The garden is just beginning to bring forth what will be many blooming shrubs and flowers. One of my favorites is the Black Lace Elderberry. This shrub is best in a corner because it spreads up and sideways. In the spring it has these lovely light pink flowers amid the dark leaves. It requires light, but otherwise is a no maintenance addition to the garden. It thrives in heat and drought and looks good all season. Love it!
Summer Shrub
I am not a canner…have never canned in the traditional sense. But this year’s crop of tomatoes and apples have made me do something akin to canning. I have made tomato blue cheese soup, marinara, salsa, roasted tomatoes and frozen them for later use. I just discovered after 25 years that even if the apples look sort of worm-ridden on the outside, they are actually perfect on the inside. Who knew….I just assumed that if I did not spray for worms, that the apples would all have worms inside them, but that’s not the case. So I have just made 10 jars of apple butter from our old family recipe and with the apples left on the tree, I could make many more. I boiled the jars to make sure they were clean and then after I filled them, I put them back into boiling water and boiled for about 10 minutes. I have no idea if that will make the jars shelf-safe, but here’s trying. I can hear a couple of them popping their lids and have no idea what that means. I guess I should get my second refrigerator fixed so I have a place to store all of the bounties of my garden!
I still have something to figure out for the golden tomatoes I have left and I have a ton of apples that I could do something else with. I am not a fan of apple sauce and neither is Devin, so that idea is out. i think egg roll wrappers with some cooked apples inside and then fried up in the cast iron skillet might be next. T.
It is relaxing to can. I love to look at the jars sitting on the shelf, and I am tempted to not use them so I do not deplete my source of visual enjoyment. The latest addition to my shelf is Green Pepper Relish. I harvested 13 green peppers from the garden and I needed to preserve them, so here is the product. The recipe is very easy.
12 green peppers and 6 onions with 6 hot peppers (optional)
Chop peppers and onions in a processor and pour boiling water over them and let stand.
In a large pot, mix and boil
3 cups vinegar
3 cups sugar
3 TBLS salt
1 TEA celery seed and 1 TEA mustard seed.
Drain peppers, add to vinegar mixture and boil again. Pour into properly prepared jars and process 10 minutes in a water bath canner.
Voila!! Yummy over cream cheese served with crackers, a relish for hot dogs and any number of other uses.
