Blessings Abound

Chickens, Cucumbers, Eggs, Peppers, Pickles, Reflections, Tomatoes

Hello and welcome.

Today I’ll be canning. I expect to produce about 10 quarts of tomato juice but since my canning kettle only holds seven quart-size jars I will cook down the excess into sauce to be used in a meal later this week. Likely stuffed cabbage. Before I head to the kitchen to begin cutting up tomatoes and sterilizing canning jars let me tell you about the results of last week’s efforts.

Cucumbers Are Abundant This Year
Pickled Peppers

Last week I canned:

6 quarts garlic dills

4 quarts hamburger dill slices

6 pints pickled peppers

4 quarts sauerkraut (still fermenting)

7 quarts tomato juice

6 pints bread and butter pickles

Some of our garden meals.

We also continue to include some of the fresh-picked bounty in our meals daily, something that only happens this time of year.

Steak, Potatoes, Steamed Swiss Chard, Glazed Carrots, Beets

Grilled steak with boiled potatoes, steamed Swiss chard, glazed carrots and boiled beets.

Pasta and Clam Sauce, Sauteed Swiss Chard and Eggplant

Pasta and clam sauce with sauteed Swiss chard and eggplant.

Not pictured: Tuna salad sandwich. I love to mix lots of veggies into tuna salad – chopped lettuce, diced tomato, shredded carrot, onion, diced celery, shredded or diced radish – mix it up with some mayo and spread it on your favorite bread.

Also not pictured: Another of my favorite summertime dishes is sliced cucumbers covered in a sour cream, dill and garlic dressing.

Other News

Last week our young hens began laying as evidenced by the tiny egg(s) my husband collected. First time layers usually lay a few tiny eggs before they begin laying regular size eggs. Inside the tiny egg is mostly or all egg white (there might be a small speck of yolk as well.)

The hens beginning to lay was kind of bitter-sweet as we lost one of the young hens to a prolapsed vent. Apparently, the egg she was trying to lay was too big for her. We are now down to just 5 of the 12 hens that started out as baby chicks this spring. Farming can often be heartbreaking.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a beautiful day.

24 thoughts on “Blessings Abound”

  4. You are a busy bee Ruth – right now we are having some heavy rain and rumbles, so hopefully you’re getting that rain to help what crops you still have left and have not been processed by your hard work. I am sorry to hear about your loss of chicks – seven is a lot. My mom used to make the sour cream and dill and garlic sauce for our cukes this times of year when they were cheap and plentiful and also putting them in a dish with vinegar and sugar.

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    1. We too are getting some heavy rain and thunder right now. 🙂 My grandma always had a dish of cucumbers and sliced onions in vinegar sitting on the counter. I remember eating them as a sandwich with butter on the bread. So simple – so good.

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      1. My mom used to make a cheese sandwich and pile on the cucumbers, or slice Spanish onion on it. I was not a fan and had it plain. This rain and tomorrow’s all-day rain will be very beneficial.

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    1. That sounds good Joni. I read that there was a good peach crop hear in Michigan this year. I might make a trip to the orchard to pick up some to can and east fresh. Fresh peaches sound so good.

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  9. Do you think with the losses then Ruth that chicks/young hens is still the way to go or maybe pullets or 6 monthers, first layers? I will be looking at getting hens sometime later this year and it was something l did wonder about.

    Years ago when l lived on a much bigger property l rescued fifty ex battery hens and then gave them a free range life, they were established layers and l had thought of doing that again, but of course they are older and shorter lived.

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    1. Most of our losses this year were due to predators (fox). The risk we take by raising free range birds. Personally, I prefer raising them from chicks because they get to know us from the start. If we brought in older birds I don’t think they would be as friendly.

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      1. We love having chickens and they are fairly easy to care for. I understand your concern though we kept them penned in for a lot of the summer only letting them free range when we could be out there.

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