SMOKIN' HOT SALSA!!

....and I do mean HOT!!!!  I put eight habanero and eight jalapeno peppers in one batch....and the rest I put in the other batch. Wow.....besides HOT HOT HOT....it has a lot of flavor. I added more lime juice this time and more cilantro as well. YUMMY!!

Look at the color in these peppers.

Fresh cilantro.

Salsa Ole cooling on the counter top. One jar I did not process...it is for us to eat now!

MY AMAZING TALENTED GRANDDAUGHTERS

I had the great pleasure of being with my two oldest granddaughters yesterday. They are growing up so fast and along their way have become amazing artists!! I took some beach glass, pressed flowers, canvases and some paints with me for my visit. After my session with my son-in-law teaching me how to back up all my data on my computer as well as my videos the girls and I got our creative on!    AMAZING ART TO FOLLOW!!

After blending some colors and painting the canvas this gorgeous shade

of lavender my oldest granddaughter arranged many different petals with

the shade of purple in them to create this AMAZING piece!

The beach glass tree was also created by my oldest granddaughter. After painting her canvas 

she arranged her beach glass on a piece of paper then took a photo of it. After the canvas was 

dry she used her photo to re-arrange her glass. BRILLIANT!!! 

The GORGEOUS arrangement with the flower petals blowing in the wind was created by my

middle granddaughter. After carefully mixing and blending her paint until she had the 

perfect shade she was looking for she arranged petals and leaves to create this 

EYE CATCHING piece of art!! 

Blue on blue heart on a tiny canvas created by my middle granddaughter.

Yummy For My Tummy Apple Pie Filling!!

I did it!!!!!!!!  I made apple pie filling and canned it!! It is way way way better than the stuff you get  in a can!!! It was quite a task to handle the quart jars....next time I make it I will stick to the pint jars. Amber will be very happy to get a jar of this in the mail.....I am sure of it!!!

It would be great on ice cream...to make turn overs...pies...heck...just eat straight from the jar!!

I made my second batch!! 

Twelve pint jars with yummy gooey apple pie filling!

DINAH'S IN THE KITCHEN....NO WAIT....THAT IS NANA!!!

I gathered about fifty pounds of apples from the orchard behind our apartment yesterday.  It was so heavy I had to stop every few feet and switch hands. It was quite a chore to say the least. After making it to the garden area I decided to call Larry to bring me out another bag so we could divide them up. That was a smart move, it made carrying them the rest of the way a bit easier. Today I was in the kitchen for four solid hours cleaning and coring them to make applesauce. I canned some of the applesauce and the rest went into the freezer for my apple butter later. Wow!!! People used to actually gather their fruits and veggies and "put them up" hoping they had enough to last them through the Winter time. It is a lot of work but very rewarding!  I still have about fifteen pounds of apples left to make apple pie filling with.

Crisp green apples.

Cooking in a pot. I leave some of the peeling on.

Almost finished cooking. When they are finished, I put them in my

ricer and make them as smooth as silk. Then process my jars and save 

some for my Blue Ribbon apple butter!

Cooling on the counter.

I made cinnamon-chunky and just plain smooth. Both sugar free. 

NANNY'S KITCHEN!

I got my labels printed today. I have been putting it off waiting for the best person to set up my template at kinkos. The last time I went in Ben was not working that day therefore the labels did not turn out like they should have. Here is a shot of my bounty so far this year on my counter after the labels were put on! It looks like a store!! My store!! I still have my salsa ole, apple butter and pumpkin butter to can this year! Also, one more batch of blackberry jam and raspberry jam. The berries are in the freezer waiting their turn!

Nanny's Kitchen.

BRUSCHETTA BABY!!!!!!

Today I used some of my, BIG, crop of tomatoes!! I have been freezing them as they get ripe...who knew? An old friend gave me this secret a few years back. Tomatoes never get ripe all at the same time. One here, one there. When my friend told me to just freeze them as they ripen...then when you get enough to make bruschetta, salsa, or pasta sauce, thaw and cook I was amazed so I did just that. It worked so well that I have been doing it like this ever since. One thing I have found that I love about this method is when the tomatoes thaw the skin just pulls off...no blanching!! Besides the five pints and seven half pints that I made into bruschetta today I have five more gallon bags of tomatoes in my deep freeze. My specialty is making salsa. That will be next!! Here are a few pics of my day!

BIG pot of tomatoes thawing out in cold water.

After I cooked them down a couple of hours.

I added olive oil, garlics, white vinegar, sweet onion and fresh basil to finish it.

My bounty cooling on the counter.

With my labels!