Things Are Heating Up Around Here!

Yesterday afternoon was a perfect afternoon to spend in the barn working on a project with the boys. It was so windy and gloomy with the cold front moving in. It started to rain but we did not mind. We were in the barn having fun. We were busy making hot sauce. We have never made hot sauce before. Our peppers were so abundant this summer. We had plenty dried chilies for hot sauce. The boys looked around on line and found a pretty simple recipe and we went for it.

We first popped off all the green tops and stems. We then put the peppers in a large soup pot and covered with white vinegar.

We placed the pot on the stove and cooked the peppers until they turned to mush. It took a couple of hours.  We did add a bit of water after the peppers had cooked for a while. We then added a bit more vinegar to thin down the mixture toward the end of the cooking process.

After the peppers were cooked to the soft mushy consistency, we added one large, chopped yellow onion and about 7 cloves of garlic, chopped. We allowed the peppers to simmer for about 20 more minutes until the onions and garlic were cooked well. We then added about 1 tablespoon of sea salt and gave it a good stir.

We started ladling the pepper mixture in small amounts in to the blender and pureed it until there were no traces of seeds and pepper skins. It was pretty thick at this point. 

We then added a bit more vinegar and water to thin it down to the consistency we were looking for.  It isn’t as thin at Tabasco but at this point, we are thinking we will thin it as we use it, depending on what we are in need of.

I was pretty excited to get to use my new water bath caner. I think our son was excited about trying it out too. Papaw ordered it toward the end of canning season this summer and I had not used it yet. It worked out so great. It will water bath 18 wide mouth pint jars at once. Next year, canning will go so much quicker.

Our big pot of peppers yielded 21 pints of sauce. It was very inexpensive to make and it turned out quiet delicious. We are already discussing what types of peppers we will be growing next year.

My niece told me, she had always heard it said, an abundance of peppers in the garden means a cold hard winter is coming. She said, the saying makes sense since peppers are so high in vitamin C. I think there really could be something to that saying. Everyone I talked with this summer that grew peppers said, they have had more peppers than they could use. My freezer is full of red and green peppers to add to soups and stews this winter.

This is our son. He loves to get in on a good family project in the barn. He is so very helpful. He also really loves hot sauce.

Many blessings!!!

Happy Fall

Finally, I am updating my blog. I hope everyone has enjoyed this beautiful harvest season. We have had a beautiful fall here. The colors have been bright and varied. My heart goes out to all the folks along the coast that had their fall season cut short by hurricane Sandy. I do hope your lives and day to day routines are restored quickly.




           I can't believe I let most of the summer go by without posting a blog or two. I have to just be honest, I guess I was suffering from blogger's block. Even though, I was busy enough with the garden and canning and would have had content to share, I just had no desire what so ever to blog. I guess I just didn't have a desire to share my days. I think I am still suffering from a lack of words but felt I should at the very least, post something. Who knows, maybe my blogging spirit will return this winter.

Our new garden spot was a success this year. We did a lot of canning and putting produce in the freezer. I know we will be feeling blessed this winter. In the garden now, we still have kale, collards, turnip greens, spinach and sugar snap peas. All of those things like the cooler weather. We have really been enjoying our collard greens and the chickens have enjoyed them too.

Our chickens have really grown. From our clutch that we ordered in the late spring, we wound up with 11 roosters and 9 hens. We still have 2 red pullets from the past group but those gals are slowing down production. In the next couple of weeks, we will be pulling some of the roosters and putting them into the freezer. We are amazed at how much feed we are going through with the numbers we have right now. We are going to pick out two of the most aggressive males and keep them. We were in hopes we could free range them but we are not sure how Buddy will behave with them. I guess before we let go of any of the roosters, we will give them a shot. Buddy may just need to be taught a few manners and that many roosters surly can get him in line. We are also surprised at how much Barred Rocks want to hang out in the hen house even on a pretty day. As you can imagine, it sure makes it necessary to clean their house more often.

Doodlebug has been finding things to love about the cooler weather and the beautiful fall days. She has loved doing her laundry and using the clothesline. As you can tell from the photo, she is still very much so into bright colors. I am still having a hard time with how much she has grown. She is now 9 years old. Wow, do I feel old.

Well, my words are few but my heart is full. I wish you all the very best and maybe, just maybe, I'll be in a blogging mood again before long.

Blessings!