I wonder why they say to stay away from greens? We have a field of turnips-I was thinking about it. I have been putting up applesauce and HOT habanero pepper sauce these last few weeks. Amazing recipe with carrots, onions, mango, peach, vinegar, garlic, 13 habaneros, 1 tsp sugar, tweaked. I don't like hot stuff but my husband is selling it at work.
How did you preserve your garden?
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Actually I checked this morning in the Blue Ball and the processing time was there, I guess I was thinking wrong. . . Turnips are one of the greatest veggies since all parts are yummy!! Your Habanero pepper sauce is sounding good so not surprised that it is selling. Around here it seems that anything with a pepper stuck in it will sell faster than the others, unless it is bacon flavored. Those can go hand in hand
I grew turnips this year for the first time. They were really easy to grow, and produced both bulbs and beautiful leaves. Too bad I couldn't stand them.... I tried several ways of making them, no dice. Wasted some good ham, which still didn't help. Oh well, I tried.
You're right there. Try going three days with no food and insects start looking good. I've been lucky enough to not have to face that yet in my life. Wish I could say that for everyone in the world.You would love them if you were hungry enough one day. . .
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Today I ended up cooking up a mess of turnip greens to can. When picking any kinds of greens, I would suggest cutting the tops off and then pull up the roots separately. This saves a lot on the washing process since you don't have all that loose soil. I like to fry up some bacon, sautee onion in the grease and add in a little garlic. Don't overdue it on the garlic cause canning intensifies that flavor. I then add in a little of either chicken broth or water with chicken bouillon. I really like the Chicken Tomato from Knorr. It comes in a big container and is pretty darn cheap. Sometimes I'll add in a pint jar of tomatoes after sautéing veggies. Cook until wilted down, pack in jars then process. I love greens and am happy to eat as a meal with some cornbread.
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Since today was one of those wet cold days, I decided that I could play catch up on some of my canning from the garden. I had already blanched my veggies when I stuck them into the freezer so canning was pretty fast going because most of the prep work was already done. We are about to have Norm the bull calf processed so it was the prefect for making room in the freezers.
36 pt green beans
18 pt corn
24 pt carrots
2 pt cauliflower (not recommended by books. Will turn to mush but makes great cauliflower soup. )
8 pt snow peas
I still have more to go, but I am about pooped out for today and will be getting up early for work in the morning.
36 pt green beans
18 pt corn
24 pt carrots
2 pt cauliflower (not recommended by books. Will turn to mush but makes great cauliflower soup. )
8 pt snow peas
I still have more to go, but I am about pooped out for today and will be getting up early for work in the morning.
You're like the energizer bunny of prepping!
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I just put some Zucchini Candy in the dehydrator. Had some koolaid envelopes leftover from when the boys lived here that I used to make a syrup with water and sugar. Just checked expiration date. . . 2012, guess that stuff never really goes bad. Anyhow, brought to a boil then simmered about 25 mins. Drained saving syrup to use again and into the dehydrator. They are kinda like gummies or you can dip in sugar for more of a gumdrop.
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Thought I would post about what I am doing with some of my dried tomatoes. If you notice the price of sun dried tomatoes at the grocery store, they are high dollar. Ours here run $11.99 a lb. I only make a 1/2 pint jar at a time since it needs to be kept in the fridge. Equal parts water & vinegar, bring to boil. Pour over dried tomatoes and let sit for a few minutes, till they soften. Its about 15 minutes or so. Drain. Pack in jar with one garlic clove and top with olive oil. Let sit in fridge for at least 24 hours but a week is better. Says it will last a month in fridge but goes longer than that. Use in recipes that call for sun dried tomatoes. Great in pasta salads and tomato dishes.
Well, this isn't really preserving, as it will be gone in under 24 hrs.! The only thing this is going to preserve is my big belly! It was the first apple pie of the season though. Most of the apples are still not quite ripe yet but I have several different varieties. That's a good thing as they don't all come due at the same time. I'm cutting it in a couple minutes....
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I have been busy canning, drying and freezing greens lately, but today when I was picking my radish, I wondered how many know that the tops are edible too. Mom used to buy them when I was a kid but she always tossed the leaves. They have a nice peppery taste and I will add them fresh in salads, or toss them into soups. They can be dried and saved for later just like any herb. They have many health benefits, like high in iron, vitamin C and some claim helps put a stop to cancerous cell growth. In my younger days when I had the anemia problem and looked for natural ways to get my iron levels up to par. It takes awhile of eating healthy and some days I still run low, but that is far and few now days instead of popping pills everyday. They also help remove excess water and salt from the body.
Now going to go start my processing for today. I picked turnips, radishes, bell peppers, pablanos, jalapeños and more mustard greens. I have 6 tomatoes on the vine that are almost red, but our freeze isnt coming until tomorrow night so will get them in the morning.
Now going to go start my processing for today. I picked turnips, radishes, bell peppers, pablanos, jalapeños and more mustard greens. I have 6 tomatoes on the vine that are almost red, but our freeze isnt coming until tomorrow night so will get them in the morning.
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Since I had a little extra time today, I thought I would do something fun. I had 9 14 1/2 oz cans of peach halves that needed used up and I am the only one who eats them. Went back out and picked a bunch of Tabasco peppers & cilantro and made a peach salsa with them, then canned them up. Figured the pot was still hot so why not, only 15 minutes to process once made. Used a Mango Habanero Salsa recipe but tweaked it for ingredients I had on hand.
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Yesterday I picked 36 lbs of cucumbers, some green beans and radishes. I ended up snapping and blanching the green bean and spreading on a cookie sheet lined with freezer paper to freeze. Doing it this way I just dump in a freezer bag and they don't get all stuck together so I can just grab what I need out. Have 3 gallon bags so far but will wait. I'll eventually can them up but that is going to be on the back burner right now since they are in the freezer.
Sliced up some cucumbers to put in lime to make Lynns Sweet & Spicy pickles the rest I fixed for relish and added salt to sit. After work today I am finishing those up. So far 9 pints relish & 12 pickles, but looks like the second batch will be about another 9 pints.
Sliced up some cucumbers to put in lime to make Lynns Sweet & Spicy pickles the rest I fixed for relish and added salt to sit. After work today I am finishing those up. So far 9 pints relish & 12 pickles, but looks like the second batch will be about another 9 pints.
I can’t wait for the first fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. My plants look good but are still much too young yet. I've been getting loads of lettuce, spinach and radishes so far but that’s it. “Patience grasshopper”
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I did oven dill pickles with sweet pea a couple weeks ago, which turned out pretty good and super easy so yesterday tried a batch of bread n butter. Verdict is still out if that is a keeper. Today I've decided to slice up my cucumbers and pickle but I'm just going to leave them in the fridge for a week or so then dehydrate the pickles into chips. Hunny really likes salt & vinegar chips so this is the healthier version of snack foods. . . Not that he would like them, but I would. Zucchini and yellow squash is now coming in faster than we can eat them. Yesterday and today I am precoating them, first seasoned flour, then egg wash then with bread crumbs for the freezer (first on cookie sheet lined w/ was paper) to make fried during the winter months. Corn was cut off the cob onto cookie sheets for the freezer, then they will be put in bags. Patty squash is being blanched then dehydrated along with the banana and jalapeno peppers. My red onions I will be braiding to hang from the stockroom shelves.
I have pretty much decided the weeds in the main garden are winning. I’ve managed to keep the greenhouse up, and should be able to start picking carrots, broccoli, and beets. I’m still getting lots of lettuce surprisingly with the heat. The tomatoes are almost 4’ high and covered with blooms, but still waiting patiently for a ripe tomato. The upside is the electrical business is kicking butt, just dosent leave much time or energy for the garden.
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Lately I've been doing pumpkins like crazy. I got my pumpkin butter and marmalade canned a few weeks ago. This morning I did pumpkin preserves, a pumpkin syrup to use it my coffee and have pumpkin puree in the crock pot cooking down. Need to go vote this morning so will can that up after I get back.
My wife & I have another date tonight to put up more apple butter. Seems right at a bushel of apples will fill our 3 crock-pots and will result in around 30 more 80z jelly jars canned. My late crop of corn is about ready for picking. We will add that to the freezers. Actually, all our freezers are about full now with goodies from the garden. So now we are primarily eating what we pick & give the excess to friends. Couple of days ago I gave a gal at work 4 dozen eggs & a bucket full of filet green beans. Today I brought a sack full of curly kale to another employee.
Nowadays we preserve our garden produce by freezing. It is quicker than canning & I find the quality superior. Down side is there is a potential for loss if a freezer were to die & not get noticed. As I prepper, I do stock many cases of Ball jars & keep thousands of bulk lids. I understand, during a crisis, canning will be critical for our survival. We have considerable experience in both pressure canning and hot water bath canning.
Nowadays we preserve our garden produce by freezing. It is quicker than canning & I find the quality superior. Down side is there is a potential for loss if a freezer were to die & not get noticed. As I prepper, I do stock many cases of Ball jars & keep thousands of bulk lids. I understand, during a crisis, canning will be critical for our survival. We have considerable experience in both pressure canning and hot water bath canning.
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The freezer dying is always in the back of my head. . . A few years ago we lost a freezer full of beef from T bone that was a bull we bought at auction to finish off. At the time hunny had insisted we keep the freezer down at the shop which is located at the other end of the property. He was down there every couple days so I didn't worry too much and I would periodically go down and collect a couple months worth to bring back to the house freezers. Well that didn't work out so well because he didn't check them when he was down there so we now have three freezers and two frig/ freezers at the house that I can keep an eye on. But I also make sure I preserve in multiple ways because of that experience. I will still be on a marathon run if a freezer goes out but I will not be completely screwed. Sounds like you have a backup too in place of the need arises.
