A blistering month of highs and lows
- Kim Malaj
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
The heat is back and in full burn mode. Several hill sides in the surrounding area have scorch marks. We've ventured to the spring fed cold lake to cool off. I've never seen so many people flock to our part of the lake but I GET IT. For readers back in the US we are reaching triple digits for about ten days in a row and for those on this side of the pond we are averaging 40+. We share the lake with some very pretty birds. I am thankful its less than two miles from our doorstep to the waters edge.
Our chickens are taking full advantage of the low hanging fruits aka the grapes. The vineyard has five grape varieties and the young vines are still at pecking level.
We've been actively preserving the figs into jam, drying whole and a first, marmalade. After a few trials (48 hours later) we finally got the thick consistency required for the marmalade to stand on it's own. It's packed with sugar so bite size pieces are best. We have seven varieties of figs here at Homestead Albania.
Sun drying figs can take ten days or more in our hanging baskets. We've got two full at the moment.
The next video shows the process from figs to marmalade. We started with roughly 13 kg of figs hand picked from the garden and added 3 kg sugar after they were reduced down.
The next morning we attempted to low temp bake a batch of the fig mixture but after hours and one overflow mishap we returned the mixture to the pot and cooked until thick and sticky enough to hold a spoon up in the mixture. We then placed into a pan lined with wax paper and let dry out over night. We've stored it in slices in the fridge. A huge shout out to Art's sister who was here visiting and the master chef of our endeavors.
Mid fig preservation we received a call from Art's uncle. He had an overflow issue with his apple tree. I picked up three heaping crates of apples and we went to work. First was peel, slice, boil and add a bit of sugar, second cook until thick and sticky like the figs we made marmalade. The following day we made apple suko which is common in Italy. New for me, the taste is a watery apple sauce or pulpy juice. We did add a bit of cinnamon and sugar to the mix. Overall it was a busy week and our Orchard Guard Tower guest enjoyed the bounty of our labors he gave a big shout out to the apple suko as some of the best he's ever had.
And although we did not have a bounty of plums this year because of the frost we did pick up a few kilograms of plums to preserve. I made 13 jars of plum jam a few days ago. And today we made plum compote and have pulled out the dehydrators to dry the remaining plum slices.
If you are hungry at Homestead Albania just take a walk around the garden before you raid the pantry as we are still in fig, pear, apple, plum, grapes, cornelius cherries, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, squash, and greens season.
And soon we'll have jujubee dates, pomegranates, and so so so many grapes.
Arti and I did manage to step away from the property for a day to attend a family wedding. The bride was stunning, the music was LOUD and the dancing was fun. Congrats to Agnis and Krystan.
In orchard news, we have fruits! Not as many as last time this year but we'll take the tiny wins post frost. We've also been enjoying the change of colors as the orchard turns gold in September before the leaves fall.
Art added an additional project to his laundry list of things in August. A new woodshed to enclose from little critters burrowing in the firewood. Cement slab down and the stucco like walls going up. The lean-to where the wood is stored now will be taken out to make way for more trees.
The Orchard Guard Tower was only vacant three nights this month and two of those were only do to a last minute cancellation because of a canceled flight. We've been really lucky with our guests. They've enjoyed the property and their little tower. I mean the reviews are outstanding.
Found a throwback picture while working on a project this month. Take a look at the property from six years ago until now. So MANY changes.
We ended August with a cool down post major rainstorm and it was GLORIOUS. The sunshine with the coolness was a major win for us. September has many visitors, one wedding and we enter VINE To WINE season. When will you come visit Homestead Albania?
