That Time of Year

My poor pantry is looking so sad.  We have almost depleted its resources.  Last year was a prosperous year and this year I have not had a great harvest.  I really have enjoyed the rain we have received the last few day, but other than that it has been a very hot summer.  I especially love the clean smell that comes with the rain.  Hail on the other hand I do not care for.  The other day we had an amazing hail storm that was very hard on my garden.  I'm not sure I have ever been in a hail storm with hail that big.  The hail was exciting and the kids danced around the house amazed by its force.  I was concerned for anyone caught out in the weather.  It was about that time of day when kids are walking home from school, and what about the motorcyclist or homeless.

As a child, my cousin Chris and I were at a family reunion.  We had been down playing at the water when it began raining.  Others had gone back to camp but we didn't mind the rain.  The sky darkened and I remember a sudden wind came up and then pelting hail began beating on us.  The hail really hurt and we were out in the open with nowhere to go.  We had been playing with a tiny raft when the hail came and we squeezed together behind our sad little raft for the shelter it provided.  We began to cry and to that point of my life, I was the most scared I had ever been.  I remember praying out loud trying to pray louder than the storm.  Suddenly we saw my Grandpa's station wagon coming to the rescue.  It drove down the hill and across the sand to us.  We jumped in and with tear stained faces received our answered prayer.  We sat in the car for quite a while waiting for the storm to pass.  It did pass and we are here to tell our story.  I find that effective in life as well.  Sometimes we just need to cry out louder than the storm, receive God's shelter, and wait for the storm to pass.  It will pass and God will be with us through the storm.

So now I must decide what to do about my pantry.  Should I buy some fruit to can or just buy from the store till next year.  My mothers garden has done quite well and she has provided me with cucumbers for pickles.  She actually started a batch of 10 day pickles and let me work on them.  Unfortunately we went camping on day 9 so my mom was so sweet to finish them and can them for me.  Thank you mom.  :)  Then someone at church was giving away the most amazing peaches, so we grabbed a couple bags and made some pies.  I kept a few seeds as a science experiment for my 10 year old to see if we could grow a new tree.  Here are a  couple recipes of them and some pictures.  Have a great day.

God Bless
Alicia

The hail bouncing down

so exciting when you inside

Danika trying it out on her feet

Cassandra collecting some

My poor flattened garden.  

10 day pickles 

 10 day pickles
1 gallon cucumbers-thick sliced or chunked
1 cup salt
  Mix with enough cold water to cover, place in cool place for 2 days (stir/shake each day)

Day 3 and 4
    drain each day and cover with clean water

Day 5
drain and mix with 1 Tbsp alumn, 1 cup apple cider vinegar.  Mix with pickles and add enough water to cover.  Heat and keep hot for 2 hours

Day 6
drain, rinse.  Mix syrup-1 qt vinegar, 5 c sugar, 1 tsp celery seed, 2 sticks cinnamon, 1 tsp whole cloves

Day 7,8,9
heat syrup from off pickles and put back on

Day 10
heat cucumbers and syrup together and put in clean jars and seal.

Peach pie
Combine 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tblsp flour, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and dash salt.  Add 5 cups sliced peaches.  Mix.  Let sit till glossy.  Place in 9 inch pan, dot with 2 tbsp butter.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Seal with top crust.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.