On Thursday it was to be cool and rain. I planned to cook all the beets and bake all the squash. I got my giant canning kettle out to hold the giant beets. I was supposed to do these weeks ago, but between having bad days and prepping for the Memorial, it never happened. Now they each weighed at least 3 lbs.
There were some small ones and they easily fit in my large stockpot. Once I got them started, I moved onto all the damaged squashes.
I got the right side oven loaded and started and realized that the left side oven hadn’t been used for at least 10 years, except to defrost or make yogurt. It would have to be cleaned before being turned on or things wouldn’t smell so good…
So I gave it a cursory scrubbing (as the door shows) and all went well when I turned it on.
By the time I’d gotten the oven done and the squashes in to bake, the small beets had finished cooking. I put them in ice water to cool. I made lunch and rested for about an hour and the big beets were done.
I set them to cool in cold water and started chopping beets. I needed 26 pints for the year.
I am one of the messiest workers you are apt to come across. I am always dirty one way or another. This is my multi-tasking artwork: oven cleaning dots and beet chopping tie dye. If you look carefully, you can see the moving rotten hay mulch brown undertones… I dedicate certain clothes to work and have to ignore how gross they look, even when clean. I’ll have a pop of color in the gardens for a while after this.
I finally finished, after having a 1 hour break for bodywork mid afternoon, around 5PM. I had done exactly 26 pints of diced beets and gotten them into the freezer. The squash I couldn’t do, it was covered and put into the fridge for Friday.
I expect I will not be moving fast on Friday, far too much standing on Thursday. I also hope to hear from my brother about our trip to the Fair this weekend.