Piccalilli (Green Tomatoe Relish)

Oh, goodness, I took a picture last week of the pints of Piccalilli we made and it's nowhere to be found on the camera.  Well, nothing I can do about that. 
My neighbor told me to go pick all of her and her son's green tomatoes out of their gardens.  She was tired of canning and was done with the garden this year.  I happily spent an entire afternoon picking green tomatoes!  As the sun shone on my back I couldn't help but think how truly blessed I am to have such giving, friendly neighbors.  I savored my surroundings that day, as where I live is truly beautiful.  It's a humble, blue-collar, small town; quiet except for the birds chirping and an occasional car passing by in the distance.  It was a gift not only of tomatoes, but also of an enjoyable afternoon.
I had to leave the two laundry baskets of tomatoes right where I picked them as I couldn't pick them up.  Each weighed about 50 lbs, my husband told me.  I asked him to pick them up on the way home as he passed their garden.  He didn't realize how much there was!  Yes, he weighed them!
So what to do with all those green tomatoes.  Green tomatoe relish, of course!  We made 3 times the recipe and still had some tomatoes left over, but it made a dent just the same.  I got this recipe from another woman that lives in town; a farmer's wife.  She told me the recipe was delicious and she didn't let me down.  Here it is:

Green Tomatoe Relish
22 green tomatoes, quartered
2 small onions or 1 large, quartered
6 green peppers, quartered
6 sweet red peppers, quartered
1-1/2 qts vinegar
3-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup salt
1-1/2 tsp allspice
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp clery seeds
1/2 cup mustard seeds

Wash veggies put through food chopper, usng medium blade. Drain. Place veggies in pot, add 1 quart vinegar.  Boil 30 min, stirring now and then.  Drain and discard liquid. Return veggies to kettle and add remaining vinegar, sugar, salt and spices. Simmer 3 minutes.  Keep mixture simmering while packing jars. 
Pack into one hot, sterilized jar at a time.  Fill to within 1/8" of jar top.  Seal each jar at once.  Process in boiling water bath (212) for 5 minutes. Makes 6-7 pints.


          

Where Did July Go?

This summer is flying right by! It's been chock full of fun though, so I'm not complaining. My pool garden has been just lovely this year. I don't know the name of this flower, but they come up every year and it's one of my favorites. We've spent quite a lot of time swimming and lounging by the pool.

We also went on vacation! We didn't have Corey and Lisa with us this day, which was kind of sad, but we had everyone else. Here, we were on our way to the beach! When there's a lot of big people, I'm really thankful to still have the 'big van'!

We go to Rhode Island every year for a week! Kierra is playing here, but all the kids really enjoyed swimming, too!

Back at the trailer we played Michigan Rummy nearly every night. We love that card game and I'm sure everyone around us heard our laughter! Such family fun!

Of course, all good things must come to an end to make room for other good things. Our garden is in full swing and has been producing really well this year. So far we've canned 8 quarts of beets, 10 quarts of carrots and all those bags of corn. Tonight we'll can salsa and pesto.

I've been pretty busy cleaning, too. Corey and Lisa had no room for this hutch in their new apartment so guess who got it? Yup, me! I've never had a place to put my beautiful china, crystal, or other pretties. I was so excited to get it and fill it up. It looks really nice and now I can pull out my china for special occasions.

We painted bedrooms, too, and the little girlies wanted a pink bedroom with new curtains. I'm nearly done making them and will post a pic very soon. Hope your summer has been full with all kinds of good things!

Home, Travel and Back Home Again!

Home really is where my heart is. I'm not much of a traveler; never was... I really enjoy...

tending to my blooms...

blossoms...

veggies...

and more veggies. But sometimes, a girl has got to leave the nest just for a little bit and...

go on vacation, kick up her heels with the kiddoes...

make s'mores by the campfire...

revel in the chaos of traveling in the big van altogether...

fool around and have fun at whatever shops and places she visits...

watch the older kids still enjoy a family vacation...

visit a butterfly garden on the hottest, most humid day imaginable...

never tire of watching her kids and others' kids go round and round on the carousel...

admire sleepy little girls slumbering in the trailer...

be content that her hard-working hubby has some time off to finally relax and read a bit...

celebrate a birthday with a home-made cake even if we're away...

and then come home to the beautiful scenery...

countryside farms and...

curvy, hilly roads that bring us back home!

Granny Square Pillow and Summer Beauty

I saw a very pretty crocheted pillow here and decided I wanted one too. The only problem was that my finger has been swollen for a few months now and I was giving it a much needed rest from any type of needlework. So what's a girl to do? I ended up whining to Kaleigh and asked her if she could make me one similar to the one I saw. Did she do a great job, or what? She came up with her own pattern, including the single-crocheted back, and used stash yarn. I love my new pillow!
Casey took a picture of the moon during the day. Isn't it beautiful?
Deep purple cascading petunias brighten up my front porch stairs.

Peas and raspberries are just starting to ripen. Mmmmm... they are so good!

A Bit More Planting

We've finally had a break in the week-long rain. I didn't remember what the sun was like! We took advantage of the dry weather today and did some planting. I put in a few impatiens in front of our Mother Mary statue. Once they really come in a beautiful patch of color is displayed. I also planted a big whiskey barrel at the entrance of the driveway. I put in some purple cascading petunias, red geraniums and some vinca vine. I put in another tall plant in the middle but I can't remember the name of it. I still have some work to do in this front garden but at least I made a start.
My husband moved our blueberry bushes this morning to a different spot and rototilled up where they were. He wants to move some of the boxes so he can get the lawnmower in between the boxes so he can mow instead of weed whack there. I have plenty of things to plant in the boxes but they'll have to wait until some time next week.

He also dug up some strawberry plants and moved those, too. Kierra was having a good 'ol time sitting and rocking in a planter pot!
The girls picked me a lovely lilac bouquet, yesterday. Don't they look pretty on the nightstand?

Spring Greens and Blooms

My littlies picked me some beautiful tree blossoms the other day. I put them in a Mason jar on top of a pretty crocheted centerpiece that Kaleigh made me for Easter. My kitchen table looks quite happy! Now that spring is here I/we have been busy preparing our gardens for our bounty and summer-time eye-candy! Come along with me on a little "growing tour"!

Down in the basement I have several trays growing seedlings. There are some flowers: Bachelor Buttons, Echinacea, impatiens and mint...
Amish paste tomatoes, Big Boys, basil, dill...

squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers...

melons and pumpkins. I'm sure I've forgotten to mention a few! All of the above plants were started from organic seeds and are growing in my cellar by the furnace under a shoppe light. I got that hint from one of the lovely ladies that is joining me in our "How Does Your Garden Grow" group from The Homemaker's Mentor. If you'd like to join us click on the link. There is so much to learn about gardening and it's fun, too!

So I don't get confused I always draw up a basic plan of my garden. We mostly use raised bed gardening for the majority of our vegetables. I don't want to forget where I planted some of the seeds!

Some of these boxes have just been planted with seeds of carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, onion and chard. The carrots and beets will be canned so I like them to all come in at once. I plant the lettuce, onion seed, spinach and chard at one week intervals because we will eat those fresh. I surely don't want all of those coming in at once! Some of the boxes haven't been planted, yet. Many of the plants growing in the basement will go in them and once I decide what else I'd like after visiting the garden center we'll fill up a few more with plants started by them. I have also planted garlic and onion sets by the side of the house.

Here is a sweet potato plant my seven year old daughter planted in the fall. She started it from a cut piece of sweet potato she placed in a jar. Eventually it was ready to plant and it has grown all through the winter. We will set it out in the garden, soon. She'll be thrilled to eat that sweet potato, I'm sure! I also have some Yukon Gold potatoes that are curing in a bag. They'll be ready to plant in a few days.
We have one box solely for asparagas. We started these plants two years ago, I believe. Asparagas takes a few years to really get going but once it does it usually gives you a good crop. We're pretty excited to watch it grow!

We have many raspberry plants growing, too. We have several kinds including red, golden and black. We planted the red and yellow, but the black raspberries grow wild and are quite plentiful. We sure enjoy them, whatever color they are! We also have quite a few blueberry plants but they aren't getting leaves quite yet.
Our rhubarb is coming up nicely, too! I can't wait to pick it fresh and bake something yummy with it. I will freeze the overflow for a winter-baked treat! Strawberries are coming up and will be one of the first fruits, along with the rhubarb that will be eaten!
We have several cherry trees we planted a couple years ago. Last year was the first year we had a few cherries from them. Hopefully this year we will get more. As you can see it's blooming already! We have many fruit trees on our property including a mature pear tree, young apple trees, peach trees and one plum tree.

This is one flower garden right by the front door. It looks a little bare now, but it will be spectacular once the summer comes along. I have several perennials that bloom and I also plant impatiens and several other flowers. I'll be sure to take some pictures when I get things planted and again when it's in full bloom.

We got in a new shipment of baby chicks just after Easter. We got meat chickens and laying hens. We lost twenty. I think it was because they were shipped on Friday and I received the shipment on Monday. They probably were severely dehydrated. The hatchery will replace all we lost though. They should be coming in tomorrow.
I hope you enjoyed the little tour of our spring-time greens and blooms! How does your garden grow?

Springtime at the Cottage

Warmer temperatures are slowly visiting us here in the Berkshires. I've been enjoying the afternoon sunshine and have been using it as ransom to get the kids to finish up their schoolwork before lunch! This afternoon, Caressa chased a chicken off her blanket that she had spread out on the grass. For some reason, the chickens think they are dogs and are overly friendly. One even hopped in the van the other day when we were leaving. Ummm... no.....
Between wakes and funerals, (yep, two wakes and a funeral within a week) I've been able to stitch a bit and get some knitting done. This is my third block from the Little Miss Shabby block of the month. I'm really enjoying working on this project. It's fun to see what she comes up with for each month and each block is quite cute.
Beautiful blooms are popping up in the garden, too. Rhubarb is breaking through the ground and the strawberry plants are turning green. My hubby is busy preparing the raised beds for planting and I have lots and lots of organic seedlings growing under a shoppe light in the basement. They are coming up beautifully.
I hope your spring is making you smile and bringing you peaceful joy in watching God's hand at work this special time of year.