APPLES, PEARS, and TOMATOES!!!
This is the time of year, the end of
September, in Ohio, when the pear trees are done, the apples trees are done, and
the tomatoes are "just about" done! And the funny thing is, I have known this my
whole life, but it never changes- they ALL want to be DONE at the same time!!!!
This week has had me wishing for an Amish family living next door, so I
could borrow about 6 people's hands to help!!! Makes me appreciate,and miss, big
families!!! My son is in college all day, my husband is at work all day, and I
have ALL DAY to do food!! LOL!! AND, all the other things one does in the
house....
This is the time of year that my canning becomes more freezing!!! I
do not have the time to watch a pot of water boil...if I need to get yard work
done before the rains, windows washed before the cold, any sort of small
thing......
The pears were great this year. We stored about 8 lbs. in the
fridge, so pears are THE snack for a while!! The rest were made into pear sauce-
the same way you make apple sauce, I had 10 qts., and froze them...in 1 qt.
containers.
The apples were a surprise tho....Our old stand by tree of 30
yrs is dying, and had only 1 apple on it..poor thing.....but hubby found another
smaller tree, on property that was deserted....and brought home 2 pickle buckets
full...they were small, like a crab apple, but they seem to be a Delicious, just
young. 31 of these apples, makes 5 lbs..so you can imagine how many I had!!!! I
picked out the best, for "eaters" and they are in the fridge, about 10 lbs
worth....and the rest became apple juice!! They were too small to bother for
sauce or butter.....Making juice takes time. I had 4 HUGE pots of cut-up, cooked
apples, hanging around all week!!! Takes about a day to get them to drain thru
an old white pillow case I use for juice...then we squeeze the bag for a while!!
I had hoped to make apple jelly, but did not have enough hands this week! We got
12 qts. of juice. Into the freezer they went!!!
Because liquids expand when
frozen, you cannot put full containers in the freezer, I had to split the
quarts, to be on the safe side, and that is ok, we had the room. When it DOES
get cold, I can pull a quart out and put it on the stove and add cinnamon sticks
to it for a hot drink, or even add tea to it. Something nice for the winter,
especially around the holidays, I like to have hot apple juice on hand...it is a
treat..
The tomatoes are struggling along with these cold nights- we are
getting down to 46 at night....so production is much slower....I was able to get
a canning for tomato soup....I will be working on that on Monday ( hopefully
done, by the time you read this!!) And I will freeze it too, will have maybe 10
qts. Any remaining tomatoes that will come on, will just be eaten fresh, there
will not be many more.
In canning, one has to think about the length of time
the stove is on ( energy bills!!) and the water used......and by the end of
Sept., I have pretty much decided that I have used enough energy!!! So freezing
is better...for the little bit that is left to do. Something like 10-12 qts., I
would divide the jars between cannings, each canning holds 7 qts., to make it
worth my while...but that is also about 2-3 hrs. I have to be in the kitchen, or
real near it, to watch the stove.....This is where canning becomes a very
"business" like venture- time versus money...!!! and right now..my time is more
valuable - to be out getting the yard set, house cleaned, wood
ready..etc......
If you have a garden, you may still have carrots, like we
do, and they are not quit ready yet, but the cool nights are longer in coming,
so hill up dirt around them, a few inches deep- just the carrot part, the green
tops are on their own!!! The dirt will protect the carrot- until you know the
first real hard frost is coming..then pull them!!!
The same is for
cabbages..they LOVE cool weather..but can wilt in the colder nights, so mound up
straw, mulch, around all the leaves, don't bury them, but pretty near to it!!!!
and they will last too, until the hard frost.....
The rest of our garden is
done for the year, and I am waiting about a month......before I straw over the
strawberries, and mulch the asparagus, they do better after a first
frost......then I will cover the blueberries too..to keep the deer from them
this winter....and put a cage around our gooseberry bush, for the same reason.
We have plenty of woods for them to forage in, but they seem to like the tender
tips of my bushes and trees...like it was deer candy!!!
This is the time of
year too, that stores will have cranberries pretty cheap- buy them!!! I will
give a recipe for them at the end.
Also, green peppers are finishing...they
like the cooler temps too, and I will give you a recipe for them, and onions is
another that will be at the tail end of harvest....and even if you don't have a
garden, they are fairly cheap in the stores.
ONION RING
PICKLES
1 1/2 lbs. small to med. mild onions
18 whole cloves
18 black
peppercorns
3 t mustard seed
1 1/2 2 celery seed
2 c white, or cider,
vinegar
1/2 c water
1 c sugar
2 t salt (regular , non iodized
salt)
1 1/2 t turmeric
1/8 t cinnamon
Peel onions and slice 1/4 "
thick. Separate the rings, divide them between 3 pint canning jars.
To each
jar, add 6 whole cloves, 6 peppercorns, 1 t mustard seed, 1/2 t celery
seed.
Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, turmeric, and cinnamon, in
cooking pot.Heat to boil, then simmer, 2 mins.
Fill the jars with the hot
liquid, 1/4" head space, can add a little more liquid (water) if needed. Store
in fridge,-use plastic warp over the jars first, before adding the lid. If you
want, water bath them, 10 mins. Be sure to cool them before putting in the
fridge.
Let onions mellow for a month before
eating.
RED AND/ OR YELLOW PEPPER STRIPS
IN VINEGAR
2 1/2 lbs. ( 5 large) red, and or yellow sweet peppers.
2 large
cloves garlic, sliced into cloves
2 t canning salt
3 3/4 c white
vinegar
1 3/4 c water
Olive oil, optional.
Wash and dry peppers. Cut
out stems and cores, remove seeds, cut in lengthwise strips, 1/2" - 1"
wide.
Place 2 cloves of garlic in each of 2, one quart jars, wide mouths are
the best for this recipe.Arrange the pepper strips in the jars, alternating the
colors if you use yellows. Pack the strips firmly,scatter remaining garlic
between the 2 jars, over the top. Sprinkle 1 t salt in each jar.
Combine
vinegar and water in a pot, heat to simmering, pour into jars, filling to 1" of
the rim. If you want to add a topping of olive oil, add it on top of the vinegar
solution, add 1/4 " of oil.
You can let this cool, and store in the fridge,
or hot water bath, 15 mins. Let peppers mellow for a month, before eating.
SWEET AND TART PICKLED CRANBERRIES
2, 12 oz
pkgs. ( about 7 c ) cranberries
3 c red wine, or cider vinegar
3 1/2 c
sugar
1 1/3 c water
1 T coriander seed
1 t whole cloves
1 T coarsely
broken cinnamon stick
Pick over and rinse cranberries, let them drain in
colander.
Combine vinegar, sugar, water, in a large pot. Tie coriander seed,
cloves, and cinnamon, in a square of cheese cloth, add to mixture.
Bring to a
boil, over med. heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer, partially
covered, 5 mins.
Add the berries to the syrup, and lower the heat. Cook them
very slowly, uncovered, shaking pot often, until the skins have cracked. About 7
mins.
Pour the berries, syrup, and spice bag into a large mixing bowl,cool,
then cover, and let sit overnight at room temperature.
Next day, spoon
berries into 3 pint jars. Reheat the syrup and spice bag to boiling, toss spice
bag in compost!! Remove from heat, fill jars with syrup, 1/4 " head space. Store
in fridge, after allowing to cool, or hot water bath, 15 mins. Let cranberries
mellow for 2 weeks, before eating.
Any of these 3 recipes will last up
to March, in the fridge. They are great recipes for special treats, but can be
easily made...in a short period of time. If you hot water bath can them, they
will last til next Fall!!!
