Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[jvls1942]

update on my first attempt at using the inst pot for ribs and kraut.
the meal was a pleasant success.
not too thrilled with the timer on the pot.
it doesn't count down. just shows the amount of time you set.
also I feel the heat is too high.
It evaporated almost two boxes of chicken stock
in four hours.
but the star of the show,,, the kraut.
I was never much of a kraut lover, it was always too salty. this ho made stuff was just fine. I could become a kraut lover after all.

 

[Callender Girl]

Congrats on your almost-conversion to a sauerkraut fan!

The trace of predicted snow that fell yesterday was removable with a broom. The overnight snow is heavier and wetter. Good thing I stashed a snow shovel by the back door before I went to bed. I cleared the deck before I took out dogs this morning, although the lazy part of me whispered, "It's supposed to be in the 40s this week; it will melt."

 

[jvls1942]

sure it will melt,,,,next spring !
I have been up since 2AM
got a good two hours of sleep in.
It is supposed to snow sometime tonight.
I didn't look outside to see.

 

[Cebarmlds]

I started the ribs and kraut at about 9AM
it really smells good in here right now.
I was concerned about how hard the steam was spewing out of the relief port.
I let it go for about an hour, then shut it down. went online for some additional information. not much there pertaining to my model of insta pot.
did pick up one bit of information that vaguely fit. I tried it and so far the heat has settled down. I have the timer set for a half hour. if it shuts itself off, then I will know that I did something correctly.
there is plenty of time if I have to transfer the contents into my cast iron kettle , if it comes to that..

jvls is the knob on top of the lid turned to 'sealing' ? if it's on 'venting' it'll continue to spew out moisture.

 

[jvls1942]

maybe I was wrong, but I understood that for slow cooking, the knob was supposed to be turned to "steam".
the kitchen window was so steamed up we couldn't see out of it. lolol
to begin with I had the temperature set too high. after an hour, I turned the pot off and reset the temperature.
I think there is something wrong with the sensors.

 

[jvls1942]

cold today.
Annie went to town. She is going to bring back ten pounds of cabbage for me. I am going to pack a one gallon jub to the max with kraut. this batch I will hot water bath when it is ready . (about Christmas time ).
we got only about a half inch of snow. not even thinking of plowing.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We got about 2 inches of snow. Enough for a couple of almost slips. The cold feels like January. Hopefully it's not a look at what's to come. My trip down my driveway to check for mail was painful on my face. That wind chill was wicked. Definitely wasn't ready for it.

 

[jvls1942]

really cold today.
so I decided it would be a good day to start the one gallon batch of kraut.
I tried the shredder attachment on the food processor . by the time I cut the pieces small enough to fit through that tine feeder tube, I might just as well cut it by hand.. so I did. I used a serrated bread knife. It saws through the cabbage very nicely.
I am doing two pound batches at a time.
have about half of it cut up.(1 head) will salt this and get it into the jar before I start the second head..
If I have extra, I will add that to the jar that is already kraut..

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds like a good activity for a cold Wisconsin day Jim. Finding the right knife for the job sure helps. Glad this cold isn't sticking around yet. It is good practice to remind what's to come, and to figure out the critter feeding.

 

[BockBockChick]

Soil for growing is bad here. It is hard thick clay that cracks....like grand canyon cracks. Watering just increases the water table.

We have sandy soil here, so watering and keeping plants adequately hydrated is a challenge . . . especially because we have a drought. If we don't regularly water, the sandy soil dries out in a snap.

I decided to try Brussels sprouts for the first time this year, after seeing one last lonley six-pack sitting on the shelf. So far so good. If I can keep the cabbage butterflies off of them, I think they will actually do quite well. Just fun watching them grow.