Sweet Pepper Mustard

I have been trying to clean out my freezer to make room for this summer's bounty.  The entire bottom drawer was full of peppers... several bags of jalapenos that I vacuum sealed for salsa, and three bags of banana peppers that I must have gotten really cheap at the produce auction.  I'd used some of the peppers in a batch of mustard last fall that I really liked, so I decided to make another round to use up the rest of them.

Here is the recipe I use.  It was the only mustard recipe I found online that actually used ClearJel as the thickener.  Most others called for flour or corn starch, which are not approved for canning.  ClearJel (a thickening agent) is NOT the same thing as SureJel (a pecting).  It can be purchased online or at Amish-bulk-type stores.  I found mine last year at a local bakery, who used it in their pies and agreed to sell me some.  Then I found it later on at the Heritage Bake Shoppe at the VA Beach Farmers Market.  You want the cook type, NOT the instant kind.

I thawed my peppers in a colander and then ran them through the food processor.  It was 2lbs, which translated to a little over 5 cups of chopped peppers.

Combine all the ingredients together (except the water and the ClearJel).

 Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring well. Then, remove from heat.  Mix the ClearJel in the water.

Add it to the pot and stir well.  Then, hit it with an immersion blender until it's the consistency you'd like.  It will thicken as it is in the canner, so don't worry if it seems too runny.  Fill jars and process for 20 minutes.

This is great for pretzels, hot dogs, and even in chicken and tuna salad.  If you want it hot and spicy, use a few jalapenos or habaneros.  Totally up to you (just make sure the total amount of peppers remains the same.) 

I am trying to find a good ketchup recipe so that I can give a jar of mustard, sweet pickle relish, and ketchup as end-of-the-year teacher gifts next summer!

Jammin' it Up!

Some of you know that my favorite blog in the world is "Chickens in the Road".  I started following Suzanne and her adventures while we were living in IL, before having chickens and bees and a garden were even glints in my eye.  And one of the gals who I met online via CITR is Robin, who blogs over at Rurification.

I've made several of Robin's Jam recipes (including her "Cherry Jam, Three Ways") and they always turn out great.  I particularly appreciate that they are low-sugar.  I'm using Pomona's Pectin this year with my jams, and I am loving it.  This type of pectin doesn't rely on sugar to set, so you can use as little as you want (or even honey!)

So imagine how excited I was this morning to read that she's coming out with an e-book full of low-sugar jam recipes!  If you click on this link, you can read her announcement and get the code which allows you to purchase the collection for only $1.99!!!!!  I love a good bargain, and supporting fellow homesteaders, which is why I'm passing this info on to you (I get no kick-backs or anything!)

It's peach and blackberry and blueberry season here...  time to get busy!

Bread and Butter Pickles

I came home from last night's produce auction with two bushels of corn and a half bushel of cukes for $25.  They were the only box of smaller sized cukes, so I was thrilled to get them.

That meant first thing this morning, I was slicing them up for pickles.  Aunt Audrey's Bread and Butter recipe is my favorite, so after a quick trip for vinegar (how could I be out of vinegar in the middle of canning season?) we were in Business.

 I had enough for a triple batch.  In each bowl, there are 4 quarts of sliced cukes, a sliced onion, a sliced green pepper, sliced red pepper (not really, I was short on red bells!), 3 cloves of garlic, and 1/3 cup of salt... along with ice.  Lots of ice mixed in.  Let them hang out for 3 hours.  This process draws the water out of the veggies so they won't turn into soggy pickles.

 Then, combine 3 cups vinegar, 5 cups sugar, 1 1/2 tsp tumeric, 1 1/2 tsp celery seeds, and 2 TBL mustard seeds.  Pour over cucumber mixture in a large pot and heat to boiling.  Transfer to jars, add 1/4 tsp of pickle crisp, and BWB for 10 minutes.

Yummy goodness.  The 1/2 bushel yielded 7 quarts and 6 pints. 

Strawberry Lemon Balm Jam

Last year, I made some amazing Strawberry Anise Hyssop Jam which inspired me to start using herbs in my jams and jellies.  So today, I finally had the time (and berries) to try a batch of Strawberry Lemon Balm Jam.  The process is the same for the Anise Hyssop, so if you want to make that, feel free (I only use a dozen large leaves of the Anise Hyssop)!  The recipe is adapted from Ball, using less than half the sugar.  It's still plenty sweet but the flavor of the berries really shines.  It makes about 7 half-pint jars.

First, I went out and picked 2 dozen large lemon balm leaves.  I washed them and gave them a whirl since I already had the spinner out, anyway.

Then, I cut them in half.  Which meant I had 48 pieces of leaves.  It's helpful to remember this number.  You'll see why later.

Wash and hull about 8 cups of strawberries.  These beauties are Camarosa's that I picked at a local farm (Hickory Ridge) for $1.25/lb.  Can't beat that, baby!

 Mash them down to about 5 cups.

Add the berries and the lemon balm into a large stock pot, along with 1/4 c lemon juice and 2 tsp calcium water (I use Pomona's Pectin and the calcium water makes it gel.  If you are using traditional pectin, you want to add 3 TBL of the low-sugar kind at this point.)

Bring it all to a boil.  Then add 3 cups of sugar and 2 tsp Pomona's Pectin, stirring well, and bringing it back up to a boil.

 Skim off foam if you are so inclined.

Remove from heat and start picking out the pieces of lemon balm.  (This is where it comes in handy to know how many pieces are in there.)  This time off the heat also gives the jam time to start cooling a bit, which reduces the likelihood of 'floating fruit' in your processed jars.

When you've got all the lemon balm out, fill jelly jars and leave 1/4" headspace.  Watch carefully as you're pouring it in if you weren't able to get out all the leaf pieces.  This is your last chance to retrieve them.  Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Convenience Canning

I'm not going to lie.  Canning involves work.  And time.  And money.  But it also saves work.  And time.  And money. 

It's been so nice this winter to be able to pop open a jar of veggies, heat, and eat.  Big deal, right?  Most people do that on a regular basis.  Except I can tell you the farm where my vegetables came from, and I can control the sodium in them, and they aren't stored in BPA-lined jars.  And I didn't have to spend time wandering the aisles of the grocery store.  My average weekly shopping list this winter has consisted of only a handful of items.  I rarely spend more than 10 minutes in the store.

It's also been nice to pack the kids lunches.  I've been opening a quart of applesauce and dividing it into 4oz canning jars.  Then I pop them in the freezer and every morning I put one in each of the lunches.  By the time lunch rolls around, the applesauce is thawed and everything else has been kept cold.  While their classmates are popping open a cup of Mott's, mine are unscrewing a jar.  A reusable jar that doesn't need to be recycled with a lid that doesn't need to be thrown away.  Applesauce that doesn't contain High Fructose Corn Syrup... or any added sweetener at all, for that matter.

So yes, canning is work.  But the benefits are worth it, and I've been reaping them all winter long.  In another 2 months, it will be Strawberry Season and it will be time to get back to work.  I can't wait.

The Great Can Plan of 2013

I have a bunch of kiwi in the fridge, freshly picked from a local orchard in Knotts Island.  That can mean only one thing... my 'break' from canning is over.  I've done a few things here and there since the last of the apple butter and mincemeat in October... mostly chicken as I've found the antibiotic-free stuff on clearance (and no freezer space to store it), but I gave a TON of canned goodness away as Christmas gifts, so my shelves are not as full as they used to be.

However, kiwi jam is the family favorite, so it's time to get going again.  And one of the things that I wanted to get done before starting up is my 2013 Can Plan.  I first made a plan last year, which I knew would be my largest canning endeavor ever (thanks to an amazing location with lots of local fruits and veggies).  It really helped me focus, and helped me to not be overwhelmed, when I was drowning in strawberries and cukes and everything else.

Basically, a Can Plan is a road map... for jams and jellies and pickles, I make a list of recipes I want to make in the upcoming season, organized by fruit/veggie.  When I have free time, I will photocopy those recipes and organize them in sheet protectors in a large 3-ring notebook.  I will sort them by season.  (For example, kiwis first, then strawberries, then peaches, etc. according to the order they ripen here in Hampton Roads).  For corn and greenbeans and other veggies that get canned straight-up, I will simply list how many pints/quarts I need to put up of each, and I will also estimate how many pounds of produce it will take to do so.  Last year, I kept a running list of the recipes I'd made and how many jars they made.  I also attempted to list how much produce I bought.  This will help in my 2013 estimations.  (For example, since we're about out of dehydrated peaches, I know that I need to buy more than I did last year.  Since we still have plenty of salsa, I probably won't need to make as much as I did in 2012.)

 This is a photo of the running list I kept.  It was taped to the inside of my cabinet door, so every time I canned something, I listed how much of it resulted.

This is a page out of my 2012 Canning Binder.  As you can see, I made notes about how many quarts it actually made, and also that it tasted amazing...  very helpful when determining which recipes to keep for 2013 and which to forgo.

And this is what the beginning of the new Can Plan looks like.  First, I looked through all my books for Kiwi recipes... then I went through and looked for cranberry recipes (since I have a ton in the fridge right now!).  I will do the same thing for all of the fruits I can get locally... so that when they are in season, I know exactly what recipes to make and also exactly what ingredients I'll need to have on hand to make them!  It also helps to make sure you have enough jars!  Of course, not pictured, is my Canning Board from Pinterest which also holds valuable information!  I'll print out those recipes I want to try and include them in my binder.

If you click on this photo, you can see my notes so far.  Like I said earlier, I'll photocopy each of these recipes and put them in my binder, and I will be all set for the great produce deluge of 2013.  It does take time, but it's so worth it in the end!

Strawberry Jalapeno Jam

My new counters we installed yesterday!  The plumber will be here today to hook up the faucet, but I had strawberries that NEEDED attention, so I decided to can them up even without the use of my sink.

You want 4 cups of mashed strawberries and one cup of chopped jalapenos.  Miraculously, those were the exact measurements that I had... I used up the berries we picked the other day and also the frozen jalapenos from last fall's harvest.

Mix in a large saucepan with 1/4 c lemon juice and a package of pectin.

Bring to a boil, then add 7 cups of sugar.  Return to a boil and let it go for a minute.

Bottle 'em up and BWB for 10 minutes.

I got the equivalent of about 9 1/2-pint jars (not pictured is the one already in the fridge!)  It's not a hot jam, but it definitely has a kick to it.  I can't wait to serve it over cream cheese with homemade crackers!

Black Beans

I love the convenience of canned beans.  But I know they are so much cheaper to buy dried.  On my last order from Quail Cove, I got a 5 pound bag of organic black beans for $10.  I decided to pressure can them, so that I could just pop open a jar whenever I needed them.

It's a lengthy process, canning beans!

First, you rinse them and let them soak overnight.  Or, you can boil them for two minutes and let them sit for an hour.

Then, pour out the blackish water and cover with fresh.  This will cut down on the gas factor.  Save the bean water, though.  It's great for watering your plants.

Bring to a boil and let it go for half an hour.  I ended up with 3 pots to hold all the beans!

Add 1 tsp of salt to each quart jar (or 1/2 tsp for pints), if desired.

Pack beans into jars with some juice and pressure can at 11 lbs for 90 minutes (quarts) or 75 minutes (pints).  This is at sea level.  Adjust if you need to.

I ended up with 7+ quarts which I'm guesstimating is about equal to 14 store-bought cans (which would have cost over $20).  So, I saved some money but not much.  Mostly I like not having to worry about BPA leaching, and I can control the sodium, too.

I'll be canning more beans, as I got a ton of them on clearance when a local store was going out of business.  I REALLY want to find a good baked bean recipe to can up.

Strawberries... and Rhubarb! Oh, My!

I went back to Brookdale to pick berries TWICE on Tuesday.  Once in the morning with my youngest, before she went to school, and once in the afternoon with both kids after they got out of school.

We picked about 16 pounds of berries in total.  That translated into 9 trays of berries in the dehydrator, a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, some fruit roll-ups, a couple trays in the freezer, and tonight's dessert:  Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch.  It came from a Taste of Home issue back in '97.

For the 'crust' and the topping, mix together

1 c flour
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c oats
1 tsp cinnamon

and cut in 1/2 c butter.  Press half into a greased 9" pan.

Dice 4 cups of rhubarb and 2 cups of strawberries.  And throw in the mandarin oranges you might have in the fridge.  Ignore my inaccurate measuring.  It's what I do.

Spoon over crust.

 

In a sauce pan, combine

1 c sugar
2 Tbl cornstarch
1 c water
1 tsp vanilla

and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Stir for two minutes.

Drizzle over fruit, then crumble the remaining topping over the top.

Bake at 350 for an hour.  You may want to put it on a cookie sheet because it will probably run over and make a mess.

This is one of those desserts that really should be served with vanilla ice cream.

More Strawberry Goodness

I am absolutely loving the Strawberry Vanilla Jam I made.  It's from Ball's Big Book of Canning and so easy... just a matter of adding a split vanilla bean while heating up the strawberries for traditional jam.

I also attempted a batch of Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate.  Sounds delightful, doesn't it?  And it would be, if it weren't for the fact that I had to juice 25 lemons in order to get the 4 cups of fresh lemon juice required.  Thankfully, I have a juicer attachment for my Kitchen Aid, but it still wasn't 'quick' and my wrist still hurt when all was said and done.

Another gadget that has been very helpful is this mushroom slicer that I won last year from www.dehydrate2store.

It saved me a lot of time slicing berries and filling up all 9 trays of the dehydrator.

I don't have a ton of freezer space available (we haven't made a dent in our 1/4 side of beef and we've got a 1/2 hog coming in a few months) so I plan to dehydrate a lot more this season.  But I did freeze a few quarts, because we love smoothies around here.  I also made a batch of strawberry ice cream.

For now, I am all caught up on the 22+lbs of berries I picked.  I'm taking a few days off, but then I'll go pick more.  I still have several jam recipes to try and then I definitely want to make more Strawberry-Vanilla!

Strawberry Kiwi Jam

We are lucky enough to have a strawberry field 3 minutes down the road from us.  So the other morning I dragged my youngest there at 9am when they opened (we had to pick and get back to get her on the bus!)  In no time flat, we had 4 pounds worth of berries.  Not much, but enough for me to make a couple batches of jam and strawberry shortcakes for dessert.

I still have some of the kiwis that I bought last winter, but I am down to the last few.  I was so hoping they'd hold out for strawberry season, and they did!  So the first batch of jam had to be strawberry-kiwi!

It was very easy.  I used the recipe from the Ball Blue Book.  I am not going to reprint it here because if you are canning, you need your own copy.  Go spend the 8 or 10 bucks, it's worth every penny.

First, I crushed the strawberries and diced the kiwi and added some homemade crystallized ginger.

Then I added the pectin and brought it to a boil.

Pour in the sugar, return to a rolling boil for 1 minute and process it up.

Easy Peasy.

From vine to jar in under an hour.  Pure Delicious!

Violet Jelly

The other day as I was out for a jog (if you can even call it that!) I noticed that there were a bunch of violets on the side of the road.  So this morning, I went back with my youngest and we collected 2 cups worth of blossoms. 

The method for making Violet Jelly is the same as for making Rose Petal Jelly.

First, rinse well and send them for a ride in the salad spinner.

Boil 2 1/4 cups of water and poured it over the blossoms. 

It's hard to see in this picture but the water turns blue almost immediately.  Cover, and let sit on the counter overnight.

When it's time to can them up,  drain the liquid.  Squeeze the violets to get every last drop.  You want 2 cups of liquid. 

To this, add 1/4 cup lemon juice and admire how bright the juice becomes.

Add a box of pectin and bring to a boil in a sauce pan.  Then, add 4 cups of sugar and return to a hard boil.  Continue boiling for 1 minute. 

Remove from heat, fill your jars, process in a BWB for 10 minutes.

I got 4 jelly jars out of the deal.  It's got a light taste that's hard to describe.  It's good, but I think I prefer the Rose Petal.  However, this method works for any herb, so I hope to be trying several more jellies once the garden gets going!