Using my pressure canner!

Here is The Beast!

My new water bath canner-

it's bigger than my old one!

My first pressure canned item-

green beans!

Pretty, preservative-free,

some grown by me, some bought from the farmer's market.

I will make sure to plant more beans next year!

Jackson being squishy!

Gotta love a cloth diapered booty.

He's quickly potty learning, so he won't be in them much longer!

Bittersweet.

Canning Peaches

Tonight, I canned 7.5 quarts of peaches!

The picture clearly does them no justice-

they are the most delicious peaches I've ever tasted.

Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that I am massively pregnant and am LOVING peaches at the moment!

My peaches right after they were blanched, before they were peeled.

2 quarts being preserved in a water bath!

5 and a half quarts finished!

(the other two were in the water bath when I took the picture)

Just pretty!

And they are so yummy.

I can't wait to make peach ice cream and peach pies this winter with peaches that I preserved during the summer.

If you'd like to try (and I suggest you do- it's so simple!), here are links to tutorials for two different kinds of canned peaches- one in a simple syrup (I do a light syrup when I make these) and one spiced peach recipe (very southern!)--

Simple Canned Peaches

Spiced Peaches

Have I mentioned lately

that I adore my garden?

Today's haul was a 12 pound bag of:

3 kinds of peppers: sweet bell, jalapeno, and green chilis

huge zucchini

loads of cucumbers!

delicious salad greens (a bit bitter, which is perfect)

lots of green beans!

((Oh, and my Bradley natural childbirth book! haha))

A picture of our salad from dinner tonight.

It just does something for my soul knowing I planted the cucumbers and lettuce from seeds-

and now it sits on our dinner plates.

It's official- I am addicted to gardening.

Our skin is glowing from the time outdoors, our meals are healthier, our carbon footprint is smaller, we've in turn discovered a love of rain barrels, composting, and the chickens love the scraps they get from me trimming up the veggies! And the chicken treats turn into delicious eggs that I get to cook with, bake with, and give away!

This is a picture (that I jacked from her Facebook) of a Thank You present we dropped off at our buddy, Darlene's house. She took care of the kids for me for many hours so I could be at the hospital with my dad when Tim was traveling for work. We sent her a few eggs, peach jam, blueberry jam, strawberry jam, apple butter, peaches in light syrup, and dill pickles! It is nothing compared to what she did for us while my attention needed to be elsewhere, but it was nice that my garden (and farmer's market), chickens, and newly discovered canning skills could be useful for gift giving!

A week in my garden and kitchen-

It's been an incredible week here!

Probably why I haven't been posting near as much as I should!

Warning: This post is a big pic heavy!

The peas are here!

And they are delicious, friends.

Last night, we had spinach salads topped with sliced cukes and green peas.

The flavor was sweet and fresh. Love it!

We've been eating our homegrown zucchini!

It's so fresh, cutting it is like cutting butter.

We could use a bit of rain, but the cukes still grow!

We had so many (a dozen in a day and a half) that I made dill pickles!

The yellow cherry tomatoes!

Growing like crazy.

I think there are 3 dozen green ones on this particular plant!

Grew these specifically for Jackson-

Keelin doesn't like fresh tomatoes, although I'm hoping that we can sway her this summer!

He emerged from the sandbox long enough to have a tasty treat!

Check out his sandy little paws!

hehe :)

What I brought in from the garden on Monday-

a zucchini, a dozen cucumbers, a pink egg, a cream colored egg, and a blue egg!

It was our first 3 egg day ever!

We're usually happy to find one- thrilled if there is two!

The third egg means that a new hen has started laying.

Very exciting!

I got some amazing peaches at the Farmer's market!

AND these are my cukes sliced up for pickling in the sterilized jars.

About half of what I made Monday night.

I made 4 pints of peach jam, 3 pints of Moscato wine jelly, and almost a dozen jars of dill pickles!

Oh, and I pickled a few jalapenos for Tim!

Just cuz I love him.

A shot of round 2 of peach jam making.

This batch came out much better than the first, for some reason.

The last of those peaches?

I'm thinking about making Spiced Peaches!

Anyone ever made them before?

This is a picture of what I've put up this week-

-tomato jelly

-peach jam

-moscato wine jelly

-dill pickles

-pickled jalapeno peppers

-apple butter

(although a special post is coming about the apple butter!!)

My father is helping me get a place in the basement ready for all of my canning. It's best to store your jars in a cool, dry place that's pretty dark. We're cleaning up an awesome cabinet to do jar duty- will post pics when it's finished!

Making strawberry jam!

My first experience making strawberry jam!

The gorgeousness we started out with!

Capped and hulled!

What up, compost?!

Wash!

Smursh!

6 cups of smurshed strawberries for my recipe!

A little treat while I worked!

Heating up my lids!

Sterilizing my jars!

Rockin' out!

My big pot after I was finished!

Success!

And I tell you, I will NEVER buy store bought jelly/jam/preserves ever ever again!

This stuff is incredible!

And for those interested in trying it, DO!

It is so incredibly easy-

I'm not kitchen inclined and since then, I've made 20 more pints!

All successful.

It really isn't difficult!

I promise! :)

A gift for Keelin's teachers!

Here is one of the jars of strawberry jam that resulted from our three, yes three, trips to the berry farm!

:)

Now, on my shelves, I have 20 pints of strawberry preserves, 4 gallons frozen in the freezer for smoothies and baking, plus another two gallons on the counter waiting to be dealt with. Not sure what we will make next! I'm thinking some mixed preserves- like peach/strawberry. We shall see!

Jelly

I am so excited to show you my first EVER canning efforts!

We went out in the yard and foraged some dandelion greens (wilted and served with vinegar = delicious!),

some dandelion blossoms,

some of our borderline invasive mint.

We soaked the dandelion blossoms in water overnight to extract as much of the dandelion goodness as possible!

Keelin was very helpful with washing the mint! Smelled so fresh.

Mint in the jar before we filled it with water!

I can smell it just looking at this picture.

Spicy tomato jelly,

dandelion jelly,

mint jelly!

All perfectly set, all delicious, all properly sealed in the jars!

I can't believe how easy it was to can my own jelly!

If this first timer can experience success, anyone can!

My favorite of the jellies, the "lively" tomato jelly on a slice of my homemade bread!

Recipes :

Dandelion Jelly

Boil 1 quart  of fresh dandelion blossoms (no stems) in 1 quart water for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir juice. Measure out 3 cups of the dandelion juice, add a teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 package of pectin, powdered works best for this recipe. Add 4.5 cups of sugar and boil until gelled. Pour into sterilized canning jars and leave 1/8" of headspace. Wipe the rims well, add lids and rings. 5 minute water bath and you're done! Just wait for the tops to pop!

Note: I cut this recipe in half and it made four 4oz. jelly jars full of jelly! Thanks to Jill at Domestic Reformation for inspiring me!

Tomato Jelly

(makes 6 medium glasses full)

Combine 1 3/4 cups of organic canned or jarred tomato juice, 1/2 cup of fresh strained lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce , 4 cups of sugar in a pot  over high heat until it reaches a full boil. Stir in one 3oz. package of liquid fruit pectin and bring to a full boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir, and skim off any foam for about 3 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars, leaving about 1/8" of headspace. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and rings. Water bath for 5 minutes, then remove and wait for the lids to pop, signaling a good seal!

Note: I used more Tabasco sauce that the recipe called for and it was delicious. I just seasoned to taste and we enjoyed it pretty spicy!

Mint Jelly

Crush 1 1/2 cups of firmly packed mint leaves, fresh. Add 2 1/4 cups of water into saucepan with mint leaves and boil of medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes to extract the minty goodness! Strain through a cheesecloth. Measure out 2 cups of the infusion into a large saucepan. Add 3 1/2 cups of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Boil at full, rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and immediately add in one 3oz. package of liquid pectin. Stir and skim for about 5 minutes. Pour immediately into warm, sterilized jars leaving about 1/4" of headspace. Seal with hot lids and rings, waterbath for 5 minutes, then let set!

Note: I let my mint soak for a whole afternoon after it was cleaned, crushed, and boiled. Most recipes I read also said to add a couple of drops of green food coloring, but I opted to leave it out. I didn't feel any need to add color to something already so yummy- it wouldn't have enhanced anything but the look.

Do you have any delicious jelly recipes or fruit preserve recipes to share? I'd love to hear them!

April 20, 2011- Starting jelly and baking bread

Okay, so how did it get to be the third week of April without my realizing it?! :)
Is it just me or is this year flying by? Maybe it's because I'm preggers, but MAN!

Today, my husband kept the kids away from our room so that I could sleep in a bit. Jackson (our 2yr old) had a bad dream last night and consequently, kept me up until all hours. If I'd gotten up at 7, I would have been a zombie, so kudos to Tim!!

This morning, I really needed to wash some diapers and put them on the line, even though it was a bit overcast. The kids played with splash balls, an outdoor tub of water, and cups while I planted a few plants and did the diaper laundry- which means they were soaked, half-naked, and had a blast! Thank goodness for living in the middle of the woods, right?

This afternoon, Keelin and I decided to bake some bread and make some jelly! The jelly is still in the works (we're extracting the goodness from dandelions and mint picked from our backyard) and won't be finished until tomorrow, but here are pictures of the bread!

I made two batches- the dough on top is multigrain (a new flour I was trying) and I kneaded it by hand. The bottom dough is a wheat dough that I mixed using the knead cycle on the bread maker I got at a thrift store. Unfortunately, the bread maker is downright WONKY and the knead cycle is super loud, so I won't be using it again, I don't think... but it was good to see if the $10 bread maker was worth the shot.

This was the first rise after they were kneaded!

The multigrain after it had been punched down and kneaded some more.

The 5 loaves that resulted from those two bowls of dough! The top 3 are multigrain and the bottom 2 are whole wheat. I rolled the unbaked loaves in ground flaxseed and was so excited to taste it!

Here they are on the second rising!

You'll notice that they're in foil baking pans- that is because I only have two "real" baking pans and wanted to make enough to freeze, so this was a good option. Once the bread is removed, I wash them carefully by hand and air dry to ensure that I can reuse them many times! When yard sale season gets into full swing, I will make it an obnoxiously Dusti mission to get my hands on around half a dozen baking pans so that I can do my baking less often and more efficiently!

Baking in our CRAZY hot 40 year old oven. Our whole kitchen was super warm during this process. It just felt like someone was baking :)

We'll be eating one of each loaf and the other 3 will be carefully wrapped and frozen for future use!

The very first time I baked bread at home was about 3 years ago using a recipe that I'd run across while browsing The Hillbilly Housewife online called "Beginner's Bread." It is almost fool proof! I am just learning to branch out into reading bread recipes and trying them, but I can still, from memory, make Beginner's Bread- but with whole grain or multigrain flour, organic ingredients where possible- just to make it super healthy. I don't follow a recipe anymore, just make what tastes good to me and my family from a couple of years of practice and tweaking!

An Easy whole wheat Bread!

-3 cups of organic whole wheat flour, or 1-1/2 cups of white and whole wheat if you're unsure about the density of whole wheat

-1 teaspoon kosher salt

-1 packet, or about 2 teaspoons yeast

-1 tablespoon organic cane sugar or brown sugar or  local honey

2 tablespoons of organic oil (I use a few kinds- there is no right or wrong oil)

1 cup warm water


Add dry ingredients and stir them together. Add the wet ingredients and knead with your hands for at least 5 minutes. Pour a bit of oil into a dry bowl, stick the dough in and roll it around to coat it, then let it rise in a warm spot for up to two hours covered with a hand towel. The dough should double in size! When it’s risen, punch it down, knead it until smooth- just a minute. Grease a loaf pan and pop in the dough, shaping it as you wish. Recover it and let it sit for about an hour and a half. It should rise to double it’s size again. Bake it on 350* for 30-40 minutes. When it’s done, it should be golden on top and crusty. Turn it out onto a dish towel, thump the bottom to ensure that it sounds hollow- that means it’s done!
 
Do you make bread at home? What kind is your favorite?
 
I have a few other types of bread that I make and will be posting pics and recipes for as I make them this spring- zucchini bread, peanut butter bread, garlic breadsticks, buns, rolls- etc.

Sweet Saturday!

Today was super chilly, but I got up at 7am to meet my friend Dana at one of our local farmer's markets. I really got some amazing things, but more on that later!


Here is a picture of my strawberry and rhubarb pie filling! The strawberries are from a local farm (by local, I mean 3 miles away!) and my Dad picked them last year, cut them up and froze them! So on a cold, rainy day in early Spring, I have beautiful strawberries to use in a pie with some gorgeous, but bitter, rhubarb. The rhubarb is soaking up some of that glorious strawberry sweetness before I bake it into something incredible using my late grandmother's cobbler recipe.


This, my friends, is raw milk. In the state of NC, it is only sold "not for human consumption," BUT we consume it. It is pretty incredible, albeit expensive, and we can't get a hold of much at a time since the people we get it from are very small scale, but it's absolutely incredible. It is unpasteurized, so it does carry some risk of contamination, but so does pasteurized stuff. That's my disclaimer :) The people we buy it from sell it for pet use or product use, so they do their part and follow the law. We are the "bad" ones.

I have some pretty serious lactose issues, but for some reason raw milk (cows and goats) doesn't kill my tummy, so I'm willing to search it out and pay for it.

I used my raw milk this morning to make a smoothie with a whole banana, raspberries, lots of kale, honey, probiotic powder, yogurt, ice, and flaxseed oil. My hubby said it was like a salad in a cup (I think I might have used a bit much kale for his liking- haha), but that it was good! My little boy hung out drinking it and "yum!"-ing to himself this morning. Precious.

At the farmer's market, I got some humanely raised and butchered lamb ( from the same guy that gave us the free eggs and sold us the sausage a couple of weeks ago- I told you he had a customer for life!). I got a ton of kale, some free range eggs (6 different colored eggs- love the variety) even though we are hoping to get a few grown chickens this week to get a start on laying, since our chicks are still way too young to lay. Also got some goat cheese, olive bread, and bacon pimento cheese for my dad and husband to enjoy.

I made a killer lunch this afternoon- baked winter vegetables (winter squash, parsnips, potatoes, and cabbage) and honey cornbread! My husband and father were here watching basketball (please, let March Madness be over SOON! I can't take it anymore!), both gave me funny looks when I served lunch (because there was no meat, I guess?), but they both really enjoyed it and went back for seconds of one thing or another. :)

Oh, I almost forgot... Tim and I got down into the basement while the little guy napped and went through quite a few boxes that were never unpacked from our move in August. The amount of clothes the kids have outgrown, toys they wouldn't play with now, things I'd forgotten about- it was just incredible. I boxed up a ton of stuff to take to Goodwill, pulled out the clothes to wash and freshen up before passing on to friends with kids smaller than mine, and really noticed that we had a lot more room, but ran out of time this afternoon. Will continue another day! Minimalism makes this mama's heart happy. Clutter steals time away from what you truly love.