Usually by deer season, we’ve got snow on the ground and it’s pretty darned cold. But this year has been weird all together and lately we’ve been having temperatures in the fifties and even sixties! The nice weather has allowed us to just about finish getting the gardens all pulled in. Okay, so I can’t walk from the dining room into the living room without taking my life into my hands. Only a few narrow paths between crates of potatoes and dried corn, between a mountain of pumpkins and squash! One visitor thought we’d gone overboard, decorating for fall. Really!

We’ve got piles on piles, in the house right now.

Yesterday I canned up the carrots that I’d planted in the Wolf garden on the 27th of July after my first planting got eaten by grasshoppers, right to the ground, in one day and the second planting just didn’t come up, probably due to my failing to water the rows enough during germination in our drought. So I planted two rows of Scarlet Nantes when I planted my turnips, using the old adage: Plant your turnips the 27th of July, wet or dry. And I did, plus the carrots as I had the room and figured, what the heck. Well, they came up and actually made a crop. Not a fantastic crop, but enough carrots to can, anyway.

Isn’t this Early Pink popcorn pretty? Tasty too, and the popcorn puffs are white, not pink!

I also planted beets the same day and not only did I give a lot of them to friends and helpers, but today I canned up a nice batch too, with more to go when I get the chance. Tonight, Will is shelling a crate of Early Pink popcorn, which we planted in the North garden. I think it’s so pretty! Meanwhile, I took a pan of rolls out of the oven to go with the ham we had for supper. Yum!

I really love making rolls (they’re faster than bread).

Our rescue kitten, Buffy, is doing great. She’s fattening up and growing quite a bit and is so happy to be an inside cat, playing with corn cobs (after we shell dry corn), beans, and other “seed debris” on the floor. When I sit in my chair, she’s right there and jumps up to lay across my chest, upside-down. Mittens still isn’t a fan, but no blood has been drawn yet, so I think they’ll work things out even if they did have a cat fight under the bed with Will in bed. I told him he was lucky it was under the bed, not on top of it, like when they duked it out … right on my head!

We had a surprise, this weekend, when David proposed to Elizabeth! He figured if she didn’t get her deer, at least she’d have something memorable about her first hunt. I’m sure he’s right! — Jackie

33 COMMENTS

  1. Wonderful news about David and Elizabeth’s engagement. All the best to them and Delilah! Now you will have another daughter-in-law to welcome.

  2. So glad David got his ‘deer’…and Elizabeth got hers!
    In reference to previous post about the carrots, yep, my root cellar is too warm. Am going to have to figure out how to correct that.
    Wonder if turnips should be planted on July 27 here in mid-Iowa too? Hadn’t ever heard that one before.
    So happy for you guys having your house and freezers full; I’d say you and Will should have a Happy Dance in there, but it sounds too treacherous right now, ha.

  3. I have your cookbook but have never made these rolls. I will get yeast at store tomorrow and make a pan this weekend.
    A lot of recipes in your book and all so good.

  4. Hey there…forgot to add…the seeds came (wow, that was fast!). Thanks for the extra note on the “acid” tomatoes. I sooo appreciate your help!

  5. Jackie, the rolls are gorgeous! Gluten is really doing a job on my husband; a bad job. I’m looking into using einkorn flour. Have you tried it? How’d it go? I appreciate every single one of your posts, and pray for you.

  6. Congrats to Elizabeth and David. I’m sure both are keeping Delilah’s best interest at heart (as good parents should).
    Yes, Buffy and Mittens will at least reach detente. While our resident cat wasn’t real thrilled with our rescue, they ended up hanging out together/sleeping together. IMHO, it has to be the alpha cat’s decision as to how “close” they get.
    Rolls look quite tasty.

  7. Those rolls look delicious, would love to see the recipe. A deer hunt proposal sure would be something to remember. Congratulations to them. Be careful walking through your harvest. I really enjoy reading your blog.

  8. Oh, what a wonderful update! So happy for David and Elizabeth (and Delilah too!). And I am thrilled to hear that the kitten is doing well and growing. Yes, this nice weather has been a blessing here in MN. i finished harvesting the carrots today and half of the remaining potatoes. Hunting isn’t going well so far, so it’s a good thing we have plenty of produce to get us through the winter.

    • Will and I aren’t even hunting this year as we have two freezers full of meat already, not to mention our huge harvest this year. We are so blessed!!!

  9. Congratulations to your son and his lady.

    The rolls look great. Would you share the recipe?

    Your bounty is beautiful. Hard work pays off. You remain an inspiration to me.

    • The recipe is on page 107 of my Pantry Cookbook, Half-time spoon rolls. But in case you don’t have it, here it is:
      1 Pkg (2 1/4 tsp) dry yeast
      1/4 C warm water
      1/3 C shortening
      1/4 C sugar
      1 tsp. salt
      3/4 C hot, scalded milk
      1/2 C cold water
      1 egg
      3 1/2 C sifted flour

      Stir yeast into water and let sit until frothy. Combine shortening, sugar and salt into hot milk. Cool to lukewarm by adding 1/2 C cold water, then add egg and yeast, Beat in 2 C flour until smooth, then mix in the rest of the flour (1 1/2 C). Let rise in warm place, covered, until double. Stir down dough, then spoon into well greased muffin tins, filling half full. (I add just enough flour to the dough in the beginning to make it less sticky and form golfball sized rolls, which I place in a greased casserole, as I did in the photo.) Let rise in a warm place and bake at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter. I often sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds on after I b utter the tops for extra sparkle and taste.

  10. Congrats to David and Elizabeth! Deer hunt proposal, how sweet. Now after seeing your pic of rolls, I have got to make some for tonight.

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