More Decluttering, New Recipes & a Busy Dehydrator

Hello, friends.  Last week, I began laying cardboard down in the enclosed berry patch, and covering it with shredded cardboard and paper.  J has weedeated in there, but it would be nice if it wasn't necessary, and more pleasant to work in, without tall weeds.  I took advantage of a 30% off sale, and 4% cash back, to stock up on regularly used items in the kitchen.  Cucumbers, tomatoes, an eggplant and peppers were harvested from the garden, as well as figs.  I've left the remaining blueberries for the birds.  McNibs loves to eat the dropped apples and pears.  I've grabbed a few before he got to them, and have been cutting them up in their breakfast.  Figs that were not quite ripe have been shared with the pups and chickens, and chickens got the large cucumbers.

praying mantis on elderberry

I began harvesting elderberries, and dehydrated them.  While the dehydrator was going, I threw some GF bread in, for making bread crumbs.  While gathering the elderberries, I noticed a praying mantis on one cluster.  Though the peaches are not quite ripe, and are less than perfect, I've gathered the ones that easily let go, to see if we can enjoy some this year.  I fed many plants with fish emulsion.  It appears ants may have killed the witch hazel we planted last year.  Boo.  I weedeated the enclosed asparagus patch.  I've long wanted our printer out of the bedroom, which sits right next to the window that night air comes through, whenever we're able to have windows open.  Which means on summer days, the paper is constantly getting jammed from excess moisture.  I rearranged some things, and we moved the printer into my studio.  That will hopefully stop the jamming problem.  Another benefit is when I'm working on orders or soap when J is asleep, I can go ahead and print without bothering him.

I've continued going through recipes.  There were hundreds, and I'd say with all the things we can no longer eat, I've shredded a good 3/4 of them.  Besides decluttering, another good thing that came out of going through them was the new recipes tried.  There was Broiled Zucchini and Potatoes with Parmesan Crust, Pasta With Zucchini Cream Sauce, and Green Rice with Grapes and Pecans, a good summer dish.  This last recipe is by Mollie Katzen from The Heart of the Plate.  With the first recipe, I intended to do the vegan parmesan crust, but totally forgot it, and we still thought it was good.  The second recipe is Medical Medium-friendly, by glowingthroughit.  I'm also getting rid of about 2/3 of my cookbooks.  There are yet more recipes to go through, but I'm staying with it.  I've been keeping in mind Swedish death cleaning, and truly don't want to leave this for anyone else to have to deal with.  I plan to keep going, once the recipes are done.  I needed to make space for this year's garlic, so worked on getting last year's prepped and dried.  J helped me finish the prepping.  Much of it needed to be composted at this point, but there were still several trays cut up and put in the dehydrator.  I finished filling the dehydrator up with bread for crumbs and chanterelle mushrooms.  The garlic will be put in the pantry, and ground, when garlic powder is needed. 

I noticed this lizard while exercising in my studio

Believe it or not, we finally strained and bottled our pawpaw wine, after 2.5 years.  J had been assuring me that it would be OK, and indeed it is.  He made wine for several years before we met, so I deferred to his knowledge, as I've had no experience in winemaking.  The descriptions were pretty accurate.  It definitely tastes fruity, with peach most prominent, and I also get pear.  No banana, though, as some say.  I didn't know what to expect, and though it's not what I would have thought, it's good.  It's too sweet to enjoy with dinner, but a small glass, especially during the warmer months, will be nice.  Better late than never!  Wishing you a week of simple joys.