I'm feeling a bit better today(Sunday).
If the foot continues to improve(being able to put weight on it)it is looking like we'll get to the Baker/Vassar Family Reunion 2013 next Saturday.
Now I just have to get copies made of some photos I want to bring with me. Photos I need help identifying persons pictured on them. Plus a photo of the old home place that I don't believe anyone else has seen(or has in their possession).
We needed to get 2 things crossed off the "To Do" List this weekend.
#1 was to finish getting all the coats of paint on the baseboard moulding strips.
And that one got crossed off this afternoon when Hubs finished the quarter round strips.
We are now set for the workmen to come back a week from tomorrow(Monday)and cut/install all the crown and baseboard mouldings.
Then to touch up the wall paint we redid and we are ready to decorate, buy furniture and hang curtains.
#2 on the list had to be completed this weekend, because next weekend we can't do this project, and by the following weekend(in October), it would just be too late for the task.
The project is to make and can my Family Secret Pepper Relish Recipe.
It calls for lots and lots of red bell peppers and if you end up having to purchase those at the grocery store it's ridiculously expensive! So I only make this relish if I can get red bells for cheap, which means either growing them yourself(I've never been able to grow enough of them successfully in a season to have enough to make a batch of the relish)or you can buy them straight from a farmer. I know of one local farm that grows this variety and they ripen in early September here so you have to time your relish making with the short window of ripe opportunity. And you have to hope other farm stand customers don't buy them all before you get there!
This window of time is usually the 2-4th weekend of September.
This weekend was weekend #3 so prime season.
So we hit the farm stand yesterday.
The little pumpkins were already out in bins. In a week or two their Pumpkin Patch will be in full swing. I hope to get back for pumpkins in October. I don't have room for lots of puree in my freezer but I can get a few gourds.....
Here is an artsy shot I took....
A close-up of a bin of larger pumpkins. I may be the whitest woman on Earth but those albinos are the whitest pumpkins on Earth.......snort
And for Tanner, a photo of her farm "buddy"......I know you miss her......lol
I didn't want a shot of these people but they just kept getting in my way, both while trying to get photos of the critters and while trying to get veggies at the stand. Honestly, they were obviously "city slickers" and I could have sworn from the way they talked and the way they acted that they were from New York or Jersey(sorry if you are from NY or NJ). They were obnoxious, pushy and acted like they were the center of the universe. You know, the stereotypical "goombah"....
Was I surprised that when we left I noticed that their car at PA plates. lol Obviously transplants. How I wish they'd "go home". We don't need behavior like this in PA(got enough of it already). NYers who know how to behave in public are appreciated and welcomed. 8-)
Another shot of one of Tanner's "stubborn" buddies scratching an itch on the fence......
And a gratuitous chicken porn shot for Linda .......I swear this chicken refused to show her face. Every time I hoisted the camera to my face, she turned her backend to me. Is this how a chicken gives "the finger"? lolz
A shot on the way home of the now clear cut cornfields. Corn season is long gone......sniff......
Saturday afternoon I began the relish making process.
Some of the spoils of our farm stand excursion........
We got 26 peppers(a combination of green and red and many that were both green and red)for $6.00
And these were BIG peppers, not the tiny things you get in the grocery store. Peppers here run regularly $3.49 or higher per lb. Even on sale at .99¢ per lb. these peppers would have costs me $26.00! Holy bell pepper Batman, that's way too much to spend on only 1 ingredient for relish!!
Prepping the veggies.......
After going through the food processor and a good deal of hand chopping by moi we got this......
After salting and draining and making the sauce we jarred the relish up and put them into the canner.....
And after 30 minutes of boiling(x 3 since w couldn't fit all the jars in), we ended up with this......
We got 308 ounces of relish, or 2 gallons, 1 quart, 1 pint and 4 ounces. 8-)
All told 308 ounces of relish cost me $15.75 for the ingredients(not counting any jars I had to buy).
Peppers $6
Onions $4
Sugar $3
Secret Ingredient FREE ;-)
Vinegar .75¢
Mustard Seeds $1
Celery Seeds $1
That comes out to approx. .61¢ per 12 oz. jar.
Add another .67¢ for the jar if I had to buy it.
A good price for something homemade.
My sister in-law is addicted to this stuff. She puts it in/on everything and even eats it out of the jar with a spoon.
I should rename this stuff "Crack Relish". lolz
I'm calling the weekend a success since we got both of our Projects completed.
So what's on your plate this weekend?
Sluggy
If the foot continues to improve(being able to put weight on it)it is looking like we'll get to the Baker/Vassar Family Reunion 2013 next Saturday.
Now I just have to get copies made of some photos I want to bring with me. Photos I need help identifying persons pictured on them. Plus a photo of the old home place that I don't believe anyone else has seen(or has in their possession).
We needed to get 2 things crossed off the "To Do" List this weekend.
#1 was to finish getting all the coats of paint on the baseboard moulding strips.
And that one got crossed off this afternoon when Hubs finished the quarter round strips.
We are now set for the workmen to come back a week from tomorrow(Monday)and cut/install all the crown and baseboard mouldings.
Then to touch up the wall paint we redid and we are ready to decorate, buy furniture and hang curtains.
#2 on the list had to be completed this weekend, because next weekend we can't do this project, and by the following weekend(in October), it would just be too late for the task.
The project is to make and can my Family Secret Pepper Relish Recipe.
It calls for lots and lots of red bell peppers and if you end up having to purchase those at the grocery store it's ridiculously expensive! So I only make this relish if I can get red bells for cheap, which means either growing them yourself(I've never been able to grow enough of them successfully in a season to have enough to make a batch of the relish)or you can buy them straight from a farmer. I know of one local farm that grows this variety and they ripen in early September here so you have to time your relish making with the short window of ripe opportunity. And you have to hope other farm stand customers don't buy them all before you get there!
This window of time is usually the 2-4th weekend of September.
This weekend was weekend #3 so prime season.
So we hit the farm stand yesterday.
The little pumpkins were already out in bins. In a week or two their Pumpkin Patch will be in full swing. I hope to get back for pumpkins in October. I don't have room for lots of puree in my freezer but I can get a few gourds.....
Here is an artsy shot I took....
A close-up of a bin of larger pumpkins. I may be the whitest woman on Earth but those albinos are the whitest pumpkins on Earth.......snort
And for Tanner, a photo of her farm "buddy"......I know you miss her......lol
I didn't want a shot of these people but they just kept getting in my way, both while trying to get photos of the critters and while trying to get veggies at the stand. Honestly, they were obviously "city slickers" and I could have sworn from the way they talked and the way they acted that they were from New York or Jersey(sorry if you are from NY or NJ). They were obnoxious, pushy and acted like they were the center of the universe. You know, the stereotypical "goombah"....
Was I surprised that when we left I noticed that their car at PA plates. lol Obviously transplants. How I wish they'd "go home". We don't need behavior like this in PA(got enough of it already). NYers who know how to behave in public are appreciated and welcomed. 8-)
And a gratuitous chicken porn shot for Linda .......I swear this chicken refused to show her face. Every time I hoisted the camera to my face, she turned her backend to me. Is this how a chicken gives "the finger"? lolz
A shot on the way home of the now clear cut cornfields. Corn season is long gone......sniff......
Saturday afternoon I began the relish making process.
Some of the spoils of our farm stand excursion........
We got 26 peppers(a combination of green and red and many that were both green and red)for $6.00
And these were BIG peppers, not the tiny things you get in the grocery store. Peppers here run regularly $3.49 or higher per lb. Even on sale at .99¢ per lb. these peppers would have costs me $26.00! Holy bell pepper Batman, that's way too much to spend on only 1 ingredient for relish!!
After going through the food processor and a good deal of hand chopping by moi we got this......
After salting and draining and making the sauce we jarred the relish up and put them into the canner.....
And after 30 minutes of boiling(x 3 since w couldn't fit all the jars in), we ended up with this......
We got 308 ounces of relish, or 2 gallons, 1 quart, 1 pint and 4 ounces. 8-)
All told 308 ounces of relish cost me $15.75 for the ingredients(not counting any jars I had to buy).
Peppers $6
Onions $4
Sugar $3
Secret Ingredient FREE ;-)
Vinegar .75¢
Mustard Seeds $1
Celery Seeds $1
That comes out to approx. .61¢ per 12 oz. jar.
Add another .67¢ for the jar if I had to buy it.
A good price for something homemade.
My sister in-law is addicted to this stuff. She puts it in/on everything and even eats it out of the jar with a spoon.
I should rename this stuff "Crack Relish". lolz
I'm calling the weekend a success since we got both of our Projects completed.
So what's on your plate this weekend?
Sluggy
That warning Pennsylvania sign in front of the goats just mad me want to reach out and pet the critters. Yeah, right....NOT! Never saw something like that before.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your relish looks fantastic. You should sell the stuff. Make a fortune! Must be delish.
Glad you're feeling better.
They had to put that sign up because city slickers would come and put their hands, heads and their kids' hands inside the fence and then get mad if the animal bit them or got snot on them. Hey folks, it's a farm animal, not a cartoon. These folks just don't know how to act around animals.lol
DeleteThanks we like the relish. Too many state hoops to jump through to think about selling it....I'm just too old and tired to start a physically demanding business like that.
So nice to read a good news post from you. Glad the foot is getting better. The relish looks great! Probably a lot of work, but well worth it I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI admit that I miss apple season in PA. Nothing like apples fresh off the tree in autumn.
Thanks Clamco. I only make the relish every other year because it IS a lot of work and we don't eat so much to need a new batch every year. Hubs bought the first apple cider of the season last week. I was tempted by a bushel of "seconds" for $10 yesterday but I am just not up to making applesauce yet. 8-)
DeleteWow! Your relish looks amazing! I make zucchini relish every year. My kids love it in tuna and chicken salad. Have sbout tbree more batched yo go, but will have to wsit for red peppers to go on sale. Thank goodness zucchini can sit on the vine awhile. I want to try pepper relish, though. Unfortunately, I cannot grow peppers here in my corner of the PNW. My weekend /Monday plan? Pick the red tomatoes and make a batch of home canned tomato soup.I think the USDA would balk at the recipe, though...handed down to me by a neighbor who had had it in her family for generations! I do pressure can it just to be safe. Tomatoes are not as forgiving as zucchini, so tomorrow is booked solid!
ReplyDeleteI hope you continue to get better! Here's to a healthy autumn!
I was going to ask for the recipe, but since it has a 'secret' ingredient, never mind.
ReplyDeleteI paid $0.50 each for peppers and counted myself lucky. At the farmer's market, I am afraid they would be more like $1 each.
That looks like Thelma's fluffy chicken butt. She does the same thing when I have a camera in hand, just gives me the butt.
This weekend, I am trying to empty the dishwasher so I can reload it. I should just sit down and chop 11 heads of celery for the dehydrator. Baking two packages of chicken breasts is most likely to get done tonight.
Take care of your foot.
The relish looks delish! I took lemons & oranges from the trees in our yard, & made lemon bread (skipped the glaze so I could pack it in kiddo lunches) & orange muffins. The muffins are still baking, but the lemon bread is a million times better than the stuff from Starbucks. YUM! I have no idea what I'll do with the millions of other lemons. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHope you said hi to Chick! And it's not giving you the finger... it's giving you the tail end. Some are shy like that. Or maybe that's their good photogenic side? The feathers looked nicely ruffled.
ReplyDeleteAnd wow... I love peppers. $6 for 26? What poor farmer's stand did you end up robbing?! The best I've done was that $0.99/lb about 3 summers ago.
Now I'm curious about the secret ingredient...
So glad you are feeling better, I worry about you. You over do things and do not stop and think about your health. Hmmmm...... I too did a weekend of garden produce.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing price for bell peppers! I have never seen peppers that cheap unless they were in a family members garden.
ReplyDelete