It is getting to be that time again...Canning season. We managed to consume a great deal of what I canned last year. We still have some things left, like some of the jellies, a few jars of beans that I canned late in the season, and some fruit. We also have a couple of jars of meat left, but I have started using those more lately to rotate them out.
The garden is starting to produce too. I didn't plant a lot of stuff this year, mainly squashes and peas. I wanted to try some new things this year so I planted 3 different kinds of squash; butternut, patty pan, and spaghetti squash. I planted the butternut last year, but I got it in late in the season so I only got 2 squashes off of it. But this year I planted earlier and have gotten a better yield.
I am looking forward to my favorite Farm market opening. Time for tomatoes, beans, potatoes, corn and melons. Peppers, fruit, green beans, onions, and other veggies I get from another farm market. I can get just about everything I will need to can for the year over the next 2 months. I have been told I need to make more sugar-free blackberry jam and black bean - corn salsa. LOL
I have already been drying cherries and strawberries. I need to dry some more onions.
I guess I had better get busy.
Showing posts with label dehydrator. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dehydrator. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Eating Natural
We haven't actively been trying to go natural, but it is working out that way.
A couple of years ago, DH went thru a layoff scare, Thankfully he didn't lose his job, but it got us thinking about grocery bills and the way we eat. I had started canning the year before and was looking forward to doing more. We stopped buying things like Hamburger Helper, Mac and Cheese, and all of the other processed foods because they were so expensive for very little nutrition. My mother gave me a Make A Mix Cookery cookbook and her copy of The Old Virginia Cookbook. We started buying foods in bulk and on sale and vacuum sealing it into portion sizes. I got a dehydrator and started using it regularly.
We have essentially stopped buying anything packaged, except for my son's lunch box stuff. We also look for origin labels on ANYTHING consumable. If it isn't made or grown in the US or Canada, we just won't buy it. It has made us really crave fresh veggies over the winter, since so much is grown out of the country and shipped in, but since the garden is up now, we know it won't be long before I am shelling peas and snapping beans.
And fortunately, we had a lot of last years harvest canned or dried to use over the winter. With the exception of dairy and eggs, we still have at least a month of food put back, including meats and fruits, so we would not have to buy groceries if he loses his job. And this way, I know exactly what is in it. No preservatives, not too much sodium, no MSG, no high fructose corn syrup, and nothing that I can't pronounce.
My goal is to eventually get to the point where I only have to go to the store, maybe, once a month. But that is still a couple of years off. Until then, we are doing what we can to protect our health, and our expenses, by eating closer to the land.
A couple of years ago, DH went thru a layoff scare, Thankfully he didn't lose his job, but it got us thinking about grocery bills and the way we eat. I had started canning the year before and was looking forward to doing more. We stopped buying things like Hamburger Helper, Mac and Cheese, and all of the other processed foods because they were so expensive for very little nutrition. My mother gave me a Make A Mix Cookery cookbook and her copy of The Old Virginia Cookbook. We started buying foods in bulk and on sale and vacuum sealing it into portion sizes. I got a dehydrator and started using it regularly.
We have essentially stopped buying anything packaged, except for my son's lunch box stuff. We also look for origin labels on ANYTHING consumable. If it isn't made or grown in the US or Canada, we just won't buy it. It has made us really crave fresh veggies over the winter, since so much is grown out of the country and shipped in, but since the garden is up now, we know it won't be long before I am shelling peas and snapping beans.
And fortunately, we had a lot of last years harvest canned or dried to use over the winter. With the exception of dairy and eggs, we still have at least a month of food put back, including meats and fruits, so we would not have to buy groceries if he loses his job. And this way, I know exactly what is in it. No preservatives, not too much sodium, no MSG, no high fructose corn syrup, and nothing that I can't pronounce.
My goal is to eventually get to the point where I only have to go to the store, maybe, once a month. But that is still a couple of years off. Until then, we are doing what we can to protect our health, and our expenses, by eating closer to the land.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Canning time!
It is that time of year again. Time to start canning and preserving fruits and veggies. I just picked the last of the green peas that I planted in February and will be pulling up the vines today to get ready to plant green beans. Also this morning I took a gallon of strawberries out of the dehydrator (I have a packed quart of dried sliced berries now) and made 6 pints of jam. I still have about 1/2 a gallon of berries to decide what to do with. I may make some more jam. Not sure yet.
Today will also be the day I do a lot of yard work. We finally have a nice warm day after almost a solid month of rain. My daughter will be mowing while I am working in the garden (since she is graduated now and doesn't have to go to school), then I will have her help me move the compost I made over the winter and put it in the garden. I will get my husband to till it all in this evening and plant my green beans tomorrow. We will still have to figure out a trellis system for the garden since the green beans we have seed for will grow about 8 feet tall. Maybe some sort of hoop system that I can use as a hot house this fall and winter. We will see.
I am getting excited about the new canning season. Since I put up a bunch of food last year for the first time, I will know better this year what we will actually eat and what size jars to use to each item. I know that I don't need to put beans in quarts this year. We just don't eat that much of them. And I know that I will need to can a lot more tomatoes. We used all of them in about a month. We also used all of the corn I put in the freezer in about 5 months so I will need a lot more of that too.
We still have fruit though. For some reason, we just didn't eat that much. Maybe I just need to make more deserts. We ate the dried fruits better than the canned, so maybe I will just dry more instead of canning them.
I have canned quite a bit of meat so far this year. I get it from the grocery when it is on sale. If I can it, we can still have good meat even if the power goes out. We won't have to worry about all of it thawing out and spoiling. I am thinking I will dry some more too. Jerky is just too handy to have on hand, and it makes for a really nice stew in a bind.
Now that I have the dehydrator, a vacuum sealer, and a pressure canner, there shouldn't be any reason why we cannot put up enough food to last us a year or two. Buy it on sale or on clearance and seal it for future use.
Now if I just had a grain mill.....
Today will also be the day I do a lot of yard work. We finally have a nice warm day after almost a solid month of rain. My daughter will be mowing while I am working in the garden (since she is graduated now and doesn't have to go to school), then I will have her help me move the compost I made over the winter and put it in the garden. I will get my husband to till it all in this evening and plant my green beans tomorrow. We will still have to figure out a trellis system for the garden since the green beans we have seed for will grow about 8 feet tall. Maybe some sort of hoop system that I can use as a hot house this fall and winter. We will see.
I am getting excited about the new canning season. Since I put up a bunch of food last year for the first time, I will know better this year what we will actually eat and what size jars to use to each item. I know that I don't need to put beans in quarts this year. We just don't eat that much of them. And I know that I will need to can a lot more tomatoes. We used all of them in about a month. We also used all of the corn I put in the freezer in about 5 months so I will need a lot more of that too.
We still have fruit though. For some reason, we just didn't eat that much. Maybe I just need to make more deserts. We ate the dried fruits better than the canned, so maybe I will just dry more instead of canning them.
I have canned quite a bit of meat so far this year. I get it from the grocery when it is on sale. If I can it, we can still have good meat even if the power goes out. We won't have to worry about all of it thawing out and spoiling. I am thinking I will dry some more too. Jerky is just too handy to have on hand, and it makes for a really nice stew in a bind.
Now that I have the dehydrator, a vacuum sealer, and a pressure canner, there shouldn't be any reason why we cannot put up enough food to last us a year or two. Buy it on sale or on clearance and seal it for future use.
Now if I just had a grain mill.....
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Excalabur 2900 dehydrator
I got my new dehydrator in this week and I am so excited. It is more than twice the size of my old one (15 sf of drying space) and actually much faster too. The first day I got it, I dried 6 chopped bell peppers (on sale for $1.78 for all 6) and 5 chopped onions ($1.99 for a 3 pound bag) and still had 2 trays left empty. The same amount of chopped dried onions retails for about $6. And since I use the peppers and onions all the time when I cook, it is a great deal for us. And also much better for cooking when I just don't feel like chopping up an onion.
I also picked up some really nice strawberries from a roadside vendor this week. I have bought from them in the past and they are some of the best strawberries you will ever eat. At $14 a gallon, they are a little bit expensive, but still cheaper than the grocery store, and the taste just can't be beat. We ate a few of them fresh and the rest (a little less than a gallon) I made into fruit leather and dried sliced. The finished product gave us about 10 fruit roll-ups and almost a quart jar of dried slices.
The sliced berries work out really well for us. I make scones with them, and we use butter and strawberry freezer jam on the hot scones. Really awesome and very easy. Take your favorite biscuit recipe (there is a good one on the back of the Bisquick box, just don't use the liquids), add 1/2 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of sour cream, and a big handful of crumbled berry slices and enough water or milk to make a really, really stiff dough. It just needs to hold together and not be too "wet". Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and pat it out to about 3/4 inch thick and round. Slice it like a pizza and bake it in a moderately hot oven, I generally bake at 375, until it is nice and browned all over. Like I said, just awesome.
Drying food takes up a lot less space than canning, and the majority of the time, tastes just as good as fresh. 3 pounds of chopped, dried onions will fit into a half gallon jar and you don't have to worry about them getting soft or mildewed in the pantry. If you need "fresh" onions for things like potato salad or similar recipes, just soak them in a little warm water and they will plump back up. Same with the fruit. To make a fruit salad or compote, soak your mixed dried fruits in a little water or apple juice to plump them back up and chill.
Just about every vegetable can be dried and stored. Potatoes work out really well. Slice and parboil the spuds, surface dry with a paper towel and lay them out on the trays. After they are dry, they can be used for scalloped potatoes, re-hydrated and fried, or cooked in the microwave with a little milk and then mashed. Drop some in a stew or soup, run through the blender to make potato flour or instant mashed potatoes. Very very useful.
I would suggest this to just about anyone who wants to be able to preserve food without the mess and expense of canning. Buy produce when it is on sale or in season from a farmers market and dry it. And if the dried foods are kept sealed, they will keep just about indefinitely. It is a great way to save money. And eat healthier.
I also picked up some really nice strawberries from a roadside vendor this week. I have bought from them in the past and they are some of the best strawberries you will ever eat. At $14 a gallon, they are a little bit expensive, but still cheaper than the grocery store, and the taste just can't be beat. We ate a few of them fresh and the rest (a little less than a gallon) I made into fruit leather and dried sliced. The finished product gave us about 10 fruit roll-ups and almost a quart jar of dried slices.
The sliced berries work out really well for us. I make scones with them, and we use butter and strawberry freezer jam on the hot scones. Really awesome and very easy. Take your favorite biscuit recipe (there is a good one on the back of the Bisquick box, just don't use the liquids), add 1/2 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of sour cream, and a big handful of crumbled berry slices and enough water or milk to make a really, really stiff dough. It just needs to hold together and not be too "wet". Place the dough on a greased baking sheet and pat it out to about 3/4 inch thick and round. Slice it like a pizza and bake it in a moderately hot oven, I generally bake at 375, until it is nice and browned all over. Like I said, just awesome.
Drying food takes up a lot less space than canning, and the majority of the time, tastes just as good as fresh. 3 pounds of chopped, dried onions will fit into a half gallon jar and you don't have to worry about them getting soft or mildewed in the pantry. If you need "fresh" onions for things like potato salad or similar recipes, just soak them in a little warm water and they will plump back up. Same with the fruit. To make a fruit salad or compote, soak your mixed dried fruits in a little water or apple juice to plump them back up and chill.
Just about every vegetable can be dried and stored. Potatoes work out really well. Slice and parboil the spuds, surface dry with a paper towel and lay them out on the trays. After they are dry, they can be used for scalloped potatoes, re-hydrated and fried, or cooked in the microwave with a little milk and then mashed. Drop some in a stew or soup, run through the blender to make potato flour or instant mashed potatoes. Very very useful.
I would suggest this to just about anyone who wants to be able to preserve food without the mess and expense of canning. Buy produce when it is on sale or in season from a farmers market and dry it. And if the dried foods are kept sealed, they will keep just about indefinitely. It is a great way to save money. And eat healthier.
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