Thankfully, being the weekend, I have my DH also tag-teaming the work, I know that it may seem silly but I do wish that I had a few little ones to be sharing this knowledge with, I wish that my momma lives close enough to say, its a canning day today, come shuck corn or peel beets with me? Alas I typically can most of the time alone when Dh is at work but as we needed to can up about 45 pds of cucumbers, 55 pds of beets and about a 100 pds of corn, I needed some help today..
The corn this year has turned out wonderful…but don’t take my word for it..doesn’t that look great (ok so I picked the best cob to show but still.. its just darn purdy!)
When I meet my hubby, the first summer we did alot of backwoods camping and lots of swapping of stories, my mom on the farm did a garden that was about an acre and half and put up to three thousand jars per season, and I was telling hubby about that I had my own little garden and flowerbed in the big garden from about seven or eight years onward and I asked him about his childhood gardening memories and the one that he told me about was cutting corn off the cob.. so guess what his job was today 🙂 Yup, I shucked, he cut bowlfulls off the cobs, the greens went to the barn critters, some cobs went to the ducks, and chickens, others to the pig, and some went to make corn cob jelly.. lots more to go yet..
Do you like beets, I do, I will let you in on a secret on how to make amazing canned beets, don’t boil them before slipping the skins, bake them instead.. I made 2 dozen jars of regular pickled beets, a big batch of spicy Port Pickled beets, little tiny whole baby beets canned as is, bigger cut into slices and canned plain or with just a touch of cloves.. There is such a pleasure in the middle of winter in openning a can of beets, heating them up, and a tiny bit of butter, salt/pepper and itty-bitty drizzle of vinager and they are meal onto themselves.
The first good picking of elderberries are heading to the freezer and will be done up early this week, talked to my dad today, and he says that he found a patch of wild strawberries where he is working up in northern B.C. and that the flavor was amazing.. I’m amazed that he still have them ready at this time of year? but glad he got to enjoy that amazing flavor.
I’m running out of counter room, guess we will need to slow down and just do some cleaning an prepwork before moving the ones done into the dining room table and then starting again after outside chores are done.
Did you can anything this weekend? and if you did so, did you get to share your kitchen space with your loved ones? Are you teaching the little ones in your house how to perserve their own food?
Just another Day on the Farm 
It’s weird, but my son LOVES peeling blanched tomatoes. Loves it. I don’t know if it’s the squishy-squashy texture of blanched tomatoes that he enjoys or what…but whenever I start to make salsa, he’s right there to help.
Hi Andrea,
Well considering how much time it takes to do that, it wonderful that you have someone who likes it! Enjoy that salsa, and your hot peppers, sounds like you have tons of them.
My 36 year old son has become my canning partner. As a kid he was always gone on his horse and kitchen stuff was of no interest but he has developed into an excellent cook, bread baker,gardener over the years and now he is learning how to can…..and make pickles! I tell him that man doesn’t live by pickles along but golly, his pickled okra is mighty tasty! Has even learned to like beets…always said they tasted like dirt. Never baked a beet before but gonna try it this year. We’re canning what we can rescue from our drought ridden garden. Really enjoy your posts
Hi Dee,
That is awesome that your son comes home to can with you, Sounds like a great son, you are going to love how sweet baked beets become, sorry to hear that your garden has not done well with the drought you are in. Thanks for the kind comment about enjoying the posts 🙂
Are you planning on canning this weekend? If so, you are more than welcome to borrow Andrew…he’s 12 and claims to love cooking (although we never actually get to see him cook around here…he’s 12…). Might be good for him to get his hands dirty and see someone other than his father canning.
Hi Mel,
Sorry, this weekend is all about cleaning and farm chores but at some point, I would be more then willing to have andrew come out and give a hand with the canning.
I will give you my frugal tip for the day my loving and very much missed daughter. Everyone loves
pancake syrup, the buttery Mrs Smith kind,well when Dear Hubby is finished with the corn cobs put them in a big pot add water and simmer . The sweetness and the starch come out of the cobs and when you strain this liquid into a clean pan ,add maple flavoring,some honey or sugar,you won’t need much as the cobs are sweet.
you can jar this, as it cools it will thicken from the starch and you have maple syrup
The taste is unique, the only one I ever knew who did this yearly was my Aunt Hazel because Uncle Ralph was a cheap ##@#@ and wouldn’t buy syrup. Try it, it is cheap and with the added flavor of melted butter on your pancake it tastes good.Love mom
Thanks mom for the reicpe, I will give it a try, poor great-aunt Hazel, she was such a sweetheart, uncle Ralph, well no one would call that 😛
opps, that should read , no one would call him that..