A Bushel of Mint

I did the third cutting of peppermint this morning.  I believe this is a heavy bushel.  That's a lot of tea!!  From previous cuttings I have made three batches of mint cordial and dried a gallon of mint for our winter tea use. 

Peppermint

Probably the most well known variety of mint,peppermint, or Mentha x piperita, is a hearty herb that gives off a classic mint smell when you rub its leaves. You can dry this mint for tea or use it fresh for cooking. Both dried and fresh forms are known for soothing an upset stomach, freshening breath, relieving cold symptoms, and acting as a mood lifter.

Hopefully my Daughters-in-love will take some all of this.  I hate to have it go to waste but it needed to be cut.  I don't know if I'll cut it a fourth time or let it go to flower for the bees.  

They like the mint too.

Mint Cordial - store in the refrigerator

Lime-Orange Marmalade

I picked up a 5 pound bag of limes the other day while at Costco.  They were so beautiful!  What to do with that many limes??  Marmalade for a start!  I made two batches of marmalade That's 18 jars of marmalade.  Plenty for us.  Lime Curd is on the agenda as well.  Lime juice may be used as a substitute for lemon juice to make Lime Curd.  There will still be some limes left over for lime water on a hot day.  Lime - Mint water is a real treat.  And maybe some Limeade as well.   That 5 pound bag will be gone soon...

Last week I put up 6 gallons of strawberries.  Three batches of jam and the rest sliced to the freezer for winter treats.  So the process of 'putting by' has begun.  

Home Canned Dog Food

I cleaned my freezer out yesterday.   This is something I do every summer. Clean, organize, and sort...  Well I unearthed a few old roasts and some old burger.  I'm ashamed to say it was 4 years old.  The meat was still good and there was no freezer burn etc.  But to be honest if we haven't eaten it in four years I doubt it will be high on the list now.  Yes, I came across it last year and thought we really need to use this... I'm just not a big wild game person.  

So this year was my limit.  I felt it was very wasteful to toss it into the dumpster so decided to can it up for fido.  I canned this as I would can any meat so it's completely safe for dog or human consumption.  

Ergo Miss Chessie will be eating high on the hog (er deer, elk, beef) having a bit of this atop her normal kibble.  I called my daughter-in-love and asked if I was becoming the 'crazy cat dog lady'. She assured me I was fine and just not wanting to waste food.  I hope she's right.

a little bird