Saturday, February 28, 2009

Peeking



Some of the results of yesterday's endeavors. Took out a frozen turkey carcass, simmered it for four hours, strained the broth and added the good turkey bits back in. Threw in some carrots, celery, potatoes and barley and poured it into quart jars. Canned them in the pressure canner for and hour and half, and now we have six quarts of yummy turkey soup in the pantry.

We're getting our 1/4 beef next week, so I am frantically using up a bunch of freezer stuff, in order to make room. Over the past few seasons of canning, freezing and preserving I'm beginning to learn what my family will use over the course of the year. Fewer onions, peppers and squash. More potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Fewer pickles, more tomato sauce. Less beets, more sweet corn.

It's almost March. And that means it's almost spring. You might not be able to see many signs yet, but the days are getting longer and the bitter cold spells are getting shorter. Spring is peeking its brown eyes over the top of the snow drifts. Almost time to play in the cool damp earth, planting seeds and laying beds. Almost time to hear the peeps of chicks and the bleats of kids. Almost time to see the buds bursting with new leaves and blossoms on the fruit trees. Just a few more weeks to go...


2 comments:

Karen said...

Less beets??? Bring them to my house!! I LOVE your beets!! The plus side is that I am the only one in my family that does, so I get to eat them ALL!!! Don't you dare throw any away!!
Aren't you being a little biased with the "brown eyes over the top of the snow drifts" comment? What about the "blue eyes over the land" instead???

Jo said...

I am 2/3 biased toward brown eyes. I just said brown eyes here because it was Benjimouse in the picture.

You can have all the beets you want! Now I know what to get you for your birthday!