Home, Home on the Range..with grapefruit!

Yes, I am back on the range again..my kitchen stove that is. I thought that canning and preserving would be coming to a screeching halt somewhere during these winter months, but that just isn't true. Yesterday, it was pecans and today there was a bushel of grapefruit calling my name. This stuff just never ends! My son and I sort of swiped uhhh.. borrowed.. my brother's tall stepladder and started picking the fruit two days ago. (Don't fret over the "borrowed" stepladder.. cranberry/cream cheese bars made everything ok!) Anyway after picking several bushels of fruit, we decided to start canning some. This is not nearly as easy as the pecans and I cannot bribe my son to peel all of these by himself. So we worked all morning, peeling of the thin outer layer of the peel (zest) to dry, then peeling the thick inner lining off, then pulling the grapefruit into sections. Each section has to be skinned and seeded before canning. After peeling and seeding twenty-one of the things, we were beginning to hate grapefruit. Just after twenty-one! And we have probably six more bushels to pick! Oh, my! We will be here forever peeling grapefruit! My son asked.."Shouldn't we be giving some of these grapefruit to someone?" I asked "Who?" Without missing a beat, he responded.."Anyone!" Now to be honest, we have given away probably three bushels of the fruit already..and I am not sure there are that many people around here that will appreciate more. I believe my neighbors are locking their doors when they see me coming. This is sort of like trying to give away masses of zucchini squash..the first few are welcome but after a while no one wants any! So I will continue to peel, seed and can slices of grapefruit. I will continue to dry and grind the peels to use in baking and herbal teas. I will make grapefruit/ginger marmalade. And I will try to sneak some to the neighbors when they are not looking!

I am not complaining about the produce that my little garden keeps providing. Today after we planted out more cabbages, I visited the greenhouse to check on the herbs. This is a funny little greenhouse. My son made it after much encouragement (nagging) from me. To me it looks more like a greenteepee than a greenhouse, but at least it is protecting the plants. I had planted some of my herbs in an old wheelbarrow and this summer Son stuck a branch from a tomato plant in it as a joke. Well, the goofy thing took root and to my surprise, it had ripe tomatoes on it today! Granted they are cherry tomatoes but still fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes in January are a welcome treat! Hopefully, this next year, I will get my large greenhouse. If this does happen, perhaps I shall try growing a few other goodies along side the herbs and tomatoes!