August

This bouquet of flowers came from our wildflower garden.

August has been a busy month of gardening, canning, home improvements and beginning our homeschool year. It feels as though we have accomplished a great over the past few weeks.

We have been so pleased, blessed and grateful with the success of our garden this year. Adam tripled the size of our patch dedicated to growing corn, and it was wonderful to enjoy homegrown sweet corn so often this summer. We even had enough corn that I was able to freeze several quarts for the winter ahead.

Adam has compiled a collection of  garden pictures that we hope to share in a post here soon. As you can see from the picture above Adam grew almost everything this year! The cantaloupe has been a favorite. The flavor is so sweet and special during the last of these hot summer days.

As I type this I have over a dozen jars of spaghetti sauce and a dozen jars of pepper jelly resting on my kitchen counter - all made with produce from the garden. It is such a joy to know that come winter we will still have a taste of this beautiful summer to enjoy!

Earlier this week I made plum jam. It remains a family favorite. I am always delighted when I am able to find locally grown plums. They are so delicious and they make the perfect jam!

In the evenings I enjoy sitting back with a good book or some handiwork. Currently I am reading Duskin by Grace Livingston Hill. Reading a Grace Livingston Hill book is like meeting with an old friend, some of the situations are similar book to book, but enough is different to be entertaining. The theme of God speaking through His Word is woven throughout Duskin in such a natural and beautiful way. The main character has promised her mother that she will  read her Bible daily while away from home on a business trip. At first she is annoyed by her mother's request, but as the story progresses she realizes that God is using the book of Proverbs to guide and direct her course.

The evenings have been cooler of late and I have been finding some time to knit again. This summer was quite hot, so my knitting sat tucked away until now. The blue yarn is being knit into a cardigan for my daughter. The natural yarn is a scarf.

Earlier this month I canned several quarts of peaches. While I had fresh peaches on hand I made peaches and cream kuchen, a recipe that my grandma shared with me years ago. It is one of Adam's favorites, so much so that I made it twice in one weekend.

Peaches and Cream Kuchen

Crust:

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 butter

Combine flour, sugar, salt  and baking powder. With pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Turn mixture into lightly greased 8"x8" pan. Pat firmly against bottom and sides of pan.

3 cups of sliced peaches (fresh, frozen or canned may be used)

 3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Arrange peaches over crust. Combine sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over peaches. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Beat 1 cup heavy cream and 2 egg yolks together. Pour over peaches. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to stand 10 minutes, serves warm. Yum!

My mom, daughter and I visited a lovely greenhouse/farm market one day this month. Jemimah was excited to discover this stunning display of pink petunias. We had to snap a few pictures of her among the flowers.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Ephesians 3:20

Black Raspberries and Clematis

This summer we have been abundantly blessed with delicious raspberries, both red and black. Ever since I was a little girl black raspberries have been a favorite. For many years they grew wild along the edge of my mom's yard. My sisters and I loved to pick and eat blackberries on hot summer days. Very often we had enough for a pie too.

About four years ago Adam planted both red and black raspberries at our home. In the picture above you can see the row of black raspberries to the left and red to the right.

It has taken time, but it is certainly a blessing to see the bushes reach their full potential and produce enough berries to be useful.

We had enough berries to make two batches of jam (20 jars). I love making lots of jam each year. Family and friends are always pleased to receive a jar of jam. I feel like it is a way to preserve some of summer for the winter months.

Each year my clematis brings me so much joy! The previous owners of our home planted the clematis. It was a lovely surprise the first summer we lived here.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Homemade Grape Juice

Over the years we enjoyed purchasing locally made grape juice. If you have never tried freshly made grape juice you are truly missing out. : ) The store bought grape juice cannot even begin to compare with the delicious flavor found in fresh grape juice.

We have friends that make grape juice each year. Canning homemade grape juice has been something that my mom and I have wanted to try for many years now. This year we finally purchased a steam juicer so we could make our own grape juice and we are so glad that we did!

We were inspired when a neighbor invited us to pick grapes at his home. Adam and I picked a bushel and were able to produce nearly 14 quarts of grape juice from that bushel using the steam juicer.

We purchased our juicer from a local Mennonite grocery store. We found the steam juicer very easy to use and I am sure we will be making a variety of juices next year.

Adam describes the steam juicer as a triple boiler. You fill the top pan with grapes, the middle pan catches the juice from the top pan and the bottom pan is filled with water to create the steam. The top pan looks like a colander as it is filled with holes. The middle pan looks much like an angel food cake pan as it has a hole in the center which allows the steam to pass through to the top pan. It is quite a clever design and works great.

 Since we had the steam juicer and found that making the grape juice was fairly easy we decided we needed to find a source for more grapes. After looking on-line I found a few different vineyards that offered u-pick grapes. The prices were a lot less than I had expected. We figured that each quart of homemade grape juice cost less than a dollar to make. Plus homemade grape juice is much thicker than store bought, water can be added to home canned grape juice, stretching it even farther. Visiting the vineyard was a real treat! It was truly a beautiful place.

 I am so excited and grateful to have home canned grape juice in the pantry for the winter ahead.

"Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil." Joel 2:23-24

 P.S. The pictures of the grapes and vineyard were taken by Adam. : )

Jam, Zucchini Bread and A Doily

 Zucchinis are one of my favorite vegetables! They are incredibly versatile, just yesterday I was commenting to my mom how many ways I have incorporated zucchini into our meals. Last night we enjoyed a supper of zucchini pancakes, corn on the cob, tomatoes and cucumbers- all from our garden, and for dessert zucchini brownies. It is such a blessing, especially since our first few gardens at our home were complete failures

In the picture above I had made a savory cheddar cheese zucchini bread and double chocolate zucchini bread. When I make the double chocolate zucchini bread I substitute the 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/3 cup honey, making it a little healthier. My daughter, niece and nephew all refer to the double chocolate zucchini bread as chocolate cake. It truly is a delicious recipe.

 Another recipe I tried for the first time this year is Peach Maple Jam. Adam made maple syrup this spring. Much of it was boiled over an open fire and it has a marvelous flavor. It was fun to find a jam recipe that could use some of Adam's syrup. The flavor of the maple syrup and vanilla combined with peaches is unique and absolutely delightful.

 Recently I finished crocheting the doily pictured above. It was a fun project and the design is one of the prettiest I have seen in quite a while. I love the unique shape. It looks perfect on my kitchen table under our oil lamp. The pattern I used can be purchased here.

 This was our first year to plant sweet corn. Jemimah loves corn and was extremely excited to plant corn with her papa this spring. She monitored her corn daily and compared her corn's growth with the corn in surrounding fields. You can imagine how thrilled she was to eat the first ears of corn from our garden. : ) We have been eating corn a few times each week for the past couple weeks. Jemimah has been very pleased to pick the corn for supper and then husk it. I love to see her carrying the freshly husked ears of corn in her apron skirt. 

We are already planning to plant more corn next year in hopes of having enough to freeze or can.

Right now I am collecting up tomatoes with plans to make pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce.

Do you have a favorite zucchini recipe? Or a favorite jam recipe?

"Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honor of his name: make his praise glorious" Psalm 66:1-2

August Days and Thimble Summer

On the left peaches from a kind neighbor and on the right tomatoes from our garden! I am hoping to make salsa tomorrow.

 "While the men worked on the barn Garnet and her mother had their hands full with the house and garden; for now the garden was yielding in all its abundance. It was hard to keep up with it. When you had finished picking all the beans it was time to pick yellow squashes, shaped like hunting horns. And when you had got through with squash it was time for the beans again. And then you had to hurry, hurry and gather the bursting ripe tomatoes from the heavy vines, for canning. Then there were beets and carrots to be attended to; and after that it was time for the beans again.

"Beans never know when to stop" said Garnet's mother in annoyance.

Corn was picked every day; and that was pleasant , walking in the rustling good-smelling aisles between the stalks. And the watermelons! Big solid green ones that Garnet thumped with a finger to see if they sounded ripe. And every now and then she dropped one on purpose and it would burst open, cold as a glacier and rosy red. Then she would walk homeward dripping and drooling, spitting out black seeds and feeling fine.

And Canning! Oh those weeks of harvesting and peeling and preparing apples, peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers, plums and beans. All day the kitchen smelled like heaven and was filled with steam.The stove was covered with kettles and vats, and upside down on the windowsill stood processions of mason jars full of bright color and hot to the touch."

From Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright 1938

Jemimah and I recently finished reading Thimble Summer together. It is hard to say who enjoyed it more. I love stories that are set in rural areas and especially those that take place in the 1930's. Thimble Summer is a simple story that spans a summer in the life of a young mid-western farm girl. There were many incidents in the story that made us laugh and a couple that surprised Jemimah. She would occasionally feel it necessary to scold the main character, Garnet, as she would get herself into some rather wild predicaments. 

I especially enjoyed the descriptions of home and family throughout the book. The selection I shared above seemed to capture the essence of August. The smells, the warmth, the abundance. 

My kitchen has been once again taken over by my canner and an assortment of beautiful vegetables from our garden. We feel truly blessed by the produce we have picked each day.

Today I made dill relish. I have made dill pickles each year but never relish. Adam loves relish and made a special request that I would find a relish recipe and give it a try. This was the ideal year since we seem to have more cucumbers than we know what to do with. This is the recipe I used. I can't say how it tastes, it needs to set for two weeks before using. But we are looking forward to sampling some then!

Don't forget, it is always best to do your canning in a pretty apron. It makes the experience more enjoyable, and keeps your clothes clean. : ) This particular apron is sewn from one of my favorite calicos, so be sure to stop by my shop if you find yourself in need of a new apron.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,  in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18