I am so excited to use my new toys. My old pressure canner, dehydrator and all my canning supplies which had been accumulated over years were lost in what we refer to as "the fire" (left behind with first husband).
The new canner is the same brand I had 30 years ago. A 23 qt. Presto with pressure gauge.
In the last couple of weeks I have been doing water bath canning using my biggest stock pot, it holds 8 pints. Or freezing what couldn't be preserved in a water bath.
Today I have 7 pounds of tomatoes to put up (not really enough for all the work involved) so I am adding 3 pints of frozen tomato/meat sauce to it hoping to get 6 or 7 pints of prepared pasta sauce.
It's peach and blueberry season here, so tomorrow I plan to go to the orchards and get at least a 1/2 bushel of peaches and about 5 lbs. of blueberries. It is also time to check on the status of the wild grapes. They are perfect for making grape jam.
The new dehydrator delivery is expected for Tuesday (9/6/13). It will be great to have that appliance again to make some meals in a jar/pouch. I love these for road trips when all that is needed is to add water to the pouch to get a home cooked meal.
I have been watching Linda's Pantry (225sage on YouTube) and she has what seems to be some great recipes for dehydrated meals, as well as canned meals. Now I can test them.... can't wait!
Well, the sauce is ready, the jars are ready, the canner is heating up..... time to fill those jars. :)
By the way.... follow this link if you are in need of canning recipes or the latest canning time charts.
http://nchfp.uga.edu
.Happy Canning!
Friday, August 30, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Mock Mincemeat aka Green Tomato Mincemeat
In addition to the abundance of zucchini the end of the season also leaves us with lots of green tomatoes and the dilemma of what to do with it all. We love pies! All sorts of pies. At the top of my list of favorites is this Mock Mincemeat (also known as Green Tomato Mincemeat). In the old days, before pressure canners, this was a way of preserving meats and the addition of suet (fat) to the mix was a means of sealing the jars. The fat would rise to the top during the cooling process and solidify filling in all the crevices and blocking out air. The fat is not needed in the mock version, but I like the added bit of richness of the small amount of butter. (If you prefer you can substitute 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
This mock mincemeat started as a recipe I found many years ago in very, very old cook book and over time made it my own by adding a bit of this and a bit of that. Now then, I am not a drinker of hard liquor, but the addition of a bit of Captain Morgan really enhances all the flavors. If you plan to use this mincemeat as a relish side dish for meat processing it into pint jars is ideal. For pies however you will need a quart (2 pint jars) per pie.
Mock Mincemeat aka Green Tomato Mincemeat
Ingredients:
3 quarts finely chopped green tomatoes (add about 1 tbl salt and let sit in the fridge overnight, then drain off the excess liquid)
3 quarts peeled and finely chopped apples
1/2 cup butter (a substitute for suet)
32 ounces (2 lbs) raisins
2 tablespoons grated orange rind + the juice of one orange
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind + the juice of one lemon
5 cups well packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water or 3/4 cup *Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum (optional)
1heaping tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large kettle, and bring to a boil, stirring
frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until dark and thick - about 2 1/2
hours. Stir occasionally. Pour boiling hot into pint jars, allowing 1/2 inch
headroom, seal promptly and process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes.
Store in a cool dry place.
To freeze, pack cold mincemeat into freezer jars or containers, leaving about an inch headroom for expansion. Seal and freeze promptly. I have found that using heavy freezer bags works great for
freezing. After filling a bag with the cold mincemeat, squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing, then lay the bag on its side and form it into a flat shape. Put several filled bags into a freezer bag large enough to hold them all, remove as much air as possible and seal. Double bagging
reduces the risk of freezer burn, and the flat packs take up less freezer space.
Yield: about 10 pints.
* The alcohol evaporates during the boiling process.
This mock mincemeat started as a recipe I found many years ago in very, very old cook book and over time made it my own by adding a bit of this and a bit of that. Now then, I am not a drinker of hard liquor, but the addition of a bit of Captain Morgan really enhances all the flavors. If you plan to use this mincemeat as a relish side dish for meat processing it into pint jars is ideal. For pies however you will need a quart (2 pint jars) per pie.
Mock Mincemeat aka Green Tomato Mincemeat
Ingredients:
3 quarts finely chopped green tomatoes (add about 1 tbl salt and let sit in the fridge overnight, then drain off the excess liquid)
3 quarts peeled and finely chopped apples
1/2 cup butter (a substitute for suet)
32 ounces (2 lbs) raisins
2 tablespoons grated orange rind + the juice of one orange
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind + the juice of one lemon
5 cups well packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water or 3/4 cup *Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum (optional)
1heaping tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large kettle, and bring to a boil, stirring
frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until dark and thick - about 2 1/2
hours. Stir occasionally. Pour boiling hot into pint jars, allowing 1/2 inch
headroom, seal promptly and process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes.
Store in a cool dry place.
To freeze, pack cold mincemeat into freezer jars or containers, leaving about an inch headroom for expansion. Seal and freeze promptly. I have found that using heavy freezer bags works great for
freezing. After filling a bag with the cold mincemeat, squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing, then lay the bag on its side and form it into a flat shape. Put several filled bags into a freezer bag large enough to hold them all, remove as much air as possible and seal. Double bagging
reduces the risk of freezer burn, and the flat packs take up less freezer space.
Yield: about 10 pints.
* The alcohol evaporates during the boiling process.
Friday, August 2, 2013
How has your garden grown?
Can't believe it is August already! Where did the time go?
Just curious about where everyone stands with their harvest.....I'd love to hear from you about your garden's progress and what plans you have for next year (I know it is still a bit early but it never hurts to start jotting down ideas).
It seems like we were all just preparing the garden soil and selecting seeds to plant, and so soon the first harvest has come and gone and we are waiting on the second round of crops to ripen.
All in all my own garden didn't fare too badly. Lost all my buttercup squash and cucumber vines to vine borers. The broccoli isn't producing more than a single small head on each plant, which wouldn't be half bad if all the plants were producing at the same time. At least we would get enough broccoli for one meal. The chickens are enjoying the leaves however. I feed them one large leaf per day as a treat. They absolutely love it.
The tomatoes are doing much like the broccoli, in a way. Lots of tomatoes but they are not ripening together, only a few at a time. There are about 80+ tomatoes ripening at 4 or 5 at a time, and not near enough in time to harvest for canning as I had hoped.
My first crop of sweet corn is doing better than expected. I never tried planting it before. My little corn patch now has more than 2 dozen ears developing. The patch measures approx. 7' x 7'.
The beets, lettuce and swiss chard have come and gone. There was enough spinach for 1 meal, but I didn't expect even that amount since the birds also enjoyed the spinach.
Of all the hard work I put into this years garden, the thing I am most pleased with is the three compartment compost bin I built with scrap lumber the church next door. They were replacing the old wooden ramp with concrete and let me have all the scrap wood. They also provided me with loads of wood chips from the removal of two huge trees. I have been adding it weekly to the compost bin and also using some as mulch. The chickens have been helping create compost too. I cover the ground inside their run with a good layer of hay. They in turn love eating the seeds and the bugs they find in it, in turn they recycle the hay back into the run with their dropping. It takes about 3 weeks for the hay to break down at which time I add another layer. I am letting it accumulate as long as it doesn't "offend" then it will be scooped up and added to the compost bin. So far so good, we got through that horrible heat wave with no bad odors coming the girls play-yard or hen-house.
This season's garden was mostly trial and error for me. I learned what I don't want to plant again, and what I will plant more of. Next spring I plan to enlarge the garden once again, but probably not with raised beds (not the wooden ones anyway). At the end of this season I plan to rent a roto-tiller and turn over additional planting space for next year, hopefully doubling the garden's current size of 350sf.
I am currently researching organic methods of improving the compost and the garden soil for next year. As soon as I have finished compiling the information I will post it here on the blog.
Happy Gardening...
Just curious about where everyone stands with their harvest.....I'd love to hear from you about your garden's progress and what plans you have for next year (I know it is still a bit early but it never hurts to start jotting down ideas).
It seems like we were all just preparing the garden soil and selecting seeds to plant, and so soon the first harvest has come and gone and we are waiting on the second round of crops to ripen.
All in all my own garden didn't fare too badly. Lost all my buttercup squash and cucumber vines to vine borers. The broccoli isn't producing more than a single small head on each plant, which wouldn't be half bad if all the plants were producing at the same time. At least we would get enough broccoli for one meal. The chickens are enjoying the leaves however. I feed them one large leaf per day as a treat. They absolutely love it.
The tomatoes are doing much like the broccoli, in a way. Lots of tomatoes but they are not ripening together, only a few at a time. There are about 80+ tomatoes ripening at 4 or 5 at a time, and not near enough in time to harvest for canning as I had hoped.
My first crop of sweet corn is doing better than expected. I never tried planting it before. My little corn patch now has more than 2 dozen ears developing. The patch measures approx. 7' x 7'.
The beets, lettuce and swiss chard have come and gone. There was enough spinach for 1 meal, but I didn't expect even that amount since the birds also enjoyed the spinach.
Of all the hard work I put into this years garden, the thing I am most pleased with is the three compartment compost bin I built with scrap lumber the church next door. They were replacing the old wooden ramp with concrete and let me have all the scrap wood. They also provided me with loads of wood chips from the removal of two huge trees. I have been adding it weekly to the compost bin and also using some as mulch. The chickens have been helping create compost too. I cover the ground inside their run with a good layer of hay. They in turn love eating the seeds and the bugs they find in it, in turn they recycle the hay back into the run with their dropping. It takes about 3 weeks for the hay to break down at which time I add another layer. I am letting it accumulate as long as it doesn't "offend" then it will be scooped up and added to the compost bin. So far so good, we got through that horrible heat wave with no bad odors coming the girls play-yard or hen-house.
This season's garden was mostly trial and error for me. I learned what I don't want to plant again, and what I will plant more of. Next spring I plan to enlarge the garden once again, but probably not with raised beds (not the wooden ones anyway). At the end of this season I plan to rent a roto-tiller and turn over additional planting space for next year, hopefully doubling the garden's current size of 350sf.
I am currently researching organic methods of improving the compost and the garden soil for next year. As soon as I have finished compiling the information I will post it here on the blog.
Happy Gardening...
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