It’s one of those days. There are apples to harvest and press, turnips to pull, compost to get in the strawberry patch and  a tree order to mail out. Then there’s the tomatoes. When they were coming in by the bushels in August, I was chopping them up and putting them in the freezer. Now I need the freezer space as the pigs go to the butcher next week so today I have to make sauce and we are talking mountains of tomatoes. The good thing is that the water that rises to the top when you freeze and then thaw tomatoes can be poured off and it takes a lot less time and energy to boil down the sauce. I plan to add some dried onions and peppers and that will thicken the sauce too. And if all this weren’t enough, we had a pressing party yesterday and someone left us two gallons of cider. That should be a good thing but the cider is a bit bland. That happens when you use only one kind of apple rather than a blend. So rather than drink the cider, I was thinking I should make a cider jelly as the spices will jazz it up. I don’t need more jelly but I do want some for teacher gifts. My girls both have extensive IEP’s and lots of teachers and specialists and they like to give every one a gift for the holidays. I can make jam for under a dollar a jar. I could make it for a lot  less than that if I could figure out how to get my jars back.

So I am feeling a bit pressed for time. I think that inertia can move in when there is too much to do, then nothing gets done. What works for me is to take one task and finish it. The tomatoes can’t wait so that’s my task. When the last jar of sauce is cooling, then I will pull the turnips as I will need some outside time. I won’t worry about the jelly. That can wait for a rainy day as the cider will fit in the freezer. The compost is something the girls can do after school. It’s a simple matter of filling some buckets from one pile and hauling them to the strawberry patch then shoveling it around the plants. There. I feel better already.

For those following along with my preparedness step-by-step plan, today is good day to put in an order for sprouting seeds from your co-op. You did join the co-op, didn’t you? You can order one pound mylar bags of sprouting seeds for either cooking or salads. Get one of each. Do it again each month until you have six bags of each. Make sprouts once a week. They are great in salads and sandwiches and stir fries. Don’t buy a sprouting system. They’re a rip off. Get a mason jar and cut a piece of old screen to fit under a jar ring. Just soak the sprouts in some tepid water for an hour, then drain. Rinse them a couple of times a day for a few days and there’s your sprouts. They cost pennies to grow. I like to set mine in a sunny window for few hours before I eat them to green them up a bit. When you open one bag of seeds, order another. Your goal is to always have six bags stored in a cool, dry, dark space. They take up very little room. This is a big bang for your buck.

About these ads