Vacation/Gardening/Produce

By -
We are driving home from vacation right now.  I have had the most relaxing time.  We stayed with Woodman's Nana and Papa J.  They live just west of Washington DC in a little piece of heaven.  Their farm is very off the beaten path and they are the most wonderful host and hostess ever.  I feel as if I have just been to a bed and breakfast where my every need was attended to.  It isn't that they necessarily wait on you, they just make you feel so welcome and relaxed.  We did make a trip into our nation's capitol for a peek at the cherry blossoms (beautiful) and a couple museums.  We really had a great time and I am coming back refreshed. 

Of course spring is in full bloom there so I played outside quite a bit and brought home some wild onions and a few starts of a willow tree.  I am so excited to get started on my garden. 

Woodman and I had some discussion about why we (or more specifically I) are drawn to the locavore movement.  After discussion with Nana about the savings to the environment due to reduced transportation, helping the local farmers and the whole "trendy" thing to do I find it is none of those for me.  I LOVE fresh produce whether it is a roadside stand, a local farmers market on Saturday or going in my or my dad's back yard I just can't stay away from produce or this time of year seeds or plants that produce produce.  Give me a grocery store with a good produce section or a store with a seed section and you've got me. 

My husband thinks it is a sickness.  I don't really care what it is and have no intention of changing it.  Oops gotta go, I see a farm stand coming up, maybe I can get Woodman to stop!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can Jam - Citrus - Orange Lime Marmalade

By -
Image
I have been so excited about the can jam that it has thrown me into a whirlwind of activity.  I have been canning up a storm lately!  While it may seem a boring choice I decided on a marmalade, I have only tried marmalade once or twice and really didn't like it.  Of course I was trying the little retangular packets you find in your local breakfast place so I reasoned, if I make my own, surely I will like it better.  Wow, the difference was amazing.  While I will always be a "berry" jam kind of gal, I can definitely say I like marmalade.  I wanted to try something different so Woodman suggested an Orange Lime Marmalade, I had tons of citrus so I tried the Orange Lime as well as a Citrus Marmalade which included Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit and Clementines - it was great!  Woodman liked the Orange Lime better so that is what we are posting. Orange Lime Marmalade 3 lbs oranges 3 Limes 6 cups water Peel the oranges and limes.  Chop the orange peel, discard the most
Read more

Carrots carrots carrots. February Can Jam.

By -
Image
I am doing this post because something unfortunate has happened. DD made these carrots a week ago and they are supposed to sit for two weeks, so we tried them after one. Then tragedy struck, she doesn't like them. But, she doesn't like carrots anyway. So, I'm the one who gets to write this one up. The recipe is from The New Preserves, so we've hit two from the same book now. Sweet Pickled Carrots 1 pound carrots 1/4 cup water   3/4 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon canning salt 3/4 teaspoon mustard seed 3/4 teaspoon celery seed 6 whole cloves 1 stick cinnamon Combine water, vinegar salt and sugar in pan and bring to a boil . Boil  to a boil. In each sterilized jar add 1/4 t mustard seed, 1/4 t celery seed and 2 cloves.  Break the cinnamon stick in three pieces and put one in each jar. Divide the carrots between the jars. Add vinegar mixture leaving 1/2 inch head space, seal and process for 10 minutes. I love them, they remind me of something
Read more

Can Jam... Stoned Fruit

By -
So, first I had to figure out how the hell I was going to get a some fruit to smoke pot. Ok, we tried three different recipes this time. We managed to score 25 pounds of peaches for 20 bucks, which we thought was pretty good; until DD found 50 pounds for 20 bucks. We also scored a bushel of tomatoes at the same time. And the cukes were finishing up, so it was pickle time again, as well as starting another batch of sauerkraut. After 8 quarts of spaghetti sauce, using a safer recipe, 8 pints of salsa, 4 pints of pickle relish, several random jars of pickles, and a 2 gallon jar of kraut it was time to look at the peaches. We did canned peaches in light syrup (6 pints), canned peaches in extra light syrup (6 Pints), canned pickled peaches (6 Pints), and peach butter (4 pints), and peach jam 12 jelly jars and 3 pint jars worth. Oh, and we ate some peaches too. Pickled Peaches 2 pounds of sugar 2 cups of white vinegar 2 T whole cloves 2 sticks of cinanananamon 4 quarts peaches
Read more