Apple Butter from Windfall Apples!

This has been the best apple year I've ever had.  I never spray my trees, so I have to cut out the bad spots.  This is a dishpan full of windfall apples... and... here are the jars of apple butter I made today!

I have never followed a recipe, as they call for apple cider and I didn't used to ever have money to buy that.  My apple butter is just made with cut up apples (no need to core or peel), some water, not a lot, and cooked slowly and put through the Foley Food Mill.

Then I add brown sugar, white sugar, lots of cinnamon and some ground cloves.  I don't measure anything.  I just throw it together until it tastes "right." Then I put it into a Crockpot, leave the lid off and cook it on low until it is as thick as I want it to be.

These were processed for 5 minutes in a steam canner.

It really is yummy.

THIS makes me happy!

I thinned some of the carrots in our garden.  This variety is called "Ox Heart."  They are very sweet and nice.  I was so pleased that my "thinnings" were so robust!

I got the seeds at Rareseeds.com.

They sell only heirloom (you can save the seeds) varieties and their prices are excellent!

Family Reunion - 2017

We just finished having a family reunion.  This is the first time in 12 years that all of our children and my husband and I have been all together.  The first picture here is from 12 years ago.  The second one was taken Monday.  :)

Spinning...

Here is the yarn I have made in the last 3 spinning group meetings.  We meet once a month at an Alpaca Farm.  It is always so relaxing and nice.  This yarn is hand carded, hand spun and washed from raw Jacob's fleece.  It is very soft.

First harvest of 2017!!!

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup!

The weather has been such, lately, that I have been able to forage a lot of oyster mushrooms.  I had two pounds of them in the refrigerator that I needed to use up, so here is what I did to make the Cream of Mushroom Soup.

The ingredients:

First, chop the mushrooms.

Next, melt 1/4 cup butter in a heavy skillet (mine is cast iron.)

Then stir and saute the mushrooms...

until they are tender and look like this:

There will still be some liquid in the pan. Next,

stir in the chicken broth and then the arrowroot 

powder in water (see recipe below.)

Keep stirring until it simmers and thickens.  Then,

stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk, 1.5 teaspoons salt

and a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper.

Last, transfer the soup to a mixing bowl, and using

a stick blender, blend it nicely.

Voila!  You can also blend it in a regular blender or

a food processor, but the stick blender makes it

so very quick and easy!

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 pounds cleaned mushrooms of your choice

1/4 cup butter

6 Tablespoon arrowroot powder (or corn starch)

1/2 cup water

3 cups broth (I used homemade chicken stock)

1/2 cup evaporated milk (or cream)

Chop the mushrooms and saute them in the butter until tender.

Add the broth and then the arrowroot mixed into the water.

Stir and bring to a simmer until thickened.

Add the salt, pepper and evaporated milk and combine well.

Pour the soup into a bowl and blend with a stick blender.

Enjoy!

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Are you tired of tips yet? - Saving salad....

When I make a tossed salad of raw vegetables, I usually make quite a bit, and it lasts for a few days for us.  Then, once in a while, it doesn't get eaten before it starts to oxidize and look rather pathetic. It would not be a bad thing to eat it, but it just doesn't look very nice, if you understand...

This morning, I chopped up some oyster mushrooms that I had gathered and part of a red onion that was in the refrigerator and mixed it together with the salad (leaf lettuce, onion, radish, sweet peppers, celery, carrots) and I stir fried it all in extra-virgin olive oil.  I cooked some brown rice in my Instant Pot and served it with Soy Sauce.

It was very good.  :)