Trail Cam

4 different Big Moe's hanging out at the farm - can you see them all?  Yes, Yes the date is off by 1 month on the trail cam - sorry I was in a hurry...

Peaches anyone?

Peaches are in season - so it was time to make some peach salsa and some peach jam... it looked something like this...

Peach Salsa #3

6 cups fresh Peaches, diced (about 12 medium or 3 lb)
1 ¼ cups Red Onion, diced
4 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and minced
1 red Bell Pepper, diced
½ cup finely chopped fresh Cilantro
½ cup White Vinegar
2 TBS Honey
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp. ground Cumin
½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Salt to taste
Blanch, peel, pit and chop peaches. Measure 6 cups. Combine all ingredients in a large stainless steel, or enamel, saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, 5 minutes.
Ladle salsa into hot, sterilized canning jars to within 1/4 inch of top rim (head space). Remove air bubbles by sliding a rubber spatula between glass and contents. Readjust head space to 1/4 inch, if necessary. Wipe jar rim to remove any residue. Process lids according to manufacturer’s instructions. Place lids and bands on jars. Tighten but do not over-tighten. Place jars in water bath canner and process 10 minutes. Cool. Check jar seals.

1 package no sugar pectin - I used Ball No Sugar needed box

6 pounds peaches
4 cups sugar
6 Tbsp lime juice
1 vanilla bean, split and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 Tbsp bourbon - I used Jim Beam
1.5 tsp almond extract
- Put the peaches, sugar, and lime juice into a large non-reactive pot and smash/blend the suckers into a rough pulp using either a potato masher or an immersion blender.
- Put the pot over medium-high heat, add the vanilla pieces and bring the peach mixture to a rolling boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Boil for 1 minute, then add the pectin. Bring the jam to a rolling boil once more, stirring constantly, and boil exactly 1 minute.
- Remove the jam from heat. Stir in the bourbon and extract, ladle the hot jam into jars, and screw on the lids. Then set the jars on a rack in a large pot of boiling water--the water should be 1 inch above the jar tops. I just washed the pot I made the jam in (the only big pot I own), put the jars in, made sure they were under an inch of water and turned it on high.
- Bring the water to a gentle boil and boil the jars for 10 minutes. Then remove the jars from the hot water and set aside to cool. You should hear the lids popping within a few minutes of their bath.

Summer Fish Contest

A little weekend fishing competition was in order last weekend at Cork's pond.... the results are slightly difficult to report as Cole was keeping score (and cheating for his Uncle Bill)... so clearly Bill was the winner. We had a good time, surgery was not necessary and no one got skunked. Lexi was victorious in catching and releasing her own fish - no small feat for a 5 year old. Trevor fried the fish for the kids and we heard it was "delish" - although there is a large oil stain on his patio now (no telling how that got there).