I love Fall
It is definitely my favorite season.
I love the rich colors..
I love the smell of spicy desserts baking in the oven....
and I love the crispness in the air as summer's hot air just breezes on by.
Around here, signs of Autumn are everywhere.
They're outside...
..and they're inside....
...But it's inside that you can really see
Signs of
Autumn
Come with me and take the
Harvest Tour
We have stores of food for winter
Everywhere!
In the basement, we have
Bins of both
Homegrown White and Red potatoes...
...... boxes of onions we purchased at the local Co-op...
(We grew our own but they are not as big. My theory is why skin 3 onions when I can skin just 1-RIGHT?!)
Our second fridge is housing refrigerator pickles..yum.....
as well as some fermented sauerkraut. (more on that in a later post)
the pantry is stocked..
Shelves are filled with all our favorite jellies, and sauces.
We're stocked up on pickled beets and tomato juice (used in cooking)...
All the herbs have been dried...
And most recently,
I made some homemade vanilla so it will be ready in time for holiday baking. You can learn more about that on this post from my cooking blog, Carlisle Cooks. Homemade vanilla is delish!
I also canned about 2 dozen jars of grape juice using the easy method of making grape juice concentrate by placing grapes and sugar in jars and covering with hot water before canning them. It was way easier than the traditional way of making juice. However, next time I would either add more grapes or subtract some sugar. We'll see, the grapes may produce more flavor as time goes on.
In case you're wondering, when using this method, you just strain juice before drinking.
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| add ginger ale and you have punch! |
More than a dozen jars of sauerkraut were canned in addition to the 2 jars left un-canned that continue to ferment in the fridge.
Did I mention that the freezer was filled to the gills?....
Yep. It's filled with soups and veggies, veggies for soups...like chopped onions, carrots and peppers.....even some cabbage wedges. There are pies, breads, cookies, cherry pie filling (my fav), peaches, strawberries and blueberries. The only problem is that I still have to make applesauce , apple pies.....
....and of course, freeze pumpkin (still in the garden) so we can have yummy treats, all winter long! Where will I put all that stuff??
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I think there may be a turkey on the bottom of the freezer that may have to come out!
It's no wonder I haven't had time to blog!!
Much of the garden has been put to rest for this year.
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| Hubs planted barley for the winter where the potatoes and corn once grew. |
I have some fall crops yet to enjoy, like kale, kohlrabi, chard and turnips. And just recently, I planted a variety of lettuces that like the cooler temps.
Our sweet potatoes have yet to be raised (that will happen after frost) and the field corn must be picked and shelled for the girls this winter. We do that a wheel barrow load at a time- in our free time..ha ha!
Just reflecting on this year's garden harvest makes me fill full.
And I'm not just talkin' about my belly.
Gardening is a
LOT of WORK
(a 4 letter word)
But its rewards way outweigh the work.
(I can say that now that the season is nearly over!)
God's goodness seems to fill every nook and cranny of our home!
We will be savoring the fruits of our labors (and his goodness) for months to come!
And isn't
HOMEGROWN
much better than
Store bought??
Do you have a garden?...
BIG or little....
I'd love to hear about it!
Enjoying the harvest....
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven...... A time to plant and a time to harvest..
