Posted on 08/01/2024 6:19:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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My favorite way to have a BLT is to add couple of fried green tomatoes, as well as the usual ripe ones, to the sandwich. The first time I had one was in N’awlins, on toasted sourdough. It’s a bit of southern heaven! If served alongside a cup or bowl of gumbo, it makes a hearty meal. Good times!
Printing the BLT pasta salad so I can have it on hand for a get together that’s coming up. Thanks for that!
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Yes indeed!
Rain on the mountain headed my way last week (from the back of the shop & future garden site) - southwest view.
Glow on the peak and mountain range (from front porch), northwest view.
Sunrise (kitchen bay window), northeast view.
Just gorgeous! A bit jealous, but I know I have a beautiful view, too. Nothing like yours, but still, fun to look out the window here. I gotta count my blessings!
Very nice!
I’m jealous because our only good view, to the west, over fields and more distant trees (made for great views of sunsets and t-storms coming in!) was wrecked several years ago by a local farm operation that put 5 grain silos in right across the road from us.
So pretty! So glad you found this place. You will have many happy years there! :)
Exciting day, today! Got another batch of V-8 Juice made - will can it tomorrow. Next up? Another batch of Tomato Jam - recipe to follow. The heat is supposed to break and we MIGHT even get some rain. We really, REALLY need it! The lawn is brown and crunchy - and I can’t blame it ALL on the puppies. ;)
Took my ‘entries’ to the County Fair this afternoon. My crocheted Afghan (’Four Seasons in the Driftless’), four samples of canned goods: Pickle Relish, Dilly Beans, V-8 Juice and Applesauce, and two photos. It still PAINS and AMAZES me that I’m in the Senior Division! Ugh! :(
When did I become an OLD LADY who enters stuff in the County Fair? I used to hang out of Helicopters and rappel down the sides of buildings, for Pete’s Sake! I used to road march TEN MILES before Breakfast with a full pack load and sometimes the Communications gear!
Time waits for no woman - obviously. ;)
We scored 12 pounds of blueberries so its preserves tomorrow The nice thing is they are frozen in two boxes. From the biggest farm 800 acres and 12 varieties. We took a peek they are gorgeous. And I can do one box at a time, even better.
So glad you’re getting your Blueberry Fix! :)
I’ll post my Tomato Jam recipe tomorrow. Maybe we can invent a Tomato Blueberry Jam?
(JUST KIDDING! Yuck!)
How can we possibly be “OLD”? Not a chance!!
I can run circles around women half my age!! And even a third of my age! Maybe even a quarter of my age! I may be tired at the end of a day, but I tell you, I can hold my own against them, and I bet you can, too, Diana.
Gimme a break.
I refuse to be “old”. Age is just a number.
No man, either. I was always the most energetic guy at work...
The worst part for me though, is not “me”, it’s so many around my age no longer with us. :-(
On the good side of it, when I need to take those more frequent breaks, there’s more music “from my youth” available online than ever. Even from old guys, hahaha!
Not much of a recipe here. I just use our biggest non stick skillet. Fill to reaching the glass brim of the lid with berries. Add a cup or less of water. Put heat on extremely low. As the berries start to steam, stir and mash down. When they are all sauced, add more. When the skillet is very full leave the lid off and stir frequently. The heat can go up a little. Important to stir often. I add sugar in stages a little at a time. When it is a nice thick sauce and the sweetness is where you like it, put in jars and can. I use half pints these days. No pectin ever. I do all fruit preserves this way.
Why is there even a “Senior Division”? Is there an ASSUMPTION regarding ‘old’ age that it’s harder to can if using a walker & tougher to crochet when you’re half blind & have hands riddled with arthritis? I can see having a ‘youth’ division when the kids are just learning to do things, but what is the difference between a 30, 40, 50, under-65 woman canning/crocheting vs someone 65+? If you can DO it, you can DO it .... how old you are shouldn’t matter. You need to infiltrate the fair committee (or however they’re set up) & get the ‘Senior Division’ kicked out!
My mom signed a DNR on Tuesday (she’ll be 91 next month) & I’m ok with her decision .... now THAT is “Senior Division”. For fair purposes, DNR required to enter items ... boy, wouldn’t that cause a ‘stir’!!
Let me know how your entries do .... I’m sure you’ll be bringing home the ribbons! :-)
That sounds like a perfect way to do the berries.
I have apples coming in so will be making Crock Pot Applesauce (low sugar!) to can and will get a bunch of freezer containers full of Apple Pie Filling ingredients.
I don’t like making the gooey apple pie filling - this is just sliced apples, sugar, spices and a little salt & flour. Easy Peasy, just freezy. :)
I need to expand my apple uses - I know Beau wants me to dehydrate some, which is another way. Ithaca LOVES ‘apple season’ around here - he gets all the scraps. ;)
Tomato Jam Recipe
4 pounds Roma-type tomatoes, chopped (Slicers are too watery)
2 sweet onions, chopped
2 cups sugar
5 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
3 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. hot sauce
Combine all in a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until spread is very thick. You can also use an immersion blender to speed this along a bit. Takes about an hour or so to thicken. Adjust salt & pepper to taste.
When it’s as thick as you’d like, cool and spoon into 1/2 pint jars. Keep in the fridge, or freeze. Can also water bath process for 10-15 minutes (longer if at higher elevations). Makes 6, 1/2 pints jars. I canned 5 and kept one in the fridge for immediate use.
This is great on a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, spooned over Cottage Cheese, on a Bagel with Cream Cheese (or crackers and cream cheese) or on Scrambled Eggs. Everyone that has tried it loves it.
These preserves turned out better than any we have ever done. When we opened the box we could see right away that there were multiple kinds of blueberries. Amazing complex blueberry flavor. We did a side by side taste test comparing with last years. I know I added less sugar this year. But the favor we both gave a 10. And anything we ever did prior maybe a 6 or 7.
The fruit quality does makes a difference.
I know there are some recipes that I NEED paste-type tomatoes; slicers are too wet, but good half & half for Salsa.
I wish we could grow blueberries. You’d think we’d be far enough north, but our clay soil does not make them happy. I think Beau’s favorite part of bear hunting is stumbling upon a patch of wild blueberries!
Excited for our September Thread. ;)
My Dad (Forestry Prof., then ~ 70 y/o) used to amaze his students by leaving them in the dust on long off-trail hikes in woodlands. But... Even for him, the years eventually caught up.
“Time waits for no man.” (Russ Ballard)
I hope my yesterday was not how Sept. will go! Mostly ‘cause I went to feed my daughter’s chickens and got stung right on the forehead by a wasp! I treated it with some of the “Band-Aid” pain relief spray — we probably should keep the “Bactine Max”* near the back door, but the Band-Aid stuff was handiest. Got a doozy of a headache out of that - something about the scalp muscles or blood vessels tightening up I guess? Or maybe I’m developing a bit of an actual allergy to the stings over time?
Went back and observed for a bit, found “hole” wasps were using and fired some wasp spray into that. Final score: Wasps 1, Paul R. about 30. That’s not much consolation. Hope none of the birds ate too many dead wasps, but I did collect and dispose of those dead wasps I could readily find B4 letting the birdies out...
The afternoon was hotter than a firecracker - we hit 101 deg. F. Thank goodness the humidity was not awful. THAT we get today. Although air temps will be several degrees lower, the heat index will be higher. Better make sure I retreat to the house by 1 pm or so!
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