...or you know, I did more jam canning. I did one batch of apricots (the last!) and 1 batch of blackberry. I ended up with 3.5 pints of apricot (gave Mom the half pint) and 10 half pints of blackberry, 1 full pint of blackberry (which I gave to Mom) and then had about half of a half-pint that went straight into the fridge.

I am done with jam for the year. My stash does not quite take up the whole shelf, but it's plenty for our needs and with enough to give some away at Christmas. I will also be giving the chiropractor a jar of the blackberry next time I go in for letting us pick there.

New stash pic:



Hmm...I think I need to clean that one shelf wall.

I have strawberry, apricot, grape, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry jams and jellies. Plus mustard. I'd say that's a pretty good condiment stash.

As for the mustard, when I finish off this batch I am going to add cayenne pepper to the recipe. It is good as is, but I want a little more kick. Not too much though, so I will probably only add 1/8 tsp. I left it out thinking it would be fine. And it is. But I want it a little better than fine. Then if it's still not quite kicky enough, I'll add 1/4 tsp to the batch after that. Also, I think it needs a bit more in the way of liquid. It's a little thick so doesn't spread as well. Probably I'll just up the water and the vinegar by a few TBSP each.

Today the garden produced one very bright red paste tomato and a kohlrabi that were both ready for picking. When we get back from Tacoma on Friday I think we will have a few more ripe tomatoes. And if I don't feel dead on Saturday I will go to the Farmer's Market and see where the local organic tomato crop is at, because I just won't have enough for my sauce needs with what I grew myself.

I want to have 52 quarts of tomato sauce and 24 pints of diced tomatoes. I know 25 pounds of tomatoes equals a pint of diced. I'm not sure how much I will need for the sauce, though. Fortunately I won't have to buy it all at once and I can see how much whatever I do buy makes. I'm estimating I will probably need 75 pounds of tomatoes for 52 quarts of sauce and I will probably only be able to provide 25 pounds from my own garden. Next year I will plant a lot more plants.

I will also need a bunch of lemon juice, 2 tbsp per quart and one per pint so I can raise the acidity enough to water bath can it. One day I will have a lean-to green house attached to my home and it will grow a lemon tree. Hopefully.

I spent $45.21 at the grocery store today. It was a totally unnecessary expense, too. *sighs* My resistance was down and I did not want to cook. Not the best time to go into a store. With kids.