'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.
Shaker dance song by Joseph Brackett, 1848
Monday, September 1, 2008
The First Day of September
"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
John Updike, September
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Today was pear picking day. I have a wheelbarrow full on the porch right now! I sure wish I could share them. These trees have been on this farm as long as I can remember. It took a ladder and several extra hands to pick them all. I'm not quite sure what I will do with them. They are kind of small this year so I don't think I will can them like I usually do. I'm thinking of just making sauce and pear butter. After we picked pears, we had a cook out with the family. The children took one last swim before we close the pool for the year. We ended the meal with cherry crumb pie and vanilla ice-cream. A sweet say to say good bye to summer.
I just love pears. They are one of my favorite things to paint! Most any of my folk paintings will have a bowl full if I can sneak it in. :-) I spent the morning making tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and tomato juice. Tomorrow morning, we go pick up our new freezer and with a heart full of gratitude for the continued harvest, I'll begin to fill it.
Comments
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 - Pear recipe
Posted by Anonymous
HI,
This is my first time posting a comment to your blog. I have to say that I love reading your blog and am inspired and encouraged by it :) You are also in my prayers.
Here is a recipe for using up those pears. Hope you like it :)
Vanilla Pear Jelly
8 large, ripe Anjou pears, stemmed and blossom
ends removed, then quartered with peel left on
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups cane sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) box powdered pectin
Wash fruit. Adjust enough water to barely cover pears in a large saucepan or kettle. Boil uncovered for 35-45 minutes. Fruit should look translucent. Strain juice through a double layer of cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Do not try to hurry this by squeezing the fruit or the juice will become cloudy. The peel helps give the juice a pale yellow color.
Heat 3 1/2 cups of the pear juice (if you don't have enough juice, you can add as much as 1/2 cup water), add the vanilla and the pectin. Bring to a boil and add the sugar. Boil until the sugar is dissolved and the boiling mixture cannot be stirred down (about 10 - 20 minutes) You'll begin to see the mixture thicken on the back of a wooden spoon and form 2 side-by-side droplets at this point.. Turn down the heat, skim off the foam, and bring to a boil for another five minutes. Using you "spoon test", the jelly should be thick enough to "sheet" in small waves on the back of the spoon.
Pour into sterilized jars and add lids. You may want to boil the filled jars for another five minutes after the lids have been put in place. You'll know either way if the seal has been made by placing your finger in the center of the cooled lid. If it doesn't spring back, the jar has been sealed. You may also recognize the "pop" during the cooling process, which signals that the seal has been made. Store in a cool, dry place.
Makes 6 to 7 (8 ounce) jars.
*This makes your home smell heavenly!
Sharon D.
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Thank you for visiting Sharon, and for your kind words and prayers. Thank you also for taking the time to type out this recipe for me. It sounds HEAVENLY and I can't wait to try it! :-)
Amy
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Edited by stitchnchick on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 11:25
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Tuesday, September 2, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Mennobrarian
Oh, please don't call it the end of summer too soon. There's still three more weeks of lemonade, sunshine, and warmth. Though, something tells me I'm fighting a losing battle against so many autumn enthusiasts!
~Monica
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