Garlic Pickle Spears

Makes 2 (1 quart) Jars

• 3 large pickling cucumbers
• 4 1/2 cups Apple Cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons finely milled sea salt
• 12 cloves  fresh garlic
• 2 tablespoons favorite pickling spice blend
• Two Large Mouth Quart Jars

First, wash and dry your cucumbers. Cut off the ends and slice into spears. Combine vinegar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Place 1/2 of the garlic and pickling spice blend into  your sterilized still hot jars; pack in cucumbers. Pour boiling vinegar mixture over cucumbers to within 1/4 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space).

At this point, you can let cool on the counter and put in the fridge and wait 48  hours before digging in. You also can process 15 minutes in a canner.  I opted for the fridge.

*NOTE*  Next time I think I'll try it with some added a little sugar, for a sweet spicy flavor.

Spicey-Sweet Pickle Relish

Ingredients

• 1 cup grated Green Bell Pepper Pepper
• 1 cup graded Red Bell Pepper 
• 1/2 cup graded Yellow Bell Pepper
• 1/2 cup graded Orange Bell Pepper
• 3 cups grated pickling cucumber (6 to 8 pickles)
• 1 cup minced or grated sweet onion (about 1 medium)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar, divided
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (use more if you want more spice then sweet) 

 

1. Combine graded bell peppers, cucumbers, and onion in a large, non-reactive (stainless steel or enamel-coated) pot. Stir in one cup of apple cider vinegar and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have cooked down and the liquid is reduced by about 1/3, about 30 minutes. Drain the vegetables, discard liquid.
2. Add remaining one cup vinegar, sugar and the spices and give  a good stir, desolving the  sugar before  returning the vegetables to the pot. Mix together and bring back to to a simmer and cook for five minutes. Remove pot from heat.
   
3. Fill jars, wipe rims, apply lids and rings. Process as normal;  in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (starting time when pot returns to a boil). Remove jars from pot and let cool on a towel-lined countertop.
   

 

Fall Harvest Cranberry Preserves

Ingredients

• 8 cups of peeled and diced apple (approximately 5-6 large apples)
• 4 cups of whole cranberries 
• 2 bags of Trader Joe's Fall Harvest Herbal Tea
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced

Instructions: Combine the apples, cranberries, sugar, two tea bags and water in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam that develops on the top of the fruit. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries pop and the apples soften. Remove the tea  bags and add the lemon zest and juice and simmer until the liquid in the pot begins to thicken. Because both apples and cranberries are naturally high in pectin, you will not need any additional pectin, as long as you cook it until thick and syrupy. Ladle into prepared jars, wipe rims, apply lids and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Peach Syrup

Ingredients:

• 5 cups pureed organic peaches (peel, remove pits and toss the rest in the vita-mix or food processor) 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 2 tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice 
• 2 tsps homemade vanilla bean extract

Directions:

1. Combine peach puree, sugar and lemon juice in kettle. 
2. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add vanilla. 
4. Pour into sterilized hot jars and seal.
5. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

It made 4 - 12 ounce jars.

First Tomato Harvest

Our first organic tomato harvest of this season. That one tomato on the front has sun spots. I can work around that.They are all washed, prepped  for dicing, and then off to pot to cook down to become a yummy freezer pasta sauce.  I add nothing to them during this process. They simmer in their natural juices without spices or seasonings. 

I do this every where for a freezer full of salt free sauce... if we dont have a good harvest from our garden, I buy the tomatoes when they are on sale.

Preserving Penny-WIse Organic Celery

At my last trip to the grocery store there was organic celery hearts on clearance for a dollar a bag! I bought two packages!  Nothing was wasted save the dried out tips I cut off.  The good parts have been diced and are in the freezer flash freezing to be preserved into freezer containers and used as needed for recipes such as my Gumbo. The butt ends have been frozen as well to be used in  a batch of stock!

Adentures in Preserving Peaches: Summer 2013

Rained all day today. Got a lot of canning done, but absolutely no work done on the Sleepy Goat Inn. The Goats have been, for the most part, in the house all day with ventures out under the carport. Poor Kidlets. I hope there is much less rain tomorrow so they can do some foraging.

 Crystallized Ginger Peach Preserves Recipe (Pictured on the Right)

Ingredients:
4-1/2 cups finely diced peaches
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
1/2 tsp. Unsalted butter
5-1/2 cups sugar

Peel and pit peaches; finely chop or grind fruit. Measure exactly 4-1/2 cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-qt. pot. Stir in ginger.

Stir pectin into prepared fruit in pot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared sterilized jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Note: For stronger ginger flavor, increase crystallized ginger to 1/2 cup. That's what we did!

Servings Total: About 8 (1-cup) jars

Honey-Lavender Peaches (Obviously the one on the left)

Ingredients:

14 to 15 fresh ripe peaches
4 cups filtered water
1 3/4 cups organic raw honey
2/3 cup Riesling or other sweet white wine
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp dried lavender

1 fresh lemon 

Fill a large pot to about 2/3 full of water and bring it to a rapid, rolling boil over high heat. With a light hand, score an “X” into the fuzzy bottom of each peach and continue running your knife up the side of the fruit until the peach is scored (but not cut) into quarters. Carefully drop about 6-8 peaches, depending on size, into the water and boil for 60 – 90 seconds. Do the peaches in batches and keep the heat steady and high to prevent the water temperature from dropping. As soon as the peaches are blanched, remove them immediately from the boiling water and place into an ice water bath to stop the cooking and further loosen the skins.
When the peaches are fully cooled, slide the edge of a spoon or a dull butter knife (not serrated) under the skin at one of the edges and gently pull it away. The skin should just slip right off. Use a short and sharp paring knife to split the peach in half and remove the pit. Slice each fruit into 8-10 wedges. 

Using a vegetable peeler, cut 2 to 3 inches strips of peel from the  lemon. Be careful not to get any of the white portions.

Pack the peach slices and even portions of your lemon peel into your jars fairly tightly, but without pushing the fruit down and crushing it, until it comes up to 1/2″ from the top lip of the jar.

For syrup, in a large pot combine water, honey, wine, lavender, and salt.  Set the pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar and honey are dissolved.

Ladle hot syrup over the peaches, in the prepared sterilized jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 20  min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Servings Total: About 8 quart jars

Adentures in Preserving Foods

Frozen Sliced Squash, Lemon Zest Bits, Frozen Lemon Juice, 

 Frozen Sweet Potato Pie Filling, Frozen Peach Pie Filling,  
Frozen Diced Carrots, Frozen Diced Onions, 

 Canned Candied Carrots, and Canned Peach Preserves.

Harvesting & Freezing Fresh Basil

The best time to harvest basil is right before it flowers and as late in the day as you can to cause less stress on the plants.  The best way to harvest it, is by cutting the plant down to about half or even two thirds of it's size. Always cut each stem just above a healthy leaf cluster. This gives you a great amount of the herb to harvest and it allows the plant continue to grow for future harvesting.
 
With the help of blogs A Pinch Of... and Kalyn's Kitchen I got a little refresher course on how to freeze Basil today and managed to process and store all my basil trimmings for later use.



The whole process is simple really.  You trim your basil's tops off, cutting to allow for new growth.  The stems are discarded before you rise off your leaves. Once rinsed, dry gently by blotting with towels. After that, move them over to the food processor, lightly filled and pulsate while adding just a light stream of oil, about 2-3 tablespoons. The oil makes for a smooth, manageable mixture, and also helps prevent the leaves from blackening. Once chopped to the degree you desire... I prefer coarsely, then put into your freezing container... an ice cube tray and a few small yogurt tubs, or similar-sized small freezer containers...  portion it out in sizes that fit your needs Today, I couldn't find my little ice cub tray I use for herbs so I ended up using a styrofoam egg carton we recycled. This worked out great. Once frozen sold, I popped them out and transferred them to a freezer bag.