Pictures from July

 July was a beautiful and busy month. I always enjoy July, as I feel that it is filled with summer's best. Trips to the lake, picking berries, stunning sunsets, garden produce, family picnics, beautiful flowers, well as you can see I could go on forever!

We were very blessed with an abundance of berries in our garden this year. I was able to make jam from our home grown strawberries, black raspberries and rhubarb, so far. I still plan to make red raspberry jam from our garden at some point. I also had enough berries to freeze for the winter months ahead.

There is nothing quite like a pie made with fresh berries from the garden! It gives us such a good feeling to see the hard work of planting and caring for our plants come to fruition.

Although we have planted blueberries they are very slow to grow. The picture of the plant above was taken at a beautiful blueberry farm we visit each summer. Our annual trip is one of my favorite summer traditions! This year I went with my mom and sister, with her children. It was fun to see the cousins enjoy their time together and competing to see who could pick the most blueberries!

 

One evening Jemimah brought in a basket of bell peppers she picked. She likes to pick flowers from her wild flower garden and then arrange them among the vegetables. She finds great delight in surprising me with beautiful bouquets and displays of her flowers.

I am grateful to have a nice supply of peppers in my freezer for the winter ahead.

We are thrilled to finally have some ripe tomatoes. They seemed to be a little slow to ripen this year. We have a few different heirloom varieties, which is a real treat. Above is another example of Jemimah's creative expression in vegetable/flower arranging. : )

The geese have grown so fast! They are such characters and seem to find ways to amuse us nearly every day. Axel is a little aggressive with people he doesn't know and becomes very vocal at his annoyance when unknown guests arrive, like the gas delivery man yesterday! He also finds great delight in chasing our poor little dog Darla Mae and chasing Jemimah while she rides her bike. He has gone so far as to bite her bike tire. I'm glad to be on his good side, so far!

 

Jemimah spent time this summer working on her embroidery and learning how to sew on the sewing machine. After completing a couple of hand sewn projects she was ready to try her hand at using a sewing machine. She sewed a patchwork quilt for her dolls and did a great job! I was so proud of her hard work, and blessed when she won best of fair at our county fair for her quilt.

Over the summer I hand embroidered a little runner/dresser scarf. I found the stamped embroidery kit at a little quilt shop in our area; they were selling a number of vintage stamped embroidery projects for 50cents- $1. I purchased several, some appear to be from the 1950's. 

I also added a couple of new (to me) vintage apron patterns to my collection. I am hoping to find time to sew them over the next few months, and maybe add them to my shop. I really like to button back closure of each design.

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful summer! 

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Romans 11:33

Pasta Salad Recipe

Today I would like to share with you my favorite recipe for pasta salad. Earlier this month I made pasta salad for a Fourth of July picnic at my mom's house.

 

Pasta Salad:

 

1 box (12 Oz.)  tri-colored rotini pasta

1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1/4-1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cup pepperoni, cut into pieces

1 can (6 oz.) black olives, sliced

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 TBSP. water

1 TBSP. honey

3 TBSP. Parmesan cheese

1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

black pepper to taste

 

Directions: 

 

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, rinse under cold water and drain.

 Whisk together ingredients to create the dressing.

In  large bowl combine pasta, cheese, bell pepper, carrot, onion, pepperoni, olives and salad dressing. Refrigerate overnight. 

 

This salad is a summer favorite in my home! It is very versatile and can be adjusted to suit your family's preferences. 

I also made a cake for the picnic. It was a simple boxed cake, but I thought it may be worth sharing despite the fact in was not entirely made from scratch.

 

 Cherries in the Snow Cake:

 

1 box white cake mix (*ingredients needed to bake cake)

1 box instant pudding

2 cups cold milk 

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 can cherry pie filling

Directions: 

Prepare and bake cake according to directions. 

When cake is finished baking and still warm poke cake with the end of a wooden spoon handle. In bowl combine pudding mix with milk. Stir until smooth and let sit 2 minutes. Pour pudding into holes of warm cake. Place in fridge a couple of hours to cool.  Prior to removing cake from fridge, beat heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla, until stiff peaks form and it has become whipped cream. When cool, top cake with whipped cream and cherries.

*When the boxed cake mix called for oil I used melted butter, and it place of water I used whole milk.

Since it was July 4th, I decided to try and form the cherries and some blueberries into an American flag. My attempt was a little crude, but everyone seemed to like my less than perfect flag cake.

It was a lovely Fourth of July picnic! We were very blessed with a warm, sunny day. We enjoyed good food, patriotic music, fireworks, and best of all, being with family.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12a

 

 

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

Sour Cream Berry Pie Recipe

During the summer months I love to enjoy the fresh fruits of the season through pies. Recently I had used some black raspberries for jam and didn't have quite enough left over to make a pie with, but still wanted to incorporate them into my baking. Then I remembered reading a recipe for a sour cream berry pie in the Mennonite Community Cookbook. It seemed a somewhat unusual recipe and at first I was hesitant to give it a try. My curiosity got the better of me! Sour cream berry pie is a recipe I will keep on hand to bake often since it doesn't require as much fruit as a classic fruit pie. The texture is delicious and I found that the berries were still the main flavor of the pie.

Sour Cream Berry Pie:
2 1/2 cups elderberries or blackberries*
1 cup sugar**
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream
Pastry for 1 (9 inch) crust

Wash berries and place in an unbaked crust.
Combine sugar and flour.
Add sour cream and blend thoroughly.
Pour mixture over fruit.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 30 minutes.

*I used 3 heaping cups of black raspberries.
**I used 3/4 cup of sugar. My berries were quite sweet and I felt an entire cup would be too much.

I look forward to baking this pie recipe again using different berries. I think red raspberries would be wonderful. Come September I hope to make the elderberry variation too!

 This recipe can be found in the Mennonite Community Cookbook. I purchased the 65th Anniversary Edition a couple of years ago. It is a lovely cookbook. Some of the recipes are a bit more old-fashioned than what I would typically cook, but there are still many that are timeless and delicious!

What new recipes are you enjoying this summer?

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

Baby Chicks and Flowers

 Earlier this month we added seven little hens to our flock. We lost two of our older hens this summer and had only three left. It was depressing to imagine how cold and lonely winter would be with only three hens - but we thought it was too late in the season to purchase baby chicks. 

Much to our surprise Adam discovered that our local Tractor Supply was selling baby chicks earlier this month. What surprised us even more was the selection they had available. Back when we purchase our original seven hens they only had Isa Brown pullets available.

 This time however they had several breeds to choose from, in fact it was little hard to decide, so Adam picked out the seven little beauties we brought home.

Adam chose two Barred Rocks, two Brahmas, two Plymouth Blue Rocks and one Silver Laced Wyandotte. The little cutie in the picture above is one of the Plymouth Blue Rocks. Adam claimed both Blue Plymouth Rocks and named them Callie and Iola after the Hardy Boys' girlfriends. : )

 They are all adorable and such fun to watch. Jemimah is thrilled with the baby chicks. The white Brahmas are her babies. She has been hoping to train them to ride in her bicycle basket.

 Miranda has found the baby chicks quite fascinating. When they were tiny we kept them in a box on the porch with a screen over the top. Miranda watched them all day long! The picture above is of Miranda watching them out of the kitchen window.

 Each August I anticipate the first blossom from my Rose of Sharon bushes.  I love to see each variety blossom. We have three different pinks, a white and a lavender.

 I think the color of this Rose of Sharon is especially pretty.

The cows across the road have been fun to watch all summer. There is nothing quite like waking up to the sound of cows mooing. This year the farmer has had a bull penned up, separate from the other cows. The bull does not moo, I'm not sure what to call the noise, but it sounds a lot like a fog horn on a ship. Thankfully he is quiet most of the time, but when he does sound off, we all have to chuckle over the absurd sound.

"The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works." Psalm 145:9

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

Summer Fun

 Since this week will mean the end of summer and beginning of fall I thought it was about time I shared some of the fun we had this summer. The past few weeks have been very busy with canning, gardening, sewing and the like. I have had a few blog posts in mind to share, but no time to sit down in front of my computer. This overcast afternoon seemed the perfect opportunity. : )

 Last month I had the pleasure of entering some of my sewing, knitting, embroidery and baking in our county fair. As teenagers my sisters and I anticipated the county fair all year long! We would spend the winters scheming over the best knitting pattern, embroidery design, or recipe to enter. After my youngest sister's marriage five years ago, we couldn't quite find the time to enter as we once did.

 However this year I did! I entered Jemimah's smocked dress, a doll dress set, knit bonnet, embroidery and maple walnut pie. Much to my delight and amazement I won four blue ribbons and two best of fairs!

 The purple ribbons were won for the best of fair. Each category has one item chosen best of fair, for example one item in crocheting, embroidery, photography, etc. Surprisingly my doll set won best of sewing (it is a civil war style dress with embroidered apron and pantaloons) and my maple walnut pie won best of food.  I plan to share my maple walnut pie recipe with you at some point. It has become a family favorite and there is a story behind the recipe too!

Needless to say Jemimah Rose had a marvelous time at this fair! She would squeal for joy each time we drove into the parking lot. On the night we actually attended the fair to see the exhibits and animals, Jemimah and her cousin Micah both rode a pony! It was certainly the icing on the cake for them. It was a tearful departure when we all retired to our cars that evening.

 Another fun event we attended was a huge tractor show. My husband Adam is an antique tractor enthusiast, and each year since we were engaged we have attended this tractor show. Obviously Adam's love for tractors is contagious- Jemimah points and yells every time she sees a tractor drive by our house, sometimes she evens responds this way to lawn mowers.

It is quite the event, they showcase tractors from the early 1900's. Some are steam powered and look more like train engines than tractors! It can take two men to operate these steam tractors. They often have demonstrations of how the old tractors are still able to plow a field, it is amazing to see.

Adam has been working hard to restore his own 1940 model A Farmall. He uses it to mow our yard. It is truly a beautiful sight to see him mowing the yard on his tractor these warm summer evenings.

We were also truly blessed to spend time by the lake this summer! Adam I went kayaking for the first time. It was a perfectly gorgeous day and so much fun to be on the water. Then later in the summer we enjoyed a day of picnicking by the lake with my family, we had a splendid time!

Overall it has been a truly beautiful and blessed summer! With autumn's advent I know that I will treasure these few last days of summer. Soaking up each moment of warmth, sunshine, fresh laundry on the line, chickens roaming in the yard, tomatoes in the garden....

I hope you are all enjoying these last few days of summer too. Did you do anything special this summer?

"Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples." Psalm 96:1-3