Beautiful Fall

The month of October has been so beautiful here in the Midwest.  Since there hasn't been many windy days, the trees are full of leaves.  Some are still green but many have changed to flaming reds, gold, orange and purple.  This fall is possibly one of the most gorgeous I have ever seen.

This fall has also found me very busy (mostly in the kitchen).  We have been blessed to receive a huge amount of organic produce that likely would have been composted or thrown away.  When I bring it home, I know that I need to get busy prepping it within a few hours-it is that ripe.  My parents came to dinner last night and after we ate my mom helped me make plum and raspberry jam.  We invented a new recipe and it is delicious.  Our yield was 3 pints and 5 quarts.  We also chopped apples (unpeeled) for the crock pots.  They were soft and cooked down today, so I ran them through the Foley food mill and made unsweetened sauce.  That sauce is now reducing so I can have apple butter for fall baking.  My mom is an excellent cook and she is always so helpful to keep my kitchen tidy.

Today I made more jam from 3 bags of organic grapes (green, red & black) that were on their way to becoming wine.  I added some plums that were soft, too.  I got about 4 1/2 quarts total and brought some to the neighbor's home.  The salsa just finished and I popped it into the fridge to chill.  The result of making salsa, apple butter & jam at one time is that your house smells oddly wonderful.  A little garlicky, a little plummy.

The boys (and E) and dozing off on the couch right now and I need to go take a shower.  God is so gracious and good to our family.