Rose Prairie Quilts and Farm

Last week on my way back from stitch I stopped at  Ranalli Farms  on the west end of Tontitown, Arkansas, on Hwy. 412. I always find good fruits, produce and plants there. Well this time I came home with a bushel of apples and 1/2 bushel of Mars grapes.  They are a seedless grape,  color like concord but smaller. Which are very tasty. I also did not realize that a 1/2 bushel of grapes equal 18 lbs. That means I was searching for more than just a jam recipe. I first made Grape Catchup, this recipe is from one of my favorite blog, Foods In Jars. It is a sauce that is really nothing related to tomato catchup. It's more in the way of a plum sauce.  It is sweet and tangy with a kick of spice, very good. Suggested that it could be used as a dipping sauce, or a cooking sauce to put on chicken or pork. I think that is what I'll try first. http://www.foodinjars.com/2009/05/grape-catchup/ I have so many grapes I decided to make a double batch, boy I believe I have en

Well I don't know how much you pay attention to what I write or keep track of things I say I'll do but I try to be honest and follow through with what I write down. Ask my family they'll tell you I'm always writing down on my Thing To Do list on my clip board. I'm lost without it. So one of those tasks that I said I was going to do   a while back   was to clean out the freezers. You see I have 2, one large frost-free upright and one smaller upright that is not frost-free. As you can see it really needed to be defrosted. In fact  those items in the freezer had been frosted over so bad, they were embedded in the frost and I could not get them out. That is bad, and I am ashamed that I let it get away from me. So when I started cleaning it out I found many bags of tomatoes that I had prepared with the intention of canning later. Well it's later, lot later. So I gather all the bags that were still good,  did lose a couple to frost but to the m

I have had a couple of good and productive days here on the farm but they had little sewing involved. More in the way of getting ready for when the rain stops and I can get back out there in the garden  So I started my sweet potatoes, I have wrote about how to start your own plants last year  here .  I did not plant my potatoes last weekend because I figure the weatherman could be right about the rain  we're to receive and they were right. We have had 8.5" in the past few days. So I'm getting my potatoes ready by laying them out in the light, this is called "chitting" or "greening". This will lead to a stronger plant, earlier harvest and heavier yield. What you do is a week or two before planting, spread  your seed potatoes in a shallow, open top box or I just used newspaper. Lay them in a warm spot that has bright light but not direct sun. The warmth will cause the eyes to sprout while the light keeps them stubby and less prone to breakage.

I have been so busy putting up apples, okra, tomatoes, green beans and eggplant that I have not  been in the sewing room much, but doesn't all these jars look beautiful.                       I have been trying to getting some piecework ready to take with me on the 3 days shop hop bus trip I'll be going on. So I'll take some knitting and these applique blocks. The pattern is from this book and I know mine looks like theirs. Sometimes I see something that I just love and I cannot think outside the box. I have seen example of this pattern in antique quilts in different colors but I just love the black. You do not see much done in 30's black. There is this one that has yellow points http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?kid=4C-83-402 and then there are ones like this one that have red points http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?kid=57-90-724 And this one has a neat use of changing the the whole look on this pattern http://www.quiltindex.org/bas

It has been a couple of days since I last post and it is not because I could not think of anything but because I have been busy doing a little of this and that. So bear with me and I will just be somewhat general in giving you some updates of my doings. Do not want to bore you. But where do I start, let's see Monday I was able to finish another snowman block. I have 2 block left and then need to assemble. Oh ya and all those snowflakes. That evening I did crochet 2 more but I'll wait to show you those when I have more. And being able to buy them by the bag at Hobby Lobby is a no, they do not have them this year. I guess I'm just going to have to keep crocheting. I also made some Red Pepper Jelly from chili peppers I grew this year. I had 5 plants of various kinds and I thought I had pick some really hot ones but I guess not because my jelly just has enough kick to it to know it's chili but not enough to make you want to pull your tongue out. I'

Last week I was given around 50lbs of carrots and 3 dozen ears of corn so I had been canning and freezing this past week. I just love the look of the finish product, you know" it"s the fruit of your labor " thing. I was able to can 8 pints of corn and freeze 4 quarts. It's ironic because I'm allergic to corn but "the man of the place" loves it. Then with the carrots I canned 16 pints, froze grated carrots for carrot cake (enough for 5), and another 3 bags of grated for soup. Then I have 5 bags of chunk pieces for stew.   Then with some of the remaining carrots I grated them for Carrot Marmalade, canned 12 jars Then I canned 12 jars of Carrot Cake Jam, now that was really delicious. I found the recipe by googling Carrot Cake Jam. I have more grated carrots so when I get back from Fort Smith I plan on  making more jam. I think the ladies at the 30's club would like this one. So pretty Till next time Kat =^..^=

I am finally able to can something out of the garden. I was starting to think that it just was not going to happen with the attack from Mr Groundhog, rabbits, the heat and now the tomato horn worms. But here are some pickles I canned this past weekend. It took about a week to collect enough cucumbers to make a batch. Now "the man of the place" just loves these pickles. I make Lime Pickles. Now if you have never tried these they are a lot like a sweet pickle but with a little more tartness to them. They have a nice crisp crunch to them. So if you refrigerate your pickles they are very refreshing. The recipe is the one that the company puts on the back of their package. Here where I lives the brand of Pickling Lime is Mrs. Wages. According to their recipe you have to soak the cucumbers in the lime solution overnight. Then you have to rinse the cucumbers 3 times and soak them in ice water for 3 hours. Then you make the brine of vinegar, sugar and spices. After the solution b