Christmas Jam & A Lesson Learned

It's that time of year... I've only been waiting only since mid-end of winter, 

when I couldn't find any fresh cranberries in the grocery store anymore!!!

I was shopping last week and I SAW THEM!! 

They were beautiful! 

I could NOT resist and I bought 5 bags of fresh cranberries!! 

(Then of course, I HAD to buy 4 pounds of fresh strawberries and 5 giant oranges!)

I made Christmas jam for the first time just before Christmas last year and saved only 

2 small jars for our consumption! 

That was a mistake... for it is truly delicious, and I had no clue that fresh cranberries 

were only available seasonally! 

I set out yesterday to make 5 batches of my new favorite!

I bought 4 dozen jars to use as gifts ... 

the store only had 2 dozen of my 'tried and true' beloved, Ball jars... 

so I opted to get 2 dozen of a different 'off' brand. 

They were pretty enough and would make for great gifts!

It's a good thing that I water bath my jams... because 

I couldn't really tell if the seals took or not before!

 In case you are wondering about the recipe.... here it is! 

SUPER EASY, SUPER DELICIOUS 

and a 

SUPER CHRISTMAS GIFT! 

 My lesson learned...  stick with Ball Jars!! 

Plum Crazy

Plums, plums everywhere... .and lots and lots to figure out!! 

We planted two plum trees a few years ago... maybe even 8 or so years ago 

and now they have begun to fruit like crazy! 

Last year I had enough to make a batch or two of jelly... 

which came out delicious!! 

BUT THIS YEAR... 

oh my word, we're gonna have lots more!

I've been researching ideas.... 

and I think I'm going to start with an 

Asian Plum Sauce 

and a Sweet & Spicy Plum Sauce 

and then my good ol' stand by, plum jelly!!! 

I might try making a plum leather or wine...

 but that will be a decision for another day!! 

For now... I just gotta get picking and 

get started on SOMETHING!! 

Tomatoes

I wanted to try something different this year with the tomatoes! I started out making spaghetti sauce, but looking at the quantity that I'd have to can it was not all that much... maybe one quart and one pint. So after thinking about what to do, I decided to turn it into pizza sauce. I froze it in quantities for ONE pizza each! So many times now there are just two of us at home for dinner on the weekends, so why open a full quart or pint of sauce? I froze 10 containers approx 1 1/4 cups each! (We made pizza that night.... it was pretty good and quantity was perfect!)

Our next adventure was when Audrey wanted to dehydrate some tomatoes! She cut them up and lightly salted them then put them on the racks...  (since I've tried this before, I knew to suggest that she spray the racks with an oil to keep the dried tomatoes from sticking!) She set the heat to 140* and let them go!! She also sprinkled them with some basil for yummy flavoring!! This took maybe 8 hours since some of the pieces were of good size! After it was all said and done...  they fit in a small freezer container! Yikes.... hard to imagine three racks of tomato pieces all fit in here... but they did!! And, I added some oil to it for storage.... not needed, but an experiment on our part! We'll use these in our favorite pesto chicken recipe! YUMMY!

Then on to making tomato soup!! I've never attempted anything but store bought canned tomato soup for some reason. I searched for a good recipe online and found one called "Mom's Best Tomato Soup Canning Recipe". I can't go wrong with that kind of a name, right?!

After reading some of the comments (a few times) I started....  Of course, if you know me at all, you know I almost NEVER make a recipe exactly as it is written. And, you won't be disappointed to know, the same holds true for this one! The recipe called for 6 onions, chopped... well, onions aren't always a favorite around here, so I opted for 1 VERY big Vidalia onion and instead of a whole bunch of celery, I cut up about 3/4 of a bunch! (Keep in mind... the goal is for flavor and a bunch depending on where you live will vary in size. And as for the onions, I think the author must use regular yellow onions which would be way to strong for my family.) I cooked this all down in a little bit of oil and then added the tomatoes and they cooked over low heat for a while! I used my immersion blender since I really didn't want to lose the onions and celery  only the skins & seeds of the tomatoes. I added a few more cut up tomatoes, allowed it to simmer and then used my Foley food mill to rid the pot of seeds & skins!! It worked like a charm!!

Here's where the next change comes...  I used 3/4 cup of sugar instead of a full cup and I did NOT add the flour/butter (rue) to thicken the soup. Instead, I decided to wait as some of the comments suggested, for when I actually heat the soup up to eat! A few of the comments were similar in saying:

"If you're following current USDA/NCHFP (US National Center for Home Food Preservation) recommendations for shelf-stable food storage safety (updated in 2009), they no longer recommend canning things with flour as a thickener. Likewise, butter and dairy products."

The remedy is to use a pressure canner for 30 minutes at 10 pounds for pints... that would have worked fine for me too, but being in a time crunch, I opted to use the water bath method and thicken later! 14 pints of tomato soup all ready for the shelf! I can't wait to try it! Next year...  I just may try it with the thickener in!

Next up, diced and canned tomatoes... 10 pints! They're awesome to add to soups, chili and to beef up the spaghetti sauce!! The tomatoes are still turning red out in the garden! I'll probably do up some more of the diced tomatoes when there are enough ripened.

 

Shared on Simple Lives Thursday!

Go look for other awesome ideas!



First Pickling Day of the Year

It took all day, but we got lots done!

First, we tackled the beets! Picked,

cooked, peeled, cut and packed away...

11 pints (OK, 7 pints & 1 quart) of

beets were pickled! Yes, you are

seeing yellow beets!

 

Pete found some seeds for yellow beets and

had to try them this season! They have the

same flavor... not sure what the benefits are

if there are any. Maybe, it's that they

won't stain everything they touch!

 

 

 Then we moved on to the cucumbers!

 

 

 Using a favorite old family recipe,

we put frech grape leaves & fresh picked

dill into the jars before the cucs go in...

(washed & cut up of course!)

 

 

I ALWAYS invert the jars after adding the

hot brine to the jars. I think it helps with the

sealing process.... maybe it does, maybe

it doesn't, but it is what my mom always

did, therefore I do it too!

Tradition, ya know!

 

 

18 quarts all ready for the fall!!

I'm hoping there will be LOTS more

before the season is over!

 

FROM here, we picked corn... and

when I say 'we' I honestly mean, Pete!

He picked & shucked the corn....

I had the pots all ready for blanching

and another one all set up for the

ICE COLD water afterwards!

 

We cut the kernels of corn off the

now cold ears and freeze them in

the vacuum Ziploc bags!!

 

47 ears produced 32 cups

of bagged corn!

 

(I guess I was too tired to take

any pictures of the corn process!)

'Tis the Season...

... for canning beans again!

I thought I was behind schedule

compared to last year but when I looked it up,

I guess I'm not so far off. Phew...

I have managed to get two pickings into the jars and on the shelf.

Here's a few pictures from the first batch!

Eleven out of the first twelve came out just fine!

Yes, one jar didn't get filled up quite enough,

and....

One jar was an epic fail!!

The glass broke in the canner

and obviously, the beans and jar

was thrown out!! It doesn't happen

often... but every once in a while,

we have to toss one out!

(I did keep the ring for next time!)

End of day today... 23 quarts on the shelf!

Grape Jelly

  My mom called the other day....  she had LOTS of

grapes on her vines and would I like some!?

OH YEAH....  we're in business now!

First of all I needed to get the majority of

the vines & twigs out of the grapes!

 I added just a little bit of water...  maybe 1 to 1 1/2 cups

so they would begin to boil and smoosh easily!

Handy old potato masher mashes them down

really easily and within the hour the grapes are

simmering and the juices are smelling sooo good!

Using one of my favorite kitchen tools.... the

'Foley Food Mill'  the seeds, skins random twigs

all get separated on top and the juices and 'meat'

press through the mill into a pot or bowl below!

Voila! In no time at all the juice is ready

for

JELLY MAKING!

32 Cups of grape juice.....

Grape Jelly

5 Cups grape juice

1 Box of Sure-Jell

Bring this to a boil and then add

7 Cups of sugar and bring back

to a roaring boil (stirring continuously!)

 Boil for a full minute (or two). Skim the foam

from off the top and then carefully

pour into canning jars. Seal with lids and rings.

Each batch makes approx. 8 cups of jelly!

NOTE:

DO NOT DOUBLE THE RECIPE!
JELLIES & JAMES NEED TO BE MADE IN

SINGLE BATCHES...  ALWAYS!

They all must be put into a boiling bath for 5 minutes.

Remove from the water and allow to cool!

Store in a cool dark area!

Here are two of the 5 batches I made today!!

I always put the little bit of leftover jelly

in a mug for immediate use!

I'd like to figure out a recipe to make

BBQ sauce with grapes.

I did do a search and found the

grape jelly and add stuff to it, but I

wonder if there is a way to just

make and can the BBQ sauce ahead of time?!

Hmmm, gonna have to think on that one ...

I know more grapes are on the way next week!

I shared this on Simple Lives Thursday!

Go check out what other fun ideas have

been shared this week....

Have You Ever Tried Mincemeat?

I've heard of mincemeat.

 I've said no thank to mincemeat.

I've looked at recipes

for making things with mincemeat.
And then, I've put those recipes away!

And now, finally...

I trying my hand at MAKING mincemeat!

(I will admit, it is at my husband's request!)

OK, it is on the stove top.....

I just tasted it for the FIRST TIME EVER.

I have to admit, it wasn't bad!

Pete's 89 year old aunt shared this recipe

with me ... so I had to try it!

Green Tomato Mincemeat

2 Quarts ground green tomatoes

2 Quarts ground apples (firm apples)

4 Cups brown sugar

1 1/2 Cups vinegar

3 Cups raisins

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 tsp. allspice

3/4 tsp. pepper (I used 1/2 tsp.white pepper)

2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. mace (I used nutmeg instead)

3/4 Cups butter

Chop apples & tomatoes and drain.

Add this and the remaining ingredients

except the butter in a stock pot and

bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 hours.

Add the butter and stir in until melted.

OK, here is what I did. I read a few

other recipes, including the one in the

Ball Blue Book. In the Ball book, it

said to combine all the ingredients and

simmer for 15 minutes then ladle into

hot jars and PRESSURE CAN both

quarts & pints for 90 minutes!

So, I compromised... I used Pete's aunt's recipe

with the exception of mace. I didn't have any.

When I looked it up to see just what it was,

I discovered it was kinda like a peppery nutmeg,

so I used nutmeg instead!

Also, since I wasn't

sure about NOT at least water bathing the

jars, I decided to follow the Ball Book

instructions to be on the safe side and

used the pressure canner!

This recipe made

3 quarts and 3 pints

AND 3/4 cup that I held out!

NOW... to try this stuff in a recipe!

SOFT MINCEMEAT COOKIES

1/4 Cup softened butter

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 Cup mincemeat

1 1/2 Cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 Cup Choc. chips

1/2 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter &

brown sugar. Add the eggs & mincemeat

and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and

mix well before adding the chocolate chips

and walnuts. Bake on GREASED cookie

sheets at 350* for 10-12 minutes or

until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Yield: about 4 dozen.

I shared this on Healthy 2Day Wednesdays and
Simple Lives Thursday!
Go check out the other wonderful posts!

Applesauce

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

I love the smells, the cooler night air,

the beauty and bounty of the garden in full growth,

the leaves just starting to turn, ahhhh... 

don't you just LOVE IT TOO!

My husband brought in a 4 1/2 gallon pail of field apples!

(My definition: apples picked from a tree that was not

sprayed or cared for like those in an orchard!)

It's applesauce time!

Applesauce is SOOOO EASY to make and store!

Simply cut up the apples.

No need to peel or seed them.

 Add a little bit of water to the pot and start

cooking over low to medium heat. The apples

will soften enough to mash with a potato masher

and stir around with a big spoon.

 Next, I use my FAVORITE TOOL...  the Foley Food Mill

to take out the seeds, stems & peels and into the bowl

goes smooth and delicious sauce! (It is wonderful to use

when making spaghetti sauce too!)

Back into the pot and add a little sugar (personal taste here)

add some cinnamon if you want to (I don't) and heat it back

up to boiling. Put into pints or quarts and water bath

the jars for 20 minutes!!

Aren't these beautiful!!

4 1/2 gallon bucket = 15 pints of sauce!

I love the way the skins make the

sauce pretty in pink!
(Applesauce is also EASY to freeze!
If you don't want to can it, simle put the finished
sauce into freezer bags or containers after it
has cooled down, seal and freeze!)

IT IS YUMMY EITHER WAY!

PS. If you want to make apple jelly too, you can

peel the apples before cooking. THEN after the

sauce is made, boil down the peelings and hang

them up in cheese cloth or in a NEW white pillowcase.

Use the juices to make jelly!

The jelly has an awesome flavor too!

This post was shared on Healthy 2Day Wednesdays
and Simple Lives Thursday !

Lemon Cucumbers... Dill Pickles

I've never heard of 'lemon cucumbers' before

this spring. We were given a package of

seeds to try!

 They look like lemons ...  

They are perfectly round and  when less ripe,

 they are slightly yellow!

When ripe, they become 'lemony' in color

and size! QUITE INTERESTING INDEED!

CHECK THIS OUT....

All sliced and pickled

and in a dill brine!

Don't they look like lemon wedges!?

I can't wait to try them!

This jar belongs to the friend

that gave us the seeds!!

Purple Plus Green Equals... Green!

If you've ever taken an art class... you know this

is just NOT going to work out on a palette..

but, in the garden & canning world,

it's a different story!

We planted green & purple bush beans and no,

I don't remember the specific names... but they

are fun & pretty to watch grow!

(FYI: Green beans have white flowers &

purple beans have a light purple flower!)

We've picked & canned quite a few already, but

Sunday afternoon they were ready to pick again!

I don't know how many this is... maybe

1/2 to 3/4 of a bushel or so.

 Toby LOVES veggies from the garden!

He is intently watching Pete's hands

just waiting for him to toss a tail or two his way!

He's such a funny dog...  lucky for him, there

were some beans that were just too big!

Here they are

 all cut up and in the jars!

Aren't they pretty!

Now, off to the canner they go.... 

 25 minutes in the canner at

10 pounds of pressure for quarts!

(20 minutes at 10 pounds for pints)

The cool thing about the purple beans...

when they are cooked, they turn green!

They are tasty & tender and hard to

tell the difference once they are cooked!

ENJOY!

From this pile of beans we canned

12 quarts & 9 pints!

This post shared on Healthy 2day Wednesdays
and Simple Lives Thursday!

Beans, Beans and More Beans...

I have been buying and saving dried beans with the good intentions of making; baked beans, re-fried beans, black beans & rice, hummus from chick peas and so on...  well, they've been stored in large plastic containers and I've just never used them. I'll admit to cheating... for the sake of ease, I've bought the large cans of kidney beans to make chili and the cans of black beans for soups & black beans and rice... BUT NO MORE!! 

I discovered in a favorite old cookbook of mine, a paragraph written by a Mennonite woman, Ada Beachy, the NEW TO ME concept of canning the dried beans so they are all ready to use! I LOVE THAT CONCEPT...  if you want to read her paragraph, check it out here!

I checked out online how other people did this and found a great lot of advice of what to do and what NOT to do too! (Like... LOOSELY fill the jars with the prepared beans NOT solid pack and then fill the jars with the hot water leaving the head space.)

I'm SOOOO EXCITED!! I tried kidney beans and black beans first... it was a lot of work, but I think it will be well worth it come winter time! NOW, I'm going to try the navy beans & pinto beans & chick peas... and keep on going!

Since I didn't soak the beans overnight, I quick boiled them, timing it for a couple of minutes after they started to boil then soaked them in this hot water for an hour.

Afterwards, drain and rinse the beans and then fill the pots back up with fresh, water and allow them to boil for another 30 minutes.

NOW drain the beans (KEEP THIS LIQUID) fill the quart jars LOOSELY to the shoulder area of the jars.

Add 1 tsp. of canning salt and then add the saved liquid allowing 1 inch of head space. (The headspace allows for the beans to expand a bit more during processing.)

You need to use a pressure canner (NOT a water bath)...  90 minutes (for quarts... 75 minutes for pints) at 10 pounds!

It's so much fun to see the jars starting to line up on the pantry shelves!

PLEASE: IF you are going to try this method... do your own research! Different areas of the country require different pressure canning times. (ie: the length of time may be greater if you live higher up in elevation!)

This post shared on Healthy 2Day Wednesdays and Simple Lives Thursday! Go check out some of the other ideas!

SIDE NOTE:  I did try to can chick peas (garbanzo beans) the next day. I tried the dry method putting a scant 1/2 cup in a pint, 1/2 tsp. salt and boiling water leaving 1 inch of headspace...  pressure canner for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. I can't say I'm overly thrilled with this outcome. They didn't fill the jars like I assumed they would. It could be they were too old. I will try again using BOTH methods and see if it is the peas/beans being a little too old or if the 'presoak/cook' method just works better for me.  I'll let you know! :)

Dill Pickles & Canned Green Beans.....

The processes are different...

but the end results are the same!

Food put up in jars

for the long winter months ahead.

Our family favorite...   DILL PICKLES

This recipe has been used for a few generations

 on my husband's side of the family! I used

my mom's recipe for a while... then after

trying this dill pickle, sorry mom, but

this is got my vote!! I've been making

this recipe for the past 28 years!

Ingredients above....  cucumbers, grape leaves

and dill heads! Yup... we grow our dill and use

the heads. I've also used the fern part too

when I run short! (SIDE NOTE: the ferns

are awesome in cucumber or potato or tuna salads!)

Wash the  grape leaves & dill heads. Put one

in each WASHED & WELL CLEANED quart jar.

Then, wash the cucs, slice and put in the

jars too! Top with 1 tsp. of alum and

add the BOILING HOT brine.

(10C water, 5C cider vinegar, 1C salt)

(USE CANNING SALT)

Seal the jars with hot, clean lids & screw tops!

This recipe as it has been handed down doesn't

call for water bathing. BUT... I KNOW THE USDA

GUIDELINES SAY THEY OUGHT TO BE. IF YOU

MAKE THESE PICKLES... PLEASE USE YOUR

DISCRETION & READ UP ON THE GUIDELINES

FOR YOURSELF & MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES.

NEXT on our agenda for the day was green beans!

Pete, being the wonderful, helping husband that he is,

picked, washed & cut up all the green beans! HE EVEN

FILLED ALL THE PINT JARS FOR ME!!

I added 1/2 teaspoon of

canning salt and then boiling water leaving 1 inch

of head space before putting the lids on.

IF I WAS USING QUART JARS

 I'D NEED TO ADD 1 TSP OF SALT

(Head space is the amount of air space between the

top of the vegetable or fruit in the canning jar

and the underside of the lid.)

Now the jars go into the pressure canner. Inside

I had about 2 inches of hot water. The jars are added

and the top put on and sealed. The stove heats up the water

and pressure builds... this type of canner is controlled by

the heat from the fire. If it has too much pressure, we turn

down the fire or if there is too little, we turn it up.

CHECK THE USDA GUIDELINES FOR

WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR WHERE YOU LIVE.

I cook them at 10 pounds of pressure

for 20 minutes for pints.