7 posts tagged “jelly”

2009_07_27 - Monday 004.JPG - Vox

Our crabapple tree is loaded with apples this year, and they are pretty big as far as crabapples go.  Last year I made a lot of jelly from them.  It is wonderful.  I have to work for the next three days, then I'm going to go into the jelly making business. 

I found some interesting information about making jelly at the University of Minnesota Extension web site.  Go to www.extension.umn.edu and look for their article "Making Jelly". 

One piece of equipment that they talk about and I use is a jelly strainer.  You can buy them from the Canning Pantry at www.canningpantry.com/jellystrainer.html. 

I wasn't working today, but I was sewing.  I'm still working on the blanket for the dogs that I am making from the linings of my hubby's old jackets.  It is going to look pretty good.  I may be able to finish it tomorrow after I get home from work. 

2008_08_29 - jelly and hummingbirds 005.JPG - Vox

I hadn't planned to post again today, but I got some good shots of the hummingbirds tonight so I had to share them.  I went out to try to get the luna moths to hold still for me, but no luck.  So I shot the hummingbirds instead.  I tried some of my flower techniques on them.  I tried shooting with the portrait setting so that the foreground is in focus and the background is blurred.  I also tried different distances to get the degree of flash that I wanted.  But mostly it was luck! 

Here is the crab apple jelly that I made on Tuesday.  It really turned out perfect.  See how clear it is?  You can almost see through it!  My kitchen window faces south, so the lighting was perfect this afternoon. 

Here are the hummingbirds. 

2008_08_29 - jelly and hummingbirds 111.JPG - Vox

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2008_08_29 - jelly and hummingbirds 112.JPG - Vox

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Homespun quilt for Vox

I haven't done any quilting today, or taken any photos, either.  We went to Mass this morning since it was a Holy Day, the Feast of the Assumption.  Then we still had to eat breakfast when we got home.  I had a package to get ready to mail.  That always takes longer than you think it is going to.  Then I went out and picked green beans.   Found one zucchini.  I pulled about half of the beets that are left.  I think they stopped growning a month ago! 

After lunch, hubby decides that he will get up into the attic to look for jars for jelly.  He found quite a few, probably enough for me to go ahead and make jelly from all of the juice I got from the apples. I made another batch this afternoon. 

I need to go water flowers.  We didn't get a drop of rain last night.  It is too dark already to take any pictures. 

This is a picture of the homespun quilt I am making.  I am using flannel for the backing and adding a layer of muslin in the middle to make the seams fuzzier without adding weight.  I don't have any more flannel, and can't find any more either.  May have to look on eBay. 

2008_08_08 - jelly in the window 005.JPG - Crab Apple Jelly

Here's the crab apple jelly that I made this morning.  It is almost clear enough to see through. 

Our first project this morning was picking apples.  My hubby's brother came over and he and I got into the bucket on the loader.  Then hubby lifted us up into the apple tree so we could pick apples.  We picked for about an hour, and only got about half of them.  I knew it was more than I could work up today, so we quit.  I can only stand still working in one spot for so long, then I've got to do something else. 

I made this jelly from apples I had fixed yesterday, then fixed enough apples for at least one for batch, maybe two.  I'm just putting the juice in jars in the frig for now.   Hubby says he will look for more jars in the morning.  I still have a whole pan full of apples to cook down, but they are just going to have to wait. 

I did manage to get a couple to loads of laundry done, otherwise it was apples all day.  I need to pick beans, etc., but that is going to have to wait as well.  Right now, I'm going to check out the links for this week's Photo Quest, then I'm going to put a cover letter and resume together for another job that I found in the paper tonight.  I may even sneak outside and take some photos later. 

2008_08_07 - crabapple jelly, etc 002.JPG - Jelly in the Window

Here's today's batch of crab apple jelly cooling on the window sill.  As you can tell, I put jelly in whatever leftover jar I can find.  I would like to get one nice set of jars to use as gifts.  I looked at Wal-Mart today, but they didn't have any. It's all I can do to make one batch a day.  I do have enough extra juice from today that I can make another batch tomorrow morning before I start on the next batch of apples.  I may just freeze some of the juice to fix later.  I'm about out of jars.

My interview this morning went really well.  I liked the superintendent a lot.  I applied for the position of food service director for a school district.  It would be basically the same as my old job, except at a smaller school.  That's fine with me.  I hope to find out soon, because school starts on August 20th.  Not a lot of time to plan menus and order food.  I think I could pull it off if I started on Monday or Tuesday. 

I am really tired from standing so much today.  Need to do laundry and pick green beans tomorrow, as well as working with more of those little red apples. Need to do a lot of paperwork, too.  No rest for the wicked! 

2008_08_06 012.JPG - yellow daisy for Vox

I installed some new software on my computer tonight.  I've been experimenting with the photo editing program.  I didn't do anything to this wildflower except copy and resize.  I'm going to have to spend a lot more time working with it to really know what I am doing! 

I got one batch of crab apple jelly made this afternoon.  It is a very labor-intensive project, but the results are worth it.  We had to have several pieces of butter bread with jelly just to make sure it was edible!  I worked on one more pan full of apples just to have a head start on tomorrow's batch.  I wanted to get a picture of the jars sitting on the window sill of the kitchen, but my camera was upstairs and I was too tired to go get it.  I would have made the effort, but I knew I would have another chance tomorrow. 

My interview tomorrow is at 9:00 in the morning, so I may not get around to checking my email until after I get home.  I'll need to leave the house by 8:00.  It really doesn't take that long to get there, but I like to give myself a little wiggle room.   

2008_08_06 027 - crab apple tree for Vox

Here's my main project for today.  This crab apple tree is loaded with apples.  Most of them are good, and pretty good size this year.  Crab apple jelly is very good. 

We had rain to the north and to the south of us yesterday afternoon, but all we got were a few sprinkles.  It's cloudy this morning, but don't know if that means anything.  There is quite a bit of dew. 

I was reading the Missouri Conservationist yesterday morning, and figured out that I have 60 to 80 hummingbirds that visit my feeders every day.  The numbers have dropped off a little bit. 

If you live in MO, you can receive the Missouri Conservationist free.  It is only $7.00 for out of state.  It is a quality publication.  If you would like to subscribe, just go to:  www.mdc.mo.gov/conmag/subscribe.php.