Total Eggs for September

11 eggs.

Egg count

This week: 8

Egg count

Eggs our first week = 3

Eggciting Day!!

Our first egg! Actually 2! We just found our first eggs from our little hens... so exciting!!

Pasta Sauce and Salsa!

This weekend will be spent making jars and jars of pasta sauce and salsa - two things that our family eats a ton of. Besides we have to find something to do with our excess tomatoes. I think we have about 100 sitting on the kitchen counter right now.

Canning... take 2!

After our first attempt at canning not going so well, Dan was determined to get the canning process down. There were several problems that needed to be solved. First, we need to get our giant canning pot full of water up to a boil the in the shortest amount of time, in the most economical fashion. Second, in order to avoid putting all of that hot, humid air into the house in the middle of summer, it has to be outside. Third, and most importantly, the water needs to return to a boil as quickly as possible after we put in our jars of food. That was the downfall of the firepit. It took so long to return the pot to a boil that it way overcooked our pickles.

So, what's our new method of choice?

That right... the turkey fryer!

Incredibly hot, intense, direct heat equals very fast boiling and minimal extra cooking of our canned goods. The bonus is that it comes to a boil, and returns to a boil, so quickly that we end up using very little propane.

Our canning will still be done outside. However, for 'take 2', instead of making more pickles this time will be salsa. Delicious, fresh, tasty salsa.

Pickles!

To say we have a few cucumbers is an understatement. We have a lot of cucumbers and we need to find something to do to preserve them... pronto.

Dan's parent came up a few weeks ago with all of his Mom's old canning supplies in tow. It's time to crack the boxes open to see what we have. Large pot? Check. Rack to immerse jars in pot? Check. Jars, lids and rings? Check. It's time to make us some pickles.

We thought it would be fun to have a pickling date night. We'd get our cukes ready to go together and put the pot on a hot fire on the fire pit. Seemed like a good plan. Although we had fun, our fire pit proved not to be hot enough to to keep the water boiling. The pickles are tasty, but not very crunchy. Oh well, you live and you learn. Dan has another idea... but that's for another post.