Preserving Your Harvest

[Birdsonghill]

My mother made ground cherry pies. The little husk "tomato" that grew wild on the edge of the fields. She would have us help pick and she would make us a pie from them. I did not pay any attention, but to the eating! It was a bit like mincemeat pie the way she made it with the spices. She made Tomato aspic, tomato wine and canned a lot of tomatoes when she could. I am surprise she did not make tomato pies or jam, but she did also make a spread of tomato, garlic, basil, walnuts and Italian parsley. Great on toasted bread rounds from a fresh sour dough bread.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I am so disjointed at times! I meant to mention the husk tomatoes, because they are everywhere around here this time of the year! I have two distinctly different wild varieties growing around my garden areas. I have not made a pie from them yet but have made a salsa that was great. A slightly bitter and sweet tang simultaneously coming from the ground cherries/husk tomatoes. The firm fresh golden ones were best flavored. Growing up to maybe an inch but usually a half inch out of the husk. Sort them well to remove old soft ones that may have fermented or ones with worm holes, as the worms may still reside inside. I add them to cooking chopped tomatoes, onions with a clove of garlic, plenty of lime juice, a splash of wine or cider vinegar, salt , chopped jalapenos and fresh cilantro added when serving warm or cold . My grandson ask me to add a splash of pineapple juice or chopped pineapple when serving with carnitas for the sweetness.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I trayed up a small harvest for the freeze dryer. This tray plus an additional, full tray of cabbage. That's one of the best things about freeze-drying - you can just do little bits until you have enough for a load. The trays are pre-freezing in the deep freeze.
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I am a bit envious of the freeze dryer! I'll get over it. The wife has made me promise to stop spending so much on tools, gadgets and appliances! The quality of freeze dried foods can be impressive! Vacuum packed freeze dried is the way to go for longest term quality storage. Two new heat pack HVAC units this year and a new deck about $28,000 cash, so a freeze dryer is out for now!

 

[Smokerbill]

I broke the seal on one of my jars of zucchini relish today, and it was a tight seal! I made an easy (canned) salmon salad: 1/2 can of salmon, 2 Tbs relish and 2 Tbs Ranch dressing.

The relish was good. It's not as sweet as Walmart's Great Value relish, which is what I was shooting for-not overly sweet. I got a hint of celery flavor from the celery seeds, but not a bit of heat from the hot peppers I added.

The texture is finer than I expected. Next time I think I'll run the squash through my KitchenAid shredder attachment and chop the shreds with a knife. I'm wanting a 1/16" to 1/8" dice of all the veggie ingredients

 

[Sammster]

I am a bit envious of the freeze dryer! I'll get over it. The wife has made me promise to stop spending so much on tools, gadgets and appliances! The quality of freeze dried foods can be impressive! Vacuum packed freeze dried is the way to go for longest term quality storage. Two new heat pack HVAC units this year and a new deck about $28,000 cash, so a freeze dryer is out for now!

Yikes! I understand. They are an investment. And homeowners have to prioritize.

 

[Sammster]

The jar of red powder is tomato sauce. I probably started with, I dunno... 40 tomatoes. Blended and cooked down before freeze drying. I can use it as sauce, paste or juice - depending on how much water I use when reconstituting. Or use it as a thickener in tomato-based recipes. The jar of brown powder is chicken bone-broth. I can fully reconstitute, or use it like bullion to add flavor to... whatever.

 

[Smokerbill]

I started an experiment this morning. I know green beans can be made into fermented pickles, so I'm trying something a little different.

I chopped a small onion, four small green tomatoes and enough yellow wax beans in my food processor, enough to total up to 1 pound (about 450 grams).

I mixed in 3.3% canning salt, by weight, and put it in jars to ferment. I guess it'll be some kind of salty, fermented pickle relish. It might be good or it might be awful, but I figured it was worth a shot.



The chopped peppers I've been fermenting for the last week are chugging right along. No problems so far.

 

[Smokerbill]

I going to be making tomato sauce today, then canning it in pint jars. I rigged up a double boiler to gently thaw all the crushed tomatoes I've frozen over the last couple of weeks. I have around 5 pounds more of fresh tomatoes to add to these before reducing down to sauce.

 

[Smokerbill]

The tomatoes are reducing on the back porch. After they softened up I strained out all of the skins and solid pieces, pureed them in the blender and dumped it back into the pot.

I had to set up a wind block to keep the flame steady.

 

[pennyJo1960]

My tomato is bust none get ripe even now.
lots of green to tomato to fry,