It’s the middle of October and Fall has found us. Living here in Ohio, zone 6a we get to experience all four seasons to their fullest. This time of year brings cooler temperatures, colorful trees, and much shorter days. During the heat of summer our days here are very long. Average sunrise is 5:40 a.m. and sunsets are 9:10 p.m. which makes for a very long warm day. Now, we average sunrise at 7:45 a.m. and sunset at 6:30 p.m. and it will only become shorter as we move into November. Definitely a slower pace goes along with those shorter days.
Thats the pace for this week’s Urban Update #7. I took a trip to my parents’ hometown Spencer, West Virginia and traveled the area with them reminiscing about their childhood. A beautiful time and good memories. This is apple season here as well and we are taking full advantage of that again this week. We traveled to a new orchard and bought more apples to make all the apple items we still need for the pantry. And we finally received some much-needed rain.
October 21, 2023
Day Trip
My parents were born and raised in West Virginia. They both grew up on the farm and lived happy lives but sometimes difficult for sure. Their lives began at the end of the Great Depression and those effects were still very much on their families minds at that time. Both came from large families, dad had 10 siblings and mom had 8. My dad is 86 and my mom is 83 and both still in good health.
Mom still enjoys canning and dad is always out in the garden bring her produce to put up. Both of them have had a huge influence on the way I live my life today. I enjoy gardening and canning and I’m trying to keep those old ways alive.
This week I took them back to their homeplace for a visit. Although there are not many left there to visit. Mom is the only one in her family left, other than nieces and nephews. Dad does have a younger brother left and several nieces and nephews there in Spencer and we were able to visit with some.
Our main goal for going this time was to find my mom’s parents grave sites. We tried several years ago but things had changed so much we never found it. This is a very small family plot up on a hill and very secluded. After stopping and asking for directions we finally found it. We reminisced about good times with them and looked around at other family members that have passed on before. So very thankful we were able to find this for my mom. It had been way to long since she had been there and a much-needed trip for her.
Leaving here we drove to where my dad was raised. He pointed out different buildings and homes telling stories of each as we passed. This was a great time with them, and they both remembered and shared their experiences they had there. Dad was born just down the road from the next cemetery we went to.
This is a much larger cemetery with most of my dad’s family here along with my older sister. She passed away when she was 16 and I was only 7. We walked the hill side talking about family members and memories we had of them. My mom’s only sister is also buried here. A much need trip for sure and I am so very thankful I took time to take them home.
In The Garden
Finishing Up Harvesting
Rain finally found us and has helped those Fall leaves to start falling. There is still so much to do in the gardens to prepare them for winter. We are still harvesting produce and I always hate for that to end. Next week we are predicted to have a freeze so I believe that will start the end of the harvesting season. At least for the frost sensitive crops. I still need to cover my fall gardens and get them all tucked in, but these varieties can handle the cooler temps. We still have peppers and tomatoes that we are eating fresh and that is so welcoming. There are a few pumpkins still on the vines and lots of herbs. I am hoping to pick these herbs and get them froze and dehydrated up this next week.
Garlic
I am planning on planting my garlic next week when the soil dries out and I have pulled all the celery. This year I am planting them in a raised bed that I had my celery. I hope it does better in this location then the garlic I planted last year which was an epic failure. Some years are good and some not so good. Fingers crossed because we do use a lot of garlic and I feel that out of all the crops this is one we would prefer to do well. It stores well, usually easy to grow, and one of our most used.
But first I must pull the rest of the celery. I have no idea what I will be doing with this next batch I harvest. We have so much celery, I feel like we won’t need to plant this again for years! Thats ok I have been sneaking it into everything and no one even knows.
In The Kitchen
Fresh Eating
This week I have been trying to use the fresh produce we still have coming in from the garden. I have made a breakfast casserole with peppers, onions, garlic, chives, and potatoes, all from my garden. The eggs are from a friend that raises chickens, and we get our honey from her as well. The dairy we buy but maybe someday we can source that locally or even ourselves. I also made a yummy taco skillet pie. This is made with ground beef, black beans and I served it up with fresh tomatoes from the garden and a garnish of parsley. I also used our home canned salsa and hot sauce. So good!
We have also enjoyed our share of salads this week. My Winter Density romaine lettuce is finally getting large enough to harvest a few leaves from. This with the last of the California Wonder bell peppers, Amish paste tomatoes, and my kale from spring has made some tasty salads. I canned up some pineapple habanero jam last year and I mix this with soy sauce, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, rice vinegar, and oil for a really nice salad dressing! This is really good on a spring salad with carrots and beets too.
Apples
We went to a new orchard this week and came home with 5 different varieties of apples. Jonagold, Cortland, Mutsu, Melrose and Golden Delicious. We intend to make more apple cider and a couple batches of apple butter. These were some of our favorite pantry shelf items we made last year and really want to make sure we have lots more for this year.
The apple butter I made was some of the best and I am so glad I made a video and added the recipe here on my blog because this is so easy to make. Really peeling the apples is the most time-consuming part of this and if you have an apple peeler your set! All you need is a slow cooker, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sugar. I do add both brown sugar and cane or white sugar and I also add maple syrup. The spices and syrup are optional so if you’re not one for the spice flavor then just omit it. So easy and we absolutely love it.
Wrap Up
Another beautiful week has passed and brought us closer to the holiday season. I hope your gardens are producing still, I hope you are accomplishing all your tasks set before you and staying motivated. Until next Urban Update Happy Canning!
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