Independence Days Challenge, Waning Days

This is the time of year when there is always a pile of food waiting to be seen to. I love this time of year,even if somedays, it can be a little overwheming. There is no greater sense of satisfaction than seeing the freezer fill and the shelves full of colorful jars.  When the food preservation season ends I always marvel at this annual accomplishment. No other job I have had has provided the same sense of satisfaction.

Even when the growings season has its challenges. The repercussions of last winter's warm weather are still being felt. When the weather does not get cold enough all sorts of pestulance ensues. Japanese Beetles are loving my pole beans a little too much. I may buy  some from the farmer's market for some dilly beans and the freezer.

Plant: beets, spinach

Harvest: Blueberry, blackberries, ( My friend Cherise invited me to pick a 2 gallon bucket full, Thankyou!) carrots, beans, zuchinni, nettles,tomatoes, lettuce, chard, basil,parsley,onions.

Presrved:froze beans,blueberries,blackberries, pesto. Canned bluberry jam, blackberry syrup,chicken stock, pickled carrots, nettle rennet. I made the rennet yesterday. I am going to try making some cheese with it this week. I will share my results with you later this week. Fermented cukes. Dried Basil and parsley.

Local foods: We have a highbush local blueberry farm we pick at every year. 1.50 a pound. Local meat, dairy.  I have begun to make deliveries to local seniors in our town for out community garden. I love this work.

Eat the food: Lots of zucchinni.  

Waste not: the sheep have been enjoying a lot of kitchen gleanings. They love carrot greens, beet greens and cucumber ends.

Want not:  I love lacto-fernted foods for the fact that they do not need new canning jar lids. Gas prices are going up. We are trying to find ways to combine trips and make sure the car is performing as efficiently as it can.

Learn something new: How to make rennet.