Saturday, October 31, 2009

Visiting Boyds Orchard

Mark, Sherrill, Jonathan and Kathryn made a trip to Boyd's Orchard. It was a beautiful fall day!





We checked out the pumpkins, the apple trees and played on the playground, the slide and visited the animals








We checked out the Jonathan Apples.












We found a fuzzy caterpillar.






Kathryn Limbo ed backwards under the
fruit trees.








Jona
than took Kathryn down the biggest slide screaming. He said on facebook that it reminded him of the Christmas Story.































































When we visited the animals,
we fed them and
watched the goats go head to head on the goat bridge. Stubborn!























While we were there we bought a
bushel and a half of apples(mostly Melrose and Empire).













Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Little more Canning

I LOVE applesauce but never eat it and have never, in my adult life, made it myself. Well, give me a canning class, a sale on apples and voila! I made applesauce! I'm so proud of myself :) Here are a couple picture to prove it. Love the fall!

The recipe that I used is:

Here is a recipe I used and modified for our family:
Makes about 8 (16 oz) pintsYou will need:
12 lbs apples, peeled, cored, quartered, treated to prevent browning* and drained (about 36 medium)
Water
3 cups granulated sugar, optional
4 Tbsp lemon juice
8 (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:
1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) COMBINE apples with just enough water to prevent sticking in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 20 minutes, until apples are tender (time will depend upon the variety of apple and their maturity). Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
3.) TRANSFER apples, working in batches, to a food mill or a food processor fitted with a metal blade and purée until smooth.
4.) RETURN apple purée to saucepan. Add sugar, if using, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Maintain a gentle boil over low heat while filing jars.
5.) LADLE hot applesauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
6.) PROCESS jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed. *To treat apple slices to prevent browning, apply Ball® Fruit-Fresh® Produce Protector according to the manufacturer\'s instructions or submerge cut apples in a mixture of 1/4 cup lemon juice and 4 cups water.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Halloween Pumpkin Fiesta-Great FHE









We had a really funny hour or so carving our Halloween pumpkins. EVERYONE was on one tonight! From the littlest Kathryn to the b Big Daddy! In the end all of the pumpkins were really different and the pumpkin seeds were yummy all toasted up for eating.

We sure had a fun time visiting with friends the other night! The costumes were fun and the food was yummy! We have found some very competitive people that have been hiding out :) Check out the Smiths in these pictures!! Could you ever imagine that they'd be seen in BLUE?!!! (Well, ok, we had to wear T orange, too). It was a scary costume;)




























I made the little Frankenstein cakes as well as the ghosts, the chocolate and peanutbutter mice, chocolate nutty crispy bark in the shapes of bats and ghosts, chocolate dipped marshmallows, and fudge.
There were other yummy treats like maple, carmel spice cakes, a yummy cheese dip, and homemade ice cream with dry ice all in the caldron! Very cute!

Senior Year-NHS Induction

Jonathan had his National Honors Society Induction Ceremony. Kathryn and I were able to go and get a couple pictures. It was very nicely done.