Saturday, August 28, 2010

I haven't been in for a while.  Actually for a very long while and for this I heartily apologize.  Do you remember back in March or April when I told you that Mac had planted 148 tomato plants?  Well, do you?  Do you remember me mentioning  the peas and cucumbers, the melons and lettuce, the whole gamut of garden goodies including peppers of all description and varieties that my own Jolly Green Giant had placed in the soil so lovingly?  Well?
This is an Armenian Melon...best cucumber ever7 jars of pears! one of five shelves of tomatoes peppersOh, this is JJ, you'll hear about him lateranother view of this fabulous cucumber!dehydrated potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant...more potatoes for winter wonders!dehydrated coconut.  I feel a cake coming on...


   Oh, and how about the potatoes, the okra and the eggplant, I'm sure you remember that, don't you?  Okay so now your memories are jogged and you'll readily forgive me for not stopping by to see you (and Lord how I've missed you all...I have lots of reading to catch up on and catch up I will!)  I haven't even mentioned the peaches and the pears that have found their way into my freezer and canning pot, not to mention the blueberries (they outdid themselves, too)   Today I put up 7 quarts of pears and next weekend will find me doing the self same thing.  My pear tree, though small, runneth over.  And hey, did you know that pears do not ripen on the tree, that you have to pick them and let them sit in a nice basket for about a week (sometimes more) before they develop that lovely pear flavor and sweetness?  So today Mac picked me a bushel of pears and by next Saturday it will be time to break out the canner and the Mason jars yet again.  So here is what I have done for the past two months...canned 50 jars of tomatoes, frozen 50 quarts of them, eaten a fair number of them as Sink Sandwiches...you know what a Sink Sandwich is, right?  It's a big old 'mater sliced thickly and  laid out like the Sunday goose on a well mayonnaise- slathered piece of light bread (read loaf bread)  plenty of salt and pepper and topped with another piece of light bread (just a smear of mayo this time) and then you assume the position...push up your sleeves, stand over the sink and dive in, letting the juice run down your arms and drip into the sink while you make shivery noises with your eyes closed.  I have dehydrated potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant.  I have fried eggplant and frozen them individually on a tray to bag and use this winter for Eggplant Parmesan.  I have dehydrated  and made beef jerky, dehydrated coconut and bananas (none of them came from the garden, more's the pity), dehydrated peppers (cubanellas, bell, jalapeno,) made pepper sauce with cayenne peppers and when I tell you that my pantry is full, I kid you not.  I have made pepper relish and cabbage chowchow, picked and put up greenbeans and peas.  And I still have to call Phoebe and see how her tomatoes did this summer.  I also am not kidding when I tell you that Mac has planted me six more tomato plants for a late crop, spinach and collards, speckled butterbeans and green beans and more of these marvelous Armenian Melons (the biggest cucumber you will ever see in your life!)  I can't wait for Winter!  I'm running on empty here, I may  need a nap.

37 comments:

Maggie May said...

Please don't wish for Winter...... last one was so very cold.
Lovely to hear from you again. You could open a fruit shop! LOVELY!
Come over & see my little rabbit!
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Mrs Mac said...

Oh my goodness! What a haul!!!!!!!! Well done!!

I got one- ONE- cucumber on my plant, a tiny one. I was so pleased with it I didn't eat it. I just kept it a while and looked at it.

My tomatoes are still growing. I have 22, all still green. We have had such a wet August. We need a sunny September now to ripen them up!

I love JJ's toes!!!!!!!!!!!

+ welcome back!

i beati said...

yum yum yum

Pat@Back Porch said...

Holy Cow!!

It all looks wonderful and I know you will enjoy it in the winter!

Good to see you here again. I kept checking and wondered.

Lib said...

It's Great to see you posting!:o)
Your food is Beautiful! I too have been putting up food. My Pantry is full to the brim:o) As well as my freezers!
Happy Canning, freezing and drying!
Blessins',Lib

Jeni said...

Holy Rip, Sandy! You've been one very busy little lady there, for sure. But you'll dine well and fine come winter too now won't 'cha? Such a relief to see a post from you though as I was wondering if you were alright or not. I can see you were alright -just up to your elbows in veggies and fruits! Glad you're back now though.

Donna said...

HI Darlin''!!! Missed You!! My word you've been busy doing what I need to do! I didn't put in a garden this year but that shouldn't stop me. There's the dependable farmers market in town.
Does Kitty Kat have a story? Can't wait to hear it!
Welcome Back!!
Hughugs

Justabeachkat said...

Oh, how delicious it all looks! Lots of hard work, but so worth it when you're enjoying the fruits of your (and Mac) labor.

We had yummy BLTs tonight and the juice was running down my hands and arms too from the delicious tomatoes. Heaven!

Welcome back sweet friend.
Hugs,
Kat

SandyCarlson said...

Goodness, you have A LOT to show for your time, and it is an impressive array. Good for you, and happy eating. Your work sure has paid off.

Vee said...

Well as I live and breathe...Sandi! It's a miracle! You certainly have been a busy lady and so I will not hold your absence against you. Just don't be gone so long that's all. Hugs!

Hilary said...

So what time do you want us all for dinner? ;)

What a bounty.. good for you. So nice to see you back in the blogosphere with your harvest report.

Pondside said...

I couldn't believe it when I saw your name on my blog list - great to see you! I can't believe the amount of work you've done - you are a canning/dehydrating machine. Your family will never starve with you and your wonderful farmer!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

LOL!!!! So that's where you've been! I have missed you. I am sorry you will be gone during my first bloggers brunch, but you know that ANYTIME you want to head up this way, I would love to me you and Mac!

Glad to see you back.
Hugs,
Penny

www.retiredandcrazy.com said...

Nice to hear from you again Sandi. My sink sandwich is made with baked beans and crisps. The juice oozes through the bread and the beans squish out of the sides. Mmmmm! As I say, good to have you back again.

Jinksy said...

And how long will it take you to eat all this stuff? Or do you supply the whole town?! LOL :)

Jeanne said...

I was starting to feel the blogging world had packed up and left and there you were. What a wonderful growing season! The weather here has been ver condusive to good crops too and we've been enjoying our local farmstands a lot. Lucky you to have your own but I know it's a LOT of hard work! Looks like JJ is tuckered out. Oh don't know if you've seen on my blog we got a friend for Oliver. hehe

Karen M said...

Wow! You have had a busy summer with gardening and preserving! So grateful for your abundance of fresh produce. Anxious to hear about JJ.

Brian Miller said...

wow you have been busy and had a great harvest...we have a couple pear trees though it was a tough year for ours...those are some cucmbers...nice to see you!

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

No wonder you have been missing... you've been to busy!
Glad to see you back Sandi~

Carver said...

You've been busy in the best kind of way. I used to have a large vegetable garden and enjoyed having enough to last into the winter when frozen and or made into sauces. Good to see you back to blogging.

Finding Pam said...

Sandi, I am so happy to see your post. I have missed you, but I am so impressed with all that food you have put up.

We had a good enough garden, but not enough to put up. Hubs flash froze a lot of okra. We ate all summer long from our garden and it was wonderful.

I am too afraid to can food because I don't really know how. I like to freeze stuff.

Take care and I am glad to see your back.

bj said...

Hey..sister friend..I was tickled to hear from you. Wow..I can see how busy you've been with the summer bounty. WONDERFUL...how good this will all taste come wintertime and snows...ummmm

I always get a tug at my heart when I see this photo of Martus and Margaret....it so reminds me of some olden photos that I have of my dad in WW2..and she looks a lot like me at that age...:)) The house..the old car...just seems like I've been there..
xo bj

Marie said...

That is a lot of work, but plenty to eat. What little we planted, the squirrels got most of it.
MarieNC

Country Cottage Chic said...

Wow! If we have a shortage I know where to come!

Jayne

Lee said...

Great pictures Sandi! I knew you were busy but never having seen your kitchen I had a hard time imagining what all the stuff you were telling me about looked like. Glad you found time to stop and post. Now how about a game of Scrabble?

Love,
Lee

Merisi said...

Dearest Sandi,
I was here yesterday, before you posted, and wished with all the fervor I could master that you were really "only" busy with your giant crop - thank heaven, it is indeed so, makes me jump for joy!
Only this morning did I mention on Vicki Lane's blog how much I miss a true American BLT (or Sink Sandwich), somehow I cannot manage to find the right kind of bread and tomato to duplicate the unique taste of a good old American one. And after Vicki in pictures, you mention okra in words, and I want some fried ones, badly.
So glad to have you back,
hugs,
Merisi

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Sandi: This has been keeping you out of trouble, neat post.

Zuzana said...

You have been a very busy lady, but don't you just love gardening? I love planting and tending to the plants and I love the harvest. And yours is truly very rich this year.;)There is so much *treasure* in dirt.;)
I LOVE JJ, he (she?) looks just like my Batcat.;)
xo

Unknown said...

Very familiar with sink sandwiches and if it doesn't drip down your arm, it simply wasn't made right!

Now, please tell me that is NOT an extraordinarily heavy chain around JJ's neck!!!

Akelamalu said...

WOW what a great harvest!! Welcome back. :)

Little Tikes Car Bed said...

It must feel really satisfying when you see such a harvest. A lot of work but I'm sure the satisfaction makes it all worthwhile.

Mary said...

Hi Lovely to see you back Mary

cheshire wife said...

You should be very healthy after you have eaten all those fruit and vgetables!

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

I love all the pictures of your produce Sandi, it looks wonderful. I especially love the picture of JJ! A x

myonlyphoto said...

Sandi I remember very well, gardening can be very time consuming, then harvesting, but you know it is rewarding. I would love to see your pantry. It sounds like a lot of good stuff. Your post made me laugh though, may be I will try one of those sandwiches. My parents and my mother in law been giving my lot of garden vegetables to eat. Since we can only consume at one rate, I been filling up my mason jars. I don't know how to preserve them, for now I only freeze them. But I have question, how do you do your dehydrated vegetables, especially potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes. Sounds like fun snack, if you can eat it like that or you have to cook it? Sandi if I would do so much what you did, you probably never see me blogging, lol.

Anna :)

PS thanks for your kind visits always, now you beating me to it.

ancient one said...

I remember canning and freezing.. ha ha... don't do much of that now.. but isn't it such a good feeling to see all the produce in jars waiting to be eaten. I know you've been busy..

ancient one said...

I remember canning and freezing.. ha ha... don't do much of that now.. but isn't it such a good feeling to see all the produce in jars waiting to be eaten. I know you've been busy..