I Can Get Distracted....

Beautiful jars shining in the sun at the farmers market!

Today began at 6 a.m.  It was a chilly but beautiful morning! Dishes done, spaghetti sauce, to be canned for winter time use, was in the slow cooker simmering down to a nice medium sauce. 
Next was the bushel of peaches.  Oh they smelled wonderful! Nothing like a fresh, juicy peach waiting to be peeled.  I sat at the kitchen sink, watching the birds fly around from feeder to water bowl and back, and found it very relaxing. Time spent doing repetitive work lets you have time to think, about the past, the future, the next few hours, etc.  I had tackled the bushel and placed the peels and pits in freezer bags to put away for a later date.  I save them to cook down and make a beautiful jelly that is delicious on chicken! 
So, on to getting the jars washed up and the canner simmering and then..........
Then, somehow, I got distracted.  Everyday for about one month I walk past the "pile" of things I have purchased lately. I have enjoyed buying a few new things for the walls and shelves but have not found a "home" for them yet.  Well, today was as good as any other day...(as my peaches sat in the huge Tupperware bowls on the counter waiting to become fabulous tasting jam!)
My mind wondered and I spent time on hanging some prints, thinking up a cool way to use the ladder I purchased and so on.  Now it is time for canning.
...THEN I looked at the canning shelves.  THEY called me....needed me to rearrange them!  SO I did...and now it is past 10 p.m. and I have not canned one thing today.
Tomorrow will start early again BUT it will end with beautiful jars full of Sunny Peach and Fuzzie Navel Jam to show for all my hours of being awake!
Leads me to wonder...where does time go?

Am I famous?? :)

From the local paper.  Our first rainy day of set up at this particular market!

Rain, rain, rain!  We have had lots of it around here in SE Ohio.  I must say, I dislike having my picture taken, but this is great advertisement and LOOK AT HOW BEAUTIFUL THE JARS LOOK!  I think they look like little jewels shining in the somewhat clouded, spotty sunshine sky.

The other day I made more of the Blueberry Lime and Blackberry Jelly.  My hands are stained from the berries but I think that is part of the fun of cooking...getting your hands in there and feeling the fruit and working with it to be mashed but also chunky so you can see the and taste the chunks of fruit.

I have a busy weekend ahead and I can feel the tension of hoping I have enough of everything coming on.  My mom, Becky, is coming over today to help clean the jars and label them.  I have over a bushel of peaches in the car but I bet that will be too much to ask for her to peel them all for me!  LOL  Maybe if I make the pout face like I am six years old again? 

Everyone enjoy the day.  It is beautiful here today. 

OH...Lordy...It's HOT!!!

Good Afternoon Everyone! 

Oh my golly...we  have gone from rain every afternoon to icky, sticky humidity..BIG TIME!

Unfortunately I don't have a nice cool cellar or breezeway to do my canning but we have come up with the next best thing.  My husband put up the pop-up tent and the campstove out on the deck and I am processing the jars out there! LOL  It actually is working out pretty good.  The house is still 78* with the a/c on.  I can't imagine what it would be with the canner going at full speed ahead too!

I cook up a batch and jar it in the house and take out to the cookstove to keep warm until I get a whole canner full.  

As I was making Wrangler & Red Raspberry last night, I looked for a recipe on SBCanning's blog, Canning Homemade, and found a delicious Red Raspberry Vanilla Jam!  Of course my good friend Cindy uses her words more eloquently than I do, (LOL) so I will just say it is dang good!   I love the taste of vanilla.  It has just enough to give it a little sweeter taste than the plain red raspberry.

Today, I did six batches of Friki Tiki Colada.  It is a summertime favorite!  And as I was getting my fresh blueberries from the freezer, I thought about something different to do with them.  It didn't take me long!  I have fallen in love with a drink at a restaurant called FlipSide.  They have the most amazing Blueberry Lemonade!   So, that is my attempt later on this afternoon.  I have a feeling with my ingredients, it will be a hit also. 

I have some new shelving units to put my canning equipment on, so I will take a break from canning and do some housework.  Enjoy your day my friends!  Be blessed and full of praise. 

 

 

I Love Creating in the Kitchen!

Good Evening All,

I think after about 20 days in a row of rain, the system has moved out of the area.  We are to have low humidity and sunshine for at least four days! YEA!!!  My poor flowers need some sun to dry up the soaking puddles they are sitting in. I didn't mind the rain as I've been in the kitchen or running errands most days.

I've added to my inventory of four ounce jars.  I made lots of delicious jams yesterday and today and a few new ones also.  First up....CANTALOUPE Jam!  I don't even eat cantaloupe BUT this just interested me so much, I had to try it. It has a sweet, mellow flavor. I am sure to make more due to the fact that I believe people will want to try it and then LOVE it.  Second in the canner was a combination of Plums/Pears/Apples (still working on a name for it). I love black plums when they are just ripe enough and so juicy you really need to have a towel in your hand to catch the juice. This jam almost has the consistency of a fruit butter.

Then I kept the kettle warm with a batches of Strawberry/Kiwi Jam, Strawberry Margarita Jam, Plum Spice Jam (a new recipe), Wicked Watermelon and finally Rhubarb Pie Jam. 
The Rhubarb Pie Jam is an original Joyful Jar recipe.  I had rhubarb, blueberries and wanted to create something different and I did! I cooked them down, added some spices and brown sugar and it reminds me of a pie filling.

I love to create different flavors and not keep the same flavors cooking each day. This keeps my mind busy with ideas flowing and keeps the customers on their toes, looking for new flavors and how they can incorporate them into their lives.

Enjoy the evening, wherever you are.

Fresh picked red raspberries from my neighbors farm.

Oh I wish you could smell the smells....

 

 

My kitchen smells so divine! My neighbor, Cathy (she has a beautiful garden, fruit trees, bushes and a produce stand), has the first berries of the season coming on!  We have had so much rain, that everything seems to be a little late coming on around here.  The sun comes out for a few hours and then with the humidity, the weathermen start "tracking storms" in the afternoon.  But the berries have started to ripen and so far, I have brought home six quarts. 

 

The red raspberries are so refreshingly tart but also a tad sweet.  I have been eating them by handfuls...I have to remind myself they are for jam.

 

Yesterday and today I made batches of Red Raspberry Jam.  I saved two cups to try a new recipe, Blushing Peach Jam. I had about two cups of the fresh North Carolina peaches in the freezer waiting for the berries.  The aroma coming from the kettle was amazing! 

 

I enjoy trying out new recipes.  Which reminds me I have a cantaloupe in the kitchen.....Stay tuned! 

Happy Independence Day!

 

I can't believe it is July already!  The months have gone by quickly.  We have had quite a bit of rain in my area.  It seems everyday about 2:00 or 3:00, they are 'tracking' more showers and storms.  The ground is pretty saturated in some areas.  At least I don't have to worry about watering the plants. 

 

I have enjoyed my summer of canning so far.  I had a great first time at the Easton Farmers Market!  The atmosphere is wonderful! The day was sunny and breezy and I had the perfect spot to watch the children play in the water fountain.  I look forward to going back later in the month.

 

A good friend brought home some North Carolina peaches for me last week.  YUMM.  I was so excited to good fresh picked peaches.  I was going to make the jam that very evening but a storm came through and knocked the power off for six hours.  I made the jam the next day and it is delicious!  I am looking forward to the peaches making their way up here.  Specials are being posted by local markets for next week deliveries.

 

 

Enjoy the day friends.