Savoring and Saving the Fruit

It's been busy here at the homestead. Walt has been quite busy with our summer video clients so I've had to manage many things by my self. He hasn't been out to look at the garden for almost a week. He was surprised that the corn was already thigh high. Besides the usual household chores, cleaning, cooking, laundry and chauffeuring the kids, I've been working on fighting the weeds in the flower beds and in the kitchen garden. The broccoli is starting to form heads and I picked my first zucchini today.

Heirloom Raspberry

Wild Black Raspberry (also called Blackcap)

The wild raspberries and blackcaps (and golden blackcaps) have started getting ripe and I have picked a pound and a half already. They are in the freezer until I can some more for blackberry cordial. Soon the true blackberries will be ripe and I expect to have 25 pounds at least. I think we will try blackberry wine.

Some of the strawberries that I picked at Candellas were put in a pot with Pomona's and a little sugar and ladled into jars for "Low Sugar Strawberry Jam". The rest was put in a glass jar with some sugar and rum for a "RUMNTOFF"

I picked some grape leaves, washed them, bundled them, put them in some jars and pored on a hot vinegar "brine". Some day they will used for stuffed grape leaves.

I found a good sale on Bing Cherries. 1.88 lb. I bought 3 bags totaling 6.5 lbs. I quickly pitted them and bottled them as " brandied Cherries. A tray of cherries are in a low oven drying. I need more cherries.