Sorry I haven't been around much

[Jared77]

I'm swamped. Any free time at work I'm studying and working on additional classes so I can advance myself. At home......well lets see I've got easily 2 dozen pints of soup made, 3 dozen pints and some assorted quarts of sauce made. Over 2 dozen jars of apple sauce (and I've got at least another 3 bushels of apples to work with free from the in-laws) and 12 pints and 4 of chicken stock canned already.

PLUS I've been making baby food. 14 ice cube trays a piece of apples, pears, peaches, green beans, peas, and I've got acorn squash to start on. Not to mention the frozen rhubarb in the freezer, and I can't even tell you how many quarts of blueberries we've got in freezer bags waiting for something to be done with them.

Plus all the day to day stuff, its just never ending right now. The baby is not on solids yet but they are in when they come in so I'm grabbing them at the last of the farmers markets. Just the other day I bought 18 acorn squash (the piebald ornamental ones) for 10 dollars. They were more expensive but it was the last day of the market in that particular town and it was getting close to closing time. I offered to buy them all if the seller was willing to give on the price a bit. Going to save a few seeds and see if they produce true. They are really nice looking.

I swear I'm never going to get caught up, especially with hunting season creeping up on us (its on now but not with the weather we're having the meat will spoil before I could do anything with it though these 70 degree days in October are nice even if waaay out of the norm for us) and then the holidays creeping up.

Its getting there but I just haven't had time to poke my head on here.

 

[Carol Dee]

Good Heavens Jared you make me feel LAZY! But I gotta say you are pretty amazing keeping it all juggled and school work, too. I bet your grades are good too. Way back when the boys where little I made some baby food. Never thought to freeze ahead. Just as we went, meal to meal. Both boys went quickly to table food. Good eaters. LOL.
We seem to be having the same weather. Kind of nice unless you want to hang a deer for a few days until you have time to process. I remember years things froze solid before it got done. It does look like a cool down on the way. It is fall after all.
Thanks for dropping in to say Hello, we missed you

 

[digitS']

You know Jared . .

. another guy who is missing and hasn't the number of years around TEG to back up an excuse . .

. is MajorCatfish. It is really a time when most of us are between grass and hay (baby food aside). It's okay and we just really like that you can share what you have going on.

Steve

 

[MontyJ]

Don't let him kid you. I've been teaching him the way of the soil and dropped a pop quiz on him. He's studying for finals now

 

[Jared77]

The baby food we put into ice cube trays and each cube is 1oz. That way we can keep tabs on how much our child has eaten when the Dr asks. Its actually really easy. The food is broken down, (cored, peeled, etc) and if it needs to be cooked then it is (we roast the squash) and then into the food processor it goes with a little bit of water to thin it down. Once at the right consistency its spooned into the trays, cover with foil and labelled since its easy to confuse apples and pears (taste test confirmed what I thought they were ), and then once frozen we pop them out, and into big food saver bags so they don't get freezer burned till its time to start using them.

We did this with our first daughter and it worked out great. Plus they travel really well too. Just bring a little cooler lunch bag with a freezer pack in it, grab a handful of cubes of whatever you want to serve for that meal, and your good to go.

That way we're ahead of the game and its ready to go when we need it. Both my wife and I (luckily) subscribe to the "we've already made a mess, why not keep making it till we make all that we want then clean up" instead of making a little mess every time we need something. I'd rather make 1 mess, make a whole bunch of something, and clean up and be done with that ingredient. Its the same mess to clean up if I make 1 quart of apple sauce or if I make 40 quarts. Its just more jars to put away. Still have to use the food processor, still have to fire up the canner, so why not keep going?

That's just how we do things.

 

[Jared77]

Self professed soil geek. Never knew I was until I talked to Monty. I honestly see things differently now when I look at plants and even the ground.

However every time I start to answer the quiz I end up with something interrupting me so I can't finish and I end up starting over. Finally got smart and put my answers on a Word Document so I can answer them all then copy/paste it back to Monty.

 

[baymule]

Glad to have you back! You have been busy!

 

[journey11]

Wow, you have been busy! You're certainly no grasshopper.

We like frozen blueberries just to grab a few from the bag and toss on our oatmeal or into a smoothie. What were you going to make with them, jam?

 

[Jared77]

Jam and syrup. LOVE blueberry syrup on pancakes, french toast and waffles. We make a few different jams with them a spiced blue berry honey jam, (which is VERY popular around here and very easy to make) and a few others. We also hold onto any extras for mixed berry jam which is always the "left overs" thrown together and cooked and fill jars with it.

 

[journey11]

I am craving pancakes now!

I will have to get your recipe for that spiced jam once my blueberry bushes mature and start burying me in blueberries.