This was my plan for the weekend as of Thursday night: Go to the Indians game on Friday, hang out on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, maybe tidying the guest room or the dining room.
Somehow, this is what it’s turned into: Go to the Indians game on Friday, go berry picking and apple picking Saturday, and then spend Sunday and Monday cooking and preserving.
In a wild fit of ambition, we picked five pints of raspberries, which will be turned into jam. Then we picked twenty pounds of apples, which will be turned into applesauce and canned.
Saturday evening I was talking to Nick, and I mentioned in passing that I almost wanted to try to make pierogi this weekend. He made approving noises and offered to assist, so I called my friend Julie to see if she wanted to come down and help too. Julie said she was probably in, so I started planning.
Today, I went out to Marc’s to pick up the ingredients for the filling so that I could make it tonight. But then I realized that strawberries were on sale, three pounds for four dollars, so those got added to the buggy to be turned into jam.
As we were looking for mushrooms for the pierogi filling, I noticed that tomatoes were on sale for a mere 50c a pound. Fifty cents! Into the buggy went ten pounds of tomatoes, plus I’ve got about five pounds from the garden that need to get used. I’ll make salsa, I thought, and more tomato sauce! Brilliant. Perfect! I am a genius.
So what else goes into salsa? Oh, hey, peppers. Yesterday we bought a quart of mild hot peppers at the farm we picked berries at, so I was just going to buy a red pepper or two, but then (of course) peppers were on sale! $1.99 a pound for red, yellow, and orange. Though some mysterious channel, I ended up with a rainbow of peppers in my buggy. It just so happens that I have both a recipe for a red pepper spread and for marinated canned peppers, so those will need to be put up, too.
So somehow this went from a very low-key jam and applesauce making session to a rather intensive two kinds of jam, salsa, red sauce, applesauce, marinated peppers, pepper spread, and at least two kinds of pierogi.
If I emerge from this unscathed, there will be pictures and possibly jam giveaways next week. If you’ve not heard from me by Tuesday, though, send in the cavalry.
You are so brave! How cool – looking forward to a giveaway – pepper spread? sound interesting!
i will watch to see if the calvary is needed – i got your back!
Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen something canned let alone canned it myself. I’m in awe and a little envious. I would try to make jam but I’m afraid I’d blow up the kitchen.