Finished With The Garden ...

November 12, 2016

One last visit to the garden for this year ...

All the beets were pulled out of the ground ...

cleaned ... cooked and peeled ...

The beets were ready to be cut up into pieces ...

and put into the jars to be processed ...

These are the last of the tomatoes to be preserved ...

Today the tomatoes were going to be diced ...

using my handy ... dandy ... dicer ...

The diced tomatoes were put into a pot and cooked for a few minutes ...

then ladled into hot jars ... and placed in a water bath this time ...

for processing ...

While working in the garden earlier ...

the green and purple Kale ... was also picked ...

brought in ... washed and torn into pieces ...

then placed on the trays for the dehydrator ...

It only took a few hours for the Kale to dry ...

Finished canned diced tomatoes ...

perfect for soups and sauces ...

The dried vegetables in the canning jars ... were also vacuumed sealed ...

using the FoodSaver attachment for canning jars ...

All these canned goods ...

were ready to be taken down to the cold room ...

and put on the pantry shelves ...

 

Well ... I do believe I am finished with processing the produce ...

from my garden ...

Just in time to start my ...

Christmas baking ... !!!

 

 

Garden ... Kitchen ... Firewood ...

November 1, 2016

It's hard to believe that I am still gardening in November ...

The spinach was picked ... brought in ... washed ... and vacuum sealed in to bags ...

to be used in our morning smoothies ...

 

More carrots were picked ... washed ... cut and put into jars ...

to be processed ...

 

More jars of carrots for my pantry ...

Soon it will be full ... and well stocked for the season ...

 

November 2, 2016

Normally the garlic is usually planted in October ...

The ground was still warm in the raised beds ... there shouldn't be an issue ...

with planting them this day ...

It was a warm ... sunny day ... lovely day ... !!!

 

Mike and I decided to get another load of firewood ...

We were going to finish cutting the last of the pine wood ...

I won this pile of firewood four years ...

When we started to split some of the logs ...

the ones that had been laying on the ground for all those years ...

were infested with ants ...

Mike did spray the ants ... and then we hauled the logs down to the firebox ...

and burnt them right away ...

Ants are not what we want close to our log home ...

 

Love our new splitter and the log pick ...

the pick makes it easier to lift and maneuver the large pieces ...

to get them to the splitter ...

Oh my we are so close to getting done ...

it seems like we are just replacing the ones we are burning now to heat the house ...

If we had worked on it earlier in the year ...

it would have been full ...

 

 

Getting Chores Done ...

September 27, 2016

This morning was spent with ... "apples" ...

thought it would be the perfect day to make applesauce ...

I like to pre-freeze the sauce in individual containers ...

then pop them out and pack them into vacuum sealer bags ... there is always room in the freezer ...

for these small packages ...

When needed ... the discs serving is enough for our meals ...

 

 

September 28, 2016

Once again ... looking out the kitchen window ...

a flock of wild turkeys were out on the grass ...

My first thought was ... "where were you turkeys?" ...

when Nathan and his buddies were here hunting for these birds ...

I did send Nathan a picture ... and he had said the same thing ...

in wondering where they were ...

They are smart these birds ... thinking they must read the hunting regulations ... !!!

It was such a beautiful day ... to head down to the garden ...

and get some fresh potatoes ... for our dinner ...

These were the red skinned potatoes ... an early variety ...

I was also pleased to see a few worms ... working the soil ...

 

September 29, 2016

There was still a tray full of plums ... to be dealt with ...

Today two batches of plum jam were made ...

one batch of sugar-free jam for Mike ...

and a traditional one for others ...

These plums were so sweet and delicious ...

a few were consumed while preparing the jam ...

The weather was supposed to be nice in the afternoon ...

so it was decided to close up the swimming pool ...

It was also time for the hot tub to be emptied and fresh water put in ...

Once the hot tub was emptied and scrubbed clean ... and the pool vacuumed ...

we proceeded to empty the pool water into the hot tub ...

That's our way of recycling the water ...

When the hut tub was full ... we drained the pool ... to the level needed for winterization ...

All the pool accessories ... ladder ... solar panels etc. were cleaned and put away ...

The winter cover was placed ... the filter cleaned and all the lines blown out ...

Ready for the next season ...

 

 

September 30, 2016

The sun was shining ...

and it was time to get a few more loads of firewood ...

into the wood shed ...

We were excited to see how our new log splitter would perform ...

It was amazing ... while Mike was cutting the logs ...

I was splitting and loading it into the truck ...

When Mike was finished cutting ...

we worked together splitting and loading ...

 

 

It didn't take us long to get a couple loads of wood ...

The nights were getting cooler ... we needed to spend some time filling up the wood shed now ...

We both had mentioned that we miss our cousins Klaus and Resi ...

who were here visiting from Austria last year ...

and helped with getting firewood and filling the woodshed early ...

We're just a little behind ... because we're out enjoying life ... travelling and fishing ...

 

 

 

Canning and Smoking ...

August 26, 2016

We decided to make a quick trip ...

down to Eureka, Montana ...

to pick up a parcel ...

On our way back home we stopped at Indian Springs Ranch golf course ...

to have lunch ...

sitting outside ... in the beautiful sunshine ... and enjoying the view ...

When we had arrived home ...

it was time to fillet the fish ... the process goes quick once they have been cooled ...

A liquid brine was mixed up ...

the fillets immersed into it ... placed in the refrigerator ...

then marinated for 10 hours ...

The fillets were taken out of the brine ... patted dry ...

and placed on drying racks ...

left a few hours for the film to form ...

before we put it into the smoker ...

 

August 27, 2016

The prepared Kokanee ... were put into the smoker ... first thing this morning ...

Since I was going to be in the kitchen ... and around the house all day ...

it was the perfect time to get more of my canning done ...

First batch to be worked on ...

were the beans ...

The beans were in the pressure canner ... processing ...

Peaches were next on my list ... to be prepared ...

Our family love canned peaches ... especially during the winter months ...

While I was busy with canning ...

the fish were checked periodically for doneness ...

About 5 hours later ... the fish were smoked ...

Oh my ... this was a delicious batch ...

Excited to share it with family and friends ...

 

Beets & Beans ...

August 9, 2016

The beets were picked ... washed ... pealed ...

and packed into cannon jars to be processed ...

Next on the agenda was to deal with all the beans ...

yellow and green beans ...

packed into jars and ready to be processed as well ....

Canning process completed ...

and ready to be stored in the cold room ... with the other jars of produce ...

The shelves are filling up ...

to be enjoyed thru the cold winter season ... !!!

 

A Few Busy Days ...

July 19, 2016

Finally after a few busy days ... and arriving back home from visiting Ian ...

it was time to venture into the garden ...

Delighted to see the fresh produce ... ready to be gathered ...

 

July 20, 2016

We decided to get up early this morning ...

to spend a day on the lake ...

Enjoying a lovely day and catching our limit of Kokanees once again ...

This batch was packaged up and vacuumed sealed ...

to be put into the freezer ...

with a few left out for our dinner tomorrow ...

July 21, 2016

Up early to head to the garden again ...

wanting a few vegetables to make a batch of leek ... beet ... garlic soup ...

Raspberries were abundant and ready to be processed ...

Today making a batch of raspberry jam ...

It's my favourite ... !!!

Jam was cooked up and poured into jars ...

waiting for it to set ...

I always save a sample in a little dish to have a taste ...

MMMMMMM

Cooking up the Kokanee ...

on the BBQ ...

for our dinner ... with a fresh garden salad ...

and corn on the cob ...

It felt great to have the time to get a few things done ...

these past few days ...

 

Working in the Kitchen ...

August 20, 2015

Preparing the salmon fillets to be smoked ...

a dry sugar and salt brine was used ... covered and put in the fridge overnight ...

Morning the liquid had been drawn out of the fish ...

ready to be placed on racks to dry before putting them in the smoker ...

August 21, 2015

The salmon pieces were placed in the smoker ...

2 ½ hours later ...

the fish was done to perfection ...

Mike put on a thin coating of honey for the last half hour ...

It was delicious ... !!!

The smoked salmon was cooled and then packaged up ...

in sealer bags ...

 

August 22, 2015

A basket of vegetables was gathered ...

to make a batch of Fresh Vegetable Salsa ...

The tomatoes were put into boiling water ... then ice water ...

to peel the skins off for the salsa ...

The vegetables were chopped ... and placed into a large pot ...

mixing in all the other ingredients needed ...

brought to a boil ... cooked down ...

then poured into sterilized jars and into the water bath ...

for processing ...

Spent more time in the garden ... taking pictures ...

Couldn't resist picking some of the ripened fruit and vegetables ...

It's been quite busy the last few days ... !!!

Loved every minute of it ...