Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

BC- My thoughts and prayers are with you and your father.

As for tomatoes- I just canned 17 pints of chili base and 9 pints of Salsa. Novak's Produce in Foley MN is providing me with additional Tomatoes as mine are so-so this year. For $18 per bushel I am contemplating letting Novaks grow my tomatoes every year!

That is better darn nice of Novak's to grow your tomatoes!

 

[jerryse]

Okay here is a tip you may or may not like for processing tomatoes into sauce . Quarter them or if really large cut into chunks . Run them through the blender on liquify . I just did a bushel in 45 minutes . Cook and run through a food mill to remove seeds and skin . Then season and can as usual . Less waste , less heat and less time . You can also water bath outside on a turkey burner . A bushel filled the water bath pot plus the stainless steel pot . IDK 8-10 quart .

 

[MNChickMom]

Okay here is a tip you may or may not like for processing tomatoes into sauce . Quarter them or if really large cut into chunks . Run them through the blender on liquify . I just did a bushel in 45 minutes . Cook and run through a food mill to remove seeds and skin . Then season and can as usual . Less waste , less heat and less time . You can also water bath outside on a turkey burner . A bushel filled the water bath pot plus the stainless steel pot . IDK 8-10 quart .

I have been liquifing in the blender for years....but I LOVE the idea of the turkey burner. I had the problem last night of tooo many jars for the canner then stay up until 11:15pm to babysit the canner. Why didn't I think of the turkey burner sooner.

More canning tips: When processing sweet corn. Fill your cooler with cleaned, husked corn on the cob. (just throw the corn in willy nilly no perfectly straight rows). Then add enough boiling water (from your turkey boiler) to just barely cover the corn. Let it steam for 40 minutes. Carefully unplug the bottom plug of your cooler and drain. Pull out corn and slice or enjoy. This process works great for corn feeds as well.

 

[jerryse]

Another canning tip if you want to thicken the juice . Let it sit until it cools enough to clump some . Pour through a mesh cider bag . I do this to get paste and then can the nearly clear juice . You can also add the paste back into less juice for thicker sauce . Myself I use Mrs. Wages that has food starch in the pasta mix . This is enough work . No need to waste food , time or heat . I was amazed how little is thrown out from a bushel . Less than a gallon . You can bet the factories waste very little .

 

[jerryse]

Only thing I caught in the rat trap was a shrew . Wonder if it was the tomato lover .

 

[Cebarmlds]

Good luck holm!

I'm heading to St. Cloud today. Papa in the hospital with 3 brain lesions and a spot on his bronchi neurosurgery on Friday. Prayers needed. He's a tough old marine so hoping to get him through this and home fast.

Jerry I'll make you a little garden on the mound if you want... let me know how it all tastes.

No backstraps. She disappeared fast as she appeared. Plus I didn't want to wade in the poison ivy. Oh and no man with a buck knife to do man's work.

Prayers to your Papa,

 

[Cebarmlds]

thay chick would be too old and wont 'bond' with the broody, you need one that is 1-2 days old so it is still young enough to imprint on her and stick to her

Usually yes I agree, but she took in an older chick earlier this summer after the guinea chicks she hatched were taken away. So I hoped it would work and would have tried but the friend with the mean chick killed it

 

[Cebarmlds]

OH! I have been wanting a pressure canner and now I have one All American brand. Now just to figure out how to use it I think I'll try green beans first but I need more jars so off to feet farm tomorrow!
My pumpkins aren't as plentiful as last year, bummer.

 

[jerryse]

Some project pictures . Floor is done . Janet had these on her phone . A real pain for her to download to computer and send to me . Yet she will not pick up the camera to take pictures .

 

[bobbi-j]

OH! I have been wanting a pressure canner and now I have one All American brand. Now just to figure out how to use it I think I'll try green beans first but I need more jars so off to feet farm tomorrow!
My pumpkins aren't as plentiful as last year, bummer.

I love, love, love, my pressure canner. I can chicken, beans, and a combination of venison and beef together (I don't like the venison alone - too gamey). This year's experiment will be salmon. We had some left over in the freezer from our trip to Alaska two years ago, and I need to do something with it. It's not freezer burned, so it should be OK. Enjoy your new toy!