Canning the Garden & Other Stuff

It is HOT! Sorry to yell, but it really is hot here. There are some clouds forming and we might get some much needed rain, even though there's not a great chance of it. We had record rainfall in the spring, but with these hot temperatures, we are definitely in need of more. Since the afternoons are way to hot to work outside, we have been canning up a storm, not everyday, but more often than not lately.

We finally finished canning the four bushels of peaches we bought. We broke about four or five jars by trying to put them into a hot water bath we had just taken a load out of. I was thinking that since we were putting boiling water over the peaches they would be fine. They were not. Room temperature peaches and boiling water isn't really all that hot. The last batch of peaches we heated up and didn't lose a jar. Lesson learned. 

Peach sauce on the left, then plums and garlic

We made a batch of peach sauce from a recommendation in one of the comments we received. Thank you! It was simple, it just took a few days of simmering to cook it down to the consistency we wanted. Wash the peaches, pit, cut out any bruises or bad spots, cut up and cook it down. That's it. We did add some fruit fresh to prevent darkening, but the sauce does darken some naturally as you cook it down and run it through the water bath. From a half bushel of peaches we ended up with 11 pints. I like the idea of including the peels instead of taking them off. Has anyone canned peach slices with the peel on? I wonder if that would work? I know there are nutrients in the peel just like with apples and potatoes. I may try it next time.

We have continued to can our Cushaw and Buttercup winter squashes because the ones we've picked so far aren't keeping well. They developed during the really wet weather and are getting soft spots or outright starting to rot already. 

We have one hill of yellow squash left alive that the squash bugs haven't killed. I probably squished about 30 bugs this morning. I have also sprayed them with a water, baking soda, Dawn soap combination followed by a dose of diatomaceous earth. They have killed all of the Buttercup winter squash and are working on the Cushaw. This morning I planted more of all three kinds of squash in an attempt to grow a fall crop. We will see how they do.

 

We get enough cowpeas to can about once a week for now. Once the new patch of peas starts producing we will have many more. After we fill the shelf with all we want we will start drying them to use for winter feed for the goats, pigs and chickens. 

We haven't canned very many green beans, and I was hoping for about 70 or 80 pints at least. The leaves on most of the plants look like lace from the beetles and worms. What a year for bugs. I will be planting more beans in an attempt to get a fall crop from them as well. We plan to disc up quite a bit of the garden tomorrow so I can start planting turnips, carrots, potatoes, green beans, beets and I'm not sure what else. Some of these crops will do well after a frost and some won't. I will start some cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprout seedlings before long as well.

We tried our 'new' canner that we had problems with again, we found out it is a 2008 model, and it still leaks around the lid. After two calls to the factory the technician recommended we go over the seal with some '000' steel wool and lubricate it with olive oil instead of Vaseline. When we started using our first All American the recommendation was Vaseline, now they are finding the lid sticks less with olive oil. We have yet to try this out, but will let you know how it goes when we do.

In the meantime we got out our tertiary All American and it works great. You know the saying, three is two, two is one, and one is none? That's why we have three canners, two of which had never been out of the box until a few days ago. Since I have been very serious about filling our shelves with food this summer, it was time to get out a second canner so I can run both of them at the same time. It saves a lot of time. Like today.

We have some old pinto beans that are getting hard to cook. It takes a long time. So I decided to put a big batch on the stove last night and cook them for a while, let them soak overnight, cook them for a few hours this morning, then can them in pints. Well, there were a little more than 32 pints, so we will eat some for supper as well. Our model 921 All American canners hold 16 pints, and I would highly recommend them. As we were putting these beans in the canner, Frank made a great recommendation. The next time we are at the big box store, we'll pick up a 50 lb. bag of pinto beans to can. Then, if the time comes that we need to eat these old beans, we will, but for now, we'll use fresh ones. We can always grind the old beans into flour as another way of accessing the nutrition they contain.

So far, our canning efforts this summer have produced this yield.

•  7 pints of green beans
• 20 pints of yellow squash
  
•  5 pints of beets
• 10 pints of carrots
• 12 pints of cowpeas
• 11 pints of peach sauce
•  7 pints of plums
• 16 pints of minced garlic
• 68 quarts of peaches
• 34 quarts of winter squash

The canned minced garlic turned out fine even though it browned as we canned it. The texture is very soft, not really a minced texture anymore, but it smells fine and works well cooked into a dish. I look forward to using it and may do another batch, just to have it on the shelf. I have neglected to include enough garlic in our diets, and this has turned out to be a good option for me.

I'm glad we have put up this much food, but it really isn't very much food if I stop and look at it. If we were to have to depend upon what we are stocking away as our sole source of nutrition, we would be in trouble. Big trouble. So, I will keep trying to add as many things to the shelves as I can. Before long our oldest baby chickens will be ready to butcher. We will freeze a few for

convenience and because we like fried chicken, but many of them will end up in a jar on the shelf along with some chicken broth. We still have wethers that should have been butchered long ago out grazing in the pasture. They will probably wait until fall. They've waited this long, what's another month or two? Some of that meat will also end up in jars on the shelf. And then there are the two barrows, castrated pigs, that are wondering around in another pasture. In time, they will make their way into the freezer and into jars on the shelf. That will help with our preserved food supply. I still count them now even though they are still out there walking around. I call them meat on the hoof, or I guess in the case of the birds, meat on the foot.


It is a good summer. There is much to do everyday. Do we get it all done? No, not even close. But what we don't get done one day waits for us the next day. It's funny how that works, isn't it? Things just don't get done by themselves. We find it hard to prioritize things sometimes since there are a number of things that need our attention. The squash bugs really got the upper hand while I was canning peaches. I noticed this morning that some of my elderberries have already ripened and disappeared, probably into the mouth of a bird. I want to make some elderberry syrup this summer since it's so good for colds. Yet another thing to put on the list. Then I wanted to check on the apple tree next door, and then........

This thing we all feel coming gets closer everyday, do all you can to be ready.

Until next time - Fern
 

Foraging in the Garden for Vegetable Soup

Back in late December I had some left over ham and broth that needed to be used up in some kind of meal. Surprisingly to me, we still have a few things growing in the garden and herb bed, so I went foraging to see what I could come up with.

Our fall/winter garden has surprised me with the bounty it still yields. It's not a lot, mind you, but it is a bit of a harvest on these cold, cloudy, winter days. And it's a first for us. So here is my foraging tour.

First, I stopped off at the turnip bed. I didn't think it would continue providing any greens let alone turnips through the winter, but it has. I even covered some of the them up with frost cloth for the last week or so of temperatures down to 13* and they are still producing.

November 23rd

December 21st

January 2nd

January 12th without frost cloth

I was really surprised at the difference the frost cloth made.

The carrots aren't growing much, but I sure get a kick out of going out a picking a few for a meal here and there. I decided to sneak some greens into this meal and tell Frank afterwards. So I picked a few leaves from the turnips, kale and mustard.

Kale, December 21st

Mustard, December 21st

After I gathered up this garden produce, and dug around in the refrigerator, I decided this would make a good vegetable soup. Sounded yummy for a cold winter day.

Ham broth & ham with veges from the store.

The results of my foraging trip.

Some of the squash we canned.

Yum!

The funny thing about sneaking greens into the soup was this. As we sat down to eat Frank told me this would be a good meal to add some greens to. I laughed and told him he was right, and that I already did. It was a really good soup.

We didn't really plan on having a winter garden. It's the first time we've ever tried one and it's worked surprisingly well. We're not only enjoying the greens, so are the chickens, and we like the turnips, too. The carrots are just a great bonus. Frank has always liked turnip greens, but he used to only get them at the church potlucks. Now, I've learned to cook them as well. Do you have anything you are harvesting from your garden? Now is a good time to start planning for your spring garden. The seed catalogs are here and more arrive every week.

I'm grateful to have some slow, peaceful days of winter. The pace is slower, there is more time to read, and ponder, and plan for spring when the pace will be faster with more things to get done for the coming growing/preserving season. It seems rightly so. A season of work and harvest followed by a season of rest and rejuvenation. But, you know what? I'm starting to itch for spring already. I'm ready for baby goats, milking, cheese making, planting seedlings and digging in the dirt. Ah, spring. It's just around the corner. Can you smell it in the air? Soon new life will be bursting forth across the earth with it's promise of good things to come. Even in the midst of the trials and darkness across our globe in these dreary days of winter, there is always hope.

Until next time - Fern
 

Chicken Pie

This is a recipe I got from Leigh over at 5 Acres and a Dream. I have seen many recipes like this before, but I have never tried one. It seems like it's time. Leigh uses some ingredients I don't have, so you will have to go visit her site to see the differences. Here is what we tried for dinner. 

First, cut up and layer some chicken in the bottom of a baking dish. This is chicken we canned.
 

 

Then add a layer of carrots. These are from last summer. Next, add a layer of peas. I like the descriptions in this recipe. It doesn't say how many, so I put a few in, looked at it, put in a few more, then a few more. I decided this looked just right.

The gravy calls for:
2 tbsp. fat (I used shortening)
2 tbsp. flour
2 c. chicken broth (I used ours)

 




Lightly brown the flour in the melted fat, slowly add the broth and cook until thick. I used my jar of broth, but I also added the broth that was in the jar of chicken. I figured I would need more flour to thicken it, and I did. If you need 

something to be thicker, make a rue. This is just some flour in a little cold water. The flour will mix much smoother if you use cold water instead of warm or hot. Stir the rue until it is smooth, then slowly pour it into your gravy, stirring it in constantly. Let this new flour cook for a while to see how much it will thicken. If it's still not thick enough, add a little more. You have to guard against making your gravy too flour-y. It will taste too much like flour and not enough like broth. 

I also added salt, pepper, and some parsley to the gravy. To see why I add parsley to just about everything, read here.

 


 

 After the gravy is ready, pour it over the chicken and vegetables.

 






This didn't look very appetizing at this point.

Next, mix up the biscuit dough. 

Mix:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Cut in 1/3 c. fat or shortening
Mix in 1/2 c. milk with a fork

Drop by the spoonful onto the gravy, chicken and vegetables.

Bake at 400* for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are brown and the gravy is bubbling.

At this stage, Frank walked over and looked in the pot, then gave me that look that said, "You really expect me to eat that?" I just laughed and thought, "I sure hope this is edible...." 

After I got everything in this pan, I realized I could use one that isn't this deep and it would work fine, and may even work better.

Guess what?? He liked it! He even asked for seconds. Ladies, you know exactly what I mean. Frank and I agreed this is one recipe I will add to an index card and put the box with my other favorites. With our canned ingredients, this is a great homegrown, homemade meal that is quick to fix, nutritious and great tasting. In this meal I used our canned chicken, broth and carrots. Now, this summer I need to can some peas, as well. The more meals we can make with a variety of basic ingredients, the more independent we become in providing for ourselves.


Until next time - Fern

Chicken Chow Mien, Kind Of...

This was another one of those evenings where I was thinking, "What in the world am I going to fix for dinner? I don't know. I'm tired of the same old thing. What can I fix that is different and tastes good?" You have those days, right? Well, I knew we had plenty of things on the shelf we had canned that would be good and that needed to be used, so I came up with this dish. It isn't really Chicken Chow Mien in the strict sense of the description, it's just one of my versions. Which version I fix depends on what I have on hand. Here is this one.

We had chicken and chicken broth that we had canned. Carrots from last summer. There was a can of bamboo shoots, along with some celery and green onions left from the layered salad that need to be eaten. And then there were a few more frozen peas in the freezer. That would make a good meal. 

I have a few of  those egg noodle things that are used with Chow Mien dishes, but I decided to use a jar of the chicken broth and make rice instead. So I put the chicken broth in the pan, it is about a cup and a half and added a good, long splash of soy sauce. To that I added a cup of rice, and handful of dried onions.....

and some dried, minced garlic.

The burners on our stove will not turn down low enough to fix rice without burning it, so I put a cast iron trivet under the pan. It doesn't totally alleviate the problem, but it does help.




I leave the lid off of the rice until I can't see the broth bubbling up any more, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Then I put the lid on for another 20 minutes. It works great.

I buy soy sauce in a big jug from a warehouse market. We bought a regular sized bottle at the store so we could have the dispenser top. It's easy to refill and much cheaper to buy it in bulk. I keep the big jug on the bottom shelf of the door in the frig. This works well.

While the rice is cooking, I chopped up the celery and onions. By the time the rice was ready for the lid on the pan, I started cooking my vegetables. This is another meal that I use my cast iron wok. It is a wonderful pan for meals like this. 

 









I start off with a few tablespoons of olive oil. When it is good and hot, I add about a tablespoon and a half of dried minced garlic. Into that I add the celery and onions and let them cook for a few minutes until they start to become semi clear.

Then I add the drained bamboo shoots for a minute or two.

Now is the time for the chicken with all of it's liquid. This gives me enough 'juice' to thicken up in a few minutes. I drain the carrots and add them as well.

Add a generous amount of soy sauce along with about two tablespoons of parsley and some pepper to taste. I like pepper. I seldom cook without it. Let this cook for a few minutes until it is bubbly hot.

I add a cornstarch rue for thickening. First, add the cornstarch to a bit of cold water and stir until smooth. This will prevent lumps. This would also work with flour. The two tastes are a little different, but they both work fine.

Don't add this to the pan until you are just about ready to serve the meal because it will thicken up quickly and stick to the pan if you are still in the cooking mode for very long. When you do add the rue, stir constantly to evenly coat your ingredients. It will thicken up quickly and your liquid will 'disappear' into the coating.

Dish it up and enjoy! Be creative with what you have on hand. Grow and preserve what you like to eat. Be frugal, be persistent, be diligent. Be prepared.


Until next time - Fern