SWEET PICKLED BEETS

It was a little late but I finally canned this year's beets

SWEET PICKLED BEETS CANNING
From genius kitchen 

READY IN: 3hrs 30mins
YIELD: 4 pints

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch fresh beet (any size will do)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon allspice, heaping

DIRECTIONS
Cut the leaves off the beet about 3” off the beet to prevent the beet from bleeding out.
Boil beets till tender, can be checked using a fork (like a potato).
Drain  peel under water.
Cut beets into 1/2” pieces, leaving very small beets whole.
Combine brine ingredients in a kettle.
Bring brine to a boil.
Simmer 10 minutes.
Wash pint jars and lids.
Fill jars within 1/2” from the top with beets.
Fill jar with boiling brine to 1/2” from top.
Place lids, adjust rings fingertip-tight and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes at up to 1000 feet in elevation.

Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Frank's RedHot Original Copycat Recipe (From http://momskitchencooking.blogspot.com/)






18 red cayenne peppers

2 c white vinegar

3 cloves garlic

½ tsp sea salt

Wash and cut the stem end from the cayenne peppers. Place in a stainless steel saucepan. Add vinegar, salt and garlic. Bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer. Simmer until peppers are soft. Pour mixture into a blender. Blend well. Pass through fine mesh metal strainer.

If canning: Pour into prepared jars. Wipe rim. Adjust lids. Processing in boiling water bath canner 10 minutes. Remove from canner.

Coop

coop put together and stained 

Pepper Rings

We made these last year and the were good so we made them again:



BANANA PEPPERS (LIKE VLASIC OR SUBWAY)
4 pints



1.) Slice your banana peppers into rings (2 pounds)

2.) Put them into your sanitized jars. (To sanitize the jars, boil them for 5 minutes)

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 1/4 tsp. of pickle crisp  to each pint jar

6.) Put your sanitized lids and rims on

7.) hot water bath for 10 minutes.

  Allow 1 week before eating!

Pizza Sauce (Pizza Hut copy)

original recipe. (modified from here)
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice


modified for volume and canning:

8 quarts (256 oz) of tomato sauce
5 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 1/2 Tablespoons  dried basil leaves
1 1/2 Tablespoons  dried thyme
1 1/2 Tablespoons  garlic powder
1 1/2 Tablespoons  salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
17 whole bay leafs

1  Tablespoon lemon juice  per pint 2 Tablespoons per quart.

1. We roasted tomatoes in the oven on trays and heated sliced tomatoes in a heavy pot 
2. Then ran them through the squeezo strainer.
3. Cooked down sauce in roster pans in the oven until thickened
4. Used a stick blender to make the sauce smooth
5. Added spices and other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. 
6. Added 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to each pind or 2 tablespoons to each quart.
7. Processed in the pressure canner for 15 min at 10 lbs  

Tomato sauce

1. We roasted tomatoes in the oven on trays and heated sliced tomatoes in a heavy pot 
2. Then ran them through the squeezo strainer.
3. Cooked down sauce in roster pans in the oven until thickened
4. Used a stick blender to make the sauce smooth
5. Added 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to each pind or 2 tablespoons to each quart.
6. Processed in the pressure canner for 15 min at 10 lbs  

Recommended process time for Standard Tomato Sauce in a dial-gauge pressure canner (like most Presto and All-American pressure canners)
			Canner Gauge Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot	Pints or Quarts	20 min	6 lb	7 lb	8 lb	9 lb
		15	11	12	13	14

Recommended process time for Standard Tomato Sauce in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner Gauge Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot	Pints or Quarts	20 min	5 lb	10 lb
		15	10	15
		10	15	Not Recommended

Tomatoes

The last major tomato harvest

59 lbs slicing and paste
16 lbs cherry tomatoes

Chicken update

We had a fatality with the chicks today. One of them died. 

Chickens

We went to tractor supply to fill a propane tank ... and came home with chickens.

Tomato Paste

Tomato Paste

Tomatoes
Lemon juice

• Tomatoes sliced and roasted in the oven 
• Run tomatoes through a sieve
• put in shallow pans in the oven at 350 until it thickens (We used a turkey roster)
• Blend reduce sauce with a blender or a stick blender 
• Continue cooking down sauce until it mounds on a spoon.
• Fill jars 
• Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice per 1/2 pint and 2 teaspoons per pint mix in.
• Fit lids 
• Process in BWB 1/2 pints and pints 45 minutes 

(adapted from http://pickyourown.org/canning_tomatopaste.htm)

Balsamic Marinara Sauce

Balsamic Marinara Sauce (from Putting Up More)


Canning Notes

This is an acidified hot-pack recipe.
pH is critical, must be monitored, and kept below 4.3. The wine, vinegar, tomatoes, and paste are the acid forces. If pH requires lowering, add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid and mix well; continue until pH is at 4.2.
This recipe makes 6 quart jars, all jar sizes work.
This recipe can be halved, doubled, or multiplied.
Ingredients

14 pounds tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
24 ounces tomato paste
4 cups finely chopped white onion
1 cup minced celery (tender parts of stalks only)
1 cup minced carrot
1 cup olive oil, divided
1 bell pepper, small-diced
20 cloves garlic, minced*(we added 10)
2 cups white wine (not too dry)
1 cup balsamic vinegar *(we added 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
2-1/2 tablespoons chopped, tightly packed fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped, tightly packed fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons chopped, tightly packed fresh parsley
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
6 bay leaves
Directions

Put the tomatoes in a nonreactive pot with the tomato paste and stew for 20 minutes or until beginning to thicken. Sauté the onion, celery, and carrot in a little olive oil until the onion is clear before adding with the rest of the oil to the tomatoes along with the bell pepper. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients, bring to 200 degrees F, and hold, stirring often, until thick. Retrieve bay leaves and place one in each quart jar (or see alternative tip in bay leaf section of the introduction). Check pH and adjust if necessary (see canning notes above).

Notes:
*used onions celery carrot pepper and basil leaves from our garden
*roasted tomatoes in oven before running through strainer
*used stick blender to smooth out sauce
*we did not add bay leaves to jars
*This recipe calls for just inverting in hot jars we processed ours in a bwb 40 minutes for quarts 35 minutes for pints.
*PH 3.79
*We only got 4 quarts.

SWEET DILL PICKLES

SWEET DILL PICKLES (from Better Homes and Gardens Complete Canning Guide)


PREP: 30 MINUTES PROCESS: 10 MINUTES STAND: 1 WEEK MAKES: 6 PINTS

3 to 3¼ pounds 4-inch pickling cucumbers (about 36)
4 cups water
3 cups white vinegar
3 cups sugar
⅓ cup pickling salt
6 tablespoons dill seeds
(we added a pinch (1/8 teaspoon of pickle crisp "calcium chloride" to each jar) 
1. Thoroughly scrub cucumbers with a soft vegetable brush in plenty of cold running water. Remove stems and blossom ends; slice off blossom ends. Cut cucumbers lengthwise into quarters.

2. In a 4- to 5-quart stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick heavy pot combine the water, the vinegar, sugar, and pickling salt. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar.

3. Pack cucumber spears loosely into six hot sterilized pint canning jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Add 1 tablespoon dill seeds to each jar. Pour hot vinegar mixture into jars maintaining the ½-inch headspace. Discard any remaining hot vinegar mixture. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.

4. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. Let stand at room temperature for 1 week before serving.

Jamaican Jerk Pickle Chips

JAMAICAN JERK PICKLE CHIPS (form Better Homes and Gardens Complete Canning Guide)

ALL THE FLAVORS OF TRADITIONAL JAMAICAN JERK—ALLSPICE, THYME, AND FIERY CHILES—GIVE THESE PICKLE CHIPS THEIR WOW! FACTOR. LAYER ON A ROAST PORK OR CHICKEN SANDWICH—OR TOP OFF A BLOODY MARY.

PREP: 45 MINUTES PROCESS: 10 MINUTES STAND: 1 WEEK MAKES: 7 PINTS

3½ pounds 4- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers*

1 3- to 4-inch stick cinnamon

1 teaspoon whole allspice

2 cups water

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups cider vinegar or rice vinegar

1 cup honey

½ cup lime juice

¼ cup pickling salt

7 sprigs fresh thyme

7 3- to 4-inch sticks cinnamon

7 cloves garlic, sliced

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole allspice

2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
(we added a pinch (1/8 teaspoon of pickle crisp "calcium chloride" to each jar)   

1. Thoroughly scrub cucumbers. Remove stems and blossoms; slice off blossom ends. Cut cucumbers into ¼- to ½-inch slices.**

2. For spice bag, cut a 6-inch square from a double layer of 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth. Place 1 cinnamon stick and 1 teaspoon allspice in center of cheesecloth square. Bring up corners; tie closed with clean kitchen string.

3. In a heavy large stainless-steel, enamel, or nonstick saucepan combine the water, white vinegar, cider or rice vinegar, honey, lime juice, pickling salt, and the spice bag. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve honey; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.

4. Pack cucumber slices loosely into seven hot sterilized pint canning jars, leaving a ½-inch headspace. Divide thyme sprigs, the 7 cinnamon sticks, the garlic slices, peppercorns, the 1 teaspoon whole allspice, and the chile pepper slices among the jars. Remove spice bag from the hot vinegar mixture; discard. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumbers, maintaining the ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.

5. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. Let stand at room temperature for 1 week before serving.

*TIP: If pickling cucumbers are not available, use regular garden cucumbers. Do not use waxed cucumbers sold in supermarkets; these are typically used for salads and slicing.

**TIP: Use a mandoline to create perfectly even cucumber slices.

PER ¼ cup: 17 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 204 mg sodium, 4 g carb., 0 g fiber, 0 g pro.

End of the Squash

It was another terrible year for squash. We used DI earth pulled off squash bug eggs with duck tape and killed ever squash bug we found but the squash borers and bugs destroyed every plant before we got anything of consequence..  All the plants were pulled and burned. The only thing we got were some mutant cross squash.

July update

Planting of the garden 2018

Three Swarms

As we were getting ready to start planting the garden one of our hives swarmed.

We suited up and collected it.

Just as we were getting ready to plant again our other hive swarmed.

I went to get the hive at our outyard that absconded last year to put the second swarm in but a swarm had already moved into that box!