Nevadans?

[americanvalkyrie]

but call ducks are tiny compared to your drakes

BTW have you check out my pictures

I love them! That's what my hamburg probably would have looked like... if he'd been female.

I love the SLRW, too. But then, I love splashes in general. Are you getting any eggs from your production red?

 

[Peep_Show]

AmericanValkyrie:

I commiserate with the steam bath conditions of canning. This year I decided to try a steam canner instead of water bath for finishing off the jars. (Steam canner is NOT a pressure cooker....It uses a shallow pan, a rack and a tall lid). The advantage was that it takes less time to heat up AND less water.

Got a FreshTech Jam Maker as a gift. Fun gizmo, but only makes about 3 to 4 pints at a crack. I kinda feel like I'm cheating as it does all the stirring and cooking and I just have to show up when the beeper beeps, but it sure makes it easier to multi-task in the kitchen...like getting jars ready, chopping fruit, etc.

We had a big sale at the local Hispanic market of ripe black plums (2 lbs for $.99) and fresh ginger ($.99/lb), so I bought a passle of them, slipped the skins (yellow flesh with just a hint of red bloom) and made some ginger'd plum jam.... It turned out very pretty, kinda the color of apricot preserves. Also did a batch of three-pepper jelly (bell, jalepeno, serano).

Tomorrow I'm headed out to Cardenas....hopefully they stil have cherries on sale as I want to put up several jars in syrup.

My favorite sound? The tink of a sealing lid!

- - -

Fresh fruity slaw

1 cup chopped nuts (we like cashews, but pecans, peanuts, macs or almonds work)
3 T. Pepper Jelly
1/4 C. rice wine vinegar
1 T. sesame oil
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 C. salad oil (Not olive)
1 (16 oz) package shredded cabbage or 3/4 finely sliced cabbage head
2 fresh mangos peeled and coarsely chopped (can substitute peaches)

Microwave jelly for 15 seconds, then whisk in vinegar, sesame oil and ginger. Add oil to this liquid in a slow, steady whisk stream until well-blended. Add cabbage and toss to coat. Stirr in fruit, stir in nuts. Serve immediately or cover and chill for later (but don't add nuts until last minute before serving; Otherwise they get kinda rubbery) This is a nice alternative to the usual creamy cole slaw.

 

[Peep_Show]

Oops!

Credit where credit is due....

The recipe is a variation of one from the July 2012 Southern Livings magazine

 

[horseshowmomnv]

AmericanValkyrie:

I commiserate with the steam bath conditions of canning. This year I decided to try a steam canner instead of water bath for finishing off the jars. (Steam canner is NOT a pressure cooker....It uses a shallow pan, a rack and a tall lid). The advantage was that it takes less time to heat up AND less water.

I hot water bathed 5 qts of tomato sauce yesterday, wow was my house hot and humid! YIKES... Hoping the next round will be cooler outside. I have never heard of steam bath canning. Sounds like something worth looking into as it takes a vast amount of energy to heat all the water in the pot for water bath canning.

 

[2seth2]

yes missy the production red and wayandotte both lay but never on the sam day, but everday they switch off?? is this normal

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I've never used a steam bath canner, just the water bath. A friend bought one last year and asked me to try it out for her, since I'm the one who taught her how to can anyway. But she brought it over at the tail end of canning season, and it was way too easy just to whip up one last batch and use the water bath. This year I bought a second water bath (even though the old one worked fine.) I could do twice as much canning, if I was ever in a situation where I had a second stovetop.

And I was thinking today... as much as I hate to admit it, the pressure canner is probably the next step. If I continue to garden to this extent, I'm going to need a warm storage method for my low-acid foods. There's only so long you can keep a potato, and what happens to the meat when the power goes out? It's just had me thinking lately. I'm not ready yet, but that's what my mom said when she first started really preserving her garden harvest. A few years later, she broke down and admitted that the squash and green beans needed some kind of preservation other than picking, since she needed the freezer for the venison and lamb.

Speaking of canning, is there anyone who wanted to learn? I'm teaching a class in September. It's at my church, but anyone is welcome, and it's totally free. (And if you show up with green hair, people are bound to look at you and say, "Oh hi, you must be one of Missy's friends!) I think they've finally gotten used to all the times I've walked in there with hot pink streaks in my hair.

I would LOVE the gingered plum recipe! My plum trees produce SOUR SOUR fruit (did I mention it's super SOUR???) but it's great for jams and chutneys. In fact, yearly chutney is now a tradition, since those who like it REALLY like it. Today, I did carrot/chipotle salsa, which turned out a beautiful brick maroon color, since I used a few black krim tomatoes and deep purple carrots. And I did 6 pints of mustard beans with all the snap beans I picked today. Most of the ingredients were right from the garden, with the exeption of the spices, vinegar, and a few cups of tomato, which I bought at the Hispanic market for super cheap! I told my husband that he needs to be really proud of me for not letting a scrap of this garden produce go to waste. You know, because he needs to be instructed on when to be proud or not.

That coleslaw recipe sounds awesome! Cabbage is 5lbs/$1 at the semi-Hispanic market (Smart & Final) so I might make a bunch. I have a recipe for a German spiced red cabbage, whenever that goes on sale.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

yes missy the production red and wayandotte both lay but never on the sam day, but everday they switch off?? is this normal

If I was a chicken, I wouldn't want to be pressured to lay every day, either! The switching off is probably just coincidence, like how I once got 9 eggs from 9 laying hens. How often does that happen???

 

[horseshowmomnv]

And I was thinking today... as much as I hate to admit it, the pressure canner is probably the next step. If I continue to garden to this extent, I'm going to need a warm storage method for my low-acid foods. There's only so long you can keep a potato, and what happens to the meat when the power goes out? It's just had me thinking lately. I'm not ready yet, but that's what my mom said when she first started really preserving her garden harvest. A few years later, she broke down and admitted that the squash and green beans needed some kind of preservation other than picking, since she needed the freezer for the venison and lamb.

Missy,
I have been pressure canning for a couple of years now. My kids love home canned pinto beans, made into "refried" beans. I have pressure canned green beans, corn, and I am sure other things. I have never canned meats, but would like to. A friend just learned how can tuna, she said it was very very simple. So, go for it... start pressure canning.

 

[2seth2]

hahahahaha it is like perr pressure do it do it COME ON MISSY PRESSURE CAN!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

 

[horseshowmomnv]