The New Kitchen

I have no excuses for not writing, other than that I really have been making a ridiculously humungous amount of jam and pickles for holiday orders.  Oh, and the guys have been building our new kitchen in the basement.  Seriously, I have a kitchen now just for making jam and pickles, and for whatever else I might choose to cook or bake in small or big amounts.  Just yesterday I made a batch of strawberry jam, using the same old-school recipe I've always used-- oh but 8 times the called for ingredient measurements -- and poured out just about 60 jars of the sweet stuff.  SIX.  ZERO.  This might not be a big deal to our local jam gurus Stonewall Kitchens, but to me it is an amazing feat.  Normally a batch of jam produces five to seven half-pint jars.  Now I can make bigger batches, and I do not have to forfeit any quality in doing so.  And if being super-psyched about the kitchen wasn't enough, I made Joe (well, he did it willingly really) set up a television in the kitchen so I can peruse my Netflix options while cooking.  He is certain that once I'm officially using the place commercially, I'll set up a cot in there and will never be seen again.  I've told him that I will likely have to come upstairs to use the bathroom once in a while, so no worries.

Here's a glimpse.

You only get one before photo, and you don't get any of what is the horrifying reality that is the rest of our basement.

And After.  

And the equipment.  12 gallon steam kettle.  Gas range.
What more does a girl need?

Don't judge.  I'm getting organized.

Blueberry Wedding

A customer who found me on Etsy sent this lovely photo of her wedding favors in action.  Thanks for sharing your presentation with us!  I'm thrilled to have been a part of such a meaningful and memorable day.

Making Grape Jelly

Thanks to my cousin Jason, who dropped off a ton of Concord grapes a few nights ago, I'm now making batch after batch of grape jelly.  I use the simple recipe straight out of M & S Meyer's Saving the Seasons, my latest favorite preserving guide.  We're thinking about mashing some of the rest of the grapes we have into apple-grape juice using our little cider press.  On the other hand, wouldn't it be so fun to just let the kids mash them all up with their feet?  I'll let you know how that goes...

  

Jar Swap, 2011

Our house was full of excitement last night as the 15 of us examined each other's jarred bounties.  I can't  specify the highlights for me this year, as everything turned out to be so incredibly awesome!  I'll have to report back on the jarred grape juice, as that needs to sit for a couple more weeks.  However, you can be certain I'll be critical, as I enjoy giving my cousin Keith a very hard time.  Here's what we ended up with:

A table full of incredible stuff:

A few photos of individual things... I couldn't get shots of everything with the chaos of babies, kids, and adults all surrounding the table.

Keith and Ange brought this super-cool looking grape juice in jars.  Can't wait to try it!

Laurie's salsa.  It goes without saying that this stuff is hot!  And yummy of course.

Can't get any better than raw honey.  And I'm pretty sure Sarah wins the award for presentation.

Matt's beet-pickled eggs.  A well-executed adventure for my brother.

Sarah's red tomato piccalilli.  No cukes in this fall favorite.

This funky sauce goes awesome on grilled chicken and is chunky enough to eat with chips.  
Thanks to Holly, I made out with an extra jar! 

Here's a family favorite and my favorite item from the night.  I swear it's not because my Mom made it!

Peach Raspberry Jam made by an incredibly talented jamasseur.  Oh, it's mine!
I definitely feel humbled by all the effort that went into everyone's creations.

Other jarfections not shown here included Aunt Judy's Adirondack pickles, Erin's Caramel Apple Jam, Trish's Chocolate Raspberry Jam, Shellene's Pasta Sauce, Amy's Apple Sauce (last year's favorite), Aunt Carol's Caramel Popcorn, and Jady's Piccalilli.  Jady was new to the swap this year, and I am SO GLAD she participated.  It's always a nice treat to have newbees, and this woman can cook!  I can't wait to try everything!  

Vanity Plates

Something needs to be pretty personally amazing to specialize your license plate with it, don't you think?  The other day I saw a LADYGA plate, and a young guy was driving the little car.  Was it his car, Mom's car, the girl-friend's car?  Here are a couple others I've seen lately, and ones I personally prefer to Gaga.

and

 

Keeping up with Kennebunk

If you haven't yet had the chance to check it out, the Kennebunk Farmers Market is an awesome place to find local food, eat breakfast (or lunch), and spend a Saturday morning.  It's kept me extremely busy this summer as well, as the locals and summer visitors just love jam and pickles (and other goodness too, of course)!  At the moment, I'm sealing hundreds of jars of preserves and pickles (OH THE PICKLES!) each month, and we're considering making plans to build a new kitchen set-up to meet the demand.  Here's a wee glimpse at what I've recently brought to market and the stands:  

Aside from the usual popular goodies including bread & butters, the berry jams, and anything with rhubarb, I've had a great time making batches of hot stuff.  Most recently I've cooked a ton of Cranberry Hinkle Hatz, named for the very hot pepper with the same name.  Thanks to Pam at Trailside Herbs for introducing these spicy gems to my garden.  Local cranberries, a few strawberries, and some sweet and hot peppers go along way spread over goat cheese in a little dish with fancy crackers.  Yum. 

 

When Being Busy is Good

I haven't blogged in a long time now, and I'm happy to say it's because I'm super busy with the jam and pickle gig.  Also, we're doing a lot of summer stuff with the kids.  After all, we live in Maine, and it's summer, and who wouldn't take advantage of that?

Here's what we've been up to, and this is just the stuff I have photographed!

The usual river swims with my girls.

Bubba versus the Porcupine AGAIN.

Preschool Graduation...  sniffle sniffle.

Our annual (should be more frequent!) visit between the Rubys and fams.

Ferry Beach with the Sims.

Below the dam with Cam.

Storyland with cousin Lily and Camden.

Who woulda thought that three college roommates could come up with this number of kids after 17 years?

A whole lotta bike riding.

Lemon Cukes.  Pickled in vanilla and lemon juice.  Just one example of something new and funky I'm enjoying making.

The farmers market circuit.  Loving it!

Farmer's Daughters Farmstand Fridays.  Can't believe I get paid to work here.

Jumping around with family and friends on the big new pillow at Pumpkin Valley Farm.

Addie's and my old past time:  making cookies.