Still running, now I don't know if I'm coming or going, LOL!!!

Okay, I even forgot and did the pictures backward, go to the bottom
to see how it all began*sigh*
The stainless bowl has beans to large for canned green beans, but...
they work great for Dilly or Pickled Basil Beans. Here is the recipe;

Pickled Basil Beans

4lbs beans
1-3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
3-1/2 tsp. whole mustard seed
3-1/2 tsp dill seed
14 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh Basil or 3-1/2 tsp dried Basil
5 c. apple cider vinegar
5 c. water
1/4 c. salt
Pack beans vertically in clean, sterile pint jars. To each jar
add 1/4 tsp red pepper,1/2 tsp. whole mustard seed, 1/2 tsp.
dill seed, 2 cloves garlic(crushed) and a sprig of fresh basil
or 1/2 tsp dried basil.
Combine water, vinegar and salt and bring to a full rolling
boil, add to jars filling to within 1/2 of rim. Seal and water
bath( on a full rolling boil) for 10 min.

Our first picking of sweetcorn. This is an OP, old fashioned variety

so not necessarily perfect and pretty, but ever so tasty! We have lots

coming and still have our late corn crop, tasseled and forming ears.

Our second batch of canned beans, our canner hold 7 qts. You can

see in the background, cukes green peppers and my two extra rubber

seals for the canner. BTW, we had this checked at the Extension

office and the gauge was right on, so we're good to go!

This is our third picking of the Kentucky Wonder pole beans. The bowl

in the background( plastic) is a Tupperware That's A Bowl and the

stainless steel bowl is quite large too. We netted 14 qts of beans

and the bowl of larger beans for pickling.

On today's agenda:

Wash clothes, about 7 loads because we bought some clothes at a

secondhand store yesterday.

Change sheets on beds

Morning chores

Make bread, an extra batch, to make hamburger buns

( to put in the freezer) for Cortney's Graduation BBQ on Sept. 5th

Mow the yard

Get water going in the yard and garden,Especially the cantaloupe,

corn, cukes and russet potatoes.

Mail Cortney's Graduation announcements

Get dinner going, so it's ready by 6:30 pm.

We do have beautiful pictures to share from Cortney's trip to,

Yellowstone National Park but need to downsize them before

putting on here. Some are, action packed white water rafting

and zip line riding!

See you soon!

Never Done Kelle *wink*

Beets, Beets, Beets!

Well, the beets are coming along fine. We have two varieties, OP(open pollinated) reg. round beets and Egyptian flats. The rounds are big enough for canning and the flats are big enough for steaming to eat. We try to avoid sugar, even organic raw sugar and instead prefer natural foods, like honey as our sweetner. The first recipe uses honey and you can substitute in honey, just 1/2 the amount of what the recipe call for in sugar. Beet pickles 1 gallon small beets 1c. honey 1 long stick of cinnamon 1 Tbsp. whole allspice 1 qt. vinegar Cook beets with roots and about 2 " of the stem left on, in water to cover. Cook until tender, dip beets into cold water and slip off the skins and slice to desired thickness and size. Put beets in a large preserving kettle. Combine other ingredients, pour over beets and simmer 15 min. Pack hot into sterilized jars. Cover beets with boiling syrup and seal. Process 10 minutes( for pints) and 15 min. for qt. in a boiling water bath. Pickled beets 2c. sugar(1c. honey) 2c. water 2c. vinegar 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 Tbsp. whole Cinnamon 1tsp. whole cloves 1 tsp. whole allspice ( tie up spices in a cheese cloth bag or place in a large tea ball) Boil until tender and slip beet skins. Cut beets to desired size. Cover beets with pickling syrup and simmer for 15 min. Seal hot into sterilized jars. Water bath in boiling water for 10 minutes. If you use qt. then add 5 minutes longer to the time. I use this recipe for golden waxed beans and carrots too. Harvard Beets 5-6 small beets( sliced and cooked, skins slipped) 1/2c. sugar or 1/4 c. honey 1Tbsp. corn starch 1/2c. cider vinegar 1/4c. water pinch of sea salt Bring to a boil until thickened, pour over cooked beets, serve hot but are also good as a cold summer side dish. Enjoy!

Happy pickling everyone! We'll be bust tomorrow canning beets, and making concord grape jelly from juice we canned last Fall.