Monday, August 3, 2009

Dog Days are Coming

The dog days of summer are soon to be upon us.  After a cooler than usual July, the weatherman says it's finally going to be our normal hot and sticky Southeast Missouri summertime weather.

I made 5 half-pints of Jalapeno Pepper Jelly last Friday.  There was 1 large red pepper and it was hot enough that I'll have to label this batch of pepper jelly "Medium hot".  I was able to eat it, but I don't think I'd like it to be much hotter.  I don't like to cry when I'm eating or for my mouth to be numb.

Yesterday my family and I picked almost 2 bushels of sweet corn from my parents' garden and I put 11 quarts in the freezer.  That will be yummy later this fall/winter.  We also picked cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants.  Now it's time for me to can tomatoes, salsa, and spaghetti sauce.  I have a recipe in my canning book for Red Tomato Jam that I'd like to try.  I'm curious as to what it tastes like and it would be something different from "normal" jams.  Will post about that later. For now, I'd better start the smoker.  I'm making smoked pork steaks for supper and then I have to pick tomatoes in my garden and get busy canning.