Fig Preserves

We barely finish one project before the next one is knocking on our door.  I wrote about finishing up our canning and freezing quota in my last post, and now our fig tree is weighted down with the most figs it has ever produced!

You probably can't see the figs in this picture, but trust me, it has outdone itself, just like our vegetable garden has.  You also can't hear it, but the tree sounds like it has a humming motor in the midst of it because it is working alive with bees, wasps, and hornets.  They love the sweetness of the figs just like we do!

My husband, Neil, worked out a deal with our daughter.  Heather borrowed a dehydrator from her mother-in-law and has dried several pickings of figs "on-the-halves" for her daddy.  (He loves dried figs and buys them often.)  So now, he has some healthy snacks stashed away to last a while, as does our daughter.

Now Neil is gradually collecting the rest of the figs as they ripen, and stashing them away in the freezer until we have time ~ and the want-to ~ to make Strawberry Fig Preserves. 

I thought since it is Fig season (at least it is in Alabama), that I would re-run my instructions for making the preserves.  Please come back and let me know if you make them.  I would love to know if others love the preserves as much as we do.

Making Strawberry~Fig Preserves

Our fig tree had more figs than we could eat this year so I decided to make preserves. Neil and I, both, remember the wonderful tasting strawberry fig preserves our mothers made when we were kids, so with some instructions from our County Extension Service I tried my hand at it. I'll show how I did it ~ the trials and the triumphs.

Step 1: Wash jelly jars in hot, soapy water.



Step 2: Sterilize the jars and lids.



Step 3: Wash, peel, and mash figs. Well, now that's what the instructions said to do but it didn't start out too well for me. My figs were very ripe, meaning very soft. I don't know if you've ever tried to peel a soft fig before but...



...the fig and I quickly became enemies. After working at this for about ten minutes I had about three little "blops" in the bottom of my big pot and knew at this rate it would take me all day just to peel them. I decided to just pull out the stems and forget the peeling. So, after pulling out the stems, I just mashed them up and went on with the next step.



Step 4: Measure 3 cups mashed figs into a large, thick-bottom pan and add two 3-oz. boxes of strawberry gelatin and 3 cups of sugar.



Step 5: Heat to a boil. Lower heat and boil slowly 3-5 minutes, stirring often.

Step 6: Fill hot jars immediately with fig mixture leaving a 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims and add lids.



Step 7: Process half-pints in a boiling water-bath canner 5 minutes. This makes about 6 half-pints.



Step 8: Scrape the pot and taste-test your finished product. I put a spoonful over some plain yogurt and sat down for a yummy snack.



Guess what we had for supper that night? We had hot, made from scratch, buttermilk biscuits, homemade strawberry-fig preserves with a side of bacon and a pot of coffee...Southern eating at its best!

(You may see my original post here:  Making Strawberry~Fig Preserves.)

My week in review

This has been a week of every day ~ but fun stuff!

 

Bike riding

     

 

My bike was a special birthday gift from my special hubby five years ago.

He picked it out himself and surprised me with it.

I think he did a great job.

It is so Me.

I especially love the swirlies on it.

 

 

***

I helped sweet hubby give our camper her bath.

Can you tell she doesn't have any "shoes" on?

She's getting new ones for our upcoming camping trip.

One of our sons said, "You might be a redneck if you have a camper up on blocks in your driveway."

 



***

 

I've actually done a little more cooking this week than I have in the past few weeks.

One night I cooked chicken in the slow cooker and then cooked Aldi's Chicken flavor Vermicelli & Rice and stirred them together.

 



 I steamed some veggies and baked a loaf of bread in my bread machine.

And it was a quite tasty meal, if I say so myself.

 

 

***

 

I've done a little gardening.

 

And I had such sweet help with watering my flowers.

 



Grandchildren are such a joy!

 



***

Today finds me going out for lunch with my friends.

Life is sweet when it's filled with such sweet people.

 

***

Thank you, my sweet friend, for visiting me today.

Hope you leave me a message, I enjoy comments so much!

Christmas Pie

Cherry Pie

1 box Dream Whip (2 envelopes)

1 cup evaporated milk, chilled

1 - 8 ounce block cream cheese

2 cups sugar

1 can Cherry Pie filling

2 graham cracker crusts

 

Pour cold evaporated milk into a large mixing bowl.  Add 2 envelopes of Dream Whip.

Whip until stiff (about 4 minutes).

 

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

(Scrape bowl often with a spatula while beating.)

 

Pour into Dream Whip mixture and beat until smooth.

 

Put 1/4 of mixture in each graham cracker crust. 

Put 1/2 of Cherry Pie filling on top of each pie and smooth rest of mixture on top of pie.

Chill.

 

 

 

I always looked forward to my mother making these pies at Christmas time when I was a girl.

I made two of them today, one to take to my husband's parents' house tomorrow and one to take to my mother and dad's house on Sunday.

 

Sweet hubby and I are home alone on this Christmas Eve afternoon.

Both sons are at their girlfriends families' get-togethers and our daughter and her husband and babies aren't coming in until after Christmas.

 

So, we are going with the flow, starting our own new traditions.

We're going to our church's Christmas Eve service and then out to eat.

Something totally new to us for a Christmas Eve, but I'm looking forward to it.
It's special to me any time someone else does the cooking and clean up!

 

But I think things will be pretty normal in the morning with our traditional opening of presents and then our Cinnamon Roll Breakfast.

 

 

In fact, one of our sons asked if he could invite his girlfriend for breakfast.

Maybe the other son's girlfriend can come too.

 

I have to admit that I do like tradition, but change can be good too.

 

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas whether you celebrate with old traditions or new!

 

 

 

 

 

Post linked to:  Show and Tell Friday 

                         Pink Saturday







Happy Halloween ~ Got Plans?

Do you have special Halloween plans?

I plan to shop for new winter boots this morning then meet my friends for lunch.

That's always special to me.

 

 

Then tonight, I plan to cook chicken wraps for supper and maybe try out the Pumpkin Muffin recipe that's been flying around Pinterest lately.

I apologize for not posting a link for the recipe but there was no link included with the Pin.  I wonder how many Weight Watcher Points one of these muffins would be.  I need to budget my points today so that I can enjoy one tonight  ~  guilt free. 

Hope you have a wonderful Halloween!

 

 

Edited to add:  I calculate the muffins to be 4 points on the older Weight Watcher's point system.  

Book Review with a Recipe

Read any good books lately?
Well, if you know me well, you know I love to read.  Mostly what I call "fluffy" books.
Books that make me smile, mostly.
Especially books that speak to my heart and that I can relate to in my career ~ homemaking.

So, how could I not love a book with a picture of a homey little cottage on the front?

The picture is from the front of the book, The Tale of Holly How by Susan Wittig Albert.

 

It's book two of a series of eight from

The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter.

 

They're cute little tales with a mixture of characters of humans and their animals that can speak and reason.

It took a bit of getting used to, the animals talking, but it seems sort of natural after a while.

And the great part of each book is the recipes at the end!

I just had to try this one.

 

Sarah Barwick's Lemon Bars

 

 

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup old-fashioned oats

candied orange peel for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" x 13" pan.  Pour condensed milk into medium-sized bowl; stir in lemon zest and juice.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add flour and baking powder in two additions, beating very well.  Mix in the oats.  Spread about two-thirds of this mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan, making a smooth, firm layer.  Pour milk-lemon mixture over bottom layer.  Spread remaining oat mixture evenly over lemon layer.  (This is easier if you "dot" it in place, then smooth.)  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Cool in pan; refrigerate for one hour.  Cut into 16 squares.  Decorate each square with a bit of candied orange peel.  Refrigerate.

 

 

And I must say that this is delicious!  The piece pictured above is being eaten as I type.  Yummy!

 

I'm currently reading book 3 of this series, and the more I read, the more I enjoy them.  They are very well written.  Here's a sampling of Ms. Albert's writing that I especially enjoyed (maybe because I have a little something in common with Parsley).

"Stop, Parsley!"  roared the badger, but in a kindly way, for he knew that it was Parsley's habit to talk all the way around a story or two or three times before she could manage to open the front door and step into it properly."

 

 

So, leaving you with that, I'm closing the door and stepping out of this posting.  :)

 



Oh, except to say this, the author has a wonderful website with such cute drawings, lists of her books, and even a free newsletter!  Hope you visit and enjoy it.  Now I'm stepping out again.  :)



 

Great Pumpkin Dessert...

... that's its name and it lives up to it.

I mentioned in a post earlier this week (here) about all the specialty pumpkin products I saw on my weekly trip to Aldi.  It really got me wanting something, anything pumpkin flavored so I bought a can of pumpkin and after returning home, started searching for a recipe that sounded gooey and delicious and pumpkiny. 

After searching Pinterest ( for waaay too long), then pulling out all of my cookbooks,  I found it in one of my favorite cookbooks, Taste of Home's 2000 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes.  I knew I had found The One as soon as I saw it.  So, for your enjoyment, if you so choose, here's the recipe compliments of Taste of Home.  ( You can find the recipe and a picture at their website .)

 

Great Pumpkin Dessert

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice *

1 package (18 1/4 ounces ) yellow cake mix

3/4 cup butter, melted

1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

 

In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients.  Transfer to a greased 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan.  Sprinkle with dry cake mix and drizzle with butter.  Top with nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. 

Yield:  12-16 servings

 

*I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I substituted with 2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon,

1/2 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, allspice



And here's the dessert in her (almost) full glory.

Note:  My daughter and I both have this cookbook and we like to let the other know when we try out a new recipe in it.  So Heather, this recipe is on page 74 and earned my Great! rating.  :)

Strawberry Fig Preserves

My sweet hubby and I are making Strawberry Fig Preserves this early Saturday morning.
I decided to rerun one of my earlier blog posts with the instructions for anyone else that is getting a bumper crop of figs this year.  Hope you enjoy your weekend!



Our fig tree had more figs than we could eat this year so I decided to make preserves. Neil and I, both, remember the wonderful tasting strawberry fig preserves our mothers made when we were kids, so with some instructions from our County Extension Service I tried my hand at it. I'll show how I did it ~ the trials and the triumphs.

Step 1: Wash jelly jars in hot, soapy water.



Step 2: Sterilize the jars and lids.



Step 3: Wash, peel, and mash figs. Well, now that's what the instructions said to do but it didn't start out too well for me. My figs were very ripe, meaning very soft. I don't know if you've ever tried to peel a soft fig before but...



...the fig and I quickly became enemies. After working at this for about ten minutes I had about three little "blops" in the bottom of my big pot and knew at this rate it would take me all day just to peel them. I decided to just pull out the stems and forget the peeling. So, after pulling out the stems, I just mashed them up and went on with the next step.



Step 4: Measure 3 cups mashed figs into a large, thick-bottom pan and add two 3-oz. boxes of strawberry gelatin and 3 cups of sugar.



Step 5: Heat to a boil. Lower heat and boil slowly 3-5 minutes, stirring often.

Step 6: Fill hot jars immediately with fig mixture leaving a 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims and add lids.



Step 7: Process half-pints in a boiling water-bath canner 5 minutes. This makes about 6 half-pints.



Step 8: Scrape the pot and taste-test your finished product. I put a spoonful over some plain yogurt and sat down for a yummy snack.



Guess what we had for supper that night? We had hot, made from scratch, buttermilk biscuits, homemade strawberry-fig preserves with a side of bacon and a pot of coffee...Southern eating at its best!

Day 1: Back on Weight Watchers

Day 1 back on Weight Watchers is going well.  I made a 0-Point vegetable soup and decided to eat it for lunch instead of for supper like I first planned.  It would be too hard to eat vegetable soup while everyone else eats the hot meal that I cook!

So, I'll do like I did when I was on Weight Watchers before, eat what everyone else is eating for supper, but just make sure I'm eating the portion size to fit my Points allotment.  I think that's one reason I've kept off the extra pounds as long as I have (eight or more years), because WW taught me how to eat the foods I always eat but in smaller portions.  I think I've lost sight of those smaller portions lately so I'll go back to measuring and weighing until I relearn them.

I also need to incorporate the simpler way I've been cooking the last couple of years, soup or a casserole served with a side of raw veggies.  If the cooking becomes too time intensive, I know me, I'll just grab whatever's handy to eat.

I've found soups to be the best bang for my buck ~ or food for my points. So, tonight we're having chili.  The weather's a little warm right now for chili, but my tummy doesn't care.

Slow Cooker Chili

In a skillet, cook until meat is brown:

1/2 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 - 1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

Drain meat and add to slow cooker along with the following ingredients:

quart of tomatoes

2 cans beans, your choice (I use black beans)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 teaspoons mustard

1 teaspoon salt

Stir well.  Cover and cook in slow cooker on low for 4-8 hours. Great served with a dollop of sour cream and grated cheddar cheese!  (If I only had that many points.)

 

I didn't get my menu made in time to put the chili in my slow cooker today, so I'll cook it up in my cast iron Dutch oven.

 

 

 

 

Monday

Dear Diary,
I soooo need inspiration to write regularly.  Maybe I found it?  A Blogalong sounds like fun and inspiration to me.  I'm doing it!  I'm joining in! 

 

I already have my doubts if I can blog e-v-e-r-y   d-a-y  for a whole month.  But hey, it's already got me blogging and it's not even August 1 yet!  So a little's better than nothing, right?  Maybe some of my blogging buddies will even join in with me for more inspiration.  If you want to, here's Effy's link.  (Psst, let me know if you join!)

I had a great weekend!  I attended an outdoor wedding with my hunny on Saturday.  It was a beautiful evening wedding.  A not-hot July day is a very rare and welcomed Alabama event.  The wedding reception was held in a barn.  Yep, a barn, but what a barn!

Then yesterday brought a wonderful time at my family reunion at a great Georgia park.  I didn't take pictures of the park, only family pictures.  Silly me.

And today it's back to normal.  The guys are off to work and I plan to bring order back to our home.  Laundry is already hanging on the line and I have my to-do list made out.  Have I mentioned lately how much I  l-o-v-e my job?  I love being a full-time homemaker.  I really do!  It gives me such pleasure to keep our home clean and running smoothly (most of the time).  I enjoy cooking meals that put a smile on my family's faces.  What a great reward for doing a job that I love so well.  I'm so blessed.

I'm following along with Flylady this week. 

Well, kinda-sorta.  I'm in the same Zone as her but I'm doing my own thing there.  I don't have door knobs in my living room to clean.  Door knobs, really Flylady?  But I do need to pay special attention to my everyday jobs there like pulling out furniture to vacuum and dusting my ceiling fan.  Who knows, I might even clean the windows if the notion strikes!

After the cleaning and laundry have been tackled I plan to make out my menu and grocery list for the week.  On my mental menu for tonight I've planned Hearty Black-Eyed Peas, fresh broccoli/carrots, and cornbread.

And then?  Playtime!  I have a few crafty ideas up my sleeve.  The first one is to sew up some cloth grocery bags to carry with me on my weekly Aldi visit.  My plastic bags are looking pretty grungy and I want some sturdy cloth ones that I can throw in the wash and keep fresh.  I found a free pattern on the internet and I found a piece of cheery canvas fabric in my stash so a-sewing-I-will-go.

My trip to Hobby Lobby last week didn't bring any new hobby ideas for me but it did get me thinking of adding a couple of new skirts to my fall wardrobe.  I may go back tomorrow and pick out a couple of cotton prints for new fall skirts.  I love sewing skirts!  I think they're my favorite things to sew (and wear).  But do I really need more?   I mean, how many skirts does a lady need in her closet anyway?    I've even thought of opening up a shop on Etsy so that I can sew more and more skirts. Maybe...

Oh, and one more, not so fun plan for my week...   CUT BACK ON MY FOOD INTAKE!   I've been bad.  I've gained three pounds and I've got to get rid of it before it turns into five or more!  My problem is, I'm an emotional eater.  I eat more when I'm HAPPY!  But I don't want to swap in that happiness to lose a few pounds.  I guess I've just got to muster up that will-power I found when I lost those 22 pounds nine years ago.  I think I can...I think I can...I think I can....
 

Wednesday

Dear Diary,
It's been a great two weeks since I last wrote!  I had a wonderful birthday on the 17th and I got my dream birthday gift from my loving husband! No, it's not the daisy chair I first thought I wanted.  Being the fickle girl I am, I changed my mind to the peacock chair after seeing it in person.

I've spent a little time in it already but plan to spend a lot more.  I was right, it does suspend me above any problems.  I feel like a little girl again when curled up in it with a book.  I am so blessed.

I got to swing my precious little granddaughter in it over the weekend.  Wish I'd gotten pictures of us in it but I do have the memory.  Little Hannah is so full of fun, giggles, and love. 

We just laid back and enjoyed our time together while Hannah and her mama and daddy were here.  The house is mighty quiet this morning without those sweet little giggles and squeals and I'm already missing her happy dances.  I wish Indiana wasn't so far away from our Alabama home.

I've got to get to the grocery store today so I can restock the fridge and kitchen cupboards.  I thought about going yesterday afternoon but the thunder kept booming and the rain kept falling so I just scoured the freezer and cupboards and put together a meal with what I found.  The tater tots I found in the freezer made me think of a casserole I had tried in the past from my favorite cookbook, Taste of Home's 2000 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes.          

Pizza Tot Casserole

I didn't have green peppers but I did have jalapeno peppers hanging on the plants in my square-foot garden.  I served the casserole up with chopped, fresh broccoli and carrot sticks.  Yum-yum!

So, today it's to the grocery store I go...with a little side-track stop to Hobby Lobby.  For my birthday, my sweet sons gave me a Hobby Lobby gift card.  I'm thinking of taking up a new hobby and thought I'd just stop by and dream awhile before spending the card.  I always feel a little restless and want to try something new in the middle of summer.  I have never figured out why, but here I am and that's what I'm feeling.

I'm excited about the upcoming weekend with some special outdoor plans.  First, an outdoor wedding on Saturday and then a family reunion at a Georgia park on Sunday.  It's always nice to have something to look forward to.

Now I'm going out to take my morning walk before the heat ~ and probably rain ~ makes an appearance.  Then, make out my menu and grocery list and head out to Hobby Lobby and ALDI.  Sounds like a plan to me!

Simple joys

Yesterday was a most wonderful day!

It was filled with homey chores and visits to a thrift store, Hobby Lobby, and the grocery store in the morning.

Afternoon and evening brought family time and a fun time swapping recipes and cooking with my youngest son's girlfriend.  (I so love girl time and girl talk!  I have to make a special effort to include that into my life since I live in a guy-majority home.)

Sweet Karrie came over and we made my chicken and dressing recipe together.

Then she taught me how to make her Daddy's fan-tab-U-lus fudge.  I think it's the best fudge I've ever tasted!!!

 

 Yum!!!

 

 

~Now on to Today~

This new day has started out very foggy.

The fog has deposited its heavy drops on my clothesline.

 

 

The smell of our woodsmoke contributes a warm, homey smell to the outdoors though.

 

 

 

I think I'll go inside where the washer is swishing our sheets...

                               ...sweet love songs are drifting through from the kitchen cd player,                        and a cheery fire is burning brightly in the fireplace.

All making home a very comforting, happy place to be. 

 

Looking around inside lifts that heavy fog that tried to settle in around me outside.

 

There's a mixture of Christmas past and Valentine future in my little breakfast room.

I seem to have chosen an everlasting Poinsettia waaaaay back in early December.

Who would have thought a mere $3.99 could bring MONTHS! of colorful happiness to my life?

 

Thank you Aldi for your offerings of beautiful flowers at such a little price.

 

 

 

And my just-as-frugal Dollar Tree Valentine decor is just as cheery and will last even longer!

 

 

Such sweet, simple pleasures make me such

A Happy Valentine!

 

 

P.S.

The sun is now out and has gotten rid of the heavy fog so I'm going out to flip the fog droplets from my clotheslines and hang out my freshly washed sheets!

 

I wish you a joyful day, my friend!