Canning season is not over yet, and today I’ve used the last of the 500 ml jars in our possession. Last evening Attila prepared and roasted the vegetables from the garden to make Salsa Verde. I pureed them in the food processor once they were cool. They were then poured into containers, and kept in a cooler with ice packs overnight. This morning a double batch of Salsa Verde is under way, and the first batch is in the steam canner. Having run out of 500 ml jar, the last dozen 250-ml jars were brought up from the basement, washed, and made ready. There will be two 20 minute canning sessions, one of which is under way.
The 500-ml canning jars are all full. All but six of the 1-litre canning jars are full. There are now six 250-ml jars left at the end of the day. The 1-litre jars will all be used to can tomatoes from the garden. I am seriously considering buying another dozen 500-ml jars, as we have cabbage to come from the garden, and I’d like to can more coleslaw.
The freezer is full. There are dry goods lined up on the living room floor waiting for space in the freezer. Last year the last of the dry goods that were piled in the living room found space in the freezer just before Christmas.
A dehydrator full of parsley sits in the living room awaiting my attention. It is dry and needs to be crumbled and jarred. When the dehydrator is available again, in will go celery tops from the garden. Powdered celery tops are wonderful to add to soups and stews and casseroles.
I’ve been so busy with preserving the produce coming in from the garden, that we have run out of flour. I need to mill flour, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. In the interim, this morning I baked a loaf of bread using Kamut flour, and it wasn’t great. It didn’t rise well, I think the gluten content was too high. I’ll need to tweak the recipe to accommodate the unique properties of Kamut flour. Today the project of sorting the wheat berries will begin. It is a time consuming task, around 20 cups of wheat berries need to be checked for weed seeds, and small rocks. Only one small piece of rock has ever been found in the wheat berries we purchase. There are weed seeds, which won’t hurt us, but I remove them anyway.
Our kitchen faucet sprung a leak! Luckily it is a Moen, and it has a lifetime warranty. I called this morning and the parts are on the way. Moen makes it so easy!
Attila is planting lettuce starts. They may or may not produce a leafy green before the frost falls, but since we have the starts it is worth a try.
The weather has been lovely. This means I can have the windows open all day long. Despite the windows being open, with all the canning and baking, the house remains very warm, 25C. Mist Cottage is well insulated, except the exterior walls, so that it does not cool down quickly when the temperature drops at night. We still need to turn the air conditioning on at night to cool things down in here for a comfortable sleep. The air source heat pump usually runs just once, to cool things down, after which the falling outdoor temperature, and cessation of canning, cooking and baking, the temperature remains at 22C. In the morning I open the windows to let the fresh air wander through the house, before beginning the activities that will heat the place up again.
There are a lot of dogs living on our little street, and in the rental units at the end of the street. Dozens of dogs. Most of them don’t get out much for walks, and remain either indoors or tied up in their yards. When the weather is fine and the windows are open, they all bark and howl with each other, for hours and hours, dozens and dozens of them. Every time a car passes through the street, or a pedestrian, or a bird lands in someone’s yard, the cacophony kicks into higher gear. I recognize the baying of the hound at the end of the street, and the high pitched yapping of the two little dogs across the street, Yippy and Yappy. Yippy and Yappy are the stars of the dog choir, always inspiring a new song if the old one dies down. They sit on the back of the couch, at the picture window, peak through the closed curtains, and bark continuously when their humans are not at home. I don’t think I could stand to have a dog here if they were barking all day long.
My Mom and brother got a Covid notice of exposure, they were potentially exposed. It is unknown if the person involved in this potential issue was vaccinated or not. Thankfully Mom and brother’s tests have come back negative! Best news ever. I think it is vital that anyone working with the public, or vulnerable people, should be vaccinated. It is my opinion that the safety of other people trumps personal choice in this matter. Employment where one is in contact with the public or vulnerable people is not a good fit for the unvaccinated.
All the jars sealed. As usual I’ve canned one part-jar with a room temperature reusable lid, to see if it will seal. So far all the room temperature reusable lids I’ve canned have sealed, and are still sealed. I am keeping a close eye on them, as the seals have failed with these lids in the past, when I heated them as per instructions.
Worldly
Weather
Updated on Thu, Oct 14, 1:15 PM
22 °C
FEELS LIKE 25
Partly cloudy
Wind 10 SW km/h
Humidity 65 %
Visibility 27 km
Sunrise 7:21 AM
Wind gust 15 km/h
Pressure 101.3 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 6:25 PM
Quote
“To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun?”
Katharine Graham
1917 – 2001