jelly – My Little Country

Well, as we all know, fall is an insane time of year. After Halloween, my days turn into minutes and before I know it, it’s the New Year. I have spent the last few weeks baking and preserving and doing all THAT. I decided a few weeks ago to finally clean out our deep freeze and actually do something with the many bags of juice and tomatoes that I had. So, with the blackberry juice and the blueberry juice, I made some jelly. This time around, I used a new type of pectin:

I think that maybe I just bought it because I loved the box. Seriously, I wanted a low-sugar pectin and had read about this type (low-methoxyl). It’s very easy to use and causes your jelly to set up rather quickly. In fact, it gels so well that I should have reduced the amount of pectin called for, since it made my jelly have a ‘jelled cranberry sauce’ consistency. Anyway, the results were delicious, so who cares?

Here’s the jelly coming to a boil. I love that color. Sigh.

Then, a few weeks before that, we had our first ‘freeze’. Hahaha. Joke’s on me. It didn’t really freeze, but since I thought it was going to, I harvested all of my peppers:

As you can see, it was quite a bit. We were in a hurry, so we threw it all on a tablecloth in my kitchen. Next came a few hours of chopping and freezing. Anyway, I’m gonna brag about my peppers here since I have never really grown any great bell peppers. This year was different. I got my best peppers in September and October (they were planted in April). Best variety this year? “Jupiter”, hands down. I plan on planting lots of those next year!

My biggest bell, a Jupiter:

Trust me, it was a biiig pepper, even if it was only 4 inches. Oh well. I won’t make any lewd jokes here. So, what are the secrets of growing good bells? Picking a good variety, fertile soil, and keeping them well-watered. Not WET, mind you, but in high summer when the leaves droop a bit, your butt had better be out there giving them some water. Otherwise, the walls of your peppers will be paper thin and pathetic. You know, like mine were last year. Moving on…

Mmmmmmm. Cinnamon rolls. Who doesn’t love fresh rolls? I made so many a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t want to look at another roll, or even eat one. For a great recipe, you can go to Allrecipes, and search for ‘Clone of a Cinnabon‘. I used the icing from that recipe, but for the actual bread, I used their ‘Sweet Dinner Roll‘ recipe. Why? Well, I found that the Sweet Dinner Roll recipe is extremely easy to do and also extremely versatile. Plus, I memorized it. And maybe to a lesser degree, I was offended that the ‘Clone’ recipe calls for MARGARINE. That’s like a slap in the face. Sure, sure, I know I could substitute butter, but….

Mmmmm.

Well, so that’s what I have been up to. That and the winter garden. But I don’t have any pics for you of that, so it will have to wait.

Now, I will leave you with a picture of my faaaaavorite cornbread…my Mamaw’s recipe. I’ll have to add it to my blog so you can experience it, too. I love ‘cakey’ cornbread with a little bit of sweet. I don’t like cornbread that you have to swallow an entire glass of tea with because it’s so dry.

Wow, and to think last time I wrote to y’all, days were in the 100 degree mark and HUMID. Today, it’s misty and 72 degrees! So, now we know fall is just around the corner. This is my other favorite time of year, other than spring. I always love the transitional times of the year the most. The leaves are now beginning to turn; the sassafras is putting on its flame red foliage. We should have a beautiful autumn this year for two reasons; we have received over a week of rain, and the fall’s first cool front is due next week, which is atypically early for us. I’m excited! Well, I may not be so excited when we are experiencing an extremely cold winter, but for now…

We have had a LOT going on in the past month, mainly illnesses in my little farm family. Our youngest developed mesenteric lymphadenitis after a bout with gastroenteritis, and I have been on and off ill with a cold (flu? allergies?) for over a week now. I do have much more energy now, but I think that with all of this rain, I am reacting to the mold levels. In other news, we adopted 2 kittens, a brother and a sister, about 3 weeks ago. They are brother and sister, named Mr. Bobo and Ashley. Aren’t kittens just about the cutest thing to watch? Fran loves to chase them down and chew on their heads, but it’s all in good jest.

We also bought 2 white Plymouth Rock hens and we were graciously given 4 18 month old Leghorn hens, who are still laying big, white eggs. I am planning on buying some MORE chickens very soon. I also want to get some more Cayuga ducks. The duck eggs are WONDERFUL. I know most people balk at the mention of eating duck eggs, but I am telling you that the flavor and richness are unsurpassed by chicken eggs. They do not taste “eggy”; it is a very complex and delicious taste. Of course, our chicken eggs are also delicious. There is NO comparison between ‘grocery store’ eggs and eggs from hens that are allowed a more natural diet. I have the pictures to prove it! Unfortunately, my camera is angry with my computer and refuses to share pictures with it, but I will get them on here ASAP.

The newest additions are 4 guineas that I picked up at the feed store (and one that was hand-delivered…thanks, Rachel!). They are so funny to watch when they see a bug. I told Jason it was like watching a pit bull in a chick suit. They are extremely focused on movement and I have the feeling when I let them in my garden in a few weeks that they will do a great job of snapping up my pests.

Well, Jason finally finished a log splitter that he built out of spare parts at his shop. We already have about a 3/4 of a cord of wood from a fallen hickory in our woods. It sure makes short work of chopping wood! I can’t wait for more of our fireplace cookin’!

I can’t believe we have already been here almost a year. I can’t imagine being anywhere else! Still a LOT to do here…but we’re whipping things into shape slowly. The kitchen garden is ever-expanding and Jason finished several of the raised beds. Now I just need to fill them with compost. It’s also time for me to plant my winter garden. I did plant some winter squash, beans, and cucumbers. I am still harvesting lots of okra, tomatoes (Brandywines from spring), and tons of cherry tomatoes. Oh, and I do finally have peppers, lol. I didn’t do so great with my peppers this year. I’m not sure what happened there, but with the cooler temps and tons of rain, they are finally ‘makin'”.

I have also been putting up LOTS of muscadine and scuppernong grape jelly. We picked 32 pounds of muscadines at a farm, and I am slowly working on turning them into delicious jelly! I hope that soon myself and my MIL will get together (with our new food processors….NO MORE CHOPPING) and put up some more tomatoes/tomato products. You just can’t beat homegrown flavor…no doubt about it! I also got a lot of figs last month, and I’m planning on doing a strawberry-fig jam. I do have to wonder how many people in my age group can things? Hmmmm….I’m willing to bet not many. What a shame. Here’s a great LINK for making muscadine jelly, juice, or jam.

Today’s favorite thing:

Well, I am still on a budgeting kick! I had to update my ‘cash flow’ form last night and wanted to share this form with you. The idea is that NO dollar is unaccounted for. It is fairly self-explanatory, but it is also great to have the book, Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, which is currently on sale for under 10 dollars. Download this FORM. It is in PDF format. I use this form every month, and I also use 2 envelopes. One holds my receipts for anything that comes out of my checking account, and one holds receipts for anything that I pay cash for (that is NOT deducted out of my checking account). So, at the end of the month, I have a paper trail, and also keep up with where my cash goes. I NEVER have to ask myself, “Where did my money go?” because I KNOW. It is so liberating, trust me. This is a system that works wonders for me. I have been doing this since May 18th of this year. If you are in debt, I URGE (and beg and plead for) you to try this system and find freedom for yourself!!!!

Well, that is all that I have for today, plus my entire right arm is aching for some reason! :0)