August's Last Hurrah!

I often feel that just when certain plants get with it and others are ready to burst into color, my time of photographing the garden during the day is ending. I can do early morning tours, evening tours, and of course the flowers will be here on week-ends, but these last few days I have enjoyed grabbing the camera when the light was good and catch some summer memories. Tomorrow I begin to ease into school mode with a teacher inservice day. Say hello to late August with an ivy geranium above, a lovely morning glory , an Annabelle hydrangea , pretty dianthus,and a rose shouting her last hurrah!

Sibling Assignment #104: Rockaway Beach with Family

For Sibling Assignment #104 Silver Valley Girl, Raymond Pert and I will reflect upon our family's stay at Rockaway Beach and reflect upon what we enjoyed about being together as a family. Raymond Pert's is here and SVG's is here.
First of all I was so pleased that we were able to plan ahead and gather for a trip to the Oregon Coast. JEJ was a new face in the group since last we stayed at the Oregon Coast. My nieces were older and could enjoy and remember more. All of us had new dogs to deepen the experience. What did I enjoy about being together as a family? That was a hard question.
I think the time spent at the beach is what I enjoyed doing with my family. We had great times gathering around the table for meals, hilarious board games in the evening, crossword challenges with Mom in the morning, but those activities can be done at other places and other seasons. The best times were at the beach.
Mom was determined to walk to the beach, new hip and all! I love this shot of her keeping up with her young and athletic granddaughter Z2 as they made their maiden voyage across the sand to the ocean.
It was so much fun watching the dogs and their first experience with the ocean. When you are not blessed with your own children, you have to capture the moments with the dogs. They ran, chased waves, followed seagulls, and just had a grand old time on the beach.
It was also very enjoyable to be with siblings , especially at sunset. We waited a few days for a sunset and the first one was spectacular. It was worth going back down to the beach to capture even more memories with the camera.
It was a new experience for JEJ to spend time at the beach. Whether it was walking the dogs, visiting with family along the water's edge, or hiking into sand dunes further north, he loved the sand and the Pacific Ocean.
Add my sister's dogs, sand castles, PKR running after Annie, struggling up the rocks, posing with my sister, and nieces posing in sweatshirts, and you could say it was a full experience at the beach. I hope we get to do it again soon.

Honoring Green Beans, Garlic, and Dill and a Keeper from the Recipe Box

It is now time for the green beans to explode in the garden. With garlic left over from the salsa and dill just waiting to be harvested, it was time to can some Dilly Beans. After the time intensive salsa day, Dilly Beans are very simple. It took the water in the canner longer to boil then it did to get the beans ready. If you have a bumper crop of green beans, try this recipe. It is from the book Summer in a Jar: Making Pickles, Jams, and More by Andrea Chesman and contains easy single jar recipes . If you don't have enough to make a batch or don't want to feel overwhelmed, the recipes in this book work well for one jar at a time.

Dilly Beans
2 cups green beans, trimmed
1 cup white vinegar
( I used cider vinegar when I ran out of white)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 garlic clove
1 dill head or sprig of dill
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon pickling salt

By the pint

Trim the beans to fit the jar. Pack each clean jar with beans, garlic, dill, bay leaf, and salt. Leave 1/2 inch head space. Pour the vinegar in the jar. Add the boiling water. I just add the water until the jar is full. It may be more or less than 1/2 cup. Seal. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath or steam canner. Cool undisturbed for 12 hours. Store in a cool, dry place. Do not open the jars for six weeks to allow the flavors to develop.

Honoring Harvest and Hermiston Yellow Seedless

One of the simple joys of raising a garden is harvesting those first vegetables. Today JEJ gathered carrots, beets, and cabbage. I believe coleslaw tastes just a bit better when the carrots and cabbage are home grown. The beet is in a category all by itself. It looks beautiful as it is picked. It's red dye fills the pan with gorgeous color and the savory aroma of cooking beets just smells like late summer. What a garden feast we experienced!
We topped our dinner off with something we brought back from our trip. I found a Hermiston Yellow Seedless watermelon. When I saw the wedges on a plate to sample at the produce place, I thought it was pineapple. I think it tastes close to other colors of watermelon, but is such a beautiful color when sliced.

Now.... off to check those zucchini recipes for using the four that came out of the patch today!

Top Ten Ways to Tell Autumn is Just Around the Corner

10. There are leaves around the yard that have started to turn.
9. It is time to start setting the alarm clock in preparation for a school schedule.8. The oak leaf hydrangea blooms are beginning to turn a deeper color.
7. The temperature is dropping in the evening.6. The beans have reached the top of the pole.
5. I am running out of canning jars.4. The leaves on the Virginia Creeper are up to the roof of the shed, which is Lily's favorite resting spot.
3. I feel this urge to wear fleece, heavy socks, and jumpers.2. The sunflower seeds are ready for the birds.
1. The number one way I can tell autumn is just around the corner... I have a zucchini that weighs 4 pounds!

Honoring Tomatoes and Keepers from the Recipe Box

Today we squeezed, skinned, quartered, and sliced the 60 pounds of tomatoes JEJ harvested yesterday. The first project of the day was to make salsa. With all the chopping and mincing that is involved it certainly is a two person job. JEJ was a great partner in the kitchen as we put up sixteen pints of my Zesty Salsa.

The next project of the day was to make Seasoned Tomato Sauce. This requires a bit more time than I realized. After the squeezing and quartering, there is cooking, then milling, then cooking more. After that the sauce goes into the hot water bath for thirty minutes. We just took out the last batch and now have fifteen pints of the sauce that filled the kitchen with savory aromas all afternoon and evening.
Here are the two recipes I used today. Both were adapted from recipes in Ball Blue Book : Guide to Home Canning.

Christy’s Zesty Salsa

10 cups tomatoes (seeded, cored, chopped in food processor)

(About 6 pounds)

5 cups chopped and seeded green peppers

2 ½ cups chopped hot peppers ( Anaheim and jalapeno are mild,

poblanos and serranors are hot…….add a few seeds to make it hotter.

I mix these types……..usually Anaheim and jalapeno.)

5 cups chopped onions

10 cloves garlic,minced

2 TB fresh cilantro, minced

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)

1 cup cider vinegar

½ cup lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 min. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving ¼ “ headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: about 6 -8 pints

Tip: If my tomatoes are watery I strain the mixture to keep the salsa from being watery/soupy!

Seasoned Tomato Sauce

25 pounds tomatoes

3 cups chopped onions

10 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 TB oregano

1 TB Italian Seasoning

6 bay leaves

2 TB salt

1 TB pepper

1 1/2 TB sugar

2 tsp. crushed red pepper ( optional)

Wash tomatoes, drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters, set aside. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan. Add tomatoes, spices, and sugar. Add red pepper if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaves. Press mixture through a sieve or food ill; discard seeds and peels.

( At this point I used the food processor and left in the skins and seeds.) Cook pulp in a large, uncovered pot over medium-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce volume by one-half for a thick sauce. Again, for me if it is watery I cook it down more or strain it to get rid of some of the liquid. Add 2 TBs bottled lemon juice to each quart or 1 TB bottled lemon juice for each pint of sauce. Ladle sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 " headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: About 14 pints or 7 quarts.

Tip: I don't have a pot big enough for this batch. I had to use three different pans, but then mixed them as the sauce cooked down.