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August 15, 2009

OKRA

Filed under: COOKING,VEGETABLES — grandi13 @ 7:14 pm

The okra is cooked, has cooled, put in bags and is in the freezer.

I fried bacon slowly to get more grease from it and cooked the okra in the bacon grease.  I know it will be good.  We now have 3 pints of fried okra in the freezer.



FRIED/STEAMED OKRA 8-15-09

1 bag of 15 whole pods to place on top of beans or peas.



WHOLE POD OKRA

I have never frozen whole pods before. My mom use to freeze several packages a year in whole pods.

I do really enjoy preparing produce for the freezer.  Yes, it is time consuming and sometimes physically hard, not in strength, just tiring, but I am in my “element” when doing this.

The peaches are now soaking up sugar.  I should have them cooking but DH will be home in a few minutes so I am preparing his supper.  After we finish supper, I will start them.

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DOMESTICATED-PART 5 CANNING & JAMMING

Filed under: CANNING,COOKING,VEGETABLES — grandi13 @ 12:36 pm

I think I am thru canning tomatoes for this season.  Usually tomatoes produce until frost but ours are looking rather bad and the tomatoes are getting smaller and smaller.  If someone should give me some pretty ones, I would probably can more, but am not not planning to can anymore from our bushes.

I canned these yesterday.



8-14-09

This batch makes a total of 26 pints.  All but maybe a pound came from plants that DH put in the flower beds.

I made more peach jam Thursday using the recipe in the Sure-Jel Less Sugar Pectin package.  I doubled the recipe and it did fine.



PEACH JAM 8-13-09

The other recipe that I was using has better color.  I am going to experiment with those I prepare this afternoon, I am going to add maybe a tablespoon of pectin to the batch instead of the entire package.  Hope it works!!!  I’ll let you know.

DH came in from work yesterday saying, “I have more work for you to do” and handed me a grocery bag a little over half full of okra.  I also need to do it today.  Since the day is considered to be half gone, I need to get busy.

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August 3, 2009

DOMESTICATED-PART 4 JAMMING

Filed under: CANNING,COOKING — grandi13 @ 8:22 pm

More peach jam.  It needs to be just a little thicker, but I am not going to re-cook it.

Why does one use a recipe?  To make sure the food is cooked to perfection or as near as possible.  DUH!!  I followed a recipe for the jam or at least I thought I did.  I had read on the net to make jam cook fruits for 25 minutes at a rolling boil.  So that is what I did.  Today, I am looking at the recipe again and Lo and Behold– cooking time is 1 hour on medium heat.

Well, the “jam” I prepared last night sure is pretty and taste really good with peanut butter in a sandwich, even if it does need to be a little thicker .



peach jam 8-2-09

The bottom jars in the back are more true to color, the others look to orange.

I hope what is cooking now will be jam consistency like jam should be.

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August 2, 2009

BUSTED

Filed under: CANNING,COOKING — grandi13 @ 6:01 pm

The spaghetti sauce I canned has a definite vinegar taste.  I do know why, that will help when I make more.  Because of the tomato content in the sauce, I added citric acid and got too much in it. I’ll know better next time.

We will eat it, regardless!

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July 24, 2009

FOUND PEAS

Filed under: COOKING,VEGETABLES — grandi13 @ 11:11 am

DH and I had an active day last Saturday.  About an hour after we get up we go across the river to the big city and do miscellaneous shopping.  After we get the items put away, I start one of my daily activities, the computer surfing.

About 1 hour later DH asks if I am ready to go.  “Go where?”   He replies that I had said I wanted to go to Myrtle Beach.  So away we go.  We pass 2 big Farmer’s Markets  on the way, if they are open we usually stop just to see what they have.  Holden’s didn’t have anything we were willing to pay their price.  Indigo had peas by the bushel, a little high but not so high that I turned away.  We left with a bushel of peas and a hugh watermelon.

I shell peas for an hour or so Saturday night and then finish shelling them on Sunday.  DH helped shell on Sunday.  I refrigerate them in water and finally on Wednesday I get them prepared and in the freezer.  I shared with my MIL but still put 9 pints in the freezer.



I wish I could get at least 4 more bushels like these, I would share with my MIL. They were sold as Dixie Lee, I do not think they are but do not know what they are.  They are a little large for Dixie Lee and are just as tasty if not better.

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July 22, 2009

DOMESTICATED-PART 2

Filed under: CANNING,COOKING,VEGETABLES — grandi13 @ 12:21 pm

Well here goes another story of the work I enjoy.  I have canned tomatoes 2 more times.  I canned 4 pints on Wednesday the 15th.



and 4 pints and 2/3 on Monday the 20th.



10 pints of our homegrown tomatoes canned!!

Our tomatoes have heat spots on some of them.  This is a very hard white spot that I cut away when I am canning them.  They usually start at the stem end of the tomato and can go as far as half way the tomato, rarely even further.  I am wanting to buy some that are not damaged and can them.

I have peas to wash and prepare for freezing.

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July 20, 2009

DOMESTICATED-Part 1

Filed under: ALL ABOUT ME,CANNING,COOKING — grandi13 @ 10:00 am

Well, as promised, here is a bit of my being domesticated.

It was Thursday, not Friday that I looked in an about in three counties trying to find vegetables, with no success.  I really do not remember what I did Friday except prepare lunch for the 3 grandchildren that had spent Thursday night with us and then prepare supper.

We had spaghetti for supper.  I always make my own sauce NEVER adding a jar of sauce such as Ragu or Prego or any others.  Yes, I know I am rambling, so I will shorten the story.

We had quite a bit of sauce left and having canning on the brain, I decide to can the leftovers.  I reheat it until the bubbling stage of boiling, pour it into hot jars and I have canned spaghetti sauce that is far better than anything you can buy in the store.  Leftovers yield 1 quart and 1/2 pint.



I have been known to make a large batch and freeze the leftovers.  Because of the liquid, I can never get all of the air out or even most of it , so it doesn’t keep very well.  Careful, having a brainstorm.  Make sauce and can it—so I do.



I prepared 2 cookings of sauce and had a yield of 10 pints total.   I put 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid in the pints and then placed them in the boiling water bath for about 35 minutes.

Neither of the 3 cookings taste the same, because I use a dash of this-add extra of that-and so on until I like the taste.  I guess I really need to measure the seasonings in the future and when I get a taste ‘to die for’ use that recipe consistently.

More Domesticated in a day or two.

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July 19, 2009

DOMESTICATED

Filed under: ALL ABOUT ME,COOKING,VEGETABLES — grandi13 @ 12:46 pm

NOT!  I am not very domesticated but every once in a while I try to pretend that I am.  Since Friday I have either been on the hunt for vegetables or busy preparing them to freeze or even canning spaghetti sauce.  I will write a full post about my adventures when I have more time.

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July 8, 2009

TOMATOES

Filed under: CANNING,COOKING,VEGETABLES — grandi13 @ 9:33 pm

Our tomatoes are beginning to get ready for picking.  We had just a few more than we could eat, so I decided I would can them.  I put them in pint jars rather than cans.  I added the store bought ones left from July 4th that had been refrigerated.



GREAT! both of the jars have sealed, now time will tell the real story.

This is a first for me.  I even searched the web for directions, bought Guide to Preserving and guess what–did not follow any of those directives.  DD#2 told me she just boiled the tomatoes, put them in hot jars, they sealed and were fine.  I did add lemon juice and salt to the jars before I put in the tomatoes.

DH did find a canner for me last Friday when he was out and about, if I get enough at one time, I will use the boiling bath method.

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July 3, 2009

COOKIES

Filed under: COOKING — grandi13 @ 2:15 pm

First time in a long, long time, decades even, I made cookies from scratch.  I used FeeBee’s recipe. I only made half of the recipe.  These cookies are really good for you because of the oatmeal.  lol


Not pretty but really good!

I did not have any all-purpose flour, I used self rising and left out the baking soda, still delicious.  Even DH said they were good.  The grandchildren that are staying with me today have enjoyed a sampling of them.  We will eat them tomorrow during our traditional cook-out and while watching DH does fireworks for us.

I am looking forward to a good day tomorrow.

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