It’s the middle of October, the stock market is lurching around like it’s drunk (anyone who knows me will find it humorous that I mention the stock market since I do not enjoy/understand/follow financial matters), my garden is just about done, and my larder is full. Three of those statements really are not at all connected to the second one because my freezers and basement shelves would look like they do, regardless of the stock market’s sobriety. I just want to be clear about that, so people don’t think I’m freaking out or something.

The following pictures and list provide evidence that I did something this summer besides sit around all day and blog—we all know that there’s certainly plenty of evidence of that. (Actually, I’ve probably logged more hours blogging this summer than I did gardening and putting up produce. Just think what all I could do if I didn’t spend so much time talking about what I’m doing! But then, that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?) It makes me feel productive to see lists and photos, especially on my blog. Because then that turns my blog into A Productive Work Of Art, right?

I need to make a confession, a clarification, an irritating statement of humility: This year we didn’t put up many of our basic food staples, such as peas, broccoli, green beans, corn, salsa, and tomato juice, so I’m feeling a little insecure about the holes in our stash. Only a little insecure, mind you. Also a tad bit guilty because I know we could’ve done better. Not that I really wanted to do better. Though I am sad about not having green beans (thankfully, my mother, bless her heart, did some up for us).

I hesitate to tell you how I feel because I realize it could sound downright scandalous. Like I’m a martyr, or something. How dare I say that I haven’t done much when this list and these photos point to the contrary? But listen. You gotta understand where I come from: a rich (Mennonite) heritage of gardening and preserving food and simple living and productivity. Compared to the standards of my ancestors and some present day family members, I’m not really doing all that much.

And when I pause to ponder the Little House series I realize that I’m just taking baby steps. And I’m still wearing diapers.

Everything is relative, you know.

Enough preambling. Let’s take the tour.

Here are the shelves in the basement. I did not preserve the cans of paint at the end there. Just in case you’re wondering.

A peek into the chest freezer.

And into the upright freezer.

Here is what I am most proud of: my collection of dried foods. It’s my candy collection.

I keep some of my canning on display upstairs in the jelly cupboard that Mr. Handsome built for me. (Do you see the pregnancy mug in the upper right-hand corner? My father got that for me as a gift when I was pregnant with The Baby Nickel.)

Oh, I almost forgot the potatoes. Back down in the basement, shoved back into the crawl space, and covered with a blanket. I’m not sure how many there are (and there are still a few more in the garden and some curing in the barn)—maybe three bushels? Four?

And down under the counter are the jars of fruit juice. I forgot about those the first time I made the run down to the basement.

I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to use up all our food. Not that we don’t have the appetites for it, but because I’ll forget about what I have. I tend to do that.

Here’s the written list, for those who crave details.

Food Preserved 2008
*Rhubarb: about 16 cups, chopped, frozen
*Strawberries: 20 quarts, frozen, sliced, with sugar; 7 gallons, whole, frozen; 4-6 pints, dried; 7-9 quarts, canned
*Sour Cherries (from my girlfriend’s tree): 2 quarts, frozen; 2 ½ quarts, dried
*Blueberries (local farm): 12 pints, frozen; 5 pints, dried; 2 pints, sauce with sugar, frozen; 3 pints, freezer jam (tasteless)
*Sweet Cherries (local farm): 17 quarts, unseeded, canned, with sugar; 4 quarts, unseeded, frozen, with sugar; 3 pints, dried; 4 pints, cook jam (and about 1 pint of flavorless wax cherries, dried)
*Apricots (local farm): 20-plus pints, cook jam; 1 quart (I think more), dried; 2 ½ pints, sauce with sugar, frozen
*Rainbow Swiss Chard: 9 quarts and 4 pints, chopped and frozen
*Apples: 25 quarts applesauce, canned, Lodi; 37 quarts applesauce, canned, Ginger Golds; 39 quarts applesauce, canned, Rambo; 16 quarts juice
*Blackberries (from our friends’ woods): 7 pints, canned
*Cucumbers: 17 pints bread and butters, canned; 11 pints salad, canned
*Basil (from my garden, plus my girlfriend’s): a countless amount (15 containers, plus maybe 12 muffin tins-worth) of pesto; 2 recipes of pesto torte
*Peaches (local farm), Century and Red Haven: 8 pints, frozen chunks for smoothies; 16 one-half pints, cook jam; 12 pints, pureed peaches with sugar, canned; 2 quarts, cubed for smoothies; 29 quarts, sliced, canned; 4 quarts and 8 pints, dried; 24 quarts, frozen with sugar; 8 quarts, halved, canned
*Tomatoes (local farm and our garden): 18 quarts, stewed; 2 quarts, dried, cherry; 7 quarts, oven-roasted; 21 pints pizza sauce, canned
*Green Beans (from mom): 4 ½ quarts, and she gave us about 40 more bags that she did for us
*Corn: some from my mom, maybe 10-15 quarts
*Nectarines (local farm): 5 quarts, canned; 2 quarts, frozen; 5 quarts, dried; 4 ½ pints cook jam
*Red Raspberries: 20 quarts, frozen
*Grapes: 6 pints, pie filling, frozen; 13 ½ pints, jelly, canned; 34 quarts, juice, canned
*Red Beans: about 34 pounds
*Black Beans: about 2-3 quarts
*White Beans: about 3 ½ quarts
*Potatoes (La Ratte, French Fingerling, Yukon Gold): 3-4 bushels
*Watermelon: fresh eating
*Pumpkins: Enough

Mr. Handsome transferred the bodacious babes from the wheelbarrow to the picnic table so every time I walk out the door I am faced with a lot of potential, or a lot of work, depending on my mood.

I decided to take the bull by the horns, or the pumpkin by the stem, and tackle the problem, so a couple nights ago I chopped up one of the babes, baked her, and scooped out all her flesh. I made pumpkin smoothies for a bedtime snack. They had potential (that’s a nice way of putting it), but in a good way (the majority of the family did enjoy them), so I’m not going to say any more about that endeavor until I tweak the recipe into perfected and bloggable submission.

Not that my other recipes are perfect or anything.

And then I made a pumpkin cake/bars which I will share that with you. Today. Because it’s good. Like a pumpkin version of banana bread or carrot cake. The cake did get a little dense on the bottom, which is probably a sign of a baking failure, but I actually liked the texture—moist, light, and dense all at the same time. And if you don’t believe that is possible, you’ll have to make the cake for yourself just so you can discover what an oxymoron tastes like.

I cut into the cake while it was still warm. Patience is not one of my virtues, and this time around I was rewarded for my lack of virtuosity.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
(Slightly adapted) from Simply In Season

2 cups pumpkin, cooked and mashed
1 ½ cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Using an electric hand mixer, beat together the wet ingredients (the first five ingredients on the list—I’m counting sugar as a wet ingredient here). Add the dry ingredients and stir well, but not too much. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting
I did not use measurements for this, so the amounts are just my guesstimates.

2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
a little milk

Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat well. Add some milk, a tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is a nice, spreadable consistency. Spread on the cooled cake.

One word of caution: Don’t eat too much, or you may turn into a Bodacious Babe yourself. You know, round, curvy, sexy … and orange.

Remember back when I posted about the kids getting tired of waiting for Mr. Handsome to work on their fort and so they took matters into their own hands? Well, over the past several weeks, Mr. Handsome has taken matters into his own hands and now things are really moving forward.

Here they all are, the happy family hard at work. But you know who is happiest? The mama, of course, ’cause she’s all by herself in the house where it’s nice and quiet.

The Baby Nickel likes to practice hammering a nail when he can. He has a whole big box of nails in case he messes up. We believe in keeping our children well-supplied. Not that we’re expecting them to mess up or anything.

Hammering takes a good deal of concentration. The hammer is so heavy it looks like it could tip him right over. Please don’t smash your toes, honey. (Now that I typed that I just realized that he has a black toenail … could he have gotten it here?)

But he does a fine job.

Sweetsie swings a hammer like a pro. Or else a child possessed.

I’m not sure what Miss Becca Boo is doing with that crowbar, but I’m sure whatever it is, it’s an important component of fort-raising.

Now Yo-Yo Boy, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about. Just sitting around and watching isn’t going to get the job done, you know.

He’s pretty skilled at hanging out.

Here’s Mr. Handsome, or rather, his (cute) backside. Sorry about that.

Okay, here’s his front now, or at least his hat.

I don’t think I ever posted about Mr. Handsome’s new little tractor (that he’s in love with). His parents gave him their old (but in very fine condition) zero-turn mower, and Mr. Handsome rigged it so that it could pull his trailer. The kids love going for rides on it, as you can see. It’s one of the highlights of building the fort. (The extra child is a friends of Yo-Yo’s.)

The picture is blurry because they are moving really fast. I tried to drive that thing once and about crashed into a tree and nearly fell out of my seat. Now I keep a healthy distance between myself and that machine.

And up goes the first wall.

To be continued.