Best Laid Plans

I had planned a glorious summer full of preserving,(see earlier post) and then I broke my leg on July 3, which ultimately required surgery. Then I spent the rest of the summer  not being able to put any weight on the leg, and so I did not put up anything else (except my leg). I did have the best laid plans- and then I got laid up. Ha Ha. See, I didnt break my sense of humor, just my tibial plateau! I got jammed up! Get it?  I could keep going, but I will give you a break. Don’t you like my lame jokes? Get it, Lame? Because lame means…ok, Im done.

I did actually get a few batches done the days before my accident. I made Strawberry Lemon Jam, Blueberry Jam, Grape Catchup  Sauce, Cherry Salsa, and Sweet Onion Jam. I also did a Rhubarb Syrup and a Rhubarb Vinegar. Oh, and I had got some refrigerator pickles done. I did cucumbers and asparagus, separately, and I did them both two ways-sweet (bread and butter) and sour (savory but no dill). I was testing the recipes before I made a batch to can, when oops, massive injury got in the way.

I had friends come EVERY SINGLE weekday for about 2 months to  help me and my kids have lunch. Friends brought us meals for dinner, friends took my kids to the beach and the park and over to their houses for playdates. I had hours and hours to myself…and all I did was sleep and recover. And start Physical Therapy to learn how to walk again and practice things like bending my toes forward more than a degree or two. So, I took things slowly and cautiously and followed Drs orders to the “T”, and am now pretty recovered. The bone is healed (and full of hardware) and Im using a cane and getting the kids to and fro on my own again. And Im itchin to get back into the kitchen!

Some of the jars I got done in June were gifted to the very generous and helpful group of friends and family who rallied together to help our family cope during the crisis. Which means I have a very small collection of preserves. Im not complaining! I’m happy to have what I do! Truth be told, I had planned to gift a lot of what I made anyway. I was hoping to spend the summer trying new recipes and finding out what we liked and what we needed. I will continue to do that no matter what.

At the very end of the season, I managed to make a very small batch of Tomato Butter in the crockpot with the last of my CSA tomatoes. I just made it and stuck it in the fridge. It tastes heavenly on fancy bakery bread with cheese, and on Kashi crackers. I still have a little left.

Then this week, I happened upon an announcement for a  local canned food swap. I was inspired to join up for it, so I decided to make some Tahitian Vanilla Syrup. I also brought a jar or two of some of my earlier projects. I traded a couple of those, but it was definitely the syrup that was getting the most oohs and ahhs. I traded 5 of the syrups!

I didnt take any pictures at the swap, but you can find them on the facebook page for the event or here.

I came home with garlic chili sauce, red plum butter, cinnamon peach butter, peach sauce, pickled beets, apricot honey butter, and nectarine cardamom preserves. I think I see some pancakes with peach sauce in my near future! And more swapping!

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