Canning Tomatoes and Bacon When in Texas

My sister in law Gale and I canned her some Roma tomatoes and bacon when I was there.  Richard had picked her up some very nice Roma tomatoes and I helped her can them.  They were very nice solid tomatoes and looked beautiful when done.  I told her about a blog where I saw that they canned some bacon so she picked some up when we went to the store and she canned it. I found the recipe and directions on this blog:  http://www.paratusfamiliablog.com/2010/06/canning-bacon.html
I am going to can a pound or two and try it and if it is good I will pick up some more bacon when we go down to the Arthur Amish; I can get some of the 10 pound boxes for $16.95 and can it.  Canning it verses freezing it would be much better.  Years ago when we used to tent camp we purchased canned bacon and it was good stuff.  It came in 1 lb cans and it was excellent.  I looked up canned bacon and the one we used to get is no longer made.  You can find another brand but at almost $10 a pound that would be cost prohibited.  I will keep you posted when I make it and taste it.

Making Beef Jerky

My brother in law Richard wanted to make some  beef jerky when we were there so I found a easy recipe and mixed it up for him; then Ron showed him how to make they jerky sticks.  When we make jerky Ron is the one who does it so he was the one to help his brother.  They only made a small batch so it didn't take very long to make it.  They dehydrated it overnight and the next morning it was ready to take out.   I don't care for jerky but they all had some and liked it, sure hope that Richard gets to make some more.

Richard and Ron making jerky.  It's a shame that they look nothing alike :).

Peaches in Texas

My sister in law Gale has 3 small peach trees growing in her front yard and a branch on one of the trees had so many peaches on it that it broke off.  I picked the peaches off of the broken branch and we ate quite a few of them while we were there.  They were yellow peaches and were very sweet.  I wanted to pick the rest of the trees but they wanted to wait.  Before the end of the week there were less than a dozen peaches left on the trees; the squirrels had picked all the peaches. 

Some of the peaches at my sister in laws.  They were beautiful and delicious.

The Babies are Starting to Lay

Ron found the below egg in the run when we went out to do the yard work.  It is really dark brown and speckled.  I'm sure one of the 12 babies laid it, they are almost 5 months old and are getting to the correct age to lay.  We have one that has a bigger comb and is a little larger than the others even tho they are the same age.  My daughter Renee's pullets have also started to lay and they are the same age as ours; she has a couple different breeds and all my babies are DeKalb Amber Links.  She sent me a picture the other day of an egg she found in her run and it is only about 1/3 the size of this one.  It is also very dark brown and had speckles, their first eggs will vary in size.

Wild Grapes

When I was in Texas the wild grapes were ready to be picked so Ron, my brother in law Richard and I picked about 1/2 bushel of them.  I juiced them and canned it and now have the juice ready to make some wild grape jelly.  I will wait until the weather cools down to do it and do the things that can't wait.   I've never seen wild grapes and they were everywhere on the country roads; I found some growing in the trees too.  Gale and Richard had some growing in their front yard trees and I though it was so funny to have vines in the trees.  The grapes were large and the juice is very dark purple, almost black.

Wild grapes growing in a tree.

I'm Home

We arrived home yesterday at 6:30pm after traveling 14 1/2 hours.  It was a long day but very nice traveling weather.  I had my Kindle and read a couple nice fiction Amish stories which made the trip go much faster.  It is nice to go on vacation but oh so nice to come home.  We have everything put away, laundry done and only the yard work needs done.  The grass isn't that tall but the weeds are horrible.  After the yard work I need to pick the tomatoes and look to see what else might need picked and to check the progress of everything.  Will post later on some of the things I did when we were in Texas.
Later, take care.

I Guess I'm Ready

About 12 hours from now we will be on the road to the great state of Texas.  I've been watching the weather where we are going and it has been about the same as here so hopefully it won't be too bad.  I'm ready for just some nice visiting and relaxing.   Me just sitting and doing nothing don't go together but I'm willing to try it.  I will try and write when I can. 
Later, take care.