around 6 pm. I picked more cukes and some tomatoes. A Caprese salad is in my future, fresh tomato, basil, olive oil, and mozzarella chunks. I may make another batch of bread n butter pickles if we can afford vinegar and sugar. Cash shortages are responsible for lack of stored food. (WW was about $200 short of breaking even. It affects my ability to pay bills.) I have had many people explain that I should just pop over to my local thrift store and buy a pressure cooker. These people are funny. Your store may carry these but mine does not. And yes, I do visit thrift stores when I travel. No, no one had a pressure cooker, or the wooden bread bowl that everyone in NJ owns, nor . . . Our stores are sad, which is why I was delighted my sister let me have Grandma's kitchenware.
I finished off the day by drying/curing potato onions on the window screens. I planted carrot seed in the empty places. The campstove is cooking dyer's coreopsis outside. Wool will be dyed for hat-making this evening. Dinner was made last night. Mango Chicken Salad, from here https://www.strongertogether.coop/recipes/mango-avocado-pasta-salad
The weather will be brutal until Sunday night. Temperatures will be in the 90s or above. We've no AC.
