Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

The recipes I have found until now for strawberry-rhubarb jam have always been rhubarb mixed with strawberry jello. I wanted to be able to use real strawberries though. I finally found a recipe using real strawberries in Ball Blue Book of Preserving. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is starting out canning and preserving foods. Here is the recipe. It is delicious.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam
2 cups crushed strawberries
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 package powdered pectin
1/4 cup lemon juice (need this to make sure jam is at proper acidity to prevent spoiling)
5 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp margarine or butter (my addition; helps keep foam down during boiling)

Measure out sugar into a bowl. Set aside. Put crushed strawberries, cut-up rhubarb, pectin, lemon juice and butter in large sauce pan. Make sure pan is tall enough that mixture will not overflow while boiling (it will double-triple in size while boiling). Over medium high heat bring to a rolling boil (cannot be stirred down). Make sure to stir constantly to prevent scorching. Stir in premeasured sugar. Bring back to full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Keep stirring constantly during this whole process. Set aside off burner. Stir and skim off foam occasionally for 5 minutes. In meantime, get jars ready. Ladle into jars, close and water bath can for 10 minutes. This made about 8 half-pint jars for me.

When making jam it is important to not cut down on sugar amounts or change fruit combinations. This is what works to make jam gel properly.

I really enjoy making jam. I make several different kinds each year. It also makes great teacher gifts as well as hostess gifts. Successful jam and jelly making is a matter of following directions exactly.

Strawberries

This afternoon, I was able to get some "second" strawberries from our local orchard. They are just as good but not as pretty. They are about 1/3-1/2 the price. My patches provide us with enough to eat fresh but I needed to get some to make strawberry jam, bread and put some away for the winter. While I was there I overheard a conversation of a person telling someone how to freeze them. Here is what I do.

First, I wash them by putting them in water that goes over all of them. I then swish them around in the sink and transfer to a strainer. Next, I hull and cut out the bad spots. For strawberries that I know I will be using for strawberry shortcake, I slice them and measure out 6 cups. For the rest, I leave whole. I then put the finished strawberries in a freezer bag, label them and put them in the freezer. It is that simple.

Next time, you are at Farmer's Market, ask the farmers if they have any seconds and the price. This is a great way to put away some strawberries for the dead of winter. They taste really good then. 

Baby Chicks

The baby chicks are growing up fast. They are now almost 10 weeks old. The older chickens are still not joining in with them but they are now occupying both the run and the coop together. This seems to get better the older they get. I read recently that you should not add new chicks until they are about 8 weeks old. I will have to remember that next time and see if the transition goes better with all of them.

The chicks are starting to get friendly. They softly cluck at me when I am working around them and are curious to what I am doing. They also have learned that I am the "treat" lady and come running when they here me call. They have not started begging like the big ones yet for table scraps.

Chuck has finished the meat bird coop and run. This weekend we should be bringing over the rest of the chicks. They can finish off their days scratching for bugs, seeds and eating grass. It will be fun to watch their transition over the weekend.

Tornados

As I said in another post, both my daughter and husband helped with tornado clean-up after an E5 tornado hit Parkersburg, Iowa a couple of years ago. They both learned a lot from the 4 days they spent there. The biggest lesson being that life is never for certain and that things are just things and can be taken away in an instant.

Our church youth group does a mission trip each year. This year they were planning on going one place but the details never seemed to work out for them. Instead, in a matter of a couple of weeks things fell into place for them to go to north east Alabama area to help with tornado clean-up. This will be an eye opening experience for the youth and adults involved in this trip. They will be leaving Sunday, June 5 and coming back on June 11.

When my daughter heard this week that they were going to Alabama, she stated to us, "I knew when I saw the news coverage of the tornado damage in Alabama that that is where God was going to send us." She was right. Please keep them in your prayers as they travel next week and as they clear debris. It will touch their lives forever. I know it did Mary the first time around.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a nicely tart vegetable that bakes up into many things. I grew up eating rhubarb and was happy to find out later in life that it is also good for you, It grows well up north where I am from but I have had some difficulty growing it here in Kentucky. I have found a type that does better with our hot summers and planted it so it does not get direct afternoon sun.

Here is one of the recipes I like to make with it. You can also make the same recipe and put it in a pie crust if you so chose. I save pie for special occasion because of the extra fat and calories contained in the crust.

Rhubarb Crisp
1 pound or 4-5 cups fresh, chopped rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar or Splenda

topping
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
3-4 TBLS butter

Combine rhubarb and sugar. Place in sprayed 8x8 pan. Mix first 3 topping ingredients together. Cut in butter until topping resembles fine crumbles. Spread over top of rhubarb mixture. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until rhubarb is soft when fork poked into it.

This tastes really good as it is but can be served with ice cream or whipped cream on top.

Rabbit Escapee

Mary came in a little while ago after feeding the rabbits to tell me that someone's pet rabbit was out in the yard. It was black and very friendly. I asked her if she was sure that it was not one of ours. She told me she had counted them and made sure that they were all accounted for in the hutches. I saw our cat prowling behind it so I ran out to catch and put it in a safe place until someone could claim him. In the meantime, Mary left for work.

I locked the cat in the house. Next, I went out to double check Mary's counting because the black rabbit was looked very familiar and came right up to me. Sure enough, it was one of ours. It must have escaped while she was feeding them. I put on some gloves so I could grab it anyway I could while I was trying to get her.

I spent 1 minutes trying to walk up quietly, lure the rabbit in and then pick it up. Once she realized I was trying to catch her, she would not run away but hop quickly in another direction so I could not get her. Luckily, we have a fenced in yard and it contained her in our cat and mouse game. Finally, I was able to catch her. She fought me as I put her back into the hutch. She was enjoying the grass below.

Our little black rabbit is now back in her hutch with her brother and sisters probably telling tales of her little adventure. When Mary gets home, I will have to work on her counting skills.
   

Wonderful Trip

Today is back to reality for me. I have had an amazingly, relaxing good time the past week. My sisters took me on a 4 day cruise to The Bahamas and it was wonderful. I have been excited about it all along but a little leary about being on a boat since I get car sick very easily. I had very little trouble with it though on the ship. I just took the non-drowsy motion sickness medication regularly while I was on the ship. It worked great.

We saw some awesome things while we were gone. We spent one day on a private island leased by the cruise ship company. It was a magical place. There were hammocks and beach chairs everywhere. The ocean water was pristine and you could see lots of sealife while you were there. A stingray about 3 feet across swam right by us while we were swimming.

We also spent a day in Nassau which is the capital of The Bahamas. The buildings are all painted bright pastel colors to match the flora that is there. We went on a boat which had an underwater extension. We were actually down in the water and could see the coral reefs there. We saw several varities of marine life including a sea turtle.

Today is my first day back to real life. I am so relaxed though after last week. I had a great time and thank my sisters for making it possible for me to go.

Trip

Mary and I spent the last few days trying to catch up on all of our planting. It has finally stopped raining long enough we could get back into the garden. We put the last two plantings of potatoes in along with sweet potatoes and peppers. Last night, our last dwarf cherry and bay laurel tree arrived by UPS. We planted it today.

I am in Lafayette tonight at my sisters. Tomorrow, my Mom and I are headed to Iowa for a family funeral. I set all of the plants out where I wanted them and asked Mary to finish planting them. She called me tonight to ask if it was OK that she planted the watermelon accidentally in the hanging basket. I told her that it might not work so well. 

I will be infrequent in my posts the next 1 1/2 weeks as we are going to the funeral and then on vacation. I will not always have internet access. Will catch you up as I can. Hope you are enjoying the spring (and here summer like weather.   

Chickens

It has taken about a week but the baby chicks have learned how to go up and down the ramp. An uneasy truce seems to have come to the fight of the older chickens and younger chickens. Yesterday, they were out in the run together which was a first. The chicks are now 6 weeks old and it has been fun watching them develop and start to get their own little personality. The transition seems to be coming to an end and they are starting to settle down into a routine. Last night when I peeked in all the baby chicks were even on the perch. 

Gardening Day

It has finally been dry enough for a couple days in a row that we could work in the garden. We planted several things today before the threat of more rain comes through the night hours. Mary and I spent a couple of hours at church putting in plants there as well as weeding. We then came home and planted our new apple trees, sweet potatoes and pepper plants. It is a mad rush to get what we can into the garden before the next batch of rain returns. What crops do you have planted now? 

Happy Mother's Day

I had a really nice Mother's Day today. My oldest daughter got up early to make homemade waffles which is my favorite breakfast item. They were delicious. For lunch my husband and daughter took me to my favorite restaurant. When we got home, I got to take an uninterrupted nap which is a luxury around here. Next, Mary took Makenzie to a movie so I could have the house to myself which is even a rarer luxury than an uninterrupted nap. Last but not least Chuck and I spent some couple time including going plant and flower shopping. We ended the day with a nice walk around the neighborhood. It was a wonderful Mother's Day. Hope yours was also nice.

Oklahoma

Every year, one of the local high school home schooling groups puts on a full blown musical. They practice for 1 semester and with low budget put on a very professional looking musical. This year it was Oklahoma. This is the third year that our oldest daughter Mary has been in the chorus and has sung a small solo. The group charges a nominal fee $2/person with a maximum of $8/family.

Chuck, Makenzie and I have spent the last two nights watching the performance this year. It is a very enjoyable musical and even when Mary graduates from the group, we will probably attend the musicals because they are that good and inexpensive night out for the family.

Great job again this year guys and can't wait to see Fiddler on the Roof next year. 

Chicken Ramp Lessons

Yesterday, I put the big chickens in the closed off portion of the run with some treats, food and water. I then took the little chicks out of the coop and put them down underneath in the run below. They loved being on the grass and eating and scratching up the ground. At the end of the day though, none of them had ventured up the ramp and back into the coop so began chicken ramp lessons 101.

Chuck got in the run with the little ones. I sprinkled food up and down the ramp. We let them explore and eat the food at the bottom of the ramp. Gradually, Chuck would gently place them up higher and higher on the ramp. Soon, they started easily walking up and down the ramp. I kept the food supply coming and Chuck continued to put them higher and higher on the ramp. After about 30 minutes they were going up and down the ramp with ease. We then let the big ones back into the main run area and soon every one was up in the coop ready for bed.

Today I will put the ramp down and see if they venture out on their own. If not, we will do the same procedure again this afternoon and evening. Soon they should be running up and down the ramp just like the big chickens. 

Chicken Truce

Yesterday was another good day for chicken TV. It rained (poured) for a lot of the day. The chickens spent most of their day inside the coop riding out the storm. The older chickens have taken over ruling the roost so to say. The little ones hide out when they are around. We have some small blocked off corners where the big ones cannot get to them. We locked the big ones out of the coop last night and fed them some special treats (table scraps) so the little ones could have the coop to themselves for a while. We wanted to make sure they were getting plenty of food and drink.

The biggest event of the day is one little one actually made it down the ramp and over to the big run by itself yesterday. Today we will lock the big ones in the run for a while and teach the little ones how to go up and down the ramp. We are hoping the green grass below and change of scenery will entice them down more often. 

Contentment

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.
--Anonymous

Spring Work

This weekend, we finally had a break from the rain. We have been planting what we can and weeding where we can as the weather is nicer. The garden is still too wet to do much with and now we have two more days of rain forecast. Oh well. It will eventually get planted.

The chickens have come to an uneasy truce between the two groups. The young ones hang out in the coop while the old ones hang out below in the grass. Occasionally, they will venture into the coop to eat, sleep and lay eggs. They are still complaining to me but they are getting less vocal about them. I figure they have given up on this stupid human who just doesn't seem to get how annoying those little things are in their home.

Wednesday when it is supposed to be nice and warmer we will force the issue of getting the little ones down onto the grass. Two have made it down below so far but quickly went back up. We will put the big ones in the other run so the little ones can see how tasty and fun the grass below is without being harassed. We will also teach the little ones who have not ventured out how to go up and down the ramp. Should be a fun day.

New Chickens-Day 2



5 Weeks Old-Buff Orpington Chicks


The older chickens have started to resign themselves to the fact that the younger chicks are here to stay. They are barely tolerating them and seem to be beginning to lose their fear of them. Every time I walk close to the coop though they are telling me off in chicken speak. The little ones have settled in nicely and a couple have even adventured down the ramp to the grass below. When we came home from church this afternoon we immediately went outside, put up the side of the coop and spent quite a bit of time watching "chicken TV". Mary decided to liven things up and threw a leaf into the coop to watch the little chicks scurry after it and play keep away from each other. It was quite entertaining. Hopefully, tomorrow the old chicks will have resigned themselves even more to the fact that the little ones are here to stay and they will start interacting with each other.