Adventures in Pickling

Over the weekend GadgetMan and I had the opportunity to participate in a Preparedness Workshop.  We were asked to teach a class on pickling.  Okay…I can not say why this happened

Garden Triumphs

Winter seemed to drag its feet into spring and now spring is racing into summer.  Even though our weather here doesn’t get to freezing very often, little spring is still frustrating for gardens.  Weather in the high 90s and low 100s is always hard on young plants…any plant really.  I always worry that my little garden is going to scorch.  But so far so good.  Things are covered and shaded as need be and seem to be doing well if not thriving.  Here are a few pictures of my particular triumphs.

Strawberry Heaven

If I had to pick a favorite fruit I’d have to say strawberry.  There’s nothing like enjoying a bowl of strawberries in milk…with a light dusting of sugar.  I love them in ice cream…with shortcake…dipped in chocolate…and even all by themselves!

Orange Trial and Error (Big Time)

Want to see my wonderful canning bungle?

Lemons

With the pile of lemons we got last month, I got about 3 cups of Lemon Zest, about 3 cups of Citrus Candy, 9 quarts of Lemon Bug Repellent, about 3 gallons of Lemon Juice which I then used about 2 gallons of that for several pints of Lemonade. The recipes follow.

Lemons, Lemons Everywhere

Our climate here is perfect for citrus. I’ve seen many wonderful examples of that all over the area, but I’ve only had minimal success.

Pomegranate Harvest

My pomegranate tree is only 3 years old, but we’ve already had 2 years of harvest from this bushy tree. Technically, the pomegranate tree is really a bush…but it can be trained as a tree, which is what we’re aiming for. Each winter/spring pruning season a few more branches are removed from the lower section (along with any suckers and dead and stray limbs). It’s amazing how much this tree grows in a season.