He Who Walks Behind the Rows

For the record, I like corn.

Now that we have that out of the way, I plant several types of corn. Blue dent, bloody butcher, sweet corn and popcorn. I use them for feed as well as in my kitchen. I am partial to the dent corn myself.

But how? How can you grow so many types of corn without cross pollination problems?

Ah yes, that conundrum. Many tell you that corn must be separated a half mile to a full mile to prevent cross pollination. I have a large garden but not that big. Large, edible sunflowers have become my secret to many garden dilemmas. For starters, plant your corn in blocks rather than rows. This will allow the corn to pollinate each other by brushing up against one another ( hmmmm corn gropping) rather than relying on wind or bugs. Then plant the sunflowers to help block any potential wind carried cross pollination. I have been able to do this successfully for several years, and have seen no change in my corn.

I also plant in clay, without adding topsoil. Clay soil has lots of good in it, large plants thrive well in it. After several years of planting corn and sunflowers, and tilling under the stalks, my clay soil changes and small seed crops can then be grown there. A tip, if you fish, throw the leftovers from you cleaned fish at the base of your corn stalks. They love it.

Corn is another easy to grow food, as I said earlier, popcorn is a mainstay in traditional homesteads. Just don't bunch them up together as I have seen other suggests. The quality and quantity of corn you get is greatly reduced. These plants do fight, and none tend to win. You will end up with very small cobs and kernels, not worth seed saving.

Baby oil rubbed on the is as soon as they appear, does greatly reduce the amount of worms eating through your corn cobs.

I have a post on the nutritional values and why I think organizations warning people off raising their own corn is hog wash, over here. Becuase I feel most people merely tell you what they think you want to hear and what might sell their books. And if you click on the link at the top of my blog, recipes, you will find several ways to prepare corn.

Depression Gift; Play Dough

Children giving gifts to other children can be frustrating, especially when your recipient doesn’t live the same lifestyle as your own child. We have had a rule here for the past 3 years, nothing electronic for Christmas. And I mean nothing. This of course has caused my children to get very creative with their wants, and grandparents calling to tell me they found this gift, and they remember having so much fun with it as a kid. . . well, this makes grandparents very happy. They don’t have to figure out what’s cool and what isn’t, and they get to give things that they have special memories with. I digress, we are talking about giving gifts between our homestead kids and non-homestead kids, something that is super frustrating. Have no fear, Phelan is here!

Play Dough

I know, it is cheap to buy at the stores. But this is something easy to make. My kids love doing it, even my 12 year old, and so far no other child has complained about the gift. Plus this is a great way to rid yourself of stale or freezer burnt flour.

You will need;

2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup salt
1 tablespoon cream of tarter
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 cups of boiling water
various colors, you can use food coloring or make your own (carrots, beets, spinach)

mix the dry ingredients together then add the wet. Mix well. Once it is cooled off enough to handle, parents this will be your job, knead the dough for 3 minutes.


Break off balls as many as you want, and call in the kids. Give them the color and one of the balls, and let them go to town. Make sure they get the color through and through, this takes about 3 minutes. The little ones will tire of it after a bit, just step in before they get too grumpy.


This is completely edible, but because of the amount of salt, one taste will do them.


If the dough is too sticky when kneading, add more flour. Too dry, a bit of water. We keep these in 1/2 pint canning jars. This rarely drys out, if it does, add water and knead.

Firing Dough

This is a very personalized item. Having your children make ornaments or plaques that reminds them of their friend. If they met at a baseball game, or that time when the city friend thought he could catch a calf and ended up with a mouthful of mud. What ever the memory or just something the child likes, firing dough is a great child to child present.

You will need;

3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup salt
2 cups unbleached flour
food coloring or paints

Dissolve the salt in the boiling water. Stir to cool, then add all the flour at once. Mix until it forms a ball. Allow to cool to the touch, then knead for 6 minutes. If you are using food coloring, knead only 3 minutes, break into sections, and add the color, kneading each one for 3 minutes.

Cover what you aren’t using with a damp towel, and work your pieces into the shape you want. Add water or flour as needed. If you are hanging your art, make sure you add something to hold it up, paper clips work well.

Heat your oven to 225F for 15 minutes. Lay the dough shape on a foiled covered cookie sheet. Depending on the thickness, bake for 30-90 minutes. Cool and paint. Water colors are great for this. Once they are painted, place back into the oven at 150F for 30 minutes to remove moisture. Because this contains salt, you will need to preserve it so that it doesn’t draw in moisture, do this by covering it with a few coats of clear acrylic paint.

Basic Tomato Paste

You need paste to make various other tomato based sauces

makes about nine 1/2 pints

13 lbs Peeled,cored, chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 c Chopped sweet red peppers
2 Bay leaves
1 tbs Salt
1 Garlic clove; peeled

Cook tomatoes, peppers, bay leaves, and salt for 1 hour over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Press through a food mill and return to pot. Discard seeds and bay leaves.
Add garlic, and continue to cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring frequently, until tomato mixture is thick enough to mound on a spoon, about 2-1/2 hours. Or place in a low oven over night.

Remove garlic.

Pour hot paste into hot 1/2 pint jars to within 1/4 inch of tops.

Process in a boiling water bath 45 minutes.

Basic Red Pasta Sauce

10 lbs Tomatoes

3 tbs oil

4 1/2 cup Onions, chopped

3 Garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp Oregano, crushed

2 Bay leaves, crushed

1 Tbs Plain salt (non-iodized)

1 Tbs Sugar

1 tbs Black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper, crushed

1 tbs Parsley, dried

1 tbs Celery leaves, minced

Peel, core and chop tomatoes. Combine with rest of ingredients in heavy saucepan.

Simmer 2 hours stirring often until desired consistency. Pour into hot jars leaving 1/2" headspace.

Process 30 minutes.

Makes approximately 5-7 pints.

Cucumber Ketchup

I will be linking my canning recipes to the amounts on my sidebar. I know that I usually do this, but am late on it, and there are a few people that read on feed readers that have no clue what's on my sidebar, now they know.



1 quart cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 cup chopped onion
2 green peppers, cored and chopped
1/2 cup water
2 cups vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne
2 Tbl. mustard seeds in a muslin bag
1 Tbl. salt

Combine cucumbers, onions and peppers with water. Cook until tender.

Put through a food mill.

Add remaining ingredients and boil until thick and clear.

Remove the mustard seeds.

process in hot water bath, 1/2 pints 5 minutes. Pints 10 minutes

Blowing Away the Competition

Husband was told yesterday by his boss that he blew passed base time. That means he gets flag time, and several hours of flag time. WHOOHOO! Bring in more bikes, please. We have been stressing on money because he hadn't made flag time, and base pay barely covers the bills. Now we can add a little more to the savings.

I am a tad concerned about the weather. Last year we were only able to pull in 350lbs of produce due to the flooding and the cool temps. We aren't having the rain, though we have been threatened by the weather people that we will, but the cooler temps could be a problem with the tomatoes. The beans don't seem to be having a problem with it. We will see. But we are running very low on supplies from last harvest.

American Prepper's are giving stuff away, click to enter.

I have been feeling rather lonely lately. It comes and goes. There is that part of me that wants to take off and hit a bar, and another part of me that asks why? Phelan, you don't like to be around people very much, why put yourself in the situation. Because sometimes it is nice to pretend that I am not a country hick. And maybe I won't smell like cattle that one day. Of course if I was to break out the psycho babel, one reason is reclaiming a youth that I missed by having children and doing this homestead things so young. I was 17. But then again, it would just be nice to have an evening out, away from kids and livestock. Nothing mental about it, just a good time with close friends that I can go 6 months without seeing or talking to.

I am having issues with Murrial not standing correctly, that and her kicking me. Uma, our oldest calf, looks to be indeed pregnant. She is a fat little thing, as tall as my 5 year old and very very wide. Eddie's udder is starting to fill, but she shouldn't be due for 2 more months. I am thinking that my math might have been off and we will be calving in July. I am so excited about it. Babies are always exciting.

Waste not want not

Split Pea soup

16 ounces dried split peas
2 cups sliced sausage/ham hock
1 1/2 diced carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup hot milk

Using a crockpot, layer the first 9 ingredients in order, no stirring. Cover and allow to slowly cook for 5 hours. Pour in the hot milk and stir. Pour into your hot sterile jars (discard any large leaves) and process in a pressure canner for 40 minutes.


Pea Hull Jelly

4 cups juice from cooked hulls
5 cups sugar
1 package pectin

Wash pea hulls well, use as many as you wish. Cover with water. Boil until tender. Drain juice through several thicknesses of cheesecloth, reserving the liquid. Add pectin to measured liquid. Bring this to a boil. Add sugar and return to a hard boil (can't be stirred down). Hard boil for 10 minutes. Pour into hot sterile jars and seal. Water bath for 5 minutes.

What's in Bloom; Roses

Here is my rose petal Jam from last year.

To use rose petals; Gently wash and drain rose petals. Carefully remove the white/yellow part of the petals.

Rose petal Butter

1 cup of fresh rose petals
¾ cup of butter

Set butter out at room temperature just long enough to soften up for mixing.
Once soft, chop rose petals finely and stir into the butter.
Cover, and refrigerate. Let it sit for 24 hours so the rose flavor can settle into the butter.

Home-made rose butter will last about 2 weeks in the fridge, or freeze for several months.

Crystallized Rose petals

1 egg white, room temperature
48 Red Rose Petals, washed and drained
3/4 cup Sugar

Beat the egg white until foamy. do not over beat. Use a small pastry brush, coat each petal with beaten egg white. Brush lightly removing any excess. Immediately dip in sugar and place on a rack. Repeat with remaining petals. Refrigerate overnight to dry.

Rose Petal Sauce for Poultry

2 cups water, plus 1 cup
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon aniseed
12 red or pink roses with open blooms, petals removed
1 peeled red cactus fruit or 2 red plums, skinned
12 fresh chestnuts
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the2 cups of water to a boil, while in a separate large skillet, melt the butter and cook the aniseed and garlic together for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Place the rose and cactus fruit in a food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Using a knife, cut an X over the flat ends of the chestnuts. Use a hot cast iron skillet to toast them for 5 minutes. Once the shells open, toss them into the boiling water and allow them to cook for 15 minutes. Drain, and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel the chestnuts and add them to the pureed rose mix. Slowly add the remaining 1 cup of water while pureeing the mixture.

Reheat the skillet with the garlic/butter, add the rose petal puree and simmer for 10minutes. Whisk in honey, salt and pepper. Strain through a sieve or several layers of cheese cloth to remove any solids. Keep the sauce in a pan, and keep warm, drizzle over your pan roasted or oven roast poultry.

Rose Fritters

Use you favorite beer batter recipe, dip in rose petals, then fry until golden. Drain then sprinkle with powder sugar.

Rose petal Vinegar

2 cups white wine vinegar (heat to near boil)
1 cup rose petals
3 or 4 whole cloves

Gently crush the petals to bruise a bit.In a sterilized canning jar, place the rose petals and cloves. Pour hot vinegar over top, roughly mash the petals with a wooden spoon and seal. Set aside for 10 days at room temperature and in the dark. Shake one a day. Strain vinegar and discard the cloves and rose petals.

Rose petals can be added to every freakin' salad you can think of. Add them to just about any dessert, and so forth.

It was cute, our calf bull and our kid billy were testing each other. Forehead to forehead. I swore that the kid billy would win, ha He is the one with horns after all.

Italian Sausage

3 pounds well-marbled pork butt, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted fennel seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground anise
2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley leaves
3 tablespoons dry red wine
Pork casings, optional

Combine all and chill for 24 hours. Pass through your grinder, then a food processor. Stuff if stuffing, or leave as ground or shape into patties. Up to you. You can use a beef roast as substitute.

Insert finished photo here as soon as I find where my computer is holding it hostage.

Total pork weight as of this recipe 164.3 lbs.

TAG!!! Apple Sauce!

I was patching up one of the fences Sunday, we share a fence line with several horses, and they like to bend the fences over because the grass is greener on this side (I guess). When I heard hooves beating the ground. I looked back and sunny was running toward me. I stood up, and he stopped, so I went back to work, keeping my ear out for him. He walked up, and nudged my hair. I turned, not wanting him to grab a mouth full of it. I have had the goats do that before, not fun. Sunny pushed against my shoulder, made a high pitch horse noise and ran off. I shrugged and went back to work. Sunny came back, and repeated the nudge. I reached up to scratch him, and he took off. The third time he did it, I stood up and followed. He stopped a little ways from me and waited. But as soon as I got into a n arms length of him, he booked. I turned around to go back to my fence, when he ran back around. Once again waiting until I was an arm length away, before running off again. We did this several times, before he stopped running and allowed me to scratch him. He pushed his forehead into my chest. I am still trying to get over the fear of horse bites. I have heard horror stories to that effect. (Like a kid who got an ear bitten off, and that woman on AFV that got her chest bit, still don't see how half those videos were ever funny).

I told my husband about Sunny's behavior, and he said that Sunny has done that to him before, he seems to like to play tag.

In canning news,

I worked on a bit more of my apples. Somehow a bad one got into my cellar stored ones, so process we must, before the whole bunch is spoiled. I made Spiced apple butter. Same as apple butter (plain) except replace the water you soak them in with spiced rum.

Also made Apple Pie Apple sauce. Taste like Christmas.

Apples soaked until tender in water, and but through a food mill into a crock pot. 2 tablespoons of vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, cloves and ginger to taste. Cook on low until the preferred thickness of applesauce.

And then there were none

If you still have pears, you can chop them into small chunks and dehydrate them for later use. I use mine in my stuffing.



Traditional Pear Wine

1 gallon water
5 lbs very ripe pears
1 lb raisins
2 lbs ultra fine sugar
1 ½ teaspoons acid blend
½ teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 package wine yeast

In a large pot, boil the water. Chop the pears and place in your primary fermentation container. Add sugar and citric acid to the container. Pour boiled water over the pears and stir until sugar has dissolved. Allow it to cool to room temperature. Add the pectic enzyme and rest the liquid for 1 day.

Add yeast and yeast nutrient, cover, place in warm, dark location. Stir once a day for a full week. Rack in your secondary fermentation container. Seal with the airlock. Rack into your bottles after 3 months. Allow it to rest for 1 year.



Freezer Pear Pie

4 cups, washed, peeled and sliced pears
3 tablespoons tapioca
1 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon absorbic acid

Mix the absorbic acid with sugar. Mix all ingredients together.
Line an 8 inch pie plate with heavy foil, extending it 5 inches beyond the rim. Add the filling.
Loosely cover lining foil . Freeze until firm. Once firm, remove from pie plate and wrap tightly. Return frozen filling to freezer.
To prepare pie for baking; prepare a two crust pastry. Line a 9 inch pie plate with your pastry. Remove the freezer wrap from the frozen shaped pie filling. Place in your pastry . Dot with 1 tablespoon butter, sprinkle with cinnamon. Place top crust and finish pie as usual.

Bake at 350F for approximately 1 hour or until syrup boils with heavy bubbles.


Pear Bread
3 fresh pears
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F
Wash, pare, halve and core pears. Chop coarsely to make 1 cup. In large bowl, beat oil and sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the sour cream and the vanilla.
Sift together the flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg, beat into the oil-sugar mixture until well blended. Add the nuts and pears, mix well.
Spoon into well-greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Pear Cupcakes

4 cups fresh pears (cored and roughly chopped)
1 cup walnuts (chopped)
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 eggs, beaten1
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp melted butter
3-4 tbsp boiling water
1/8 tsp instant coffee crystals

Combine the pears, both sugars and walnuts in a medium sized bowl. Allow it to stand about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Line cupcake pan with paper liner are, grease the cups very well.
In a separate bowl, sift together all the remaining dry ingredients. Add this to the pear mixture and stir until just combined. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla and stir until combined. Do not over mix.
Fill cups until even with the top.
Bake 30-35 minutes until tester inserted in center of cupcakes comes out with only a few crumbs stuck to it.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Whisk together all the glaze ingredients until smooth and shiny. Place a dollop of glaze on the tops of each cupcake.

I could go on and on, with what you can do for pears. But I think this is the end for now.

You will need, Jam, Jelly, Butter and Ketchup

No commentary today, just the facts ma'am.

Pear Butter

9 cups of pears, washed, peeled and chopped
6 cups of sugar
juice of a lemon or and juice of 1 orange and the peel
Cook pears over a medium heat with some water to prevent sticking, until soft. Run pears through a food mill. Return to cleaned pan, add sugar and juice. Cook over a low heat, uncovered, until think enough that it will hold up a wooden spoon.

Vanilla Pear Jelly
8 large pears, stemmed and blossom ends removed, then quartered with peel left on
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups cane sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) box powdered pectin

Wash fruit. Place in pot and pour water to barely cover pears. Boil uncovered for 35-45 minutes. Fruit should look translucent. Strain the juice through a double layer of cheesecloth or use a jelly bag. Do not Squeeze, or the juice will become cloudy.
Sterilize jars.
Heat 3-1/2 cups of the pear juice (don't have enough? you can add as much as 1/2 cup water), add the vanilla and pectin. Bring to a boil, add the sugar. Bring back to a boil, until the sugar is completely dissolved and you are at a hard boil (hard boil means you can not stir it down) about 10 - 20 minutes.
You should begin to see the mixture thicken on the back of a wooden spoon and form 2 side-by-side droplets at this point.. Turn the heat down and skim off the foam. Return to a boil for another five minutes. Using the "spoon test", the jelly should be thick enough to "sheet" in small waves on the back of your spoon.
Pour into sterilized jars and add lids. B-w bath for 5 minutes .Makes 6 to 7 (8 ounce) jars.

Spiced Pear Jam
8 cups peeled finely chopped ripe pears (about 5 1/2 lb.)
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more according to your taste)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place all the ingredients to a dutch oven.
Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for 2 hours or until thickened.
Sterilize jars
Skim off foam with a metal spoon.
Pour immediately into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Remove any air bubbles and wipe jar rims.
adjust lids
Process in a b-w bath for 10 minutes.
Makes 5 half pints

Pear Ketchup
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 Tbsp. finely minced cooking onion
½ tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
4-inch sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves only, very finely minced
2½ Tbsp. pear vinegar
1 tsp. raw sugar
1 large star anise
1 small bay leaf

In a small frying pan over medium heat, melt butter and saute the pears for 2 minutes. Add onion and continue sauteing for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until the pears have softened but not turned color.
Remove from the heat allow to cool. Place the cooled pears in a food processor with salt, pepper, rosemary, vinegar, and sugar, puree. Return the mixture to the frying pan, add the star anise and bay leaf. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of ketchup.
Remove the ketchup from heat and set aside to cool for 1 to 2 hours. Discard the bay leaf and star anise and taste--if the pears used were too sweet, you may want to add another ½ tablespoon of vinegar.
You can keep refrigerated for 6 weeks and frozen for 6 months. This recipe only makes 3/4 cup of ketchup.


I wonder what will happen tomorrow.

Pear Busters

With a combined experience of 350 years in apricot dancing, your hosts use their past experiences to sort out the truths of the pears.

Today on Pear Busters, we received a letter from Holly. She was amazed to hear that a man had turned a pear into Ice Cream. I think it is plausible, but the only way to find out for sure is to Bust Pears!

We tried various techniques, from pushing and pulling, to biting and creaming, but the results were never what we had hoped for. The pears turned out to be nothing but frozen clumps. Then, last night we were watching Pear Week, on the Neophyte Channel, and the episode of When Pears Attack made things click. I mean this wouldn't be an episode of Pear Busters if we didn't find our own way of busting this pear.

Here's what we discovered. . .

Canned pears make and excellent sorbet!

Ginger Pear Sorbet
1 jar pear halves
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Drain the pears. Reserve 1 cup of the syrup, set pears aside.
In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and reserved syrup to just a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Using a blender, process the pears, lemon juice and ginger until smooth. Add in the cooled syrup, cover and process until pureed smooth. Pour into an 11-in. x 7-in. dish. Cover and freeze for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until only partially frozen. Return the mixture to the blender, process until smooth. Place in a freezer container. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 3 hours. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving.
Makes 3 cups


We also discovered that you can use the pear raw.

Brandy Pear Sorbet
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup sugar
5 pears
1/2 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons brandy
heat the 3/4 cups apple juice with sugar in a Small sauce pan, bring to just a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Wash, peel and quarter pears. Puree the pears with the 1/2 cup apple juice and brandy. Pour cooled syrup over the puree and process until well combined. Place in a freezer container, cover and freeze for 2 hours. Reprocess in the blender. Refreeze.
Makes 8 cups

These all can be placed into your 1/2 pint jars to be frozen. Just leave 1/2 inch head space.

So is this Pear Busted? Nope, Sorbeted!

Hope you are enjoying Pear Week on the Neophyte Channel. Coming up. . . "I would say he was yea big." "NO! DON'T GO THAT WAY!" "I never saw it comin'. It was just, oh goodness, there. ya know." "Never saw anything like that before." "Today we will find him, and prove he really does exist."

Got Pears?

I have a trunk loaded down with hard pears. And as sore as I seem to be this morning, a sarcastic, whoopee!

Today we will start simple, and hopefully get increasingly creative with our pears throughout the week. Oh yes my friends, you are entering PEAR WEEK! Some material may not be suitable for children under the age of 14.

When Pears Attack.

Phelan was a stay at home mom. Making a living writing about the thing she loved the most, pears. Her research took her out to her squatter's mother's boyfriend's house, Where a hard pear tree stood alone. It's branches reaching down, yearning to devour all that might creep under it. Phelan has spent many years studying the pear, and felt confident that she could handle what laid ahead. Little did she know that this pear tree harbored ill will toward the homesteader.

She calmly walked up to the tree, making pear soothing noises, something that only a handful of people in the world are able to master. She reached up to pluck one of the many pears, when. . . OH THE HUMANITY.

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Phelan, a writing homesteader, reached up to pluck the pear from the tree. It snapped off gently, but sent a ripple throughout the branch. An avalanche of pears came down on her head. The pear tree was set in motion, his revenge began. Luckily for us, Phelan was so use to the migraines, that a little bonk on her head did nothing to deter her. She spoke to the pear tree in his native tongue, words that we can not repeat here on daytime television. Then set herself in motion to remove the trees weapon of choice. She threw them into her trunk, and removed them from the scene. Hoping that this would save any future traveler harm. She brought the pears home, where she could study them further. The first thing she discovered was that they could be caned in a simple syrup.

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With the pears now in her laboratory, Phelan set to work to discover their secrets. Simple syrup seemed to be the easiest and quickest way to pacify the trees weapons.

4 cups water or juice
2 cups sugar
yields 5 cups thin syrup

Wash the pears, cut them in half or in quarters. Core them (stems removed), use some lemon juice the keep their color true. Pack into pint or quart jars, pour boiling syrup over them, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Adjust lids. Process in a B-W Bath (boiling water bath) 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts.

With this first step in the research, Phelan came to discover that these canned pears make excellent pear pudding later on.

Are you prepared for PEAR WEEK!

Pizza the Hut was found dead earlier today in the back seat of his stretched limo.

This is for 1 pizza. It doubles easily.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seed

• Using a large skillet, melt the butter with the oil. Add onion, celery and garlic and saute until soft and transparent.
  
• Add tomato sauce and paste, stir until smooth.
  
• Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a slow simmer.
  
• Simmer for 30 minutes.
  
• Remove the bay leaf and pour into your sterile jars. Process in a food bath for 40 minutes.

For those with simpler tastes

28 oz crushed tomato

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 large garlic gloves, minced

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Mix all together and set aside for a few hours. Pour into a sterile jar and process for 40 minutes in a hot water bath.

These recipes are for 1 pizza. I did it this way because pizza making is not a necessity on a homestead, but having premade sauce on hand sure makes things a lot easier some days. I am assuming that everyone knows how to make paste and plain sauce. If not, yell at me and I will be happy to tell you how to do it.

Catch up, would you.

As the hysteria that is canning season peaks, the titles of my posts will be groaners. As I tell my kids, that's how I roll.

Yesterday I processed 6 pints of Ketchup. you will need,

1 house to yourself
3 Cd's
6 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium onions, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup water
3 pounds tomatoes, quartered
5 Tablespoons vinegar
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 Tablespoon whole cloves
1/2 Tablespoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon salt

If it is cool enough outside, open back door. Put Cd's in CD player, and start player. (my first selection was Sound Garden "B Side")

Carefully wash, core and quarter your tomatoes. Placing them in a heavy stock pot. Using a potato masher, smoosh the heck out of them. Cook over a medium heat. Bring to a light boil for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile. . .

Put you celery, onion and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over a medium heat. You will need a "Spoonman" to stir the mix occasionally. Cook until almost soft, 25 minutes.

Add the celery and onions to you mashed tomatoes, continue cooking until the vegetables are completely softened, 15 minutes. Strain tomato mixture in small batches through food mill into another small stock pot.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Place the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring often to be sure that the ketchup is not sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens, kind of, for 15 to 20 minutes. Ladle into your sterilized pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for at least 40 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 pints.

I make larger batches of this recipe. I managed to listen to all 3 of my cds. I discovered yesterday that the stupid, embarrassing mom dance is hereditary. As I wiggled to some System of a Down, singing at the top of my lungs, stirring my ketchup over the stove. My neighbor walked in my open door. Let the giggle commence.

What's the Dilly, Yo?

I heard you. You hate sweet pickles, same here. Yesterday I put up some Kosher Dill Pickles.

4 quarts water
6 tablespoons coarse white Kosher salt
18-20 cucumbers, scrubbed
8 cloves garlic, unpeeled and lightly-crushed
2 tablespoons pickling spice (recipe below)
6 bay leaves
1 large bunch of dill, going to seed, washed

In a large pot, heat 1 qt of the water with salt until dissolved. Add the remaining water.

Sterilize 3 quart canning jars

divide the garlic, spices, bay leaves, and dill amongst them.

Pack the cucumbers vertically into the jars, making sure are very tightly-packed.

Fill the jars with brine so that the cucumbers are completely covered. Hot water bath for 20-30 minutes. Ready to eat in 3 days.

Pickling spice:

2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon ground mace
2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces
24 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger.

In a small dry pan, combine peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and stir until fragrant, careful not to burn them. Keep the lid handy in case seeds pop. Crack peppercorns and seeds in mortar and pestle (or use the side of a knife on cutting board).

Mix together all ingredients. Store in a tightly sealed plastic or glass container.

This is why the kids love me

8 ounces of ring pasta ("O" shaped) you can make these yourself. A basic flour pasta recipe. As for the shape, I am sure you can buy something to cut them out. My husband has made me a small little machine that will make the rings. Sorry still no camera.

1 can condensed tomato soup or 10 3/4 oz. 1 peck ripe tomatoes (12 1/2 lbs) 4 slices of white onion, 12 sprigs of parsley, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp peppercorn, 1 tsp celery seed, 1 tsp cloves, 2 TB salt, 1 TB sugar. Wash and halve tomatoes. Place herbs in a piece of cheese cloth, tie and add to the pot of tomatoes, mix in the rest of the seasonings. Bring to a low simmer for 1 hour. Drain through a food mill, into another large pot. can what you won't use for this recipe. You can reduce this recipe without issue. To make the soup (mock) condensed, make a smooth paste of 1 T flour and a little water. Add 1 cup tomato soup slowly and mix well. Cook until thickened.

1 cup (8 ounce can) tomato sauce 1/4 cup olive oil, 6 tomatoes, chopped 3 sliced onions, 2 green bell peppers, sliced, 4 cloves garlic, minced, 3 tablespoons white wine. Place garlic, bell pepper and onions in cheese cloth, tie and add to a sauce pan with tomatoes, stir in all ingredients. Simmer at least 30 minutes, drain through a food mill to make smooth.

dash garlic powder

dash dried oregano

dash dried basil

Cook pasta until tender. Drain well, pat dry. In a saucepan, mix soup, sauce, and seasonings. Simmer gently, stirring often, so not to burn, until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the drained pasta. toss, add more water if needed to the sauce. If canning see below

I do not have the original meatball recipe. But that's ok, I have better meatballs. Use your own recipe, make sure the are small.

Disclaimer time! The USDA says you should not can pasta. But if you are going to do it anyway, I'll tell you how to.

Pack them into the jar, loosely and then add your sauce. Processing takes the same amount of time as your meats do, 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts at 10 pounds pressure, unless you live at an altitude more than 1,000 feet; consult your canning manual for directions for increasing your pressure.

Have a great Labor Day! We are off to go apple picking. See you tomorrow.

Why, Hello My Little Peach

I took a break from grapes yesterday and tackled some of those peaches that have been patiently waiting for me.

Peach pie filling

3 lbs peaches (peeled, cored and sliced)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crystallized ginger

Mix together and stuff into 1 quart and 1 pint jars. you an freeze or process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.

you will need tapioca for a thickening agent when you go to use the filling. 3-4 tablespoons. (if you want your pie to have a lattice top, mix tapioca with only 2/3 of the filling, place the 1/3 without on top of the 2/3 with. This will prevent the tapioca from getting hard)

If you want to use this filling for something other then pie. Make up some buttermilk biscuits for breakfast. Heat peaches in a sauce pan, adding 1 cup heavy whipping cream to every pint of mix. Pour over hot biscuits, and watch as everyone devours it and begs you for your share.

Tomorrow is my turn to post at Woman not dabbling, I have been going over and over what recipe I should post. Here's where you can help. We all seem to be knee deep in some sort of produce, what one do you need a recipe for. I will use the most commented produce as my subject, and post a not so normal recipe for it tomorrow.

Sweet Pickeled Cucumbers

Am I boring you yet with all this food preserving talk?

2-1/2 pounds 3-inch pickling cucumbers, well-scrubbed and quartered into spears (about 12 cups spears)
4 cups cider vinegar
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 heads dill
2 medium sweet white onions, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 12 1/2inch-thick slices
7 whole cloves

Place cucumbers in a large bowl.

In a large saucepan, stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, cloves and pepper. Bring to a boil over a high heat, stir to dissolve sugar. Pour hot vinegar mix over sliced cucumbers. Allow to sit until cool enough to touch.

Put dill and 1 slice of onion at the bottom of each of your sterile jars.

Pack into sterile quart jars. ladle vinegar mix over cucumbers in the jar, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in hot water bath for 5, 10, 15 minutes depending on how high you are from sea level.

Got leftover juice? Pickle sweet peppers the same way, or make sweet cucumber relish.

Onto other things. I was finally able to milk Eddie, our most recent cow mom. I pulled a quart, and allowed the calf, Urth, to have the remainder.

Blueberry butter and Grape Jam

I will not rehash the blueberry butter scene, I posted the recipe here, back in July of last year.

Hectic morning! Boys start school today! I thought it was tomorrow!

Grape Jam

6 c. prepared fruit (about 4 lbs. ripe grapes)
1 box powdered fruit pectin
7 1/2 c. (3 1/4 lbs.) sugar

Prepare grapes, by mashing through a food processor. Place into a large pan, stir in pectin and bring to a boil. Stir in sugar all at once, bring to a hard boil over high heat for 1 full minute. Remove from heat, and strain through a cheese cloth. Remove any foam. Place into your hot sterile jars.

More food to talk about tomorrow.