In June, I pulled the end of my Swiss Chard from last season and dried it in the oven. My new crop planted in April is just now starting to mature. I picked a few leaves for an experiment. Our cabin is getting about eight hours of direct warm sunlight, so I thought I would try some sun dried chard using Mother Nature's energy.
I consulted one of my preserving resource books Stocking Up: How to Preserve the Foods You Grow, Naturally by the Editors of Organic Gardening and Farming. I find it's a great reference for harvesting, storing, drying, freezing and canning fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, and nuts, seeds and grains. But I did modify their directions a bit.
I pinched leaves off the plants with some stem still attached. Rather than use drying racks, I thought stringing the leaves up like herbs would speed the drying process. I used a needle and thread to separate and tie the chard leaves for hanging. The next time I don't need to leave so much space in between.
Stocking Up recommended blanching vegetables before drying. It preserves colour, nutrients and prepares the plant cells for the drying process. I gently lowered each string into a pan of boiling water for 30 seconds. They lifted out without tangling and were ready to hang.
I took the strings of Swiss Chard outdoors to dry in the warm sunshine. It was a bit breezy as well, so I think that helped things get started. Several times I flattened out the leaves because they tended to fold over and stick together. By the end of the day, they were leathery but not dry. I took them indoors after the sun went down. That prevented dew from altering the hard work of the sun and to keep them away from hungry critters.
I hung the strings of Swiss Chard in the downstairs bedroom out of the way. Since I have to leave for a few days, that's where they will stay to complete the drying process. But I'm happy to report that they are already getting crispy around the edges.
I know it isn't a lot, but I think it was a successful experiment. As long as Mother Nature continues to supply some warm sunshine and a crop of chard, I can keep adding to my supply for winter use.
Do you do any drying of fruits or vegetables? I'd love to hear about your experiences. -- Margy
Dried Swiss Chard Mother Nature Style
Canning Blueberries
It's been a good season for blueberries, so I bought some to can for later use. My two containers had just enough berries for five half pints. Here's how I did it.
First, I washed and organized all of my canning equipment. Then I started boiling the water in my canning pot. I use that to sterilize my jars, rings and rims.
Then I made a medium syrup using 3 cups of water and a cup and a half of sugar. The syrup will help increase the flavour, colour and shape of the fruit over time. I cooked it slowly, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolved and it almost came to a boil. After removing the syrup from the heat, I added the strained juice of one lemon to help increase the acidity.
My recipe called for blanching the berries. I did that by placing a cup of berries in a cheese cloth, immersing them in boiling water for 10 seconds, then plunging them into ice water to stop the cooking process.
After a quick drain, I funneled the berries into sterilized jars, making sure to leave enough space at the top for them to be covered by the syrup. The berries will reduce in size during processing, but the juice that extracts makes a wonderful addition to lemonade.
I reheated the syrup before ladling it over the blueberries. The recipe called for 1/4" headspace between the top of the berries and syrup, and the rim of the jar. In a few cases, I needed remove a few berries. I left them in a dish to eat later. They were yummy with their lightly sweet coating.
I used a stainless steel knife to remove any trapped air bubbles. There were quite a few, so I had to add a bit more syrup to to get the correct headspace back. I wiped the rims to make sure they were clean enough to get a good seal.
Once all of the jars were sealed with self-sealing lids and rings, they went into my water bath canner with the lid on to be processed for 15 minutes. Make sure the jars are covered with at least one inch of water. And timing doesn't begin until the water returns and stays at a full, rolling boil. After cooling, test the seals to make sure they are secure.
Each jar will be just the right size for a batch of pancakes. I just love blueberries in my pancakes!
Right about now, the wild blueberries in the high country should be getting ripe. If I can convince Wayne to head on up to the Elephant Lakes on our quads, maybe I'll pick some more for canning. -- Margy
Hot Pickled Beans with Banana Peppers
My scarlet runner beans and banana peppers grown in pots were very successful. I love pickled banana peppers on sandwiches, but an open half pint would last quite a while. So I decided to do a mix of half green beans (nice for nibbling) and half banana peppers. I modified a recipe I used last year from my Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook.
(with Banana Peppers)
2 lbs green beans(I used half beans and half peppers)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic
4 dill heads
2 cups water
1/4 cup canning salt
2 cups 5% cider vinegar
This recipe makes four pints. I only had enough beans and peppers for three half pints, so I cut the liquid ingredients and salt in half.
Wash and stem the green beans and raw pack them blossom end down in hot, sterilized canning jars. I used shorter half pint (250 ml) jars, so I had to cut my beans to fit. Seed the peppers and cut them into rings. Put half beans and half peppers in each jar.Add 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes per jar (reduce or increase to taste). Add a clove of garlic and a fresh dill head per jar. My dill didn't grow this year, so I used some heads I dried last year.
Combine water, salt, and vinegar, and bring to a rolling boil in a non-reactive pan. Pour over the beans and peppers raw packed in the jars, leaving 1/4" space from the top. Use a stainless steel or plastic knife to remove any trapped air bubbles, wipe the jar rim, cover and seal with self-sealing lids and rings. Be sure to follow safe water bath canning procedures. My directions called for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.The snap of the lids during cooling helped reassure me the seals were good. After cooling and checking the seals, I put the jars in the downstairs bedroom (my coolest room) away from the light. Now they have to rest for several weeks for the flavours to marry.
Do you have any simple pickling recipes? I'd love to hear them. -- Margy
Dried Swiss Chard
The Swiss Chard I planted last summer finally bolted. I did some research and you can dry chard for later use. That sounded good to me. I picked and cleaned the chard at the cabin and saved only the leaves. The rest of the plants I chopped up to go in my compost pile.
I was heading to town to visit Mom, so I decided to use the condo's electric oven. It's easier to control at low temperatures than my propane oven in the cabin. So I packed up my chard and headed down the lake. First I gave the big leaves a course chop.
Next I needed to find something to use as a steamer. I found two metal pans from the pie shop that had holes in the bottom. I inverted one and filled a pot with 3/4" of water. I placed the other pie pan on top and voila, I had a steamer for free.
Before drying, it's recommended to blanch chard for 3 minutes. This helps stop enzyme activity and prepare it for drying. Some recommend water blanching, but with the delicate chard I chose the steam method. The key is to use small batches so that it blanches uniformly.
Next I used cookie sheets to spread the blanched chard into thin layers for drying in the oven, already preheated on the lowest setting, 150 degrees. I spread the cookie sheets out on the two oven shelves with lots of space for the warm air to circulate.
To allow moisture to escape, I propped the oven door slightly open with metal tongs. I checked the chard every half hour and turned the leaves. I also rotated the pans on the shelves. When I turned the heat off, I left the pans inside the cooling oven. For me, all three sheets were dry in four hours.
The last step before storing is conditioning. Some leaves may hold residual moisture. To ensure they were all dry, I used a brown bag and left the leaves inside for several days. A few shakes a day helped disperse any moisture. Finally, I stored my dried chard in tightly sealed plastic containers, ready to add as a taste of summer to my winter soups.
Do you dry fruits or vegetables? Now that I've had one success I am ready to try something new. -- Margy
Strawberry Jam
Even though it isn't strawberry season up the lake, it is in sunny Southern California. Our market had quarts of ripe berries on sale for $1.98. I picked up two. One we enjoyed fresh, the other I made into strawberry jam.
I used Certo fruit pectin and the quick cook method. I didn't use all of the fruit called for in the recipe so I cut everything in half. I know you have to be very careful doing that. My jam didn't jell the first time, so I had to reprocess it. I'm not sure if it was because I cooked it too long after the pectin was added or if it just needed more pectin. But after I reprocessed the batch with the remaining half packet of pectin, it it jelled fine. Here is the recipe I ended up with:
Strawberry JamWhile I prepared the fruit, I brought water in my canning pot to a boil. To sterilize everything, I put clean half-pint (250ml) jars in the boiling water and the screw bands and lids in a separate pan covered with the boiled water.
To make it easier to mash the berries, I diced them after washing and hulling. Then I used my wire whisk to lightly crush them to get the juices flowing. The berries went into a large cooking pot along with the sugar. I brought them to a rolling boil, stirring constantly over high heat. Next I added the lemon juice followed by the pectin, still stirring.
Once it came back to a rolling boil I cooked it for exactly one minute. At this point, the jam will still be very liquid. I removed it from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes before skimming the scum that forms on top. It isn't bad for you, it just doesn't look nice.
I got my canning jars out of the hot water and let them drain. They need to be hot for the filling process. I filled the jars to 1/8" from the top and wiped the rims and sides clean. I covered them with the self-sealing snap lids. Then the screw bands went on until finger tight. The jam filled four half pint (250 ml) jars with a little bit extra for the fridge.
All four sealed jars went into the hot water bath covered by 2" of water. After it got back up to a rolling boil (with the lid on) I timed it for 10 minutes. When done, the jars came out of the water bath to cool. I heard the four distinctive snapping sounds as the seals set. Now we have an alternative to the blackberry jam I made last summer.Speaking of Southern California, they had a "jamming session" down on the Little Homestead in the City. Check out their wonderful blog and website. They have turned a city lot in Pasadena, California, into an urban homestead. As a part of their outreach program they went to a local school to teach students how to make strawberry jam. What a wonderful experience! Head on over to their blog and check it out. -- Margy
Canned Pickled Beets
Six weeks ago I pulled the last of my beets and put them in storage. I was checking and noticed some were starting to dry out so I decided to can what was left. For a recipe, I used my favourite canning reference book, the Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook.
Canned Pickled Beets24 small beets (2-2 1/2")
water
Cook beets well. Cool, peel and slice.
1 large onion sliced (if desired)
2 cups 5% acid strength cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canning/pickling salt
1 cup water
6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
Tie cloves and cinnamon in a cheesecloth bag. Bring vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spice bag to a boil. Add sliced beets and onions and simmer for five minutes. Remove the spice bag.Fill four sterilized hot pint jars (I used two quarts instead) with beets and liquid to 1/4" from the top. Remove air bubbles and clean the jar rims. Place sterilized lids on top and secure with rings.
Place jars in a boiling water bath that covers the lids by at least 1" and process for thirty minutes. Begin timing once the water returns to a full boil. When done, remove the jars and allow them to cool undisturbed. Once cool, check the seal. Keep your jars in a dark, cool place until needed.This is a lot more work than the simple fresh pickled beets I make in the summer, but it's a good way to keep the last of my crop from spoiling. - Margy
Storing Root Crops for Winter Use
My floating garden is relatively small, consisting of four 3X10' beds raised above the lake surface on a cedar log foundation. I use Companion Planting and Intensive Cultivation (Rodale Press, 1989) and grow an amazing amount of vegetables in the limited space. But I still haven't figured out how much to plant, especially for root crops. I always end up with a row or two left at the end of fall.A really helpful book on preserving crops is Stocking Up: How to Preserve the Foods You Grow, Naturally by the Editors of Organic Gardening and Farming. It's a great reference for harvesting, storing, drying, freezing and canning fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, and nuts, seeds and grains. It gave me directions for leave my root crops in the ground through the winter. Now that I have my carrots and beets out of the soil, I'm going to use their directions for storage (well, sort of).
First I pulled all of my remaining crop and discarded any damaged ones. I removed and composted all the carrots tops. But for the beets, I tore the tops off leaving about three inches of stem. To help prevent them from "bleeding" red beet juice, the book recommends not using a knife for this part of the process. Because the soils was so wet, I arranged the unwashed veggies on newspaper to dry a bit. After about thirty minutes I gave them a flip to dry the other side. Then finally, I rubbed off the excess dirt with a dry paper towel.
The next step was to arrange the cleaned (not washed) carrots and beets in plastic trays I purchased at the Dollar Store. The open sides allow air to circulate. This helps reduce mold or rot as time goes by. I started with a damp paper towel on the bottom covered by a folded sheet of dry newspaper. The damp towel helps increase atmospheric moisture which helps keep the root crops crisper while being stored out of the ground. After one layer of veggies I folded a sheet of newspaper and then added a second layer to each basket.
The final step was to cover the top layer of veggies with folded newspaper, a layer of moist paper towel and finally another folded newspaper. To store the baskets, I place them under the bed in my downstairs guest bedroom. It is the coolest room in my house.
This improvised "root cellar" lets me keep my carrots and beets for several more months of enjoyment in salads, soups, stews and simple pickled beets. -- Margy
Canned Spiced Apples
Quality Foods had a bag of Spartan Apples on sale so I thought I would try my hand at canning some. This is the first year I've tried canning, so I found a simple recipe appropriate for my newbie status. To make them more to my liking, I changed the flavouring from vanilla to spices and added some red food colouring for a crab apple look.
10 medium apples4 3/4 cups sugar
4 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon red food colouring
Fill a large bowl with water then add one tablespoon salt and one tablespoon vinegar. This will be a "bath" to keep the apples from turning brown while you get them all peeled and cut.
Peel, core, slice then put apples in the water bath. Mix sugar, water, food colouring and spices wrapped in cheesecloth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Drain and rinse the apples. Carefully add them to the heavy syrup and cook for 5 minutes or until they become translucent. Stay just under the boiling point to prevent foaming. Spoon the apples into clean hot jars, cover with boiling syrup leaving 1/2 inch head space. Seal the jars and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes.The syrup is very sweet, making the apples a good side dish or topping for ice cream. I had a lot of syrup left over and hated to waste it. It had a spicy apple flavour so I tried putting some in 7-Up and it made a tasty fall drink. Later, I got some club soda and that was even better. Do you have any favourite fall apple recipes? I'd love to hear them. - Margy
Too Many Tiny Tomatoes
This year I grew tomatoes in pots. I have one Roma and two cherry tomatoes. Early in the season, there were just enough for salads and grilling. When they come in faster, I froze some for winter soups. Then all of a sudden, my cherry tomatoes turned ripe overnight. What was I to do with too many tiny tomatoes?
They aren’t the best variety to can, but I did. I washed, cut and put then into a big pot to cook over low heat. With larger tomatoes, you dip them in boiling water and skin them before stewing. Not so easy with the little guys. I used a wire whisk to mash them and release their skins as they cooked. When they were soft, I poured them into a strainer over large bowl. I used the wire whisk to force the pulp through the fairly large holes. Then I used a spoon my fingers to pick out as many of the small skins as possible. They curl, making them easy to spot and pick out. Yes, it was tedious but worth it.
I returned the juice and pulp to the large cooking and followed the recipe from the Farm Journal’s Freezing and Canning Cookbook for Meatless Spaghetti Sauce (page 244).
(makes 3 pints)
16 pounds ripe tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon canning, pickling salt (don’t used iodized)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground bay leaves
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon basil leaves
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
½ teaspoon parsley flakes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
I didn’t have enough tomatoes so I cut my recipe in half. I like chunky spaghetti sauce, so I peeled and diced four of my Roma tomatoes to add to the stewed mixture. I cooked the onions in the oil until translucent and added them to the mixture, followed by the remaining ingredients. It was too sweet for my taste. Next time I’ll reduce or eliminate the brown sugar. I also added a small green pepper and extra herbs to taste. Everything simmered with occasional stirring for one and a half hours until thickened.
In the meantime, I boiled the water in my canning pot and immersed the jars and lids to sterilize them. I poured the sauce into hot half pint jars (a better serving size for us) to ¼” of the rim. I wiped the rims clean, placed snap lids on top and screwed the rings on to finger tight. The jars were then processed in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.This is the first year I’ve tried canning. Margaret, a fellow blogger in Powell River, has inspired me to try. Take a look at her site Thistle Garden to sample some of the tasty things she has put up from her amazing garden. -- Margy
Canning Blackberries
August is blackberry month in Powell River, BC. Almost everywhere you look within a kilometre of the chuck (ocean) you'll find vines growing in logging slashes, along road cuts and even on empty lots in town. One thing you won’t find for sale in the markets is blackberries. Why bother, they wouldn’t sell with all the free fruit for the pickin'. We even celebrate the blackberry each August with its own weeklong festival. This year I wanted to save a bit of the blackberry season to enjoy this winter.
Pick as many ripe berries as you want to preserve. Wash and drain the berries in a colander. Fill canning jars to ½ inch of the top, gently shaking the berries down to remove empty spaces. The berries will shrink during processing. Cover the berries with boiling syrup (thin or medium recommended) to ½ inch of the top. Remove air bubbles with a non-metallic spoon or spatula. Wipe the rims and cover with snap lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath, 10 minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts. I used half-pint jars (a better serving size for the two of us) but went ahead and used the 10-minute process time. 
You need about 1 to 1½ cups of syrup for each quart of fruit. Medium syrup retains best colour and shape of fruits. You can replace up to half of the sugar with light corn syrup or mild flavoured honey, if desired. Heat sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves. 
