Butterflies

Our back pasture is full of purple clover.

Purple clover and butterflies.

These photos can't describe the number of butterflies 

(I counted 23 just near the area I was standing in).

Freezing Corn

We managed to pick 46 ears of corn the other day.

Out of the 46 there were about 5 that weren't good either because of bugs,

bad spots or not being developed enough.

So after eating some, 

I had 30 something ears of corn to do something with.

I opted to freeze it, not because of my canning phobia,

but because many recommend freezing as the best method.

First you husk the corn.

Remove as much silk as possible- using a brush if needed.

The Corn then needs to be blanched,

so start a pot of water boiling while you husk.

Place cobs in boiling water for 4 minutes.

Immediately place cobs in a bowl of ice water.

This stops the cooking process.

Leave in the ice water for about the same amount of time you blanched them

(4 minutes).

Next, cut the corn off the cob.

There were suggestions to use a bundt pan to hold the corn.

This would work great if you have fat cobs.

I didn't, so I found that just holding it on a plate was better

(the cob kept sliding further into the hole in the pan.

Your corn will look clumped, but don't worry, 

it will break apart into single kernels when you bag it.

The finished product- 2 quart bags of fresh corn ready for the freezer.

There's An App For That

While checking out tips on canning

(because while I have obtained the tools, I'm still quite intimidated by the whole process)

I came across an app for my iPhone.

Seems Mother Earth News

has a free app for canning.

I of course downloaded it.

I'll let you know if it's helpful

(you know, once I get over my canning phobia).

Pickles in the Jar

 Sunday night I made 6 more quarts of refrigerator pickles.

My first batch was a success

with the exception of 1 pint of pickles that tasted totally of apple cider vinegar.

Despite that one issue, 

I went ahead with these 6 quarts. 

And as promised, here is the recipe:

Garlic Dill Refrigerator Pickles

Makes 3 pints- 2 pints=1 quart so double recipe makes 3 quarts

2 pounds cucumbers 

(I didn't really weigh any, I just cut up and used what would fit in the jar)

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

2 Tablespoons pickling salt

6 garlic cloves (2 per jar)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper per jar

1 teaspoon dill seed per jar

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns per jar

Wash and slice cucumbers

In large saucepan combine vinegar water and salt, bring to simmer

Dole out spices to each jar

Pack cucumbers firmly into jars- you want them packed tight without damaging them

Pour the brine into the jars leaving 1/2 inch head space

Tap jars gently on counter top to dislodge any air bubbles

Apply lids and let jars cool

When they've reached room temperature place in refrigerator

Let them sit for at least 48 hours before eating.

Enjoy!

Chicken of the Corn

The State of the Garden

These are apparently Mexican Bean Beetle larvae.

We made the choice to pull up the bush bean plants

as a large majority are chewed up presumably by these critters.

We have pole beans growing now so we'll still have plenty of beans.

The broccoli is also gone.

Sadly, the pumpkin plants will also be pulled up

having been decimated by squash bugs

and powdery mildew.

The squash plants aren't looking so hot either,

but at least I can replant those.

The peas are pooping out.

Some of the pea plants got too wet and mushy.

On an up note, I'm going to be a canning fool

(provided I figure out how to can)

because we're going to have more tomatoes than we'll know what to do with.

And we've frozen 17 quarts of squash, 2 quarts of beans (with 3-4 quarts still to freeze), 2 quarts of chopped green bell pepper, a quart of chopped hot pepper

and a quart of peas.

The corn still looks great (knock on wood)

and we have a zillion peppers.

Now, I'm thinking along the lines of fall/winter gardening.

Kale maybe?

Arugula?

Cabbage?

Pickles

With the garden producing copious amounts of veggies,

I needed to get going on the preserving otherwise all the time, 

effort and money but into the garden would be wasted. 

I started with pickles. 

I've never made pickles.

And because I have yet to gather all my canning needs,

I went with a recipe for refrigerator garlic dill pickles

(if they taste good, I'll share the recipe).

I ended up with 4 quart jars and 3 pint jars.

We get to taste them on Thursday,

hopefully they're good or I wasted a lot of cucumbers

(though there are plenty more where they came from).

I also cut enough zucchini and squash to fill 7 quart freezer bags.

There's still an entire basket of squash and more in the garden. 

I see zucchini bread in my future.