Busier than a one armed paper hanger...

What does that even mean?? Anyways...I thought that I would give yall an update on what's happening on the farm!

This is what the cotton is looking like now...

It's almost thigh-high on me and is starting to bloom.

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Here are our peanuts...

They are getting close to lapping in the middle and are also starting to bloom!

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Nothing really major is happening on the farm right now...

except for a whole lotta this...
and a whole lotta that!

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While the farmers are busy doing their thing, I've been busy doing my thing!

Canning! I think I have canned something everyday for the past 2 weeks! Here's what I've done so far...

Green Beans

Squash


Dill Pickles

(I cheated with these pickles and just made them with one of those mixes you buy on the canning aisle, shhh.)

Salsa

(I also cheated here too, those mixes better be good!)

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Except for the salsa and dill pickles, everything else I have canned is completely homemade, so here's the pictures and recipes!
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Cinnamon Rings
Step 1
2 gallons large cucumbers-turning yellow
2 cups lime
8 1/2 qt. cold water
Slice cucumbers into half inch slices and remove seeds, leaving only a "ring". Mix all ingredients and place in churn or other large container. (Be careful what you put this in, it will stain!!) Soak for 24 hours. Stir occassionally.
Step 2
1 cup 5% acidity vinegar
1 bottle red food coloring
1 tbsp. powdered Alum
Water
Drain container and rinse cucumbers. Place cucumbers back into container. Add vinegar, food coloring, alum, and enough water to cover. Soak 2 hours.
Step 3
2 cups vinegar
2 cups water
10 cups sugar
1 box cinnamon sticks
1 (6 oz.) pack "Red Hots" Candy
Drain container and rinse cucumbers. Place cucumbers back into container. In large pot, add vinegar, water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, red hots. Bring to a boil and pour over cucumbers. Let stand overnight. (I made 1 1/2 times the amount of syrup and it was just enough for me.)
Step 4
Pour syrup off of cucumbers into large pot and reheat. Add cucumbers to pot and boil 4 minutes. Place hot cucumbers and syrup into quart jars and seal. Makes 7 quarts.

Spaghetti Sauce
10 lbs. tomatoes, cored
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. hot pepper flakes
Bottled lemon juice
Wash tomatoes. Place tomatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes to remove skins. Cut out core. Coursely chop rest of tomato. Place tomatoes in large pot and crush with potato masher. Bring to boil. Add all ingredients except lemon juice. Boil, stirring frequently, until sauce is reduced and thickens, about 2 hours.
While sauce is cooking, prepare jars and lids for canning. Place 1 tbsp. lemon juice into bottom of each prepared jar. Fill jars with sauce leaving 1/2 in. headspace. Process in boiling water canner for 35 minutes. Makes 6 pints.


Chowchow

1 gallon cabbage

1/2 gallon green tomatoes

12 onions

6 green bell peppers

6 red bell peppers

3/4-1 cup salt

Chop vegetables; mix well. Put a layer of vegetables in enameled pan or glass jar and sprinkle with salt. Repeat until all vegetables are used and last layer is covered with salt. Let stand overnight. Drain well. In seperate saucepan put:

1 gallon vinegar

4 cups sugar

1/2 cup ground mustard

6 tbsp. white mustard seed

3 tbsp. celery seed

1 tbsp. cloves (tied in bag)

Heat to boiling, add the well drained vegetables, and cook slowly until tender (1/2 hour). Pack in hot, pint jars. Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

14 Day Pickles
Day1:
2 gallons cucumbers
1 gallon water
2 cups salt
Wash cucumbers and slice 1/4th inch thick. Add 1 gallon of boiling water and 2 cups salt to cucumbers and place in churn. Let sit in churn 7 days.
Day 8:
1 gallon water
Remove cucumbers from brine. Put cucumbers back into empty jar and add 1 gallon boiling water.
Day 9:
1 gallon water
Alum (recipe says "about the size of walnut", so I guessed at it)
Remove cucumbers from water. Put cucumbers back into empty jar and add 1 gallon boiling water and alum.
Day 10:
1 quart vinegar
2 quarts sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. pickling spice.
Remove pickles from alum water. Make syrup of vinegar, sugar, and pickling spice. Boil for 4 minutes and pour over cucumbers. (Hint: Make extra syrup!)
Day 11-13:
Pour off syrup, reheat, pour back over cucumbers. Do this each day.
Day 14:
Pour off syrup. Boil for 4 minutes and pour over cucumbers which have been tightly packed in quart jars. Seal with bands and lids.

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I also made some blueberry freezer jam. Last year, I made some strawberry freezer jam.

Blueberry Freezer Jam
Blueberries (enough to make 3 cups when crushed)
5 1/4 cups sugar
1 box pectin
3/4ths cup water
Rinse blueberries. Smash using potato smasher. In seperate bowl, measure out 3 cups crushed blueberries and mix with sugar. Let the mixture stand 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir pectin and water in saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat and stir the pectin into the blueberry mixture until dissolved. Pour into freezer containers. Leave out 24 hours, then freeze.

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Well...enough blogging, I better get back to canning! (and freezing and cooking and.....)