Tag: preservation

Preserving from the Garden

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Green Beans

First, I wash my beans. I then shake them dry or dry them on a paper towel. I cut both ends off my green beans, then cutting the beans into two or three pieces. I transfer those pieces into a gallon freezer bag, use the water displacement method to remove extra air, then I label with item month and year, then I freeze. I have already done two large harvests this month and was able to fill this bag in just 2 weeks. I planted 12 green bean vines.

To do the water displacement method, fill a large bowl or pot with water. Seal your bag 3/4 of the way and remember the edge that is open. Begin submerging the bag into the water. Leave out the edge that is open, and once most air is removed, seal the rest of the bag. You can then flatten out the contents of the bag for easy storage.

Onions

When I harvested all my onions, I first had to let them dry out. So, I stored them in this container on my kitchen windowsill. The windowsill gets pretty warm but it doesn’t get much sun, just a bit when it’s setting, and it’s not very strong that time of day. Once the tops all browned, I began preserving. If you have a root cellar, you can chop off the tops just above the stem, and clean off the roots, then they can immediately go into storage. If you don’t have a dry space under ground like me, then you can simply dice them and place them in the freezer for future use. I got two full sandwich bags, and I have used them heavily before processing the last of them. I once again used water displacement method to remove air.

Carrots

Carrots can lose nutrients if you pick them and leave the tops on in hot weather. So, our harvest was in two batches. We emptied a bin, took the carrots inside. Cut the tops from the carrots. then repeated with the second batch. Once all the carrots were harvested, I scrubbed them to remove dirt and the roots. Once all were processed, I cut off the tops and the end of the root, then I sliced then and transferred them to gallon freezer bag. I then used water displacement to remove the air, labeled them, then added them to my freezer.

Tomatoes

My tomatoes were starting to go bad, and since I haven’t had any more to harvest lately, I figured one small canner of tomatoes was better than nothing for now. You aren’t supposed to use rotting or damaged tomatoes, however that is how my family has done it for generations. First, cut off any bad spots deep into the tomato. Sanitize your knife and the spots. Then treat them like normal tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into boiling water, boil for 1-2 minutes, then transfer into an ice bath. After a minute or so, the skin will loosen from the fruit. Remove a tomato and place on a cutting board. Cut off the top stem then peel off the skin. Dice your tomatoes then add to a preheated jar. (I just soak them in very hot water.) Fill your canner 1/2 way with water and bring to a boil. Also bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, then add the needed number of lids and remove from heat. Push down on the tomatoes and add any extra juice from your dicing. Once near to the top, you need to add Lemon juice and salt. For a Quart add 2 Tbsp lemon and 2 tsp salt, and for a pint, add 1 Tbsp lemon and 1 tsp salt. Add more tomatoes/some very hot water to get to 1/2 inch from the upper lip of the jar. You will then need to stick a butter knife down the edges of the jar to remove air pockets. Then you can wipe the rim clean, add the lid and ring, finger tight, then once all are ready, add them to your water bath, add additional water to cover the jars, bring that to a boil, the process for 85 minutes. Once they are done, carefully remove hot jars and place on several towels on the counter, and let cool to room temperature. Check the tops to see if they sealed, remove the rings, wipe down the jars and label, then store in a dark and cool location for the most available storage time.

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Refrigerator Pickles

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Original recipe can be found here. I used Dried Dill instead of fresh, though the original recipe used fresh dill. I also forgot to add onion, so that also changed the flavor.

I made this recipe a week and a half ago. This weekend I was making picnic food, and I thought these pickles would pair very nicely. These pickles are very good. They aren’t as sour as store bought pickles, but they had the right flavor and tasted great! I used 9 tsp dried dill, 2 garlic cloves, and I forgot the onion. Despite this these pickles were very good and still had a fresh flavor about them. If you still have as many cucumbers as I do, this would be a great recipe to make!

Refrigerator Pickles Recipe CardDownload
What You Will Need
  • 4 qts Cucumbers, with ends cut off and quartered if large
  • 9-12 tsp dried dill
  • 2-4 garlic cloves
  • 1 small onion
  • 7 1/2 cups water
  • 2 cups vinegar
  • 1/3-1/2 cup salt
Directions
  1. In a large pot, bring water, vinegar, and salt to a boil. Turn off burner and remove from heat.
  2. In a gallon container, add dill, garlic and onion, then top with cut cucumbers.
  3. Cover with warm brine, place a plate on top to hold cucumbers under the brine, then add lid and transfer the fridge.
  4. Pickles are ready after 5 days, and are good for 9-12 months.
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Bread with Orange Blossom Honey

Bread is one of my favorite gifts to make for others, and this recipe has been a huge hit. If you don’t have honey, just simply substitute honey for 1/3 cup sugar. I like the honey recipes not only because I have a lot of honey, but because it’s healthier and adds a bit of a different flavor to the bread. Though the honey in more noticeable in bagels and rolls, you still get some of the flavor, and the bread isn’t as overall sweet as it would be with the sugar. I doubled the recipe and made 2 loaves at once.

  1. Mix together in a bowl, bloom 1 Tbsp active yeast in 1 cups warm water and 1 cups flour. Add 2 cups flour, 3 Tbsp Orange Blossom honey, and 2 Tbsp oil. Mix by hand or with a dough hook until dough comes together. Knead until elastic.
  2. Place in an oiled bowl, turn over, cover with a hand towel, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  3. Grease a 9×5 bread pan.
  4. Punch down the dough, kneed, and form into a loaf. Place in prepared pan, and let sit until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
  5. About 10 minutes before bread has finished it’s second proof, turn oven to 350 F.
  6. Once risen, bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 15 minute before serving
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Cucumber Lemon Ice Cubes

This is a quick way to a refreshing glass of juice in the summer. Simply blend, strain, pour, and freeze. You can also transfer them from the tray into a freezer bag to have lots prepared for your next picnic. The cucumber flavor is perfectly complimented with the lemon and sugar. The salt helps negate some sour, and that helps the cucumber flavor come out on top. It is helpful to serve this drink with a straw, since the cucumber and sugar will settle to the bottom as the frozen cubes melt. You can also omit sugar and salt if you prefer a flavored water experience instead. This is also a great opportunity to use up your extra cucumbers before they go bad!

  1. Wash 3 medium cucumbers. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
  2. In a blender, add 2 cups of lemon juice, 10 Tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt, and a few cucumber pieces.
  3. Blend on high for 30 seconds, remove lid and add more cucumber pieces.
  4. Repeat step three until all cucumber is blended.
  5. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Return to a cleaned blender, then pour into an ice cube tray.
  6. Carefully transfer to freezer and freeze for 8-24 hours, till solid.
  7. When serving, add 3 cubes per 16 oz of liquid.

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Canning Thousand Island Pickles

I’ve been sitting on this post for a couple days now. This is at least my great-grandmother’s recipe, however it may be older, and I was feeling a bit iffy about sharing. Because this is a family recipe, it may not be approved my canning regulations, however my family has been canning these pickles for several generations and no one has gotten botulism. Before you can, make sure you are familiar with the process of canning. You have to make sure you get every step otherwise the jar may not seal and you’ll have lots of pickles to eat in such a short time. But when you do follow the steps, most jars do seal. To tell if a jar sealed, you check to see if the lid pops when you push the center of it.

These are sweet pickles due to the sugar in the mixture. When canning, I recommend using 2 of one color pepper and 1 of the other color bell pepper. The red and yellow add more color to the mixture and they don’t taste any different then the green. When you are heating the mixture, it can be helpful to use a fork to try the cucumbers. This will help in being able to identify when the pickles are done and need to be remove from the heat. You don’t want the pickles too crisp or too soggy. I did a double batch and ended up getting 16 1/2 jars, with 15 jars sealed. One jar was dropped when being removed from the canner and the top broke off when it hit the counter. The counter was clean so we could salvage the pickles, but you can’t re-can, so they joined the 1/2 can in the fridge.

  1. Quarter and slice 8 medium cucumbers. Core and dice 3 red/yellow bell peppers. Dice 4 medium onions. Add all diced veggies into a large stockpot.
  2. In the stockpot, add 1 tsp ground mustard, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp turmeric, 4 tsp salt, 3 cups sugar, and 2 cups apple cider vinegar.
  3. Place over medium high heat. Stir often and heat to a boil, but do not boil. Fill a large water bath canner 1/2 with water and heat over high heat. In a small saucepan, add your lids and place over medium high heat.
  4. Place mixture into heated and sterile jars. Leave 1/2 inch heat space. remove bubbles by running a metal knife around the outer edge. Wipe off the lip and threads of the jar. Add warmed lid on lip, then hand tighten jar rings.
  5. Place filled and sealed jars into your water bath canner. Drop into boiling water, cover with lid, and let can for 10 minutes.
  6. Lift jars out of hot water. Remove hot jars and place on 2 kitchen towels. Let cool until room temperature. Remove rings, label jars, check to make sure jars are sealed, and store sealed jar in cellar or cool dark area. If jar didn’t seal, place in fridge and eat within a week.
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