Gardening

I have been doing a lot of gardening this spring and summer. I have okra, rattlesnake pole beans, zucchini and yellow squash, egg plants, cucumbers, bell peppers, cayenne, banana peppers, and tomatoes planted. All of it is finally starting to make and we're in a heat wave right now. Heat index up to 108 today and sure hope it gets back to normal really soon because this is miserable with our humidity to.

We picked our first okra today and I made some okra and tomatoes with it. I just cut it like you're going to fry it and added some avocado oil to my skillet and stir fried it a bit in some onion flakes, sea salt, and garlic. Then I added a pint of tomatoes I'd canned a few years back. I cooked it until the okra was done. I plan on putting up some chunks of tomatoes this summer in jars as well as the okra so I can put them together like this and cook them for a side meal. We're all on low carbs around here so having a bit of trouble with side dishes since we've been at this for awhile now and getting tired of the same O same O.

I have canned 8 quarts of the rattlesnake beans so far and sure hope I can get more of them canned. With this heat the beans are having a time of it since they don't like hot temps. Leaves are turning yellow and falling off. :( Also fighting birds that keeps wanting to build in the trellis they're on and not having that because they will squawk at me the whole time I am trying to pick my beans. That will drive me bonkers! Sigh

A precious lady gave me some canning jars the other day and that was a huge blessing if you know how much those things cost these days. I am really on the look out for wide mouth ones at the thrift stores when I get to go. Most of the time I can get them for .25 each and I grab them. I am only buying those now since I would like to have more of those. Got plenty of the small mouth ones now I think. I've been trying to get all the jars cleaned she gave me so they will be basically ready when I need them. I usually re-wash in the dishwasher when I am ready to use them, but they had stuff stuck in the bottom of them I was trying to get out so they'd be clean.

I have a gallon of cucumbers in the fridge now soaking in their pickling lime. Someone shared a Claussen fridge pickle recipe the other day so I am going to try that one. They said no way to make them taste just like theirs, but close. The recipe didn't say anything about soaking them in the lime but I know this helps them have crunch so I am doing it. I have my own dill planted I will use as well as some dehydrated garlic I did as well. Going to use some of that in them. Tomorrow I will rinse out the lime really well and then got to soak them again for 3 hours it said on the lime bag. Then I can get the Claussen recipe out and get them made. Here is the recipe in case you'd like to make it. This will be my first time to try this one. I hope it's good because my daughter dearly loves these pickles!  https://www.foodiewithfamily.com/homemade-claussen-knock-off-pickles/

So this is what I have been up to now for weeks, gardening. I am hoping I can get a few things canned this year. Hope you guys are doing some canning to.

I guess this is all for now.
Happy canning
Rose