OT Might be problems with our food chain this summer or fall, so thinking about planting garden

Kale? What's that good for? I guess you could stuff an oversized shoe with it to take up the extra space. It might go in a mattress but sooner or later it would smell. Could you make a wallet out of it? I just can't think of any uses for kale.

 

Grapes! Maybe make jam.

 

My Oregon fig tree put out some beautiful figs this season...best yet....it's taken years to get to this point and I'm eating a few everyday now...fresh figs are the best! Planted two more this spring...they are only 3 ft tall but my old one is now huge...probably 18 ft tall and at least that big around.! I'm getting a freezer bag full of blackberries every morning now and they're really nice this year...I weeded a lot of ivy out of them last spring and they thrived without the competition..good thing because the blueberry farms shut down for covid protection so I didn't get any...only strawberries and blackberries and grapes this year

 

I thought grapes were for jelly and not jam.

 

I love blackberry pie and blackberry cobbler but you need a few sour ones mixed in with the ripe ones to get that delicious combination of sweet and sour. I haven't had blackberry pie that was any good nor eny kind of blackberry cobbler in decades. People kill blackberry bushes around here. So sad.

 

Grapes can be made into jam.

 

Never saw grape jam at any grocery store including the exotic ones like Stroheckers and others.
I just found several manufacturers who sell grape jam onLine. I suppose you could actually make grape preserves which might be pretty good. The skins tend to have an astringent flavor and a little bit of a sour flavor. These flavors go very well with sweetness from added sugar. I might try buying some concord grape preserves if I can find it.
My personal favorite is apricot marmalade. No. 2 is raspberry jam.

 

Apparently people are making preserves as well as bread, no pectin to be had in stores. Fortunately have tons of lemons so making my own from the peels.

 

I read where the peels have the most pectin.
Now, what's this about a pectin shortage? Can't they make that out of apple juice? There should be plenty to go around.

 

Don't know, but tried two stores and no pectin. Actually pith has most pectin. You can use apple peels or quinces, but I have a lemon tree.

 

This from wikipedia:
"The main raw materials for pectin production are dried citrus peels or apple pomace, both by-products of juice production."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectin

I did read where pith is high in pectin.

Another source that I read yesterday said that this is why orange marmalade is so firm.

 

Brandywine tomato with flaky sea salt, basil and balsamic.

 

Yum

 

Pumpkin. And pumpkin soup. Seeds are drying before roast.

 

While we're on the subject of food supply...

 

Today's harvest.

 

Some tomatoes are practically a meal.

 

Gorgeous.

 

Trying to make a dent in tomatoes and figs. Made vegetable soup, minestrone, gazpacho and then put up five points of fig strawberry jam. A tray of figs dehydrating. Finally sitting down for a minute.