It's a Jungle out there

Its a jungle out there! No I'm not really referring to life in general , but more my garden. Over the past month ( just like every year) Canning, Soap making , filling honey jars , and everything else that comes along with having a small farm/homestead, has  taken a majority of my time.

I'm not complaining! Honey and Soap sales have been amazing and its kept me on my toes, printing labels, filling honey jars, taking care of online sales, and making soap.


Our harvest this year has been outstanding, so the kitchen has been an all to familiar place for me,, canning and putting up the years harvest ( oh so worth it come winter!)

 Robb has been attending the farmers market every week to give me time to catch up on canning. But I did get to attend the Howard Street Exchange Fair. Depsite some showers, it was a great turn out , and sales were good!

 

and here I am,, with a goofy look.. I think I may have been mid blink ;)



 So anyway....This morning I found time to walk out and face the inevitable , my back garden. once a sight to behold, now looked overgrown and somewhat  well, errr,.....abandoned.

        Pretty!!!!

And Pretty embarrassing , I know.......


Now if I want to plant a fall garden , I need to do it soon. So the first step, before I even swoon over some heirloom seed catalogs ,  was getting in there and pulling out  spent plants, wrestling tomato plants from their cages, and weeding weeding weeding.. It was an absolute gorgeous 70 degree morning and cloudy.,a gardeners perfect weather! It felt so good to get my hands in the earth again and reclaim my space as I pulled each weed from the dirt!

A couple of hours later and bit of sweat n elbow grease and Ive made a substantial amount of room for some fall planting.

and I even got some goodies outta the deal ;)

and made a friend :)

 I picked a good amount of Basil for more pesto ( see recipe Below) and then Ill pull the rest of the plants. While I hate to do it, I just don't need anymore basil and need to make room for some cool weathers.


And back to the house to make more Homemade Pesto and freeze some basil for wintertime seasoning....

We use pesto for Pasta ( obviously), Fajitas, Pizzas, and its makes an outstanding topping on your favorite cracker combo!


Pesto Recipe

4 Cups Basil leaves ( packed
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Cup Pine Nuts ( I use almond slivers, you can use any nut really :)
1 Cup parmesan cheese ( you can add this now or later, If I am out, I just mark the bags to remind myself to add it once thawed.)

Stick all of it in a blender and blend.....

I pour mine into ice cube trays,, and them throw in the freezer, once frozen pop them out and put them in quart freezer bags. Be sure to suck the air out of the bag with a straw so they don't get freezer burn. ( I put a straw in the corner of the bag , suck the air out and quickly remove straw and seal.) I put about 4-5 per bag for a serving.

Freezing Basil on its own......

Want some fresh basil in the middle of winter??Just remove leaves from stem, toss in olive oil and freeze!! Voila!

Next up... The Greenhouse........... Like I said.. It's a Jungle out there ;)


Blessings,

The Cools