Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Friday, August 3, 2018

Enjoying The Garden.





Bountiful Blessing
from our little garden :)

Rainbow Carrots
I planted a few seeds this year just for fun :)


I've decided that when I eat a carrot
I prefer it to be orange :)



This is a two gallon ice cream bucket.


Look at the size of those berries.


I've been making blackberry freezer jam.



Also peach freezer jam.
We didn't raise the peaches.
I bought them at a fruit stand.

I'm new at this, I wanted to can them,
but didn't watch a video until after
purchasing them and I should have bought
freestone peaches.  
Live and learn, I'll do better next time.


Remember our cabbage patch?


And us making kraut?

Well, I have had several blogging sisters
ask me how it turned out.


The kraut that we canned,
we haven't tasted yet, because it is 
suppose to get better with age.


We will probably open a jar sometime
around October, but I do love seeing it
sitting on the self looking pretty
with our other canned foods.


The kraut that we left in the plastic
food grade buckets to ferment we decided not to can.
We put them in canning jars and put them in the frig.
They taste amazing!  
They say that water bath processing them will remove
many of the beneficial probiotics that are
 now linked to improvements in immune,
 cognitive, digestive and endocrine function.    
Those are the healthy reasoning for eating
 fermented foods.

They will keep for months in the frig.
The only problem is they do take up 
spaces as well :)


On a different note, my flowers 
are looking lovely.


Look at this pretty Holly Hock.
It's growing by the front porch 
and was planted by the birds.


I actually planted some a few years
ago and they did nothing.


The birds have also planted a few
sunflowers around the yard.
Isn't it sweet that they know how much
I love flowers :) 

I do hope that you are all having a 
joyful day.
~~~~~***~~~~~

Keep Smiling!

~~~~~***~~~~~
Your blogging sister,
Connie :)

42 comments:

  1. You have been busy, busy, busy! That jam looks so good! Freezer jam is the best.

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    Replies
    1. I Know, I love how freezer jam keeps that fresh fruit taste :)

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  2. Wow! Your produce looks wonderful and there really is something beautiful about canned goods.

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    1. Canned goods sitting on a shelf are cousins to comfort food . . . they are comfort art :)

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  3. Hi Connie, Love all your canned things. Looks so pretty! I am sure it will be so tasty when that snow flies. I have not done any canning this year. I learned my lesson one year also when I bought the wrong kind of peaches and it was so hard to get the pit out. The leaves on your hollyhock the birds planted look so good. I gave up on mine. Too much work. The birds planted a sunflower here also. I love it except it could have been over just a bit! LOL All your things seem to be doing amazingly well. Have a great week-end. Nancy

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    Replies
    1. The birds are great gardeners, but they don't consult with us about perfect placement, LOL.

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  4. Connie, I admire your kraut. Nothing better than having it with hot dogs. The benefits of homemade or so incredible. I will make it someday.

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    1. Steve is the one that wanted me to plant cabbage and he's the one behind us making kraut this year. It was fun and it tastes so good, but I would have never thought of doing it. Two heads think better than one, LOL.

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  5. It is such a hard work but the harvest justifies all records!

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    Replies
    1. Eating from the garden all winter is a true blessing :)

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  6. Aren't jars of canned fruits and vegetables just beautiful? And you are the best at arranging them in such pleasing ways. I love these wonderful photos!

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    1. Thank you . . . I call my canned goods "Comfort Art" :)

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  7. Your garden looks amazing Connie! Just beautiful. Hollyhocks are one of my absolute favourite flowers. I am hoping to grow some new ones this coming spring. Its so cold & wet & icy here that its lovely to see your summery pics. Xx

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    1. It won't be long before I'm sitting here trying to stay warm as the cold winter keeps me inside . . . that's when I can visit and enjoy your garden :) Thank you for your sweet comment.

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  8. Canning isnt common here in England, though I remember my Grandma bottling (as it was called) plums. I freeze things, but as you say, it does take up space especially if you use little plastic boxes. However, I freeze in boxes, then take the block out and put it in a plastic zip lock bag, which takes less room.
    Lovely hollyhocks.

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    Replies
    1. That is a marvelous idea. I am going to have to remember that. As of this year I went out and bought at lease 24 or more new plastic boxes :)

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  9. I didn't know carrots came in different colors. Do they have a different flavor?
    How wonderful of the birds to plant flowers for you.

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    1. They say that the flavor is the same, but I disagree on that one. Maybe it's all in my head, but I like the orange ones much better :)

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  10. Gorgeous produce from your garden! You have been kept busy! I wish the birds would plant some flowers in my little garden - they just seem to leave something else behind when they perch on the railings!
    Blackberry freezer jam sounds wonderful. How do you make that?

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    1. Sandra, I purchase a gelatin that is made for making jams and jellies and inside the box there is a recipe for freezer jam as well as cooked jams. It is much easier to make than cooked jam and retains the fresh berry flavor much better. In the USA it is called Sure-Jell but in Switzerland I'm sure you have it but with a different name. Ask your grocer. Let me know if you make some and how you like it :)

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  11. Wow, you have been busy. There is nothing nicer than home grown produce stored for the Winter. We grew some purple carrots this year and although they are tasty like you I prefer the carrots to be orange. I made a broth earlier in the week using the purple carrots and sadly the whole thing went purple. Whilst it tasted good, the colour was certainly off putting.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I wanted to try planting them, but I won't do it again :)

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  12. Everything looks so pretty! I'd like to bite into those blackberries! We used to pick wild blackberries amid chiggers, wasps, and June bugs. They were real small but made wonderful jelly and cobblers.

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    1. They are so good, and especially on a cold winter morning with hot biscuits :)

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  13. Have never tasted kraut before. Must try it once.

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    Replies
    1. Try it with your favorite bratwursts, Yum!

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  14. How lovely the rows of colourful pickles and preserves look lined up in your kitchen!!

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  15. Lots of good stuff out of your garden. Great carrots. I've never had any luck with growing carrots. They just come out tiny little things.

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    1. Have you tried growing them in an above ground bed. It's easier to control the soil condition that way, they like soft crumbly rich soil.

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  16. Wow you have been so busy, everything but the sauerkraut looks great, I am not big on the stuff, but hubby loves it. Your flowers are just bursting!!

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    1. Look at you and your new profile picture . . . I love you pretty smile :)

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  17. Such bounty! I have begun to get back into gardening.I am making over the neighbour;s as well.Hers had nothing but weeds at the back.Her brother is going to dig it over, then I can get started on improving the soil. Makes me feel young!

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    1. Digging in the dirt and planting is a wonderful thing . . . it's good for the soul. Being in the fresh air and working hard makes be feel young too . . . it keeps the old joints limber, LOL.

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  18. I do wish we had a spot for a garden. We tried tomatoes the last two summers, but didn't bother this year with so little luck the other years.

    Enjoy your garden bounty.

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry to hear that and surprised. I always thought that you could grow anything in California with your beautiful weather and so much sunshine.

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  19. Oh Nature's bounty! It's so wonderful! How fun for you to have all those wonderful veggies to eat and can. The peach jam looks so good. I have yet to buy fresh peaches this year. I hope to pretty soon when I head to the town 25 miles from us next week. They have two fruit stands there and always have peaches from around Yakima or Wenatchee. Canned peaches are so much better than anything you can find in the grocery stores! And those blackberries. Wow! There is one area here north of Madras that has bushes, by the Deschutes River, but the snakes are plentiful there! Hubby doesn't want me to go, but I've GOT to have me some fresh blackberries! I'll be careful. Will take my walking stick and whack the bushes first. Blackberries remind me of growing up and going with my mom and sisters to pick the wild ones (in SE Portland when it was "county"). Glad you are having such a great crop this year.. and that sauerkraut looks amazing! Have a great Sunday! Marilyn

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    1. We are very blessed this year with a wonderful garden. We have all that we can eat and some to give away :) You cann't ask for better than that.

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  20. Just a beautiful basket Connie. You are reaping the rewards of your hard labor. You will be enjoying some wonderful jam during those hard winter months too. One of our church members brought some of his produce to share with our church yesterday. I brought home a big zucchini and a couple of small lemon cucumbers. Have a great week!
    xx Beca

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  21. This is a beautiful post! All those pretty vegetables and flowers. That kraut looks delicious, both kinds. You work so hard and get so much done every day!

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  22. Wow, you really have had a bountiful harvest! It's been so hot here that my garden is not doing as well as usual. I've had enough tomatoes to eat, but not to bottle yet. We love salsa, and I make it every year. I planted the colored carrots one year. They were kind of fun! I bet your kraut will be delish! Your flowers are gorgeous also.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  23. Just a lovely post! I enjoyed reading about the kraut and fermentation. The fruit looks fabulous!

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