PASTA SAUCE

I am so thankful to be blessed with a bountiful garden this year. We have been gathering fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions, green beans  and more! There is nothing better than the taste of a tomato fresh off the vine still warm from the sun! But even I can't eat all those tomatoes! How wonderful to be able to make something we need and want from that bounty - pasta sauce! 

Use fresh ingredients

If you want to put up some of your own sauce, first make sure all your vegetables are clean. Then cut out any bad spots and the stems of course. I use a food processor for the chopping. I have a pulse option and that helps a lot.  

Chop and measure

After two hours of simmering  and stirring, followed by 40 minutes of a boiling water bath, we have the finished product! The recipe made six quarts of really delicious pasta sauce! Of course I've already given a jar to my Dahling Daughter Dayna.  But have no fear. You too may enjoy this delicacy.  I am sharing the recipe here so you may try your hand at this too! If you don't have a garden, surely you can find a farmer's market for the best ingredients! Or...make a midnight run on my garden.  Ha! Ha! Ha!

The finished product waiting for my next meal!

I have to thank my sister-in-law Lynn for her authentic Italian family recipe! Here is the recipe if you would like to make some of your own!

Lynn's Family Recipe

If you can't read the fine print, let me know and I'll email the recipe to you.  Always follow safe food handling precautions when canning. Note that her recipe says you can freeze this sauce if you don't have a pot for processing your jars.

RASPBERRY JAM

RASPBERRY JAM

I don't spend ALL my time playing at the lake, sometimes I play in the kitchen! Making raspberry jam is such a long process, but I love to eat my PB&J every day and this is my favorite jam!  First I have to grow those raspberries. We put nets over these to protect them from the birds and also water them thoroughly once a week.

I pick berries every morning, but we only get a small bowl each day so I freeze them until there are enough for a batch of jam.  One thing about using frozen raspberries is that they crumble easily so I don't have to crush them.  The jam turns out just about the perfect consistency that way.  I measure all my ingredients following the directions in the box of Sure Jell to make cooked jam.

During the whole process, I wear rubber gloves. That way I can wash my hands in HOT water, stir without worrying about getting hot jam splashed on me, put the jars in boiling water without getting burned, etc.

I always process my canned jam in a boiling water bath

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I was only kidding about it being long and hard to make jam. Especially since we grow our own berries, the end product is worth the effort! I know I'm eating as close to nature as possible too! I can be convinced to share some of this deliciousness with you.  It can be shipped, delivered or you can come and get it! I'm sure it tastes great on things besides PB&J sandwiches...how about on biscuits, toast or ice cream?

Starting From the Ground Up

JoPapa and I enjoyed working in the yard and garden a couple of days ago.  Peg's Pantry is starting to run low so it's a good thing spring is just about here so I'll be able to restock.  JoPapa tilled in some organic compost - it was cotton mulch actually.  We had the soil tested and the manure and pH levels are great. We try to keep the garden and our produce chemical free.  So, I've spent quite a bit of time pulling weeds instead of spraying.  I pulled lots from around the berry bushes and the garden is ready to plant all over as soon as it is warm enough. You know, I have no qualms about poisoning the weeds in my yard. I'm not planning on eating the grass! ;-) We planted a couple of varieties of lettuce, some spinach, and some peas - they can tolerate the frost we got this morning.  I don't plan on preserving any of those vegetables, but I love to eat fresh from the garden and can't wait to start nibbling lettuce and spinach.  Maybe if you are in the neighborhood, you can come harvest some for yourself in a few weeks! Anyway, after watering, we discovered we hadn't tilled deep enough because the water washed out a mole tunnel! YIKES! A friend of ours said we can put gummy worms in the holes because moles can't digest gummy worms. It will cause the moles to become constipated...and then...expire. I'll leave it at that.  Last summer I was watering the yard and saw the ground moving. I dug up and whacked three moles that way. A hunting I will go... Oh, the sacrifices I make for an organic garden! Excited for spring and more gardening! Are you?