Canning time

I have been in canning mode on the farm.  22# of peaches for salsa and chutney, 28# of blackberries for jams, jellies and pies.  My trees are all overloaded with apples and pears, so that is for sauce, chutney and butters, and drying.  There are new recommended guidelines for hot water bath canning... basically they are all increasing the length of time.  Check the Univ. of Georgia coop extension office website for updated info- or whichever is your favorite canning site.  Here is their link: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html. I am also fond of  http://www.pickyourown.org/ which absolutely covers everything!

Some eating projects...

Rat cookies, calamari and one delectable strawberry thingie, these are some of the goodies my kids have been eating. Okay, the calamari freaked them out a bit. The last pic is me and Rose... me with my new haircut that chopped between 6-12"" off my hair. Tomorrow: some updates on home projects. (I finally found my camera again!)

A Normal Weekend

A gal pal and her three boys took Wilder and I up to Graysmarsh Farms in Sequim for some berry picking.
Raspberries, seedless blackberries, blueberries and about 4 loganberries were what we picked. I made jam yesterday, with pies today. Yay! I also picked up a pressure cooker yesterday in Port Townsend. A Mirro 8 quart... which was a hard decision between Mirro, Kuhn Ricon, Fagor, Presto, All American, but dang the Mirro is easy to use. And if you have a glass topped stove Mirro says it won't work. But my stove has a burner made specifically for it, so you can use a glass top regardless of what they put in their guide.
Oh and if you are a serious pressure cooker person (and have money) the All-American and Kuhn Ricon are flippin' fantastic.($200-400) But, for me, for once a year canning, at sea level (literally 100 feet above...) a Mirro with weighted pressure gauge is dandy. ($70 on sale!) And a note about the boys.... no complaining, they just are hungry alot.

Weird dinner, according to the kids

I have lots of nettles that grow in our chicken coop yard. I mowed most of them down last week, but went out this eve and picked some for dinner.
To describe them to my son who was hesistant to eat them I said they tasted 'green.'
They taste very fresh, and I like 'em.
I am still a bit wary about putting them in my mouth first bite. I can imagine nothing more unpleasant than having a nettle-stung tongue.
The only thing you need to do is steam them quick. The heat (or crushing them) instantly deadens the sting. Oh, and usually I just cook the leaves, not the stems, but I was putting these on a grilled sandwich so didn't mind them included.

Veggies and Pressure Cooking

A couple weekends ago went to an extension office class on how to use a pressure cooker. I have always been a bit wary about these, thinking they were going to explode all over my kitchen sending carrots, beans or tomatoes to my ceiling... and taking my eye out. I thought I would get the how-to from the professionals.
The end results : I took home two jars of carrots, and the desire for a pressure cooker. I have a ceramic top stove, so need to get a stainless steel one. Supposedly you cannot can or pressure cook on a flat top stove. HA. You can do it all, although I do freak a bit about the weight I am putting on it. I also bought this stove last year with one 'superhot' element (my terminology, not the stove manufacturers marketing) that should be fiery enough to get the pressure up on the cooker.
Wondering what the nuclear rain that is falling in our state will do to the planting this year, but really, what option do we have?
Bought some seeds from a new company...Comstock, Ferre and Co., that I got a gorgeous catalog from at the Kitsap Small Farm Expo. I also decided I would buy for interesting names this year. First seeds : Lazy Wife beans. Next in line : Pink Girl, Black Sea Man, Shiny Boy. I will just like seeing the names at the end of the rows...
Couldn't find any Grumpy Lady Peas or Feisty Woman Peppers. Maybe next year.

Busy Girl Week

Photo: horse and son munching apples. I couldn't find a pic of the pears, so you get apples. Oh, and I kept calling these apples "Clears" until a kind lady corrected me. They are called "Transparents." Always learnin' out here in Poulsbo.

Or, busy lady week. Busy woman week. Busy feisty mom week.
This is my third year of making applesauce with the overabundance of apples off our trees.
This was my first year of canning pears. If I was going to sell these, they would be $22 A JAR.
If I figure my labor and supplies. And using all the free pears on the property. I can't wait to taste them.
I thought for sure I was getting sick on Wednesday. You ever kick into overdrive right before you get sick? Wednesday was my overdrive. I went to work on Thursday and told everyone "I am sure I am getting sick, yesterday I made bread, canned applesauce, made banana bread muffins, was down on the ground scrubbing my kitchen floor, and then cleaned out the garage. Suffice it to say, that is not normal behavior for me. I do all that, but not on the same flipping day. Maybe loosely over the course of a week, a two or three.
Wilder was sick last week, then Rose got it this week. I figured I was next.
Saturday night report : Not sick. And canned pears. Four lovely jars for two hours of labor. NOT WORTH IT. But I will do it again, too many pears laying about the property. And not complain in the winter when I buy canned pears for $2.50 at the store.
Thank you blog http://www.paulnoll.com/
I have no idea what they are about but loved their canning instructions. Other than the red food coloring for holiday cheer. That may be a generational thing, but I don't remember red or green pears at xmas. It is also nifty that they help each other can pears.