It's Huckleberry Time!

When late summer rolls around it usually means Huckleberry Picking Time.

For as long as I have known my husband and his family, one of their traditions has been to trek to the nearby or sometimes not so nearby woods for a day of huckleberry picking.

What are Huckleberries you ask?

Well let me share with you about these fat, purple, juicy orb's of heavenly sweetness...

Huckleberries on the bush just begging to be picked.

A cousin, I believe to the blueberry, they are native to the forested areas near where we live, and they make lip smacking, scrumptious jams and jellies. They are delicious made into a pie, cobbler, or cake, and one of my family's favorite treats....

wait for it....

HUCKLEBERRY MILKSHAKES!

From this...

to this...

and finally to this icy, sweet goodness...

Cold, Frosty, and sure to be Brain Freezing!

Lovely purple stained hands after a day of picking.

(not to worry it doesn't last forever)

On this particular outing we were fortunate to pick about 6 gallons of huckleberries between us, and after much preparation they are now safely tucked away in the freezer waiting for their turn to be used in...

Pies

Cakes

Jams

Cereal

Pancakes

Waffles

 or whatever else I can think of!

What kind of sweet little treat do you enjoy...please share!

Have a great day!

Toodles

Pick, Wash, Peel, Chop, It's Canning Time!

Well, when the garden is ready for harvest...it is ready! Everything else gets planned around picking all those yummy veggies.

Today's harvest...

Green Beans, Carrots, Broccoli and Cucumbers. Potatoes are ready too, so we've been digging a few of those at a time for fresh fried taters for dinner. I'll be canning a bunch of those soon as well.

After a cooler than normal Spring and a slow start growing, I'm happy to say that the garden is finally ready for harvest.

A dozen and half jars of green beans today with more to come soon.

A dozen and a half jars of gorgeous carrots.

These are waiting their turn in the canner!

These gorgeous cukes will become a batch or two of Sweet Pickle Relish.

The recipe below is one of my favorites.

SWEET PICKLE RELISH

Yields a single batch of about 8 half-pints

1 quart chopped cucumbers (about 4 medium size)

2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium size)

1 cup chopped sweet green pepper (about 1 medium size)

1 cup chopped sweet red pepper (about 1 medium size)

1/4 cup salt

3-1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

2 cups cider vinegar

Combine cucumbers, onions, green and red peppers in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain, rinse and drain again thoroughly. Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Add drained vegetables; simmer 10 minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process filled jars 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath canner.

...and last but not least these nice little heads of broccoli

will be part of dinner tonight.

There is something very satisfying about having a garden and going out to pick fresh veggies daily either for a meal or to preserve for use later.

I know everything about where these delicious morsels came from and how they have been handled. With the things you hear in the news about problems and recalls of foods available at the grocery store...I enjoy the piece of mind knowing my produce is safe and fresh.

And I'm all about making the least amount of trips to the grocery store as possible. Easier on the budget and there are more fun things to do!

How does gardening and food preserving benefit your family?

I would love to hear about it, please do share!

Have a great day!

Toodles