What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Friday, August 23, 2013

Lazy

Helpers- while I harvested basil, they ate onion tops.  They always have onion breath in the summer.
cherry tomatoes.  SO STINKIN' GOOD.

A cucumber is a beautiful thing.

peppers of all sorts

Last week I consolidated all of my canning storage nooks and crannies around the house and cleared out my canning cupboard.  This is what was left from last year.   Then I filled it back up with new goodies!  

Basil by the bowlful.  (Made into pesto for the freezer)

Not sure what's up with all the headless pictures lately.  This is cilantro and Adele' in a stained dress.  That would be lipgloss, by the way.  Mine.
green beans (I froze this particular batch.)

The tomatoes are fitting tables bettter than bowls- it was time to bring out the sawhorse summer kitchen!

We Newmans can really rock some awesome hair.
salsa with a bit of corn.
The kitchen chores don't really stop this time of year.  If it isn't one thing, it's another.  Or more accurately, it is often one thing AND another.  I try to get caught up and then a new harvest rolls in.

I even gave two whole big baskets of cucumbers away just to get to the ones in the garden!  And while I work in the garden I am singing songs that go something like this:


I hear a lot of people talking these days about fall and I just shake my head, willing them to stop.  I didn't get my fill of summer yet.  I wait and I wait for summer to come, and then it comes and it flies by.  But I think, by the time canning season is over, I will happily let the new seasons roll in and the quiet of winter to settle down upon this kitchen.

But not yet.  We haven't cracked open any of our NINE gorgeously huge watermelons yet!  (There WOULD have been ten except one day I saw a large watermelon in the back of Judah's tricycle.  He had picked it and was proudly hauling it around the yard-and though it was a cute sight, it was NOT cool.)

Besides, I have spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove to can and a million cucumbers to pickle.  I wish I knew of something OTHER than pickles to do with cucumbers to preserve them for winter.

 One can only have so many pickles, I think.

14 comments:

Terri said...

When I've had my fill of cucumbers and still have a surplus, I make relish with them. Just a thought!

Everything looks beautiful!

Julian said...

Absolutely beautiful! Even no, especially the lipstick stains lol. I've always wanted to live on a farm and do all the growing and canning. Youre very blessed. I too am not done with summer eaither. I love it!
Christina

Miranda Hupp said...

I would LOVE your spaghetti sauce recipe. I asked my grandma for hers and she said a pinch of this and a dash of that. Hers is delicious but I guess my pinches and dashes are different than hers. Oops.

I just really struggled with my tomatoes this year. Now I have a TON of green tomatoes and dying plants. Such a bummer.

Lovely pictures. :)

Bonnie said...

Yes do relish. I use it in egg and tuna salad.
The fairs not over yet, but just wait until you see what happened... : D

Anonymous said...

Your Summer kitchen ! And just when I want summer to go away and fall to come :)

Mary

Michelle said...

Coming from a Polish girl: One can never have too many pickles! ;)

Erik and Amelia said...

Cucumber jelly is pretty delicious.

Anonymous said...

Our garden has been so sad this year, I blame the smoke from all the forest fires. I am so jealous!!

Anonymous said...

When I was a little girl I use to pick and eat chives that grew along our fence line. I remember wondering how it was that my Mom knew I had been eating them. LOL Onion breath...I can relate.

Rebecca said...

Terri and Bonnie- I make a fair share of zucchini relish (which in my mind is the best.relish.ever) and I use it in every capacity for relish-so I never even think about cucumber relish. But I might this year, just to add variety. AND get rid of cucumbers.

Bonnie- As for the cliffhanger- I am intriqued! I can't wait to hear! We just went to the fair last night and I must say, had a mediocre time. But on the way home we saw a bunch of tents and rv's and I thought of you.

Amelia-CUCUMBER JELLY?!? Now THAT sounds interesting! I might just google that.

Christina- FINALLY! A fellow summer soaker-upper!

Miranda- Funny you should say that. I have always done the very same thing and some jars are outstanding and some are mediocre and some are just weird. (This is a big problem when you want to have spaghetti when company comes- because who knows what jar to choose?!) So this year I am doing something different. I am making different batches, writing the recipes down as I make them and giving each recipe a number. That way, I will know which recipe I like best. I will blog them eventually- but in the meantime google homecanned spaghetti sauce and I am sure you can find a few good ones to follow.

Also- if your plants are dying with green tomatoes still on them- pick off all the tomatoes and they will eventually ripen. OR, as long as it isn't blight, keep them on- they might just ripen anyway. I have plenty of deadish looking plants that are still giving gorgeous tomatoes.

If you pick them and want them to ripen faster- put them in a brown paper bag. Such a bummer!

Mary- Matt suggested he make me my very own sawhorses (and engrave my name on them so I only use MINE) since every summer I steal his. SO next year- you never know, I might have a personalized summer kitchen! ;-)

Michelle- come live with us please!

Amy Caroline- wow. I would happily take a stunted from smoke garden over a burned up from flames garden. I can't imagine living in a region with forest fires. How scary!

Anonymous- yes, chive breath is the other. And occasionally garlic breath- when they find some wild. ;-)

Leah T. said...

You're looking so good! You've done an amazing job with your weight loss! That first picture says it all. Just had to let you know. :) Blessings on the rest of your weekend. May you have a beautiful Lord's Day tomorrow.

Rebecca said...

Leah- thank you for that. I sent you a private message on myfitnesspal today. I haven't gone on in a few months so I only just saw your update. What a good job you've done yourself there lady!

BajaManna said...

Rebecca - Anybody who eats my cooking is guaranteed to have onion breath! I love those small ball jars. They weren't available when I did a lot of canning 35 years ago, but they're SO useful! My granddaughter is busy canning right now - one of her favorite tasks, and it's SO satisfying to see the fruit of your labors!

Abigail said...

-The funny thing about green-onion-top-eaters is that they're ALWAYS so affectionate. Pip and Lu run in for kisses and cuddles, and I have to turn my head away so they don't see my grimace. :)

-Watermelons? Yum. I never find room for those, to our detriment. It's time to dig some more holes, I guess!