A Productive Summer

It's been a busy summer. I didn't do a lot of canning last year, and this year I suspect I've made up for that, even though I'm not finished yet.

So far this year: sweet pickled cherries, sour pickled cauliflower, sour cherry-peach marmalade, black cherry-whiskey jam, sweet cherry-jalapeno chutney, peach salsa, pumpkin pickles, plum jam, white currant jam, dilly wax beans, crabapple jelly.

On the way: beach plum gin, cherry bounce, juniper berry sauerkraut.

Lots of knitting, too. I've made simple shawls for DH's aunts, am finished a February Lady Sweater for my MiL, a cotton scarf for my sister, hats for one of my MI nephews and for a local friend. Still need to make a hat for a new BiL, and maybe a couple of small things for other people.

Here's some good news: if your batch of jam or jelly doesn't set, don't re-make it with commercial pectin (that involves quite a lot of extra sugar). I made my sour cherry-peach jam into marmalade with the addition of lots of lemons, and my black cherry-whiskey jam set beautifully when I added the pulp left over from making crabapple jelly. No extra sugar or off texture.

We haven't gone apple picking yet, though I found some lovely Macoun and RI Greening apples at the farmers market today, as well as some zucchini, so that I can make spicy zucchini pickles.

When we do go apple picking I'll make applesauce and apple marmalade. I also want to make cranberry catsup again--we went through that fast last year.