ArcherHill

We have definitely stepped up our game at ArcherHill. This is our 3rd year in a row to garden (I said 2nd year in a previous post and Marinda was quick to correct) and we have ventured into the wonderful world of canning. Yeah, you've heard your Grandparents talk about canning...well it's not just for old people. You'll notice in the above picture that the water is very hot...that's what you want people...boiling water.

In the picture above we have some purple hull peas. This takes a little time but if you have a few extra hands and something good on TV...it goes by pretty quickly. After you "free the peas" (that's good huh?) you need to put them in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook them. Just get a good boil going and simmer for about 45 minutes and they're ready to go. You can't get the same taste from a can of peas at Wal-Mart.

Here is a sample of some of the canning we did the other night. We have cucumbers running out our ears, so we have canned several jars of pickles. I'm not really a pickle guy, but if you're into pickles, these are tough to beat. What's the red stuff? Good question. That's our own special homemade spaghetti sauce. Now, I can throw down on some pasta. In fact, the restaurant of choice for myself and the wife is Olive Garden. So, a chance to can our own spaghetti sauce is one I couldn't pass on. It's got a little kick to it, but I think once we mix in the meat and noodles...mmm, mmm, good!

Pickling takes a little work. The Boss is in the middle of it right here and as you can see...Ty is eating out of the scrap bowl. It takes work to keep a 20.5 inch chest and 20 inch belly...you think I'm kidding?

And of course, we left our camera at the House of Hillis and when we got it back the next day....this is what was on it. So, I thought...that was a pretty good trick. The only way to get them back would be put it on the web for the whole world to see...so I did!