Food Factory and Fun

Oh for the aroma! Yesterday, Peggy and I did some fun work in the kitchen. We blanched tomatoes, diced jalapeno and banana peppers and started a batch of chili sauce to can. It has cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice in it, kind of like a Swedish Salsa! The fragrance took over the house as it simmered. This morning I'll cook it a bit more to get it thickened and put it in the jars to seal. We tasted some last night on a pizza, and it is nothing short of fantastic.

Peggy's Dad gave her a huge lug of grapes from his vines. While the sauce simmered, she picked the grapes from the stems and got them
simmering in a huge kettle. We'll use the juice to make some jelly and drink. I had a big glass of it over ice, and it is amazing. What a great way to have fun and use the stuff coming out of the gardens.

It is very foggy here in Brainerd this morning, a dense fog advisory is in place. The air is warm and heavy... from my back yard, the river area looks like a heavy cloud. Pretty. Not much bird singing going on, but a pileated woodpecker is rapping on a utility pole... maybe they are waiting for the Sun to break through the fog before they fly around.

A lot going on in life now, the changing seasons, and other wonderful things. Daughter Katie got engaged 2 nights ago, that makes both kids engaged in 2 weeks... awesome. Katie's fiancee` Charlie proposed on the deck of a whale watching boat off the coast of Alaska. How romantic!

I am a Happy, Proud Father for sure!

Other great things on the horizon also....

Peace!