Homemade Extravaganza

We have been Busy Bees as summer continues. We have two annual canning events, and one new project.

Every year for the last few years, we have made our own salsa. We have tried different recipes. Last fall I received a new water canning pan for my birthday, so we felt we could make a bigger batch of salsa. 17 pints this summer! It was two days of work (parent days - the time your kids will play well without you). We were exhausted, but it will be worth it to have salsa for most of a year. I think we almost have a recipe down. 

We also had a great chokecherry crop this year. Added to last year's crop that we froze, there is lots of jelly and syrup to be made! 

 

First harvest, just from the front end of one tree. Lots of berries are still green! 

And our new adventure: brewing. We were sitting at dinner when Scott mentioned we should make our own beer for fun. I said we could look for home kits. That evening he brought up a kit he had bought last year. Because I had been pregnant, he just put it away and surprised me with it when we could both enjoy the beer! 

It was pretty easy to set up. Just hoping it works out okay. Either way the boys have fun looking through the side with the flashlight. There is a root beer kit too, which I bet the kids would love. Can you say Root Beer Float? Yum!