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Because Pictures Speak So Much Louder Than Words...

I hate to even say it, but my garden is starting to wind down for the year. We have been enjoying fresh turnips all summer long, and they are wonderful, but I was looking to try something new with them. I had a few dozen still in the ground, so this morning the kids and I headed out to the garden for one final turnip harvest. We ate a bunch of them raw, and then I set about finding a good canning recipe for the rest. Below are photos of my newest creation... pickled turnips! It doesn't sound appetizing, but it is absolutely amazing!

A blustery day...

The wind here is crazy today.  It reminds me of last year when we lost power for close to a week!  The trees are having an incredibly hard time staying upright, and the 6 foot high chain link garden fencing is threatening to topple over at any minute.  Give those power lines a dose of heavy snow and they are going to start snapping, and we had our first snowfall a few days ago, so this is a real possibility.

This year we are better prepared for the inevitable power failure (see last years post here).  We have a generator, a stocked pantry (no electricity required,) and a game plan.  The house will stay warm thanks to the propane fireplace that doesn't require any electricity to function... (the fan won't work, but it will still heat).  We have talked to the kids about what to expect if the power goes out for a long period of time, and we have plenty of baby wipes, anticipating not being able to take a shower for several days.  We have books and crayons and craft projects, as well as lots of warm blankets and some comfort foods like hot chocolate.  The small television can be plugged into the generator, and we have kids music on my iPhone (which can also be charged via generator.) 

Last years power failure was really an eye opener for me.  Grown-ups might know what to expect when it happens, but children have lots of fears about the unknown, and its important for us to show them that there is nothing to worry about.  A few familiar things can make them a whole heck of a lot more comfortable, and when the kids aren't freaking out, EVERYTHING goes a lot smoother.

Are you ready to go several days without power?  What do you do to prepare your home and your family?

Funny how we develop routines without even realizing...

If you will look at this blog post from almost exactly 1 year ago, http://woodsidegardens.blogspot.com/2010/09/you-know-its-fall-when.html , you will find almost my exact dinner for tonight!  I just added some chicken to the pan this time!  Some things never change!

I made Crabbapple/Wild Blueberry Jam today, with apples from my sister's tree and berries my mom picked up north.  I also managed to make a batch of Mint Jelly, with the last of the mint from my herb garden.  We added some food coloring, at my son's request, and it is a very yummy emerald green!

The garden is officially put away for the year, as we have had a hard frost the last two nights in a row.  All the raised beds have compost and steer manure covering them, which will be turned into the soil in the spring.  The new compost pile has been started, and I covered the clematis, which isn't supposed to make it through the Alaskan winter, with old leaves from the edge of the yard.  I also put some of the leaves in a burlap rice bag and put that over the top of the whole thing.  I'm not holding my breath, but we will see if it works!

I didn't post any pictures of the garden this time, as I'm not sure you all want to see a bunch of bare raised beds full of compost and steer crap, but I'll take some if you want them!

Harvesting the garden...

I can't believe that we are eating out of the garden already!  Last night, we ate our first head of Broccoli with dinner!  Broccoli is so yummy when its fresh from the garden!

Lily and I decided to do some more harvesting today... Lettuce, Turnip, Radishes, Lemon Balm and Cucumber for lunch, and more Broccoli for the freezer.

The tomato plants have all set fruit, and some of them are getting rather large already.  The squash has the biggest blossoms I have ever seen, and the little squashes are dark green and beautiful!  I'll follow up with some more pictures soon!

Emergencies, and why we aren't as prepared as we think we are...

This weekend was a big eye opener for my family and I.  Friday night we lost power, due to the unusually high winds sending an unusually high number of trees into the power lines.  No big deal, right?  We've weathered lots of power outages before!  They never last more than a few hours, and we have lots of candles and blankets.

Saturday morning came, and we were still without power.  Hmm.  We don't own a generator.  The 6 year old keeps forgetting to NOT flush the toilet, and now we have no water.  Should we try to find a generator?  Nah, the power will surely be back on in a few hours!

Saturday night, still no power.  DON"T OPEN THE FREEZER!!!  I have hundreds of dollars worth of food in the freezer, and if it thaws out, we're in trouble.  And its getting really cold in here.  Its 36 degrees outside.

Sunday morning, still no power.  The house is very cold, and everything in the refrigerator is spoiled, including all the green beans I just harvested from the garden and hadn't had a chance to process yet.  Husband decided that we have to get a generator NOW.  Off to town we go, and had to look at 6 stores to find one.  Imagine that, we weren't the only ones who decided we should get one!  $800.00 later, we're on our way home, sure that the power will be on now that we spent all that money.  Thank God we aren't burdened by credit cards any longer and had money in savings to pay cash.

What the Hell?!  Now its SNOWING!!!

Back at home, the power still isn't on, so we get the generator running, and get the fridge, freezer and furnace plugged in by running extension cords through the kitchen window..  No well pump, as we aren't wired to switch it easily to generator power.  If it was colder out, the well lines would all be frozen by now.  We all took baby-wipe baths and snuggled in to watch a movie on the little TV that we plugged into the generator.  If we hadn't gotten the generator, the freezers would be thawing by now. 

We ran the generator all night last night.  At 5:15 the alarm went off.  Time for Rob to get ready for work.  UGH.  But then, a flash and a buzz, and on came the power!  Yahoo!!!  It was off for a total of 60 hours.  If we hadn't left early Sunday to get the generator, they would have been all sold out and we would have been out of luck.

Top 5 things I learned from this ordeal...

1. Canning my produce, and even as much meat as I can, is a very good idea.  The freezer is not a dependable food storage solution.

2. This is ALASKA.  You need backup power.  Dependable back up power.  And you need the house wired for that backup power.

3. Kids get scared when the power goes off, even if they say they are fine.

4. Have emergency funds.  Since we don't have credit cards (thank God) we would have been in a much worse situation if we had no way to buy the generator and emergency food and fuel.

5. I want a woodstove.  You can heat with it AND cook with it.

Harvest in full swing!

Despite the month long cold/wet spell we had, my garden is providing surprisingly well for me.  Yesterday I harvested 3 more quarts of snap peas, which I steam blanched and put in the freezer.  I got several summer squashes as well.  I decided to go ahead and pull up all the squash plants, as I was still fighting the gray mold issue, although the ones I harvested today were ok.  After I pulled the squash vines, to my GREAT surprise, I pulled out a cucumber hiding in the back that is as big as my forearm!  Holy Moly, where did that thing come from?!  There are LOTS of other cucumbers as well which are looking healthy and delicious.

The eggplant is very close to opening its first buds, which I assume means I WON"T be getting any actual eggplants this year again.  I'll let them keep growing until the frost kills them anyway, because the blossoms are quite lovely.  The tomatoes are growing like crazy, but I have no red ones yet.  They will probably have to be brought inside to ripen... no worries there.

I officially ate my first green beans yesterday as well.  They are growing FAST!  I will have to pick the first batch this week for sure, and probably a second by next week.  Dilly Beans here we come!  I'll be freezing as many as I can get my hands on as well.

The Brussels Sprouts are sprouting, the cabbages are almost ready to split, and the Broccoli is seeding, attracting all sorts of beautiful insects to its blossoms.  I pulled most of the lettuce as it is finally going to seed, and the Kale is looking awesome!  I'll wait until after the first frost to process that.

I don't think I'll get any turnips out of the second batch, but it looks like there will be plenty of greens to harvest yet.

I'm sitting here this morning, watching the fog which was a thick as pea soup slowly burn off and make way for what appears to be some sunshine!  I might even get a load of clothes out on the laundry line today!  Fall is most definitely in the air... I can feel it and smell it.  Almost time to turn on the heater!

Hello!

So, its been a while since I posted anything.  The last month was rainy, dreary and cold, and I simply lost my motivation to post.  The garden was soggy, definitely not picture worthy, and the growth was pretty much on hold.  The last few days of sunshine, however, have made all the difference!  I have HUNDREDS of little green beans, the brussels sprouts are forming, and the tomatoes, squash and cucumbers are producing again!  I'm about ready to harvest another round of peas to go in the freezer also.  The flowers on the porch are looking pitiful, so I will be pulling them in the next few weeks.  Time to start the fall time chores!

1st Broccoli Harvest

I'm so excited to harvest my first head of Broccoli today.  Again, this is a first ever, not just first this year! 

I made sure to leave the side shoots untouched so that they can continue to grow.  This will be a chicken and broccoli stir-fry, and most of the rest will go in the freezer once it is harvested.  I think I need to grow much more next year, as I can see that this won't last long.  My son is drooling over the raw flower as I type! 

Rhubarb/Red Currant Preserves

Yum.

The garden can't be stopped!

I just got back in from the garden, after finally having a chance to do a little upkeep.  The sun is out and Lily was happy in the stroller, so I took some pictures too!

Laundry line doing its job!

Sugar Snap Peas are blooming

Squash taking over...

I trimmed it back a LOT after I took these pictures.  The plants are less crowded now and seem much happier, and the cucumbers can breath again!

Happy little zucchini

Little cucumbers

The eggplant seems happy, but no blossoms yet

Tomato plants

The first of the tomatoes!

Broccoli and Turnips loving the sun.  I thinned the turnips by about half after taking this picture, and I will probably be pulling the rest within the next 2 weeks.  There is another row of them just starting their second set of leaves, which should provide me with greens for the rest of the season, and might even have time to bulb up!

The broccoli is producing a good head, with several secondary buds further down

Cabbage and Brussels Sprouts are both getting huge!

Green Beans are starting to pick up the pace now, but now blossoms yet

Here's the Kale, Spinach, Lettuce and Radishes.  I had just picked the last of the second planting, and will be planting round 4 there this evening.  I also pulled the remaining spinach plants, giving more room to the Kale which is a bit crowded by the Broccoli here.  I blanched the spinach and froze it, which was the first official food storage from this years garden!

Its a jungle out there!

The garden is going absolutely crazy!  I officially have squash on all of my squash plants now.  The picture below is the first squash harvest, not only of the season, but of my entire gardening career!  I have NEVER gotten to pick a squash off of my own vine before!  And man was it tasty!

The spinach has finally started to bolt.  I have been pulling the plants as the flowers appear and adding them to the compost pile.  Once spinach starts to bolt, the leaves get more bitter, so we won't be eating much more this year.  I would plant another round, but I simply have no room in the garden!  And that is not a bad problem to have!  I do wish that I had planted the spinach where the kale is, and vice versa.  The broccoli is starting to cover the kale, which is now leaning to the side where the spinach plants were.  It will all work out, but it gives me something to remember when planting next year.

The first group of turnips are finally starting to bulb out as well!  Soon I will be pulling that row, making more room for the broccoli to grow and for the second group of turnips to get bigger.  I'm also getting ready to plant round four of radishes.  They are growing better than I could have wished for, and they are a very tasty treat in my daily salads.  I can't wait until I get to add the tomatoes and cucumbers!

The broccoli is doing amazing as well, forming beautiful heads which will be quite tasty, and will fill the freezer nicely.  The green beans seem to have made a full recovery from their bug attack at the beginning of the season.  They are showing the first signs of blooming, which is very exciting.  And last but not least, the snap peas are blooming like crazy!  We are going to have a TON of peas this year!  Canning season is going to be happening before we know it... time to get prepared now!

What is everyone else harvesting right now?

"Tomato - A Fresh-from-the-Vine Cookbook"

I just want to say that I LOVE this cookbook!  I have quite a collection of cookbooks, mostly vegetarian ones, and this one takes the cake!  There are over 150 tomato recipes and they all look delicious!  I just wanted to share with you all because the tomatoes are going to be in full swing soon.  Check this book out!

Its still not snowing!

Well, the weather warmed up a bit, hovering right at freezing at the moment. But its still not snowing! I love the first REAL snowfall. (as opposed to the dusting we got the other day.) Big, white fluffy snowflakes drifting slowly to the ground, it makes me feel warm, even if they are made of ice! I want to look out the window and see a perfect blanket of white staring back at me, undisturbed except for the occasional moose tracks, or mouse tracks, depending on how close to the house you happen to be looking!

Ok, my neighbor already put up a Christmas tree in their living room... that, my friends, is overkill. What about Thanksgiving? We seem to rush these things more and more each year. This year I intend to slow things down a bit. Hand-making my Christmas gifts will be a big part of that. I am looking forward to putting the baskets together, probably making a few more jams or jellies to include, and making the dishcloths one by one. I've just never had the time to do it before, and I am excited! A real, home-made holiday season!

Yeah, so I lied... what can I say?

Yes, I know that in my last post I said I was done canning for the season, but I just couldn't help myself!

Cinnamon Red Hot Apples

This is a recipe I have been dying to try, so I went ahead and made it up. These are so incredibly good, I can't even describe it! I think I'm going to make some of them into an apple strudel for Rob tonight. He's headed out early tomorrow morning for another try at a moose, so he'll want a hearty dinner tonight and a good breakfast in the morning. He has really come to appreciate my home-cooked meals. Fresh food makes all the difference in the world!

I think I'm about jellied out...

Crabapple Jelly!!!

We got 2 batches of Crabapple Jelly done today. Mom looks glad to be done, as you can see from the photo above! I think this will be the last of the canning for the season, unless Rob gets a moose this weekend. I am definitely getting burnt out!

Oh, for the love of crabapples!!!

I was given a large amount of crabapples over the weekend. The owner of the tree loves the blossoms, but doesn't touch the apples! Lucky me!

Spiced Crabapples

Yesterday I made Spiced Crabapples, and today its Crabapple Jelly, with a bit of the syrup from the Spiced Crabapples. Its going to be yummy! I'll probably end up making regular jelly as well, for those who don't like cinnamon.

Once all the canning for the season is done, I'll have to post a picture of my pantry, with all the glass jars lined up. It really is a beautiful sight!

Cranberry-Apple Butter

The most recent project has been Alaskan Cranberry Apple Butter. The high-bush cranberries (which I have learned aren't really cranberries at all) were picked here in my yard. You have probably noticed by now that my un-landscaped land provides quite a bounty of wild food every year. The apples were picked from my aunts house in Palmer. They are Parkland apples, grafted onto a crabapple root, so that they will survive our -30F or colder winter temperatures.

I baked some pork chops last night, smothered in this wonderful stuff, and my son couldn't contain his amazement over how good it tasted!

Today's Kitchen Project...

Just look at that color! - Currant/Raspberry Jelly

I canned a batch of jelly completely on my own for the first time today... and it was a complete success! I feel so accomplished this fall, learning this new skill. Next, I need to apply it to preserving vegetables. Rob is going moose hunting next weekend, and it would also be great to get some stew meat canned up. I need to learn to use the pressure canner, soon!

Happiness is...

Happiness is...

A kid who actually likes school
A baby who only cries when she really needs something
Home-canned produce on the pantry shelves
New pantry curtains, home made, of course
Food in the dehydrator
A clean house
Dinner cooking on the stove
A content and happy family

...welcome to my evening.