Our "Edibles" #18: 2008 Harvest

note:
not a good idea to say yes to 2 bushels of tomatoes on the weekend when you have to drive your brother to the airport at 3 in the morning.
Tomatoes had to be done.. and I didn’t get much sleep!

note:
if you want your chili sauce to thicken and it is being stubborn .. just get the tomato juice going and as soon as the tomato juice starts to boil the chili sauce will immediately jump into the “thick” mode

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Holy Smokes Debbie

I used to do all this when kids were home, Now its just me so don’t do a lot

I have in the freezer 20 pints of strawberries and 12 pints of my rhubarb sauce I made

Yesterday I did 2 batches of chow 10 pint bottles and did 5 a week ago

I did 6 pints of mustarde relish 2 weeks ago

I bagged 10 lbs of blueberries yesterday

I still have beets and chard to do and at least 12 huge cukes and about 30lbs of toms to do yet.

I will freeze 20 lbs of cranberries when they are ready to be picked from the bogs

Beef , pork and chickens won’t be slaughtered til Oct or Nov

When I think of it how much I used to do just like you but with just myself to feed, I don’t do a lot now.

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

I began freezing fresh yellow beans last summer/fall. First time for me; as I just always either bought “fresh” at the fruit/veggie market or used store bought frozen vegetables. But now that I am so near the Farmer’s Market, I have been buying fresh veggies and as I said, as of last summer began experimenting with freezing some of them. It went really well. We don’t have a freezer, so I am “making room” in our everyday freezer. I still want to get a couple more pints of the yellow beans (yah, we LOVE them) and then several heads of cauliflower and brocolli. And to be honest that will be about all I have room for at the moment.

Would love to try canning, but it intimidates the heck out of me … grandparents used to can everything, but I never learned how from them. Maybe once we get out West, I’ll talk to my daughter and maybe we can do some canning together. Really want to have a vegetable container garden out there.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

here’s my cupboard full of the preserves.

My goal for this year was to preserve enough fruits/veggies this summer so I wouldn’t have to buy much during the rest of the year.
My daughter and son-in-law will probably be living here for the year (at least until January anyway) so that makes 4 to feed.
The juices are all individual-size so they go in lunches…

The chili-sauce, I use in the crock-pot with roasts, with chops, with ribs, and any other meat I think it would work with: Delicious! So that is a LOT of chili sauce that I go through in a year.

And so,... I’m thinking that there won’t be a heck of a lot left at the end of spring next year.
Or that’s the plan!

GramT: start with something simple….actually most recipes are pretty simple. Pickled beets—REALLY easy… Scott’s mint jelly recipe… easy! The pickled beans I made this year: Easy!! of course i haven’t tasted them (have never made them before) so maybe I should wait until a taste test before I recommend them haha

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Nice collection you have… Hmm..

Still don’t understand why it’s called chili sauce, but what ever works.. :) We use out basil tomato the same way. Just chuck some chicken breasts into the croc and dump a quart of basil tomato on top.

SO you all liked the lemon balm jelly that much, eh? Glad to hear. :)

Ok, so how did you bottle the apple juice in those bottles? Are they truely preserved? Water bathed? Lids? <- confused. Baffled. Perplexed. Intrigued!

Next batch of apples we do are going to be pie-ready and canned up in quarts so all we need to do is dump them into a shell and be done with it. Makes life real simple, eh.. ;)

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

That is one nice stash of canned goods MsD … looks mighty tasty too!!!

That makes sense with starting with something simple. I am going to “favor” your chili recipe for when the times to try canning. I need to do some serious reading up on how to actually can and seal everything … actually that is the part that worries me; I have heard of batches going bad cuz they were not sealed correctly.

Let me know how those picked beans taste … that intriques me!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I think “chili sauce” in the store tastes close to this recipe.. interesting.

lemon balm jelly: it is a BIG hit. My brother wants to market it! lol

Single-serving bottles. The glass bottles are all bottle cap variety (not twist-top). The little coke bottles – I got those at a blood-donor clinic one year. Scooped up a couple boxes. Shoulda’ got more!!
Anyway, just sterilize the bottles as usual and use a bottle-capper to seal them.
That’s all I do. We haven’t died yet.

Apple Pie Filling: last year I canned lots and it was SO good—the one bottle that didn’t go bad. All the rest came UN-sealed somehow. Not sure what happened. So this year, it’s all going into the freezer!!

GramT: In all my years of canning, the apple pie is the only stuff that didn’t work. If you put the stuff in hot, the lids seal and it’s done. Gotta love it.

Make a single batch of something and just give it a try. If it doesn’t work, you’re out one batch of whatever but you will have gained a lot of experience for your next try!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

The likelyhood of anything going bad in short order is slim. Though it can start to turn over the years, regardless.

It’s a fairly simple process though. For jellies, all you need to do is heat the lids in water, pour your product into clean jars and place a hot lid on then seal with a ring. No need to water bath.

For apple sauce, tomatoes and veg however we always water bath them. That’s as simple as pouring the product into jars, putting a lid on (without heating in water) and screwing on the ring. Then just put into a water bath and boil for 20-30 minutes depending on what you’re doing.

I’d highly recommend reading over Blake’s site, http://pickyourown.org/ which details how to can just about anything. He also goes into enough details that anyone just starting off will have no problem making anything.

For more seasoned caners, the information will be long, drawn out and considered useless. But, he’s a nice guy and has put together some great information, well worth the look.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

So you just need to buy the caps and use a caper then?

I’d been considering making home made rootbeer for fun. My mother used to do it years ago. Remember one story of a batch that exploded right beside their brand new fridge. (bottle exploded, not the cap) No clue how they caped them back then.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

OH heaven’s I wasn’t inferring you guys weren’t doing everything right … hope that is not what you read. I KNOW you guys know what you are doing … it is me that I would worry about. Why I said I need to do some serious reading on all this … I’m so out of my league at the moment. So I am reading this thread along with Scott’s with great interest. So much to learn on this site … :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

had to go look for chili sauce recipes online
here’s one http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1715,149185-254196,00.html
pretty close to mine. No chilies.

but if you keep it in the fridge, it is chilly.. and it is thick like a sauce.
Does that work?

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

didn’t take your comments in a negative way Gram.. I just read it as “I want to but am a little afraid” :)
Looking forward to seeing your first batch of whatever!!! :)

oh.. haha now I see: my comment “we haven’t died yet” haha.
I was actually referring back to Scott’s curiosity about how I do it… made me wonder if I should be putting them in a hot water bath, but I never do that. I just boil and jar.

Here’s my set-up (bought it at the local hardware store)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Gram: LOL, no, I meant as to your fears of anything YOU do going bad. Anyway, read over the pick your own site I linked, it will give you ALL the information you could ever need, or want.

Really, I just started learning all this, this year. Though the wife had canned before, it’s my first try at all the canning hullabaloo. Really has been fun.

As far as apples turning when canned, we had a batch do that. Started off about two weeks after we canned the apple sauce. We took the product, ditched the really bad and water bathed the rest and it’s been no issue since.

I think because of the high sugar content and general nature of apples it makes them more susceptible to failure and fermentation within the jars. By water bathing you heat everything up to the point to where it’s fully sterilized. Not just the bottles and lids, but any air within as well.

Only down side if you do apple slices is that it may cook them down a bit. We did a batch of rings, cold packed them into jars with syrup and sealed them up, then bathed them for 1/2hr and the rings broke up into nice smaller pieces. Slides or cubed apples would do better in a water bath.

Deb: Wow, that’s a snazzy little device. I wonder if I can track down some good cheap bottles. I don’t drink, so no access to them. Suppose yard sales might turn up some.. Hmm.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Stewart’s sodas uses the capped bottles.. so I keep my eyes open for them, if I remember. They are hard to find.

makes sense re: apple pie filling—probably too much air left in the jar because it was such a thick mixture.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Ah… Just thought of Jones’ Soda.. They also use glass bottles. Though, I’m pretty sure they’re twist top and won’t work.. Hmm.. I’ll just have to keep my eyes open.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Oh yummy…Lovely assortment MsD!!! You can also buy new amber glass beer bottles and caps for home brewing, the dark glass will also protect the apple juice/cider or whatever you bottle from light. and once you buy a case you can reuse them plus they look nice hehe…might be easier to find a dozen used beer bottles too, but new ones can be bought at any home brew.

-- Xploreorganics, 5b Canada, LFD 06-20

Jones’ soda is twist-top.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I’m not sure if the capper would still put the lid on around the twist.. don’t think so, but might be worth a try.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

X.. Thanks for the link and advice. :) I hadn’t even thought of going that route, though it makes sense.

Debbie, I doubt it would work. Hmmm… I wonder.. What kind of drink could be made out of paw paw, figs or persimmons.

Speaking of persimmons.. We did a batch of jam. The taste was great, but for some reason there’s an almost chalky aftertaste and final texture to it.. ick. We’re going to try an infusion jelly instead.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

juice them all up and make a “syrup” of them…. then just add them to orange juice or gingerale.

eww re: aftertaste

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Paw Paw
http://www.myacrobatpdf.com/5136/paw-paw-salad-recipe-by-thitinun-klangchoho-serves-two-.html

http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Paw-Paw_and_Coconut_Drink

http://www.aussiecooking.com.au/cook/recipes/447/Paw%20Paw%20and%20Kiwi%20Smoothie/

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Well Scott … most interesting that you caught my big time fear “of anything YOU (I) do going bad” ... very perceptive of you … hmmmm, maybe I need to bring in that “laundry line”—LOL!!!!!

I do tend to sit back and have to talk myself into new projects. Need my ducks in a row … ;-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

lol.. No troubles, Gram.. The only thing you waste in these endeavors if they don’t work is time… Well, that, 6 cups of sugar and whatever fruit.. But that’s easily redone.. ;)

Really though most things are pretty cut and dry. If you don’t want to go through alot of work go with a jelly first. You can even make jelly out of tea.. Or if you’re insane, Mountain Dew.. :)

My wife won’t let me try the Mountain Dew one.. :(

Really nothing to it, though. Jelly = easy.. Tomatoes = more work.. Apple Sauce = Even More.. But they’re all simple beyond the amount of time you need to put into them.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

mountain dew jelly??? ok… someone has to try it!!
how would you do it? Heat, add the sugar and the pectin and that’s it?

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

What is it exactly that you grow Scott (PawPaw that is) as many people call Papaya (Carica papaya) a PawPaw. But also the Asimina triloba is refered to as a PawPaw. Most recipes actually call for the Carica as the Asimina is very difficult to store and is generally eaten fresh. I really would like some fresh seeds to the Asimina triloba as this can grow in colder climates and is a very healthy fruit.

-- Xploreorganics, 5b Canada, LFD 06-20

”
Mountain Dew Jelly

3 1/4 cups Mountain Dew
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 package Sure Jell pectin

NOTE: You can use more Mountain Dew and reduce it to 3 1/4 cups for a more concentrated flavor.”

I’ve got no idea how good it is.. Think I’ll try it some day when the wife is out. ;)

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

I made a steak marinade with Mountain Dew, brown sugar, and soy sauce.. oh my it was delicious. The Mountain Dew breaks down the fibres for the sugar and soy sauce to saturate the meat better. DELICIOUS

might just have to try this jelly.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

X, that’d be Asimina triloba.. Good ol’ American Paw Paw as cultivated by the Indians.

I can try and send you some seeds, however they MUST stay moist. If they dry at all they won’t germinate. It can also take up to 10 years to produce and requires two trees to cross pollinate.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

OOOOOO…Lucky you. I know the seeds need to be moist as I have tried many many times to germinate old dried seeds that have been sent to me with no success :(...If you do have the time to send me some moist seeds that would be fantastic. So how do you store/bottle/eat yours?

-- Xploreorganics, 5b Canada, LFD 06-20

We keep them in the fridge until we can deal with (pop the seeds and skin) them. Then they go into the freezer till needed.

First year we’ve actually gone through all the prep. Last year we just ate them as they fell. ;)

Shoot me your address and I’ll try and figure out the logistics of sending moist seeds across the border.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Never in my wildest imagination would I EVER have thought of putting “Mountain Dew” on steak … but if you, MsDeb, are saying it is that delicious … I just might have to give your sauce a try. :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

it’s delicious.. have done it several times.
I think it’s something like 1/4 c. brown sugar… 1 tbsp soy sauce and enough Mountain Dew to cover the meat.. or something like that. I forget now (haven’t used it this year)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

http://www.recipezaar.com/125960
this one is similar.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Wow my head is spinning.You have done so much canning etc. I think you have more in your pantry than our little grocery store.(lol) Sure looks good.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

haha that’s funny :)
I’ll let you know in May 2009 if I’ve canned too much :)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

You could always set up a roadside stand. (lol)

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

haha good idea!

when I did my beets I had enough syrup left to fill two more jars so I asked my brother for about 10 small beets.
He sent about 20 LARGE beets.
I finished the batch I was doing and this morning I tackled the rest of his beets. 14 quarts later!!!!!!!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Ha ha ha …..Always room for one more on those shelves. :-)

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

not much room left now! sheesh

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Busy gal today, eh MsDeb!!! :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

oh yes… I haven’t worked so hard since the spring!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Well I know come winter, you will appreciate all your hard work as you are enjoying all that delicious hard work!! :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

that’s the plan :)
and cheaper grocery bills :)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Wow. You guys are really working hard. I’m impressed.

My mom, and also my mother-in-law used to can a lot of food. That was the way it was done in the days when a dollar had to be stretched as far as possible. I can’t get my wife to go for it though, even though I sense those days are returning. I guess I may have to do it myself…. or should I get another job to pay for more food. Decisions… decisions.

-- jroot

You can’t pay for “did it myself” :)

I made a peach pie yesterday from the frozen peach pie filling… oh my goodness it was delicious (or so I was told). I don’t like pie.
And the beets are also a big hit!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)