Basil Jelly...
I used a recipe from "Taste of Home". It was submitted "Sue Gronholz"...
It worked beautifully...
The Ingredients:
4 cups of water
2 cups of firmly packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 package (1-3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
3 drops of green food coloring, optional
5 cups sugar
I washed up my Basil real well... I chopped it, finely, I didn't worry about
if pieces were too big or not. I mean it was going to be boiled down anyway...
In a large saucepan, I brought the water and basil to a boil. At boiling, remove heat, cover and
let stand for 10 minutes.. Strain and discard the Basil.. Return the liquid to a boil, stir in the
pectin and food coloring.
Return to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the sugar. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat; and skim off the foam.
Carefully ladle hot mixture into half-pint jars, leaving a 1/4- in. head space...
Remove any air bubbles, wipe the rims and adjust lids.
Process the jars for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
We haven't tried it yet! We are waiting for them to cool down... CAN'T WAIT!!! The aroma in the house was amazing...
Cucumber Update
For the garden, I was energetic enough to yank the cucumber, it was time.. It turned yellow and attracting white flies... I yielded 3 whole cucumbers... (sigh!!!)
OUT WITH OLD THEN IN WITH THE NEW!!!
After I put some compost in this bed, and I turn it. When will I have the time? (you ask, WELL, I ask)..
I have no cotton pickin' idea!!!
But, if schedule permits me, I have a plan of putting carrots in that space... along with something else, not sure what though!
Until then, I guess, I will be turning compost and getting that area ready!
I decided to move the Jasmine (pot)...
The big move!!!
I know I know! What in the world was I thinking, moving the Jasmine away from it's best friend, the Jalapenos.
I felt like I really needed the space it occupied, so I made an executive decision and moved it... Thank you husband for helping me, It was really heavy...
What will I put there? You wonder? I have no idea!!!! ha-ha-ha, again!
I am full of no Ideas!!!!
I have a lot of thinking to do, and a lot of planning...
Avocados
I started my pits.... Three of them... Bride of Frankenstein and The Twins....So what is it now! Three to six weeks, I should be getting a result!!!
BOOKS
I visited my local book store and as I was looking for a couple of books that seemed interesting, of course, I couldn't locate them without interrupting, the so "busy" floor people that snub ya, just as they look down their nose at ya! What happened to the friendly book shop clerks that have such great information to give you when you ask a simple question? But in place of that, I stumbled on to this one...
Extreme Gardening How to Grow Organic in the Hostile deserts, by Dave Owens, "The Garden Guy."
He is popular on a local news station.
I found a lot of great information that pertains to this environment. I think this will be "THE" sacred journal for the garden from now on....
When will I be able to read it? The 10 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening, while I am playing around in the garden of course... ha-ha-ha!!
Soon there will be relief, the count down, well, still a couple of months of hot humid nastiness, Mother Nature will make us endure... End of Oct. will be prime time....
(can't wait....)
