Sunday, May 31, 2015

 
 It looks like summer is finally upon us. The dogs want to go outside, they really do, but a nap on the couch is much easier to handle.

 
The alpacas, on the other hand, have nice cool barn they could be laying about in. And where are they? Sunbathing for all they’re worth. (You’ll have to take my word for it that they where all sleeping right before I took this, but they saw the camera and immediately jumped up to see if I was bringing them something tasty.)
 
We have been splitting the difference as we tend yard and house. Though yesterday we took a well-deserved break from work and took the Suzuki out to the Pinal Mountains for some off-roading.
While we were driving we came across a lovely metal sign that read “Grannies Pass”. Intrigued we stopped and got out. A short walk off the trail we came upon a small, well, I guess you would call it a cemetery. There were seven or eight memorials. Some simple crosses, others elaborate affairs of metal engravings and concrete. Some were placed quite recent; I noticed a date from last year on one. We have no idea who placed the memorials, but they found a very peaceful place for their friends or
families to spend eternity.
 
But rest time is over and now it’s back to work. The gardens have been producing nicely. We had the first corn of the season last night. Yummmmmmy!  Last year I left the ears too long on the stalks and most of the corn got tough. This year I picked off a bunch and spent the morning shucking and blanching the ears in preparation for freezing. I also did a mess of green beans, pureed some cucumbers for freezing in ice trays, (you can use the cuke cubes for smoothies through out the year) and shredded a bunch of zucchinis to freeze for zucchini bread down the road when we are not completely sick of it.
I learned a nifty trick to get all the air out of the freezer bags when preparing the veggies for the freezer. Fill up a bowl with water. Place the desired amount of food in the freezer bag.
 
 
Then submerse the open bag into the water up to the seal point.
 
Zip it close and, viola, minimal air left behind!
 
I wonder if this method would work for fleece bags? I think I will probably not try and find out.