Evening Washington! Hope the smoke subsides.

 

 

Good morning WA...Happy Sunday!!! Gonna be a pretty typical summer day here...hope MA Nature is taking good care of you!!!

Tim...hope you and Maria had a great time at the festival!!!

 

Evening Tim. Looks like a fun time for you this weekend.

 

Good morning WA...hope y'all had a great weekend!!!

 

Merry Monday morning Washington, Tim, Ken and all the crew. I hope everyone had a great weekend and Ma Nature was kind.
Tim, I see you and Maria had a good time judging by the smiles.

It was pretty nice here over the weekend and today finally and little rain - not enough but some jest the same. High 70's today and off to see if anymore Berries are ready to harvest.
I processed about half the bag yesterday evening and have a little over 1/2 gallon and hope to get at least that much with the read I have picked. I may go and see if more are ready to harvest this afternoon.

Have a blessed day and enjoy!

 

We had a great weekend, although a bit hot. It's been over a 100 now for the last couple weeks. Today is supposed to be the last day of a 100 degrees. They say high 80s by the end of the week.

Rod, How are you processing your berries?

We must of processed at least 2 gallons of Raspberries this year, we freeze dried must of them. Some of them just got mixed with sugar and used for ice cream topping.

 

We had a nice day at 79°, a little sun but the humidity is up a little because of this mornings rain.
What Raspberries we got, we ate with a little sugar.
I know this is a little long! Forgive me!
We made Elderberry jelly last year and still have plenty. So this year I am making Elderberry Tincture. With what I harvested Saturday morning - Didn't realize how much I had - I am guessing I will have a close to 1.5 gallons of Tincture. Time consuming preparing the berries but not hard labor!
I put the entire Pod/s in a stock pot and fill with water. swirl drain and repeat to clean the berries of dust, dirt and what bugs will be on them. I put a large piece of cheese cloth over the Colander and let them drain a few minutes. Return them to the stock pot and head to my chair with a large stainless mixing bowl. It will hold more than a gallon of water.
2 options are 1 use a regular table fork and insert it into the pod and rake the berries off into the bowl. The other I find much faster is to hold the pod in one hand and some of the berries onto the fingers of the other hands and with the thumb roll the berries off into the pan. Little pressure is need but it is an acquired skill but doesn't take long to master and not crush the berries.
I use various canning jars but I like small mouth quarts best. Fill the jar 1/2 with berries and sill to within 1 inch of the top with Luksusowa 90 proof Vodka. Any 90 proof (40%bv) or higher clear and unflavored is fine to use. place an airtight lid on the jar and give the jar a gentil shake and set on the shelf.
Shake jars 2 times a week for the first 2 weeks and then once a week for at least 4 more weeks. According to everything I have read they are ready in 6 weeks, but I let them go at least 3 months to ensure all the nutrients and antioxidants have been leached out of the berry.
I save the Vodka bottles and when I strain the berries out, I do so back in the Vodka bottle to free up my canning jars and shelf space.
For reverence, One 750ml bottle will do 3-quart jars which will be about 1/2 gallon of berry juice.

To use the Tincture, we pour about 8 zo of Elderberry juice in a "Dressing Jar - we reuse Primal Kitchen" 8oz dressing bottles. and fill to the lower ring on the neck. Add 5-8 drops of dōTERRA Lemon essential oil and then fill the bottle to the top of the neck with raw Honey. Shake well and shake before use. About 1tsp daily for prevention and 1/2tbsp at the first signs of a cold or flu 2 to 3 times a day.

 

Evening Tim and Rod. Another day here. Rod, that sounds pretty cool.

 

Thanks for the info Rod, sounds like some good stuff.

 

Hi Steve

 

Evening Tim and Steve, and it is pretty good Stuff.
Look up Elderberry's and their properties and health benefits!

 

Our Elderberry's are still quite a ways from being ripe.

 

Good morning WA...Happy Saturday #2!!! Hopefully that break in the weather arrived on time...here it's damp...looks like showers for the next 3 days.

Hope y'all have a great day!!!

 

Good morning Washington

Hi Ken