All three of our transplanted tomato plants are alive and thriving! Many a'mouth told us they were too big to try and move but I'm glad we don't take advice cause now we've got maters.
We have frozen more apples than we'll ever use so I've switched to canning apple sauce. I'd never canned before in my life so it was an adventure. The first batch I worked up by myself one day while Drew was at work and I ended up with 3 whole jars, one of which didn't seal so we'll have to eat it soon.
I really wanted to avoid adding sugar but I knew some of our apples were sour so I used maple syrup instead (and cinnamon and lemon juice, believe it or not the only grocery store in Floyd was OUT of lemons, small town charms am I right?). The second round Drew and I double-teamed and cooked overnight. I do not recommend this because waking up at 4:30 to can apple sauce is less than ideal (especially later in the day when you're driving to Pittsburgh attempting to listen to Game of Thrones on audiobook and you're both dozing off).
This round we ended up with 7 jars all of which sealed. Hooray!!!
I am already making plans to can some apple butter and salsa and depending on our cucumber crop, pickling some cukes. I have lofty goals but need to remind myself I start school next week. Cue Meghan muttering Martin Luther quotes incoherently in front of 16 year olds.
Since we have both blackberries and apples on the grounds here I wanted to find a recipe to incorporate both. Found here.
The recipe made 12 which you won't need to worry about if you drop the pan in the oven trying to get them out and half of them catch fire while you curse and yell dramatically for "HELP!" I'm pretty sure Drew thought I was on fire. Another alternative is freezing the extras. They are seriously the best muffins I've ever eaten. The only thing I did differently was replace the suggested yogurt with blueberry Activia to keep me regular.
In other news...
We took a whirlwind trip to Pittsburgh on Friday which was totally worth it to see our friends, Sarah and Ben. They bought a beautiful house and it was great to get to visit them and see their town before things get too crazy with school. Also, it's probably the last time we will see them before baby Arlo arrives!!
We left them on Saturday to head back down to Charleston, WV to see our favorite band, Old Crow Medicine Show. We saw them last year with Mumford but wanted to see them headline. And West Virginia was the perfect place to experience it. It's hard to even describe how much fun they are live.
Also, Charleston was lovely.The concert was outside which is always preferable and you just can't beat the goodness that happens when different types of people come together for music as good as OCMS.
We finished off an amazing weekend with what I like to call "The reason I haven't been lesson planning is I've been deciding who I'm going to draft for fantasy football." Priorities people. Eddie Lacy trumps Henry VIII in my world right now. It's just the way it is. And I'm gonna kick ass this year.
Soak in these last few days of summer, teacher friends. I felt a fall crisp in the air today and football is coming. I, for one, can't wait.
