Sunshine in a Jar

     Hi there you beautiful readers. The last days of summer vacation are upon us and I'm milking for all its worth. I have been canning for the whole month of August. Although it may seem like a lot of work, it will be totally worth it in the winter months. Speaking of winter, think about those dreary days where the sun hides behind the grey clouds, the snow is no longer white and beautiful but greyish black with frozen road sludge embedded in its crevices of ice and slush, the trees are bare and their boughs are heavy encased in ice. Sounds great, right?

Lonely car trapped on the lake

Well, I whipped up a piece of sunshine that can be a relief in those dismal days. I'm calling it Sunshine in a Jar. It is a combination of peach, mango, vanilla, and ginger. I made it into a butter instead of a jam. It tends to be a bit easier to make and it will spread on anything you want.

     I was given some really ripe mangoes and they had to be used immediately. I also had around 6 pounds of peaches sitting on my table waiting for human consumption. I thought, why not combine them. Peaches and mangoes work wonderfully together and they make for an excellent mix for jams and jellies.

     First off I cut the mangoes in quarters and removed the pit. I did not peel them because I found a cool trick that makes this a breeze. Take a tall cup, like a pint glass, and place the mango lengthwise along the trim. Place the mango peel side to you, and flesh side on the cup and push down all the way and now you have an empty peel and all of the mango fruit in the cup. Super cool huh! You can check out this technique on Lifehacker It totally saves on the frustration of peeling, coring, and getting that sticky juice all over yourself and the counters. Throw these delicious nibbles in a crock pot set on low.

     Next up, I took the peaches and sliced the bottoms with a quick X with a knife and blanched them in boiling water for one minute. Then immediately threw them into ice cold water and waited a few minutes. When cooled you can take the peaches and go back to your X mark and the skins peel right off.

X marks the spot!

Toss the peaches in, but only for a minute!

Next remove the pits and quarter the peaches and toss them into a crock pot. Add 4 cups of sugar and stir together. Now you can add any spices you want to the mix, or you can just leave it. I added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons of ground ginger. I stirred it together and let it sit on low in the crockpot for a few hours. Cock the lid on the crock pot so it is able to let steam out. We want to reduce the liquids and thicken up the mix. Therefore, we need the steam to have a place to get out.

     After the fruits have been cooking in the crock pot for a while, you will see the fruits will be breaking down and are soft. This is where you bring your trusty hand blender in. Take a hand blender through the mix a few times and get rid of all the chunks. You want to blend it to the consistency of applesauce. Taste check the mix and add additional seasonings if you want to right now. Let the mix cook down to at least half its volume. You can also test it with a spoon. Dip a cold metal spoon in the mix and let it drip back in. If it is runny you need to cook down some more, if it falls in a sheet you are ready to can it. Look here for more info on the spoon test.

Blended, not stirred

My mix was ready after about six hours on low in the crockpot. Now it's time to bottle them up. Get the water bath ready, wash some jars and place them in the water bath to get hot before filling the jars. When you are ready, take the jars and pour in the fruity goodness up to 1/4" head space, assemble lids and bands and place in the water bath. process for 10 mins (check for changes in processing with altitudes) Here is a handy pdf of how to can at higher altitudes.

After processing, set the jars down in a place they won't be disturbed for 12-24 hours. After that, you can check the seals and store in your pantry. If a jar didn't seal you can set it in your fridge and eat right away. (you can store this safely in a fridge for about a month).Trust me, it probably won't
last long. Finally, you have officially canned a bit of sunshine! You will appreciate the golden flavor and hints of warmth when the temperatures drop and you'd rather crawl back into bed.

Mmmmm!

Recipe for Sunshine aka Peach-mango butter (makes 6 half pints)

3 mangoes, pitted and sliced
8 large peaches, pitted and skins removed
4 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger

Wash, peel, and pit fruit. Put all ingredients in slow cooker for 5-7 hours, stirring occasionally. When thick enough, fill prepared jars up to 1/4" head space. Adjust 2 piece lids and water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from water bath and set on counter for 12-24 hours. Check seals, and refrigerate unsealed jars.

Refrigerator Pickles, No Canning Necessary!

      I have cucumbers coming out of my ears and I am running out of ideas for their total consumption. This month I have made bread and butter sweet pickles, hamburger dills, sweet relish, dill relish, and creamed cucumber salad.

     My family really likes Claussen's crunchy dill pickles and last year I had to make 2 batches so we wouldn't run out in a week. Now we are overwhelmed with cucumbers and I grabbed my apron and got to work.

     First off, gather all your cucumbers together and wash off the bits of dirt and inspect for bruises and bugs. You can cut the cucumbers into quarters, halves, or just leave them whole. I cut off the ends and cut them to the size of the jars (pints or quarts).

Chopping away!

     For my own sanity and the ability to make a good guess as to how much I have I grab a clean jar of whatever size you will be using and stuff the slices in. You need to do this nice and tight so you can make the right amount of brine. I throw the measured cucumbers into a bowl and repeat as many times as it takes to use them all up. I ended up with 5 quarts which I split into 1-quart jar and 8-pint jars. As usual, clean the jars in soapy water and dry. Now I filled up the sink with hot water and let the jars sit in the water to keep them warm.

Stuff it--Stuff it real good!

     Fun part ahead - Making the brine. It takes 1 part vinegar, 2 parts water, dill seed/weed, garlic, pickling spices for kosher pickles, and salt. Combine all of these in a large pot and bring to a boil.

Grab one of the jars from the hot water and begin cramming that bugger as full as you did when you were measuring them. Don't be afraid to bend, squish, wiggle and shout just so long as they get into the jar. Now if you have any cucumbers that were too tall for the jar now would be the time to chop them down to fit. I had to do it a few times--no body's perfect. 

Awesome!

     Last year I found the coolest thing. Ball makes plastic covers for freezing or refrigerator use--not for processing! Since we will not be cooking these pickles, there is no need to worry. After pushing all you can into their new tiny little living space, you have to cover them with the hot brine. Use a canning funnel to help decrease splashes and spills. Fill the jars to about 1-inch head space and cap them.

     After topping off all of the jars and twisting a lid let them sit on the counter for a bit to bring down the temperature. This helps keep the integrity of the glass by not shocking them from hot to cold fast.

Then put them in the fridge, easy peasy.

Aren't They Pretty

     These pickles will taste better if you let them sit for about 2 weeks, but this doesn't happen in our house. They will keep for about 6 months in the fridge and you can enjoy them all the way through the season and well afterwards. So without further ado, here are the specs...

Makes 2 Quarts or 4 Pints

3 1/2 pounds of pickling cucumbers, cut in quarters halves or whole.

2 cups of water

1 cup of vinegar (5% acidity)

2 tablespoons of canning salt (salt without iodine or caking ingredients)

2 larger cloves of garlic chopped finely

1 teaspoon of dill seed/weed, whichever you prefer or have available

2  teaspoons of black peppercorns

Cut pickles and measure for height and fill capacity. Combine vinegar, water, garlic, and spices in a large pot and bring to a boil. After the mixture has reached a boil you can turn the heat off. Take pre-warmed jars and stuff the cut pickles into the jar as full as you can. Ladle hot brine over the pickles to 1-inch head space. Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes. Store in a refrigerator for at least 2 weeks to meld the flavors. You can store up to 9 months.

A Very Busy Summer

The weather has been very agreeable here in Wisconsin. We are entering the real summer with temperatures in the 80's and 90's during the day, 60's at night. My husband and I have taken on a huge project. We created a 35' x 15' garden on my father's land. He hasn't had a garden in many years and we thought it would be a nice addition to our smaller home garden and we could come by and visit every day.

So far it has been, how do I put it, challenging. We spent a few days planting and organizing our layout. In previous years, we only had our small home garden and it was easy to maintain. On the other hand, I need to drive about 10 minutes away and devote more energy to the larger garden. Cleaning up the land, adding both soil and manure, and picking all the weeds has led to sore and tired muscles. I try my best to put on my "Girl Power" face and remind myself that this work will be all worth it in the end. This is a lot easier said than done.

The long and the short of it.

                                              

                                                          

My husband, being the techie he is, installed a water system that measured the moisture of the ground and would send a signal to the timer that hooked up to the house spigot. This sounded pretty cool, but in application it fell short. We couldn't find the "sweet spot" we needed for adequate water distribution. 

After a week of fiddling around we saw our tomatoes shrivel and almost die. I was mostly concerned with the blight that attacked us in the Midwest last year. It took out huge amounts of crops and left gardens impotent and dead. The yellowing and eventual browning of leaves were present on these plants. Talking with some of the master gardeners of the UW-Extention they advised an application of a copper supplement. This is easy to find at many garden shops and hardware stores. To find out more about blight, check out UW-Extention's page here 

I proceeded to apply the copper solution to all of the tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers. Additionally we created a ground irrigation watering system (fancy speak for getting a bunch of hoses and lining them up so the holes in the hoses sat at the base of the plants). I was actually worried that my father's land was cursed.

Grumpy man=Grumpy land

                                                    

Now after a week's worth of work, including hours of weed pulling, I think we have made some progress. The tomatoes are perking back up. The peppers are starting to produce better. The zucchini and cucumbers are crawling out and seem to be well. Whew! So, needless to say, it has been a busy month.

My son finished up his classes in June and brought home one of his projects from his Plant and Soil Science class. A cute pumpkin plant in which he needs to take care of in the summer and report back in the fall. When the pumpkin plant arrived at the house it only had 3 leaves and fit into a large hanging pot. Now it is approximately 15 feet and has 4 separate runner sections. It was migrated from our little backyard garden to the neighbors land, and now has double-backed and it is climbing the protective fencing I had in place to deter the deer. I believe we might have our first pumpkin this fall. If not, we will have a mess of vegetation to clean out later.

Ooooh, it's having a baby!

Since this post has gotten a bit long I will try to wrap it up in a condensed TL;DR version.

1. Expanding a garden can be quite exhausting

2. Creating a new garden is like warfare against pests, infection, and hamstrings.

3. If your kid comes home with a pumpkin plant, you might want to find a whole field just for one plant.

4. I should blog things more often so the posts don't become little novellas. 

Talk to ya soon!

~Selina

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

   

                                                      Get the Book

The Library at Mount Char was a fantastic tale. I was confused for quite a while as to what was going to happen next. Carolyn and 11 other children were orphaned by force and then "adopted" by Father. From there they began their studies in different catalogues such as healing, languages, death, war, and more. Carolyn is the protagonist in this tale and she seems like she wants out of this twisted world. Her friend Steve may hold the key to help Carolyn do this.
   






There is so much evil in these pages that it almost turned me off, but I kept reading ahead. I was curiously hoping to find connections to the strangeness of the actions. It took a while to get there, but then it started to stitch itself together. I really enjoyed reading this book, even if it was a bit uncomfortable at times. This has been one of a unique fantasy tale I have ever come across. I would highly recommend it, but beware it is not a kid friendly book. Every twist and turn had me guessing the possibilities, then abandoning them, knowing that what my mind came up with would not suit what the author already created. For a debut novel, I really liked it. It seems like there may be a sequel in the future. I would definitely read the
next one too.

Spring is Here!

It has been a while since I have posted, and for this i am sorry. I was busy finishing up my Associate degree here at the University of Wisconsin- Washington County. After many hours and countless papers I can say I am a graduate.

The garden is back up and running, for the most part. I decided to include some lettuce this year. It is super simple to grow and can be rewarding if you care for it. I decided that I was going to construct a simple chicken wire fence to protect the seedlings from the evil gangs of bunnies who would like nothing more than a well tended salad.

Look closely and you can see 3 evil bunnies.

Plotting it in a small space next to the rhubarb it seemed to fit just fine, except the rhubarb was taking up lots of space. Time to trim the fat and begin the early harvest.
Rhubarb tends to be a polarizing plant; you love it or you hate it. Most commonly referred to  as second fiddle to the strawberry, this underrated gem can be both tart and sweet. Rhubarb can be used in pies, scones, muffins, custards, as a topping for sundaes, even barbecue sauce! I decided to try and create a clean and simple syrup that can be used on pancakes and cornbread. Better yet, a syrup that can be added to fizzy drinks. (both alcoholic or non-alcoholic)

For this recipe I chopped up about 4 cups of rhubarb, in 1" pieces, and put them in a large kettle. I then added 3 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar in the pot. Turn the heat on high and boil the mixture for approximately 15 minutes.

I wanted to preserve the juice and not the fibers, so I used a sieve lined with cheesecloth and let good old gravity do her work. After about 20 minutes the juice had drained and I discarded the pulp. Now on to the fun stuff!

I took the juice and returned it to the pot and kept the heat on low to keep the mixture warm. Rhubarb needs to be hot packed in order to retain safe handling practices. I prepped the boiling water canner and grabbed some smaller 1/2 pint jars and lids for the job. Ladling the hot juice into hot jars, leaving a 1/4" head space, I processed the half-pints for 10 minutes in the water bath. All four jars survived and pings approved. I look forward to tasting this in different ways, especially in a fizzy cocktail on a summer day!

Rhubarb Syrup

4 cups chopped rhubarb (1" pieces)

4 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

Combine ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Strain the juice into a bowl using a sieve, or cheesecloth. Discard pulp. Return liquid to pan and keep warm.
Prepare water bath canner and jars. Ladle juice into jars, measuring 1/4" head space, and seal. Place into water bath and process 10 minutes. Remove jars and let cool for at least 12 hours.

Have fun!