Thanksgiving Squirrel

I have been waiting to post because I love to have pictures, and the cold storage has so much in it that I really have lots to share. However, Mike has been about to leave, gone, sick and now camera-less, so I need to suck it up, be a big girl and post all on my own. I have so much stored up at this point that I am just bursting.

This weekend we dug the last of our potatoes (making nearly four 20 gallon pails), dug some beets and carrots and picked the last of the kohlrabi and peppers. We also canned 8 liters of tomatoes and processed three of our pumpkins. For Thanksgiving we were in charge of dessert at Liz's. Leo made gingerbread cake with our raspberry sauce, Mike made pumpkin cheesecake, I made carrot cake with our carrots, and Leo cranberry mousse. Anwyn made whip cream for everything. Mike also made homemade pasta so I could use up pumpkin as a filling and we used our last zucchini in apple/zucchini muffins.
 
Late breaking news: spurred on by my blogging and unwilling to see things undocumented by images, Mike has stopped by with his new iPhone to take pics. Here is one - the rest can be seen here.  Some are a bit dark due to lack of good camera. Just makes me appreciate Mike all the more....








Each year I do a post at this time  (view last year's for harvest comparison) with all of the food we have to support us through the winter. We already started eating, but here is what we have at the moment:

Canned

• 6 250 mls of raspberry jam (still 5 from last year)
• 8 500 mls raspberry sauce
• 5 125 mls of cherry syrup
• 9 125 mls of apple sauce, plus 8 500 mls
• 3 500 mls of chutney
• 9 125 mls pizza sauce
• 10 125 mls tomato sauce
• 8 liters pureed tomatoes
• 4 liters cooked pumpkin
• 15 liters of salsa, plus 5 125 mls in smaller containers
• 19 liters of pickles

Fresh

• 7 pumpkins
• 1 butternut
• 4 acorn squash
• 5 spaghetti squash
• 4 20 gallon pails of potatoes
• 1 gallon pail of beets (many more in garden)
• 6 cups carrots in fridge (many more in garden)
•  1 meter by 1 meter of green tomatoes still ripening

Frozen

• 13 cups green beans
• 14 cups zucchini
• 12 cups rhubarb
• 13 cups strawberries
• 9 cups cherries
• 30 cups raspberries
• 13 cups apples
• 4 cups saskatoons (left over from last year)

One exciting new addition is a food dehydrator. We used it to make apple slices and fruit leather, and we spent a lot of time doing spices. Right now Mike is working on basil. We have already dried dill, sage, oregano, and mint. I have transplanted some spices into our kitchen window for the winter, and we'll enjoy those fresh for another 6 weeks at least. However, the dried spices are a big saver over the frozen fresh that we usually do. I'll still freeze mint and have about 8 cups of basil, but am really excited about the dried spices. As usual I have a variety of small spicy peppers

From last year, harvest is pretty similar. There were few local saskatoons this year due to much rain, but cherries will be a good substitute. We have a record tomato harvest that will really keep us going, and we made substantially more pickles. I froze less raspberries and made less jam because we still have leftovers from last year.

We use our fruit for breakfast breads, smoothies, pies and crisps. Most of the other food we eat as side dishes, spices or sauces. As I am happily storing it all, I really feel like a Thanksgiving squirrel, happily storing for the winter while enjoying my bounty.

Full harvest

After a couple of days of rain, I am out picking again as it is full harvest for the next couple of weeks.  We are currently eating most things we plant, as only the lettuce, asparagus and peas are really done.  This week we picked:

• 4 ice cream pails of apples (off year)
• 1 ice cream pail of potatoes
• 2 ice cream pails of beans (yellow and green bush)
• corn
• purple carrots and orange carrots
• beets
• cucumbers (slicers and yellow ball)
• spaghetti squash
• strawberries
• raspberries
• black currents and gooseberries (wild on the river bank)
• tomatoes (early girl, sub arctic maxi, lemon boy and roma)
• pepper (green, chili)
• lots of all herbs
• 3 zucchini
• 3 kohlrabi

We freeze or process things that come in bulk (like apples, cucumbers or raspberries), but try to eat everything else ourselves. The girls are still tired of beans, but love eating all the other fruits and veggies. Mike has been making homemade pizza ever week and I have been making lots of crisps and smoothies.

At the same time, my flowers are starting to wrap it up for the summer, especially in the back where the color palette is cool. None the less, there were enough cool colours for Mom to make a large bouquet with a rose from David and Bree's wedding as the centerpiece. My favorite current bloomer is my clematis (see right) , but I love all the flowers in my yard. Currently blooming:

• bell flower (3 types)
• sunflower (3 types)
• 7 types of lilies
• one flower (2 types)
• clematis
• morning glory
• Himalayan orchids
• yarrow
• sage
• gayfether
• roses (tea and hybrid)
• silver mound
• hydrangea
• potentila
• poppy (2 types)
• sedum
• companulla
• daisy

Take a look at some great pictures Mike took of the yard with my notes about them.

Canning and Freezing

This time of year, we eat as much as we can of the garden produce. However, there are lots of things that we still need to preserve. We are just ending peak raspberry season, when we often pick more than 8 cups of raspberries ever couple of days. As a result, we freeze them, make many things with fresh raspberries and can them.  Last night we made raspberry jam and pickles to add to the raspberry sauce we made the week before. I also froze 8 cups of raspberries.

In the midst of all this we have had guests to hang out with. We had Brad last week and Mom this week, which slows down the yard work but gives you good reason to sit in the yard and enjoy it. I find myself picking in the early morning before others are up, or in between visiting.  This also means squeezing in a chance to use up produce. Today was a classic day for that. Leo made cherry pie this morning, Anwyn made whipping cream and Mike made breakfast loaf.  I made a variety of meal items for everyone including seasonal fruit salad, pasta, and a supper of baby potatoes and fresh vegetables.The pasta had a sauce made from our tomatoes, pepper and herbs. The tomatoes just started last week so we are really loving them. Like carrots, they are much better than what you get in the stores.

Mike and I have also been squeezing in some projects. We finished the bench last week (that's Anwyn driving the support posts with a sledge hammer in the picture to the left), and today we re-hung the fence and made a large entrance for big objects. I had Mike leave some boards off to make room for my crazy plan to grow things on the fence that moves. Yes, I know it is crazy.  More to come on that front.

I find the canning and freezing a bit oppressive at times. There is always more to do, and you can't just take 3 days off. Having said that, I love having it to eat throughout the year. I do all the picking, but Mike usually does the canning and it is nice to have the help. Apples, basil, beans and carrots will all need more of his help soon.