allshandra,

Hey, if you're new here you and your sister may not have even heard yet of the trick of adding a can of black beans to that salsa (and maybe even a little frozen corn) & declaring it to be a southwestern soup! I had a couple of glorious years of making just enough, until I learned that trick. Now it's back to rationing, no matter how much I make........ ;-)

Congrats on a hugely impressive first year!

Zabby

Wow, allashandra, that's impressive for your first year. Welcome to Harvest!

Here I've had the dehydrator going, so I have a gallon bag of apple slices and 2 quart bags of Royal Burgundy Beans. I have a dryer full of hot peppers going right now and tomaorrow I'll make another batch of dried apples, but I sprinkle that batch with cinnamon and sugar so Ashley can take them for snacks.

Annie

I get to add:

7 more pints Annie's Salsa (this batch had some chipotle peppers from a guy with a smoker at the market) A nice addition. Yumm!

16 1/2 pints Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Raisins! from some really small kind of grapes the boys brought home from market

14 1/2 pints applesauce from our unidentified apple tree

14 pints bread and butter Jalepeno Rings

14 more 1/2 pints Habanero Gold

The Pear Liqueur is done and I poured it into pretty bottles. One of the bottles has a whole pear in it that we nurtured along on the tree as an experiment to see if it would really work. It does!

That's all for now. It's getting pretty cold at night the poor chickens are molting and there are still so many tomatoes. Yikes.

Abhaya

Abhaya,

I have no chickens but my tomatoes are molting!

They're falling off the vines like there was no tomorrow. Hmm; I think, in my tomato growing this season, maybe there IS no tomorrow --- time to pick whatever's left, I think.... ;-)

Z

My chickens are molting too, it's that time of year I suppose. They are still laying well so it's all good.

I managed to add another gallon bag of plain apples and a gallon bag of apples with cinnamon and sugar from the dehydrator. I also got another 5 jars of grape jelly, 6 pints of apple sauce and 7 pints of apple maple jam.

I'm down to half a bushel of MacIntosh and a bushel of Red Delicious, so I'm making headway. I have greens waiting...

Annie

Ciao all-

Wow, you're all so organized with your inventory. I'll have to get downstairs and count what I've done so far.

Annie, I would love your recipe for pork sausage and also your process for grinding the meat with the fat if that's what you do. I've never made sausage myself, but my uncle does. I have a Spremy tomato press and have thought about getting the meat grinder attachment for it. I want to know how easy the process is for a beginner before I make that investment, though.

Zabby cara, hi there! I have to tell you that I made your maple pumpkin butter I think it was last week (part-timer's disease..at this time of year, I can only remember what I've done part of the time) and it's absolutely fabulous. I went a little pumpkin-crazy last year and had to can chunks of it to free my freezer, but I didn't get around to using any of it last winter, so your recipe worked out very well, just perfect timing for Thanksgiving. Thanks for posting that recipe!

FINALLY! I just did 7 pints of Apple Pie Filling. Also need to add to my list:

3 pints of pickled beets
2nd batch of Annie's Salsa
Dilled green beans

sorellina, I just started making sausage a couple of years ago because I raise my own beef and pork and I have been trying to cut the fat way, way down.

I have the meat grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer and it works well enough for the amount I do. The Italian sausage is all pork, I just trim the meat but leave a little fat, cube it up and grind it. I do between 5 and 10 pounds at a time. Grind all the meat, add a couple of cups of grated Asiago, half a bottle of Moscato, a couple of tablespoons of fennel seed, salt and pepper, maybe 1/4 cup of sugar and a couple of teaspoons of tarragon. I mix it all, cook a bit of the meat mixture to test for seasonings, adjust the seasonings and stuff the sausage.

I bought Elery a sausage stuffer for his birthday a couple of years ago and we get the natural casings from Butcher-Packer. It's in Detroit, right here in Michigan, but they have a website. So, he cranks the stuffer while I tie off the links. Then the links go into the freezer. My kids love it, it's the sweet kind, not the hot kind. You could add hot pepper if you want.

I've also made corned beef and pastrami, but you need to buy "pink salt" for that. I have the book "Charcuterie" and it has some amazing recipes. Are you looking for any recipes or information in particular?

Annie

Ciao Annie-

I'm in information-gathering mode right now. Thank you for posting your method and basic recipe here, that really helps. I'll definitely check your book out, too, so thanks for that as well. I sometimes find it difficult to locate specialized gardening and home preserving books in our bookstores. More and more it seems that unless I'm looking for something hugely popular with the "mall crowd", I'm going to be sitting at my computer doing a specialized search on Amazon first.

After Mass this Sunday, Duane and I will be going over to the Italian hardware store where I got my Spremy tomato press and looking at their meat grinders. I see this as a potential time-consuming project to happily fritter away the tedious Winter months.

sorellina, you are so welcome. Elery and I have done breakfast sausage, sweet italian, some kielbasa, the corned beef, pastrami and pancetta. I made some beef jerky.

Next is our own maple cured bacon, I have two "bellies" in the freezer from butchering the pork.

And I'm still canning, add to my list 6 pints of collard greens and 5 pints of apple butter.

Annie

Today, another double batch of Linda Lou's zucchini candy. I put it in the dehydrator late last night and dusted it with sugar on lunch hour. It'll be ready to come out when I get home from work.

Annie

Isn't anyone else still canning? I had the day off work, so I got another gallon bag of dehydrated apple slices, and I have jalapenos in the dehydrator now.

I also canned:

14 pints of rutabagas
9 pints of glazed carrots
6 pints of apple butter
7 pints of strawberry apple sauce
6 pints of collard greens

And I still have apples!

Annie

Hi Annie!

I thought I was done, but canned 6 pints of Seasoned Tomato Sauce this weeked to try and use up whats left of the tomatoes that I picked before we had our first freeze.

... and I ordered one of those apple peeler/corer things, so then I searched and found a hardware store with a couple of cases of jars, and bought a bushel of Jonathan apples from a local orchard for $18, which I thought was a pretty good price. Especially since the owner threw in another full box of mixed, small apples for the kids to eat for free! I wasn't familiar with Jonathans though, and thought they would be more tart, but they taste more like a Red Delicious to me. Do you think I should buy a few Granny Smith's or something to mix with them to give the applesauce more flavor? The last batch of applesauce I used Honeycrisp, which I thought had the perfect balance of tart and sweet.

After that, all that's left to do is dehydrate the last of my Alma Paprika's, and grind them into a powder.

Oh, and there are still carrots in the garden. I'm thinking of just slicing, blanching, and freezing so they'll be ready to use for soups and stews.

THEN I'll be done ... I think : )

Bonnie

Oh Bonnie, I'm never done, LOL, I make jam all winter from fruit in the freezer. (grin)

The Jonathan were sweet? They aren't as tart as Granny Smith, but usually not nearly as sweet as Delicious. I like sauce that's a mix of apples, just as I like cider with a mix of apples, so I'd probably either use some of those small apples or pick up a few apples that are more tart.

Then again, if the sauce is for your kids, they might like it just fine the way it is, sweet and less tart.

Next weekend I'm going to press cider and I still have greens that are waiting, then I can start to experiment with cheese, since I took a cheese making class Saturday. I learned to make cream cheese, ricotta and mozzarella, the hard cheeses will be addressed in the more advanced class later.

Annie

I'm going to take a break next weekend to put my new used greenhouse together, then I'll tackle the tomatoes. It feels GOOOOD to have all the boxes of fruit out of the kitchen!

Running tally, and this is my first year canning and drying:

Canned:

Pluot jam
Plum jelly
Peach butter
Peaches in syrup
Spiced peaches
Pear sauce
Spiced pears
Apple sauce
Apples in syrup
Apple butter
Mom's apple pie in a jar
Habanero gold - 3 batches
Peach habanero BBQ sauce
Veggie stock
Chicken stock
Beef stock
Green pepper jelly
Carrot cake jam
Green tomato chutney
Annie's salsa
Zesty salsa
Tomatillo salsa
Green tomato jalapeno salsa
Crushed tomatoes

Frozen:

Okra
Green beans
Sweet peppers
Cauliflower (ate that already)
Spaghetti sauce
Other stuff I can't remember right off

Dried:
Apples
Jerky - 2 batches
Cherry tomatoes
Indian corn (dried itself)
Herbs
Thai chilis

Oil-packed:
Candied tomatoes
Eggplant

Fermented:
Red sauerkraut

Cured:
Preserved lemons

With all of that, and a quarter of beef in the freezer and cordwood outside, I feel ready for winter!

Keepitlow I just wanted to say welcome to the forum and congrats on your jam! (That is if you're still here and still canning!) It is such a fun hobby and your jam looks pretty groovy!

Lpink, who put up a measly 2.5 pints of applesauce tonight.

My tomato crop was mostly small size for dehydrating, so not much in the way of canning from my garden. I took a chance on finding an old vegetable stand still around in the next town, where we haven't been for some time. There is so much housing going up, that most of these old stand have vanished. It was still there, so picked up a flat of nice looking tomatoes.

Decided, now it was time to make "ANNIE'S SALSA" - guess I'm the only one that hasn't - yes?

Anyway, it was great, although I found that I did not have any tomato sauce, so doubled the paste, which to my thinking was a bit much, so will do another batch and have the sauce available. Still it is great anyway.

Sooo - 6 pints Annie's salsa.

Made that Satsuma/Natal plum jam that I was saving up for - using the Pomona pectin with less sugar - nice.

These little natal plums grow on bushes that are used extensively for water-saving plants that are extremely tolerant of ocean spray, so survive practically on the beach. In past years, it has always flowered - but no fruit set. Found this strange, cuz we have bees everywhere, but they didn't seem to care for it. Then, I noticed small small wasps that were attracted. The result -a great crop of natals this year.

Drying red and green ancho peppers, and freezing some after scorching skins.

Dehydrating bananas, pineapples, also.

The dried yogurt starter that I bought from King Arthur Flour Co., works very well. Ken was the one that tuned me into the fact that they sold it. It comes in a package of 5 or 6 packets. I was wondering if it might be possible to freeze yogurt in ice cube trays for future starters, but the dried commercial kind is very good.

I like all of King Arthur Flour Co.'s many recipe ideas, and as I have a nice "sour dough starter" in my fridge, can't wait to give some of them a try. My bread making is becoming quite good.

Brined another brisket and it turned out fine. I'm wondering now if I can use regular Kosher brand for my next brine. I used the last of Morton's special "Tenderquick" salt - which contains "nitrates" and I'd like to get away from using it - very salty, strong, but don't know how much regular salt to brine with then.

Soon will make another trip to the mountains for apples/pears - when I can afford the gas money. The last trip cost more in gas than the price of the fruit - when will it end!

Guess thats it for now.

Bejay

Well, a two weeks back or so I posted all kinds of wild plans on the "what are your canning plans for this weekend" but this thread is for reality, not fantasy planning, so here's what I've ACTUALLY done since last posting results a few weeks ago:

- Annie's Salsa -- double batch --- I think it came to 9 pints and 3 half-pints
- 2 one-gallon bags of tomatoes in the freezer
- a few sauteed peaches in the freezer (the ones I bought at the start of october weren't very peelable or pit-able, so we ate as many as we could) in desserts, on cereal, etc., and alas some went bad --- by the time they were no longer too hard, they were getting mouldy; I hate that!
- 2 ice-cube trays of fall rasperries from the farmer's market, pureed and seeded (for use in smoothies and maybe on cereal)
- three 3-cup tubs of jude's Hungry Man Stew; DH commented that it was indeed VERY filling; I probably should've frozen it in 2-cup tubs!
- 5 more loaves of zucchini bread in the freezer (12 breakfast portions and two whole loaves --- those ones have cranberries & pecans instead of raisins & walnuts; I'll save them for when company comes!); gave the sixth loaf to my mom

Confession: I caved and bought tomatoes at the farmer's market. There was one half-bushel of romas looking awfully nice, the price was decent, and when I said to DH that it felt like admitting defeat, he pointed out I could admit a minor defeat NOW and buy them and make more salsa, or admit REAL defeat in February when we ran out of salsa! He had a point.

I have had a real work crunch, though; it took me four days to get the salsa up --- I chopped the peppers & onions & measured stuff one night; peeled & chopped the tomatoes the next and cooked it up; and reheated it, cooked 10 more minutes, and canned it two days later. (Yes, I know, too slow according to the guidelines. It was in the fridge in between, I cooked it ten more minutes before canning, and personally I think I'll live.)

Z

I can't remember what was included in the last post I made but I know we've canned applesauce and apple juice since the previous post.

110 qts applesauce
4 1/2 gallons and 16 qts apple juice

Froze lots of red and yellow bell peppers in 1 cup portions
Dried lots of red and yellow bell peppers

We've picked the yellow dent corn and still have the white to pick.

Still have to harvest carrots, rutabagas, turnips, and there are greens to pick until it gets too cold.

We have 4-5 bushels of beans to shell. Already shelled about 4 bushels. We'll can many and dry some.

I am looking forward to being DONE!

I can't remember what was included in the last post I made but I know we've canned applesauce and apple juice since the previous post.

110 qts applesauce
4 1/2 gallons and 16 qts apple juice

Froze lots of red and yellow bell peppers in 1 cup portions
Dried lots of red and yellow bell peppers

We've picked the yellow dent corn and still have the white to pick.

Still have to harvest carrots, rutabagas, turnips, and there are greens to pick until it gets too cold.

We have 4-5 bushels of beans to shell. Already shelled about 4 bushels. We'll can many and dry some.

I am looking forward to being DONE!

boy, am I tired of apples! Tonight I added

5 pints apple butter
13 pints apple sauce

and on Saturday we pressed 20 gallons of cider for the freezer(s). I always divide the finished product up between all the kids that come to help, so I came home with 3 gallons out of the 20, LOL. Plenty for my house...

Annie

I'm the only one still canning? Really?

Tonight I canned:

8 pints beets
8 half pints apricot pineapple jam

I did send beef to slaughter so pretty soon I can add beef to my list of things "I've put up". And chili, I need to try to can some chili this year, I've never done that before.

Annie

Annie,

No I guess you aren't alone. Even though I tried to toss in the towel a week or so ago. Today I canned:

4 pints of chipotle ketchup
5 pints tomatillo salsa verde

The other day I roasted peppers and froze 4 quarts after skinning. Put one pint or so in olive oil for the fridge.

The boys informed me there are still lots of beets down in the garden as well as carrots. Guess I need to get back out there!

I'm still picking spinach. We had a lovely salad tonight with feta. I wish I could put some hoops up over it to extend it's life. No frost yet but you know it's coming soon! The kale and chard are still holding their own as well. Last year we ate kale all winter even after our surprise snowfall.

I don't have a pressure canner, YET, so I still have some limitations as to what I can do. Maybe that is my Christmas wish!

Abhaya

Picked up some more apples and pears in the mountains. Then went over to the desert for the day to enjoy the nice clean air and glorious silence that is only found in such remote places. If I had the resources to relocate permanently, it probably would be good health-wise, as it is the best cure for my durned bronchitis in the winter.

Anyway, today canned 6 pints of pears in light syrup. Tomorrow morning will tackle the apples. No sense in overdoing it.

My garden is still producing all kinds of peppers - it was a good year for those, and many still going strong. Will dehydrate those tomorrow, while the apple canning is in progress.

I dehydrated quite a few peppers and some pineapple that missed the count awhile back. Hard to keep track, mainly as I just keep doing little bits of this and that.

The garden is beginning to look promising for broccoli, onion, garlic and snow peas - coming on strong. Even the pole beans are giving their all - so lots of fresh eating now. The mandarin oranges should be ripening in another month - they seem to respond to a cold snap, and mostly ripen to sweet around the holidays - a very productive specimen with heavy crops every year.

I'm trying a new idea - starting yams from slips and making a special "yam bed" - as they seem to winter over well. Always looking for something "easy" that won't require re-doing.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

I thought I had lots of Annie's Salsa, I was putting my canned goods on my new shelves and discovered we were down to 21/2 dozen pints. I have enough tomatoes in the freezer for one more batch. I guess I will have to break down and buy some more tomatoes. That stuff just flies off my shelves. We are up to 6 people living here(they keep coming back home to live) and they sneak it off my shelves.
Donna

Well, I ended up with 2 gallons, and one pint of sliced carrots that I blanched and froze. I used some in a soup the other night though, and wasn't crazy about the texture. Guess I should have cooked them a bit longer, as they were a bit on the rubbery side.

The Alma Paprika peppers are finally fully ripe, so those need to go in the dehydrater soon.

I've also made another 8 pints of Apple Wedges in Cinnamon Red Hot Syrup (I really love these!), and another 8 pints of Cinnamon Applesauce. I still have enough apples for a small batch of applesauce, and I'd like to make another batch of Cinnamon Apple Jelly, which is the kids favorite, but I was canning so much there for a while that I got way behind around the house. So I'm not quite done, but just taking a much needed break.

Bonnie

Bonnie, the house is secondary to canning, the mess will be there when there's nothing left to can! (grin)

Can I add 12 bottles of homemade hard apple cider? It's preserved, I suppose, but I have a feeling it'll get "used" up pretty quickly.

Oh, and I have pork belly brining in a maple solution, it's going to be smoked on Friday. Yum...

Annie

I'm doing a little canning every night, last night I made another batch of sugar free apple butter, that's the absolute last apples I'm doing. Final. Done. That's it. Unless I find a really good buy, LOL.

So, 6 half pints of sugar free apple butter, I cooked apples all day in the crockpot and they were ready by the time I got home.

by next week I'll be canning beef stock, chili and soups, and I have 50 pounds of potatoes in the garage along with those "gourmet baby leeks", so maybe a batch of potato/leek soup will be on the board...

Annie

Welll, no chili, no soup and those potatoes are still in the garage. I've had the flu all week and haven't been doing a darned thing.

I still have a few pumpkins that I should can, the leeks are still in the garage right next to the potatoes.

I did manage to get 5 quarts and a pint of beef stock canned this morning and 210 pounds of beef are in the freezer, but only because Elery is here to help me, an awful lot of time has been spent on the couch.

Annie

pears --- 8 pints, 3 half-pints

I've been travellng --- visited my dad's cousins in the Gaspe region of Quebec, right on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where I ate lots of lovely homemade old-fashioned food.

JUST before we left (and I mean just --- the jars were cooling on the counter as we went out the door), I put up the pears, some little Anjou ones, in light syrup. They were small enough that I left them in halves, and they look very pretty indeed.

Annie, I'm so sorry you've been poorly! Hope you feel better soon!!

Z

My canning efforts have been slow this year. I threw a bunch of tomatoes in the freezer before we had our fist frost. I made Chunky Tomato Basil Sauce yesterday. I also made apple pie jam yesterday. I still have to make Habanero Gold. I'll try to get to that this week.

The limes are beginning to fall off the trees, so freezing juice and used a lot in the simple syrups in the canned fruits recently. Not sure if I will make any more marmalade until my present "cache" is down somewhat - really overdid it.

The mandarins are beginning to ripen with the recent cold nights we've had, so will section them and freeze in syrup. They are nice served as accompaniment to dinner menus that are otherwise heavy on the calories - meats, potatoes, etc. I also freeze them plain sometimes just in water. They are so versatile.

My trials of the dried yogurt starter that I ordered on-line from King Arthur's - has a very pleasant flavor. My own made with the commercial starters were sometimes a bit sour. I think the dried has a mix of several lactobacillus cultures that are quite pleasing and so far it has set up well.

Most of my fall garden is in - except for a few starts of cabbage and repeat bok choy to replace what the summer "crowd" found to their liking. I'm starting some sweet potato slips in the window - to experiment with - I note some vines that wintered well from last year - and am in hopes I can get a "jump" on next season when it warms up again - when I'll be ready to plant them in rich soil.

Some voles tore up my strawberry bed, and didn't take my own advice to put screen on the bottom before they were planted in their box. Had to move them.

Very busy - garden wise, grinding up and composting along with planting, so the kitchen is slow - except for baking (warms up the kitchen on cool days too).

Sorry you had the flu Annie. I had my share last year. Tried to avoid crowds this time - so far, so good.

Cheers.

Bejay

Wow, I don't know how all of you do so much!!
I was totally overwhelmed just by my little garden.
In the end, my husband and I did:

Canned:
*6 pints green tomato relish
*4 pints green tomato salsa
*6 pints pickled kung pao peppers

Dehydrated:
*3-4 quarts trombocino squash
*3-4 quarts kung pao peppers (my hand still burns, there must have been a hole in my glove!)
*1 quart or so jalapenos
*1/2 pint or so habaneros
*1/2 pint green bell peppers
*1 quart sage leaves
*1/2 pint tarragon
*1/2 pint dill

Frozen:
*3 logs of nasturtium lemon butter
*gallon size bag, 1 layer of green grape tomatoes (I had planned to do another batch of salsa but I was so tired of chopping!)
*gallon bag of sliced bell peppers
*quart bag of chopped red tomatoes
*gallon size bag w/ 1 layer of sliced green rutger's tomatoes for later frying
*1/2 quart or so of pepper brushetta
*2 containers of veggie tomato sauce
*gallon bag of roasted acorn squash
*loaf and a half of zuchinni bread

I think that's about all of it.

My freezer is packed!! I need to invest in one of those stand-alone chest type freezers to put in the basement...

I have one big bag of bell peppers left in the fridge. I am going to stuff some, and then if there are any left, roast and freeze (if they fit!).

Almost forgot - 2 pints of mint leaves (white & pineapple) and a quart of chives. Phew!

All in all in the freezer are:
corn on the cob
chopped celery
shredded zucchini
chopped bell peppers
Lou's Italian meatballs & hamburgers
squash
chili
Roma tomatoes

Canned:
Apricot Jam
Strawberry Jam
Cherry Applesauce

Didn't get anywhere near what I wanted done. Still have onions.

Its time to update my inventory! We are adding another grandbaby tomorrow am. We are very excited! I've started to do my jams and jellys and freezer meals now that the garden is done. I did two batches of Raspberry jelly, two of Blackberry. I made one batch of black-raspbery spread with the pulp from the jellies. Not sure if I like it though, it has the consistency of store bought stuff that we don't like(that's why I can!)I'll probably give it away as Christmas presents. I just finished a double batch of butternut squash to put in the freezer--yummy. I got the "thumbs up" from my youngest (teenager) on it...so I guess I'll make some more! I'm trying to get up the courage to make a new recipe for "chocolate pumpkin bread." I ended up with an over abundance of pumpkin this year and not a lot of zuchini, so I'm going to try and come up with a recipe to incorporate my really good chocolate zuchini bread recipe to pumpkin. Does anyone have a recipe already? Chocolate seems to make everything better!

This weekend I did a little more. I made 2 batches of Habanero Gold Jelly & 3 batches of Chunky Tomato Basil sauce. I still have tomato in the freezer, so I guess I'll be making more sauce next weekend(if the wine lasts that long.)
:)

Been busy this past week:

3 qts pinto beans
4 pints pintos
7 pints black beans
5 pints enchilada sauce

Lots of dried/frozen peppers - red and green - more still waiting for some heat to ripen. (hopefully). With some Thai, ancho, jalapenos and a few poblano types still surviving.

Made zucchini bread and pumpkin waffles from frozen stuff - and must inventory the freezer for any of last harvest hiding in the bottom. I found a container of frozen boysenberries that were so great on a waffle with yogurt this morning.

Limes now - squeezing and freezing in trays. Think I will try the curd recipe that I see here occasionally. Sounds fantastic.

Onward and upward - More later !!

Bejay

Finally all done, though I might do some soups and stews after Thanksgiving. I'm sure I'll need more stock before long, too.

Canned the sauerkraut, some pomegranate-cranberry relish, tomato sauce and pizza sauce. Also froze some excess tomatoes when I got tired of canning.

I am loving having all this stuff at the ready, though I think we'll go through most of it well before next canning season. Next year, more salsa!

Still canning up here in the True North Strong and Free!

Got some bosc pears last week, probably from the Niagara region where it's about a zone warmer than here --- our orchard store closed down the previous weekend. Pineapples were on sale, so I got a couple and did 8 pints of pear & pineapple chunks in light syrup. We had some for breakfast this morning with zucchini bread from the freezer and it was a nice combo.

Z

Hey Zabby -

You might dehydrate some of those pineapple chunks, then store in freeze containers. They make nice additions to zucchini bread. I also zip up my granola with them too - nice.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

I canned up a storm today, getting a lot of holiday gifts ready. First, I made nine jars of something called pear honey, mainly for one of my best friends whose grandma in Missouri used to make it. Yummy stuff! Several of the jars will be in my friend's Christmas care package.

Then I also made 13 half-pints of spicy cranberry salsa. I will pair this with small loaves of cranberry jalapeno bread for co-worker gifts.

I ran out of steam before I got to apple-cranberry chutney, but I'll attempt that next weekend.

--Gina

Here is a link that might be useful: Lindsey's Luscious

Ciao all-

I'm just about done with the fresh-from-the-garden canning except for some peppers I still need to pickle. I used this thread as motivation to go through my inventory this weekend. This is what I've put up in 2009 (cases are 12 jars, numbers refer to volume in milliliters):

Italian Tomato Sauce: 2 cases 500's
Golden Plum Butter: 2 cases 250's
Blackberry Habanero Jelly: 2 cases 125's
Quince Preserves: 2 cases 250's
Black Forest Preserves: 1 case 250's
Enchilada Sauce: 2 cases 250's
Picante Sauce: 2 cases 250's
Ketchup: 1 case: 250's
V-8 Juice: 1 case 1000's
Chilis in Water (pressure canned): 1 case 500's, 1/2 case 1000's
Pickled Chilies: 1/2 case 1000's
Pickled Jalapeno Rings: 2 cases 250's
Pickled Pepperoncini: 1/2 case 1000's
Spicy Garlic Cucumber Pickles: 1 case 500's
Pickled Romano Beans: 1 case 500's
Sweet Cucumber Pickle Slices: 1 case 500's
Unsweetened Applesauce: 2 cases 500's
Spicy Applesauce: 3 cases 500's
Whole Tomatoes in Water (pressure canned): 1 case 1000's
Chocolate Mint Jelly: 1 case 250's
Habanero Gold Jelly: 2 cases 125's, 1 case 250's
Cranapple Butter: 1 case 250's
Caponata: 2 cases 500's
Chicken Braising Sauce: 1 case 500's
Green Unripe Apple Pectin: 1 case 250's
Fig Jam: 1 case 250's
Cucumber Relish: 1 case 500's
Lime Basil Vinegar: 2 x 1500 jars
Red Rubin Basil Jelly: 1 case 250's
Nasturtium Vinegar: 2 x 1500 jars
Nasturtium Jelly: 1 case 250's
Anise Hyssop Jelly: 1 case 250's
Zabby's Pumpkin Maple Butter: 1 case 250's
Rhubarb Jelly: 1 case 250's
Superhot Chile Concentrate Paste: 3 cases 125's
Zucchini Relish: 1 case 500's
Anise Basil Jelly: 1 case 250's
Cinnamon Basil Jelly: 1 case 250's

Dried Stuff:

Chocolate Mint
Blue Spice Basil
Anise Hyssop
Rainbow of Cherry Tomatoes
Paste Tomatoes
Golden Plums
Chile Peppers, mild to wild

Entrees (all 1000ml jars):

Full O' Beans Soup: 1 case
Carrot-Ginger-Orange Soup: 1 case
Crab Marinara Sauce: 1 case
Split Pea Soup with Ham: 1 case
Cassoulet: 1 case
Spicy Beef Chili: 1 case

Still to Can:

Pomegranate Jelly (250's)
Acai Berry Jelly from Pure Juice (250's)
Blackberry Maple Syrup (500's)
Pickled Garlic (250's)
Pear-Ginger Jam (250's)
Blood Orange Marmalade (250's)
Blood Orange-Cranberry-Pomegranate Relish (250's)
Blueberry Lemonade Concentrate (1000's)
Red Currant Jelly (250's)
Tomato Sauce with Milled Frozen Puree (500's)

Coq Au Vin (1000's)
Gulyas or Goolash (1000's)
Boston Baked Beans (1000's)
Beef-Elk Stew (1000's)
Lasagne Sauce (1000's)
Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce (1000's)

This is a great spot to track progress and keep the inventory documented. I like that!

wow, all I managed was another half dozen quarts of beef stock and I have the turkey carcass simmering in the crockpot while I'm at work so I can make turkey stock. Oh, and I did dehydrate 3 more gallons of apples...

Annie

bejay,

I don't have a dehydrator (yet!)

But if I do get one someday I'll try pineapple chunks, thanks! I don't often can stuff that doesn't grow locally (and believe me, we're a LONG way from any pineapple orchards up here), since I figure it makes sense to put my effort where there is the most freshness worth preserving. But a) the pineapple was on a good sale, b) we like pineapple for breakfast but it's a pain to peel and core it as an early-morning chore, c) we often can't get through a whole one before it starts to go bad, and d) I had some plain pears already and wanted to can these ones with something else so that I could open one jar and be half-way to fruit salad.

I am fairly pleased with how it came out, and if pineapple goes on a good sale again I might can some by itself, given items a), b), and c) above!

Cheers,

Z

It took some serious thinking before I spent money for my dehydrator. But after losing a lot of stuff to outside critters - which happens to be a lot as time goes on - I decided to dry inside. As it is, I think a squirrel has filled the walls of our old house with my macadamia nuts.

But about pineapple - I buy things that don't grow well here - (like tomatoes sometimes) in #10 cans, then divided the contents and freeze, to have it handy for a dish I'm preparing. I learned the value of #10 cans when I lived on an island (accessed only by boat), so things were shopped for in larger sizes, to limit the number of trips to the mainland for supplies.

Anyway - back to harvest -

6 pints mandarin oranges for freezer (lots more as they ripen). So good and much better than commercially canned.

Lots more dried red peppers - that are slow to ripen (weather dropping into 40's), but still hanging in there.

Freezing lime juice in trays, but bought some small styrofoam cups and will make some sherbet - using condensed milk and egg base.

With the cold mornings, I'm doing more baking - and using the sour dough starter for cinnamon roles and yesterday made 10 waffles for freezer. They were OK, but still prefer the pumpkin/squash recipe that I make from last summer's squash puree.

Starting yam rootings and artichoke seedlings, to - hopefully, plant edibles to replace ornamentals - we are now at only 3 hrs. a day/3 days per week water rationing.

Hope to keep my food growing/harvesting hobby alive next year, but it's becoming more difficult.

Bejay

Sorellina - wow! I'm flabbergasted. Where on earth do you find the energy and time?!?

I've been taking a break, but I am thinking I'll start back up this weekend. MIL was nice enough to send me a box of persimmons from California, so those will go in a jam or jelly. I'd also like to get some beef stew put up, as well as canning some plain beans to have handy for recipes. We have been enjoying all of the stock, tomatoes, pizza sauce and salsas immensely. I need to figure out room for extra paste tomato plants next year.

bejay,
I love the image of Pioneer Bejay boating over with a canoeload of #10 cans of tomatoes. ;-)

I'm rooting for you to keep gardening and harvesting and preserving for a long time to come. You're an inspiration and I love reading your posts and appreciate your advice!

Sorellina,
Well done! You put this fellow Ontarian to shame. I'll be right over for dinner.............

Z

It's cold, it's snowy, and so I spent the weekend canning. I was out of Habanero Gold and so I canned 5 half pints of that, along with 5 half pints of sugar free apple butter, 3 quarts of apple juice and 4 half pints of pear preserves.

It's so much nicer to can in the winter when it's cold and snowy than in the summer when it's 90!

Annie