Unfortunately for my stress level, it's pouring down rain so the garden didn't get visited today after work. Funny how summer ends and Mother Nature flips a switch around here and presto, fall wet weather. /shrug
According to Weather Underground, the forecast for this weekend is partly cloudy with highs in the mid 60s. Perfect weather for all I've got to do out there. I'll wait til tomorrow for the to-do list, but it's safe to say that I turned down going to the Mariner's game to play in the dirt. Of course I think they've lost 14 straight and are at the bottom of their division. Not good.
So, why am I not exhausted and stressed right now? Well that's because an two hours ago I started about 15 pounds of cukes chilling in ice water. I've got them soaking in my cooler.
I also drained my pot of marinade and packed a very full bag of pickles to take over to my brother's to can. I'll pick up jars and lids and head on over. Should be fun!
Once there, we set up the canning station, boiling the brine and started sterilizing the jars.
Of course it wasn't all fun and games...
So all it took was to add all the ingredients together...
Add fresh garlic from my brother's garden (I'm going to be planting this very soon in the blueberry beds)...
And presto!
All in all, we made up those two pints from my brother's garden, and 6 quarts of new harvest, well harvest from yesterday and three weeks ago that I had stored in the fridge. Then I got 5 quarts from the pickles that I started a month ago! Plus, my brother is going to can another two quarts of whole cukes to be pickled over the next two months. What fun we had! Great stress reliever, but it's midnight now and this harvest keeper is going to bed, hehe.
Enjoy your garden!
I bet those pickles will be great! It's always good to see other people's successes. My pickle making is over for the year, but my neighbor has some pears on her tree that i'm calling about today. The weekend might be spent making more pear preserves! I hope so! Keep up the goof work.
ReplyDeleteSorry....misspelled "good", and put "goof" instead!
ReplyDeleteNice pickles and a good way to spend time with the family. I have been tempted to try my pickles but they have not even been in the jar for a week. It's as bad as waiting for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI made my first pickles this year - bread & butter pickles. They are almost all gone already! I must make many more jars next year.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see men making pickles, too. A lot of the canning chat is just among we women. I am getting my DH involved in making hard cider this fall. Maybe it will lead to more manly food preservation in the future.
Thanks EG and Dan! Good luck wht the pears EG and your own pickles Dan.
ReplyDeleteMatriarchy, we made Bread and Butter's but my wife gets nautious at the smell, so we made her dills. Good luck involving your DH. I kind of wish my wife would take an interest. Ah well, it's my hobby.