(Jeopardy) Answer: Why am I tired?
First thing this morning, I harvested enough peppermint to
fill eight trays of the dehydrator and dried them.
This is about halfway through the drying process.
Sure do shrink up, don't they, considering the
tray was solid wall to wall edge to edge
leaves to start?
Harvested asparagus and processed it
for the freezer. The wonderful
asparagus just keeps comin'.
Did four loads of weekly laundry and two loads
of rugs. Hung out on lines to dry.
Made a batch of yogurt.
Split and stacked six wheelbarrows full
of wood (with Papa Pea's help.)
Watered the asparagus with the hose.
Watered the fruit trees with the hose.
Watered the window boxes with the watering can.
Fixed and served two meals.
Weeded the strawberry rows and then
put additional wood shavings
around the spreading
plants so the berries would stay clean.
Harvested the first real picking of strawberries.
(Found five ripe ones a couple of days ago.)
Only 1.65 lbs. today but enough for a big
family-sized strawberry shortcake.
(Old picture.)
Can I make it tonight?
Nope.
Don't believe I have the energy.
I was worn out long before I got to the end of your post! But I have to say that the strawberry shortcake sure looked like a pick-me-up. :)
ReplyDeleteYay, your strawberries are ripening! Mine are coming to a close and I froze the last couple of bags yesterday. When you freeze your asparagus, how long do you blanch it? Just curious because I'm wondering how soft it is when you go to use the frozen asparagus. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteI tell you, all that watering can really wear you down! I have been lugging water into the garden twice a day - trying to squeeze it in before and after work. It's been hot, hot, hot here, with not a lot of rain. I do have to quit complaining about rain - it always comes back to bite me. Oh, that strawberry shortcake looks amazing!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like my week. NOT! I'm exhausted by your tally. But I'm enjoying my off year.
ReplyDeleteWell I'd say you've been a pretty busy gal. It may be a lot of work but having the satisfaction of harvesting and eating all the fruits and veggies you grew yourself is, I think, a wonderful payoff.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Silly question...
ReplyDeleteI have a question, myself.
Asked it.
And deleted it.
-practicing self control-
>,-))))))))))))))
Looks like you had a real busy day. That is alot to do in a day. I bet you had good satisfaction from it !Glad your getting some strawberries. The cake looks yummy. Now it's best you take a long break. ox
ReplyDeleteReally cool shortcake. Seems it is an art that is dying out. Very few make the "real" shortcake like this one. Seems most use a disappointing store-bought angel or sponge cake. As for the dehydrator, I keep telling myself I don't have any more room for any type of appliance, but maybe it's time to get rid of what I don't use and get one of these. I've been using the oven for what I dry, but it can't be very efficient use of electricity etc. I'll have to see what I can find.
ReplyDeleteLeigh - I made the strawberry shortcake this morning and we had a piece for dessert tonight. Oh, my. So good! I really like this dessert because the shortbread itself isn't sweet (you know, how some "cakes" are yucky sweet), the whipped cream was real whipping cream and the strawberries were fresh and sweet enough themselves. Oh, please stop me or I'll be sneaking another piece tonight!
ReplyDeleteJenn - My vegetable blanching chart says to blanch the bigger stem pieces for 3 minutes and the smaller (and tip) pieces for 2 minutes. I cheat and do the bigger pieces for 2 minutes and the small for 1-1/2 minutes. Then when I take the frozen package out of the freezer (small and big pieces mixed together), I bring a small amount of water to a boil in a sauce pan, dump in the frozen asparagus and bring back to a boil (covered). Drain right away, add butter and let sit with lid on pan for a couple/few minutes. Of course, it's not like fresh but still comes out with a little crispness left, not soggy at all.
Susan - Yeah, we're still lacking moisture, too. That that was forecast for today amounted to only a sprinkle for about 15 minutes this afternoon. Not enough to do much good. :o(
J.L. Murphey - Hey, there's a time and place for time off, too. And if you're enjoying yourself . . . keep at it!! :o}
Elizabeth - You hit the nail on the head. Yes, it's an intense busy time during certain periods when you're dedicated to growing as much of your own food as you can, but personally we feel it's worth it. We've done it all our married years, paid attention to how and what we eat and it must be doing us some good because we're both still able to do physical labor and neither one of us takes any medication of any kind. And the satisfaction that comes from a busy, but productive day, does feel very satisfying. :o]
wisps of words - Huh???
Lynne - Take a long break . . . and eat the w-h-o-l-e strawberry shortcake!! ;o)
Phil - A "real" shortcake doesn't taste much like any other cake and I like that about it. I'm not a cake fan in the first place so I appreciate the "sturdier" texture and lack of much sweetness of a shortcake. I think if you tried a dehydrator you'd like it. It would be more efficient (economical, too, I'm thinking) and easier to regulate than using your oven. I know around here, there always seem to be a lot of used ones for sale because people find they don't use them after their family is grown and gone. (I use mine more now that there's just the two of us. However, there are certain "little people" who come around now and then and always ask for some of the fruit leather I make each year!)
You worked hard girl. Any chance I could make that strawberry shortcake cake for you? I would bet anything that yummy wouldn’t make it from my house back to yours.
ReplyDeleteGoatldi - I made it yesterday morning and let our daughter know that if she wanted some, she'd better stop in on her way home last night because we had just had a piece for dessert and decided we were going to finish the whole darn thing off for breakfast this morning! (She did stop and said she was taking a big piece because she realized it would be her only opportunity!)
ReplyDeleteBusy, busy. Cake sounds like my Victoria cake, not too sweet. Share recipe please? 🌝
ReplyDeleteOld photo or not...WOW Mama Pea, that cake looks SO GOOD...I'm so jealous of your strawberry harvest!!! Mine just won't grow and when they do, they just seem to dry up and die so I'm donating them to the squirrels! You still have asparagus? That's wonderful! Remember to take a little porch time now and then!! :)
ReplyDeleteNancy - I'll send you the recipe!
ReplyDeleteRain - Yes, even though some of the asparagus is already going to ferns, there are still nice sized stalks coming up every day. I'm amazed. We eat some fresh nearly every day and I have a big supply in the freezer for this winter! No porch time today . . . I just got done with 2 and a half batches of haskap berry syrup which came out to 10 pints and 2 half pints. Yippee!
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ReplyDelete