I use a bunt pan for this recipe. It cooks more evenly that way.


Pound Cake


5 eggs 2 sticks butter (softened)
2 cups flour ( I use cake flour it makes it better) 1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 325. Prep your pans. Let your eggs soak in a bowl of warm water to get them to room temp.
Combine your flour and salt and sift onto a sheet of wax paper. In the mixer bowl beat your butter until smooth and creamy. Then add the sugar, beating constantly, until they are well blended. Crack warm eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Continue mixing and gradually add the flour mixture from the wax paper. I hold the wax paper up and slowly tap it so a little falls in at a time. Beat until smooth and well blended.
Pour into pans and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for about 45 or at least start checking it around then. Check every 5-10 minutes depending on the amount of goop on the inside. If your wood skewer is clean it is done. I have never made it in the two small pans so make sure to note the cooking time.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Then turn out onto the rack and let it cool completely.

From Our Garden Today

Marion Raspberry Pie Filling(round two)

More Cherry Pie Filling

Zucchini Bread and Butter Pickles

Here is what we have so far. I imagine it will be full in no time.

Echinacea

This is more established this year. The color is such a classic.

Max

I love these things. It's too hot to cook inside in the summer and they heat way better than the class cook top. Actually, the glass cook top can't even heat the pressure canner. It's just wonderful.

More Pie Cherries

I bought another 15lbs of pie cherries yesterday for more filling. We figured to much is better that not enough. It's not like we only make pies with it. We make at least a couple cherry cheesecakes in a year. Them there is crisp and just cherry yogurt. I must say these cherries are a little better than the ones at Hentze's. Not much but just a little. Oh yes! We use cherry juice in the pie filling that comes from Trader Joe's. It's a really rich juice which makes yummy goop that your cherries float in.

Spring Crest Peaches

We took this picture when we were last picking.

Folk Underwear

These are my first pair of knitted underwear. They are actually pretty cozy.

I finished spinning a good portion of this merino I bought at the Black Sheep Gathering.

Our neighbor Joe gave us some honey. Thanks Joe! It's delicious.

Pink Hat and Scarf Set

I finished this a while ago and I still can't decide if I want to put a pom pom on it.

I have been working on this for a while now. I can start the hat to go with it soon.
Our beautiful veggies!

Marion- Raspberry Pie Filling

This is the recipe used for the pie filling. It's from the OSU extension service. We substituted blackberries for the Marion berries and raspberries. We made a freezer version last year but it is much nicer being able to sore this in the pantry. Clear-jel is available at Hentze Farm or through the extension service.


CHERRY PIE FILLING (BLACKBERRY PIE FILLING)**
Quantities of Ingredients Needed for
1 Quart 7 Quarts
Fresh sour cherries 3⅓ cups 6 quarts
Granulated sugar 1 cup 7 cups
Clear-Jel ¼ cup + 1 Tbsp. 1¾ cups
Cinnamon (optional) ⅛ tsp. 1 tsp.
Cold water or fruit juice*** 1⅓ cups 9⅓ cups
Almond extract (optional) ¼ tsp. 2 tsp.
Red food coloring (optional) 6 drops ¼ tsp.
Bottled lemon juice 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. ½ cup
QUALITY: Select very ripe, firm, tart cherries. If using frozen cherries, refer to page 1.
PROCEDURE: Rinse and pit cherries. To prevent stem end browning, hold pitted cherries in
water containing 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals or 6 crushed 500 mg vitamin C tablets in
1 gallon of water. Combine sugar, Clear-Jel, and cinnamon (if desired) in a large saucepan. Stir.
Add water or juice, almond extract, and food coloring (if desired). Stir mixture and cook over
medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil
1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in cherries. Fill quart jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Process
immediately (page 4).
**The Cherry Pie Filling recipe can be used with blackberries. More sugar may be required for
tart berries. When making berry filling, omit the cinnamon, almond extract and food coloring.
***Water can be replaced with cherry or berry juice for a more fruit flavored filling.

Blueberry pie filling

We picked 28lbs from the Blueberry Patch last week. We also bought some honey while we were there. Here is our pie filling we made. We printed the recipe off pickyourown.com. Here is where you find the recipe http://www.pickyourown.org//blueberrypiefilling.htm

Canned Cherry Pie Filling

Canned Raspberry Marion Berry Pie Filling

This stuff is so good! We used a blackberry pie filling recipe and used different berries.

We also picked cherries at Hentze Farm. These are Lamberts.

Peach Picking at Detering Orchard

We picked Spring Crest Peaches at Detering Orchard. We picked Early Blue blueberries the day before. Spring crest are a semi clingstone so they are not the best for canning but great for eating.

Yesterday we went picking blueberries at Adkins Farm. They still need a little more sun but they are still yummy.

I made a quick trip to Harrisburg and went to Bear Fruit Farm. I think they had some of the most beautiful plants and berries I have ever seen. Unfortunately, they were very bland. I can say the Blueberry Patch's berries have double the flavor. So on our way out we stopped at Detering's Orchards and picked some sweet cherries. Detering's also has blueberries and they have a little more flavor.

This recipe was a Hungarian farmhouse loaf. The recipe calls for fennel seeds on top. I normally knead in mashed roasted garlic while shaping the loaf. It changed the texture a little and makes it a great topper for French Onion Soup.

U-Pick Pie Cherries

We went to to River Bend Farm and Pleasant Hill Orchards and picked the last of her pie cherries. We normally buy our pears there also but many of this years pears have been lost due to the late cold temperatures. We will have to double up next year. Annette (the big cheese at River Bend has also lost her whole two acres of peaches this year.

Rented Drum Carder

I rented this drum carder from the Eugene Textile Center. I am so glad I live in Eugene. the kids seem to enjoy it as much as I do. I am very glad I have the opportunity to process some of the wool I have had for a while.

Meat

We have seven of us in the house. So purchasing 24lbs of meat is a good thing. Special thanks to our two manual defrost chest freezers.