Month: September 2013

small batch refrigerator pickles

Published by

Cucumber season is coming to an end but I’m still getting one every few days.  I used my last batch a few weeks ago to make  jars of refrigerator pickles.  Refrigerator pickles are regular pickles, only they aren’t processed in a water bath.  The difference is that the shelf life is 3 months instead of 12 months. I really wanted to create pickles like my favorite brand – Woodstock.  They are garlicky and zippy.  My recipe isn’t exactly like Woodstock farms, but they had a nice bite to them! Refrigerator pickles 3 pint mason jars 6 minced garlic cloves 5-7 pickling cucumbers 2 1/2  tablespoons of pickling salt* 1/2 cup white vinegar 1 tsp peppercorns 6 dill heads 3 tsp dill seed 3 1/2 cups of filtered or bottled water **I couldn’t find “pickling salt” so I found really fine sea salt without anti-caking ingredients. Divide the minced garlic, sliced cucumbers, dill seed, and peppercorns up evenly and place in each clean mason jar. Boil the water, salt, and vinegar until all of the salt …

Ten on Ten September 2013

Published by

September is so beautiful.  Between the garden, Anderson, and Grammy C being at our house, finding photo inspiration for Ten on Ten was really easy this month.  For more information on Ten on Ten, visit: a bit of sunshine. Speaking of photo-related things, I’m extremely excited to be starting Picture Everyday with Tracey Clark at Big Picture Classes.  There is still time to register!  The first prompt isn’t until Monday.  I’ll share a bit about it after the class ends in 8 weeks. Also, if you are feeling crafty, stop by photography.com to read a recent post I wrote on making sunprints.  Trust me, they are an inexpensive, quick, and rewarding project.  Plus they look darn cool on your wall.  These are made from herbs in my herb garden (dill, rosemary, thyme, and chives). On to Ten on Ten!  I wasn’t able to perfectly time these to take a picture each hour for ten hours because of that whole “job” thing, but they are scattered throughout the day. Happy September!  September, to me, means harvest. …

backyard grape jelly

Published by

About four years ago, a friend gave me a grapevine.  It didn’t even sprout a grape for years, but it kept sprawling down the fence along our driveway.  Last year, we finally had grapes and I was so excited! They were beautiful!  I kept waiting for them to ripen just enough to pick.  One day, I went outside and noticed that every last grape was gone.  Someone had a feast. This year, I beat out whatever furry or feathery animal got them all last year.  I went out with the biggest metal bowl I could find and started harvesting the grapes during Anderson’s nap time.  The bowl quickly filled.  I grabbed my largest colander and filled that.  Then, I yelled to Chris to grab me another bowl and filled that too.  I couldn’t believe how many grapes came from one plant. Hello, jelly. It took hours to sort through all of the grapes, ditching the completely green ones and the ones that were already dried up and shriveled as well as pulling every single grape …