Storing Wheat

My family loves to eat fresh ground whole wheat bread. When we can, we buy our wheat in 50-pounds bags. In order to keep it fresh and bug free I repackage it in 1-gallon plastic zipper bags; by doing it this way it is easier to handle.After the bags are filled I label them so I don't grab the wrong wheat by mistake.
Next I store the wheat in the freezer until we are ready to use it.
When I am ready to bake bread I simply take out a bag and set it on the counter until it reaches room temperature.

Applesauce and Apple Butter

Wow, I am so amazed at how easy it is to make applesauce! After cooking the apples I drained the juice, which will be turned into more jelly, and put the cooked apples through a fruit strainer attachment that goes to my mixer.

The strainer separates the pulp from the skin and seeds and instantly you have applesauce.
The first half of the apple sauce was turned into apple butter.
The second half was left plain for eating.
I am now very exhausted but I feel so satisfied with all I accomplished today.

Learning About Apples

Last night I made apple juice for the very first time; it was surprisingly easy. This morning I turned the juice into jelly. This was the first time I made apple jelly with fresh apples; in the past I always used store purchased juice.
After making jelly I canned apple wedges for using in pies this winter. This is my first time canning apples.
Thankfully we had this handy peeler which I purchased a couple of years ago at the thrift store. This was the first time we tried it and boy was it a time saver!
Now all I lack is making applesauce.

A is for Apples

A friend of mine called on Sunday to ask me if I wanted some apples. It seems her mom's apple tree was so loaded with fruit the branches were breaking.

Today my friend gave me 4 bags stuffed full of Granny Smith apples in picture perfect condition.
All day tomorrow I will be preserving apples.

Ballet Shoes

Elizabeth loves ballet and Tuesday her class begins once again. She has been looking forward to dance all summer.
I picked up a pair of used shoes last year but didn't realize the bottoms were coming undone.
There was no way they would hold up for class so I decided to repair them.
It took a heavy needle, thick thread, needle-nose pliers and about 2-hours to get them back together.
Once I was finished my fingers were very sore but now she has shoes that will last all year.

Oink Oink

I have seen some really cute breakfast ideas on the web lately. Here is one such idea I made for Elizabeth this morning.She thought it was a rabbit, then a dog and her third choice was a pig. I'm no artist but surely it shouldn't take 3-tires to tell it's a pig. Oh well, at least she liked it and began eating it right away.

The Big "50"

On Wednesday Pat turned 50! We weren't able to celebrate then because of the broken water pipes so today was the big celebration. For dinner we had pork steaks.

With oven roasted potatoes. My sister-in-law made these when we visited her and they are now a Family Favorite! Thanks Cathey!!!!
Salad with the new Kraft creamy dressing, I love this new dressing.
Lemonade to drink; I add lime juice to mine and slices of lemons and limes.
Pat requested a coconut cake for dessert. This was the first time I had ever made a cake like this. While it tasted pretty good, the cake was on the dry side so next time I will try a different recipe.
Pat's birthday gift was Season 5 of Andy Griffith.