Apple Butter

My kitchen is full of the smell of apples, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Heavenly.

And it’s so easy!

To see my recipe for crock-pot apple butter, click here.

You won’t regret it.

Seriously yummy.

Unbelievable easy.

This year, I did peel the apples, hoping to avoid using the food mill ‘cause I’m lazy like that today. Seriously, I plan to have a bonfire tonight and I need life to be easy.  But either way, this stuff is good. Really, really good.

So grab a bag of apples at your local orchard, a gallon of cider, and a crock-pot. You won’t regret it when you are eating that rich apple butter in January. Oh, my…

 

Sharing today at:

One O’clock in the Morning…

And here I am… Finally sitting down with a glass of strawberry wine finding the words to share with my friends. Five quarts of green beans have been picked, blanched, cooled and frozen. One 4-H project has been completed under the watchful eyes of momma. Five loads of laundry washed, hung to dry, and brought in to be folded and put away. Popcorn is still on the family room floor.

It’s been a busy week, filled with green beans, pickle making, and getting my oldest off to camp and then back, trying to keep up with the never-ending laundry. I’d like to find time to make some of those old-fashioned crystal pickles mom used to make, but I must admit that I’m a bit glad to see the cucumbers slowing down a bit. The corn is coming on fast, with silks that are already turning brown. I expect to be in the kitchen, freezing up a bunch by the weekend.

It seems that the list never ends. And I’ve been craving a bit of quiet, a keyboard under my fingers. It feels naughty, sitting here when I should be in bed sleeping. But here I am. Making the words. Letting them pour out, really.

And I feel bad that my Sunday wasn’t a day of rest. None of my days are, really.

But somewhere in the midst of things that must be done, we snuck in a trip to the beach at a local lake. We spent a bit of time at the playground. We had a family picnic at the lake. I did a bit of yard-sale shopping. We ate ice cream for supper. And honey and I went out, just us, to buy diesel fuel and grab a few sliders at the White Castle.

Our days are full of work, but we weave in fun and memories where we can.

Somehow, it’s enough. It’s rich. It’s lovely. It’s good.

Missed you all this busy week. Hope your week was wonderfully busy, filled with accomplishments and folks you love. :) Hope the upcoming week brings many memories, too. I may be a bit scarce for awhile, but that sweet corn will sure taste good in December.

Thanks for stopping by.

Fatima

Rebellious Chickens

As you may remember, Eric, Danny and Poppi made some super nesting boxes for our chickens.

We either have dysfunctional chickens or they are going through a bit of a rebellion.

Note the eggs on the floor right next to the nesting box!

 

Still, I won’t complain.  My rebellious little chickens are feeding us breakfast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wouldn’t hurt our rooster, Mr Bugle, to take note… The hens are earning their keep.  Best not attack the hand that feeds you, Mr. Bugle.

 

We may change his name to Stew.

Apple Butter

I love apple butter.  In fact, the apple butter is the number one reason why Cracker Barrel is among my favorite restaurants.  Apple butter is great on biscuits and even better on a spoon. 

 

Apple butter is a great use for cull apples.  These apples my wonderful MIL brought back from the orchard are really too pretty for such a fate, but then again…

They sliced up beautifully in my handy-dandy apple peeler, slicer, coring super-duper machine.  I used the coring and slicing part of the machine, opting to leave the skins.

And into the crock pot they go, all 18 of them. 

Add about 1 cup of apple cider, 3 cups of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.  It looks good already.

It cooked on high all day long.  The smell was unbelievable.  Rich.  Intoxicating.  Delicate.  It made me want to dig into the pan with a spoon.  So, I did.  I was even nice and shared a bowl with the kids.

This is the beauty that greeted me after we put the kids into bed, about 10 hours after I cut up the apples and turned on the crock pot.  Almost perfect.

Using a food mill gives the apple butter that perfect texture.  My food mill came from an country estate auction.  I love auctions and using this food mill brings back good memories.  I kind of think using this old food mill honors the memory of the country lady who used it before me, too.  Anyway…

And, into pretty little jars it goes.

Then, into the hot tub (boiling water bath) for 10 minutes.

Yummy apple butter and the perfect, easy recipe for a busy momma of four. 

~Preserving your own food is not rocket science.  If you are interested in storing away some of the season’s best, be sure to get a good book about canning.  The Ball Blue Book is the standard, go-to book.  I also love a book called Putting Food By.  I adore this book because it has a ton of information about preserving foods and a tremendous number of recipes. 

There are so many resources to learn food preservation.  As always, I encourage you to try canning.  Just be sure to read the directions carefully and follow them meticulously (especially until you get the hang of it) so that you’ll be sure to end up with a safe and delicious product. 

Have fun in the kitchen and try something new!

 

This post is linked up at…

Canning Tomatoes

It’s so nice to have more produce in the garden than I can use.  It’s also nice to have a little red wagon to haul the stuff back up to the house (thank you, my sweet kiddos).

Start by dropping your tomatoes into to hot water for about 45 seconds. 

 

 

 

 

 

Cool the tomatoes down by dumping them into some icy-cold water.  Now, they will peel like magic. 

 

 

 

Pretty roma tomatoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bring them to a good, rolling boil.

 

 

 

 

 

Sterilize your jars and lids.

 

 

 

 

 

In go the tomatoes.  Fill the jars so that the liquid reaches an inch from the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to wipe the rim with a clean cloth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add a lid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into the hot tub, boiling water bath. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Listen for the jar to seal.  Such a lovely popping sound.

A little summer to enjoy this winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s really that easy!  Do be sure to follow the instructions in your canning book, as this post is meant to inspire and provide an overview of the process. 

Happy canning!

Blueberry Jam

Canning and preserving your own food can be a bit intimidating.  There’s a lot to learn if you have never done any canning before.  There are tools to purchase and books to read.  There are hot, boiling canners and steam filled pressure canners.  If it all seems a little much, start small with one of summer’s yummiest treats. 

The very first thing to do is to get a copy of the Ball Blue Book or a similar canning instruction book.  It will provide precise recipes for many different foods as well as tutorials on the canning basics.  Follow the directions given in these books.  Make sure your book is up to date as well, as the directions for some foods (especially tomatoes) have changed over the years.  If you are going to put good food and precious time into jars, you want the results to be safe and delicious.  My goal in this post is to show you some of the basics and encourage you to try to preserve your own food.  It is not necessarily everything you need to know.  Again, get the Ball Blue Book and study it so that you will be knowledgeable and safe.

Canning blueberry jam starts with lots of blueberries and a willing helper with a potato masher.  Let her crush the berries while you go about your work.  She’ll have a blast and feel so great when she eats some of the jam, knowing she played a part.

 

Next, you get to add insane amounts of sugar to the crushed berries and stir them up. 

 

 

Slowly, bring the berries and sugar to a boil.  I like to do all the prep-work ahead of time and save this hot work until after the kids are safely in bed.  Canning isn’t as scary as it might seem to someone who as never done it, but it is a hot job that is best done when the kids are not running through the kitchen.  If you must can during the day, put up your baby gates in the kitchen door to protect yourself and the kids from spills.

Set out your tools.  Be sure they are clean.  I always re-wash my tools and jars before use just to be sure.

Now we are cooking!  Once the berries are boiling, turn up the heat to medium high.  We want to reach the gelling point quickly now that the sugar has dissolved and the berries have broken down a bit.

 

I stick 7 or 8 spoons in the freezer before I get started to use in testing the jam.  You have reached the jelling point when the jam coats the cold spoon (I drop some jam onto the spoon from the spoon I’m stirring with) and runs off in one long “sheet” instead of runny little drips.

Now, you are ready to fill your clean, hot jars.  I use a canning funnel, a large plate for catching drips and a glass measuring cup.

 

 

Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean cloth (I use a paper towel that is slightly wet).  Be sure that any stray jam is removed or it could interfere with the sealing of the lid.

 

Add your lid and the band to hold it in place.  I find that a kitchen towel works well when I am tightening the lid.  Those lids and jars are hot!

 

 

 

 

Carefully place your jars of jam into a boiling water bath canner.  Process the jam according to directions.  For this jam, you start the timer when the water begins to boil well.  Read, read, read the instructions.  Then, read them again just to be sure.

 

 

Remove the jars carefully and place them on a towel to cool.  You will hear each jar’s pop that signals a tight seal of the lid.  Do not remove the bands for at least 24 hours, as you want to give the jars adequate time to cool so the seal will not be damaged.

Enjoy the most wonderful, amazing tasting jam ever.  Share it with the people you love.  Be sure to save a jar back for when the late February blues hit.  There is nothing like a little taste of summer on a cold winter day to make you and your family smile.