Kitchen, Garden, Table. 
There is a lot of canning going on right about now. They call it canning in America. In New Zealand we call this bottling. Though neither makes sense when the food is put in JARS – so it should be called JARRING.
So, there has been a lot of jarring going on right about now. And I do my fair share – however we must not forget to eat all this lovely bounty fresh from the garden. Warm from the sun and heaving with exciting vitamins and goodness. We eat fresh every day. And dinner fresh from the garden is glorious. Every afternoon the girls and I go shopping in the garden to see what we are going to eat.
The tomatoes are on the wane and the apples are beginning. Wonderful.
I don’t know if I told you but the other thing I make and freeze a lot of is summer vegetable stock. I always have a stock pot simmering. I love making stock. And all the cooked vegetables go straight into the pig’s bowls. This is their favourite way to eat vegetables. Pigs are very cheap to run in the summer.
Manouchki’s new pal has decided to stay a while. Elise has called her Marzipan. John calls her Skelator because she really is a skinny wee thing but is putting on weight and growing out of that name fast.
The hay field is beginning to flower again so we will be cutting it for the last time this year on Thursday. Weeds are appearing too which is a little unsettling. Soon I will have to think about sowing another field of alfalfa and turning this field over, put in a cover crop and rest it.
And while the hay is drying on Friday I am off to the big city to collect the first wedding present. We go to New Zealand in October after all and that is NEXT MONTH. My helpers will be in charge Friday.
I was thinking today, as I walked back down along the creek, that things have been nice and quiet here for a wee while. Then I thought – “miss c, you had better not think things like that out loud. You best be touching some wood! We have been enjoying these few days without drama, said the voices in my head. Don’t spoil it by getting comfortable!”
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy,
miss c
The Kitchen's Garden 
36 responses to “The Kitchens Triangle”
Yes, It doesn’t do to provoke Murphy’s Law! I misread you rbit about the cooked vegetables going straight into the pigs’ bowls (I mentally added an e between w and l!)! They’re having a last cut of the hay here, too. Vast trailers full of grass have been trundling past the house all day. It looks as though the cnimals will be well supplied this winter.
love,
ViV
It’s called bottling in England too, and in a month or two, I shall be starting TomatoFest, making and bottling sauce to last me through the non-tomato months. After that comes Mango Month. So long as I have tomato sauce and bottled mangoes, I’m happy! But I do use an American pressure canner, which you can’t get here…
That tomato tart tartin looks delicious! I could do with some pigs to eat my stock vegetables – I cook up old veggies and any bones about twice a week 😉
I have a chef friend who says, if your stock is jelly when it is cold it is Good Stock, otherwise it is just soup. c
That’s what I aim for, though you’d be quite challenged to do that with vegetables alone. A pig trotter is one of the best ways to add gelatine to a stock – don’t tell the pigs 😉
Poppy looks all clean and spiffy … was she off to town? 🙂 Laura
Beautiful tart, and my pups eat the veggie stock veggies (and so do I, cold with drizzle of our olive oil and a sprinkle of Maldon salt…yum!). I’ve wondered why it’s called bottling or canning when it really is jarring!
Enjoy your shopping day!
No drama on a farm is a great thing!
Late summer photos are wonderful.
Goodness, I long for the day when I can go ‘shopping’ in my garden. It won’t be for many years, as we will be here in Texas until my dear MIL and FIL pass on. I hope your days continue to be drama free. 🙂
I remember my grandfather boiling potatoes in a huge kettle to feed the pigs. Most of my leftover cooked vegies go into my worm box. My worm population is exploding , I’m putting them in my compost. It’ s hard to keep my tiny garden going without water.
I hope you had a successful shopping day.
I went “shopping” in my brother and sister-in-law’s garden last weekend and now have a bounty of fresh produce to consume. I brought back lots of green tomatoes to make green-fried tomatoes. Yum.
Yeah, why do they call it canning? I remember making a lot of applesauce and pickles and “jarring” them in those great mason jars long ago. morning miss c … t
What a beautiful site you have here, love the way you write. Your animals look so well cared for.
You gave me a wonderful memory of helping my Grandmother ‘preserving’ the summer fruits and veggies. Funny how words change over time in in different social cultures.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I can’t stop laughing about Skelator. What a perfectly perfect name. Good afternoon, c, and greetings to the farmy! xx