Community Pears

I wrote last year that one of our friends has a neighbor with a pear tree. The pears were just allowed to rot on the ground and only a few were eaten. With their permission last year we went and harvested many of them. It was a huge effort and we could not begin to use all of the pears available. This year we are sharing with friends. Last night, we went and picked the first round. Nine people (instead of just the 3 of us last year) picked the first round of pears in about 45 minutes (instead of a whole afternoon). We also had a great time. The old saying "Many hands make light work."  is so true. We put them in the basement to further ripen because they were falling off the tree before they were ripe. I am guessing because of the drought. We will go back in a week or two to finish picking them. When they are ripe, we will have a pear canning party. If you have extra produce, make sure to share with others but don't be afraid to ask for help or have them pick what they want. It is sad to let food go to waste. 

Grapes

The other day I walked out to the garden and realized that our grapes were now purple. I decided to try some to see if they were ready. They were the sweetest natural thing I have ever eaten. My husband being the city boy that he is has never had grapes right off the vine. While we were out checking the chickens that night, I asked him to come over to the grapes. I picked a bunch for him and said, "Here taste these." He took the first grape and said, "These are so sweet.", and then he ate a few more bunches. I have done that to a few other visitors since then. The grapes I grow are all organic with no sprays used on them. The county extension agent said that I would never to be able to grow seedless grapes here without spraying them. So far, I have not had too. I am hoping my good fortune continues. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy my pesticide and herbicide free purple grapes. The green grapes I planted do not seem too much further behind in ripening. I can't wait to taste them. 

Craft Lady

With having so much extra medical costs due to our daughter's illness, I have been trying to find other sources of income for me to bring into the family. Working outside of the home is outside of the question right now because my daughter's illness is so unpredictable. I decided to try and sell some of my needle craft items that I have been making. A lady who owns a Kentucky craft shop is coming tomorrow night to take a look at them. She seems pretty interested in them. I have spent the last several days getting all the paperwork and items together. You knew there would be so much to this-applications, pricing, artist profiles, etc. Hopefully, it will work out. I am keeping my fingers crossed. 

Easy Ricotta Cheese Recipe

My friend sent me the link today for the easy ricotta cheese we made on Saturday. Easy Ricotta Cheese I start by sharing this recipe first because it does not require rennet or cultures. This cheese was rich and creamy. It could be used plain or in recipes. All the ingredients should easily be found in your local grocery store. One note on the milk used. Most milks these days that come from your typical grocery store is ultra-pasteurized. In order to make cheese you need to get milk that is low temp pasteurized. You can find this kind of milk at most health food stores. It will say on the jar what process was used to pasteurize it. Non-reactive pans are made of stainless steel not aluminum. To test a pan a magnet, try and stick a magnet to it. If it is aluminum (reactive material), it will not be stick to it. It is probably stainless steel if magnet sticks to it.  Hope you enjoy this cheese as much as we did. 

Goat Cheese

Today, we got to try the goat cheese that we made yesterday. I had never had goat cheese before. The lady had taken the Chevre and mixed it with buttermilk to make a smooth spread. It was delicious. Everyone at church loved it and it did not take long for it to disappear. I then brought home some extra and put it on a salad tonight. Even my picky eaters loved it. We will definitely be getting some more goat milk to make more of this cheese. Yum! Yum!

Homemade Cheese

Today, several of us met at a friend's house who has learned how to make homemade cheese. She walked us through the steps of some basic cheeses. They included chevre from goats milk and mozzarella and ricotta from cow milk. They were not that hard to make and delicious. The taste comparison to store bought was not even comparable. The ricotta especially would be simple to make as part of any recipe requiring this cheese. It was so good though that I would not delegate it to be in just dishes but also eaten plain. We had ours on crackers. Ricotta cheese does not really take any special supplies except cheese cloth. The others need cultures and rennet which can be easily obtained online. I am going to try some here at home. I will share recipes and resources as I get them. 

Berea Craft Festival at Indian Fort Theater

Today, my sister, Darlene and I went to one of my favorite craft festivals. It is at Indian Fort Theater in Berea, KY. It is a high quality, juried art festival. I love to go just to see the different crafters. Most of all I enjoy the artisans who demonstrate their craft during the day. I highly recommend this fair to anyone who likes folk art.  Look for it next July and take an afternoon to look around at it. It is also a great way to support artisans with many of them being local. .  

Rain

We often complain about rainy days until we go a long period without any of them We have been in a moderate drought here in Central Kentucky and after several 100 + degree days we were in desperate need of rain. I have been watering the essential vegetables and fruit the best I can but it does not make up for a good soaking rain. Last night, it started raining and this morning it continues. It is amazing to watch the grass green up as if right before your eyes. Rain is always a blessing but especially today. Thank God for this much needed rain!

Fall Garden

Even though it is only the middle of July, it is time for me to start thinking about my fall garden. Even though in the spring you may buy plants for your broccoli, cabbage and other such plants, in the fall you can plant these using seed sown directly into the ground. This saves me a lot of money. The first thing to do is determine your fall frost date. This is the earliest to expect frost. A great resource for this can be found in Dave's Garden guide. You just enter your zip code and it will give you the information. Here is the link. frost dates by zip code

Once you have your fall frost date, the rest is simple arithmetic. Look at your seed packet for the "days to maturity" part. Take the total number of days until maturity back from your frost date and that is the latest date you should plant those seeds. Because fall has shorter days, you should also add in a little bit more time to make sure it matures by frost. Summers around here are much drier than spring so I also need to water these seeds a little more often until they sprout.

You can also extend your growing season by simply covering your crops for the first frosts. Most cool weather crops can handle the chill. You just need to cover them in the event of a frost. i just use bed sheets for this and then wash them when the season finishes. This way you can have fresh vegetables far into the fall.

Potatoes

Tonight we dug our first row of potatoes. It was long overdue but the 100 + degree heat we have had for the past week just would not allow such a venture. It has finally cooled off so tonight we started tackling the garden with the potatoes being the most important. Digging potatoes is a family affair here. One to two people dig them up with a pitchfork while others watch for the buried treasure that lies underneath the soil. When a potato is spotted, it is quickly grabbed by eager little hands and placed in the bucket. Mary, when she was younger and now Makenzie love this annual treasure hunt. There is excitement in digging something up from under the ground and finding it. We have a couple of more rows to go. After we are done digging up the rows, we will replace them with a planting of green beans and then our fall crops when it is time. Potatoes are a great thing to grow. They taste so much better than anything that you can buy in the store. The best part is they are usually done early enough that you can get one or more plantings of other vegetables in the same spot before the end of the growing season. If you do not currently plant potatoes try getting a little seed potato from your local gardening store next year and try growing some. You will not be disappointed. 

Chicken Air Conditioning

We are on our umpteenth record heat day here. Fortunately, it looks like is is going to cool off here this week. You know that it has been hot when mid to upper 80's sounds cool. Because we have larger breeds, our chickens have really been feeling the heat. We have found them panting many times which is a sign that they are heading for trouble. We have them in full shade at the moment. We have been feeding the chickens frozen treats such as small bits of fruit and vegetables. We have also been putting ice in their water. Today, it is so hot, we finally broke down and our running fans out to the coop. It is just too dangerously hot out there today. I will be glad when it finally cools down after tomorrow. In the meantime, we are trying to keep our girls and one boy as cool as possible.

Rain

Last night we finally had some rain after a long period without it. In addition, it had been above 100 degrees for four days here and in this area that is not very common. Even with me watering them, my plants were feeling the stress. The rain last night was only 1/2 inch but it gave the plants and grass a little drink and cleared the dust from the air. It smelled so good outside last night. Today, I am very thankful for rain and that we live in an area that we have enough water that we can still grow the fruits and vegetables that we need even we have a drought.