Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[Cheeky Chick]

I made pickles for the first time yesterday. Other than scalding myself with some boiling water, it went pretty well. My farmstand friend gave me the kirbys I used. Want me to check with her to see if she can get major loads of cukes for you?

YES!!!! If I buy it in bulk it'll probably cost WAY less! Thank you!!

 

[magsrags]

Happy Tuesday peoples!
Might have to run out for berries to preserve today with all this talk on pickles. I put up pickles/zuccini a few weeks ago but I am thinking maybe another batch for holiday gifts woud be a smart move.
Made a ton of roasted peppers the other day and are they good on about anything.

Fabulous weather out there so enjoy it!

 

[Cheeky Chick]

Happy Tuesday peoples!
Might have to run out for berries to preserve today with all this talk on pickles. I put up pickles/zuccini a few weeks ago but I am thinking maybe another batch for holiday gifts woud be a smart move.
Made a ton of roasted peppers the other day and are they good on about anything.

Fabulous weather out there so enjoy it!

I'm thinking I'm going to do this too-make baskets up for some of the people I usually buy something small for. Apple butter, cinnamon apples, cinnamon bread, and a fancy spreader? Hmmmm...


How do you make your roasted peppers and your zucchini? I just picked some of my last peppers from the garden this morning. they need to color up, but I'm hoping the ones left on the plants will mature faster without the full sized peppers still on. (I'm no green thumb, but it just made sense to me)

It's so cold out there, the plants are wilting fast!! I hope this isn't a sign of the winter we're going to have.

 

[Sallysec]

I've always wanted to pickle and can....if you all are willing, I will pick your brains for knowledge next year.

 

[Cheeky Chick]

I've always wanted to pickle and can....if you all are willing, I will pick your brains for knowledge next year.

Absolutely. before I started I thought it was going to be horribly difficult. It's actually easy and I find it loads of fun!

 

[Imprfctme]

Ok so first we had chicken math, now we have canning/pickle math! I have been looking into an upright freezer for real now and am trying to talk my local friends into getting a side of beef. We are a bad/good influence on each other for sure!

Sally canning is much easier than you would think, but considering you still have a little 'un don't put pressure on yourself to figure it all out at once. I recommend getting the Ball's Guide to canning and start with something easy like apple sauce. Your 4yr old will love helping you if you get the corkscrew peeler. My kids fight over who gets to peel the next apple. That and turning the food mill crank although they figure out that's hard work pretty fast, lol. I did tomatoes for the first time this summer and it was WAY easier than I thought it would be. Going to be awesome come winter to have homemade Marinara on hand. Where are you again? Maybe next year we can do a canning party - or heck this year - come down and we'll put up stuff together. When I pickle I start going a little nuts and throw all the green tomatoes and random string beans into the jar too. Right now I'm trying to not pick stuff and let everything mature. I have a jar of dried beans from the runner beans that I'm trying to fill, and I want this red-tip okra again next year so I'm waiting for those seeds to ripen. I found a milkweed pod on Sunday at the Audubon center, definitely going to plan a butterfly garden for next spring. I think my head is going into hibernation mode, I'm thinking about what goes underground, what gets put away, what will come up in spring.

We are going to Lake George for Columbus Day weekend, just needed to get away with the family for a short trip. I'm hoping we can stop off in Rhinebeck on the way up and just check it out. Too early for the yarn festival but the architecture looks great. Any suggestions on must visits? Alas I am not a knitter/crocheter but I'll pick something up and mail to you LI ladies if you like.

I am waiting for my first college class in almost 20yrs to start in about half an hour. I signed up for a writing class on animals that does field trips to the zoo. Terrified and anxious all the same. You guys give me inspiration though, thank you all for your support. I hope the teacher likes stories about chickens..... ;0)

and no, I DON'T need anymore chickens, ta very much! Want, yes, can fit in without alerting my husband, no. ;-p He is just getting over my bringing home the D'Uccle from the fair back in August. Meanwhile the girls are lobbying for a bunny rabbit.... yeesh, even I need a break from animal husbandry every now and then! I said they could have stuffed animals instead.

 

[Imprfctme]

Ooh this thread is bad for me. I'm so itching to hatch eggs now.

Welcome back.... to the dark side, mwah ha ha!

 

[Imprfctme]

Quote: I'm thinking I'm going to do this too-make baskets up for some of the people I usually buy something small for. Apple butter, cinnamon apples, cinnamon bread, and a fancy spreader? Hmmmm...


How do you make your roasted peppers and your zucchini? I just picked some of my last peppers from the garden this morning. they need to color up, but I'm hoping the ones left on the plants will mature faster without the full sized peppers still on. (I'm no green thumb, but it just made sense to me)

It's so cold out there, the plants are wilting fast!! I hope this isn't a sign of the winter we're going to have.

Yeah, ditto on the peppers - do you have a pressure canner? We really should do a canning party, how much fun would that be?! I have a big big water bath canner that I got from Homestead supplies and a great aluminum pot that I found at a tag sale for about $10 that's perfect for sauces, jams, etc.

 

[Cheeky Chick]

Yeah, ditto on the peppers - do you have a pressure canner? We really should do a canning party, how much fun would that be?! I have a big big water bath canner that I got from Homestead supplies and a great aluminum pot that I found at a tag sale for about $10 that's perfect for sauces, jams, etc.

No, I just have an enormous pot that I use for stew and other large family meals-it's just deep enough for pints, I'm not sure about quarts. I'll check that out today. I'm making a trip to Ace Hardware-they have the best prices around on jars, lids and supplies. I'd love to get a pressure canner, but that's in the future, my husbands side work season is coming to a close, so I think I'll stick to water bath canning for now.

A party??? I love partyies of any kind, and if we're doing something fun-count me in!

 

[Sallysec]

Ok so first we had chicken math, now we have canning/pickle math! I have been looking into an upright freezer for real now and am trying to talk my local friends into getting a side of beef. We are a bad/good influence on each other for sure!
Sally canning is much easier than you would think, but considering you still have a little 'un don't put pressure on yourself to figure it all out at once. I recommend getting the Ball's Guide to canning and start with something easy like apple sauce. Your 4yr old will love helping you if you get the corkscrew peeler. My kids fight over who gets to peel the next apple. That and turning the food mill crank although they figure out that's hard work pretty fast, lol. I did tomatoes for the first time this summer and it was WAY easier than I thought it would be. Going to be awesome come winter to have homemade Marinara on hand. Where are you again? Maybe next year we can do a canning party - or heck this year - come down and we'll put up stuff together. When I pickle I start going a little nuts and throw all the green tomatoes and random string beans into the jar too. Right now I'm trying to not pick stuff and let everything mature. I have a jar of dried beans from the runner beans that I'm trying to fill, and I want this red-tip okra again next year so I'm waiting for those seeds to ripen. I found a milkweed pod on Sunday at the Audubon center, definitely going to plan a butterfly garden for next spring. I think my head is going into hibernation mode, I'm thinking about what goes underground, what gets put away, what will come up in spring.
We are going to Lake George for Columbus Day weekend, just needed to get away with the family for a short trip. I'm hoping we can stop off in Rhinebeck on the way up and just check it out. Too early for the yarn festival but the architecture looks great. Any suggestions on must visits? Alas I am not a knitter/crocheter but I'll pick something up and mail to you LI ladies if you like.
I am waiting for my first college class in almost 20yrs to start in about half an hour. I signed up for a writing class on animals that does field trips to the zoo. Terrified and anxious all the same. You guys give me inspiration though, thank you all for your support. I hope the teacher likes stories about chickens..... ;0)
and no, I DON'T need anymore chickens, ta very much! Want, yes, can fit in without alerting my husband, no. ;-p He is just getting over my bringing home the D'Uccle from the fair back in August. Meanwhile the girls are lobbying for a bunny rabbit.... yeesh, even I need a break from animal husbandry every now and then! I said they could have stuffed animals instead.

I am trying my best to not bite off more than I can chew, my duh built me a beautiful raised garden bed four years ago and every mother's day he adds an improvement. I actually got talked into chickens because of the kids and my views on fresh food etc with the added benefit of them helping in the garden. I've always wanted to can, my mother did it with my older sisters but I never learned. I thought about purchasing a pressure canner and learning but it seemed expensive. Most of my veggies/ herbs I freeze...I have a dehydrated as well. I would LOVE to make jams and jellies. I am in rockland nyack if your familiar. I'd love to see a canning get there as long as someone supervises lol.

Have you ever been to Sherman lake? We go every fathers day to a ranch resort up there...it's absolutely my favorite relaxing vacation. They do all the cooking, cleaning, entertaining, and it's so family friendly. It's around three miles from lake George.

Good luck on the class.