There hasn’t been a lot of knitting content of late as there hasn’t been a whole lot of knitting done. Mostly it’s been about getting food into jars. Lots and lots of food. The past weeks have been the apples. At one point the porch was loaded with apples and the honey still in the combs. Wow did that ever smell awesome! If they could make an apples and honey scented candle that actually smelled like our porch it would sell like crazy. I’ve been making some good smells myself. Applebutter, applesauce, apple pie filling, apple juice, apple jelly and caramel apple jam. I would estimate that I have gone through ten bushels or so thus far. The apples are all from unsprayed trees thus have the usual assortment of critters in them. Makes for some extra work when processing them but they are still tasty and useable.
I have also been experimenting with making sauerkraut. Ackley, my hometown, is the site of the annual Sauerkraut Days (can you tell we’re of German origins around here?!?), so I suppose that it is fitting. I was gifted two, new, three-gallon stoneware crocks this summer and each of them was pressed into service. One has a sweet sauerkraut in it and the other has a sweet sauerkraut with apples added. Neither are even close to full with cabbage. I’m guessing that they could each hold about twenty pounds of cabbage (they currently have five apiece). I learned while doing this that if sauerkraut is going to become a regular thing with me then I might be investing in a big cabbage cutter or a larger mandolin. I also found that making sauerkraut is kind of like honey extraction in that you get cabbage EVERYWHERE (though thankfully it’s not sticky). It just goes flying! However, it was kind of fun and I look forward to the results!
The tender herbs and houseplants are getting moved into the house a little at a time right now. I’m trying to get them in before freezing weather makes it a necessity, thus allowing for better choices as to where they should go. I’m also trying to get my mints ready for winter, which mostly means trimming them back. I will be making lots of mint jelly and apple mint jelly in the coming weeks. I have also been experimenting with some pineapple sage jelly that seems quite promising.
Not a lot of photos as my canning and sauerkrauting have been lonely endeavors of late and it is difficult to take a good photo when your hands are full!
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Sarah Jane Humke 