Grizzly Bear Claw Marks

Yesterday we went hiking in Yellowstone National Park near where we live and came across this tree that had claw marks on it.  There were three of them.  We thought it was interesting enough to take a picture.

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61 Pumpkins for Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Bread

      We raise Sugar Baby eating pumpkins every year for pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin muffins.  It is very health and tastes great.

            Pumpkins are started in peat pots around the second week in April.  About the second week in June they can be planted in the garden if there aren’t overnight freezes.   In the fall as the pumpkins ripen and the nighttime temperatures get to freezing, we snap them off of their stem, and take them down into our basement.  We place them on a blanket and space them so none are touching, which will prevent them from rotting.  There they stay until we are ready to process them for pumpkin pie.  Pumpkins that don’t get used for pie are fed to the cows and pigs. 

Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Bread mixture:

When the pumpkins are ready to use we clean the pulp and seeds out of them and cut them into pieces.  The pieces are put into a steamer/juicer and steamed for 20 to 25 minutes.  Next the soft pulp is scooped off of the rind, and the pulp pieces are put through a food strainer with a pumpkin screen.  The puréed pumpkin can then be put into sealable freezer bags of two cup portions and put into the freezer.  We put them into two cup sizes because most recipes call for 16 ounces.  Then it can be taken out of the freezer and thawed when needed for bread or pie recipes. 

Previously instead of using a strainer, we would bake the pumpkin in the oven until the pieces are soft, but this is much more time consuming.        

61 pumpkins in our food storage

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Apple Cinnamon Syrup Recipe

With apple picking season upon us in Eastern Idaho, we get very busy all of a sudden picking as many apples as we can, in the short time when they become ripe.  We use most of the apples that we pick for cider.  We also have many families in the area coming over to use our apple press to make cider.  The Transparent apple variety is very good for apple sauce.  We also make Apple Cinnamon Syrup.  It is good to add a syrup variety to waffles and pancakes.

Apple Cinnamon Syrup

6 cups apple juice
3 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
2 cinnamon sticks

Combine apple juice and cinnamon sticks.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Set aside for 2 hours.  Bring juice to a boil and add sugar, then cook down for about 45 minutes.  Add corn syrup.  Remove the cinnamon.  Immediately put the hot syrup into hot jars (pour hot water into jars to heat them), and invert them for 5 minutes.

Apple Cinnamon Syrup

Apple Press

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