Harvest Monday & Sauerkraut

This week for Daphne's Dandelions we have several things to share. We started the week off with a few more radishes. On Tuesday we harvested the last of our cabbage. On Wednesday we ate up the last of our blueberries and pulled up a few more beets. On Saturday C. James pulled our first red onion.

Total Harvest
radishes 8 oz
beets 1 lb 12oz
Red Delicious red onions 2 lb 8 oz
cabbage 3 lb 8 oz
blueberries 8 oz


We made sauerkraut about 2 weeks ago, and I promised to post pictures with a recipe. So here it is. Finally!

C. James was a very helpful cabbage crusher.

Here's the finished cabbage, 4 cabbage for 8 pounds.

Cabbage leaves form the cover.

The baggy is full of water. We're using it to weigh down the shredded cabbage. A close look at this picture reveals the white scum forming around the edges of the baggy. This is a picture of the kraut after about 2 weeks into the process.

We were happily surprised by how simple the process was. It only took about an hour-and-a-half to make.

8 pounds of green cabbage (we used 9)
5 tablespoons kosher salt
4 teaspoons caraway (optional)

Makes about 8 pints

Quarter, core and thinly slice the cabbage. Then, working in batches (2 lb sliced cabbage per batch) work in the salt 1 teaspoon per batch. Squeeze and kneed the cabbage until its wilted and has released enough liquid to cover the cabbage.  Pack the cabbage into a large container and repeat until finished. Cover the cabbage with leaves and place weight on top to hold the cabbage under the liquid. Let sit for several weeks then water-bath can or freeze.

Our season's first blueberries

Today we peeled back the netting and harvested our very first blueberries. We planted 3 new bushes this year. They won't produce until next year. Even with 6 bushes, I don't feel like we'll have enough, but we sure enjoy what we have. The boy's actually fought over them (we're cherishing that moment!); there weren't many berries -only 5 ounces.

We love it! It's harvest time! This gardening, homesteading, producing your own food experience, the garden,  the eggs and meat, it's all such a good time; and the first blueberries today are definitely a highlight.

Frozen Fruit Pops and a New Follower

We want first to welcome our newest follower Annie's Granny.  We love your blog and are so glad you've joined us. We hope to keep you coming back for more and more of our wonderful gardening adventures.

Today Bel made blueberry-peach frozen smoothie pops for the boys. The ingredients are very simple. She pulled some of last year's fruit harvest from the freezer, used agave sweetener and added a little lemon juice to keep the colors bright.  We've read that agave is much easier on the body than cane. It's very sweet, much lighter than honey, and has a wonderful caramel like flavor. The boys love it on their oatmeal, and I love it in my coffee.

Bel has discovered that the trick to vacuum packing is to freeze the fruit on trays first. It eliminates the problem of clogging the machine with moisture.

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave from Costco.

Twenty minutes prep time for the pops, provides twenty-three minutes of quiet time for mom. Ahhhh...

Blueberry-Peach Smoothie Pops

1 2/3 cup fresh, frozen or canned peaches

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/3 cup sugar or 1/4 cup agave nectar

 1 tsp lemon juice

In a blender puree all the ingredients, pour into molds and freeze until firm.