For All My friends Who Can't watch my videos!

I Have heard a lot of disaster stories about canning

potatoes..It is simple really. The only trick..is following instructions!

Here we Go!

Small New Potatoes are best..But you can process bigger ones..just make sure they are new and fresh..

wash and dice to about 1-1& 1/2 inches..cutting off any spoiled or iffy spots.

Place in a large stock pot..this pot is holding 10 pounds of potatoes.  Turn the burner on high. ALWAYS start with COLD water!

Bring to a boil and then turn down to a bubbling simmer for 10 FULL MINUTES!!!

This is crucial!!!

Strain the potatoes and reserve the liquid to fill your jars with.

Gently pack your hot potatoes into hot sterile canning jars to one inch from the top of the jar.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt NON IODIZED.

Ladle hot reserved potato water over your spuds to one inch from the top of jar.

De-Bubble By running the handle of a spatula in and around the potatoes. This releases all the air bubbles.

With a clean cloth wipe the rim of the jars
and put on you hot sterile lids. Screw down the bands to finger tip tight.

Pack into your pressure canner.the jars can touch..but must NOT be TIGHTLY packed together.

I have 15 pints in the canner here. 8 on the bottom rack and a rack in between to support the top layer.
There is 2 inches of boiling water in the bottom of the canner and about an ounce of vinegar to help keep the jars from clouding  on the outside from well water minerals.

Lock on lid and when you have a STEADY STREAM OF STEAM...allow the canner to vent for 10 minutes..thus ensuring that all air is pushed out of the canner.

Once the canner has vented..put the weight gauge on and wait for it to jiggle vigorously ..when this happens..SLOWLY turn down the heat a little at a time..( If you turn it down to fast..you will lose pressure and have to start over)until it is a gentle rocking or spinning motion..
Once your weight begins to jiggle vigorously..start timing your canner. You process pints for 30 minutes and 40 minutes for Quarts.
when your timer goes off..shut off the canner and allow to completely cool before opening.


NEVER rapid cool your canner by releasing steam early or by putting you canner into cold water.
Always wait until you canner is cool enough that you can lay you hand comfortably on the lid..and ALWAYS open the lid AWAY from you to prevent escaping steam in your face.
Follow manufacturers directions if you live 1000 feet or more ABOVE sea level.

Label, Date and store away for a rainy day!

CHEERS!

Dehydrating Beans

Alternative to Canning!!

I love Canning!! Especially green beans! Maybe it is because Mom didn't have a lot of freezer space and we ate a lot of tinned veggies..whatever the reason..canned green beans are my favorite!

BUT....

What if you don't have a lot of freezer space OR shelf space? Then Dehydrating is for you!

It is a fact that after and extended period of time, Frozen food lose flavour, nutrients and even edibility! And Canned foods..even home canned..lose a certain amount of nutrients in Processing ( Not to mention flavour)

But Dehydrated food retain approx 80 plus percent of there nutrients and can be stored indefinitely if properly sealed! Also the take up Less shelf space..can be stored almost anywhere at any temperature and humidity levels! ( when Properly sealed)  So this year I plan on making my dehydrator earn it's KEEP! Let's start with beans fresh from the garden shall we? 

These are Burgundy and Yellow  bush beans straight from my garden. ( heirloom organic) The first picking is always slim..so I decided it would be faster and easier to dehydrate them! 

Always use the freshest produce available.

Wash and cut your beans into your preferred size.

While you are cutting up your beans, set  to boiling, enough water to cover your beans in the pot..add a little salt. When water is boiling..drop the beans in and boil for 2 minutes. Effectively blanching them.

The WONDERFUL thing about these burgundy beans..is that they turn GREEN once blanched..actually telling you when they are ready!  After they are blanched drain and dump into cold water.  When cool drain and pat dry.

Begin laying your beans on your dehydrator tray.

be sure they do not touch each other.

When all the beans are on the trays..close your dehydrator and set to 130 DF and run for 8-12 hours. You will know they are "done" when you break a bean in half and there is NO moisture content what so ever inside the bean!

The don't LOOK appetizing but can be quickly plumped back up by dropping into a pot of boiling water.  AND enough beans for 3-4 people will fit into a one cup Jelly jar!

So Why let a lack of freezer or shelf space stop you from stocking up while fresh produce is in season?

CHEERS!!

Spring Sap Run!

Time for Maple Syrup!!!

Yes Folks! Spring has Arrived on Our half acre Homestead! With it came the spring sap run!  We Don't get a lot of sap..enough to give us a litre or two of syrup.  We tapped 14 trees this year..and would have got a lot more sap..However..the temps rose too fast for us to run the sap for long.  But we'll get a taste! First though we drill a hole on the sunny side of the tree..

tap in a spigot and hang a bucket to collect the sap!

It takes forty gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup...or there about.

Once we collected enough sap for a pot full..

We put it on to boil down.

Once it boils down to a rich dark colour..we will strain it through a clean pillow case into the stock pot for finishing in the house!

 

Our pot was not big enough to boil all the sap at once.  What we do when this happens.. we boil down the first pot to a nice dark amber colour.  We then pour it into a smaller pot and set aside. We refill the large pot with fresh sap and again..boil down to the same colour as the partially reduced sap that has been set aside.  Once the second batch has reached the same colour..we combine the two batches back into the large pot..and continue to reduce.

Many people make the mistake..of adding fresh sap to the already partially reduced syrup.  This dilutes the syrup and your sugar content and stability is compromised.  It is useable syrup..BUT must be refrigerated once bottled.

Syrup that has been properly boiled down..does NOT need to be refrigerated. It is shelf stable!

The next step is to get your bottles washed and rinsed thoroughly. My neighbors, when I was growing up used old whiskey bottles. But I save my store bought syrup bottles!

When the sap has boiled down to the right colour and flavour. We strain it through a clean pillow case..and bring it in the house for finishing on the stove.

Once boiling on the stove...you take a 1/4 cup of milk and one fresh egg..

and you beat them together. (I did not get a picture of this as my hands were full at the time.) Once your egg milk mixture is beaten up..pour it into the nearly finished boiling syrup. The egg and milk mixture COOKS in the boiling syrup. This is then skimmed off..this removes the finer particles that the straining process could NOT get.

  

This is how the scrambled egg looks when it has removed the fine silt from the syrup. 

Throw this out..or feed it to the pigs!

Once this is done it is now ready for the final straining through a fresh clean pillow case.

Now it is ready to be ladled into clean bottles and be capped!

The result is a lovely clear sweet product ready for your pancakes!

Nothing beats maple syrup you have made yourself!!

YUMMY!!

CHEERS!

Update!!

Busy Busy Summer!

Hey Everyone!
Hope you have all had a wonderful summer! Mine has been busy to the point of exhaustion at times..but It has been wonderful none the less!
Here are some updates!

TOMATO HANGERS

I was not overly impressed with the results of these..Having said THAT..A lot of the problems could very well have stemmed from my lack of proper filling. Having had surgery and being weak..I did not fill them as much as I should have..and I also forgot one very KEY ingredient to the soil/mulch mixture..CALCIUM...Tomatoes LOVE calcium. SO..I will give them another shot next year..and these are the changes I will make.

A) I will rinse and save my egg shells to mix in with the soil/compost mix.

B) I will fill them COMPLETELY with the mixture ( as in not half full)

C) I will not over water..because of the lack of sufficient soil..I had to water more frequently thus causing mold issues.

CABBAGE TENT

On the Whole I was VERY pleased with the results! The tent was too small to allow me to leave it on for the entire grow period..However..it DID allow the cabbages to get to a decent enough head size before they goat attacked but cabbage worms.  So although there was SOME damage..There was not enough to deter me from planting them again next year. Here is a video on the results and what I did with the harvest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDY4z0DcbEQ

BEANS!

On the whole my beans did REALLY well and I would say I got over a bushel from the 3 rows...I have left some larger ones on the plants and pulled them up and hung them to dry..thus saving my seed for next year. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywhfD2swq2c

BEES!

Our Hives did well..although we ran into a few problems with one hive.

But so far harvested about 30 pounds of honey..with another super to be harvested yet.  We are VERY pleased!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1wWNnZrOwI

MILK!

Bizzy..Our Nanny Goat that gave us Twin Daughter Back in May..is giving us between 3 and 3.5 litres of milk a day! And I have bought a hand crank cream separator! So as I result I have been making butter and cheese! Still working it all out..but it is an experience I am having a lot of fun with!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyBIeG4_sw8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otZOMbffkZw

All in All It has been an amazing summer..and it is far from over!

We still have things to harvest..and chickens to get into the freezer.

But I would say it is a lifestyle that is fast becoming second nature to us,

and will continue as long as we are able.  There is something WONDERFUL..about sitting down to a meal and knowing that everything on your plate..including the glass of milk beside  it..came from your own land and hard work! I know not everyone is lucky enough to have a little half acre of heaven...But self sufficiency can be had by even city and apartment dwellers. Find the deals at the farmers market..Shop in Bulk..teach yourself to can.  I promise you won't be sorry!

Here is my channel on YouTube..I have spent a lot of time putting together many how to videos for you..and basically sharing our journey up to this point. Thanks all for your patience..I will continue to be busy for a month or so yet...but will do my best to be more attentive to my blog when things slow down!

Blessings!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMrsVolfie?feature=mhee

Tis the Season For Canning!

Pressure Canning Beans!

Hey Folks! Well It's That time again! The beans are ripening faster than a Jack Rabbit on a date! So it was time to get out the pressure canner and start jarring them up!

Here is how I do it!

Pick your beans.

Snap of the ends and snap (or cut) them into desired lengths.

Rinse thoroughly and leave in a bowl of cold water while you assemble your equipment.

You will Need;

One pressure canner

Mason Jars with new lids.

Canning Funnel

Slim Spatula

Small pot for boiling lids

Large kettle of hot water

Salt

Wash your Jars and rinse well.

Wash your lid inserts and boil for five minutes..leaving in hot pot of water on low heat until needed.

Prepare you canner with manufacturers recommended amount of water ( this depends on size and make of pressure canner) I add a couple tablespoon of vinegar to the water..as I have a well..and this helps reduce any cloudy of minerals from sticking to the outside of the jars in processing.

 Have the water hot and simmering gently.

Take a jar and insert canning funnel..fill the jar with beans..shake down and fill until beans are one inch from rim of jar.

Add 1/2 tsp salt.

Then add hot water to 1/2 inch from rim of jar.

Then ( VERY IMPORTANT)

Take your spatula and run it up and down around the inside of the jar.

This will release any air that may be trapped around the beans. You will see that your water level in the jar will drop a bit once all air is released.

Then taking a CLEAN damp cloth wipe the rim of the jars..this is crucial..if there are food particles..it may prevent a proper seal from forming.

Place lids on jars and tighten to FINGER TIP TIGHTNESS.

This means..as tight as you can with your finger tips...too tight and excess air in the jars will not be pushed out to create a vacuum.

Fill you canner..Being sure not to force jars in to tight..they can touch..but not be jammed in.

When Canner is full..Make sure the air hole on you pressure valve is clear and not blocks..the easiest way to do this is to blow through it! Then lock the lid on the canner.  Once the lid is locked on turn your burner onto high...and wait for  a stead y stream of steam to begin flowing from the spout.

This steam MUST vent for 10 minutes..this is to ensure all excess air is evacuated from the canner. Once the steam has vented..place you 10-11 pound weight on the spout. ( if you live over 1000 feet about see level you may have to use a 15 pound weight..please check your manufacturers recommendation's)



Once this weight begin to jiggle vigorously..begin timing your process. Bean processed in Pints and Quarts need to be processed at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes.  If your weight begins to jiggle MORE than vigorously..or gets to sounding..Angry..back the heat off slowly until it is once again gently rocking and jiggling away happily!  When you timer goes off..turn off the burner under the canner...and allow to cool NATURALLY! Do NOT try and rapid cool your canner..either by joggling the weight or by placing the canner in cold water..this will ruin your efforts..the colling of the canner naturally is part of the process.  Once the canner has cooled down enough that no steam is present when the weight is touched..then you can safely remove your weight..and open your canner.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS...be sure there is NO pressure left before trying to open the lid..and ALWAYS open the lid by tilting it AWAY from your body and face!!!
Remove jars with canning grips..and set on a towel to cool..you may see some bubbling within the jar..this is normal..as essentially you are cooking the beans directly in the jar.  If you lids do not "pop" down once jars are cool refrigerate and use first. Label and date you efforts and store on a cool pantry shelf.
                                                            HAPPY CANNING!

For Those of you with High speed..here is a short video tutorial!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywhfD2swq2c

CHEERS!