Garden Envy

Oh dear.

I just spent a few days on a farm. It was much too soon after spending time on my in-laws' farm. I have some serious garden envy.

Space envy.

Land envy. This makes me want to jump on the back of a horse and see what's on the other side of that hill. And search out the hawthorn tree that I know is there. And view the surrounding landscape from this highest point in the area.

I can't ride a horse, but there are horses here and I'd learn.

The reality is that these people all work very hard. Long hours go into making these farms look the way they do, produce the way they do and function well. I'm too lazy really to do all of that. I'm behind on my own weeding and fence staining. How could I handle all that these farms require? But I do love them.

And how can I really begrudge these kind people their space and gardens and beauty when they are so willing to share? We intruded on their space for a few days, eating their food and using their washrooms and interupting the few minutes of relaxation they allowed themselves.

And we came away with swiss chard, new potatoes, carrots, glads, and many many saskatoons.

All of the rain they've had this year has produced huge, sweet berries that were so easy to pick, even in the hot sun. Now I have to deal with them.

Today I made pie filling for 5 pies, and 5 pint jars for smoothies, oatmeal, granola, or sauce. Whatever the spirit moves us to use it for.

Although I've not yet made a pie with it, here's the recipe I used. It may need some more thickening when I use it, but here's what I did and it tasted great off of the spoon.

Susan's Saskatoon Filling (modified a bit by me based on what I had in the house)

Fill a 4 Qt. dutch oven with fresh saskatoons. Add 1 Qt. of juice
(whatever you've got - I used rhubarb in one batch and apple in another).
Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add 1 cup of sugar (or honey) to taste.
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. minute tapioca

Simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Process as you normally would (Susan
doesn't process them in a water bath at all, but I felt more comfortable doing
so).

I'll test it in my oatmeal in the morning. We were only looking for some grass to camp on, not a share in your hard labour! Thanks for everything!