Mantis01 vegetable garden
Blog about my vegetable garden in Bucks county PA.
Monday, October 14, 2024
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Monday, October 7, 2024
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Friday, October 4, 2024
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Easy Hot Sauce
Easy Hot Sauce
8 cups (64 ounces) canned, diced tomatoes, undrained
1½ cups seeded, chopped Serrano peppers*
4 cups distilled white vinegar (5%)
2 teaspoons canning salt
2 tablespoons whole mixed pickling spices
*Caution: Wear plastic or rubber gloves when handling, cutting and seeding hot peppers
or wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face or eyes.
Yield: About 3 to 4 pint jars
Please read Using Boiling Water Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.
1. Wash and rinse half-pint canning jars; keep hot until ready to use. Prepare lids according to manufacturer's directions.
2. Place mixed pickling spices in a spice bag and tie the ends firmly. Mix all ingredients in a Dutch oven or large saucepot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer another 20 minutes, until tomatoes are soft.
3. Press mixture through a food mill. Return the liquid to the stockpot, heat to boiling and boil for another 15 minutes.
4. Fill hot sauce into clean, hot half-pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; apply two-piece metal canning lids.
5. Process in a boiling water canner Let cool, undisturbed, 12-24 hours and check for seals.
process in a boiling water canner pints 15 min
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Saturday, September 14, 2024
Pickled Pepper rings
1.) Slice your banana peppers into rings
3.) Mix your brine:
5 c. white vinegar
1 c. water
4 tsp. of Pickling Salt
2 T. Sugar
2 garlic cloves
Put all of this into a pot and bring to a boil. Once it has boiled for 2 minutes remove the garlic cloves.
4.) Pour the brine over your pepper rings, leaving 1/2 inch headspace
5.) Add 1 tsp. of pickle crisp to each Quart jar
6.) Put your sanitized lids and rims on
7.) hot water bath for 15 minutes.
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Pickled Asparagus
Pickled Asparagus
Makes about six pint (500 mL) jars
71bs asparagus 3.2 kg
Ice water
4 tbsp finely chopped seeded red bell pepper 60mL
2 tbsp finely chopped seeded green bell pepper 30mL
2 tbsp finely chopped seeded hot chili pepper, 30mL
such as jalapeno or cayenne
3 tbsp finely chopped garlic 45 mL
5 cups white vinegar 1.25 L
12/3 cups water 400mL
12/3 cups granulated sugar 400mL
4tsp pickling or canning salt 20mL
2 tbsp dill seeds 30mL
2 tbsp mustard seeds 30mL
I. Trim tough ends from asparagus and cut spears into uniform
lengths about %inch (2 cm) shorter than the inside height ofthe
jars you are using. In a large shallow dish, cover asparagus with
ice water and refrigerate for 1 hour. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids. (For more information,
see page 415.)
3. In a small bowl, combine red and green bell pepper, hot pepper
and garlic. Mix well and set aside.
4. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar
and salt. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes. Add asparagus
and return to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes or until asparagus is
heated through.
5. Place 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped pepper mixture, 1 tsp (5 mL) dill
seeds and 1 tsp (5 mL) mustard seeds into each hot jar. Pack
asparagus, tips down, into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch
(1 cm) of top of jar. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover
asparagus, leaving 1f2 inch (1 cm) headspace. Remove air bubbles
and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid.
Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is
met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with
water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner
lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.
TIPS
When you cut asparagus into uniform, jar-sized spears, you'll end up with a lot of short pieces. These
pieces can be pickled, but they are perhaps best cooked and used for soup or blanched and
frozen for use in other vegetable recipes.
Asparagus is packed with the tips facing down in the jar so that the fragile tips are not damaged when
the asparagus is removed from the jar:
From PERFECT PICKLES 307
Asparagus
Asparagus
Pack the jars, cover with water leaving 1” headspace, and then process at 10 pounds of pressure in a weighted gauge canner (or 11 pounds of pressure in a dial gauge) for 30 minutes (pints) or 40 minutes for quarts or tall pint and a half jars.
Asparagus Soup
Approx. 7 quarts or 14 pints
Ingredients
¼ cup butter
2 medium sweet onions, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
10 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried tarragon leaves
2 teaspoons sea salt (optional)
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 pounds asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch pieces
16 cups chicken, or vegetable, broth
2 average tomatoes, diced
Instructions
In a deep stockpot, add butter, onions, celery, garlic, tarragon, salt and pepper. Over medium-high heat, cook until onions are translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Mix occasionally to avoid scorching. Add asparagus, mix well. Cook for an additional 10 minutes to blend flavors, stirring often.
Add broth and tomatoes, mix well. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once at a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat.
Using an emulsion stick blender, liquefy the soup until everything is well blended and the same consistency. If you do not have an emulsion blender, allow the soup to cool and work in batches using a food processor to liquefy/puree the soup.
Ladle hot liquefied soup into jars leaving a one inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims with a wet washcloth dipped in vinegar, add lids and rings and hand tighten.
Pressure can jars at 11 psi; 60 minutes for pints and 75 minutes for quarts. Be sure to follow your manufacture instructions for operating your pressure canner and know your elevation for required psi.
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Diced Tomatoes
Diced Tomatoes
Ingredients
fresh tomatoes (approximately 2 3/4 lb. for 1 quart jar)
salt (1 tsp. per quart or 1/2 tsp. per pint)
bottled lemon juice (2 tbsp. per quart or 1 tbps. per pint)
Instructions
Wash tomatoes thoroughly. Cut out the stem and any defects or blemishes. Some people also peel the tomatoes, but I never do and we honestly have not noticed the peelings at all- and I’m even funny about textures like that in food.
Slice tomatoes into about ½ inch thick slices, then dice them into whatever size you want.
Place diced tomatoes into a clean canning jar- a funnel makes this super easy. Gently shake jar to settle tomatoes so that you can fill it completely.
The tomatoes should be packed tightly in order to produce enough juice. It won't hurt if you press down on them a bit to get the jar packed full- in fact, this is probably going to be necessary.
The jar should be full to the base of the neck.
Add salt (½ tsp. per pint and 1 tsp. per quart) and bottled lemon juice (1 Tbsp. per pint and 2 Tbsp. per quart).
Wipe rim of each jar
Place jars in canner. Fill with enough hot water to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Cover canner with a lid. Turn the burner on medium high heat. Once water starts to boil, reduce heat slightly and process for 45 minutes, making sure the water is boiling gently and steadily the whole time.
After jars are completely cool, you can remove the rings. Jars should be wiped clean before storing them.
Notes
NOTE: 1 pint of canned diced tomatoes is equivalent to 1 (15 oz.) can of diced tomatoes.
CITRIC ACID: You can use citric acid instead of lemon juice. Use 1/4 tsp. per pint and 1/2 tsp. per quart.
From
https://www.thriftyfrugalmom.com/how-to-can-diced-tomatoes-a-step-by-step-tutorial/
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Dilly Beans
Dilly Beans
Servings 6 pints
Ingredients
3-4 lb fresh green beans cleaned and washed
½ medium onion cleaned and thinly sliced
3 tsp dill seeds separated
3 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
For the brine
3 cups water
3 cup distilled white vinegar (5%)
1 tbsp canning salt
Instructions
Prepare lids and rings, water bath, and brine. Bring water bath and brine to a boil as the jars and beans are prepared.
Divide sliced onion in the bottom of each sterilized jar. This can be adjusted to personal preference. Take a bean, and, using the jar as a guide, trim the bean to within a ½-inch of the top (leaving ½ inch for headspace). Trim all the beans using the "guide" bean for the length.
Place beans in jars, standing them upright and packing them slightly until the beans are tight in the jars. Add dill seeds on top of the beans. Optional: If a spicy bean is desired, add crushed red pepper flakes to each jar.
In a saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, and canning salt. Bring to a boil to form the brine.
Once the water bath and brine are boiling, ladle brine on each jar, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Place prepared lids and rings on jars and place them in the water bath. Process for 12 minutes once the water starts to boil again.
After processing, use a jar lifter and set jars out of the water. Let rest for 12-24 hours before removing the rings. These should sit at least two weeks before being enjoyed but will last up to a year in a cool, dark place.
From
https://www.wyseguide.com/can-dilly-beans/
peppers in red sauce
Canned Peppers in Red Sauce
Yield: makes 6-8 pints
Ingredients
8-10 pint sized jars with lids and rings, washed and sanitized. keep hot until ready to use.
1 bushel of sweet or hot peppers (ex: sweet banana peppers, cubanella peppers, hot block, hot banana peppers.. etc.) no bell peppers
2 -32 oz cans tomato puree
1 -32 oz can tomato sauce
1 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
2 c sugar
3 Tbsp salt
2 c cider vinegar
4 clove fresh garlic, minced
2 lg yellow onions, chopped
Directions
1. NOTE: If you are doing sweet & hot peppers, cook the sweet peppers in the sauce before starting the hot. Also, if you have any sauce left over when done with all the peppers... don't throw it out. Can it! I like to use mine in my chili or in several other recipes.
2. Prepare Jars: Clean and sanitize jars, lids, & rings as per manufacturer directions. Keep both lids and jars hot until ready to use. There are 2 way I do this. *Sanitize in dishwasher, by the time the cycle is done, you will be ready to use the jars. Or keep in a simmer hot water bath.
3. Wash and clean all peppers. If using hot peppers, put on rubber gloves. Cut peppers in long slices, remove seeds. You can also cut in large chunks. Place in large bowl and set aside.
4. In a large stock pot. Sauté onions & garlic in oil until onions are transparent. Add tomato puree, sauce, sugar, salt, & vinegar. Heat to a slow simmer boil, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring well. Add peppers, & simmer for 10-12 minutes. Peppers will be cooked but still firm. Do not over-cook. Pack peppers in hot pint sized jars, add sauce, leave 1/2 inch head space. ** When adding peppers to jars, I use long handled tongs, & pack in all peppers in jars until I only have sauce remaining. Then use a ladle to add sauce with onions.
5. Wipe rim of jars clean with a clean hot cloth. Place rims & rings. Make sure ring is tightly in place. Process pint sized jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. (adjust according to altitude) Quart sized jars 10 minutes. You will hear a "popping" sound
from jars as they seal. Be sure to check each jar when cooled & before storing to make sure they have processed. Press in center of lid, if it pops up and down, it has not processed. & you may need to place new lid and reprocess. If center of lid is firm, jar is processed and sealed. Allow jars to cool, then store in a cool dry place. **If canning left over sauce. Process the same.
From https://www.justapinch.com/print/appetizer/vegetable-appetizer/grandma-vinions-canned-peppers-in-red-sauce.html?ttl=1724634483
*I halved the recipe and added citric aced 1/4 per pint 1/2 per quart
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Pennsylvania Dutch Chow Chow
Chow Chow
Pennsylvania Dutch
3 cups chopped cauliflower
1 cup celery
1 cup onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped red pepper
2 cups corn
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups yellow and green string beans – cut into 2 inch pieces
2 cup of red kidney beans
2 cups lima beans
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon celery seed
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 quart of white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
Chop vegetables in varying sizes and cook until just tender (do not overcook). Cook vegetables in separate pots then mix them all together.
Combine sugar (you can adjust this to make it less sweet), vinegar and dry mustard in a large pot and bring to a boil.
Pack sterilized canning jars with mixed vegetables and pour the vinegar solution to 1/2″ from the top of jar; seal and process in a hot water bath (water should cover jars by 1″-2″). Process 15 minutes in the boiling water bath.