Huricane Irene...Perfect Time to do some Canning.

In late August, Hurricane Irene hit the area that we live in. As we had previously had issues with lesser storms putting water in our basements, Jason took what little time he had at home to prepare for the storm. He built barricades of a sort to channel the water away from the foundation of the house.It totally looks trashy but it was only temporary until he could really fix it. And let me tell you it worked beautifully. Good job,Hubby!He also dug a little ditch that ran to our back yard that is more downhill to catch all of the water that comes from our neighbor's yard which is uphill from us. This also worked wonderfully.Prior to the news that a hurricane would be headed our way, my mom had planned to come up to help me do some canning. My sister later informed me that you are supposed to put up your stores prior to the storm and not during it. Yes, thank you, Alissa. Alas, it worked out well. We lost power and as luck would have it we were planning to do most of our canning and such outside on my mom's propane canning/camp stove. Oh, how nice it would be to have one of these.

We started with Peach Jam. Yum!It was so nice for cleanup and everything being able to do it outside. Let me tell you it is the way to go. I just hosed off my deck when we were all done.After the peach jam we made Salsa. How else do you make salsa but in a massive tub? Tab really enjoyed stirring it.Then we moved on to making Dilly Beans. Oh how I love my dilly beans.The end product!

Ah, the Joys of Fall!

A new friend recently offered to teach me a valuable skill. Ok, fine, so I was listening in on a conversation where she was talking about plans to teach someone else how to make apple pie filling and I essentially invited myself. But, she didn't seem to be to terribly disappointed. She taught me how to make and can it and then I brought home the rest of my apples that I didn't finish that day (and borrowed some equipment) and finished making them the next day. Tab loved helping. He got really good at cranking those apples through!Both of the boys were big helpers with washing the apples. I only had to remind them a few times not to eat them while they were washing them.Boy did they make some yummy pie, the first good apple pie I have ever made! Thanks Melea!
I have a cute video of the boys helping but can't seem to get it to load.

I've been at it again!

It has been getting warmer and you know what that means right? Yummy fruity, refreshing desserts! To me it also means canning. So in the past few days I have made a few treats. First up was a Lemon Mousse with Raspberry Sauce. It turned out to be super tasty. I didn't pay attention enough to the recipe however before I went to the store because I didn't realize I needed two packages of jello. So we ended up with a Lemon-Lime Mousse. It was still yummy.Lemon Mousse with Raspberry Sauce

1 1/2 cups boiling water

2 pkg (4 serving size) Lemon Jello

2 tsp. grated lemon peel

ice cubes

1 cup cold apple juice

1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip

1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen raspberries, thawes, pureed in blender

Stir boiling water into Jello and lemon peel in a larger bowl for at least 2 minutes until Jello is completely dissolved. Add enough ice to apple juice to measure 1-3/4 cups. Stir into Jello until slightly thickened. Stir in whipped topping with wire whisk. Pur half of the raspberry sauce into the bottom of your dessert dishes. Top with mousse. Spoon remaining rasberry sauce over top. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Then I decided that I needed to use my ice cream maker again simply because I'm in love with the thing. I thought to myself, "self, something light and refreshing... that's what we need." So I made some lime icecream. It is DIVINE! Lime Ice Cream

2 cups milk

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup lime juice

1 1/2 tsp. lime zest

1 cup heavy cream

In a saucepan, combine milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture reaches 175 degrees F. Cool to room remperature. Stir in the lime juice and peel. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Transfer frozen lime mixture to a bowl, allow to soften slightly. (At this point I tasted it and considered not adding the cream. It tasted to full of flavor and almost like a sorbet consistancy. Next time I will double the first ingredients and leave it at that). In a small mixing bowl, beat the wipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into softened lime mixture. Allow ice cream to firm up in your freezer for 4 hours before serving. You may now die and go to heaven.

Finally, just a few minutes ago, I finished making some Strawberry Freezer Jam. The recipe for this was nothing special, but it is pretty good. I think next time I might try a reduced sugar recipe because holy cow 4 cups is A LOT of sugar. I'm still excited despite the sugar because this is the first time I have made freezer jam.

Canning.....I did it!

I'm so excited. I just succeeded in my first attempt at canning! I was offered appricots but wasn't sure what to do with them. After much help from my mom, I decided that little old me might be able to can them. So, I went and bought some jars (not too cheap, I might add), and started to get ready. It only took me a week to get everthing together that I needed so that I could go pick the appricots.

I spent a bit of time on Saturday actually canning them. And it wasn't as much work as I remembered it being when my mom made us help her when we were little. So after a few hours, I had results! Can you tell, I'm excited? I'm so proud of myself. Now onto the next task, fruit leather...

Now, what you're all waiting for... The Results