Thursday, June 9, 2022

Zucchini Spotting and Peach Chutney on Thursday

Hello, Zucchini!

Presenting...the first zucchini of the season!  Woo hoo!  Hopefully, it will be the first of many (although, maybe not quite as many as last year!  LOL!)    

It was a sunny and warm day, today, with an afternoon high of 89F.  I had a relaxed morning; slept in, said my morning prayers, walked around the garden, replied to blog comments, visited a few blogs, etc.  Daughter texted that she is feeling much better and headache free, which was good to know.

In the late afternoon/early evening, I made chutney with the last of the peaches.  My peach chutney recipe is here.  I weighed the fruit after I cut them and removed the stones and bruised bits, etc., and had 3 1/2 lbs. of cut up peaches.

I watched the afternoon news while I cut up the peaches, weighed out the ingredients, and peeled the garlic, etc.  Then, I sterilized the pint jars and made the chutney. 

I watched/listened to the House Select Committee's hearing on the January 6th Capitol riots while I made the chutney.

Peach Chutney

I was able to make 6 1/2 pint jars of peach chutney, today.  I had to rest for awhile afterwards, but, I am happy to say that my hands didn't cramp from all the stirring!  I kept one peach for me to eat fresh, this weekend, but, other than that, all the peaches from this year's crop have been processed.  I canned a few jars, made toppings, jam, and chutney!  The peach crop has been such a blessing!

Neighbor T's mail had been delivered to my mail box, today, so I went over and slipped the letters under her front door and called to let her know.  I wonder if I had any mail and, if so, who received it?!

Later in the evening, I called friend R and chatted with her for a bit.  

Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter is feeling better
- A sunny and warm day
- The first zucchini!
- Peach chutney
- Keeping in touch with family and friends

Today's joyful activity was making peach chutney.

Plans for tomorrow include cleaning the kitchen and gardening with M.

How was your Thursday?  Do you make chutney?  If so, what types of chutney do you make?

24 comments:

  1. You have done well with your peaches and peach chutney sounds delicious. We don't eat enough chutney for it to be worth my while making any. So pleased your daughter is feeling better. We have the same problems with wrongly delivered mail and wonder where our mail ends up!

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. I like chutney and peach chutney is a favorite. I think missing mail goes to the same place as missing socks! :D

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  2. Good luck with the zucchini. Thank you for sharing the peach chutney. If I get my act together (unlikely) I could make some for Christmas. Does it go well with cold meat?

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    1. Thank you, Lyssa. Oh, I hope you will be able to make some peach chutney (you could use zucchini or apple, too). I usually have my chutney with rice and curries, but, I think it will go quite well with cold meat, too. :)

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  3. I've only had chutney a few times and we don't generally eat it, so I don't think it would be worth my time to make it. Glad you daughter's headache is better. Headaches can be debilitating.

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    1. Chutney is not something you want to make if you don't eat it much. My daughter and I, on the other hand, will have it with practically every meal of rice and curries (although, I hold back a bit due to the sugar content).
      Thank you, June; from my daughter's description of her headache (nausea, etc.) I think she had something like a migraine. But, she's fine, now. :)

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  4. Wow, that peach tree is certainly very happy in your garden and is paying its way! I hope that when the time comes, you will enjoy your lovely chutneys and jams. (How could you not!) That is an awfully long time stirring. Always very exciting to see the first fruits of anything forming. I wish you success with your zucchini crop this year. Mine are out and looking good, but not yet showing signs of bloom.

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    1. The peach tree has been very good to us and M takes good care of it. I have already tried my jam and it is delicious if I say so myself! I'm waiting to try the topping when my daughter comes home and I make us some waffles. Yes, it is a long time to stir! This time, I reduced the vinegar by about a cup and it seems to have cut down on the time it took to cook down. I am looking forward to my zucchini crop, this year (although, I still have some in the freezer from last year!) Hope your zucchini plants will continue to thrive and produce lots of zucchini for you!

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  5. Your peach chutney looks delicious. I have never canned anything, and I'm a little nervous I'd poison someone!! Best I don't try canning (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)! I just got home yesterday after three weeks away. I cleaned out my sister's house, and it's now for sale. I'm glad to be home, and my little kitty is sticking by me! I will soon start decluttering my house. I might follow how you did one item a day, but will have to do more to get done in one year's time, my goal. Well, I likely won't be that efficient.

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    1. Thank you, Celie. I understand your being nervous to can stuff; I feel the same way about canning vegetables! So far, I haven't tried canning vegetables, especially since I don't have a pressure canner. But, my jams and chutneys have never spoiled or gone bad, so far!
      I'm sure you are glad to be back home and your little kitty must have missed you! Cleaning out your sister's house must have been difficult, but, it's done now and I hope her house sells soon.
      Maybe try decluttering 10 items a day at your own house? That is what I did at the very beginning when I started decluttering (well before my blogging days). It might help with reaching your goal sooner. The other thing I have done was declutter the same number of items as the date (1 item on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd, etc.); it gets harder to find the same number of items towards the end of the month, but, it is doable.

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  6. If I remember rightly, there was quite a surplus of courgettes last year :)
    You have made good use of all those peaches. X

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    1. Ha, ha, yes, I might have had a few too many zucchini, last year! :D
      Thank you! This morning, I found one peach that had gone "splat" on the ground, so I guess we didn't see that last peach! But, the rest have been put to good use. I am going to try to grow them from seed - I've read that the seeds don't grow true as most peaches are grafted, but, it would be fun to see what happens, wouldn't it?

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  7. Oh, I like your suggestion of decluttering the same number of items as the date. I will try that!

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    1. It is a good way to declutter as you build up momentum gradually. Here's a link to the first blog post I did when I tried doing that, back in July 2016:
      https://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2016/07/july-decluttering-and-saturdays.html

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  8. I think my second comment went as anonymous. Celie

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    1. It did, but, no worries. I figured it was you. :D

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  9. Your chutney looks delicious. I made a small amount of mango chutney last year and it would adapt to peaches, too. But I seem to have enough to do. Perhaps when the peaches are being sold in baskets I might find time.
    I visited my friend with dementia today and it was interesting to hear the story she told of an "heirloom" she had, that I knew was no such thing, but I wouldn't have dreamed of correcting her! We always have lots of good chats about our similar childhood memories.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady; the chutney turned out well. Your mango chutney recipe will adapt well to peaches, I'm sure, when you have the time to make some.
      That was kind of you to let your friend tell you about her heirloom. :) I'm sure she appreciates having someone to chat with about childhood memories. :)

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  10. Oh, I love zucchini. You are so industrious with the chutney. Glad to hear your daughter is feeling better.

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    1. Thank you, Stephenie. I had to do something with the peaches to preserve them for later so I could share them with my daughter, too. :) I think the zucchini will be ready for picking, early next week!

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  11. Your chutney looks delicious. I haven't made chutney for years. Ced used to enjoy it but I never ate that much of it so it doesn't seem worth the effort for the little bit I will eat. One of my nephews makes his own chutney so there are always supplies of homemade available!

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    1. My daughter and I both love chutney and we eat quite a bit of it! It's a favorite way to preserve the garden fruits (and veggies like zucchini). Sounds like you have access to all the chutney you need, without having to make your own! :D

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  12. Oh no - It's Started! hahahaha
    I am curious to see how the zucchini "stack up" this year compared to last. ;)
    Good job getting all your peaches processed. Peach chutney sounds divine. We love chutney. I've made it a few times in the past but not often. No canning though - just a single batch. I've never canned anything. I'm afraid of the entire process lol

    We watched the hearing last Thursday night too and I'm looking forward to today's hearing as well.

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    1. Ha, ha, yes, it has started! A rather slow start, though, with just the one zucchini so far. I harvested it, today.
      I like peach chutney. The first time I made it, I found it to be a bit too vinegary, but, over the years, I've adjusted the recipe and now, it is one of my favorite chutneys. I didn't can this batch of chutney - I sterilized the jars, then, poured the chutney into the jars and turned the jars upside down for a few minutes; then, turned it right side up, again and they all sealed. Often, I do the same with jam, too, but, I did can the batch of peach jam I made. I don't have a fancy canner - I just stand the cans in a big pot of water, let it come to boil, and then, boil it for about 30 minutes. I keep thinking I should get a canning rack - they say don't put the cans directly on the pan - but, I've done that all along and so far, nothing has happened! I am scared to death of pressure cooking/canning, though! They say things like tomatoes need to be pressure canned.
      Yes, I'm continuing to watch the hearings. I found out, though, that only certain channels carried Thursday's broadcast in its entirety! Apparently not everything was shown on certain other channels! I thought that was very interesting!

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