We Have Bubbles!

I tasted one of my pickle slices today and the pickles are nearly ready to put into the fridge or process.  As you can see, there are bubbles which form during the fermentation process and this fermentation actually started late in the first day of pickle making.

The slice I tasted has the beginnings of the good "tang" of a fermented pickle and has lost the pronounced cucumber taste.  Thanks to the grape leaves I put into the jar, they're also still crisp.  I think I'll let these ferment for another day or so then put them into the refrigerator.  I'll start another batch in a few days as I like this recipe.  I do think I'll add a little more hot pepper flakes to the next batch though.

If you think the pickles look murky and unappetizing, they actually don't.  I've used a grape leaf to help hold the cucumber slices under the brine then cut a circle from a deli container to use to make sure the slices are covered by the brine. The somewhat milky color of the deli container lid gives the pickles a murky look.

I don't know why the harvest always seems to come when I need to paint but maybe it works out that way because I'm not particularly fond of canning and freezing!  You know, maybe I'm using the need to paint as an excuse to get out of processing the harvest!

But, no, not really, I've been prepping some painting surfaces and they're all ready to receive the masterpieces that I'll surely paint on them so I'm just ready to get started!  lol  I have lots of subjects I want to paint and really want to get at them.

So, let me get at them!

Harvest Time

Pickled Okra and Jalapeno Peppers

It's that time of the year again when we have to do something with all the goodies from our garden.

Even though we no longer have a traditional working farm, we do like to have a garden and we certainly like to eat from the garden all year long.  In order to do that, we have to either freeze or can produce as soon as it's ready for harvest.

As I said, we love to have our own produce available during the winter months but preserving that produce sure eats into any art time!

Right now we have peppers of all kinds, tomatoes and a few okra plants producing like crazy and something needs to be done with it.  We enjoy sharing with friends & acquaintances who don't have a garden but even though we cut back on what we plant each spring, it seems we still have the same amount of harvest!

We canned 4 pint jars of jalapeno peppers today along with the okra but that's just a drop in the bucket as to what we'll use between now and next year's garden!  My husband loves hot peppers and could go through a jar in just a couple of days!  We plan to can quart jars of the various peppers tomorrow - oh, my burning hands!

We also put some fresh sweet corn in the freezer.  We don't plant corn because of the problems with deer and raccoons but a neighbor gave us some of his harvest today and it looks beautiful.  I know we'll enjoy it this winter too!

There are also tomatoes & squash in the freezer and I've made both fermented sour pickles and sweet bread 'n butter pickles and canned string beans.  The green beans, squash and cucumbers are nearly finished but we still have field peas left to harvest plus lots and lots of peppers.

Hopefully we can get everything in the freezer or the canner soon  and I can get back to painting.