Picante Sauce using unripped tomatoes

Reader has requested the recipe once again. This is a medium spice recipe. Enjoy!

2 lbs unripe tomatoes, quartered and skin on

1 large onion
4 bell peppers
13 jalapenos
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salad oil
pinch of hand crushed fennel seed
dash paprika
dash chili powder

Using a food processor (or your amazing knife skills) finely chop the onion, bell peppers, and jalapenos. Add everything to a medium size kettle.

Since unripened tomatoes have little juice, you will need to stir this constantly over a medium heat until the liquid at the bottom begins to boil. Remove from heat, cover and place in a slow oven (200F) for 1 hour. Remove and carefully chop the ingredients in a food processor or blender (too hot for your mad knife skills) get those tomatoes finely chopped. Return to kettle or a new one, and place in the slow oven for 2 more hours.

jar and can in a hot water bath for 5-10 minutes.

The things I done did.

I got to can in the daylight! Talk about bliss. There is something to the saying about taking things for granted. . . 

I digress, last night I harvest a decent amount of cucumbers, crookneck squash and summer squash.

I am running dangerously low on canning jars. An added stress in my life. Wait, I promised not to get whinny about things. Let us move on. One solution to lack of jars;

A bit of airing out and sun drying. 

I decided to use some of the crooknecked squash in a relish. Sunshine is always needed in the darkest of winter.

Sunshine relish

4 lbs shredded crookneck squash 

2 large onions, minced

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons canning salt

4 cups sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

1 tablespoon each celery seed,  and ground turmeric

1 tablespoon whole seed mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cracked peppercorn

Directions

In a large pot combine the sugar, vinegar , salt and seasonings. Bring to

a boil. Add squash, onion and bell pepper then return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer

for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Ladle hot mixture into six hot pint jars, leaving 1/2-in.

headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process

for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. 

I went ahead and canned a few jars of straight squash. Just sliced summer squash in water. A bit of salt if you'd like. You really should pressure can these at 10 lbs for 30 mins. I hot water bathed for over 90 mins.

And finally some sweet pickles. I have the mixture premade so that I don't have to have a plethora of cucumbers to start canning. Just reheat the mixture if you have leftover.

2-1/2 pounds 3-inch pickling cucumbers, well-scrubbed and quartered into spears (about 12 cups spears)

4 cups cider vinegar

4 cups sugar

1/4 cup kosher salt

2 teaspoons mustard seeds

3/4 teaspoon celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

6 heads dill

2 medium sweet white onions, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 12 1/2inch-thick slices (I actually minced them this time)

7 whole cloves, crushed

In a large saucepan, stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, cloves and pepper. Bring to a boil over a high heat, stir to dissolve sugar.

Put dill and 1 slice of onion (or the minced onion) at the bottom of each of your sterile jars.

Pack spears into sterile quart (pints for me) jars. ladle vinegar mix over cucumbers in the jar, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in hot water bath for 5, 10, 15 minutes depending on how high you are from sea level.

The above picture was taken just as I removed the jars from the canner. The pickles will stop floating in 24 hours. I know that freaks some of you out. -wry grin-

Dill pickles

We are down to one vehicle right now. The motorcycle is firing on one cylinder at this time. Hopefully Husband will be able to get to it this weekend. Because of this, we closed shop early, so he could get to his second shift job, and I could get home.

With several hours extra time on my hands down in the hole. (Feeling so small. . . .I'd like to fly, but my wings have been so denied) I was able to process 11 pints of dill pickles. 

Unfortunately I haven't yet began to replenish my herb supply. Some of my herbs are coming up, but pickling season is now, not just next year. That means I had to buy some of the ingredients.

I had more than enough cucumbers to keep me in hamburger dills for the next two years. 11lbs.

If you don't remember or are new, I love my hand powered food processor. Makes things much easier, and less tiring. Especially when you have kids to run it for you.

My first round of slicing didn't turn out like I wanted to. Oh the despair! How could you dissapoint me so food processor? A change was made.

 

The crinkle cut cone worked wonderfully.  They will be a welcome addition to my burgers and other sandwiches. 

 

Dill is the first of my herbs to be ready. I am grateful to them for growing like they should. I must have a conversation with a few of the others. 

For dill pickles you will need;

4 quarts water

6 tablespoons coarse white Kosher salt

18-20 cucumbers, scrubbed

8 cloves garlic, unpeeled and lightly-crushed

2 tablespoons pickling spice (recipe below)

6 bay leaves

1 large bunch of dill, going to seed, washed

In a large pot, heat 1 qt of the water with salt until dissolved. Add the remaining water.

Sterilize 3 quart canning jars

divide the garlic, spices, bay leaves, and dill amongst them.

If doing halves, pack the cucumbers vertically into the jars, making sure are very tightly-packed. 

Fill the jars with brine so that the cucumbers are completely covered. Hot water bath for 20-30 mins for halves, 15 minutes for pints of chips. Ready to eat in 3 days.

Pickling spice:

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons allspice berries

1 tablespoon ground mace

2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces

24 bay leaves, crumbled

2 tablespoons whole cloves

1 tablespoon ground ginger.

In a small dry pan, combine peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and stir until fragrant, careful not to burn them. Keep the lid handy in case seeds pop. Crack peppercorns and seeds in mortar and pestle (or use the side of a knife on cutting board).

Mix together all ingredients. Store in a tightly sealed plastic or glass container.

Independence Day

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! 

As for me, I stayed in the holler to babysit the cows, and allowed the boys to go to town to be kids and enjoy the holiday.

They really enjoyed the Internet from what I have been told. Aw well. It gave them time to be kids without responsibilities. 

Before my story continues I have to obligatory warning; do this and you could die, sayth the FDA and USDA.

I canned 13 pints of green beans.

They are a bit larger than I like to pick, but right now I can only do things when I am able to get to them. These will be put in the way back shelf, give them time to soften up a bit more, to be used last or in stew. They still pop when snapped, I didn't keep any rubber ones.

Still without propane, I had to use an open fire to can.

It's difficult and super tedious to pressure can on a campfire. It requires you get it very hot, then back off on the heat and attempt to maintain a constant temptature. I might be talented, but not that talented. I chose to hot water bath them. 

Gasp!

It takes 90 mins to do, at a hard boil. 

While the first batch was going, I harvest and started drying more spinach.

 

Without an electric dehydrator (I have one packed somewhere) I use a window frame with screen, placed on four logs, then cover with hail screen. With the moisture here, it takes two to three days for them to completely dry.

I thought I might take a bath, but the cows kept drinking my bath water.

Soon my first batch of green beans were done, and I restoked the fire and started the second batch.

Sunday I will be able to can the younger, better tasting green beans. 

Tomato ketchup(s)

Original post >>>

6 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium onions, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup water
3 pounds tomatoes, quartered
5 Tablespoons vinegar
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 Tablespoon whole cloves
1/2 Tablespoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon salt



Carefully wash, core and quarter your tomatoes. Placing them in a heavy stock pot. Using a potato masher, smoosh the heck out of them. Cook over a medium heat. Bring to a light boil for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile. . .

Put you celery, onion and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over a medium heat. stir the mix occasionally. Cook until almost soft, 25 minutes.

Add the celery and onions to you mashed tomatoes, continue cooking until the vegetables are completely softened, 15 minutes. Strain tomato mixture in small batches through food mill into another small stock pot.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Place the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring often to be sure that the ketchup is not sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens, kind of, for 15 to 20 minutes. Ladle into your sterilized pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for at least 40 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 pints.


Need a simpler recipe? Very basic tomato ketchup>>>

Unripened tomato ketchup>>>

No tomatoes but love ketchup? Not a problem, I am the ketchup queen>>> I know it doesn't say it, but I indeed wrote the article.

Extracts and canned oranges

Extracts are super simple and don't need more than a paragraph to explain. Mainly it is a side item I do with leftover or food waste.

Place peels, seeds or leaves (tear the leaves) in to jar. If you don't have enough to stuff the jar full, it can be added to over time.  Pour vodka, moonshine or rum over them. The stronger the alcohol the better. Tightly screw on the lid, then set out of your way and out of your mind for a week, vigorously shake. Do this for four weeks. Strain and place into a separate jar. Do not open near a flame.






Canning Oranges
You will need oranges, peeled and segmented
Water or orange juice or a light syrup of your making ( basically a sugar water mix, the more sugar the heavier the syrup). I prefer a lite sugar water to a syrup as it helps the oranges taste fresher.

Place your orange segments in your sterile jars, leaving an inch of head space, as they tend to float. Bring your liquid to a boil, then pour over the tops, leaving a half inch of space. Lids on tightly, and water bath.

Lower altitudes, 5 mins. Middle of the road 10 minutes. Higher altitudes, 15 mins.

This is usually finished before you are done candying the orange peels.

Unripened Tomato Ketchup

First, I know I am preaching to the choir with my regular readers, but there is a difference between green tomatoes and unripe tomatoes. Green tomatoes can be used like regular red or yellow tomatoes, while unripe tomatoes take a bit longer to prepare.

3 lbs unripe tomatoes
1 1/2 lbs onions
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon pickling spice
1/2 teaspoon ground hot  pepper
1 cup vinegar 5%
3/4 cup honey

Chop up onion, and saute them over a low heat, with a bit of butter or olive oil. Stir occasionally, while chopping your tomatoes.

Place tomatoes in a small kettle (or deep pot) and mix in the seasonings, Add the Worcestershire sauce to the onions shortly before they turn golden brown on the edges. Cook for a few seconds, just long enough to incorporate the sauce.

Mix everything except the honey together in the kettle.

 

over a low heat, cover and simmer for 4 hours. Stir occasionally to keep it from sticking.

Remove from heat and puree. Place into a clean kettle and bring to a boil. Stir in the honey (you can use 1 cup of sugar instead) Mix extremely well. 

Pour into your clean jars and hot water bath for 5 minutes.  Makes 2 1/2 pints (recipe can be doubled, stay true to the doubling amounts)

I think it turned out wonderfully, though the color might put some people off a bit. It tastes more like modern ketchup than traditional steak sauce ketchup. And it doesn't take as long to thicken it up. A warning however, honey tends to separate out a bit, so make sure you jar it while still hot, and shake well before use.

And be sure to check out my guest post (recipe) over on  Mohave Rat's blog>>>>  (please take it as a good spirited, believe it or not post that it is)

Basic Tomato Paste

You need paste to make various other tomato based sauces

makes about nine 1/2 pints

13 lbs Peeled,cored, chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 c Chopped sweet red peppers
2 Bay leaves
1 tbs Salt
1 Garlic clove; peeled

Cook tomatoes, peppers, bay leaves, and salt for 1 hour over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Press through a food mill and return to pot. Discard seeds and bay leaves.
Add garlic, and continue to cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring frequently, until tomato mixture is thick enough to mound on a spoon, about 2-1/2 hours. Or place in a low oven over night.

Remove garlic.

Pour hot paste into hot 1/2 pint jars to within 1/4 inch of tops.

Process in a boiling water bath 45 minutes.

Basic Red Pasta Sauce

10 lbs Tomatoes

3 tbs oil

4 1/2 cup Onions, chopped

3 Garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp Oregano, crushed

2 Bay leaves, crushed

1 Tbs Plain salt (non-iodized)

1 Tbs Sugar

1 tbs Black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper, crushed

1 tbs Parsley, dried

1 tbs Celery leaves, minced

Peel, core and chop tomatoes. Combine with rest of ingredients in heavy saucepan.

Simmer 2 hours stirring often until desired consistency. Pour into hot jars leaving 1/2" headspace.

Process 30 minutes.

Makes approximately 5-7 pints.

Blowing Away the Competition

Husband was told yesterday by his boss that he blew passed base time. That means he gets flag time, and several hours of flag time. WHOOHOO! Bring in more bikes, please. We have been stressing on money because he hadn't made flag time, and base pay barely covers the bills. Now we can add a little more to the savings.

I am a tad concerned about the weather. Last year we were only able to pull in 350lbs of produce due to the flooding and the cool temps. We aren't having the rain, though we have been threatened by the weather people that we will, but the cooler temps could be a problem with the tomatoes. The beans don't seem to be having a problem with it. We will see. But we are running very low on supplies from last harvest.

American Prepper's are giving stuff away, click to enter.

I have been feeling rather lonely lately. It comes and goes. There is that part of me that wants to take off and hit a bar, and another part of me that asks why? Phelan, you don't like to be around people very much, why put yourself in the situation. Because sometimes it is nice to pretend that I am not a country hick. And maybe I won't smell like cattle that one day. Of course if I was to break out the psycho babel, one reason is reclaiming a youth that I missed by having children and doing this homestead things so young. I was 17. But then again, it would just be nice to have an evening out, away from kids and livestock. Nothing mental about it, just a good time with close friends that I can go 6 months without seeing or talking to.

I am having issues with Murrial not standing correctly, that and her kicking me. Uma, our oldest calf, looks to be indeed pregnant. She is a fat little thing, as tall as my 5 year old and very very wide. Eddie's udder is starting to fill, but she shouldn't be due for 2 more months. I am thinking that my math might have been off and we will be calving in July. I am so excited about it. Babies are always exciting.

Waste not want not

Split Pea soup

16 ounces dried split peas
2 cups sliced sausage/ham hock
1 1/2 diced carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup hot milk

Using a crockpot, layer the first 9 ingredients in order, no stirring. Cover and allow to slowly cook for 5 hours. Pour in the hot milk and stir. Pour into your hot sterile jars (discard any large leaves) and process in a pressure canner for 40 minutes.


Pea Hull Jelly

4 cups juice from cooked hulls
5 cups sugar
1 package pectin

Wash pea hulls well, use as many as you wish. Cover with water. Boil until tender. Drain juice through several thicknesses of cheesecloth, reserving the liquid. Add pectin to measured liquid. Bring this to a boil. Add sugar and return to a hard boil (can't be stirred down). Hard boil for 10 minutes. Pour into hot sterile jars and seal. Water bath for 5 minutes.

You will need, Jam, Jelly, Butter and Ketchup

No commentary today, just the facts ma'am.

Pear Butter

9 cups of pears, washed, peeled and chopped
6 cups of sugar
juice of a lemon or and juice of 1 orange and the peel
Cook pears over a medium heat with some water to prevent sticking, until soft. Run pears through a food mill. Return to cleaned pan, add sugar and juice. Cook over a low heat, uncovered, until think enough that it will hold up a wooden spoon.

Vanilla Pear Jelly
8 large pears, stemmed and blossom ends removed, then quartered with peel left on
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups cane sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) box powdered pectin

Wash fruit. Place in pot and pour water to barely cover pears. Boil uncovered for 35-45 minutes. Fruit should look translucent. Strain the juice through a double layer of cheesecloth or use a jelly bag. Do not Squeeze, or the juice will become cloudy.
Sterilize jars.
Heat 3-1/2 cups of the pear juice (don't have enough? you can add as much as 1/2 cup water), add the vanilla and pectin. Bring to a boil, add the sugar. Bring back to a boil, until the sugar is completely dissolved and you are at a hard boil (hard boil means you can not stir it down) about 10 - 20 minutes.
You should begin to see the mixture thicken on the back of a wooden spoon and form 2 side-by-side droplets at this point.. Turn the heat down and skim off the foam. Return to a boil for another five minutes. Using the "spoon test", the jelly should be thick enough to "sheet" in small waves on the back of your spoon.
Pour into sterilized jars and add lids. B-w bath for 5 minutes .Makes 6 to 7 (8 ounce) jars.

Spiced Pear Jam
8 cups peeled finely chopped ripe pears (about 5 1/2 lb.)
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more according to your taste)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place all the ingredients to a dutch oven.
Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for 2 hours or until thickened.
Sterilize jars
Skim off foam with a metal spoon.
Pour immediately into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Remove any air bubbles and wipe jar rims.
adjust lids
Process in a b-w bath for 10 minutes.
Makes 5 half pints

Pear Ketchup
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 Tbsp. finely minced cooking onion
½ tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
4-inch sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves only, very finely minced
2½ Tbsp. pear vinegar
1 tsp. raw sugar
1 large star anise
1 small bay leaf

In a small frying pan over medium heat, melt butter and saute the pears for 2 minutes. Add onion and continue sauteing for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until the pears have softened but not turned color.
Remove from the heat allow to cool. Place the cooled pears in a food processor with salt, pepper, rosemary, vinegar, and sugar, puree. Return the mixture to the frying pan, add the star anise and bay leaf. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of ketchup.
Remove the ketchup from heat and set aside to cool for 1 to 2 hours. Discard the bay leaf and star anise and taste--if the pears used were too sweet, you may want to add another ½ tablespoon of vinegar.
You can keep refrigerated for 6 weeks and frozen for 6 months. This recipe only makes 3/4 cup of ketchup.


I wonder what will happen tomorrow.

Pizza the Hut was found dead earlier today in the back seat of his stretched limo.

This is for 1 pizza. It doubles easily.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seed

• Using a large skillet, melt the butter with the oil. Add onion, celery and garlic and saute until soft and transparent.
  
• Add tomato sauce and paste, stir until smooth.
  
• Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a slow simmer.
  
• Simmer for 30 minutes.
  
• Remove the bay leaf and pour into your sterile jars. Process in a food bath for 40 minutes.

For those with simpler tastes

28 oz crushed tomato

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 large garlic gloves, minced

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Mix all together and set aside for a few hours. Pour into a sterile jar and process for 40 minutes in a hot water bath.

These recipes are for 1 pizza. I did it this way because pizza making is not a necessity on a homestead, but having premade sauce on hand sure makes things a lot easier some days. I am assuming that everyone knows how to make paste and plain sauce. If not, yell at me and I will be happy to tell you how to do it.

Catch up, would you.

As the hysteria that is canning season peaks, the titles of my posts will be groaners. As I tell my kids, that's how I roll.

Yesterday I processed 6 pints of Ketchup. you will need,

1 house to yourself
3 Cd's
6 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium onions, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup water
3 pounds tomatoes, quartered
5 Tablespoons vinegar
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 Tablespoon whole cloves
1/2 Tablespoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon salt

If it is cool enough outside, open back door. Put Cd's in CD player, and start player. (my first selection was Sound Garden "B Side")

Carefully wash, core and quarter your tomatoes. Placing them in a heavy stock pot. Using a potato masher, smoosh the heck out of them. Cook over a medium heat. Bring to a light boil for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile. . .

Put you celery, onion and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over a medium heat. You will need a "Spoonman" to stir the mix occasionally. Cook until almost soft, 25 minutes.

Add the celery and onions to you mashed tomatoes, continue cooking until the vegetables are completely softened, 15 minutes. Strain tomato mixture in small batches through food mill into another small stock pot.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Place the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring often to be sure that the ketchup is not sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens, kind of, for 15 to 20 minutes. Ladle into your sterilized pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for at least 40 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 pints.

I make larger batches of this recipe. I managed to listen to all 3 of my cds. I discovered yesterday that the stupid, embarrassing mom dance is hereditary. As I wiggled to some System of a Down, singing at the top of my lungs, stirring my ketchup over the stove. My neighbor walked in my open door. Let the giggle commence.

What's the Dilly, Yo?

I heard you. You hate sweet pickles, same here. Yesterday I put up some Kosher Dill Pickles.

4 quarts water
6 tablespoons coarse white Kosher salt
18-20 cucumbers, scrubbed
8 cloves garlic, unpeeled and lightly-crushed
2 tablespoons pickling spice (recipe below)
6 bay leaves
1 large bunch of dill, going to seed, washed

In a large pot, heat 1 qt of the water with salt until dissolved. Add the remaining water.

Sterilize 3 quart canning jars

divide the garlic, spices, bay leaves, and dill amongst them.

Pack the cucumbers vertically into the jars, making sure are very tightly-packed.

Fill the jars with brine so that the cucumbers are completely covered. Hot water bath for 20-30 minutes. Ready to eat in 3 days.

Pickling spice:

2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon ground mace
2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces
24 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger.

In a small dry pan, combine peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and stir until fragrant, careful not to burn them. Keep the lid handy in case seeds pop. Crack peppercorns and seeds in mortar and pestle (or use the side of a knife on cutting board).

Mix together all ingredients. Store in a tightly sealed plastic or glass container.

A Shocking Purple

I finished the peaches this weekend. Made 3 pies.

Saturday I went to my mother's house. It was my youngest brother's birthday and I went earlier to get some more of those grapes done. Mom and I got into position, and started processing. I placed the pureed grapes in a pot on the stove, then leaned over touching the stove, to turn on the burner. Some of you may remember that I have accused my mother of trying to kill me in the pas. Well Saturday she made yet another attempt. As I touched the stove I got a 100 volts through my hand, into my arm, stopping at my spine. How do I know it was 100 volts? Because after I was done doing the Phelan ritual dance of I've been shocked! My step father broke out his voltage meter. I think I am done with electricity at this point. How many time now? 3?

Mom called a friend in, he is an electrician. He found some future problems and fixed those, but was unable to discover what exactly was wrong with the coil. They left that one burner disconnected. Sure, that made me feel lots better about touching it.

Why, Hello My Little Peach

I took a break from grapes yesterday and tackled some of those peaches that have been patiently waiting for me.

Peach pie filling

3 lbs peaches (peeled, cored and sliced)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crystallized ginger

Mix together and stuff into 1 quart and 1 pint jars. you an freeze or process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.

you will need tapioca for a thickening agent when you go to use the filling. 3-4 tablespoons. (if you want your pie to have a lattice top, mix tapioca with only 2/3 of the filling, place the 1/3 without on top of the 2/3 with. This will prevent the tapioca from getting hard)

If you want to use this filling for something other then pie. Make up some buttermilk biscuits for breakfast. Heat peaches in a sauce pan, adding 1 cup heavy whipping cream to every pint of mix. Pour over hot biscuits, and watch as everyone devours it and begs you for your share.

Tomorrow is my turn to post at Woman not dabbling, I have been going over and over what recipe I should post. Here's where you can help. We all seem to be knee deep in some sort of produce, what one do you need a recipe for. I will use the most commented produce as my subject, and post a not so normal recipe for it tomorrow.

I might end up grounded

I'm 30, and I still have ten years left on my grounding, but after yesterday, that might just get extended.

My 4 year old son had pre-K screening yesterday, so I didn't get to my mother's until after 10am. We got to work on those grapes, putting a very small dent in them. 4 lbs seems to be nothing when working with so many grapes. I taught mom the recipe, and we got 9 half pints put by. I left because I had to meet my oldest and middle sons at home after school. I called my mother later in the evening to see if she had blown herself up, my mom has been canning for years, no worries there. She had went out to buy more lemon juice and ended up with a huge water bath canner. This thing holds 9 quart jars.

Mom, you are using and electric range, it might be too big. It could break your coil.

But she was willing to take that chance. Then asked if she could double the jam recipe.

Nope, sorry. You should never double a jam recipe and never use quart jars to can it in. It will not jell correctly if you do that.

Now I had a grumpy mama on the phone. The joys of gleaning have passed. Its fun to gather, but then. . . then you have to process it all before it rots. And that takes time and back soreness.

So, if I don't see you tomorrow, I've been grounded.

Sweet Pickeled Cucumbers

Am I boring you yet with all this food preserving talk?

2-1/2 pounds 3-inch pickling cucumbers, well-scrubbed and quartered into spears (about 12 cups spears)
4 cups cider vinegar
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 heads dill
2 medium sweet white onions, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 12 1/2inch-thick slices
7 whole cloves

Place cucumbers in a large bowl.

In a large saucepan, stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, cloves and pepper. Bring to a boil over a high heat, stir to dissolve sugar. Pour hot vinegar mix over sliced cucumbers. Allow to sit until cool enough to touch.

Put dill and 1 slice of onion at the bottom of each of your sterile jars.

Pack into sterile quart jars. ladle vinegar mix over cucumbers in the jar, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in hot water bath for 5, 10, 15 minutes depending on how high you are from sea level.

Got leftover juice? Pickle sweet peppers the same way, or make sweet cucumber relish.

Onto other things. I was finally able to milk Eddie, our most recent cow mom. I pulled a quart, and allowed the calf, Urth, to have the remainder.

spaghetti sauce and zucchini day

We have never been successful growing our own tomatoes from seeds. We try every year, and every year a few will sprout and then die. So every year we must buy seedlings. This year my husband was in the locally owned hardware store, a locally owned nursery was selling some of their plants in the parking lot. My husband saw "FLAT SALE" and bought several flats of tomato and peppers.

On close inspection we found that the plants were showing the beginning signs of becoming root bound. Hence the sale. But we decided to make do, and now we are worried. I just now got enough tomatoes in to can 5 quarts of spaghetti sauce. We had really hoped by tripling our plants we could have enough tomato products to last until next harvest. I am probably the only one here that wishes for this, but I wish for an Indian summer.

We have always been successful at harvesting tomatoes. This year I am at the point that I want to cheat and by some miracle gro to help them out. If something doesn't change soon, we are going to have to prepare to grow one tomato plant in our hydroponics closet and leave another veggie out.

Even our peppers are having a hard time. Unless someone came along one night and dumped chemicals on our soil, the plants being root bound is the only explanation I have. here's where I sigh

I digress, I made spaghetti sauce yesterday.

The recipe I was going to follow called for 6 lbs of tomatoes, and only 5 pints of pureed. Sorry, but 6 lbs of tomatoes make more than 5 pints of puree, so I used another recipe, one that I had fixed what problems there were in the past.

I washed my tomatoes, scalded them in hot water for 3 minutes. Shocked them in cold water to stop the cooking processThis colander has seen better days.

and then cored and peeled them.

I would like to state that after 6 lbs of tomatoes, that my back was killing me. Also, make sure you have no little scratches on your fingers. The acid from the tomatoes burns!

After all the fruit was cored and peeled, I put them through my food processor and pureed them. I put my quart jars hot water to sterilize. and cooked up my spaghetti recipe. Once that was done a managed to ladle the sauce into the jars without burning myself. TRIUMPH!All the while I had my hot water bath simmering. Using the rack I submerged the jars, turned the heat up and waited 4 hours for the water to rapidly boil. Somehow/reason I never got enough heat to get the water to boil. This is a first for me. I have always managed to use a hot water bath successfully. But alas! I have a tendency to "blow it"

I removed the jars from the hot water bath and put them in the pressure canner. 5 lbs for 25 minutes. Apparently when I learn a new skill I lose the old one.


I also had 6 lbs of shredded zucchini to deal with. Using my zucchini nut muffin recipe, I made one big loaf and several {and I do mean several} muffins.We are eating the loaf and I froze the muffins for winter. I still have more zucchini to do something with. Any suggestions?

KF_in_Georgia informed me that you can use corn starch to clot up a bleeding bird toe. My question is; would that work on a bird that scratches? Or do I need to hold the rooster down for a while?

Ketchup

Last harvest I felt overwhelmed by all of the tomatoes. We had 6 plants, all bursting with different types of tomato. What on earth would I do with all of them? I made chili, simple. I made spaghetti sauce, even simpler. I made salsa, not too hard. And then Ketchup. How hard could that be?

I gathered the tomatoes that would be turned into 6 quarts of ketchup. {That's a lot of ketchup!} I washed them, boiled them until the skin could be pulled off of them. Oh but wait! You're not to pull the skin from the flesh with this recipe. No one must smash them in a food mill. And what is a food mill? I ran outside where my husband was talking with a neighbor. Not a fellow homesteader, he raises and trains horses. "What is a food mill?" I called out across a small field. Of course he couldn't here me, and I was forced to walk out there barefoot {but not pregnant}. "A food mill, what is it?" He asked if the books said anything. "No." Well then get on that computer of yours. {You would never guess he was in his early 30's the way he talks about computers} So that is what I did. I pulled up a search engine and looked about. here' is a food mill. I don't have one of those! {Here is where I suggest doing a lot of research on what to do before hand} I ended up using my sifter. {Mine isn't that pretty, it's at least 20 years old. Yes, dad it's the one from Haysville} I do not recommend using a sifter, a food mill is completely different, but I did use it, what choice did I have at that point? {oh, you mean I could have drove into the city and bought one?}

I placed the tomatoes into the sifter and using a meat hammer {that is also over 20 years old} I beat the tomatoes into submission. Filtering out the seeds, pulp and skin. Slowly {hours later} I had enough juice to begin. Since this was my first time, I didn't spice it myself. I bought a pre-made packet of seasoning. I added the sugar needed and simmered, cooled, simmered again. And made an attempt the remove tomato skin from the little holes in the screen of my sifter. {I had to break out the tooth picks to do it}

Finally it was time to can. I used the hot water bath method. Sinking the tightly closed jars into boiling water that just covered the lids. The water stopped the rolling boil. The book says to let it roll. So I waited and waited for it to come back to a boil. That never happened. An hour longer than suggested, I finally pulled the jars out and allowed them to cool. It worked! They were sealed. I was so proud of myself.

One would think that 6 quarts of ketchup would be plenty to last me until next harvest. HA! We ran out in 3 months. This year my husband told me that we would double our tomato plants. That was fine by me. He came home with 28 plants. {And he's the one that's good at math}

Not the recipe I used, but you get the point.