Canning Projects Begin Again, and More

Our butternut squash had to be harvested before it was ripe, but most of them did ripen in the garage. A few showed signs of what I thought was rot, so I decided to can those up for now and put the rest in the pantry.  Since peeling winter squash can be difficult, I figured I would work on them slowly knowing that the remaining squash will probably make 12 quarts of cubes, or twelve 15oz cans of puree. 

I also have two boxes of juicing apples in the refrigerator that I purchased from Azure for about $1.20 per pound. They aren't the prettiest apples, buy they are firm and very few have bad spots.  I haven't decided if I will make applesauce or apple butter, but I do plan to use the scraps to make vinegar.  

In the freezer we have several boxes of frozen fruit and veggies.  Most of us do not care for canned veggies, so the mixed veggies will remain in the freezer. I will more than likely make juice from the frozen cranberries since I still have jellied cranberries on the shelf from a year or two ago. The rest of the fruits will probably be used for smoothies or snacks. 

I pulled out all the tomatoes I did get from the garden and put those in the stock pot to thaw. I will make those into sauce tomorrow.

Then there is the beef we bought, a whole side, which I want to process into pints of ground beef and quarts of meatballs. I also want to can the stew beef as well as fajita beef. The fajita beef will have a taco seasoning on it while the stew beef will probably have a mixed seasoning. 

With lambing season coming soon, I hope to have several lambs for the freezer or for sale. I should have at least three lambs by the end of a few months. We leave our rams with our ewes year round due to limited space. 

Our goats are due to kid within the next two months too. While we haven't raised any goat kids for processing, the thought has crossed my mind to raise some of the castrated males for meat. Meanwhile, I am considering finally selling Jersey since she still hasn't grown to like me. I just can't be chasing a goat around to milk her. 

Come spring, I hope to breed two of my three doelings from this past spring. They seem to be growing quite nicely.  This will allow us some milk later in the year when the other goats start drying up.  

Al has been working on finishing the basement so the girls can move down there. The drywall is nearly completed. We will probably put flooring in as well, but we aren't certain what type at this point. As for the walls, there is no rush to put up paint. The ceiling will more than likely have panel boards put up rather than dry wall. 

Once the girls are moved, we will get Caleb settled in a room and fix up the other room as a guest room for those who can't climb stairs. 

I discovered we have mice in the detached garage due to vehicles going in and out as well as bikes being parked in there. Needless to say, this makes me angry because not only are there mice, but there is a huge mess which only adds to my frustration. I need cleanliness and order. The fastest way to get me stressed, other than children fighting, is an unorganized pigsty. 

But I digress.

I guess that summarizes things as of now. Until next time...