There've been a few things pretty much on repeat in the kitchen these days. Lot of berry and melon eating and smoothie and cider drinking, and a good bit of making. Sauerkraut-making, drying herbs (mostly various mints, along with chamomile and tulsi and lavender and calendula and lemon balm) for tea and medicine, seed cracker-baking, mixing up different secondary fermentation ingredients for kombucha (my favorite was our fresh raspberries, but they are all done for now so I'm moving on to ginger-peach and lemon-ginger-mint and other such things), etc. There were a couple batches of raspberry jam made, and we are just starting to get into pickling for the summer. Mike recently made a large batch of refrigerator cucumber pickles and the green bean pile is getting to the point where I really need to gather up some dill and garlic and get to making some dilly beans. Plus, Claire is getting a little tired of me suggesting green beans each time she requests a snack. There is a part of me that is calling out for less canning and processing this year, but I think it's mostly just that initial hesitation to steam up the kitchen on these humid July days. I know my January and February self will heartily thank my mid-late summer self for the work and effort, and so... dilly beans and more jam it is. Blueberry-blackberry jam, it looks like.
What do u do w your calendula harvest?
ReplyDeleteI use a little in dried tea blends, but mostly I use it to infuse in oils for soothing salves and/or body oils.
DeleteOh my, it always seemed to be the hottest days when my mother and I would can up tomatoes and cook then freeze corn. Sticky summer nights in the kitchen! Helen
ReplyDeleteindeed! if only we could simply 'pre-preserve' the goods in the summer and put them on hold to process on a cold winter day.....
Deleteonce I get going with it, I'm all about it. it's just the 'getting going' part that holds me up a while ;)
mmmm... it all sounds amazing! i really want to make some kraut this summer, and pickles. we have been gone A LOT this summer. it has been really wonderful getting away because we are tied to home so much more than we used to be... BUT... i am really missing out on all the good summer preserving! we plan to stay home now though, and most of my favorite things are just getting started :)
ReplyDeletealso, i LOVE how you always photograph these things in the window light. sigh. SO. BEAUTIFUL. really wish i could learn how to make kraut in that kitchen with you. may have to pick your brain when i finally get started :)
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