Favorite Things~ Cookbooks

I use these all the time.
Can you tell?

King Arthur is my favorite baking/info go to book.

Super Baby Food has a wealth of information about feeding babies and simple healthy recipes.

Simply In Season is a cookbook organized by the four seasons. The recipes in each season consist of the foods available in that season.

Recipes From The Old Mill is full of tried and true recipes made from whole grains. Some of our favorite bread and dinner rolls have come from this book. I have altered many of the recipes, replacing white flour for whole wheat or another whole grain flour, with great results. The first time we tried making crackers was from a recipe found in The Old Mill.

The Cake Bible has amazing pictures and even better cake recipes. It is very detailed and I simply LOVE this book. My favorite cheesecake recipe is within it's pages.

The Complete Meat Cookbook is a must if you get sick of casserole cooking. Very detailed, it explains: cuts of meat and their best uses, tenderizing techniques, marinates, rubs and proper cooking. After purchasing this book, I have taken grilling, broiling, sauteing, and baking of our meat to a juicy, new level.

Nourishing Traditions takes the reader and cook back in time. Reintroducing methods which people used long before modern conveniences were readily available. If you've ever wondered what some of the ingredients on your favorite processed foods are, you'll be shocked when you find out.

366 Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains is a great addition if you desire to go meatless one or two nights a week, or if you simply want to add more rice, beans, and grains to your diet.

What are your favorite cookbooks?

Just Veggies

Doing a lot of this lately...

and trying 'new' preserving techniques.
I'll let you know how they work out.
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Have you ever watched a bouncy ball in a box before?
The ball randomly hits one side, then another, it just keeps going back and forth up and down.
These thoughts have been doing that in my brain this week.
Ponder them.

'Sometimes the Lord asks us to step out of our comfort zone for the sole purpose of blessing us.'

'The size of our prayers reflects the size of our God.'

'Get God out of the box you've put Him in.'

WW Corn

I think I Can

It's a lot of work, but worth it in the end.

Cooking Pie Pumpkin's

Cut pumpkin in half & remove the core.
Remove the seeds and fibers from the inside of the pumpkin.

Oil the outside edge of the pumpkin so it doesn't stick to your pan.

Place pumpkin halves, skin up, on a jelly roll pan.
Fill jelly roll pan with a half inch to an inch of water.

Carefully put pumpkin halves in the oven.
Bake at 350* for 45 minutes to an hour.
The pumpkin skin will begin to turn brown & when you pierce it with a knife it will feel very soft.

Remove pumpkin halves from oven, and let cool for 15 -30.

Scrape the insides out.

Puree in a blender, mixer or mash with a fork.

Make yummy pumpkin bars, bread or muffins.

Store extra pumpkin in the freezer.
Notes:
My pumpkin was approximately 4 1/2#. It made 5 cups of fresh pumpkin.

Grape Juice

Start with clean, fresh picked grapes.

Fill the top section of your Back to Basics Nutri Steamer with clean grape clusters, you don't need to stem them. Fill the bottom section with water. Clamp the tube closed. Place entire 3 section pot onto stove. Bring to a boil and boil for about one hour. The grape juice will collect in the center section.

Push on clamp to release the juice from the hose and begin to fill your jars. Be careful, the juice coming out is very HOT!

Sweeten with desired sweetener. We like Agave Nectar.

Process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes for quart jars and 10 minutes for 1/2 gallon jars.

Let sit to cool. Store in a cool dark place.
The juice is fairly concentrated, add water to taste when serving.

Pizza Suace ~ Canned

There are many ways to can sauce. This is the way I like to do ours...
Start with fresh, ripe tomatoes. Wash and rinse them.

Dip tomatoes in boiling water for 1-2 minutes to loosen the skins.Remove from boiling water and immediately plunge into ice cold water. I normally boil all my tomatoes, and then begin to remove the skins. It is ok to leave the tomatoes sit in the icy water.
Once the tomatoes are all boiled, drain the water and begin to remove the skins. The skins should easily peel off.
After the skins are all removed, blend the tomatoes. I blend seeds and all. Pour approximately 55 cups blended tomatoes into a very large stock pot.
Add the following:

1 cup dried onion

1 cup dried red and green peppers

4 onions diced

1/2 - 1 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup dried pizza seasoning

1 T paprika

2 tsp red pepper

1 T cumin

3 T oregano, rounded

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh garlic

2 T garlic salt Simmer the sauce for 2-3 hours or until it is a rich red color and thick. Stir every 15 minutes or so to prevent scorching. make lunch :) After sauce is a rich red, add tomato paste, simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Stir constantly. Pour sauce into clean jars.

Top jars with new lids. Tighten rings. Place in a hot water canner. Bring water to a boil. Boil 15 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts.

Carefully remove jars. Let sit on your counter until cool.

PIZZA SAUCE

55 cups peeled tomatoes; coarsely blended

1 cup dried onion*

1 cup dried red and green peppers*

4 onions diced

1/2 - 1 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup dried pizza seasoning

1 T paprika

2 tsp red pepper

1 T cumin

3 T oregano, rounded

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh garlic

2 T garlic salt

30 - 40 oz tomato paste (depending on how juicy my tomatoes are, I add more)

1/2 cup myra clear if needed, (I normally don't use)

Mix all ingredients except paste and myra clear. Simmer for 2-3 hours or until thick and deep red. Add paste and simmer for about 15 more minutes. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. Add myra clear if needed to thicken. Process pints 15 minutes in a hot water bath. Yield 27 pints.
*Adding dried peppers and onions will help thicken the sauce.

Pizza Suace and Peaches, a preview of what's to come...

We've been working hard at canning again this week.
Peaches

Pizza Sauce

Next week I'll post a step by step and the recipes.

What's up with tomatoes?

Did you know tomatoes are a wonderful... Fruit? Actually they are technically a berry! However, in 1893 the US Supreme Court ruled that the tomato should be legally be classified as a vegetable because it is used as a vegetable. Can you imagine being one of the lawyers in that case ;) Too funny!
Approximatly 80 years ago most Americans considered this odd, South American Food, to be poisonous. Today, tomatoes are the 3rd most common consumed 'vegetable' in the US. Tomatoes are produced in all 50 states. Texas, California, Florida and Ohio are the primary growers. In the winter months, most tomatoes are imported from Mexico and Cuba.
Why should tomatoes be apart of your diet?
*Large and regular consumption of tomatoes can help improve skin texture and color.
*Tomatoes are one of the highest food sources of Lycopene. Lycopene isn't naturally produced by the body. Lycopene is a vital anti-oxidant. It neutrilizes free radicles in our body helping the body to fight against cancerous cell formation.
*Tomatoes help purify the blood.
*Tomatoes are a natural antiseptic. They can help protect against infection.
*Tomatoes can help reduce cholesterol.
*Tomatoes are a great source of vit A, vit C,vit K, and Potassium
*Some studies are also showing that riboflavin, which is also found in tomatoes, helps with energy metabolism and fights against migraine headaches.

*A newer study is also showing that Lycopene in tomatoes helps protect the body from UV rays.

How do you enjoy your tomatoes? We like...
*Salsa
*Tomato Cucumber salad
*Sliced fresh with sea salt or sprinkled with sugar
*BLT's
*Pizza Sauce
*Pasta Sauce
*Zucchini Stir Fry
*Off the vine for an outdoor treat
*Or just plain, eaten like an apple, like my daughter in the picture.
With tomato season in full swing, eat up!

Canning Dill Pickles

We LOVE Dill Pickles at our house! My children will eat them anytime, anywhere and with any meal. We like whole 'baby' dills the best. Which means I must keep close watch on the cucumber patch, checking it almost every day.
Did you know pickles are soothing for sore throats? Try it next time you have one.

Our Recipe ~ Dill Pickles
To make the Brine you will need:
1 Qt White Vinegar
3 Qt water
Canning Salt
*Mix Brine ingredients and bring to a boil.


Wash and clean your freshly picked cucumbers with a soft vegetable brush.

Next add the following to the bottom of your canning jars:
A few onion chunks
A spoonful of garlic chunks
1 Jalapeño slice

A couple of Dill Sprigs
(or if you get to close to your dill in the garden with the tiller like I did, use dried dill)

Then start packing your cucumbers into the jars. Pack the jars as full as you can. The cucumbers can be double stacked if you are using quart jars.

*This part is KEY for crisp pickles*
Once your brine is boiling, and the hot water in your canner is at a rolling boil, ladle the jars with the boiling brine almost to the rim. Put the lids and rings on quickly & tightly. Place jars in the boiling canner. The boiling may cease for a short while, but should quickly return to a boil. Process the jars for 5 minutes. If you process too much longer, your pickles will not be crisp.

Take your jars out of the canner and flip over. Let your jars sit that way until cool or overnight. In the morning, flip your jars back over, they should all be sealed. If you have one that doesn't seal, store it in the refrigerator. Let your pickles cure for 3 weeks before eating.

On another note...

My mom gave me these lids for Christmas one year. They are great lids for opened jars in the refrigerator. I store candy, and dried items in old jars and they work perfect for that as well. You can find them here.

Happy canning!

Corn, from field to table

I am happy it is today.

I am glad yesterday is over.
I am thankful for 50 Qt of corn for my freezer.
The Process...
My dad picked the corn from the field and my son brought it to the wash bay.

Here is our pile of corn. It was quite large!
We husked and removed the silk from the ears. This year I found it easiest to rub the ears with a clean, dry cotton cloth to remove the silk. A vegetable brush can also be used.
Then we cut the corn from the cobs.

After all of the corn was cut, we headed inside to cook and prepare the corn for freezing. There are several ways to prepare corn. Our favorite recipe is as follows.
(My kettles hold 8 times the amount of the recipe, in ( ) is the recipe x 8)
8 cups cut corn (64 cups)
2 cups water (16 cups)
1/4 - 1/2 stick butter (2 cups)
*recipe calls for 1/2 I use more like 1/4
2 T sugar (or less) (2/3 - 1 cup)
1 tsp canning salt (3 T)
*Mix all ingredients together. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5-10 minutes.

Cool, put in freezer boxes, jars or bags and freeze.