Homestead, Faux-mstead

Hi! With kiddos going back to school, it's starting to feel like fall. Like harvest time. I mentioned that we are reading Little House on the Prairie, and it's making me feel all homesteady. Of course it's all fun and games for us, because our survival isn't dependent on being able to preserve all the fall harvest. Still, we are trying to make sure nothing gets wasted. We  got a late spring freeze here that killed a lot of trees' blossoms, so I've noticed a lot of local apple trees around us didn't grow any apples. We were lucky and ours did! We got about 60 fireside apples from our little tree. Many of them have worms or bugs, so we are trying to use those up more quickly by making crockpot applesauce, and pies. Pie for breakfast!

I have never canned anything, but I keep thinking I'm going to. I'm getting closer. I have purchased canning jars and supplies, and we used one to make some fridge pickles this week. Baby steps. : ) We got to use our homegrown garlic, carrots, celery seed, coriander (cilantro seeds), and farmers market cucumbers. We used Ted Allen's recipe from the Food Network, and they tasted like pickles in just a few hours. The boys love them! We will definitely use this recipe again! Here's the link to the recipe. 

I hope you're week is going well! You are loved!