66. Learning to Can

Melinda came over yesterday. I don't know Melinda--she is a friend of Jen's across the street. They know each other from craft shows. Melinda wanted to learn how to can, how to "put up". She is part of a community organization for sustainable food and growing your own and all that. I told her to come on over.

Raspberries were cheap, the cheapest I've ever seen. I picked up plenty to make raspberry jam, something I would normally not waste raspberries on, frankly, because they get hoovered up at my house at an alarming rate. I pick them myself when I am able (the fall crop is coming in out at the farm where I usually pick, so Leo and I might head out early sometime this week).

She came over Sunday morning, and about 10 minutes before she was due to arrive, I realized I had no pectin. I always cheat. Always. Every jam I make has pectin in it. So much work goes into it, I don't want it to fail. So I had a mini panic, realizing I couldn't run to the store in time, and Mike was camping with the girls so I couldn't have him run out for me. By the time Melinda arrived I had shifted gears. Raspberry sauce, I told her. She was thrilled I was going to do a demonstration and not just a lecture.

Cut to the end: I used a Ball recipe for raspberry jam, warning her it probably wouldn't set. But it did. I followed Ball's recipe exactly and it set fine. It's definitely a homemade variety, it is runnier than store-bought, but it isn't just a sauce. It is jam.

But anyway, I went through the process with her and I realized that wow, I've been doing this for 12 years. Once again, not a novice anymore. And while the internet is probably not the best source for information, pretty much across the board, I'm going to do a few lessons about canning. Maybe it would be better to call them tips. It'll be a few days. I didn't take pictures of the whole process yesterday. I'll need to can something else. Salsa verde perhaps. Hmm.

65. Caprese Salad and Crostini

It is summer. August, specifically.

There have been many Augusts of Caprese salad. This year is no exception, although the tomatoes aren't coming from my yard this year, but from the CSA. Little candy-sweet sungold grape tomatoes. Romas. Big red lovelies for $1/pound because the farm that raises them doesn't consider them worthy of full price.

Mozzarella, the soft white kind, not the gummy string cheese kind. I found the latest batch at a local grocery chain, hormone free.

Basil from the yard. Handfuls of it. It's getting a little on the anise-ish side of basil this time of year (I've missed the perfect moment to make pesto but I'll still make it).

And we had this package of crostinis from the CSA. Crunchy, tasty, perfect with a slice of mozzarella, a basil leaf, a little orange tomato.

We've had it for dinner, just this and maybe some chicken strips from the freezer for the kids, for 2 nights this week. I'm out of mozzarella but that will be remedied tomorrow.

64. Summer Garden

We left town for 5 days. Only lost one basil plant, a poorly placed container, not enough dirt to support a good sized basil. Everything else survived.

No tomatoes. I have heard lots of theories, but since it's affecting everyone I know, I'm going to blame the heat. I read something about how fruit won't set if the night temperatures don't get consistently below 75 degrees. Well, it's laughable these days because I don't think we've seen a seven in the tens place in a month? Today is the first morning it felt, well, normal, outside since the 4th of July parade.

So the Russian tomatoes, I can see why they're suffering. The Ozark Pink kind of ticks me off--it's from even further south than we are. Ah well. Some years are not tomato years. At least everyone is having trouble so I don't sit here worrying about my dirt or my watering procedures.

I had 4 bean plants that are spent now, but enough beans to freeze and eat over several meals. Peas of course are gone but they were fun, too. And the lettuce! Cilantro bolted I think the moment it sprouted, ah well, but the parsley and basil are hearty. Mint, in a separate undisclosed location, is making it just fine.

Now it's cucumbers and okra and jalapenos and small sweet peppers (maybe some variation of banana?). I lost one watermelon, baseball sized, to a water-crazed squirrel, but I have three more about that size, several little ones that may or may not take, and two about the size of Daisy's head. It's the first year for okra and watermelon. Both plants are kind of scary. The watermelon, if I didn't train it back and up the fence each day, would have covered my back gate by now. And the okra has huge leaves and fruits (I planted a cultivar that doesn't get stringy or woody even at 6 inch fruits).

I make pesto early next week. Tomato sauce? I bought 20 pounds of "seconds" from the CSA. Just freezing it this year. And we'll see about pickles. Looks likely.