If I were as industrious as Leigh, I'd be out there raking all those leaves and finding a way to store them for sheep feed!
Last night I filled the dehydrator with small tomatoes. We're picking big cherry tomatoes at my MIL's while she's gone (and some basil – I made pesto for tonight's supper); our garden has been producing quite a few small tomatoes, too – but not enough to fill a canner. These will dry into flavorful nuggets that will be good in soups, stews, and beans through the winter.
This morning I opened a pint of prunes that didn't seal yesterday. I had some for breakfast, and asked Rick if he would please try them even though canned prunes are not his favorite. Well, he LOVED them! Now I wish I'd canned more and dried less; I'd better make a note of how I made them for next year. (Prunes picked firm, cut in half and pitted, packed with a syrup of 4 c. water to 1 c. unrefined sugar with 2 t. cinnamon and 1/2 t. cloves – I think.
That's it for today from . . .
6 comments:
And we're so wet my hay hasn't even been CUT yet :-o.
Dry maple leaves are a sheepy treat?? That's interesting. Good pictures of the sheep enjoying their snacks. Oh, I bet those tomatoes will be so tasty in a hot soup when the weather gets cold. Mmmm...mmmm. I bet fresh prunes taste better than most.
I haven't done any dehydrating for years; used to do it all the time. Dehydrators sure have improved. Mine was metal with a bunch of shelves like a fridge. It worked wonderfully well. You have inspired me to try it again!
My guys love maple leaves, too. I usually rake them into bags wherever I can find them. I am lucky in that we have plentiful and reasonably priced hay here. It has been dry, though, so second cut is harder to come by. I feed my sheep first cut - they love the weedy stuff. Thanks for the canned prune recipe-ish! I am getting some today, so will give it a try.
The prunes sound terrific! I've got 5 grocery bags full of apples for sauce, etc. Hope I have enough jars!
Oh my goodness, thanks for the shout out Michelle! My goats like maple leaves, oak and pecan too. And yes, I do rake them up and add them to the hay pile, LOL. But we do have a pile rather than nice, neatly stacked bales.
Your canned prunes sound lovely. I planted a prune-plum tree and I'll have to bookmark your syrup recipe for when it finally comes into it's own. Funny how home canned always tastes so much better than the stuff the stores sell.
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