Day of Firsts

Today was quite a day here on our little place...

Started out with the first real harvest. I have picked a few items here and there over the past several days, but this was the first *haul*.

Then upon returning from town, picking up the children, we found that Maybelline has hatched her first baby!

Finally, I made the first batch of canned goods of the season this evening. It has been 2 years since I canned anything. Jalapeno jelly!!! It was pretty much a "have to do today" or the jalapenos would have ruined. I had a few I had picked the other day and added them to the ones today to have enough to make a batch of jelly. We love Jalapeno jelly!

So it's been a very busy day here at Eason Acres; just the way I like it!

Repurpose and Reuse

I have held on to two old water bath canning pots for a couple of years.  I knew I wanted to use them as planters, just have never gotten around to putting the holes in the bottom (used a screwdriver and hammer).

So yesterday, I just did it!

And I think it's just pretty as can be :-)

I can't wait until the plants are growing and filling out more....going to be gorgeous!

Canning Season Coming Soon

Thought it was a great time to share these!

These are just adorable! Do you share your canned goods with others or give as gifts? These labels spruce those jars right up! Maybe you just want your own canned goodies to look pretty? That is fine, too.

Source: Limeshot

The steps to download are at the bottom of the post. Be sure to read up on the terms of use and directions on how to print and cut them. Have fun!

Printable Mason Jar Labels

Pure blue heaven

 I just finished up making a batch of homemade Blueberry syrup and canning it.

Wow was it a messy task to do. Then I finally decided that it was too much work and to much waste of the berries to make syrup and I just wouldn't do it again.

Wrong answer sista!!! This stuff is out-of-this-world delicious! I tasted just a tiny bit out of the pan after I filled the jars and OH MY GOODNESS! Immediately, I knew I would be going to the store tomorrow, the last day of the sale on blueberries, and get tons more!

I used about 8-9 cups of fresh blueberries (5 pints). I did a quick process in my food processor to chop them up some. Then I put them in a large pan with 2 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice. On low/medium heat, I let this simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often. After allowing the berry mixture to cool down some, I put them in my wire mesh strainer to drain out all of the clear juice.

{Side note here} I should have used cheesecloth, but I couldn't find mine at the time. Instead I used a paper towel to line the strainer and it.took.forever.

After draining the berries to get out all the juice possible (I got between 2.5 and 3 cups), mix in 4.5 cups of sugar and cook over low/medium heat for about 5-8 minutes or until all sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is bubbly. I ended up with 5.5 eight ounce jars of syrup.

Pour into your sterile jars and process in a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes.

I never dreamed it would be so good.

It is late and I was hungry after finishing so...I HAD to try this beautiful syrup.There was this one jar that wasn't full, so I just drizzled some on my organic yogurt.

So delicious!

I will be headed out tomorrow morning for more blueberries. I refuse to go through so much mess next time I make the syrup, though.


This recipe works for any type of berries.


Hope your week is wonderful!

It's that time again

Canning season has begun at our little homestead.

Yesterday I made 8 half-pints of apricot jam. I found this recipe online. I used it as a guide, along side the recipe in the No sugar/low sugar Sure-Jell. I used the 1/2c. lemon juice from the online recipe in place of the 3/4c of water that the Sure-Jell calls for. I also used the online recipe tip of using 20% extra Sure Jell. I had 3.5 pounds of apricots and used 4.5 cups of sugar. It made 8 half-pints of gorgeous jam!

Then, last night, I made salsa! Two years ago I purchased a mix to make kosher dill pickles, by Mrs. Wages, at the Supercenter. Those pickles were AMAZING! So I tried the salsa mix by the same company. I haven't tried any yet, but it looks and smells yummy!

This batch I made with canned, petite diced tomatoes. This was an option on the package of mix. Six cans, 1/2c vinegar and 1 packet of mix. Fresh salsa!

Over the course of the next few days, I will be making Strawberry jam, Peach jam and Grape jam. I'm loving it!

Lemony kind of day

Ah fresh squeezed lemon juice. Beautiful! This juice is for fresh homemade lemonade. The juicer...it belonged to my mother and has been around for as long as I can remember. It is likely at least 50 years old. I love the thing!

Lemon peels. These will be made into lemon infused vinegar for household cleaning.

"King of the lemon peels"!!! Well actually, this cute little 4oz jelly car of fresh squeezed lemon juice will go into jam tomorrow.

Fresh squeezed, freshly made lemonade. Yum! How do ya like that neat glass pitcher? Under 5 bucks at everyone's favorite (or not) Supercenter. 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1/2 cup of sugar and 7 cups of water. So easy!

This, my dear friends, will be some of the most awesome household cleaner known to women(or whomever cleans house). I just dug all of the fleshy part out and cut the peels up in half or so. Put them into a pint jelly jar and filled it to the top with vinegar. It will sit for a couple of weeks and voila! See the lemon seeds? Ima gonna see if they will grow. Likely not, but hey, can't blame a gal for trying.

Heck, I even had on a lemon yellow t-shirt. I just love this shirt! It came from one of my most favorite stores, Tractor Supply. Oh and I didn't plan all of this lemon-y goodness around my shirt....it's just what I picked to put on this morning.

Lemon blossoms SMELL.SO.GOOD! I bought myself a Meyer lemon tree about a month ago. I have often been curious about Meyer lemons. I know they have a distinct shape, are much larger than typical lemons and are quite spendy.

Baby lemon!!! The tree has likely around 15 little tiny babies on it! So...on with the story about Meyer lemons. So since I was curious, I put a post on Facebook and lo and behold...got all the scoop on Meyer lemons: "Meyers Lemons are have a slightly higher sugar content (because they are a cross between an orange and a lemon), are more spherical and have thinner peels. They are a hybrid so if looking for "heirloom" - go the other route. Meyer's also get a lot taller than regular lemon trees (15' vs. 8-10'). I like Meyer's for lemonade, but not as much for baking."

So there you have it. A lemony kind of day.

Tomorrow's agenda: Apricot Jam