Planting season!

Time to rotate my crop, till my dirt and plant for summer harvest! I sowed some of my transplant seeds yesterday, Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Zucchini and strawberries. I took some of my freshly turned organic soil, and filled egg cartons (they are biodegradable and transplant right into the garden easily), you can also use the little pots they sell at Lowes for planting and transplanting seeds. I like the egg cartons because I always try to use what I have on hand before buying new stuff. I filled each egg pot with soil and put 2 seeds in each spot. Water very carefully so you don't cause the seeds to move, then keep the soil moist. You don't want to drown the seeds, but they have to stay wet. I placed mine in the warmest spot in our house in front of a window. After about 2 weeks I will start putting them out in the sun for a couple hours a day before actually transplanting. This will help toughen them up for real weather conditions (wind, direct sun, heat/cold changes ect). I used this same process last year and was very successful.

I had a very successful winter crop of Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots and Bell Peppers until our freeze at the end of February (which finally killed off my peppers). I have been so busy with work the last 6 months I didn't do much blogging about my winter crop... it did well though!I have a few pictures of what remains in my garden, I have some Cauliflower and Broccoli still growing, and a few carrots still growing. 

My seeds are doing well so far, I love watching them popping up through the dirt. So much fun. I will probably wait another week or so, then transplant them outside.

Leftover Turkey Chili/Soup Recipe

We had so much leftover turkey after Thanksgiving and Christmas I didn't know what to do with myself. I froze a bunch of it in large containers until I had time to do some canning (post-holidays). I made a big batch of turkey chili, of turkey soup and made a lot of turkey sandwiches. I decided to get a little creative and mix it up by combining a chili/soup recipe. This recipe is pretty flexible to adjust to your families preferences.  You can switch out most of the ingredients (different beans, different veggies ect). We served this with cornbread, and used some of it in our enchiladas before canning it! Mmm!

Leftover Turkey Chili/Soup

Ingredients

• 1 chopped white onion
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped fine or minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 tbls olive oil
• 4 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 small cans diced green chili peppers
• 1 cup of corn
• One 15 oz can white northern beans, drained
• 1 1/2 (16oz) bags uncooked large red kidney beans
• 1/2 bag black beans
• 2-3 Tbsp chili powder (or up to 4 Tbsp if you like it really hot)
• 1-2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp dried hot red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp garlic salt, plus more if desired to taste
• 1-2 teaspoons course black pepper
• 3 to 4 cups of shredded, cooked turkey meat with juices (or additional chicken stalk)

Soup Method
1) In a large pot cook beans "simmering" for about 2 hours. Rinse them and set aside.
2) Saute the onion and green pepper over medium high heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for a minute or two more. Once onions are soft, add garlic and green chilis. Allow to simmer about 2 minutes.
3) Add tomatoes, corn, seasonings, and cooked turkey meat (and some turkey juices or some turkey stalk of you don't have the juice leftover). Bring mixture to a simmer.
4) Add turkey mixture to the large pt of beans. Add extra water if necessary to keep it juicy. This recipe should be soupy not thick like chili.

Canning Method
1)  Fill your prepared jars with soup leaving about 3/4 inch of head space. Using a plastic spatula remove air bubbles from inside of jars. Wipe the top of your jar with a clean cloth and place the lid & ring on the jars. Place all jars in your (ready to go) pressure canner.
2) Once all your jars are in, put the lid on and exhaust the steam out of your pressure canner for about 10 minutes.
3) Process in pints 1 hour and 15 minutes at 10lbs pressure (change according to your elevation as needed). Process in quarts for 1 1/2 hours

(Shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, sour cream for optional garnish.)

Thanksgiving Leftover Ham... Bean & Ham soup

This recipe is an easy and satisfying way to transform leftover ham and a ham bone into a hearty meal. This was my first time making bean and ham soup, and I got to spend time with my mother in law who helped me make it. I love being able to mix "family time" and "restocking my canning closet time". Thanksgiving was wonderful, but to be sure we don't end up with food waist from all the leftovers I decided to can what I could!



Bean & Ham Soup

• 1 leftover ham bone 
• 1 1/2 lbs dried northern beans
• 1 lb dried pinto beans
• 3 tbls minced garlic
• 1 large onion
• 1 bundle of celery
• 2 bags organic mini carrots (or equivalent in large carrots)
• 2-3 tbls dried basil
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• course black pepper (to taste)
• garlic salt (to taste)

1) Start this classic soup by simmering a ham bone or ham hocks with water to create a savory broth. I would allow this to simmer for several hours until you are confident that the bone is clean.  Remove the bone from the soup pot. (I put mine in the fridge overnight because the fat will solidify and float to the top. I then scooped the fat off and tossed it... This is optional)

2) In the meantime, saute onions, celery, carrots and  garlic in a pan until soft.
Once satisfied with your meaty soup broth, add your carrots, celery, onion, and  beans. Cook until softened.

3) Fill the jars with soup leaving about 3/4 inch of head space. Using a plastic spatula remove air bubbles from inside of jars. Wipe the top of your jar with a clean cloth and place the lid & ring on the jars.

4) Exhaust steam for about 10 minutes. Process in pints 1 hour and 15 minutes at 10lbs pressure (change according to your elevation as needed). Process in quarts for 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with crusty bread for a simple lunch or dinner.

Raspberry Jam ~ Canning Recipe

Growing up in the Pacific North West we picked and ate a lot of berries as kids. I remember going out in the summer and filling bowls of assorted berries. Blackberries, Huckleberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Wild Strawberries (which are tiny but delicious), blueberries... so many different berries! My grandma Annie (aka "grandma in Washington") has always made canned jams and jelly's for holiday gifts (along with many other canned varieties I'm sure you will read about throughout this blog). Her Jam tastes better than anything I have ever bought in any store. I'm so grateful to have these recipe's handed down to me.

Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
4 cups Berries
6 cups Sugar
1 pack sure gel
dab of butter and sugar to berries (helps keep the foam down... and tastes delicious)

1) Wash jars and screw band inserts in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use.

2) For berries, crush 1 cup at a time with a potato masher for best results. If using a food processor, pulse to very fine chop. DO NOT PUREE. Jam should have bits of fruit.

3) Measure exact amount of prepared fruit (or juice) into a 6 - 8 quart saucepot. Measure exact amount of sugar into a separate bowl. Stir 1 box Sure-Jell Premium  Fruit Pectin into fruit or juice in saucepot. Add ½ teaspoon butter or margarine to reduce foaming, and a sprinkle of sugar.

4) Bring mixture to full rolling boil. (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar quickly. Return to full rolling and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly.

5) Remove from heat, Skim off any foam. Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Screw bands tightly and put your jars into your canning pot. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed.

6) Cover; bring to gentle boil. Process jams 10 minutes (don't forget to adjust processing time according to altitude). Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely.

After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.) Let stand at room temperature 24 hours (or time indicated on recipe). Store unopened jams in a cool, dry, dark place up to 1 year. Refrigerate open jams up to 3 weeks.

Peach Cherry Jam ~ Canning Recipe

Peaches and Cherry's in one jar? Probably sounds a little strange, but it turned out to be one of my most requested jelly's by my family members. Even if you aren't a huge fan of peaches or cherry's, something special happens when you combine them together. It makes this delicious sweet & tart jelly. It's perfect on a slice of homemade bread for breakfast. Or a snack. Or really, anytime. This makes a fun gift during the holidays because it is "different" so people are usually pretty eager to try it.

Peach Cherry Jam
Ingredients:
*1 orange (peeled)
*6 lbs Peaches (peeled and pitted)
*6 cups Sugar
*12 oz real or Maraschino cherries (cut up reserving juice)


Directions
1) Put peaches and orange in food processor. Pulse a few times so  its broken down but still chunky.
2) Boil peach pulp with sugar for 45 minutes. Then add the cherries and boil 15 minutes longer.
3) Pour into warm prepared jars. Wipe edges with clean cloth and carefully twist the lids on.
4) Cover and process about 10 minutes in a boiling water bath (adjust as needed for altitude).

Cinnamon Peach Jam Recipe

I told you I had peach jam recipe's coming for you. I like to take recipes and transform them into something different, add a little touch to them to make them my own.  When I made Peach Jam, I thought "hmm, what can I add to this to make it better?". Over the holidays a friend brought peach pie which in tasting a bite I realized had spices in it (cinnamon, nutmeg ect).  That's it!!!   I added just enough cinnamon that it's not overpowering, but adds enough flavor to taste it. This recipe can be altered to make regular "Peach Jam" without the cinnamon, but I loved the addition of cinnamon to the peach jam.

If you make it, let me know what you think! I love hearing about alterations to change recipe's or make them better. In the meantime,  Enjoy!


Cinnamon Peach Jam 

Ingredients
*3 1/2 pounds peaches (8 to 10), peeled, halved, pitted, and cut into chunks
*3 cups Sugar
*1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
*2 tbls Cinnamon
*1 tsp Allspice
*Coarse salt




Directions
1) Working in batches, pulse peaches in a food processor until chunky.
2) Transfer to a small saucepan, and add sugar, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
3) Boil, continuing to stir, until bubbles slow, foam subsides, fruit rises to the top, and jam sticks to a spoon when lifted, about 12 minutes.
4) Fill your prepared cans 1/2 inch from the top, remove air bubbles and put your lids on.
5) Process for 10 minutes (adjust for your altitude). When they're done, carefully take them out and let them rest on a towel on your counter for 5 minutes and listen for the "ping". Success!

Peach Crazy! Canning peaches recipe

PEACHES!

In August, peaches start to ripen. Whether you pick your own or buy them from your local farmers market or produce stand, fresh peaches are a delicious summertime treat. They are one of my kids favorites, so much so that we recently planted our own peach tree. In just a couple short years and we will have our own home-grown peaches!

I went to Harry and David a when they had peaches on sale for $0.10/pound. Naturally I bought 50 pounds of peaches - for $5!! Can you believe that? In retrospect I wish I had bought more... Shoulda-Coulda-Woulda!

So as you probably guessed, my next few blogs will be recipes involving peaches! I will be canning sliced peaches today. Then I have two great peach jelly recipe's to share as well in upcoming blogs so stay tuned for those!

For now, I canned sliced peaches. I use these in all size jars, small ones that I send to school with my kids for their lunch or snack time (their teachers help open them), and large ones that I can open and use for peach cobbler, or when I have a lot of kids over there is a larger quantity of peaches to share. I don't use added sugar to my canned peaches, I feel like fruit has enough natural sugar in it, and is sweet enough that adding more is just unnecessary. (If you chose to add more for lite syrup you would use a ratio of 3 cups water/1 cup sugar).

It takes about 5 good sizes peaches or nectarines (or about 10 plums) to fill one quart jar. An average of 17½ pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 16 to 24 quarts — an average of 2½ pounds per quart.

Canning Sliced (or halved) Peaches
Ingredients
*5 pounds peaches
*Canning supplies

Preparing your peaches and jars
1) Carefully wash and rinse your jars. I used both pint and quart jars this time, just make sure you process for the correct times.
2) Put the "caps" in a small pan of water on the stove and bring to just below simmer. Let them sit there, keeping hot, while you get ready to use them.
3) Bring a large saucepan filled 3/4 with water to a boil and fill the sink with cold water. This is to remove the peach skins.
4) Carefully put some peaches into the boiling water and leave the heat on high for about 20 seconds. I take mine out with a  slotted spoon. It seems to work the best. Put them into the cold sink.
5) Using your paring knife to help, slip the skins off the peaches. If the skins don't slip off easily, either the peaches are not ripe enough, or you need to scald them a little longer.

Directions
1) Slice the peaches in half and twist the two halves apart and remove the pit. You can then slice your peaches (or leave them as halves). I like to cut mine in slices because that's how my kids prefer to eat them. You can also cut them in halve, or diced in chunks, then place them into your clean jars.
2) When it is filled up to the bottom of the jar threads with water, carefully wipe off the rim of the jar with a damp clean cloth, put on the cap and screw on the ring firmly. Not too tight!
3) When the water is boiling in the water bath canner, then start counting the time. They need 25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts. Here they are after coming out of the canner.
4) Incidentally, leaving the sugar syrup out has advantages. It's less expensive to do, healthier  and they really do taste amazing. Peaches are so sweet by themselves you don't really need to add all that extra sugar. You will love it! It is also much easier and quicker to do.

I have found that when canning anything, once you get your "system" set up, it's easy. Think it through carefully, prepare everything you'll need and proceed. Enjoy!

Canned Dilly Beans (pickled green beans)

Every year for Christmas my grandma in Washington sends us grand kids a jar of homemade jam, and a jar of dilly beans (along with other homemade gifts). Her dilly beans (pickled green beans) are so yummy. In fact,  I'd say they are the best!  It's a recipe I debated whether or not to share, because as it is my grandmothers recipe, it is special to me and I wanted to be selfish with it. The more I thought about it, I decided maybe someone else will be able to make it special, a recipe they can hand down to their kids and grand kids. It's pretty simple, but Oh. So. Good.

I hope you enjoy it.

Gramma Annie's Dilly Beans
yield: 8 pints

Ingredients
4-5 lbs fresh green beans
12-16 heads of fresh dill (2 per jar)
1-2 clovers Garlic (per jar)
4 cups Apple Cider Vinegar (5% acidity)
4 cups water
1/2 cup pickling salt
1 tsp hot red pepper flakes  (1-2 flakes per jar)

Directions
1) Wash and trim ends from the green beans and cut them into 4 inch length.
2) In a 3-4 quart saucepan, combine vinegar water and salt. Bring it to a boil.
3) Meanwhile, take your sanitized hot jars and place 1-2 sprigs of dill, 1 garlic clove and your 1-2 red pepper flakes into each jar.
4) Pack beans in jars, firmly.
5) Pour hot vinegar (brine) into each jar, leaving 1/2 inch  of headspace.
6) Carefully run a non-metallic utensil down the sides of the jars to remove trapped air bubbles.Wipe the jar tops clean and place hot lids on them. Screw the lids and bands on them and place in water bath.
7) Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

3 Month Garden Update

3 Month Garden Update

My oh my has my garden been growing!! My Cherry Tomato plant is over 6 feet tall and growing up my fence.We get about a bowls worth of cherry tomatoes every day. My kids are LOVING it.They are allowed to pick them and eat them anytime they want for a snack. They think it's pretty cool to be able to have a snack anytime they want. They help me pick the tomato fruitworm (caterpillars/inch worms) off every day. There are also a lot of cherry tomatoes, beef steak tomatoes, roma tomatoes growing too. I've been averaging about 1 tomato per day. We had a serious problem with blight in one of my tomato beds and I lost 4 plants from it. I quickly pulled them once I realized what it was and tilled my garden up really good. I also blended up some egg shells and mixed them throughout the soil because I read that could help cure the dirt so I can replant in it. In addition to the blight we deal with these "fruit worms" on a daily basis on all my tomato plants.

My kids enjoy helping me "pick them off" in the mornings and evenings. They won't touch them of course the pull the whole leaf off, but I guess that works!  We are also using an organic tomato pesticide occasionally. Even though it's organic I still don't like the idea of using it. So we continue picking them off one at a time!

I also have several watermelons growing (oh my goodness I never thought a watermelon could be soo small, they're so cute), lemon cucumbers (which you have seen in my past posts), and my bell pepper plants are growing so well.  My largest ones are about 3 ft tall and producing pretty large bell peppers so far. I have some smaller pepper plants in the 10 inch range of height as well. I planted corn about 2 weeks ago and they are already over a foot tall! Fast growing and loving the heat they're getting.

Jess has found 3 green beans on her green bean stalk which surprised me considering it is only about 18 inches tall!! I couldn't believe it had veggies growing on it. I think once this heat dies down some everything will really take off!

Lastly, strawberries, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and blueberries aren't doing as well, still growing (very slowly) but I think the heat as stunted their growth.

This picture is of my tomato "cemetery" from not picking yesterday. How sad! All those wasted tomatoes that we missed out on eating! My tip for today would be don't forget to pick your harvest every day so you don't miss out!

Anyway, keep following my blog, feel free to comment any questions or comments you might have. Thanks for reading :)

Pickled Lemon Cucumber Slices

How to Make Lemon Cucumber Pickles

What to do with all these cucumbers and lemon cucumbers in my garden? When you grow cucumbers or zucchini it seams like you always have such an abundance  and I never am quite sure what to do with it all... now I know! For my cucumbers I am learning the art of pickling! This is new for me, I have never pickled anything before. I got this recipe from my Aunt Roxy who is also an avid canner and am so excited to share it with you. I made one batch of these in the fridge (only requires 3 days of waiting before I can enjoy them!) while I canned the rest of them. The beauty of canning cucumbers (pickles) is you don't need the pressure canner. This project only requires a water bath and 10 minutes of processing. Talk about a quick and easy canning project!


Makes 2 pint jars
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Lemon  Cucumbers
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 teaspoons dill seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, (optional)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons pickling salt or kosher salt

Equipment
Chefs knife
Cutting board
2 wide-mouth pint jars with lids
Large pot for canning

Instructions
1) Prepare the jars: If you are planning to can your pickles for long-term storage, bring a large pot of water to a boil and sterilize the jars and their lids. If you are planning to make refrigerator pickles, simply washing the jars and lids is fine.

2) Prepare the cucumbers: Wash and dry the cucumbers. Trim away the blossom end of the cucumber, which contains enzymes that can lead to limp pickles. Leave the pickles whole, cut them into spears, or slice them into coins, as preferred.

3) Add the spices to the jars: Divide the garlic, dill seed, and red pepper flakes (if using) between the pint jars: 2 smashed cloves, 1 teaspoon dill seed, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes per jar.
Pack the pickles into the jars: Pack the pickles into the jars. Trim the ends if they stand more than 1/2 inch below the top of the jar. Pack them in as tightly as you can without smashing the cucumbers.

4) Bring the pickling brine to a boil: Combine the vinegar, water, and salt in a small sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a rolling boil. Pour the brine over the pickles, filling each jar to within 1/2-inch of the top. You may not use all the brine.

5) Remove air bubbles: You can use a non metallic utensil to wipe around the inner edges of the jar, or gently tap the jars against the counter a few times to remove all the air bubbles. Top off with more pickling brine if necessary.

6) Tighten the lids: Place the lids over the jars and screw on the rings until tight.

Processing
1) Place jars into canner with water JUST to the necks of the jars.

2) Bring water to a boil and let boil for 10 minutes **Don't forget to adjust cook time for your altitude or if using a different size jar**

3) Remove jars, set on a dish towel on the kitchen counter, cover with another dish towel & let cool. Check for seal (indented lid), label jars or lids, store in cool dark cellar or cupboard.

4) You can eat them right away, but they taste best after a couple weeks of absorbing flavor!

NOTES: When washing/scrubbing cukes, sort them into piles by size. This really helps make your jars look nicer, if you have uniform sizes (and this impresses the judges too!). And makes for easier packing, too.