Pardon the Garden

Confessions of a lazy wannabe homesteader

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Fair Day

July 2, 2013 Marie Leave a Comment

IMG_7169 IMG_7170 IMG_7184 IMG_7191 IMG_7193 IMG_7197 IMG_7203 IMG_7205 IMG_7215 IMG_7217 IMG_7220 IMG_7230Fair week. The one time a year I get my farm animal fix. The bunnies, the chickens, the sheep and goats and cows… the goats and the bunnies are my favorite. The goats this year were so very sweet. I spent a fair amount of time just petting them (whereas the sheep weren’t very social and didn’t want anything to do with me) and one of the 4-H kids gave me handful of feed so I could feed one of them ♥♥♥

 

Featured, Posts farm dreaming, out & about, summer

Jam Pot: Blueberry Muffin Jam

July 1, 2013 Marie Leave a Comment

IMG_7108 IMG_7109 IMG_7118 IMG_7127 IMG_7131 IMG_7147 IMG_7154

 

I’m on ‘staycation’ this week. It’s becoming a yearly tradition, though it’s really less about taking a break from routine and more about the fact that my birthday is right next to the 4th of July and I’m not actually using a full week of vacation by taking it off. Kind of like a mini-holiday, I guess?

I spent the weekend feeling restless and somewhat agonizing over what I should do with my week of freedom. The weather here is dreary, with rain in the forecast daily. Not exactly pool weather. I stressed a bit about the rain, because who wants to be stuck indoors on what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation? But then I made the executive decision to not care about the weather. It isn’t something I can control. It’s also just rain. I’m not going to let some silly rain ruin my week, no sirree!

So this morning, bright and early and barely awake, I drove down to my friend’s house to pick blueberries. She has a very lovely blueberry bush that is just FULL of ripe berries, and she kindly offered to let me come pick them in exchange for giving her a jar of what I make. DEAL! I picked that bush for two full hours, grabbing every berry I could reach. Delicious, tasty, local blueberries. I’m in heaven, here! Then it was off to my parents’ house, where they have a little raspberry patch. Mom has already picked a lot of berries already, but over the weekend more ripened.  And wouldn’t you know it, it didn’t rain more than a sprinkle the entire time I was out!

On the way home I stopped by the local farm store and bought myself some of those adorable 4oz mini jelly jars. I also treated myself to a new canning pot, since it’s my birthday week after all. :)  The one I have been using I picked up at the thrift store for crazy cheap, but it is really quite large, especially when I’m just making small batches of jam. This new one I picked up is perfectly sized for jelly jars. I love my thrifted canning pot dearly, but I have to admit having something shiny and new is a nice little treat! I’ve felt like quite the little farmgirl today with my basket of berries and my canning equipment. I still have that dream of a farm. We still look around for the right house to come along. One of these days my farmgirl dreams will be a reality, I swear it.

I made, in all, 12 mini jars of jam, I have 4 trays in my dehydrator for dried blueberries, and I still have a gallon-sized zip lock bag full of berries in the refrigerator. I honestly can’t believe I picked that many berries in two hours. I started off with a batch of blueberry basil jam from Cupcake Rehab, which is an interesting combination in a really good way! Then I moved onto a blueberry citrus marmalade from SB Canning, though I cut the recipe in half. And then, in a burst of inspiration, I made what I think might be my favorite blueberry jam: Blueberry Muffin Jam. Yep, you read that right. Jam that tastes like a blueberry muffin. My super secret ingredient? Cake-flavored vodka.

Blueberry Muffin Jam (makes 4 4-oz mini jelly jars, or 2 regular 8oz jelly jars; adapted from Cupcake Rehab’s blueberry basil jam recipe)

  • 2-1/3 cups fresh blueberries
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 c cake-flavored vodka

Cook berries, sugar, lemon juice, and vodka until mixture reaches about 220 degrees F (this isn’t exact – my thermometer never got that high, but I could tell from experience when it was ‘ready’). Ladle into sterilized jars, clean the rim if you need to, top with lid and secure band to fingertip tight, and process in your water bath canner for about 10 minutes. Pull out and set someplace out of the way to cool (and maybe cheerfully say “tink!” every time you hear one of the lids pop… someone please tell me I’m not the only one who does this!)

If you’ve never canned before and aren’t sure where to start, Ball Canning has a lot of good information. Also, Food in Jars. I promise it probably feels overwhelming before you do it, but after a batch or two you’ll feel more confident to start canning other awesome treats :)

Featured, Posts farm dreaming, food, garden, preserving, recipe, summer

Self-Inflicted Torture

March 2, 2013 Marie Leave a Comment

ducklings chicks chicks2

So there you are, heartsick and confused in the passing lane, wondering why you cannot stop thinking about heritage livestock and electric fences. Do not be afraid. You have what I have. You are not alone.

You are suffering from Barnheart.

From Jenna Woginrich of Cold Antler Farm. Read the rest here.

 

Thanks to a Facebook friend, I learned today that my local Tractor Supply Co. had their baby chicks in. So of course I made up found a reason to drive out there and see them (more on that later). Which really is some serious self-inflicted torture for me. #1, we live in town and in 2010 our local city council banned “farm” animals – rabbits included – inside the city limits (I can have a noisy, smelly dog that barks at everything but can’t have two pet chickens that provide me with eggs to eat… yeah, I’m still a little bitter). So the only thing I can do right now is look longingly on these cuties and keep searching the real estate ads for the right place at the right price in the country. #2, Country music. Seriously. I cannot stand country music. And it is clearly the music of choice for any farm-type store. Is there such a thing as the non-traditional/alternative farm store? Where maybe The Black Keys, Beastie Boys, or pretty much any non-country tunes are being played over the loudspeaker? Because that’s where I want to shop.

Someday my little farm will stop being a dream and finally be a reality. Someday.

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