First Canning of the Season

Nothing too major, just a small batch of strawberry jam from the gorgeous strawberries we found this weekend at the farmer's market. We were visiting my parents in Virginia, where the growing season is a little further along, so the berries were just right.

Those that were blemish free were mixed with sugar and left in the fridge a few hours to release the juices. The bruised ones weren't wasted though. They went into the strawberry sauce pot. A jar of strawberry sauce is now at the ready in the fridge. I poured it on my granola with yogurt this morning, and it was glorious.

For those who want to try jam making without a ton of sugar, I'd suggest trying Pomona's Universal Pectin instead of regular pectin. It's activated by calcium powder instead of sugar, so you don't need to add so much. It's a little more expensive than the other stuff, but it makes a lot of jam (I'm still on my box from last year and I canned 12 jars worth) and lasts forever. This small batch filled three half pint jars, which is pretty exciting. That's probably all the straight strawberry jam i'll put up this year. If there are gorgeous berries I can't resist at the market, i'll either make strawberry vanilla jam next, or half and freeze them for smoothies all year long.

Other scores from the farmer's market in VA included english peas, which I'll use to make cheesy pasta tomorrow, radishes, which I'm going to use for refrigerator pickles, spicy onions, southern sweet potatoes, mint, and a fruiting blueberry bush I got for 20 bucks. More on that later.

Weekend Progress

Inside the house:

Curiosity got the best of us and we began ripping down the trim and panelling in the living room. We're delighted to find that there are actual plaster walls underneath and not just cinder block or frame (though given the home's age that wouldn't make a lot of sense.) We are a little dismayed at what bad shape they're in. Do stud finders not work on plaster walls? Because someone dug a dozen holes in this section alone trying to find them.

I also found a vintage dining room table and five chairs for an excellent price. They fit the room perfectly and the couple who runs the furniture store delivers for 25$! Yes, we could have hauled it into the truck ourselves, and up the trillion stairs, but it was great to have someone else lift heavy stuff for once.

Isn't the detailing on the chairs so fun?

Outside progress:

I revised my initial planting plan a bit since we only had one bed in the ground and filled with soil. We keep a binder with all the home stuff like beer recipes we like, cheese successes, garden plans, and all the receipts for the house projects.

The peonies are looking excellent! I wonder what colors they'll be. Had I known the house came with peonies, I'd probably have bought it sooner.

There is ONE BERRY on a few of the strawberry plants, which is pretty thrilling.

AND: the first raised bed is in the ground, level-ish, and planted with the cold hearty veggies like spinach, peas, and root vegetables. We had a nice sprinkle last night; now all we need is good sun for the next few days and magic should happen.

Progress not pictured: we framed up the other raised bed, I bought paint for the living room and kitchen, Alex fixed the back screen door, and I dug a few trenches for Asparagus. I thought about planting them, but the soil temperature should really be a bit higher than it is right now. We're still digging out from under the pile of dirty laundry we took with us from the old house (our washer and dryer at the apartment were broken and expensive.) Somehow, though, the laundry machine pictures didn't turn out as gripping as I thought they'd be...