I'm wanting to purchase a pressure canner. Years ago I had one (an old, hand-me-down) but then I had a couple of scary incidents with it (probably operator error) and got rid of it.
Since then I've counted on my freezer(s) to preserve many foods that I could/should pressure can. Now I'm thinking I need to depend less on those convenient, energy-using big white boxes for some of our food storage. Therefore, I am in the market for a good, reliable pressure canner.
So I'm coming to you today, dear and trusted readers, for recommendations. To those of you who have a pressure canner, what brand do you have and are you happy with it?
If you're in the contemplating stages of a purchase as I am, have you settled on a brand or specific model while saving your pennies for the purchase?
Any and all info you'd care to share will be much, much appreciated. As far as a recommendation, there's nuthin' like first-hand experience with a product by real people doin' the real thing . . . and I value all of your opinions even if you're in the same boat I am and just researching out that pressure canner on your wish list.
Thanks a bunch!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Summer Has Arrived!
After taking its own sweet time in arriving, summer finally made it. Right now at 2 p.m., the temperature in the shade is 77 degrees. On the south side of the house in the bright sun, we have 88. Best of all, we've got a lovely breeze so even though we aren't used to such weather yet this year, we're staying comfortable while working outside.
Still work to be done in the raspberries and blueberries. (WHERE are all these weeds coming from?) Papa Pea is working on getting the chicks installed in their little temporary house complete with chicken tractor. They've been eating everything in sight and just got too big for their brooder in the garage. Besides creating chicken dust and a rather unpleasant chicken smell in there.
Gotta get back outside and take advantage of this beautiful day. Now let's hope the summer time temperatures stay with us for a while. Like into September!
Still work to be done in the raspberries and blueberries. (WHERE are all these weeds coming from?) Papa Pea is working on getting the chicks installed in their little temporary house complete with chicken tractor. They've been eating everything in sight and just got too big for their brooder in the garage. Besides creating chicken dust and a rather unpleasant chicken smell in there.
Gotta get back outside and take advantage of this beautiful day. Now let's hope the summer time temperatures stay with us for a while. Like into September!
Being A Copy Cat
I'll admit it right off and try not to feel guilty. Leigh over at 5 Acres & A Dream posted another fantastic blog entry. She did a detailed inventory to see what she currently has left of her canning, preserving and dehydrating from last year. As interesting as it was for me to read, I'm sure it was very enlightening for her to see all her facts and figures on paper.
At the end of her post Leigh asked how the supplies were holding out in each of our own pantries and if we planned on making any changes for this year.
Well, since I had a sneaky suspicion I was going to let my gardens lie fallow this year because of our remodeling project, I did go a bit overboard when it came to putting food by last year. I was skeptical as to whether I could grow and preserve enough veggies to make it for two full years but I did manage that to some extent and moreso with some of the fruits I preserved.
I have not done a detailed inventory as Leigh has but I have a pretty good idea of what I still have. Or don't have. So here's my copy cat post.
I'll probably forget some things but I'll just jump in and see where my ramblings lead.
The one thing we ran out of first was applesauce. We had an exceptionally good apple crop of our own last year, and also got a nice big bunch of apples from a friend's beautiful, old tree. I saved some apples for fresh eating and baking, but most of the apples went into 18 quarts of applesauce. It was yummy applesauce, and we ate it with gusto. Those 18 quarts were gone before we knew it. Must do more this year. About twice as much I figure will last us for the whole season. I lost quite a few of the apples I tried to save for fresh use, so this year I'll make more into applesauce initially.
My onions ran out . . . when? Four or five weeks ago? I harvested 8 pounds of red onions and 46 pounds of yellow. They kept beautifully and I lost only a few to sprouting and/or rotting. I need to grow more in years to come.
I still have potatoes, both red and white. They are wanting to sprout in a really bad way and are not as hard and crisp as they were months ago but remain very flavorful. I probably would be able to make it until August with the ones left . . . if they don't sprout too much. But I have a feeling they will. Rats.
I harvested 43 pounds of carrots which was way too many for us to eat. I packaged them in bags of about 3-4 pounds each and stored them in the bottom of our spare refrigerator. I have four bags left that are now going to be thrown out into the woods for the deer to feast on. These remaining carrots are starting to rot and grow very long "hairs."
Last year's bumper crop of Red Kuri squash gave me enough to freeze 12 - 2 cup bags of cooked squash, about 6-8 whole squash I kept and baked individually and many others I sneaked into people's vehicles when they came to visit. I didn't lose one that I kept in storage, but it seemed we ate a lot of squash for a while there. I still have 10 of the 12 packages of the frozen, cooked squash in the freezer. So there's not really any fear of running out of squash soon.
I canned enough dill pickles, Bread & Butter sweet pickles, zucchini relish and pickled beets to last for a full two years. Maybe three.
Even though lots of jars of strawberry jam were given at Christmas time, I still have enough for another year. And, of course, even though I'm not vegetable gardening this 2011 summer season, the strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are perennial and will be coming in again this year. I won't be making any more jam because along with the good supply of strawberry, I still have plenty of blueberry and raspberry jam made up also.
Seventeen quarts of frozen strawberries went into the freezer. We have 5 left. Nine gallons of raspberries were frozen; there are 5 left. We had 6 gallons of frozen blueberries. Only one gallon remains.
One vegetable that we're coming up short on is green beans. I froze 40 servings (that's enough to serve both of us for 40 meals) and I have 4 or 5 servings left . . . which I've been hoarding. I definitely should have done more last year. Frozen peas will last through this summer for sure and I don't know who put up all the frozen sliced beets but we have enough of them to last a whole other year. Or more.
So this is my copy cat post of what Leigh so meticulously did and laid out in her post. As I say, I'm not as organized as Leigh so I may have left out something obvious (oops, that's right, I did some dehydrating but other than putting some dried strawberries in granola, my dried goods are still untouched) but it is a quick overview of what's currently still on hand from the preserving of my garden produce from 2010.
Now I'll ask the same question Leigh did: How are your supplies from 2010 holding out?
At the end of her post Leigh asked how the supplies were holding out in each of our own pantries and if we planned on making any changes for this year.
Well, since I had a sneaky suspicion I was going to let my gardens lie fallow this year because of our remodeling project, I did go a bit overboard when it came to putting food by last year. I was skeptical as to whether I could grow and preserve enough veggies to make it for two full years but I did manage that to some extent and moreso with some of the fruits I preserved.
I have not done a detailed inventory as Leigh has but I have a pretty good idea of what I still have. Or don't have. So here's my copy cat post.
I'll probably forget some things but I'll just jump in and see where my ramblings lead.
The one thing we ran out of first was applesauce. We had an exceptionally good apple crop of our own last year, and also got a nice big bunch of apples from a friend's beautiful, old tree. I saved some apples for fresh eating and baking, but most of the apples went into 18 quarts of applesauce. It was yummy applesauce, and we ate it with gusto. Those 18 quarts were gone before we knew it. Must do more this year. About twice as much I figure will last us for the whole season. I lost quite a few of the apples I tried to save for fresh use, so this year I'll make more into applesauce initially.
My onions ran out . . . when? Four or five weeks ago? I harvested 8 pounds of red onions and 46 pounds of yellow. They kept beautifully and I lost only a few to sprouting and/or rotting. I need to grow more in years to come.
I still have potatoes, both red and white. They are wanting to sprout in a really bad way and are not as hard and crisp as they were months ago but remain very flavorful. I probably would be able to make it until August with the ones left . . . if they don't sprout too much. But I have a feeling they will. Rats.
I harvested 43 pounds of carrots which was way too many for us to eat. I packaged them in bags of about 3-4 pounds each and stored them in the bottom of our spare refrigerator. I have four bags left that are now going to be thrown out into the woods for the deer to feast on. These remaining carrots are starting to rot and grow very long "hairs."
Last year's bumper crop of Red Kuri squash gave me enough to freeze 12 - 2 cup bags of cooked squash, about 6-8 whole squash I kept and baked individually and many others I sneaked into people's vehicles when they came to visit. I didn't lose one that I kept in storage, but it seemed we ate a lot of squash for a while there. I still have 10 of the 12 packages of the frozen, cooked squash in the freezer. So there's not really any fear of running out of squash soon.
I canned enough dill pickles, Bread & Butter sweet pickles, zucchini relish and pickled beets to last for a full two years. Maybe three.
Even though lots of jars of strawberry jam were given at Christmas time, I still have enough for another year. And, of course, even though I'm not vegetable gardening this 2011 summer season, the strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are perennial and will be coming in again this year. I won't be making any more jam because along with the good supply of strawberry, I still have plenty of blueberry and raspberry jam made up also.
Seventeen quarts of frozen strawberries went into the freezer. We have 5 left. Nine gallons of raspberries were frozen; there are 5 left. We had 6 gallons of frozen blueberries. Only one gallon remains.
One vegetable that we're coming up short on is green beans. I froze 40 servings (that's enough to serve both of us for 40 meals) and I have 4 or 5 servings left . . . which I've been hoarding. I definitely should have done more last year. Frozen peas will last through this summer for sure and I don't know who put up all the frozen sliced beets but we have enough of them to last a whole other year. Or more.
So this is my copy cat post of what Leigh so meticulously did and laid out in her post. As I say, I'm not as organized as Leigh so I may have left out something obvious (oops, that's right, I did some dehydrating but other than putting some dried strawberries in granola, my dried goods are still untouched) but it is a quick overview of what's currently still on hand from the preserving of my garden produce from 2010.
Now I'll ask the same question Leigh did: How are your supplies from 2010 holding out?
Friday, June 3, 2011
Rhubarb Muffins for Breakfast
I'm going to start taking bags of rhubarb with me when I leave the homestead and foisting them upon anyone who looks as if they might be the least bit rhubarb-needy. The gorgeous stuff is growing like gangbusters this year and I hate to see any of it go to waste.
This morning I made Rhubarb Muffins (anybody got a better name?) for breakfast by combining two recipes in my recipe box. The experiment turned out to be very good and better than the one I have been making which requires buttermilk which I sometimes don't have on hand when I want to make the muffins so I end up making something else instead. (Whew. Holy run-on sentence.)
RHUBARB MUFFINS
(As these shall be called until one of you sharp-witted readers comes up with a catchier name)
1/2 cup softened butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
2-1/2 cups rhubarb, cut in small pieces
TOPPING
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon (yup, just a teaspoon) melted butter
For the topping, mix ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
For the muffin batter, using a wooden spoon, mix all ingredients (except rhubarb and topping mixture) in order listed. Then fold the rhubarb into the muffin batter.
Fill paper lined muffin tins about three-quarters full and sprinkle some of the topping mixture onto the top of each muffin.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Makes about 16 muffins.
I really liked these because the rhubarb flavor came through. (If I'm gonna eat rhubarb, I wanna taste it!) Can you believe the un-enhanced color of those scrambled eggs? You can sure tell our laying hens have been out on green grass and chasing down bugs and worms.
As my dear husband said after breakfast this morning, "Wasn't half bad."
This morning I made Rhubarb Muffins (anybody got a better name?) for breakfast by combining two recipes in my recipe box. The experiment turned out to be very good and better than the one I have been making which requires buttermilk which I sometimes don't have on hand when I want to make the muffins so I end up making something else instead. (Whew. Holy run-on sentence.)
RHUBARB MUFFINS
(As these shall be called until one of you sharp-witted readers comes up with a catchier name)
1/2 cup softened butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
2-1/2 cups rhubarb, cut in small pieces
TOPPING
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon (yup, just a teaspoon) melted butter
For the topping, mix ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
For the muffin batter, using a wooden spoon, mix all ingredients (except rhubarb and topping mixture) in order listed. Then fold the rhubarb into the muffin batter.
Fill paper lined muffin tins about three-quarters full and sprinkle some of the topping mixture onto the top of each muffin.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Makes about 16 muffins.
I really liked these because the rhubarb flavor came through. (If I'm gonna eat rhubarb, I wanna taste it!) Can you believe the un-enhanced color of those scrambled eggs? You can sure tell our laying hens have been out on green grass and chasing down bugs and worms.
As my dear husband said after breakfast this morning, "Wasn't half bad."Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Want Heat Relief?
Just thought all of you dear readers who have been suffering with the terribly unseasonable high heat and humidity would like to know that we have a frost warning out for tonight.
Yup, we're to cover anything that might be harmed by the rapidly dropping temperature which may produce a killing frost.
I'm betting the temperatures in most parts of Alaska (maybe even Siberia) have been warmer than ours so far this year.
The weather hasn't been good for our poor honey bees who have been valiantly trying to gather nectar and raise brood while wearing down vests and mittens.
Our new chicks would have been able to be safely moved out of the garage earlier (and we wouldn't have to deal with the - cough, cough - dust they're raising) if the weather was a little kinder and gentler.
Strangely enough, our strawberries are a smidge bit ahead of schedule. The saying is "a month from blossom to berry" and I noticed the first blossoms a few days ago. That would put the first berries ready end of June rather than the first week in July which is when the first tempting red ripe ones can be taste tested up here.
It continues to be a very strange, and for some of you gardeners heartbreaking, spring/summer season. One can't help but wonder how it will end. Hopefully with a little less drama than it's started.
Yup, we're to cover anything that might be harmed by the rapidly dropping temperature which may produce a killing frost.
I'm betting the temperatures in most parts of Alaska (maybe even Siberia) have been warmer than ours so far this year.
The weather hasn't been good for our poor honey bees who have been valiantly trying to gather nectar and raise brood while wearing down vests and mittens.
Our new chicks would have been able to be safely moved out of the garage earlier (and we wouldn't have to deal with the - cough, cough - dust they're raising) if the weather was a little kinder and gentler.
Strangely enough, our strawberries are a smidge bit ahead of schedule. The saying is "a month from blossom to berry" and I noticed the first blossoms a few days ago. That would put the first berries ready end of June rather than the first week in July which is when the first tempting red ripe ones can be taste tested up here.It continues to be a very strange, and for some of you gardeners heartbreaking, spring/summer season. One can't help but wonder how it will end. Hopefully with a little less drama than it's started.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Little Peepers Growing Big
Our chicks are one month old today and still living in their cozy brooder in the garage. They' still too young to go outside to their intermediate chick house before joining the big girls in the hen house and poultry yard. Especially with the cool weather and lots of rain we've been having.
They've reached the adolescent age and are starting to look a little gawky.
No more little fuzz balls as feathers are now popping out all over.
I keep thinking the Light Sussex are dirty but it's just their black-tipped feathers becoming more prominent. I really like the way the Black Australorps are colored. But then I've always been partial to dark colored chickens. I'm thinking having the contrast between the dark and light colored birds running around the yard will be very attractive.
We're currently feeding them a mixture made up of one-half of our organic laying mash and one-half of the chick starter we grind from five different grains. A little bit of kelp is added to this mixture. A dish of this grain mixture is soaked overnight in fermented milk and whey which they get in a feeder separate from the dry grain mix. Another dish contains some rich dirt from our garden with chick-sized grit sprinkled on top. They also get a dish of grass, clover and dandelion leaves once a day. All they'd need would be a little chick-sized Rhubarb Pie for dessert and they couldn't ask for anything more.
They've reached the adolescent age and are starting to look a little gawky.
No more little fuzz balls as feathers are now popping out all over.
I keep thinking the Light Sussex are dirty but it's just their black-tipped feathers becoming more prominent. I really like the way the Black Australorps are colored. But then I've always been partial to dark colored chickens. I'm thinking having the contrast between the dark and light colored birds running around the yard will be very attractive.We're currently feeding them a mixture made up of one-half of our organic laying mash and one-half of the chick starter we grind from five different grains. A little bit of kelp is added to this mixture. A dish of this grain mixture is soaked overnight in fermented milk and whey which they get in a feeder separate from the dry grain mix. Another dish contains some rich dirt from our garden with chick-sized grit sprinkled on top. They also get a dish of grass, clover and dandelion leaves once a day. All they'd need would be a little chick-sized Rhubarb Pie for dessert and they couldn't ask for anything more.
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