Clearing Freezer Space

It’s deer season.  With any luck we will be needing freezer space.

Last night I pulled out a few bags of tomato’s I’d frozen. I had the thought of saving some of the canning for when all that heat would be appreciated. Since it was mid 30”s this morning …the heat was appreciated!

Let me tell you, working with frozen tomato’s is so much easier than fresh.  I’d much rather slip skins from a cold tomato than a hot one any day. 

I’ve read on a few canning sites about using the crockpot to cook the sauce down and decided to try it.  I tossed a few bags of frozen maters into the crockpot and set to low, let it do it’s thing overnight.  That worked but was a bit messy.  Next time I wont let them cook overnight maybe only an hour or so till they are thawed just enough to slip the skins

3 of the many bags waiting in my freezer

after they thawed & started weeping I poured all the liquid off and ran them through the food processer.  If I was working one batch I would have left it  in the crockpot to reduce & thicken but, I had more bags to go so on the stove this sauce went.

The bit that didn’t fit in the pan I used to thaw the next few bags of tomato's and left them to cook till the sauce pan was available

Worked pretty slick!  I’ll be doing this again for sure.

I ended up with 5 quarts and 7 pints cooling on the counter, not a huge batch but a good start.

All the tomato skins I saved and popped in the dehydrator

I ended up with all 9 trays loaded

Last time I tried dehydrating the skins for tomato powder I scorched them.  Forgot they were in the dehydrator and the scorch taste carried to all the skins.

This time I’m turning that sucker off before I go to bed!

Have you tried freezing part of your summer harvest and canning in winter?

Stay warm out there!

Katie

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Rain, Lovely Rain

I know, I know… last week I was singing rain – rain go away!

It was getting pretty dry & everything seriously needed watered. 

The thick & fluffy clouds rolled in early yesterday morning.  They were beautiful…. so low, they looked to be brushing the tree tops

Perfect weather for processing corn outside. Mr.Fix-it is an early riser…What I call “O”-God thirty”   You know, when most of us look at the clock and groan and roll back over.  By the time I came out at 8AM, he had everything set up and was well into having the corn shucked and ready  (My Hero)

While the first batch was in blanching for 10 minutes & then cooling,  we finished the shucking

Turkey fryer works perfectly with a large kettle

Corn bagged and cooling a bit more in the breeze before going in the freezer.

I love this burner, canning (water bath) works so well outside & saves tons.  I’m not using the house propane, the heat stays outside saving the A.C. usage…& electric bill which I love!

The weather stayed beautiful all day, much cooler & the rain (wonderful rain) came at dusk once we were inside. I couldn’t ask for better than that!

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As far as a garden up date goes, I fought the squash bug & borer’s but they won.  I had to pull 3 of the squash plants out.  I found finally found Neem oil but it was to late for these.  I’m hoping I can get it sprayed soon enough to save the other plants… once it quits raining. 

The rest of the garden is looking decent,  the potato’s are showing blooms, melons are setting fruit & the surprise pumpkin are growing like crazy. Now it’s down to the waiting game. Other than the raised beds and cucumber area, all sections have been weeded clear & bare areas ready for fall planting in a week or so…but, that was yesterday….today who knows.

**************

The first batch of blackberry jam was made the other day..the first 2 gallons went in the freezer slated for winter cobblers

I’ve another batch waiting to be made now while Miss Alix is napping so, off for jam making & house cleaning while it’s to wet for outdoor work.

Katie

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Beans Beans The Magical Fruit

The more you eat the more you …wait!

Wrong kind of beans!

I’m talking Green Beans!  The blue lake bush kind.  We (My SIL Jessie & I)picked and processed green beans yesterday.  I think it was her first time from picking to looking at the pretty cooling jars fresh out of the pressure cooker. 

More blossoms are showing on the plants so I’m hoping for another harvest.  I also planted the Italian broad beans this year for my oldest daughter Danielle. She picked 2 full grocery bags worth & cried enough!  Blossoms are showing on those plans as well so I think we may just be sick of beans by end of canning season let alone this winter!

Cucumbers nearly got away from me…

We picked 16 and were able to re-home 3..so I need to get these processed. Not sure what relish recipe I’ll use but I want to try one from Erin

Be sure and pop over to check out her blog.  She and her husband have just purchased land to go off grid.  I can promise her posts will be a good read.I’ve been known to have coffee pass through my nostrils on a few LOL!

The garden is *cough* nearly under control.  OK, just over half..but I need to stay positive about it right?  Healthy weeds mean good soil and ours are growing well.  I’ve been having a morning & evening meeting with them. The potato bed is cleared and received a new layer of straw as well as the additional rows in the main garden, Some of the plants are showing blossoms forming so they are looking good.

  The peas planted in a shaded area are hanging on.  Very slow growing but the blossoms are turning to pods so I’m hoping they continue to produce.  Other than fresh out of the garden I love them dried.  Can’t stand cooked peas (say tuna and pea casserole & watch me gag!) so these will be dehydrated for general munching!

I watered the front flowerbed last night and realized what a sad state it was in.  I used to keep it so nice and now…it’s looking sad, neglected and full of weeds. I don’t have/take the time to care for it as I should so I’m thinking of making some changes there as well. More perennials that take less maintenance but give those pops of color I love. I need to get back in my routine of spending at least 15 minutes a day devoted to the flower beds.  It sure made a difference and they looked great. Someday I’ll grow up and get organized….

Well, morning comes early & I have a date with the canner.

Hope it’s staying cool where you are

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,gardening,canning greenbeans,canning,cucumber

Canners At The Ready!

A month or so a Cabella’s opened up in Louisville. I think My brother in law refers to it as the Holy Land.  He’s there about once a week and trolls through the bargain cave looking for deals. Yes, we are a family of tightwads and always on the look out for frugal finds.

  A few weeks ago he showed up at my house with this….

Retail nearly $100.00 he picked up for less than $20.00!  It has a small surface scratch on the back and tiny ding dent on the edge…..I can live with that!     Then the week after that a co-worker of Mr.Fix-It sent him home with a pressure canner. Much nicer than the one I currently use. Using 2 at a time will save me hours of canning time.  He and his wife are moving to a smaller home in town & will no longer be gardening. This is the same couple who have sent him home with literally hundreds of canning jars & rings. I think they will be the recipients of the “firsts”of many jams this summer as a thank you.  Makes me want to fire them all up right now. I wonder if I step out to the gardens and shout “GROW” if it would help any ?  Nah only the weeds would listen.

Ahh, the blessings of friends & family!

Wishing you a fun family Sunday!

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,canning,fun finds,frugal finds,gardening on the cheap

 

The Cranberry Debate

Is a biggie in our house.

Growing up, Mom cooked the most wonderful cranberry sauce. Real cranberry sauce…boiled till the berries popped, sugar added and cooled in the fridge.   Thanksgiving and Christmas would not be the same with out it. For me it was a memory scent of Christmas. We gobbled it up with our meal and later slathered on leftover turkey sandwiches.  A turkey sandwich just is not the same without cranberry sauce.   Then there was the year cranberry jelly appeared on the table..along with cranberry sauce.  Not just cranberry jelly, but cranberry jelly from a can.( <---insert ominous voice)  My Dad loved it…& had to pretend he didn’t.  I don’t think I’d ever seen my Momma so insulted……

The first Thanksgiving after Mr. Fix-It & I were married, I made cranberry sauce.  And he asked what is that…where was the cranberry jelly and……the…cranberry relish he grew up eating!  What?!?!?!

Blaspheme!!

What the heck is cranberry relish?????

Well……(insert a *fluffy huff*)

It’s on the cranberry package ……and oh so good! 

Sweet and sour at the same time….similar to the candy sweet tarts. As the years went by cranberry jelly and cranberry relish were what has graced our table. 

Today for the first time in YEARS I made cranberry sauce. Because, I miss my Mama & I wanted her cranberry sauce.

Actually, I ended up making a double batch and canned it all.  .

It’s excellent with pork chops. Preserved, I now have small jars to use year round

So this year we will have cranberry sauce, cranberry jelly and cranberry relish. 

Yes, we will have very clean kidneys by weeks end.

Cranberry sauce

It’s super simple to make…

1 bag of cranberries rinsed (I like half the bag chopped so I put some in the blender)

place berries in a pan with 1-1.5 cup water (just enough to see a few floating about)

Bring to a boil and listen for the cranberries to pop (yes really they pop) and soften.

 

(Keep stirring so they don’t scorch)

Once they are soft add 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar (hey, Its Thanksgiving!)

Bring to a full boil for 1-2 minutes and turn it off. 

Chill in a pretty bowl for the table… and slather on your turkey slices!

It’s pan lickin good!

What’s on your table?

Technorati Tags: Katidids,Thanksgiving prep,Cranberry relish,sauce & Jelly,canning,preserving

Jelly From Juice

Life has been getting in the way of blogging lately.  It happens to all of us but I seem to be less organized than most. 

MIA but not Slackin off! HONEST! 

Since this summers fruit harvest was pretty small I’d purchased some 100% pure juice to try alternative jelly making.  It sat in the back of my pantry for a few months waiting for the heavy canning to be done.  A few weeks ago I saw the post from MM @ Self Sustained LIving  and it reminded me to pull my juice out.

The first batch was grape, the second a mixed berry.

The berry set up nice, the grape I had to reprocess and add more pectin for some reason.  I did add sugar as both juices were pretty tart.

I ended up with 6 pints of each that will be nice with toast in the morning & the necessary PBJ’s

.

I  had to set them in the window sill for a bit to see the beautiful jewel colors for a few minutes.  I would love to have a shelf in the middle of the kitchen window to place 1 jar from each item canned.  It would not be safe I know but, I think it would look like a sustainable stained glass window.

Technorati Tags: Katidids,Self Sustained Living,jelly from bottled juice,preserving,sustainable living,canning

 

Decanted Shortening

Well it worked!  Debbie sent me a U-tube link (I always forget about U-tube) and I decanted the shortening to jars. Why did I do this???  I don’t use a lot of shortening as a general rule and it sits in the pantry forever. The last can I had turned a brownish yellow if that gives you an idea how old it was & the expiration date was 2009.  I wanted to preserve it in smaller usable sizes.  Yes, I could have purchased a smaller can but, for less than a dollar more I got 3 times that amount.

I wanted to make some biscuits a while back and bought can…for what ever reason the biscuits didn’t get made.  Last week, I bought more shortening obviously forgetting I’d already purchased a can.  GAH!!  So now I have 6 lbs. of shortening …But that’s ok, I’m sure I’ll find more uses with winter baking.

Back to the video…the only issue I see is it looks like she has the can directly on the burner  Epic accident waiting to happen!

I put my can in a large pot of hot water (2-3inches) and slowly let it melt that way on the lowest flame setting.

If you do this, be sure and stir and loosen the bottom to let it “vent” constantly.  I was 2 ft. away washing jars and it vented on its own….as in a spout of melted shortening shooting up on my stove and cabinets.   That happened less than 2 minutes after the last stir.

I did not hot water bath these.  I will however store them in the fridge till I have the tube for my jar sealer. How long will they last?  NOOOOO Idea.  There was no expiration date on either of my new cans. I checked the paper wrap, the inside foil seal, the lid and bottom.  NADA!  Kinda scary huh?  So, I have 7 full pints and a partial ready to use.

And Drum roll please…………

***

I finally made perfect bread!!!!!

Thank you (Insert curtsey here) you’re to kind

No mush or dough when slicing & it’s weight does not resemble a doorstop!

Feelin pretty sassy and proud of myself after that one! 

I decided on some comfort food that night and we were having sausage gravy and biscuits for supper..because you know I have 6 lbs. of shortening I need to start using.

Now, I’ve made drop biscuits before….many many times and they turn out pretty darn good. Usually I toss the batch in the pan & you’ll have light and fluffy pan biscuits ready for butter and honey…..

Well, I waited for them to rise, and waited, and waited

Well, did you know baking powder has an expiration date? 

I didn’t. 

Checking the can it expired in 2004. 

Time for a spice cabinet purge!

Mr. Fix-It (bless his heart) ate them anyway.

Think I owe that man a pie.

Have a great weekend

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,canning,preserving

Truck Load of Pretty

Boxes.

Plain brown boxes filling the bed of a F150

Larry called from work the other day and asked (with just a tad of sarcasm) could I use more canning jars?  Well, DUH!!  Thanks for asking but you know the answer to that one!

Seems one of the guys that works for him (& his wife) are clearing out all the canning jars they have.  Calling it quits on canning.  Could I use them? He would bring them in tomorrow.

OK,  I’m thinking if they were willing to pass on jars it meant maybe a dozen….

The next day Mr. Fix-It  comes down the drive way (in the middle of the day) in a truck that wasn’t his just a grinning & waved me over to the back end.  It was LOADED.  I nearly wet my pants.  Seriously, I had to run inside to potty.

On the way back out I grabbed the camera. 

This is what was left in the truck

.  He’d already unloaded these

and these!

Quart, pint, half pint and the tiny quarter pints for gifting. I’ve yet to have a chance to go through them all

Looks like I’ll have plenty of jars for apple sauce next week!

And, passing a few filled jars back as a thank you.

No question we need to build more shelves in the basement

Soon.

Have a wonderful weekend

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,canning,preserving,gifts

Canning and Cleaning

Ahh! Last night I slept like a rock.  Mr. Fix-It had been out of town all week and I never sleep well while he’s gone. Every house has night time noises as it ”settles” at night. The sounds which generally are a comfort & let me nod right off …well, when he’s gone they sound ominous.  So, there was a few nights I was still awake at 3 am. 

Sleep depravation = low productivity. Took me 2 days to can 47 pints of pumpkin..and I’m still not done.  There are 2 more waiting for processing.  I didn’t realize just how much pumpkin you get. I see a lot of bread, muffins & pumpkin pies for dessert this winter!

The peppers all got sliced, diced & loaded in the Excalibur

Mmm, such a fresh aroma that lasts for hours!

The past 2 days I’ve been on another de-cluttering/de-crap-afying mission.  Where does all this stuff come from? I told Mr. Fix-It we need to check for trail cameras on sale and mount them in the closets.  I tell you I think after the last clean out, anything that was left in the closets expanded and multiplied on their own.

Isaiah’s room became the upstairs storage room while we worked on the remodel.  I’d kinda burnt out by the time we were done & wasn’t sure what to do with all the stuff we’d crammed in there. Honestly, when I opened the door I was flat overwhelmed with everything that had accumulated.   I got in there yesterday and found the floor, pulled the curtains to launder and reorganized quite a bit of it.  There’s still a bunch of little boy clutter to clean and sort but, it felt so good to see the progress. Thankfully the toss and giveaway piles were much larger than the keep this time around.   I gotta tell you, it feels really good looking in there and actually seeing carpet!

Tomorrow, the Pantry…..maybe.

Have a great weekend

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,canning,dehydrating,preserving,cleaning out

 

It’s raining, It’s pouring

But no one here is snoring!

It has rained steadily a.l.l. day long.  Started about 10am and hasn’t stopped.  We must have had at least 2 inches so far and the temps dropped to 59 degrees last I checked.

This morning I went to the grocery for the Monday produce check and made out pretty well.  2 nice sized heads of cauliflower for .49 cents, A bag of yellow sweet bell peppers for .49, 3 pound of carrots for .29 cents and 2 huge stalks of celery for….you guessed it.49 cents.

I also picked up some rhubarb for Mr. Fix-.it.

He loves rhubarb sauce.  Made basically the same as apple sauce but much quicker.  I chop it up in 1 inch pieces, put it in a pan with about 1 inch of water and let it cook down.  When the large chunks start breaking down I add 3/4 – 1 cup of sugar and let it bubble till it’s pretty thick.  Even if you don’t like rhubarb you aught to give it a try..this cooks up with a similar flavor to sweet-tarts.  If he was home this afternoon a good portion would be gone by now.

I was able to can 3 1/2 pints and 1pint of it.   It was a holiday treat while he was growing up & still a favorite.  I’ll have to hide it on the shelves if I want any to last.

The carrots and celery are chopped and in the dehydrator….smells so good.  Peppers will go in tomorrow.  I need more peppers like I need another hole in my head but, I’ll use them or share with the girls.

The tomato’s are still going but have slowed way down.  I’ve been popping them in a bag in the freezer till I have enough for a batch of sauce.  I’ve been using the crockpot for sauce & love the freedom ….no watching the pot so it doesn’t scorch.  Saturday late afternoon I loaded it up and let it cook down to mush. Early evening I popped it in the blender…. skins and all.  Then back in the crock pot on low overnight.  In the morning I had a nice thick sauce ready to be canned.  Soooo much easier! With the temp drop today I think I’ll have a large load of green tomato’s to work with. 

This afternoon I started working on the pumpkins I picked up at the farmers market. I love preserving our food.  I know where it comes from, where & how it was grown.  Much better quality and a LOT more food for your money.

   So far I have 16 pints cooling on the table and 5 more (last load for tonight) in the pressure cooker waiting for it to release

I found out the hard way Puga really dislikes the pressure cooker.  His cage is in the kitchen and I didn’t even think when I let him out.  In the past he’s been in the cage when I’ve had it going.  He squawked and carried on when the weight was rocking.  I think with the noise and cage door open he felt unsafe or challenged.  And it was evening which is our play time.  As it happens Mr. Fix-It is out for the evening so, I kept the pressure cooker going much later than normal.

He was highly irritated and not about to let me close the cage back without a fight….think of a 3 yr. old on a sugar high…not a great attitude to negotiate with!

Pumpkin poop (and coffee grounds) ready for the compost bin

But it’s pouring rain & I’m not going down to the compost bin tonight!

Time to finish cleaning up the sticky pumpkin goo that is on all my counters, cutting boards ….and floor.

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,Preserving,dehydrating,canning

What Happened or Weird Wednesday!

This has been such a weird year in the garden.  Everything started out so well even with planting late but then the nasty heat crept in….I’m blaming it on the heat.

A bit of What happened Wednesday…

My potato buckets…I dumped the second and this is the harvest from both.  That is a salad plate, not a supper plate.  Next year they will be planted in the garden or with tires.

The quart jar is 2 20 foot rows of red onion.  I love them!  But,this is it… they were all so tiny, about 1/2 the size of those I will have to purchase at the farmers market.  I loaded the Excalibur and had it running outside in the shade.  I could smell them clear down at the end of the driveway.

The banana peppers are about the only thing that took off this year.  I’ve had the dehydrator running for about a week straight full of batches of onion & carrots then celery so I’d been freezing the peppers until I found this wonderful recipe at Food.com 

Now, the recipe calls for celery seed and mustard seed which I realized to late I didn’t have….  So I used mustard powder and dehydrated celery I crushed into a powder….I also gave them a hot water bath when they did not seal after an hour.  They have to set for at least 2 weeks so I’ll let you know how the substitutions worked out. I will say those I nibbled on before I sealed them tasted pretty good.  These were made Friday and

this batch was done today using the proper spices.The scent while cooking the liquid was much more fragrant and stronger flavor than the previous batch so

in 2 weeks we see how they turned out

Looking to add another (as in 3rd planting) patch of peas I where I’d planted and had no germination of the cucumber….I found cucumber shoots!  Seeds I’d planted in MAY! If they fruit, I’m almost afraid to see what grows. A squashcumber or a cumbersquash?

Stay tuned as in this garden weirdness comes!

OK, here is some more weirdness for you.

  I planted Amish Pie Pumpkin from seed and Jack-o-lantern pumpkins from seed….so far, this is what I have!!! What the heck?  All summer the plants were loaded with blooms with no fruit, now this from the Jack-o-lantern seed pack! 

Spaghetti squash & what looks like Sweet Dumpling Squash.

I’m starting to think there is some hanky panky in the garden at night!  The pie plants now have a dozen or so pumpkin starting but on the other plants I have 3 more spaghetti and 4 more of the dumpling showing & I still can’t tell what is forming on the others.   I looks to me like some one scraped the bottom of the seed barrels to fill this packet! I’ll have to check and see if it was processed on April 1 st!

Now, here’s my question, is it possible to can the Sweet Dumpling Squash (if that’s what it is) the same as I would pumpkin?

What weirdness have you found in your garden?

Katie

 

 

 

 

Tips on Tuesday

Peeling hard boiled eggs

I love hard boiled & deviled eggs but always end up with a mess when the membrane or shells stick to the egg.  I’ve tried vinegar, salt, plunging them in ice water etc. All the tips and tricks found on line and still end up with pitted eggs or big chunks missing.

  It’s not so bad if your tossing them in a salad but if your taking deviled eggs to a get together you want them to look nice. 

Some where on line I read to add baking soda.  As you add water to the pan, toss in some baking soda (I used a few tablespoons)  and then add your eggs. When they are done plunge in cold water and they peel sooooo easy.

I found 2 drawbacks to this method. 

The first is if your eggs crack in the water they may have the soda taste. The second is there are no ugly eggs to snack on!

I wish I could remember which website to credit for this tip as it worked perfect for me. If it was you, please let me know so I can give proper credit!

Another good tip I picked up from Paula is to using your crockpot to cook down your tomato’s while making sauce.   Sure saved time needing to babysit a pot on the stove and cooked down wonderfully!

Thanks Paula & I love your blog

Also, be sure and check Debbie from Our Old Homestead.  She always has great “Tuesday Tips”

Thanks for stopping in

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,In the Kitchen,Tips on Tuesday,canning

Finally something to can!

 

Yesterday morning I popped out of bed as soon as my eyes opened.  I had to go and look at the steps, just to make sure they were really there & it wasn’t a dream. Generally I don’t make it past the kitchen without coffee in the morning so… I know I was a stumbling mess going outside, still in my night shirt doing a odd hop step. We have a sisal door mat and the odd hop step was because my foot landed on a “gift”…a furry full sized dead mole. 

A gift from a feral cat who has decided it owns us.

She’s put on weight and really filled out since she’s been hanging around.  She was a scrawny matted mess when she first showed up

Now,  I don’t really want it to own us, I want it to move on. but it’s earning it’s keep & we’ve worked out a system. I feed him bits Monday, Wednesday & Friday & the days in between he hunts and brings me gifts…..Like Moles, mice,  baby rabbits & baby moles, frogs and parts of frogs.   My caffeine deficient brain was just not ready for that!

What a way to start the morning ugh!

The day did get better, Isaiah & I ran to the grocery for canning lids & scored a few great deals in the produce department.  I’ve found Mondays are the “new stock day”…anything left from a prior shipment has to be marked down..even if it’s still good!  Apparently after the episode of bad spinach a few years ago, they can no longer mix shipments in the produce department.  I picked up a bag with 4 huge heads of perfectly fine broccoli for .59 cents, a bag with 5 lbs. of rhubarb for $1.59 , a bag with 3 of celery for .59...and 45 LBS of peaches for $15.00.  All organic,  all perfectly fine!  Score! 

So my afternoon turned out pretty busy.

  The celery all went in the dehydrator, I’ve 6 pints of rhubarb sauce cooling on the table,

7 quarts & 9 pints of peaches.  These peaches I’d had, the others from today need to ripen a few more days. I went ahead and set the canner up outside and it was wonderful keeping the heat out of the house.  I’d prep & load the jars inside and use a roaster pan to carry the hot jars outside.

What a blessing!

My garden (the parts that survived) like so many is just now really starting to produce… If all those blooms actually turn into pumpkin I’ll have enough to supply the entire county!

After reading how many have lost everything I’m not complaining!

 

The beans need picked today /tomorrow, I’ve some tomato’s harvested with more to come

,

Cherry tomato’s are taking off this year

a few herbs, peppers and some beets.  Although I know the weather is out of my control, I’ve been feeling like I’m letting the household down with very little canned to date.  Like so many others, the garden & it’s production is my contribution to the finances.

 

These watermelon have all grown like gourds..I think inconsistent watering?

It’s how I’m able to stay home.  So when there is nothing to put by, it makes me feel like I’m not pulling my weight. 

It also reaffirms my thoughts of canning enough for 2 years every other year.

Yet sweet deals like today sure do help my attitude and the pantry!

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,state of the garden,sweet deals,food storage,dehydrating,preserving,sustainable living

 

 

 

Canning Out Doors

Over the weekend we blanched, cut off the cob and froze over a bushel of corn.

We’d had it in the cool basement while I procrastinated processing it.  With the temps over 100 I just couldn’t bring myself to fire up the canner in the house. The AC has been working overtime and I’m emptying the dehumidifier 1-2 times a day.  Over a gallon of water each time.  The last thing I want to do is create more humidity or heat inside!

  We’d been discussing a way to set up an outside canning center & I was worried our old Coleman camp stove could hold up under the canning kettle weight.   So, Mr. Fix-It came up with this from the back of his (Mary Poppins) truck.  It seems he’d done a job for a customer & for some reason felt led not to charge him.  After refusing payment a few times the gentleman finally left and then came back and gave him this burner.  (the bottle and kettle are ours) I has a huge wok bowl we’ve already used and I love it!  

He set this up and while the water was heating we shucked the corn and had it ready to go.  Once the corn was shucked it only took an hour to process the entire bushel. 

We set at the tables with large cutting boards and went to work cutting and bagging. 

For some reason this photo is locked and won’t let me turn it.

 Some of the finished corn cooling before being laid flat in the freezer.   He’s helped me in past years switch jars in the canner or wipe the jars rims before setting lids but, generally I’ve tried to be done or nearly done when he gets home.  This was the first time we’d worked together start to finish. It was nice and so much quicker working together. And even better…the compost pile is about 50 feet away!  Really makes me wish I knew someone local to can with.

So, since this process worked out so well we’re trying to figure a way to create a canning set up out side now.  We have the camp stove I can cook on and the canner will fit on the burner above.  I think if I set a board on the ground in front of the stone wall (for the jars as a smooth surface)

it (the wall) will block breezes and allow finished jars to cool properly. 

Think it will work or am I looking at cracked jars?

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,preserving,canning

 

Winter Canning

Venison in the freezer, Venison on the shelf. The guys have been dressing out a few deer. Mr. Fix~it hunts for 3-4 households. His cousin Mike ( more like a brother, remember the guy who drove through my garden? Yes him, We love him anyway) hunts also but has no freezer space. So together they hunt for various homes…Ours, a bit for Mr. Fix~It’s parents & 2 of our daughters Erika & Danielle. Until recently the majority had to fit in our freezer…which was fine when the girls lived at home.

But when they have moved out and Erika’s family expanded, so did the need expand. As you might have guessed we do have 2 deep freezers but, even they can only hold so much. So canning some of the stew and soup meat has saved a surprising amount of space. Especially since there are 3-4 more weeks left in the season

Also has the side benefit of warming the house.

I have to say I was hesitant at first but it’s great! Especially when I forget to thaw meat for supper. Just open a jar of meat, toss in some veggies, make some dinner rolls and Suppers Ready !

Technorati Tags: Winter Canning,hunting season,venison

Chicken in Every Pot…Um…Jar

Our weather is really cooling off.  The garden is just about done. 

The cucumbers have dried up & I have one melon left on the vine.  There were 3 but deer got into 2 of them.  It/they ate half of  2 melons. Grrr !!!! At least they could have shared! 

The tomato plants are loaded but are slow to ripen in the cooler days.  I have been cooking them into sauce and then freezing until I have a larger amount.  Yesterday I was able to pick enough to can 4 quarts of tomato sauce with the freezer batches.

Our green beans are about done also, I’m only picking a meal or 2’s worth at a time.  I’ve pulled over half the plants and have the 3rd planting finishing up now.  Again, its not enough to batch can so in the freezer they go!

A month or so ago I bought a pressure canner and just love it!  I have so much more flexibility  in preserving.

I tried my first experiment with poultry canning yesterday.  I had picked up a few whole chickens on sale for .89 lb. We roasted one the other night, we  (5 of us) ate 2 suppers with it & a few lunches.  Yesterday I cooked the carcass, deboned it & had a full pan of rich chicken soup base.  After skimming as much fat as possible,  ended up with 2 quarts of stock. Or, depending on how I use it 2 suppers of chicken stew, cream of chicken soup or casseroles.  An we will get at least 2 meals from what I choose to make.  Not to bad for 1 $5.00 Chicken!

So, why didn’t I just stick the bones in the freezer until I was ready to use them?  Well, the onset of Fall means hunting season.  I need to create lots of space with out loosing what I have stored.  Erika’s fridge is due in today so that will help clear their things out but still not create the space I need.

I’ve been researching canning the venison we have thru 2- 3 sites using raw or cooked meat.  I’ve decided to start with cooked meat, making stews or BBQ before I move on to raw.  If I do it correctly it will preserve the meat even longer & free the needed freezer space.

I’m open to advice so speak up if you’ve done this before or, know of any proven sources of information!

Technorati Tags: canning,preserving meat or poultry

Summer Fruits & Goodness

Don’t you just love summer? All the beautiful fresh colorful fruits and veggies to choose from.
Some of the names of “Green Beans” just amaze me. For example you have:
“Greasy Grits” string Beans, sounds nasty but a good standard staple green bean. (Who would in the world would give them that name?)
My new finds this year are the "Gold Mine Green Bean", a beautiful yellow/green shade, not as strong bean flavor and very good. My new personal favorite is “Dragon Tongue”. Is this not the oddest thing? It’s a white green bean with deep purple streaks that show when shaded by the leaves, they will fade to a light pinky purple when exposed to full sun as it grows. I love fresh raw green beans, these are quite possibly the best I’ve ever had. I assumed they were a hybrid but they actually are a “Heritage Bean” . No genetic alterations what so ever, they are the same bean brought from Europe with the settlers.
My friend Johanna’s, family has grown these for years and, have graciously given me some. Guess what will be growing in my garden next year!
Trying to take advantage of all the fresh fruit I have been canning quite a bit. Found a great deal on some peaches, so my canning pot is getting a work out! So far this year we have canned cherries & sliced peaches, Cherry, Peach & Blueberry pie fillings, with enough left to make the same in jams. In my second batch of the peach jam I added the skins (washed) finely chopped. They cooked down to nothing but added a beautiful Amber color and, richness to the flavor.

Cherry Pickin Time!

Last week I went with my friend Johanna to pick Cherries at her parent’s house. They had gotten what they wanted so we cleaned the tree.

That means Mr Larry got fresh Cherry cobbler last night. Can you smell it? I was able to make enough pie filling to can a few pints.


I learned something new also.

Did you know you can pit Cherries with a straw?



I thought Jo was nuts when she told me that but, it works great! Micky "d's" being a bigger & heavier works the best.






Not a lot left but it will be great this winter for pie or cobbler!