Shake Your Can-Can

Okay, I don't know where that title came from, but at any rate, I've been busy lately canning all the wonderful goodies my mom has brought to me from their farm.  Here is the latest I've made:

Here is the recipe for the candied jalapenos, in case any of you were interested.

Candied Jalapeno Rounds

There aren't words that exist to describe how addictive these little savoury, sweet, spicy, crunchy, garlicky pickled jalapeno rounds are. Put them on sandwiches, tacos, rice or bake them into cornbread.  You'll need more and more!

Ingredients:

•  3 lbs fresh, firm jalapeno peppers, washed
• 2 C cider vinegar
• 6 C white granulated sugar (I don't see why you couldn't substitute any other type of sugar, i.e. turbinado)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 3 tsp granulated garlic or 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Wearing gloves, remove the stems from all jalapenos. The easiest way to do this is to slice a small disc off the stem-end along with the stem.  Discard the stems.
2. Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds.  Set aside.
3. In a large pot, bring vinegar, sugar, turmeric, celery seed, garlic and cayenne to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 min.  Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 min.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar.  Turn heat up under the pot of syrup and bring to a full rolling boil.  Boil hard for 6 minutes.
4. Use a ladle to pour the syrup into the jars over the jalapenos.  Insert a knife into the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped air pockets.  Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-ti tightness.
5. If you have left-over syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars too.  It's wonderful brushed on chicken or added to potato salad.
6. Place jars in canner, cover with water by 2 inches.  Bring the water to a full rolling boil and then set timer for 10 minutes for half-pints and 15 min for pints.  When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack.  Leave them to cool for 24 hrs.  When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth and then label.
7. Allow to mellow for at least 2 weeks, but preferably a month before eating.

I haven't tried these yet but I'm still in that 2 week wait time.  You can bet yer britches I'll be partaking as soon as they're ready though!  I'm thinking of a Ritz cracker with a piece of Colby-Jack topped with one of these would be YUMMO!

Stay tuned for my review!

Also on the canning front, I've put up apple jelly, blackberry jam, strawberry-fig preserves, salsa, dill pickles and "come and get it".  Y'all just let me know if you'd be interested in any of those recipes.  Simple simple simple!

Farm / Homestead update:

House planning is going well. Waiting to hear from the bank! :o)
We've added 9 more chickens to our animals (8 hens and a rooster). The first group of hens we got have just started laying.  I went outside the other day and found 3 or 4 eggs but only 1 the days since then, if any at all. 
We've also been gifted a black lab puppy.  I call her Tootie... for a good reason.  ;o)

The garden is still giving us a few cherry tomatoes and peppers here and there but it's almost time to mow it down.  I'm thinking of trying some cabbage for a fall crop.  I need to make another big batch of sauerkraut!

OH!  We discovered we're in a good spot to attract feral honey bees so I'm hoping The Dude or Paw can help me by building a bee hive so I can try to get some.  I'd LOVE to be able to make our own honey for our family... and to sell some too if there's an abundance.

Sorry for the gap in posts.  Things have been so crazy busy here lately that I've not really had the time, although I have plenty to post about.

Is it May Already?

Well, I came back here to find my post where I'd mentioned buying our first chicks only to realize it's been over a month already AND I haven't posted since then! Wow. Those chicks are now probably about 6 weeks old or maybe a bit more depending on how old they were when we first bought them. I'm not sure if it was the next week or the week after that Autumn and I went back and bought 4 more. These will be surprises! We know they're pullets but we just don't know what kind. They must be the same age as our original ones because they've grown at the exact same rate. Their only difference really is their color. If you remember, I'd bought 2 Amberlinks and 2 Red Sexlinks the first time and they are evolving into exactly what their name suggest... amber and red-colored birds. These new 4, however, are white. There's no color on their wings or heads or anything. I need to surf the web some more to see what kind they might turn out to be. It's rather exciting... sort of like not having an ultrasound during your pregnancy! The baby kittens are doing well. We lost one, Melvin, as The Dude named him, to Copernicus. He didn't kill it, he was just playing with it. After all, Cop IS a puppy and they like to play with things and especially things that smell different and move. So, after 2 or 3 days of The Dude taking extra special care of him, Melvin finally let go. He was buried under the tree in the backyard. :o( The other 4-named Tiger (I call it Tigger), Janet, Shadow and Guinea are all getting so big and they're adorable to watch when they start playing together. Sometimes I find Janet playing with her mama's tail as it swishes back and forth across the grass or concrete patio. The pups have been on lock-down for a while. Copernicus was first, after the incident with Melvin he tried it again with Shadow and I tied him up. One day a few of the chicks got loose and Zeta took off after one into the dry creek bed. The chick was saved only by diving head-first into a nook created by tree roots. Then I tied Zeta up. I am finding that longer, plastic-covered wire leads are not a good idea for them. They like to chew and so they've chewed them to the wire and that causes it to kink somehow. They're also constantly getting wrapped around trees, roots, the dog house and anything else they can find to tangle themselves into. We are debating now whether to use the tie-downs that go into the ground instead of one that runs from tree to tree. Today is Mother's Day! I'm thankful for my family and that I was given the opportunity to be a mother. Some aren't. I also feel like I'm the mother to all these animals because they rely on me to feed, shelter and clo...oh wait...feed and shelter them. They're teaching me a lot as far as what life is like with a bunch of animals... Many days I don't feel like getting out in the cold or the rain to feed them or let them out of their coop or take them for a walk or pet them, but then I realize... they depend on me and if I don't take care of them they would die. It really is a huge responsibility to take on but I'm glad we did. I love having them all. I just can't wait to get our own home so we can move ALL of us out there and get settled. Speaking of the house: A lot has been going on there too. We've still been contacting builders and such but recently we found one and he seems to be a good one. He gave us references and an address for a house he build recently. We never got that from the other builders. :o) So we drove by to look at the house and since they were home we decided to try and talk to them and ask them about it. I think it's safe to say that this guy is probably going to be the one we pick. Next step: The fun part-talking to the banks. Weeeee. Needless to say we have been very busy lately but the end of the school year is near (only 2 weeks away) and that means Mama gets to sleep in a bit. ;o) I hope to be busy with gardening and house building stuff over the summer... and canning! I've been doing nothing but baking lately...cakes, and cookies galore and the scale is witness to that! I need to work harder on feeding us all better. Man can't live on cookies alone, after all! So, that's all from the Homestead-in-the-works. Maybe I will remember to blog a little more often than once a month. ;o)