Chunky Applesauce

I love chunky applesauce and fondly remember having it with meals when I was young.  

chunky Applesauce makes a great side dish, garnish is yummy with pork especially a roast but is also good served over ice cream.

While on a girl road trip with my daughter Alexis and Daughter-in-law Jennica, we found a small family-owned farm with a market selling various types of apples.  

We bought a lot of apples with the intent of making our own Homemade Chunky Applesauce and jam.

And oh my gosh, I'm in love.  
This will now be on my list to make every fall when apples are in season!

Freezing Green or Sweet Bell Peppers

This year I had an overabundance of many different types of peppers, so decided to freeze a few of the Bell Peppers.

Not only are bell peppers packed with lots of flavor, they also add important nutrients to any dish. 
One red sweet bell pepper provides an entire day’s worth of vitamins A and C, (more than twice the amount found in an orange) and are a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E!

Canning Carrots

We love carrots and eat them in many different ways.  There is nothing better than raw carrots dipped in Ranch dressing! I put carrots in just about all my homemade soups, chicken pot pie and we love them steamed or candied (brown sugar and butter).

I try to grow a crop of carrots every year, but some years I only get enough to eat fresh and not enough to can.  
This summer Ohio was reported to be the wettest in history, so I'm having a pretty poor crop harvest, and that goes for vegetables such as onions, garlic, and green beans too, ugh. 

Canning Whole Kernel Corn

It's summer and along with many other warm-weather activities, canning the vegetables that are ripe and in season is something I do every year.

When corn first comes in, it can be a little expensive but as the weeks pass the price per dozen is greatly reduced.

When buying sweet corn in the husk, look for bright green color snug husks and dark brown silk.

Sweet corn is a low acid food so must be pressure canned to avoid food poisoning and botulism.

Strawberry Pie Filling

Strawberries are among the first fruit to ripen in the Northeast.  

In my area of Ohio, strawberries are ripe around the first week in June. 

Every year we make Strawberry Freezer Jam and freeze cut-up strawberries to use during cold winter months. Sometimes we use fresh strawberries for other recipes like Strawberry Schnapps.

This year I decided to try homemade Strawberry Pie Filling.   There is nothing better than a cool dessert on a hot summer day. But a strawberry pie with whipped topping is a great dessert anytime.

For me, strawberries mark the passage from spring to summer each year. And besides, making delicious fresh strawberry edibles gives me something to do while I eagerly wait for my garden vegetable to ripen.

Blueberry Lemon Jam

Blueberry season is fast approaching! 

The blueberry-picking season depends on the geographical location of your blueberries, but most blueberries are ripe in June and July.

I purchased my blueberries while on one of our trips to Michigan.  Once home I froze them until I could make blueberry jam and syrup, add to muffins or mix up a batch of blueberry pancakes.  

Besides Michigan being a beautiful state, it is the leader in highbush blueberry production.  Michigan farms produce approximately 220,000 tons (490,000,000 lbs) of blueberries, accounting for 32% of all the blueberries eaten in the United States.

Bean Soup

Canning Bean Soup

Our busiest canning "season" is during the summer and early autumn months while we are harvesting our garden vegetables.
During the winter months, we love lots of soups and stews.
Usually, when I cook meals or casseroles, I try to make enough for two meals to save time later.  Half we eat now, and half gets frozen or canned for a convenient meal later.  

For soup, I make a large stockpot full and have plenty left over to can.

Having jars of soup in the pantry, ready to just heat up is a huge time saver and works just wonderful for a cold winter day meal.  Just grab one or two jars from the shelf and heat.  Add a side salad or sandwich and you have an easy no-fuss meal! And one without the added sodium, additives or preservatives found in commercially canned soups.

Homemade Vegetable Soup

This soup can be made with garden or farm market fresh vegetables, vegetables you canned during summer months, leftovers or store purchased.

Making a large pot of soup at one time leaves enough leftovers to heat up on a cold snowy day when you are short on time.  
Canning the soup will be even handier to quickly heat and serve for a quick meal after a day playing in the snow or hiking. 

Tip:
Here’s a great tip a friend gave me.  Anytime you have leftover vegetables from a meal, simply store them in a Ziploc freezer bag.  Keep adding different leftover vegetables until you have enough to make a pot of vegetable soup!

And don’t be afraid to add different types of vegetables like squash, cabbage, peas or lima beans.  Each will add their own distinct flavor to the soup.

Canning Hot Peppers

Most years we go through our garden fresh peppers pretty quick and never seem to have enough peppers. We use them on sandwiches, to make appetizers, on pizza and subs and as the main ingredient for Stuffed Hot Peppers.

So this spring I planted extra pepper plants.  Now, near the end of summer, I have such an over abundance of hot peppers I decided to can them so we have a supply this winter.

Peppers are also great as added heat or flavor booster in many dishes, soups, stew, in breakfast eggs, on a relish tray and in salads.  Their great on hot dogs too, along with this Homemade Pickle Relish!

Canning Tomatoes

Easy Home Canned Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of the first things I canned well over 20 some years ago as a beginner canner.  I read it was one of the easiest things to learn as a newbie canner and they were right.

There is nothing better than a fresh tomato straight off the vine, but I think the second best thing is a jar of home canned tomatoes in the middle of winter!

I use canned tomatoes in chili, spaghetti sauce, soups and casseroles and many different recipes.  If I run out, I also make salsa or tomato juice from the tomatoes I canned. 

I can so I can preserve my garden harvest but also because I can control what's in my food.  I grew it and I grow organic. I know what's in each and every jar. 

Canning is the process in which foods are placed in jars and heated to a temperature that destroys microorganisms and inactivates enzymes. This heating and later cooling forms a vacuum seal. The vacuum seal prevents other microorganisms from recontaminating the food within the jar.

Canning Green Beans

It’s great to preserve some of your garden's bounty to use during the cold winter months.  There is nothing like pulling a jar of preserves from the pantry shelf while the snow’s falling and the wind’s howling and getting a little whiff that takes you right back to summer.

For the best green beans, pick fresh tender pods first thing in the morning. Growing and picking from your own garden is always best, but purchasing from a local farm market will be just as good.

You will need about 1 pound of green beans for each pint jar and 2 pounds of beans for each quart jar.

Please Note: 

When canning green beans you must process them in a pressure canner.  There is a higher risk of botulism when canning low acid foods, such as green beans.  Pressure canning is the only recognized safe option. Dilly Beans, which are pickled green beans, are preserved in vinegar so can be water bathed. 

Sauerkraut In Mason Jars

Cabbage History

Cabbage is one of the oldest vegetables and is believed to have been grown in gardens as far back as 3000 years ago. 

The Roman writers Cato and Columella are the first to mention preserving cabbages and turnips with salt. 

It is believed to have been introduced to Europe in its present form 1,000 years later by Genghis Khan after invading China.

Sauerkraut (sour rout) is chopped cabbage that is salted and then fermented in its own juice. The word, which in German means "sour cabbage," was first mentioned in American English in 1776.  

The dish has long been associated with German communities in the United States.

Canning Rabbit Meat

Rabbit is quickly becoming the new white meat.  Prices in stores vary greatly but I have seen prices range between $10.00 to $18.00 per pound!

Rabbits are efficient meat producers meaning they provide good meat without high cost or much waste.  Also efficient in that rabbits, using the same amount of food and water that a cow needs to produce a pound of meat, can produce six pounds of rabbit meat.

Rabbit meat is mild flavored, tender, high in protein, low in fat, low in cholesterol, low in sodium and low in saturated fatty acids. 

And, comparing it to beef, pork, lamb, turkey, veal and chicken, rabbit has the highest percentage of protein, the lowest percentage of fat and has the fewest calories per pound, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Remember, rabbit meat can only be pressure canned.  Water bath method does not produce high enough heat or pressure to kill any and all bacteria that could lead to botulism and food poisoning.  Make sure to read the directions that came with your pressure canner before starting.

How To Make Grape Juice

Ripe grapes in Michigan

Homemade Grape Juice

A few years ago my daughter's mother-in-law Julie gave us 2 cases of grapes.  I decided to come up with something to do with all those grapes besides just eating them and making grape jelly, so I made grape juice.

Recently I have been getting grapes from our neighbor’s vines for free but I noticed this spring they removed all their vines and the trellis they were hanging on.  My heart sank. 

To have our own supply I have planted 5 grape vines in the last 3 years. Three are doing very well; two are struggling, but hopefully we will have our own grape harvest.

Chicken Stock

Easy to Make Homemade Chicken Stock.
At the heart of every great soup is a stock base. Broth is really the same as stock, just with salt added. Commercially made stock is called broth, (salt added) and is convenient, I know. There are now even a few brands that are natural and organic.  But the flavor is lacking, there is just no comparison to homemade stock, and many commercial brands are high in sodium.  And bland tasting, did I mention that?

Chicken stock is a must have pantry stocking item because it can be used in soup, sauces, gravies, used for simmering meats, added to casseroles and flavors endless recipes.  

Have you tried it in mashed potatoes? Yum!

And making the stock at home is actually pretty easy.

Anytime you bake a whole chicken, fry a cut up chicken or have leftovers,

Natural Tomato Soup

A Healthier Soup Alternative
Tomatoes are ripe on the vine here in Ohio and since I plant my own, I have an abundance!  The smell and taste of a ripe tomato fresh from the garden is one of my favorite summer joys.

But what to do with all those tomatoes can quickly turn into a summer dilemma. 

A few years back,  good friend of my niece Sarah posted a recipe for homemade tomato soup on Facebook.  I changed the recipe after the first year by adding 1 less green bell pepper (over powers the tomatoes) and by adding 1 to 2 extra bay leaves.
I have been making it every summer since. 

It’s a pretty easy process and the soup is delicious, especially in the middle of the winter.

For best results use only fresh produce from your garden or organic produce from a local farm market.  Store purchased produce has no where near the flavor of fresh locally grown, but you probably already know that.

Determining how many tomatoes you need is no easy task.  I have found that I need approximately 12 to 14 pounds of tomatoes to make about 8 pints of soup.  (or one canner load) Or another way to figure it is you need approximately 2 large tomatoes per pint.
I add more tomatoes to mine, making my soup mostly tomatoes with the veggies added for flavor. Adding too many vegetables makes it tastes more like vegetable juice!

Cucumbers into Pickles

Easy Homemade Garlic Dill Pickles

I'm always thrilled to find an easy way to make something my family loves.  Pickles were always difficult to get correct because of the whole brine thing.

But now I'm in pickle heaven, with this easy to follow recipe and method.  I have made several batches of pickles since discovering the Ball Kosher Dill Pickle Mix.  I changed the recipe just a little because we like strong dill and garlic flavored pickles like the Deli style Claussen pickle.  The end result is amazing.

Orange Marmalade

UPDATE:
Since writing this post I entered my Orange Marmalade in the Ohio State Fair and won a 1st Place Blue Ribbon
and a Best of Show! I am tickled...... orange!

1st place and Best of Show Orange Marmalade

Using Leftover Holiday Oranges
I have a few oranges getting close to being "too" ripe, left over from Christmas I think.  Oranges are a tropical fruit and at one time were considered an exotic luxury for anyone not living near Florida, California, or in a Mediterranean climate. 

Turning Maple Tree Sap Into Syrup

Making Maple Syrup
I have read that many people and cultures believe that drinking maple sap is a way to energize the body after a long winter. I decided to have a little glass to start the morning off. 

Maple sap is regarded as a medicine, a Spring tonic, by most American Indian nations where maple sap is gathered.  In South Korea, the drinking of sap is linked to a wide range of health benefits.

After collecting enough sap from our maple trees I started early this morning getting everything ready for the boiling process.

Choosing a Farm Market and Making Jam

I have been going to the same farm for strawberries for years, but the last couple of years, the farm was unkempt, strawberries were bad, little or non-existent, and the people running the farm store were not very helpful and a little unfriendly.

I decided this was the year to find a new farm! so started to look for a "Pick Your Own" type farm.
   

My son Daniel and my mid 1990's cow motif kitchen

I started canning (or preserving food) when my son Daniel was little,in the early 1990's.  The photo above shows him at about 2 1/2 years old. And yea, I had a "cow" decorated kitchen, yikes!