What are you canning today? Part 9

[Darlene]

After 14 years, I figured it might be nice to start a Part 9 chapter to "What are you canning today?"

 

I'll go first...

 

I'm still canning pickles, but am beginning to ponder the potatoes once they come in...Just another level of prepping: fresh potatoes and canned.

 

And you?

[Midnightmom]

I have a "pickle story" to tell!

 

The most expensive pickles in the world

I've been wanting to try and make some homemade (dill) pickles for a while now, but had been unable to source a good supply of the cukes needed. I recently found a local farm stand that had some so I high-tailed it over there before the day's pickings were gone. I missed the turn a few times, and when I finally found it I was just past it and decided to make a U-turn to get back where I needed to be. I made a left turn across the road to utilize what I thought was an even field. It wasn't.

 

There was a ditch right next to the edge of the road, and the grass in this ditch has just as high as the grass in the rest of the field. Slam, bang; the front end of the car (on the driver's side) went into the ditch and landed hard! I was able to back out - probably since the other front wheel wasn't in the ditch - and drove back to the farm and got the cukes. Some of them were massive.

 

Drove home with no evidence of damage to the car so I promptly forgot about having done that. Then, things started "happening" to the bumper. 

 

I don't drive the car every day, and when I have doctor appt's I use transportation, so when the bumper started to fall off I was genuinely shocked. I had parked the car with the bumper slightly over the abutment that stops you from overshooting the parking spot; apparantly with the bumper OVER the concrete. When I started backing up, I heard this "scraping" sound from the front end. The bumper had gotten "hung-up" on the concrete and was pulling away from the fender.  I "pushed" it back on and didn't think about it again..................until the next time I needed to use the car. This time it started pulling away from the other side of the car! Neighbor helped me get that "back on" and I went to the store. When backing out of that parking space BOTH sides of the bumper pulled away from the frame and there was a piece of "rubber/styrofoam"? laying on the ground that had fallen out from underneath and landed on the ground.

 

The bumper was only holding on in the center of the car because the license plate placement was still attached to the car. The poor thing looked like it was wearing the handlebar mustache (the kind that sags at both corners of the mouth). 

 

 

A kind gentleman helped me get BOTH sides "attached" and I drove-er home. Next day I went to a body shop. Was told I needed a new bumper; approx $1200!!! Decided to file an insurance claim on the "collision" part of my policy. I forgot, I don't have collision. 

 

A friend of mine is going to ask her husband, a mechanic, to see if he can fix it, maybe even take it to his shop if necessary. So, for right now, I only drive when I have to get something impt done, like go to the bank.

 

BTW - since I hit the bottom of that ditch so hard and since the bumper seemed to be lower on one side than the other, I decided to get it checked for alignment, broken struts, and whatever else might have happened to it. I can happily report all of that is well: it is only "cosmetic" damage.

 

View from the road - taken a few weeks later. (At the time of the incident everything was green!) Looked "level" to me. (below)

                                           

                                                              Not as level as I thought!   >>>>>>>>>>

           

 

   

 

    

 

      

 

And the pickles weren't that good. They were soft in the middle and the skin was tough and chewy. 

I will be quite happy to keep buying my pickles at the grocery store!!! 

[Jeepers]

That had to be scary when it happened. We have lots of culverts in Indiana. Deep drainage ditches usually full of water.

 

That really tore up the front end. As bad as it is, it could have been worse, I suppose. I was thinking maybe the oil pan or radiator too. I bottomed out in a snowball once and destroyed my radiator. $$$.  I really hope your friends hubby can fix it. Labor is so expensive. Glad you are okay though!  All that and no pickles. Dang. 

 

Is that Sam Elliot?   

I became distracted. If it is you can name your car Sam. Mine is B.O.B. Bucket Of Bolts. 

 

 

I bottomed out in a snowbank. Not a snowball.  

 

Edited August 6 by Jeepers
I hate autocorrect.

[Midnightmom]

4 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Is that Sam Elliot?   

It's the Quaker Oatmeal guy. 

 

4 hours ago, Jeepers said:

That really tore up the front end. As bad as it is, it could have been worse, I suppose. I was thinking maybe the oil pan or radiator too. 

 

BTW - since I hit the bottom of that ditch so hard and since the bumper seemed to be lower on one side than the other, I decided to get it checked for alignment, broken struts, and whatever else might have happened to it. I can happily report all of that is well: it is only "cosmetic" damage. 

[Jeepers]

I'm glad it 'just' cosmetic! Parts are one thing but labor is killer. On anything. Not just car repair. 

 

 

Wilford Brimley. Sheeesh. I missed the mark on that one. Looking at Wilford and thinking of Sam. What a revoltin' development that turned out to be. And BTW I got my car stuck in a snow bank and not a snowball. My phones autocorrect is the absolute worst. 

[babysteps]

Midnightmom, I'm glad the damage wasn't worse!!

 

(Jeepers, I also immediately thought it was Sam Elliot  )

 

Peaches and blackberries today. Peaches from the u-pick a few miles away. Blackberries from my pasture fence line lol. Peaches will be put up plain for the most part, with a few jars of peach pie filling for funsies, and blackberries will be seedless jam -- I finally found my berry screen for my victorio strainer! When I used it last year I did NOT put it back in the box, so it's been AWOL so far this season.

 

I'm ignoring the zucchini and green beans and cucumbers today and tomorrow I'm sure I'll regret it 🤣🤣 but a person can only do so much!

[Midnightmom]

11 hours ago, babysteps said:

I'm ignoring the zucchini and green beans and cucumbers today and tomorrow I'm sure I'll regret it 🤣🤣 but a person can only do so much!

 

 

    

 

 

[Littlesister]

So far, I have dehydrated 4lbs of onions and 3 good size stalks of celery. Got a pint from the celery and quart and a half from the onions.  DD was talking today about how the veggies in the stores are not holding up over 2 days. Told her to start hitting any farm markets she can that that is what I have been doing. Then either canning or dehydrating them. Going to do carrots hopefully tomorrow but Monday for sure. I am going to dice these carrots. I have 5lbs of the organic ones. after that I don't know what I will be dehydrating next. Need to hit up on the farm markets again. 

[Jeepers]

I had to buy some dehydrated carrots. I don't know what I did wrong but over time, they all turned black. I had a gallon of them too. 

 

If I ever find my dehydrator, I need to do some celery. I don't even remember if I have any or not. 

 

I know I have onions but I'm not sure how many. I can never have enough onions. I'd like to pickle some too. 

[Littlesister]

Jeepers, I blanch mine for 2 minutes after dicing them. I then put straight into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain them good and use paper towels to help soak up some of the water. I do dehydrate them longer than the time says as I have better luck with them like that. The first ones I did I just thinly sliced them and then blanched them, and they turned black over time, and I dumped them. I seem to have better luck with dicing them.

[Jeepers]

The ones I did were from frozen. They were round disks. I really liked them because they were crinkle cut. When I rehydrated them, the crinkle came back. I liked that. They looked nice for a while. Then a few months later they had turned black and were sort of sticky. I must have done something wrong. The ones I bought turned out just fine. 

 

My goal at the time, was to have two half gallon jars to store away and one quart jar to use from. I was going to do that with all of my veggies. I know I have a lot of half gallon jars filled with veggies. The carrots I bought plus the  corn, peas, peppers, onions and green beans that I did. I think I did some green onions or shallots too. I can't remember. But I don't know where they are. I know in Indiana but in the garage or the house? If in the garage, they would have been out there for a number of years, which isn't good. Wish I had a freeze dryer. Even a little one.  

[Littlesister]

Wishing I had a freeze dryer as well. At those prices it just isn't in the cards right now. To many other things I need first. Hoping to dehydrate the carrots tomorrow. They are from fresh picked that I got from the farm market. 5# should get me through the winter till spring. 

[Midnightmom]

I have several half-gallon jars of some veggies that I DH and that I am not happy with. I need to find someone with some chickens (or pigs) who would like to have them (the veggies, not the jars too) as I just can't see myself eating them but I also know I won't toss them! Seems I'm not as big into DH as I thought I might be. 

[Mother]

6 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

I just can't see myself eating them but I also know I won't toss them!

Are they spoiled or just unappetizing looking?  if not spoiled, try making veggie powder from them.  I often grind mine fine in an electric spice mill and use them to make into seasonings, instant soups, and additives for other dishes.  You can add salt, pepper, herbs, or spices to them or just sprinkle into soups or stews or breads or crackers for a nutritional boost. They make a great veggie broth to use in place of or along with bone or meat broth in recipes. Or long with bones when making bone broth.  Try different blends to see which you like.  You might be surprised at what you can do with dehydrated foods besides using rehydrated. 

[Jeepers]

Good suggestions! I use mine in soups and stews instead of stand alone dishes. I like having them in the pantry for emergency situation that might arise. Food insurance. 

[Littlesister]

Mother, your idea sounds good about the veggie powder. I have the carrots draining now. Need to get as much water out as possible before dehydrating. I blanched them for 3 minutes instead of 2 as the ball blue book said 3 to 4 minutes but they are chopped up very small. Going to put them in dehydrator tonight. They should be well drained by that time.  the onions and celery did really well. Might do some more celery later in week if I can find a sell. 

[Midnightmom]

13 hours ago, Mother said:

Are they spoiled or just unappetizing looking?  if not spoiled, try making veggie powder from them.  

The broccolli turned the rehydrating water brown. Maybe I DH at too high a temp but I didn't want to make Cr of Broccolli soup that would turn out brown. I still have a half gallon jar of the stuff and I don't quite know what to do with it now. 

[Ambergris]

Broccoli was never my favorite for dehydrating.  The stems were always yucky, and the flowers took on an old taste.  Maybe you too would have better luck with other things.  

[Littlesister]

I have never dehydrated broccoli. Always freeze that as well as Brussel sprouts. Making veggie power sounds like a good idea. 

 

The carrots are done and cooling down to put into a mason jar. Out of 5# it doesn't look like I will get a lot from them. Only 5 trays. But will be enough for soups and such for now. Next time I will do 10#. They turned out to be a really bright orange color. Hoping that is a good sign. 

 

 

[Mother]

I like dehydrated broccoli but I only dry the blanched florets and none of the stems.  They dry fairly fast to a very dark green.  I sometimes add them to soup but I usually powder them with dried onions, garlic, ginger, and mint to make an almost instant soup.  I like to use chicken or turkey broth to reconstitute it.
 

I made this quite often as a lunch when we were traveling and still like it on a cold winter’s day. I don’t have a specific recipe but I blend about two cups of dried broccoli florets with a tablespoon of dried onion, a teaspoon of dried garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and about twenty dried mint leaves.  I powder it all together in an electric coffee/spice mill.  To use I mix a couple tablespoons in a cup of boiling broth in a wide mouth thermos and let it ‘steep’ at least an hour but as long as four or five.  I like to make it a bit creamy by blending in coconut milk or yogurt before I eat it.  
 

I cook the stems with onion, garlic, and ginger in broth or the floret blanching water to make a similar blended and strained soup that I store in the freezer. If I have fresh mint I add that to the blender instead of cooking it.  

[Midnightmom]

I DH frozen broccolli bits, not florets. Frozen are already cut and blanched. I think I may have just had the heat up too high when I dried them. 

Edited August 29 by Midnightmom

[Jeepers]

That could have been what happened to my carrots too. I might have cooked them. 

[Littlesister]

when I did my carrots, I put the temperature on 75 to 80* for about 6 hours to get out more moisture and then put it on the correct temperature of 125* to finish dehydrating them. That seems to have worked better. But time will tell. 

[Midnightmom]

5 hours ago, Littlesister said:

when I did my carrots, I put the temperature on 75 to 80* for about 6 hours to get out more moisture and then put it on the correct temperature of 125* to finish dehydrating them. That seems to have worked better. But time will tell. 

 

Darcy (The Purposeful Pantry) warns that trying to dry at a hotter temp to speed up DH doesn't work because it promotes "case hardening." I know this isn't what you did, but it's a good tip to keep in mind for future projects.

[Jeepers]

At the time I did mine, I didn't have the Excalibur. The dehydrator I had was all or nothing. No thermostat.  

 

I could see where case hardening would be an issue. Not dry inside and you wouldn't know it.