In my pantry, 1 quart, 1 pint of fermenting green beans - (these from the market tho - mine are just now beginning to climb up bamboo poles - looking good).

Tomatoes waiting for heat - but plants are huge. Not much sun this spring yet, so peppers still tiny.

Lots of lettuce this year, and decided if tomatoes won't work - plant more lettuce. Great strategy.

The earwigs were a problem at first in cabbages - but rolled up newspaper is catching them - so only a few were missed - and chickens got the salvage.

A few strawberries ripening - for eating out-of-hand. Will wait for U-pick in local fields to do some jam later.

Our weather has been very cool so far - I expect it will be August before I see many tomatoes.

Bejay

I bought the giant clamshell of strawberries at Costco recently. My husband told me that there was no way that I could eat all those berries time. He was right, but they were nice sweet, flavorful berries and my father likes homemade jam, so I made 2 pints of strawberry jam with lime juice instead of lemon. Good jam, if I do say so myself.

Plus I've been keeping my chives trimmed low and in the dehydrator and I'm about to do the same to my onions.

Life is sweet when you know how to make things keep.

3 pints sauerkraut that started as 4.

3 pints fermented green beans - very tasty too.

4 pints, 2 qts. lentils.

4 qts, 2 pts pintos.

Dried garlic and salt to replenish/replace last years.

Dried oregano and thyme also, plus mint.

Boysenberries coming - if I can hide them, there may be enough for some jam.

Bejay

I've already got a lot of pinto and black beans canned up in quarts, but now I need to do pints, and a few different varieties such as Great Northern. Beans are easy to can - the only thing easier are whole baby carrots, yum.

Potatoes are growing well, my 24' Rion greenhouse has (along with all the flowering plants) nearly 100 tomato and tomatillo plants, several varieties. Some I'll plant, the rest I'll give to friends/family/neighbors. They are all about 12"+ tall now. Ordered a 'Roma Food Strainer & Sauce Maker Deluxe DLX200P' today in anticipation - no more chinoix for large batches!

Peas are up and climbing. Been eating radishes/spinach/lettuces like crazy. Chard/Kale/Beets are coming along. Mache is slooowwwww, sigh. Beets are doing well, and the tops are tasty too. Broccoli is doing well... so far so good.

First planting of green beans (Kentucky Wonder) went in today, along a section of chain link fence. Another section is getting Italian (flat) green beans, one section yard-longs, and several trees/arbors etc. are going to have (peach, not scarlet) runner beans. Can you tell we like beans? :-)

Oh, and how could I forget? We picked and ate the first strawberries of 2009 today - I always forget how much better they are than grocery store berries. I'd best get busy with the jam - I still have frozen strawberries and puree from last year!

So now I have 7 jars of preserves, some berries leftover for shortcake, and some leftover syrup for ice cream. Yum!

I got some nice strawberries at the farmer's market this week, but I seem to keep eating them fresh before I can jam them. I did save enough to make a small batch (2 half pints and a 4oz) of Splenda-sweetened strawberry jam for my diabetic father-in-law. My first time making completely sugar-free jam with Pomona.

Also a big batch of oregano pecan pesto went into the freezer.

Dave

My garden is doing very well although most of the spring stuff is over and done with. About the only thing left now is onions and turnips. I plan to plant all the spring things again in the fall if I am still able to do so. I didn't get any peas canned as we ate them all...maybe get some this fall.

My green beans are in full swing so I am canning a load every other day or putting them in the freezer. I had some chard that wintered over that we ate and enjoyed so much that I planted recently. I am still getting lettuce but I am babying it along. I guess the heat will get it before too long but it sure is good at the moment. I have about 30 tomato plants that I hope will produce enough so that we can eat, and can salsa and plain tomatoes or spaghetti sauce. Last year I made some chipolte catsup that was dynamite...I'd like to do some more this year...The peas are up and looking good....

Sauerkraut 7 pints
15 Bean Soup 5 Quarts
Black Beans 7 Pints
Lima Beans 3 Pints
Pinto Beans 5 quarts
Ham and Broth 5 quarts
Turkey Broth 6 quarts
Chicken Broth 5 Packages
Orange Marmalade 6 Pints
Strawberry Preserves 7 Pints
Tropical Fruit Preserves 6 Pints
Orange Carrot Preserves 6 Pints
Blackberry Preserves 7 Pints
Green Peas 3 Pints
Green Beans 5 Packages
Green Beans 4 Qts-12 Pts
Cole Slaw 5 Qts
Turnip Greens 3 Packages
Spinach 5 Packages
Kale 2 Packages
Onions 4 Pints
Asparagus 1 Package
Asparagus 1 Quart
Eggs 3 Dozen

--- six half-cups of gingered rhubarb jam with honey

[I overcooked it JUST tad, but the flavour is lovely; I am surprised how much the honey comes through]

--- ten half-pints of Annie's salsa (plus one pint that I put right into the fridge), made from frozen tomatoes

When the tomato season was winding up, I froze a bunch, planning of course to use them soon. I think I managed a big batch of sauce in November or so and have been putting some into stews etc. all year. But there was one carefully selected bag of exactly a salsa batch worth (4 lbs) of mostly pretty meaty varieties that would be easy to peel (i.e., smooth, not-too-small ones) that I'd planned for a final batch of salsa, knowing I probably hadn't put up enough.

I didn't think it would take till June for me to get around to it, of course. And the toms had plenty of ice crystals on 'em (no fancy vacuum sealer here, and I had even used a cheapie freezer bag) and I was worried they might taste freezer-burned. But hey, it's a pretty highly seasoned item, I figured, and worst that happens is I lose the cost of the peppers (on sale this week) and the time.

Well, it came out pretty darned good! I noticed a much bigger change in the flavour from the fact that I'd used a habanero pepper rather than jalapenos than from the fact that the toms had been frozen. And I gotta say, peeling them and chopping them was a LOT less messy with them only partially thawed.

And now, if we're careful, we MIGHT make it till the first new ripe toms come in before running out of salsa (we were down to two jars, and have vegetarian company coming on Sunday to whom we're serving Cuban beans & rice --- GOTTA have salsa!!).

Alas, the 80 tomato seedlings I put in 2 weeks ago aren't looking very happy with the cold weather we've had. Hopefully they'll recover their sense of humour if the sun ever actually comes out.............

Cheers,

Z

I did, however, make 4 half pints of apricot preserves using Readinglady's peach preserve recipe. I kind of guessed at the sugar, since I ran out and just duped it kn, inowing I didn't have what the recipe called for. I also squeezed a lemon in and then grated the lemon peel ad added it.

It's not sweet, kind of puckery and very lemon-y, kind of an apricot/lemon marmalade. I like it a lot, it was a fortuitous accident.

Annie

I made 7 jars of strawberry/rhubarb jelly for the freezer yesterday from a recipe a friend gave me years ago using wild strawberry jello. I couldn't find fresh rhubarb so I bought frozen...it still turned out well. That is weird though, using jello, isn't it?. I have strawberry preserves from The Small Batch canning book waiting in the wings to be finished tomorrow. I'm anxious to do some herbal jellies, maybe later today.
jude

Pinto Beans, 7 quarts
Chicken Broth, 24 pints
Vegetable Broth, 9 pints
Meaty Mushroom Broth, 6 pints
Pork Broth, 15 pints
Senate Bean Soup, 27 pints
Beef Stew, 7 quarts
Vegetable Beef Soup, 6 pints
Chicken Thigh Meat, 9 pints
Pork Meat, 18 pints
Rosemary Jelly, 10 4-oz. jars
Lavender Jelly, 5 half-pint jars
Strawberry Jelly. 5 half-pint jars
Strawberry Jam w/Balsamic & Black Pepper, 8 half-pint jars
Pork Breakfast Sausage, 30 lbs. (frozen)

and the canning season is just getting started!

Here's one of the shelving units in my basement food room:

I need more shelving. :-)

Dave

Got a large metro shelving unit assembled and am reorganizing the Food Room.

Got my new FoodSaver and have been busy repackaging a lot of my dried fruits and veggies into wide-mouth mason jars (I prefer reg. mouth for canning.)

Thawing out a 10-lb pkg of bone-in chicken breasts; I'll probably can half of the meat and make raw cat food from the rest. It's always something.

The bad news? Hubby says it's not enough!

I have put up:
"Small Batch" Strawberry Preserves 4 jars
Strawberry Black Pepper & Mint Preserves 4 jars
Blueberry Lime Jam 5 1/2 pts 3 jelly jars
Lemon Verbena Jelly 9 jelly jars

Not all that much but it's a start.

jude

Today, it was 9 pints of Kosher Dills.

Froze several small bags of jal. peppers and some crookneck squash.

And last Thursday I put up 9 pints of chicken stock. This was the first time I have made stock though, and now I'm really paranoid. I prepared it according to all the proper guidelines. I strained it through cloth twice and let it cool in the fridge overnight. When I went to defat it, there was only a film of fat across the top (I was expecting a big cake of fat). I defatted it the best I could - heated and canned. It's REALLY cloudy. So cloudy that you can't see through it. I thought it would settle a little after it set for a few days, but it still looks the same. And there's a small layer of fat on top. Could it be too fatty? Or is it common for stock to be cloudy? I had also posted on the 'cloudy stock' thread, so I have researched what kind of things can make stock that way - I didn't use starchy veggies or table salt. I guess I'm just worried about it going rancid. (Anybody care to post pictures of what their stock looks like?) Like I said, think I'm just paranoid and need reassurance.

Thanks and Happy Canning!

I'm still going to make the mint stuf and a batch of strawberry rhubarb. Lets see if I can finesse the next batch a little better. I'm having to make this stuff with CA strawberries because out local ones weren't worth carp this year, and they were charging 4.95 per quart. I got the CA ones for 99 cents. They were kinda carpy too, but OK for jam. I really wanted to try these gourmet types. I'm getting better at the no pectin strawberry preserves to maybe by next year if the berries are good I will be able to finesse some really nice jam.

Apricots are on sale at the produce market but I really have to stop . . .

Anyway, I still had lots of boysenberries - so made another batch with pomona - about 6 jars. They were a bit runny at first, but firmed up later. I hid em.

Still picking my own strawberries - not many but so good, that we eat them fresh. The strawberry U-pick field is open now. I don't know why they can't grow them as well as we small gardeners do - I think it is because they force them to produce. Their plants always are so loaded with berries, and they run liquid fertilizer through their watering system constantly. Actually, when we do U-pick, I tell my kids to pick the smaller ones - they seem a bit more flavorful.

So - my fermented cukes will be about 4 pints when done.

Also - my own fermented pole beans and some dillies too. About 6 or 8 pints.

Drying plums as they ripen.

A few apricots made into frozen sauce - 6 pints or so (darned birds).

My last attempt at drying mint - now being tested. I didn't care for the dehydrated ones. I washed the mint, and put it into a butterfly type screen set-up, drying until almost done. Then removed stems, packed into baggies and froze in a small half-pint container. We love a mix of plain black and mint made into iced tea. Storing it in the top part of the fridge is convenient too.

Some herbs just don't seem to dry well. I freeze cilantro, dill and now mint - until something better comes along.

Squash is coming - will grate it and freeze today. Lots of zucchini bread there.

Bejay

5 half-pints of Apple Butter
9 half-pints Strawberry Mint Jam
Chard, Spinach, Lambs-Quarters and Broccoli, blanched and frozen, about a quart of each

Also, I use Ferber's method for cooking rhubarb jam and as a result, I never get runny rhubarb compote anymmore. The rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice macerate overnight. Then you strain, cook the juice till it is syrupy, and add the rhubarb back in. That way, most of the pieces stay intact.

Thank you
Irene

thank you

Apricot Chutney

Ingredients:
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

Cooking Directions:
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
6 cups fresh apricots -- pitted
4 medium onions -- sliced
1 1/8 cups seedless raisins
2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
1 pound dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons salt
1 cup preserved ginger (we used a combination of candied and puree, less than what you would use fresh.)
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Grated peel of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange -- strained
1/2 cup walnuts

Put all of the ingredients into a large pan and cook gently to a soft
mush, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the walnuts.

Pack into sterilized jars. Process in a boiling water bath; pints 25
minutes; quarts 30 minutes. Keep the chutney for at least one month before using it.

Yesterday I made 5 1/2pt jars of no pectin plum jam. It looked so nice on the counter this morning. While the lids were pinging last night, I commented to my 14yo DGD that the jars were singing to me. She ran and told her mother to call the guys from the funny farm. "Grandma thinks jars of plum are singing to her". They are always joking that if you stand still, I will either can or pickle you.LOL

Have a friend coming in from the city Sunday night and she wants to go picking Monday morning so if the weather cooperates (ha!) I'm hoping to get a bunch. Want to make jam, also some sauce to put on oatmeal & pancakes....

Zabby

Sauerkraut is on week 3 of fermenting and looking good. Kraut has a kraut smell!!!

Dave

The soft fruit is also amazing, especially the red currants. From 5 bushes I have about 12 pounds frozen, 6 pounds of jelly, we have eaten another few pounds fresh, there are 3 or four pounds sitting in the kitchen waiting and there are just as many still on the bushes. And now the black currants, gooseberries and raspberries have started too..... I've never had so much fruit. And the greengage is laden too - they'll be ready in a couple more weeks.

Strawberry balsamic black pepper jam
Strawberry mint jam
Strawberry rhubarb jam
Raspberry jam
(all Christine Ferber recipes)
Sauerkraut
Whole Dill Pickles
Sweet Pickles (online recipe for Craven County Sweets - so good!)
Sour Cherry pie filling
Sour Cherry jam
Mango chutney
Pickled asparagus
Sour Cherry liqueur
Peach liqueur

This week it looks like we'll be seeing peaches and apricots, so I'll be busy with jam-making again.

I'm looking for a peach salsa recipe if anyone has one?

Cheers,
Cathy, gardening and puttin' up in Washington DC

I've only made Lemon Marmalade this year, back in May. However, it is delicious.

I have 10 pounds of strawberries in the beer fridge at home waiting for me to do something with them. It finally stopped raining yesterday, and I got to pick after work. Tonight after work I'll make some jam, and maybe a pie, too.

ML

13 Half pints of Apricot Pineapple Jam (free apricots from a sweet, elderly woman a few blocks away)

Today, I'm just finishing up

10 Half pints of Cinnamon Apple Jelly (the kids favorite from last year)

We're just starting to get some ripe cukes, so it shouldn't be too long before we can make a batch of pickles. I'm thinking of trying the Lemon Cucumber Pickle recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Anyone tried that one? We don't like sweet pickles, but I'd like to try something other than dills this year.

Bonnie

10 pints Annie's Salsa
11 pints stewed tomatoes
10+ dozen ears of corn

and more jalapeno peppers than we'll ever eat.

I love canning season!

~ Tracy

40 pounds of sweet cherries, pitted and frozen
23 quarts of strawberries, in the freezer
7 jars of low sugar strawberry jam
7 jars of Melly's Black Forest Jam

When I got home from work tonight, I did:

11 pints of Dilled Green Beans
6 quarts of Royal Burgundy Beans
5 quarts freshly picked blueberries in the freezer

Annie

At the Farmer's market today I'll be getting 3 pecks of pickles, cauliflower and hot peppers. One stand there sells bulk spices. I'll replenish my supply of Turmeric, Mustard seed, Dill seed and Mixed pickling spice.

I'm still working on my fair entries. Still need corn, B&B pickles, Dill relish and green beans.

11 half pints and 3 jelly jars Blueberry Lime jam
10 jelly jars Lemon Verbena jelly
7 quarts and 14 pints Green Beans
12 pts. Chunky Pasta Sauce
6 pts 1 1/2 pt. Annie's Salsa
2 pts Roasted Garlic Tomato soup
11 jelly jars Raspberry Chocolate Jam

Looking at my list I think I'll be making more Roasted
Garlic Tomato Soup today and maybe some Chunky Pasta Sauce since I have quite a few tomatoes.

A new eating standard for this summer has been baba Ganoush. This roasted eggplant dip with added garbanzo beans and fresh mint leaves goes so well with fresh baked flatbread (made with 1/2 whole wheat flour and wheat bran for additional fiber and nutrition).
Looks like everyone has been busy.
Jim in So. Calif.

Plus, freezing corn and drying herbs is an ongoing project...

still need to get to the roasted tomato garlic soup and more plum sauce. sauerkraut should be ready to put up next week. the shelves are getting full!!

in the meantime, my own tomatoes should be ripe in about three weeks - lots of romas coming, so that will bring some frozen pasta sauce. freezing corn and beans almost every day. eating eggplant A LOT. DH is starting to beg for brocolli. ;)

cathy, in dc

ps. joannaw - could you please post the blueberry lavender jam recipe?

Annie

Wow--it didn't seem like I'd done that much until I started listing it all! We're going to eat well this winter.

Our local IGA ran a great deal on blueberries and since we spent a small fortune on them over the winter I really stocked up this time! And at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, some lady had a van full of gorgeous blackberries and was practically giving them away. I bought four gallons for $30.

I made a double batch of the roasted red pepper spread yesterday. It wasn't as bad as I feared but I absolutely do not like the sweetness. I was giving the recipe one last glance and realized I'd forgotten the teaspoon of sugar--I thought it tasted fine but wanted to follow the recipe since it was my first time making it. I could not believe how sweet one little teaspoon would make a double batch! I'm glad I tasted it before adding the second teaspoon. Any ideas how to cut the sweet taste after I open the jar?

I'm planning on making the strawberry balsamic jam listed above along with the chocolate raspberry jam. And who knows what else I may decide to make. Hubby wants me to do peaches but he has to help with the prep.

I have a question on the strawberry balsamic jam...I have a wonderful strawberry balsamic vinegar. Should I use regular balsamic or would the strawberry balsamic give it a more robust flavor? Thoughts from those who have made it?

Since then I have processed a whole case of peaches:

14 half-pints of Ginger Peach Jam
12 half-pints of Spiced Peach Jam

plus froze enough to make a couple of peach cobblers.

Today, I made my first batch of pickles for the year:

7 pints of Lemon Cucumber Pickles (I really hate that I have to wait 4 to 6 weeks to try these!)

Hope to have enough soon to make a couple more batches, maybe some Dill Sandwich Slices, and some Bread & Butter Pickles.

What I REALLY want to make is a batch of Annie's Salsa, but the tomatoes are simply refusing to get ripe!

Bonnie

4 pints B & B pickles (processed)
4 pints B & B pickles (refrigerated)ate one pint already!
4 pints frozen corn

Have 3 separate batches of pickles in the "works" right now:

Cinammon zucchini rings, should get at least 4 pints
Cinammon zucchini sticks, should get at least 4 pints
Lime pickles, hope to get 4 pints

Will start some Kosher pickles (thinly sliced) tomorrow

Tomatoes and green beans will be coming off in a week or so.

Haven't canned or preserved for 28 years, so I'm a tad slow getting into the groove.

Ms. Donnie

6 pints pickled asparagus
4 cups of locust blossom-orange-champagne jelly
6 pints zucchini relish
3 pints sour cherries
7 quarts of spicy dill pickles
3 quarts brined dill pickles--my first attempt at these, not thrilled with the results, I may dump them.
1 bottle of cherry eau-de-vie (macerated cherry wine)
2 quarts of brandied cherries
5-1/2 Cups plum jam
6-1/2 Cups blueberry jam
12+ cups of strawberry jam--already given some away so I lost count...
4 cups of currant-jostaberry jam

we also have frozen
a few cups of raspberries
a few bags of romano beans from the garden
a few bags of farm stand sweet corn
shredded zucchini
frozen wild caught fish--a few pounds?
frozen smoked bluefish
a dozen crab cakes from my husband's crabbing efforts!
and about 3 lb of onions in cool storage, with more drying in the garden.

today I'm working on some u-pick apricots we got yesterday--I think I'll do half as preserves and half in marsala wine, and turning some local tomatoes into Annie's Salsa you all rave about. I need to dry some herbs and make pesto soon too, before my own tomatoes ripen. I finally have one Roma that's showing some color, hooray!

Carrie

7 quarts of Royal Burgundy Beans
4 quarts of the Pink Half Runners that Elery loves
11 pints of pickled three bean salad.

The three bean salad is my first time with that, a recipe from Michigan State University and the National Center for Home Food Preservation. I was astounded because it calls for oil and a less than 50/50 acid/water ratio. I suppose that because some of the acid is lemon juice, that makes a difference, but the oil surprised me, which is why I double checked MSU's recipe with NCFHFP.

Last night's canning wasn't finished until 2 1m, but I got a nice look at the Perseid Meteor Showers while waiting for the pressure canner, LOL. I didn't want to drag myself out of bed and to work this morning at 7 am, though!

Annie

Ms. Donnie

100 quarts green beans
25 quarts dill pickles
55 pints bread and butter pickles
30 pints cucumber relish
25 pints pickled beets
28 quarts tomatoes
and 60 pints cream style corn , frozen.

We still have beans to dry and pickle, corn to use for making corn relish, more cucumbers just starting. For the fall garden we have butternut squash, several varieties of greens, broccoli, carrotts,cabbage and cauliflower. We also have potatoes to dig soon.
Its a lot of work but I am so thankful we have it for the coming winter.

I'm such a slacker compared to you guys!

Oh, and I also froze 1/4 cup of raspberries. (I feel much better now)

Or could you provide a link to it?
Thanks,
Carrie

didn't make any zucchini relish, ketchuo or chili sauce, had too much left over from last year.

have more beans to pick now and probably more tomatoes. more corn to freeze in about three weeks. need to pick more berries.

planting my fall garden this weekend.

can't wait until apple season.apple butter, apple pie filling, dried apples and going to try apple cider vinegar. then will come digging taters and turnips and onions.

i love to garden. i wish i didn;t work full time because then i could do more.

1 quart of Pickled beets
2 quarts of Polish Dills
1 quart of pickled Dills from extra beet mixture
2 quarts of frozen blue berries for later
ml

Almonds produced well - (Hall's 3-in-1 tho had fireblight), with standard tree disease-free. Dried and froze in individual packets. Macadamias - found by squirrels, who are chewing into nut and sucking out immature kernels. Grrr. Will try sticky wrap on trees. Drying some.

Tomato crop failed, except for cherry types - dried quite a few for salads, salsas and dressings.

Cucumber pickles fermented, were such a hit, they disappeared by visiting relatives, supplemented those with fermented zuke pickles and refrigerated. Brine crock going all summer long.

Now "doing" apple sauce from low-chill dwarf apple tree - great result this year. Planted 3 more trees - with high hopes.

A few grapes this year from Thompson and Sauvignon Blanc vines - fruit good - but vines need something, may be too moist and damp for them near the ocean. But enjoying them now. Drying some for raisins in dehydrator.

Peppers coming - made a few small jars of jalapenos in citric acid/salt blend and froze.

Dried bananas - tested citric acid/ascorbic acid versus lime juice for pre-treat. Lime juice won!

Next month, should bring local mountain fruit for canning in jars.

Most of my efforts are on-going, due to our local weather, but admit they don't sound very impressive. Just keep busy, busy, busy.

Love this forum.

Bejay

Annie

To-do: deal with many, many pounds of cucumbers in the beer fridge. Bread-and-butter and dill pickles.

Definitely going to get a freezer for next year!

Tested my new pressure canner today. Wish I hadn't gotten rid of my old one. Takes a few times to get used to new equipment.

I had just enough to freeze 12 handy 1/3-cup portions in my muffin tin, which I popped out & wrapped individually last night & put back in the freezer. Well, I put 11 of them back in the freezer; one of them we ate on some pasta shells for my birthday supper. Yum!

Today the Zucchini Bread Journey of 2009 began. Came home the other day after a week away to three or four baseball-sized pattypans & eight-balls and one ginormous light green monster of a baseball bat (a variety called Magda, quite tasty when steamed if you manage to pick 'em smaller!). I grated the bat and got enough for six loaves. Just made the first two; didn't have any nuts so I put in chocolate chips --- very decadent!

Z

7 quarts of plain tomato juice and 8 pints of Vegetable Beef Soup.

Sweet Pickle Relish and Stewed Tomatoes. We did10 containers of potato leek soup for the freezer the same day. More of it next week after we did the last of the potatoes.

Last week was beans and potatoes and a couple more jars of peaches - that makes 18 pints total of peaches so far. Plus the last of the corn and another batch of peppers to the freezer. Fermenting dills in the background.

This is one of our 4 filled cabinets....so far. ;)

Dave

Second photo is everything that I've "put up" in the past week. Will have to move them to the basement soon. In the meantime, I'm just enjoying seeing them sit on my counter.

This week I've gotten 23 ducks into the freezer. We actually raised 27, but 4 of them are currently in the smoker. Elery says it's delicious, that a leg "fell off" and so he "had to eat it". Ummm...yeah.

I canned another 28 quarts of those pink half runner beans and this weekend I'm starting on stock because I have a pig that will be packaged by then. Not a single tomato yet, but the beets are ready whenever I am.

Annie

Great idea about the pies, Ken. I am going to copy your recipe. It just sounds so much easier and BETTER! How long are the pies good in the freezer? Thanks, June Lynn

I just picked about 50 ears of corn. Blanched and kernals cut off the cobs. They are in the fridge right now, and will be bagged tomorrow. Need to get out and rake up the many apple 'falls', as well as pick the rest, along with more corn, and pepperoncini peppers. Busy!

6 quarts canned peaches
15 qt. bags frozen blueberrries(more to do)
15 qt.bags frozen strawberries
12 pints blueberry lime jam
6 pints cherry jam
32 qt. bags of green & wax beans
10 qt bags of asparagus
8 qt. bags of english peas
5 qt. bags of snap peas
7 pints & 5 qts of pickles (almost gone)

I hear those jars popping in the kitchen, love that sound.

Great shelves, Dave, much lighter, brighter and newer than mine!

Annie

But ours are made from old cabinets picked up at yard sales so at least they have doors we can close on them. Helps keep out the light and humidity.

Dave

PS: Today is 7 quarts of B&B pickles so far - now processing - and we are getting ready to do your salsa, again! Out to dinner tonight with all the kids and grandkids to celebrate our 47th anniversary. :)

Dave

When I make B&B pickles, I slice in some onions and also a few bits of dried sweet red pepper bits for color. I also add a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of whole celery, and mustard seeds. I like to use mostly cider vinegar for the B&B.

I added 6 pints of the Southwestern corn relish that Readinglady posted and tonight it's sweet pickles, chicken stock and salsa! Finally!

Annie

8 Pints of Linda Lou's Famous Sweet Chunks
2 Pints of Sweet Pickle Relish
8 Green Bell Peppers frozen
4 quarts Zucchini & Summer squash frozen

Next I think is Linda Lou's Zucchini Relish

I know it is not much, but this is my first year with a garden and first year of canning. I started thinking of canning because I got overloaded with cucumbers and didn't want to waste them. After seeing all that everyone puts up, I plan to stick with it. I would like to can a little more each year.

Thanks to the help of numerous of people here, I got the confidence, along with the interest to start canning.

Paul

21 pints lemon juice dill pickles
25 quarts mustard greens
14 qts green beans
35 qts and 120 pts nectarines
21 pts blueberries in juice

Frozen:
33 pts blueberries
23 qts mustard greens
13 qts mixed wild greens
15 qts nectarines
16 qts summer squash

That's all I can remember right now. We hardly buy any fruits and vegetables from the store. Later we hope to can 200+ qts of applesauce. Still hope to freeze corn, more squash, and can tomatoes, more green beans, okra, shelled beans, celery, and red peppers. We dehydrate a lot too.

VG

I finally got 13 pints of "sissy" salsa canned, I like it mild. Elery will be home tonight so we'll probably get in a double batch of the flaming hot stuff for him in the next couple of days.

The chicken stock is still in the fridge, it wasn't as reduced as I like it when I got home so it got four more hours in the roaster, then hit the fridge about 11 pm. I'll skim the fat tonight and pressure can it.

Since I had some extra time, LOL, I made two sugar free rhubarb pies, does that count? My BIL is diabetic and it's his birthday, and he loves rhubarb pie. I find that the rhubarb really overwhelms the artificial sweetener flavor and is almost unnoticeable, so that's good. I'm a little less certain about the white wheat flour that I made the crust from, but I'm trying to make it as healthy for him as I can.

So after the flaming hot salsa is done, what's next? Either plain canned tomatoes or beets. One batch of pickled and the rest just plain I guess. Unless anyone has a good unique recipe for canned beets?

Annie

Unfortunately, I dropped the lid of my pressure canner on the floor, gauge side down, and broke the gauge off. And it was Grandma's canner. Waaahhhh.

Elery says he'll go to the hardware store today and see if he can get a new gauge and fix it for me.....

Annie

I gotta do a bunch of peaches to go with them!

Annie, sounds like you have tomatoes coming in at last? I'm still not up to a salsa-batch quantity, so I've been making DH eat way more salads than he'd rather to deal with the small but steady trickle....

I'm going to try that 3-bean salad you posted the link to, thanks! I think it's something my mom would love; she regularly makes a chick-pea salad that is VERY similar to that, with feta cumbled on top; if I canned some of this, she could just open and drain a jar, then add cheese.

Z

Unless, horrors, I break down and buy a bushel from the farmer's market.

I was very impressed with that bean salad recipe, BTW. I'd leave the oil out next time, though, I thought it was kind of....well.....oily. LOL. Feta crumbled on top sounds delicious, I'll try that too. Thanks.

Annie

Nice shelving you guys I am clearing out so I can be more organized. I have canned goods in the kitchen, office and the laundry room now, lol.

Froze:
2 qts. green beans
5 qts. shredded zucchini (in 2 cup portions)
4 1/2 cups of pesto (1/2 cup portions, minus the cheese)

Canned:
4 pints of dill pickles
5 pints of bread and butter pickles
7 pints of Annie's Salsa

Some of you may remember my question about subbing lime basil for cilantro. Well, I did end up using the lime basil, but there wasn't much left over so I only got a little taste, but from what I could tell, I think it will be fine. I was out checking all of the tomato plants today, counting how many were just about ripe, to see if I could get enough for another batch of salsa, but it looks like it'll be a couple more days yet.

I'm thinking about making a batch of pesto with just the lemon and/or lime basil for fish or chicken dishes.

Bonnie

seasoned tomato sauce: 2 half-pints and 7 half-cups
three-bean salad: 2 pints and 4 half-pints
madras pickled eggplant: 2 half-pints and 5 half-cups

Annie, that pitiful little batch of sauce is all I've canned, tomato-wise, so far. I picked the other day and got 9 pounds, and after a tomato-basil soup (yum!) and a couple of sandwiches we had the 6 pounds for a batch of Ellie Topp's seasoned sauce. At the rate things are going, about two more similar batches are what I can expect for the season. Yikes!

I started canning to USE UP the abundant tomato harvest. With a reduced crop, I pondered deeply on how to make the best use of it. First, I decided, do all the fresh eating possible, because nothing beats the Real Thing In Season.

With those left, many are unsuitable for easy peeling, so I wanted to make sauce of a kind I could cook & then put through the food mill. Went for the seasoned sauce, adding extra dried oregano, canned in small, ready-to-make-a-pizza, jars. With a purchased crust (or dough), homemade pizza is such a nice, easy, DH-friendly dinner in the winter, and I find a good homemade sauce makes a huge difference in taste.

I may have to break down and buy a bushel of romas for laying in salsa....

Ken,
Nice gadget, that! Wow. Maybe I can convince DH that if I had a gadget like that we could easily freeze all the corn we'd need for the year, leave the Green Giant out of it entirely....

madcongar,
Embarrassed? You're my hero! And especially my DH's hero. Wow, a pint of Annie's salsa for every day of the year.... Congratulations!

Z

ML

8qts and 7pts Pears preserved in pineapple juice
3qts dill pickles
1pt bananna pepper slices
6qts and 2pts Honey Pear Wine pears
2qts and 9pts squash pickles
2qts and 5pts chow chow

Going to be making some blackberry jelly tommorrow :)

Soon to come:
Peach Butter
Peach Pie Filling
Red Beets
Annie's Salsa
Chili Sauce
Applesauce
Apple Butter
Apple pie filling
Grape jelly
Sauerkraut
Sweet & Sour cabbage

madcongar, I'm seriously impressed. I've done 26 pints and I think I'm done!

I did add 13 pints of "Smokin' Hot Salsa" to my list, we replaced all the green peppers with a mix of hot peppers, it's strictly for Elery, I'm too big a wuss to eat the stuff.

Also got 6 quarts and 1 pint of just plain crushed tomatoes done, and have a few tomatoes ripening on the back porch.

Tonight it's chicken noodle soup base, I can the chicken, stock, onions, carrots and celery, then I can just open a jar, bring it to a boil and toss in a handful of noodles or rice and have nearly instant soup. I use the "meat and vegetable soup" directions on NCFHFP, incidentally, their instructions let me mix and match vegetables and meats to my own taste, basically allowing me to create my own soup recipes instead of being stuck with the recipes available that I don't particularly like. And it's all approved, too!

Annie

I use it to make a small, quick raita when we have President's Choice Butter Chicken (a fave quickie meal around here, also served with Ellie's Madras Pickled Eggplant and a chutney of some kind --- I'm still looking for one I really like. Hope to try some with pears this fall.

Z

2 quarts of tomatoes for soup
3 pints of Mint Jelly
3 8 oz of Mint Jelly

Think the Mint Jelly was be nice to sweeten tea this winter and great for Lamb. Got me thinking of making a hazelnut syrup for coffee.

ML

Only a single batch --- I'll be doling it out stingily this year unless I break down and buy some toms to make more.

And I felt pretty embarrassed having to use a COMMERCIAL can of tomato sauce to put into it instead of one of my own. Sigh --- durned cool, wet summer!

Still, I should look on the bright side. We have salsa!

Z

32 pints of beef
6 quarts chicken with bone
16 pints of chicken without bone
10 pints of roasted garlic tomato soup
12 pints spaghetti sauce
16 pints peaches
12 half pints peach jam
10 pints plum sauce
12 pints mixed berry sauce
tons of beef and chicken broth
20 pints potatoes
12 pints beef stew
16 pints corn
8 pints beans

Still have to buy tomatoes to put up. My garden just didn't do anything this year. The rabbits got all the beans and the tomatoes just didn't do anything. Hate to have to buy veggies to can but I just have to have tomatoes for the year.

6 pints rhubarb compote - this is now a somewhat unappetizing grayish/gold colour. Maybe mix with strawberries next time?
8 half pints blueberry syrup
6 half pints Major Grey mango chutney
5 half pints golden mango chutney
5 half pints zucchini chutney
4 pints & 4 half-pints English piccalilli
6 pints dilly beans
4 half pints blackberry jam - no pectin, and very rubbery. Couldn't get the hang of the sheet test/plate test and ignored what the thermometer said, so cooked the heck out of it.
4 half pints plum cheese
5 half pints plum chutney
7 half pints red pepper relish - soupy. watery peppers?
3 pints & 5 half pints pickled beets

1 quart fermented turnip and beet pickle
1 quart fermented lime pickle
1 quart fermented kimchi

3 lbs green beans, dried
2 lbs kale, dried
4 lbs zucchini, dried
2 lbs tomatoes, dried
20 lbs bananas, dried
15 sheets fruit leather; various combos of rhubarb, strawberry, apple, pear, blueberry, blackberry, banana

10 lbs frozen greens
4 lbs frozen green beans
5 lbs frozen blackberries
5 lbs frozen plums

TODO: Annie's Salsa, Pear Chutney, Summer Fruit Jam, pesto (frozen), gundruk (fermented)

~ Lisa

I did put 168 pounds of pork in the freezer, that should count...

Annie

I just canned my second batch.

Southwest Corn Relish
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
The Oregonian
Makes 6 to 7 pints

This condiment is a delightfully corny blend of tang and heat. The jalapeno chiles are tiny islands of spicy flavor that can be avoided by folks with more sensitive palates because they are relatively large in size. The relish is great to have on hand to top a platter of nachos or other Southwest-flavored dishes, or to scatter over green salads. It's also wonderful stirred into rice, along with a bit of cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

• 20 ears sweet corn (to yield 21/2 quarts -- 10 cups -- of corn kernels)
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup seeded and chopped Anaheim chiles
• 3 jalapeno chiles, stems removed and sliced into very slender rings
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 4 cups cider vinegar
• 11/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons celery seeds

If you plan to store the corn relish in jars at room temperature, wash 7 pint canning jars; keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs. If you want to store it in the refrigerator, follow the directions below.

Cut kernels from enough ears of corn to measure 21/2 quarts of kernels. Add the corn to a large, heavy-bottomed pot, along with the onion, bell peppers, chiles, celery, vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Make a spice pouch for the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and celery seeds with several layers of cheesecloth or a clean square of cotton fabric (from a clean T-shirt or a handkerchief, for example) tied with string. Add the pouch of spices to the pot and stir to mix up the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened but there is still plenty of vinegar solution remaining, about 20 to 30 minutes. Retrieve the spice pouch and, before removing it, press it firmly against the side of the pot with the back of your spoon to extract as much flavor as possible.

To store in the refrigerator: Place the hot relish in plastic freezer containers or glass jars, cover with tightfitting lids and refrigerate for 6 months or longer (quality may suffer after that, but the relish will be safe to eat). For long-term storage at room temperature: Ladle the hot relish into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet).
Jan Roberts-Dominguez

happy Canning!

Annie

120 quarts vegetable soup
45 quarts southwestern vegetable soup
25 pints Katies roasted tomato soup
50 pints Annies salsa
55 quarts tomatoes
50 quarts tomato juice
125 quarts green beans
48 quarts pickled beans
55 pints corn relish
25 pints pickled beets
72 pints pickles and pickle relish
60 pints saurkraut
15 pints jalepeno peppers
frozen:
78 pints corn
58 bags stir fry vegetables
15 bags okra
25 pints strawberries
56 pints blueberries
20 pints mustard greens
35 pints sliced green, yhellow and red peppers

We have harvested 52 butternut squash and still have potatoes and turnips to dig. Although it has been very hard to can and freeze all these veggies, I am thankful for every bit of these wonderful gifts from my garden.

5 half pints
2 half-cups

Wow, Smokey, what a bounty --- and what a lot of work! Congratulations.

Z

--double batch of Annie's salsa:
2 pints
21 half-pints
(best haul of tomatoes yet yesterday --- about 12 pounds)

--coronation grape jam
8 half-pints

I am guessing, from their name and the fact that the recipe is in the Bernardin book but not the BBB, that Coronation Grapes are a particular Canadian (even Ontario?) variety.... They seem to be similar to concord grapes but smaller and (oh happy day!) seedless.

Zabby, off to go change her red-and-purple-spattered T-shirt....

frozen:
4 1/2 cup servings of pesto

canned:
7 more pints of Annie's Salsa
6 pints of Dill Sandwich Slices
12 half pints of Carrot Cake Jam

My sister who's in town for a visit, helped with the jam today. She has never canned before, and doesn't have a vegetable garden, so I don't know if the experience made her want to try it, but at least when her family receives canned goods from me for Christmas, she'll know how much work, and love, goes into it.

Bonnie

1. 14 pints of kosher dill pickles for the first time (and I have to wait 8 weeks to eat them!0
2. 4 pints of red salsa
3. 6ish pints of tomatillo salsa
4.18 jars of strawberry and strawberry rhubarb jam
5. 6 half pints of cranberry chipotle jelly
6. 18 pints of bread and butter pickles.......

am envious of people who have full larders..........wish I could just farm and can and not have to work full time :(

pnbrown,

Wow, interesting-sounding berry! What colour is it? I had a challenge last year figuring out what berry some jam was that my Quebecoise cousin had made; she knew only the local French name for the berry (pembina), and said it grew wild in her Gaspe region of Quebec, and it took me the dernedest time to figure out it's what I would call a Highbush Cranberry.

The grape jam recipes said that to make it with concord or other seeded grapes you peel them, put the pulp through a food mill to get the seeds out, then combine back with the skins (which have a lot of the flavour). Peeling those deep purple/blue type grapes isn't as hard as I thought it would be --- you can kind of "pop" each one out of its skin --- but I am glad I didn't have to. ;-)

Z

I did dig about 60 pounds of red potatoes, not a bad yield from my 5 pounds of seed potatoes.

Those collards and half the beets are still waiting for me...

Annie

Finished off the last of the tomatoes yesterday in canned sauce but still have lots of peppers to roast and freeze this next few days.

Dave

7 quarts pickled asparagus
21+ pints Annie's Salsa
14 pints Pickled Jalepenos
4 quarts dill pickles
4 pints pickles roasted peppers
14 quarts tomato sauce
14 pints Linda Lou's zucchini relish
7 pints Dill relish
7 1/2 pints strawbberry jam
4 1/2 pints golden rasperry jelly
7 1/2 pints blackberry jam

3 quarts dehydrated red pepper
2 quarts dehydrated sungold cherry toms
1 quart dehydrated sliced toms
2 batches of fruit leather Italian Plum

Dried: Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Mint, Comfrey

Frozen
8 quarts strawberry
8 quarts raspberry
4 quarts broccoli
4 quarts Romano beans
6 quarts shredded summer squash
12 1/2 pints Pesto
4 ouarts roasted peppers

Haven't done corn yet, the tomatoes are still coming, potatoes still to dig, more herbs to dry. Oh my gawd.

What fun, Abhaya

This is the first year that I've managed to really get up and running with food preservation. Finally got set up for water bath canning, and also purchased a food dehydrator. I've been freezing my tomatoes whole as they ripen, and plan to do a big canning extravaganza in a month or so once I have about 50 lbs of tomatoes to put up.

So far:

Canned:
6 - 1/2 pints of pluot/apple jam
10 - pints of green tomato chutney

Fridge:
2 gallon jars of pickles
1 pint jar of candied tomatoes packed in olive oil

Dried:
1 quart dried golden cherry tomatoes packed in olive oil
Herbs - rosemary, thyme, oregano, fennel and sage

Frozen:
About 6 quart bags of diced tomatoes
1 quart of spaghetti sauce
4 quarts of chicken stock
2 quarts of pork stock
about a dozen 2-serving containers of green beans
1 gallon of sugar snap peas

1 dozen 8 oz jars of peach/raspberry jam
6 8 oz jars of Blackberry/blueberry jam
27 quarts of peaches so far (more tomorrow)
7 quarts grape juice so far
1 dozen 8 oz jars grape jelly
4 16 oz jars of grape syrup (accidently. what is yummy with grape syrup?)

and froze:
48 ears of corn, divided into 12 2-cup vacuum bags
8 8 oz containers of raspberry freezer jam
5 pints raspberry lemonade concentrate
5 quarts of sliced peaches w/ sugar & cinnamon for cobblers

That's it so far. I figure I'll have 4 or 5 more batches of peaches and after reading this site for DAYS I am planning on canning pears, cinnamon pears, pearsauce, apple-pearsauce, raspberry syrup, lots more grape juice, raspberry pearsauce, applesauce. Whew! Can't wait to be done so I can look at all the pretty jars.
Dave - your jars of food are gorgeous!

30 quarts tomatoe juice
9 1/2 pints pasta sauce
19 1/2 pints pizza sauce
11 pints ketchup
28 pints Annies salsa
59 pints assorted kinds of pickles
8 pints pickle relish
29 quarts green beans
8 quarts carrots
10 pints carrots
10 1/2 pints peach butter
3 quarts peaches
3 pints marchino cherries
3 pints cherry syrup
6-1/2 jars blueberry jam

Plus green beans, carrots, corn, cauilflower, snap peas, broccoli, blueberries, stawberries, and zucchini in the freezer.
I also grew potatoes and onions to store.
I feel rich! Again thanks for all of your help.

18 Pints of Linda Lou's Famous Sweet Chunks
10 Pints of Sweet Vidalia Onion Relish
8 Pints of Linda Lou's Zucchini Relish
2 Pints of Sweet Pickle Relish
7 Quarts of Dill pickle spears

14 Green Bell Peppers frozen
4 quarts Zucchini & Summer squash frozen

This is my first year canning. I hope to do more next year. So far though, not one seal failure. My fingers are crossed.

Paul

Although my corn is long gone, I can't pass up a bargain and a local farm market had end of the season corn for $1 a dozen. I bought two dozen ears and cut them off the cob, 5 really big pints into the freezer for corn chowder.

I also picked the first of the concord grapes, so I have grape juice dripping right now while I'm at work, I'll can that tonight for the grandkids.

Annie

This canning thing is very addicting. I'm always thinking of what I can put up next. It's amazing how things you put up at home taste so much better than store bought items. I don't plan to buy relish ever again. I used to use just regular sweet relish. Now I made and use 3 different kinds of homemade relishes. I haven't put up much, but I have enough relishes to get me throught the year. My cabinets are more stocked now with relishes and pickles than they have ever been before.

I can't wait until next years garden.

Paul

Of course, everyone can play --- we're always happy to hear about people's canning adventures here. Congrats to the new canners!!!!!!!

pnbrown, thanx for info on autumn berries. Wonder if I've seen them; I think they must have other names, too.

Annie, what do you make with the grapes --- juice?

Z
P.S. Two more loaves of zucchini bread in the freezer. I know, I know, all my posts say that.... ;-)

95 quarts of peaches.
16 - 1/2 pints of peach BBQ Sauce.
26 pints of Peach Salsa.
14 pints of pickled beets. (25 more lbs. to go)
80 quarts of green beans.
16 pints of Three Bean Salad.
14 quarts of nectarines.
75 pints of Annie's salsa.
50 quarts of cherries.
7 quarts of pears.
40 pints of various jam.
40 1/2 pints of jam.

Plus, I've dehydrated 40 lbs of apricots, apples, bing and sour cherries, mango and strawberry.
Frozen: 30 cups of speg. sauce, 12 batches of roasted tomato garlic soup, and lots of cherries!
Just have lots of apple stuff to go, hopefully in the next few weeks!! YIPPIE!!

Some of y'all are wild canners! I have to confess that other than applesauce and a little jam now and then I don't really care for canned stuff and even applesauce is only for when the stored apples give out. I'd rather eat from the root cellar in winter, generally. Last year I made fermented cabbage and I'll definitely do that again. My winter salad is finely shredded raw red cabbage with dressing and a little feta.

12 pints salsa
39 quarts peaches
52 quarts pears
10 quarts apple sauce
5 pints peach jam that didn't set so now its peach syrup

my garden was horrible this year but I am getting pears out the wazooooo
I should be able to pick around 8 bushell this week and hopefully can this weekend.

About 40 pints of various types of marmalade (Meyers lemon and mixed citrus).

20 lbs of sauteed chopped garden greens. Made about 20 dozen pies now in the freezer (bake 20 minutes at 350C and eat)

About 10 lbs snow peas (frozen)

About 10 lbs green beans of different types (frozen).

1 refrigerator Quart jar of pickled jalapenos, hot wax and carrots.

1 refrigerator quart with pickled summer squash and cucumber slices (dill).

12 pints pickled green beans (with dill)

3 quarts pickled jardiniera mix (carrots, cauliflowers, onions, garlic, peppers, celery and nasturtium seeds)

Couple of lbs dried tomatoes

20 half pints spicy hot chow chow

Now i am drying figs. So far I have dried 8 lbs (dried weight) after it is all over I should have over 12 lbs. I keep them in 1/2 lb vacuum dried packs, just enough for a recipe of fig bread.

3 quart bags of smoked hot peppers (mixed).

2 quart bags of smoked tomatoes. More to come...

5 gallon bags (and several quart bags) grated zucchini and other summer squash (frozen).