Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Preserving The Harvest

By now, most of you know that I am a huge gardener. Like, HUGE.

Perhaps a little crazy. But in a good way.


I research the best seeds for different vegetables, and start them in my utility room in the cold winter months.


I work my butt off every spring getting my property cleaned up, and the gardens fed and ready for planting.

Once the seeds are planted, I do battle with the slugs, the deer, the chipmunks, the squirrels, the bears, and those darned Japanese Beetles.


Come August, we are usually overloaded with tomatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers, and green beans.

This year, the tomatoes are lacking due to the rain, rain, and more rain. But the rest are sure coming in like mad!


This, of course, is both a blessing and a curse. It would be nice if they trickled in at a moderate pace all season long, but of course that's not the way it works. They all ripen at the same time, and I am left with the challenge of 1. What do I do with all this produce? and 2. When will I have the time?


Last weekend I spent about 8 hours on my feet in the kitchen, putting up the harvest. The weekend before? The same. This weekend will be another repeat of the past two.


My legs are sore, but my pantry and freezer are overflowing. Like I said....a blessing and a curse.

I will be grateful for all this hard work, come winter. Right now it can feel quite overwhelming at times.


Regardless, I shall plow on ahead and preserve as much of the summer bounty as I possibly can to enjoy during those long winter months.

Canning is a process, but it's really not all that difficult if you have the right tools. I don't have a pressure canner, so apparently there are certain things I won't be able to can, if they don't have the proper level of acidity. But I get by ok with Sweetie's giant lobster pot, this canning lid rack, and this canning jar rack. I also bought this canning tool set, which is very helpful as well.  Obviously these are one-time investments, which would only need to be purchased the first season. I've also had to purchase additional jars, as I didn't have nearly the amount I needed. And I still need more!


I did purchase two new cookbooks about canning a few weeks back, and read up on the process before jumping in.  I love both books, and I'm so excited to keep trying out recipes from them!

It's important to do some thorough research on the basics of canning, and to follow the instructions in the canning recipes in regards to how long to process in the hot water. I add a few minutes because of our higher altitude.

I'm still learning, but so far I'm pretty proud of myself!


So far this season I've put up 10 half pints of zucchini relish using this recipe. I honestly have no idea if it's good, as I've never even tried relish! But I knew Sweetie liked relish, and it seemed a good way to preserve a couple of zucchinis.


I've also put up 14 half pints of pineapple salsa. The recipe was loosely based off the combination of a few recipes I found online, heated in a big pot until hot, and then processed for 18 minutes in a hot water bath. 


Most of the salsa recipes I found called for cilantro, but I left it out. I absolutely hate cilantro, and when I tasted it I knew it didn't need it one bit. 

I did add an extra dash of hot sauce to make up for the lack of cilantro, but it still had just the right blend of sweet/spicy and was absolutely amazing on chicken fajitas last week!

I also put up 4 pints of pineapple mango chutney - you can find that recipe here

Can you tell pineapples have been on sale at my local market lately? Buy one, get one free.....yes, please!


In addition, I made 12 half pints of refrigerator pickles - you can find those recipes in this post. 

There will be more pickles made this weekend, as the cucumbers are out of control. 

My daughter made this amazing chocolate zucchini cake from my friend AnnMarie's blog. She ended up making one bundt cake plus two loaf cakes for the freezer. This cake is INCREDIBLE and worth every single calorie! 


In the freezer, along with the chocolate cake, I've put 4 quarts of cream of zucchini soup along with roasted, sliced beets and many, many portions of washed, snipped green beans. 

A dozen zucchini muffins were made over the weekend and have already been devoured, but will certainly be made again. This time I'll freeze some. 
 
There are also 4 jars of boozy cherries in the cupboard ready for the perfect Manhattan on a chilly winter's night, and two quarts of cucumber tequila infusing in the downstairs fridge. Cucumber tequila makes the most amazing margaritas and will go so well with that pineapple salsa, giving us a taste of summer while the snow flies.

It's a lot of work but oh my gosh it is so very worth it at the end of the day!

What's coming out of your garden? How are you preserving it?  

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Sharing at Share Your Cup

 

35 comments:

  1. Oh my word. It all sounds sooooooo good and now I wish I had some of everything. I guess I need to get cooking. Can't wait until next year, maybe we will have a garden.

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    1. You could always grow some stuff in pots, Marty - I'm sure tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini would love your hot climate!

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  2. Canning is such a job. But, there is so much satisfaction seeing those jars all lined up on the shelves and the freezer full. Your harvest is impressive. Beautiful :)

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    1. So much satisfaction!!! The problem is I don't have room for the jars in my pantry, or in the cupboards, so for now they are just sitting in a corner of the counter until I figure out what to do with them!! :) That's a good problem to have, to be blessed with TOO much food!

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  3. A blessing and a curse! I've downsized my garden quite a bit, so I don't really do much preserving now, but I've canned over the years: dill pickles, mustard pickles, strawberry jam, peach jam, orchard fruit chili sauce, peaches, salsa, relish, tomatoes. There is such satisfaction seeing all the jars lined up! (Husband hates cilantro, too!) -Jenn

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    1. Wow, Jenn - that orchard fruit chili sauce sounds pretty awesome, as do the rest! I bought peaches to make jam but they rotted before I could get to it, such a shame.

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  4. Wow, I need a nap now! I've had a few tomatoes, but the squash plants didn't give me one single squash from four plants in spite of blooming well. I don't get it,I even did some pollinating myself and still nothing! My one spaghetti squash was nibbled on by a critter, and the rest of it rotted. Thank heaven for the farmer's market or we would starve.

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    1. How bizarre, Carole! We are always overwhelmed with zucchini - I think the variety I grow is wonderful, it's called Alexandria squash and the skins are so tender you never have to peel them. They grow like mad, and are so mild they can go into so many different recipes.

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  5. You are making me so hungry! I thought I was the only one in the world who detested cilantro. Yay, I'm not alone anymore! I have a very good zucchini with lemon bread recipe. Let me know if you'd like it.

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    1. Yup, Diane, I hate it with a passion!! I can taste even the tiniest bit of it in any recipe so I just leave it out! Yuck!!!

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  6. You have been busy! All of your canned goods sound wonderful!

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    1. I'm sad I don't have a bunch of tomatoes to make sauce this year, Penny - I may have to actually buy some!

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  7. You amaze me with all your hard work! All we have is four cherry tomato plants and they did awful this year due to our crazy summer weather (too much rain at first, then not enough). No preserving or canning for me! I usually go up to the farm stand in September and buy a bunch of their tomatoes, slow roast them and then freeze them. I use them in soups and stews all winter.

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    1. I freeze roasted tomatoes, too, Melanie. I also slow roast them along with garlic cloves, salt, and pepper, and then put them into the food processor and freeze them as sauce. So yummy! I think I'll have to buy some tomatoes this year, boooo!

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  8. I am proud of you. To be able to can produce from your gardens is a wonderful talent and gift.

    Everything looks so dang good.

    FlowerLady

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    1. Thank you, Lorraine! I'm pretty proud of me, too - this city girl has learned a few country talents through the years!!

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  9. You are so amazing. If I lived near you I would be happy to share the workload with you, just to be able to enjoy a smidgen of your winter bounty.

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    1. If you lived near me I'd be more than happy to share both the workload and the harvest with you, Rita!!

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  10. Your harvest from all your hard work has paid off. You will have so many yummy things this winter to enjoy.
    Lots of work but soo worth it.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. I've started sending things home with Sweetie to put in his freezer, Kris, because mine are that full!! Definitely a blessing!

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  11. Boy oh boy have you been busy. Trying to figure out based on all you have done if the tomatoes are good thing or not. You have such patience starting from seed. Have to say I'm a lazy gardener. I'm embarrassed, I thought I was a big gardener when I have more stability with my MS.

    But based on following y ou u now I was lazy I thought planting 300 daffodils by myself in tough rocky soil made me awesome. Planting plants and making them flourish was big but you have a major green thumb and as I said, patience.

    Enjoy the rest of your day

    Cindy

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    1. I used to plant daffodils every fall in my old house, Cindy - like you, hundreds each fall, for years. It was so gorgeous in the spring when they all bloomed! I need to plant more of them here, but I'm just plum worn out by the end of gardening season!

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  12. Debbie, We used to grow veggies at our previous house and we always had the issue of things coming in here and there. It was never enough to can. When I did can, we used to go to one of the local farms and buy bushels of tomatoes, peaches, etc. Unfortunately, I gave up my canning years ago, but it's great to grab a jar of your own in winter and create a great recipe with it.

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    1. I bought jars of tomatoes from people at the farmers' market in the past, Carol, and this year I decided it was time I tried to do so more canning myself. Figures the tomatoes didn't come in good this year! I have always frozen my tomato sauce in the past, which works well also.

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  13. I have canned zucchini relish before and it is good. No canning from our little garden this year. We have mostly just eaten it! Nancy

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    1. We have been eating the things that can't be canned like the lettuce...and more lettuce....and more lettuce! Lots of salads this season, which is no harm. Green beans have been snipped and frozen (some eaten fresh) and tomatoes are just starting to straggle in....just cherry tomatoes so far, handfuls of them. Horrible tomato season!

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  14. Hi there Debbie, I know it's alot of work, but I do so enjoy your garden and preserving posts so much! It reminds me so much of my childhood and watching my grandmas doing the same. On the hot summer days, with the windows open and the box fans a blowing, they worked, canning so many bright and beautiful garden goodies! I remember several relishes like you mentioned, (I didn't like it back then but I do now, LOL), hundreds of jars of green beans, (well maybe not HUNDREDS, but it sure seemed like it! ha ha), tomatoes, all kinds of things. Not only canning, but freezing. Corn and oh yes, lots and lots of pickles and they made jelly and jam back then too. It's kind of a lost art in this generation except for people such as yourself who are keeping it alive and hopefully passing it on to daughters/sons/grandchildren. Since I'm enjoying the pictures so much I'm wondering if you make scrapbooks or photo albums? Because these colorful pictures of your work and the bounty of your garden would be awful nice to sit down and look at and enjoy on the cold winter days when the snow is flying and the ice is slick and you are dreaming of next summer's sunshine and gardens!

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    1. Ha ha, Debbi, I think my blog is my scrapbook!! I love being able to look up things I've made - isn't it sad I have to look up my own recipes? :) You were lucky to have that kind of childhood. Growing up in the city, we didn't grow vegetables, and I never learned how to can. My daughter has no interest, she doesn't watch and learn. Perhaps some day when she has her own house and her own garden she might take an interest!!

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  15. Wow, you have been busy! I love to can, but don't do anywhere this much. I make a sweet pickle relish out of larger cucumbers that we love on hot dogs and burgers. Also good in tuna. I always do salsa and chili sauce now and then. Everything you canned looks delish. I haven't tried bottling my extra zucchini. I just grate it and freeze 2 cups in a bag for making bread or muffins in the winter. I may need to try this. If I get up some ambition. :)
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. This is my first time making salsa, Jann - I was pretty darned proud of myself. I swore I would make some this year, because we go through so many jars of it in a year. I never thought of making chili sauce, I'll have to look into that! When you freeze your grated zucchini do you squeeze the moisture out first? I'm curious, I've never frozen it that way, only in soups/sauces/chilis. I pretty much dump it in everything I make when it's coming out of the garden like crazy.

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    2. No, I just grate it and freeze 2 cups in a bag. You want the moisture left in so the bread will be moist.

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  16. Debbie, do you blanch your green beans before freezing, or just snip and freeze as-is? If the latter, how does their quality hold up over time in the freezer? Love, love, love your blog!
    Best,
    Anne

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    1. Hi Anne, thank you so much!! I just snip the beans and freeze as is once they are clean and completely dry. I lay them into a quart sized freezer bag in a portion good for two or three people and then roll them up as tight as I can, getting out as much air as possible. Then those bags are put in a gallon freezer bag, and frozen. They taste like fresh beans when I pull them out for dinner and steam them and they don't get mushy or anything without blanching!

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  17. You need to write a farm to table cookbook...and I am dead serious. Amazing...

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    1. Yeah, Kim, in all my spare time, ha ha!! Hey you never know....maybe some day...wow, I'd love to see my name on a cookbook!! :)

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