Monday, September 1, 2014

Alpaca rugs

Our new alpaca rugs have arrived.  We have always used Ingrid's Handwoven Rugs in Paint Rock, Texas to process a portion of our alpaca fiber into rugs.

Most of the rugs are 2' x 3', though we have ordered a custom rug that was much larger for a friend.  We think that there is nothing better than these rugs for softness and durability.

You can read more about harvesting the alpaca fiber from previous posts.

Canning marathon

One of my major jobs this Labor Day weekend is to work up three boxes of peaches.  My dad picked several bushels from the trees on his farm and he offered to share with me.

We picked them up last weekend when we were back from the church service in our new church.  I spent the week hoping that they would ripen in time for the weekend.  If the peaches held over into the following work week, I knew we would be sunk, but our chickens would be thrilled.  As we got to Friday night, I knew that we would have much of the batch ready to can.

Thankfully, my mom offered to pitch in and help.  She encouraged me to start researching recipes and we found some winners.

Despite the monster task, I am really enjoying every second.  The peaches aren't perfect, but they have a great flavor and are the base for several recipes, including a peach salsa that is really beautiful.  This recipe also calls for peaches that are slightly green and that is perfect for the peaches we have on hand.
When we got the first batch into the pot, I told my mom that it was so pretty!
And, it looked pretty in the jars...
And, it was pretty when it came out of the canner...
See, pretty, right?! After taste testing it tonight, I think that we needed to make it a little spicier.  We will have more opportunity to try again.
In addition to the Fiery Peach Salsa from Little Jars, Big Flavors, we also made Maple Bourbon Peach Butter, Vanilla Honey Peach Butter, and Peach Sriracha Butter.

We still have a box of peaches left and tonight's task is to find a few more recipes - the canning marathon continues.