This weekend has been a mix of work and play for us. Saturday we were off out buying an extractor so that we can take our honey this weekend, then it was an afternoon of tomato roasting, blanching, skinning, pureeing and canning. A hot kitchen on a hot afternoon definitely feels like work but the gleaming ruby jars destined for the cupboard are worth the effort.
In these last, glorious days of summer, the light has a liquidity to it that seems tangible. I feel as if I could run it through my fingers, lick it from my lips. I wonder if it is flavouring the sauces I’m making and tucking away for the monochrome days of winter. I hope so.
As well as working on filling the pantry we took some family time to revisit Upper Canada Village (I wrote about our last visit here), we visited a few of the houses we’d missed and enjoyed chatting with the people who work there, living life as it would have been lived in the 1800’s. Standing in a summer kitchen, next to a boiling hot stove that only added to that already warm day, I chatted to the lady about canning and fermenting. Watching her work, in her layers of clothes, standing next to that hot wood stove, it put my own efforts into perspective!
Today will be a mix of work and play. We’ll extract our first honey (hand cranking each drop that we can), more tomatoes will be processed and added to the larder and a few extra jars of jam for good luck. There is housework to do, washing to be hung out and some planning to do for our first day of school tomorrow. But there is time for play too, the last visit to the outdoor pool this season, pirate games to play and moments of happiness to share.
Wishing everyone a lovely, productive weekend.
Emmalina and Her Unfeasibly Large Bonnet 