Freezer Corn 2015

Since the kiddos are away for the week, and the large patch of sweet corn is at its prime, I thought I would put some in the freezer!  Doug was kind enough to pick about 13 dozen ears for me.  We worked last night to get it all shucked, and I started on it first thing this morning.

I had quite the assembly line...the ears on the dish drain are waiting their turn to be blanched, two pots on the stove to blanch, and two sinks to cool them off!

After everything was blanched and cooled, I set to cutting it off the ears.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember that my electric knife died last year (or maybe the year before), until I was looking for it to start this step.

After taking a lunch break, I bagged up all the goodness.  When it was all said and done, I ended up with 22 bags!

Until next time...

Bowl full of Cherries

I guess I should say "bowls".

The kiddos (all three of them) are staying with Gram and Pa this week.  So I was able to work on pitting the cherries Gram shared with me, without little people helping!  I was able to put enough pitted cherries in the freezer to make 3 different pies.  I would have gone ahead and made one today, but Doug and I are still trying to finish the black raspberry pie I made last week!

Until next time...

Weekend Project

Doug brought home a decent pile of sweet corn on Friday, and even better, he was home and able to help me put it in the freezer!

Getting ready to blanch the ears...

Ready to go in the freezer...

It wasn't as many bags as I was hoping for, but it is a good start!

Until next time...

Black Raspberries

One day's picking...

9 jars of jam

1.5 gallons frozen

Can't forget the pie!

Until next time...

Strawberries!

This is only the second year for our strawberries, but they sure have done well!

This was the first night we picked...

We all enjoyed a bowl of ice cream and berries that night

The next night we enjoyed a strawberry pie

Then, after the next pickin', I made 15 jars of strawberry jam.

And after the third pickin', I made 9 jars of strawberry-rhubarb jam and froze about a gallon-sized bag of berries to use in pies later!

Until next time...

Freezing and Canning

Thursday, I did another batch (15 dozen ears) of sweet corn for the freezer
I hope the 40 quarts I have put up will last us until next summer! I am thinking about trying to freeze some on the ear. Has anyone ever done this? What are your thoughts about the taste?

Friday (my birthday) I made a carrot cake and canned 5 pints of carrots (yes, I pulled a LOT of carrots from the garden Thursday evening). Apparently, Reba thought it was boring work, so she fell asleep on the kitchen floor...

Yep, that's her big toe right by her mouth...I bet you can't do that!

Until next time...

Sweet Corn!

I had a busy day...it started last night when Doug and I picked over 10 dozen ears of sweet corn Then, Doug helped shuck a couple dozen ears before leaving for work, I finished shucking the rest before Reba got up

I filled up a couple trash bags with the husks

I then had to take a break to feed Reba and find her some toys

Then, the ears were ready for a washing

Next, came the blanching and cooling

Yes, I had corn everywhere!

It was then time for lunch, so I took another break. Reba then chilled in her highchair for a while

Reba went down for a nap, so I got busy cutting the corn off the cobs

My weapon of choice for cutting off the corn - my electric knife!

Look at all that beautiful corn

Now, what to do with those empty cobs...they'll wait until Doug gets off work :)

Finally, it was time to back and seal up the sweetness!

When it was all done, I had 17 bags of corn to put in the freezer. Yumm-o!

Whew, that wore me out ... how about you?

Until next time...

Garden Goodness

My first cutting of broccoli
My second pulling of carrots (this was a few days ago, I pulled more than double this today)

My second mess of green beans (again, this was the other day, I picked this much again today...puts me up to 13 quarts of green beans canned thus far)

My first picking of zucchinis...I see some zucchini pie in our near future :)

A few cucumbers...I wish I had more so I could make some pickles. Why don't they all come on at the same time?

I had a very busy day today - thanks to Gram Bergman. She is here visiting and watched/played with the kids while I worked in the garden and around the house! I was able to do 5 loads of laundry this morning, pick/break/can green beans, and pull/blanch/freeze carrots just to name a few things.

Also...last night, Doug and I butchered our 9 chickens! Ths was the main reason for Gram coming. She entertained the kiddos and kept them inside while Doug and I worked. We started about 5 p.m. and finished about 9:30 last night. It was quite an experience, but we learned a lot and got it done. I decided not to take pictures because (frankly) I didn't think you would want to see them, and I really didn't want to capture those "memories". Dallas didn't say anything today about the "cluck-clucks". Let's see how long it takes before he realizes they are gone...

Until next time...

A Bountiful Harvest

With the possibility of our first frost tonight, I decided to gather the remaining veggies from the garden. All in all, we had a very successful year with our garden.

I canned 43 pints of sweet corn, 34 quarts of green beans, 14 quarts of pickles, 7 quarts of zucchini, 7 quarts of beef and veggie stew, 4 quarts of tomato juice, 7 pints of pizza sauce, 7 pints of spaghetti sauce, 8 pints of whole tomatoes, 7 quarts of chili base, and 20 quarts of salsa.

In my freezer, I have 5 gallon-sized bags of green beans, 10 pint-sized bags of broccoli, 6 pint-sized bags of kohlrabi, 2 gallon-sized bags of chopped green peppers, 6 gallon-sized bags of spinach, and 3 pint-sized bags of carrots.

Lastly, I have a gallon-sized bag of each of the following baby food: green beans, carrots, zucchini, and broccoli.

Today, Doug and I dug up the sweet potatoes (which I need to figure out what to do with them)
I pulled all my onions...these were my "prize winners"

And, I finished cutting the celery

Until next time...