Chutney on Saturday

"No Waste" Peach Chutney

I made another batch of peach chutney, today, with 5 lbs. of the peaches we had picked earlier.  I had kept them in the bottom fridge drawer and they had frozen in there!  Oops!  I just cut up the frozen peaches, peels and all, and made chutney!  9 1/2 pints of "no waste" peach chutney!  That took up most of the afternoon and early part of the evening!  

In the morning, I did a load of laundry and washed some dishes that I had been too tired to do yesterday.  

Neighbor T called and we had a nice chat, although she called me thinking she was calling someone else!  Aunt C called, too, to check on Dancer.  Dancer has now started to run away from me when he sees me coming with the tube of eye ointment!  Poor kitty.  Later, I called and chatted with friend R.  I will take her some peaches, jam, and chutney, tomorrow.  

My neighbors are having another noisy party with live mariachi band and amplifiers.  They have been preparing since Thursday - taking out their RVs, power washing the driveway, setting up tents, etc.  The party started at 2:30 p.m. and it is now half past midnight, and the music has been non-stop.  I have my windows and doors closed to minimize the noise, but, the house is vibrating to their base!  I like music and it is very upbeat for the most part, but, non-stop from 2:30 p.m. is starting to get to be a bit too much!  There is no sign of it stopping any time soon, either.  Yes, there is a noise ordinance in place and they are violating it, but, no one is enforcing the noise ordinance because our law enforcement officers have more serious crimes to deal with.  Fortunately, I don't go to sleep until the early hours of the morning, anyway.  

It was a lovely sunny, warm day with a high of 78F.  Finally!  I was able to peel off my sweater!  

Brunch was toast with butter and peach jam.  Dinner was some of the lavash flat bread with the last of the mackerel curry and a bowl of turkey/vegetable soup.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- The sunny, warm day
- Peaches!
- Phone chats with family and friends
- Exchanging emails with friends
- More chutney

Today's joyful activity was making chutney.  It was tiring, too, but, it was joyful, too.  

Plans for tomorrow include preserving more peaches - I'll can them in some simple sugar syrup.  I think I have enough jam and chutney.  

How is your weekend coming along?

No Jam Today!

Baby Asian Pears

I guess the White Queen was right, after all!  There's no jam today!  

Instead, we had Dancer's visit to the vet clinic in the early afternoon.  This time, he was taken to the back where his eye was checked and scanned.  They also asked if I would like to have his claws trimmed because they were really long (I've not been able to trim them, myself) and I said yes, so, for an additional $35, Dancer had a manicure/pedicure done for his upcoming birthday!  He's so pampered!  The last time I had a manicure/pedicure was nearly five years ago, in July 2018!

After his eye examination, the vet came out to talk to me.  She asked how he was and I said he seemed to be improving.  She said that the scan still showed a cluster of spots in one corner of the eye.  She said that usually, a scratch on the cornea would be a straight line, not a collection of spots.  She wants me to continue to apply the antibiotic eye ointment for another week and they can check the eye again when I bring him in for his arthritis injection and follow up appointment for the hyperthyroidism medication.  The vet thinks we should do a test for feline herpes (she had mentioned it during our visit, last week, but wanted to try the antibiotics first).  

We have an appointment for the 28th of June.  

After we got home, we relaxed and I had a brunch of scrambled egg on toast and a glass of apple juice.  

Then, I called neighbor S to offer her a jar of peach jam and to ask if I could have some lemons from her tree - I have finished all my lemons and I need more for the next batch of peach jam (I add lemon juice to the peaches).  She gave me some lemons from her tree, two apples from her friend's tree, and a jar of honey that someone had given her which she didn't like.  She also gave me a packet of lavash (flat bread) and two lula kebab (a kebab made from a mixture of ground meat)!  She offered me more mini halva, too, but, I told her I still had some of the sweets she had given me, earlier!  S and daughters are planning to go on a trip to Europe, next week, and she said she's trying to empty the contents of her fridge before she goes!  

In the evening, the door handles we ordered arrived.  The first handle set was the wrong kind and daughter realized it only after we had submitted the order.  We couldn't cancel it before it was shipped so it will have to be returned.  The next handle we ordered needed a separate back piece to allow for the outside lock to be inserted.  So, you get a complete handle set which includes a piece that cannot be opened from the outside with a key and a separate piece with a key lock to replace the part that goes on the outside of the door! 

When M arrived, he helped me to put in the new door handle.  He needed to cut the shaft of the lock to make it fit and it still gave us some trouble (I guess we needed to cut it down even further).  In the end, we used the old handle for the inside of the door and the new piece for the outside of the door with the old lock!  I guess I could have just ordered only the replacement piece for the outside!  But, now, I have an extra handle if this handle breaks!  I can't return it because I had already cut the shaft of the lock.  Never mind - I now have a spare handle if needed!  No, I am not going to declutter it because getting handles for this door seems to be such a hassle!  On the plus side, we now know just what to order, if we need to get replacement handles!  Getting and installing a door handle should not be this difficult or stressful!

After all that, I decided not to try to make any jam, today.  I was just too worn out!  I will make a batch of chutney, tomorrow, instead.

Dinner tonight was the lula kebabs I was given, with leftover rice and some frozen green peas added to the rice.  I had yogurt and peach jam, afterwards.  

Aunt C and cousin N called again to ask after Dancer and, later, I video chatted with my daughter.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Vet care for Dancer
- A safe drive to the vet clinic and back
- Online shopping and free return policies
- M helping with installing the new door handle
- Neighbor S's generosity

Today's joyful activity was relaxing and watching some TV.  One of the programs I watched had a segment about the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka. 

Plans for tomorrow (Saturday) include making a batch of chutney and maybe some knitting.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?

Jam Yesterday and Jam Today, Too!

Yesterday's Jam: Peach and Ginger

There was a discussion about jam, recently, on Angela's blog, Tracing Rainbows, where she quotes the White Queen in Through the Looking Glass, who says, "The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but, never jam today" to Alice.  Well, in my world, it's "jam yesterday and jam today, too!"

Yesterday, I made peach and ginger jam with peeled peaches and just a little ground ginger to give it a hint of warmth.  These jars of jam are meant for gift giving.  Since I was already feeling tired after running around looking for a door handle to fit my patio door and since I was salvaging the bruised and smashed fruit, I put the peelings and unusable portions of the fruit into the compost heap.  

Today, I cut up several more of the peaches until I had 8 cups of peach slices, which I froze in 2-cup portions for later.  I might use them for a pie filling or in smoothies, etc.  The majority of these were good peaches, with only a few bruised spots.  Then, I took most of the peelings, 2 1/2 lbs. of them, and a couple of unripe fruit that had also been picked, and made my famous "No Waste Jam":

Today's Jam: "No Waste" Peach Jam

The deep red color comes from the peach skins.  I made six half pint (8 oz.) jars and there is a little bit leftover which I poured into an old jam jar.  The six half pint jars were canned in a water bath.  These jars are for domestic consumption, due to the peach skins!  I tried to mash some of them down with the potato masher, but, they didn't get mashed up that much.  Maybe, I should have blended them in the blender, first.  The jars are recycled from previous years when I had chutney in them.

In addition to jam, I made a pot of soup, too, using the turkey carcass I had in the freezer (I took out the turkey carcass to make room for the cut up peaches that I froze).  I added some onions, carrots, and broccoli stems to the soup and had a bowl in the evening, after I finished making the jam.  Then, I ate a slice of bread with butter and the last bit of jam that was left in the pot, before I put the pot to soak.  As that was my only meal for the day, I might have another bowl of soup before I go to sleep!  The soup was a very frugal meal to make, and there's leftover soup for future meals, too.  

Then, since I was feeling a bit sticky from all that jam making, I took a nice, hot shower and then, did a load of laundry, including all the sticky kitchen towels, and hung everything to dry overnight.

Aunt C called in the late evening and cousin N.  It was nice to talk with cousin N because she rarely calls, preferring to text, instead. 

The vet clinic called, too, to confirm tomorrow's appointment. 

Today, I am grateful for:

- The peach harvest!  
- The knife sharpener that was a gift from my daughter a few years ago
- Phone calls from family
- Working appliances
- My hands have not cramped (always a concern when I am cutting and stirring things)

Today's joyful activity was making "no waste" jam!  

Plans for tomorrow include Dancer's vet appointment in the afternoon, tending to the garden with M in the evening, and, if the door handle arrives in time, fixing the new door handle.  If not, it can wait until the weekend.  

I still have more peaches in the fridge and more on the tree waiting to be processed.  I need to get another bag of sugar from the cupboard!  The batch of chutney and the two batches of jam used up one 10 lb. bag of sugar!  Not sure if I'll do any more peach processing tomorrow.  Might wait until the weekend.

How was your Thursday?   What are your plans for Friday?

Wednesday

Chrysanthemum

The rescued chrysanthemum plants that M planted, last year, are flowering!

On Wednesday, when M was here, we picked all the peaches on the upper branches that had to be reached by ladder.  We must have picked at least 15 lbs. of fruit!, if not more.  But, some of them were rotting and others were split (and some of the split ones had insects inside them).  I tossed the rotting ones (they went into the compost heap), but, thought I could salvage the split ones.  

Then, as I was bringing the fruit inside, the handle on the patio door broke!  It has happened once before, too, and I replaced the handle.  But, these handles only seem to last for a few years before they break!  So, while M was still watering the garden, I went to a nearby big box building supplies/DIY type store.  They had replacement patio door handles, but, not the right size for the pre-existing holes in my patio door!  They suggested I try a local hardware store and I did, but the only one they had in the right size was without an outside key lock (it could be locked from inside, jut not from outside).  Which was inconvenient for me, because I use this door when I leave and enter the house as it is the closest door to the garage.  But, I bought it, anyway, because I needed to close and lock the door at night.  

M urged me to go to a different DIY store that he likes to go to, saying they will probably have handles there.  So, I had a sandwich (it was about 3:00 p.m. and I hadn't eaten anything), had a quick chat with my sister who called right then, and went to the store that M had recommended.  But, again, they didn't have the handle that would fit my door .  So, I went to a 4th store, another big box store, and they, too, didn't have a patio door handle which can be locked with a key which would fit my door.  They suggested that I order one online.

I tried one more store on the way home, but, they only sold new doors and windows and the hardware for those.

Considering the fact that I haven't been inside a store (other than the pharmacy and that one trip to the dollar store, last week) at all in the past 3 years, I managed to go to five stores in one afternoon on Wednesday!  I am so glad I had my latest Covid booster last week!  I feel more confident about having to go shopping in person!

I also put gas to the car while I was out and about as I was down to 1/4 tank of gas.  Gas was $4.69/gal. if you paid cash; it was $4.79 if you paid with credit, at the station I went to.  At a different station across the street from that (different brand of gas), it was $4.79/gal. if paid with cash and $4.89 if by credit.

In the end, daughter and I ordered a new patio door handle with a key lock online.  In the meantime, I fixed the handle I bought - it will work as a temporary fix until I get the new handle.  

I was tired when I got home, but, there were all the peaches to deal with!  I washed them all, cut up the ones that were split and bruised, made a batch of jam with them and kept the rest of the peaches in the fridge to deal with on Thursday!   

Today, I am grateful for:

- M helping with picking peaches
- I had my newest booster when I did!
- I managed to get some type of patio door handle in the right size
- Gas for the car
- Phone call from my sister

Today's joyful activity was picking peaches.  

Plans for Thursday include processing the rest of the peaches and taking some to friend R.  Oh, and doing a load of laundry!  All the kitchen towels need to be washed!  

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

Peach Chutney on Tuesday

Fresh Peaches

These are the peaches I picked on Monday.  They weren't fully ripe, but, something (the weather, perhaps?) is causing them to mold while still on the tree and I am finding half moldy fruit on the ground on a daily basis.  They don't have the flavor or the sweetness of sun ripened peaches, but, I don't want the fruit to go to waste, either.  As it was, some of the picked peaches had started to mold, overnight!  

I decided to make chutney with 5 lbs. of the peaches.  I had to peel and stone about 7 lbs. of peaches in order to get 5 lbs. of cut peaches.  But, I spread kitchen towels on the newly cleared family room table (the new kitchen towels were a big help, as I dripped peach juice everywhere!) and watched TV while I cut up the fruit, peeled the garlic and the ginger and weighed out the dried chilies and mustard seeds.  My peach chutney recipe is here. 

I started cutting the peaches at 11:00 a.m., after I brought in the trash cans and checked on the garden, etc.  I finished making the chutney at 5:00 p.m.!  Cutting the peaches took a long time.  Then, cooking the mixture down to chutney consistency took more time.  One is supposed to stir the mixture constantly, according to my recipe, but, I took time off from stirring to clean up as I went.  My recipe doesn't call for canning, but, I processed the jars of chutney in a water bath for 15 minutes (I don't have a canner, as such; I just fill a large pot with water and  use that.)

And the end results:

Peach Chutney

Ten and a half American pint (16 fl. oz.) jars of spicy, sweet peach chutney!  I put the half filled jar in the fridge as I didn't can it.  The chutney is dark red in color due to the chili powder.  

I'll probably make one more batch of chutney, later this week.

Peaches on the Tree

There are still plenty of peaches on the tree.  You can see where the main top of the tree broke off, two years ago (lower right) and how the side branches sent up branches to give height to the tree!  We will have to prune some of that down, I think, because I don't want the tree to grow so tall that we won't be able to harvest the fruit!  As it is, M will have to climb up on a ladder to reach those peaches at the top!  

I ate a peach and leftover watermelon for brunch while the chutney was simmering and, after the chutney was made, I ate one cheese burek and the last Napoleon pastry, instead of having a cup of tea. Later, I had a little spaghetti and sauce for dinner.

I took it easy, the rest of the evening, as I was tired from making the chutney.  I did clean the litter box and chatted with friend R.  I want to take her some peaches, tomorrow or on Thursday.

Today, I am grateful for:
- An abundance of peaches from the garden
- Working appliances
- Having plenty of kitchen towels!
- Some sunshine this afternoon!
- Being able to preserve the bounty of peaches

Today's joyful (if tiring) activity was making peach chutney!  

Plans for tomorrow include tending to the garden with M, picking more peaches, taking some peaches to friend R, putting gas to the car.

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?  Do you make jams or chutney?  If so, will you be making some this summer?

 

 

Gloomy Monday and a Not Really a Plan Meal Plan!

Baby Tomatoes

Another cloudy and cool Monday, with a high of 69F.  

Today, I did a load of laundry, dusted and vacuumed the living room and dining area, gave Dancer his medications and cleaned his litter box, picked more blueberries, picked some peaches (weighed them and there were 9 lbs. of peaches), did the dishes, and took the trash cans to the curb (I kept them in front of the driveway as usual, but, later, I noticed that someone had lined them up neatly along the curb!  Wonder who did that?)  I also watered the two indoor plants that I have (the third one is a rooted cutting that is growing in water, which I haven't potted up, yet).   

I also cleared the small dining table that is in the family room, although I mostly put what was on the table in the bookcase I got from neighbor T.  I am not sure if that is cheating or not!  LOL.  It was mostly files and paperwork and some of it is destined to be stored in the garage and the rest of it is meant to be filed in the new filing cabinet.  So, the bookcase is, actually, a temporary holding space for them, until I sort through them.  Not ideal, by any means, but, it did get the table cleared!  I need that table to start processing the peaches that I picked today, since I don't have a kitchen table (no room in the kitchen for one).  All the cutting and chopping and weighing and measuring get done at this table.  My plan is to make a batch of chutney with the peaches I picked today.  That is the plan for tomorrow.

Meal Planning:

I was supposed to make a meal plan for this week, but, I've decided to just finish up the leftovers before I plan anything else!  There a little rice (I'm thinking I'll make fried rice), mackerel curry gravy (will be good with leftover lavash), pasta and sauce, enough egg salad and bacon for one sandwich, lahmajoon, and burek.  Once all that is over, I will maybe make some soup and there will be leftovers from that!  

Brunch today was the cheese filled flat bread that neighbor S gave me.  The cheese filling was a bit spicy, which surprised and pleased me; I enjoyed it very much.  

Dinner was some of the leftover rice, shrimp curry, and cucumber salad.  With a fresh peach and a cream puff for dessert!  The peach was good; the cream puff was delicious!  

Today, I am grateful for:

- All the blog comments
- Fresh fruit from the garden
- Working appliances
- Dancer's eye seems to be a bit better and he's not sneezing as much
- What I was able to accomplish

Today's joyful activities included picking fresh fruit from the garden and chatting with my daughter.

Plans for tomorrow include making peach chutney and bringing in the trash cans.  I'm not sure if I'd be able to do much more than that!

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

Restful Sunday

Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria psittacina)
Blooming through the pomegranate leaves

Another cool (high of 68F) and cloudy day.  There was no sun at all, today, and it was quite humid, too, having rained a little bit, very early in the morning.  

I decided to have a restful day, although I did clean my bathroom and Dancer's litter box.  He received his twice daily eye medication (does not like it) and twice daily ear medication (tolerates it) and the once daily probiotics (loves it!)  I spent a cozy afternoon on the living room sofa, with the electric space heater on, watching some online videos and knitting on my socks.  

Later in the evening, I moved to the family room to watch news and some TV and knitted.

Neighbor S called me in the evening to offer me more food and I accepted with a grateful heart and gave her a bag of freshly picked blueberries in return:

Treats Compliments of Neighbor S

S gave me a plate with lahmajoon (Armenian pizza), some cheese burek (cheese filled puff pastry triangles), and a type of flat bread with a filling inside, another plate with pieces of watermelon, and a plate of sweets - mini halva (the little round pastries with powdered sugar on top), cream puffs, and Napoleons.  

Brunch had been the leftover French toast from Saturday (with the addition of bacon on the side).  Dinner was two of the Armenian pizzas, some of the watermelon, and a cream puff for dessert!  

Later, I video chatted with my daughter.  

On Sunday, I was grateful for:
- The space heaters
- A restful day
- Gifts of food from neighbor S
- Blueberries from the garden
- Being able to video chat with my daughter

Sunday's joyful activity was knitting.  Eating cream puffs was joyful, too!  LOL!

Plans for Monday include:

- Regular Monday cleaning routines
- Laundry
- Meal planning
- Knitting

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday?