Apples! Apples! Apples!

One of the most exciting things to happen on the farm this year was that we ordered our orchard. We have planned to plant one for several years but spent a lot of time researching the varieties. We knew we wanted heirloom plants and that we liked the fruit in all forms so we spent the last 5 years looking up sellers that could offer these. In the process we discovered a LOT about apples. We finally ordered 14 trees in August.

          Knowing that different varieties are good for different purposes, I made a spread sheet to record whether an apple was good for baking, eating out of hand, pies, juice, or sauce. I think we got a good mix. We loved the names and histories of the apples. Discovering that some apples came from England, France, or Russia made for some interesting reading and musings. And mulling over names like Hog Sweet, Smoke-house, and Horse Apple (Yes, that’s a real name!) had us laughing with delight.

          Here at our house, we can applesauce and apple pie filling. I also can about a dozen wide-mouth quart jars of baked apples. To do this, I choose 24 smallish Golden Delicious apples and wash them well. I then core them and place them in the jars. When the children were little, I would fill the centers with cinnamon “red-hots” to season and add a little color for fun, but now I just cover them with a medium syrup and process in a pressure canner for 15 minutes on 10 lbs. of pressure. It doesn’t take long after supper to warm them in the microwave for a sweet dessert, or a toasty after-school snack. This is just the right thing on a crispy cold fall or winter day.

          In canning apple–pie filling, I have an old-fashioned apple peeler (which can also be used on potatoes) on the Granny Smith and Winesap apples. It has been well worth the money I paid. It can, in one easy step, peel, core, and slice the fruit. I generally remove the slicer attachment because we like our slices thicker in pie. Then using my apple slicer, we slice the apple into 8 pieces. I fill the wide-mouth quart jar ¾ full of apples, and then cover with the pie-filling mixture and again process in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. for 10 minutes. The chickens LOVE the apple peel “spaghetti” strips!

          Lastly we use a mixture of apples for our applesauce, starting with a bushel of Golden Delicious. I wash them all, and slice them into quarters. Then I pressure can them for about 10 minutes in my pressure canner. I can then run them through my big strainer, which takes out the seeds and peelings leaving only the meat of the apple. Pour into pint jars and process in the pressure canner for 10 minutes at 10 lbs. of pressure. I can also use this method to make my apple butter which I then cook down with spices in my crock-pot before canning.

          By the way, for those who don’t like to use commercial pectin for your jams and jellies, now is the time to save the peelings from your apples to freeze for next summer’s fruits.

Another nice thing to do with the leftovers is to make some apple pulp pomanders. Take the waste products and run through the food processor until smooth.  Drain until there is no liquid running. Mix some spices like cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg with some orris root powder and knead into the apple mixture. Roll the apple and spice mixture into balls about 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter. Roll the balls in powdered orris root mixed with cinnamon and cloves. Spread them out where they can dry or place in the oven on a VERY low heat. Cut squares of fabric to cover the apple balls and tie with ribbon. These are lovely to hang from hangers in the closet and tuck into drawers.

These are gifts that children can make easily. Most children love kneading goopy stuff with their hands, rolling the balls, rolling them in spices, and cutting the fabric and ribbons. There are jobs for every age and skill level. It is my belief that the earlier children (and adults for that matter.) learn to make gifts, the more they are able appreciate handmade items. I remember a Christmas where children in one family present asked the cost of every child’s gift. In addition to being rude in the extreme, it made everyone uncomfortable. Our children made gifts for their grandparents, aunts, and uncles for years. They also learned to shop within their budget. To this day they are thrifty with their money and talents.

Our daughter and her husband shop in thrift shops all year long where they purchase baskets for pennies. They watch for sales on candy bars and buy them in bulk. They then make up baskets with their home canned and baked goods, throwing in the candy bars as extras. Everyone who receives them is astounded by the wealth of the contents which may include other little treasures and books found at discount prices as well.

You can always use the pomace to kill any garden growth - like those invasive weeds – that you don’t want.

          Finally I leave you with a question: Can you name 6 ways to preserve apples? (Eating is NOT preserving - it is consuming.)

Full Swing

I just wanted to take a few minutes to share what is going here on Tighe a Logaine Farm. “Tighe a Logaine” is Gaelic for “the House in the Bowl” and that indeed is how our little farm is situated. With mountains on all sides the house nestles down low between 2 streams and is generally sheltered from strong winds and other intrusions. We’ve been hard at work canning and generally preparing for the next season. Still I love to stop and admire all that my windows have to view. Let me also share a couple quick updates that have happened since the computer crashed.

We did a little logging on the mountain but one tree fell wild and wiped out a large portion of our tomato section and all but one of our acorn squash vines. What a sacrifice! We were heart-sick, but still happy to have the logging since it opened up to the sunlight nearly 33 percent more garden space.

We heard about a garden method used at Mount Vernon and instituted it for our fall garden. Our son-in-law dug a trench about a foot deep, ­­­16 inches wide and 20 ft. long. He and my husband then filled the long hole with chicken manure and followed that by mounding back on top the dirt we took out. We then planted a part of our fall garden on the top. As the chicken manure composts, it keeps the dirt (and baby plants!) warm throughout the cold season. We also put some plants in the beds that were finished for the summer season, and now our baby cabbages, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, and kohlrabi. These have twice the growth on them that the others do.  

George and Martha Washington were able to have fresh vegetables all winter long because of this. Later in the spring we will harvest the last of our vegetables and dig up the wonderful earth which will be the gift below the surface. We will be able to enrich the existing raised beds with it. We will then put fresh chicken manure in the hole and cover with more dirt. Into this we will plant our seedlings and once again the composting process will keep our little baby plants warm until the weather warms up too.

Another addition this fall has been Dusty – our new rooster. With the internet problems I’ve not been able to research but he has a rose comb, a dirty white neck ruff (hence the name!), and lovely iridescent green tail feathers. When he was introduced to the flock he seemed a bit intimidated be the numbers but within a couple of days he discovered his special purpose and manfully did his duty and egg production is in full swing! We have 34 hens and we are averaging 30 eggs a day. He is truly the “cock of the walk”.

In addition to canning, a lot of time is invested in harvesting our herbs this fall. The chickens love weeding time and wait hungrily at the gate for us to throw handfuls of salad greens to them. My basil bed did especially well this year so I am dehydrating lots of leaves which fill my house with an earthy smell that is very satisfying! The oregano is next and then a bit of mint for winter flavorings and some jellies as well. This year I had 8 varieties of mint and walking through the garden is an olfactory delight. Lastly I will harvest some of my rosemary to season chicken and vegetables this winter as well.

Children are great workers in these 2 arenas. Even if they are too young to know weed from vegetable, they are not too young to make multiple trips back and forth hauling handfuls of weeds to the coop or compost bin. And once you point out which leaves you want to harvest in the herb beds, they will systematically strip every one. They can also wash leaves, and arrange leaves on the dehydrator tray or cookie sheet. Once the leaves are dehydrated, they can put them in containers whole, or take turns crushing them. Be sure to praise the work not just that day but later in winter when you add “their” oregano and basil to the spaghetti sauce. A tea ball containing chocolate mint swirled through their hot chocolate increases their delight when they can really taste what their hands have done.

For those of you who had asked what we were canning, here is a run-down: From the tomatoes we’ve canned sloppy joe mix, salsa, spaghetti sauce, and spiced tomato juice. We got a little bit of grapes off our new vines, and will get more from our old vines so we expect to can some grape juice. We’ve canned strawberry jam and strawberry balsamic jelly, blackberry jam, sweet pepper relish, “little spicies” which are pickled jalapeno peppers, some spicy mustard, and some meats. We have vegetable scraps in the freezer that I’ve saved to make chicken, beef, and vegetable broth. I also still have to make our soup mix which is mixed vegetables to which I add meats and/or broth and juice. In this way I have a lot of variety. I can take a quart of the vege mix and add canned chicken and some chicken broth for a chicken soup, or add to it some canned beef and beef broth for vegetable beef soup. Sometimes I add it to our spiced tomato juice for some rich vegetable soup, or I can pour the mix into a pie shell for a pot pie with either beef or chicken!

What have you done this year? I love hearing other peoples recipes or tips!

Gardening with Children

          I am always surprised when people tell me that they don't have a garden or can't do any canning because they don't have childcare. These people are cheating both themselves and their children when they do this.

          There are some wonderful books available to help children get excited about growing a garden. They have stories, crafts and recipes to spark an interest about such things.

          One fun project is to build a “Sunflower House”. Mark out in the dirt a square about six feet by six feet, leaving room for a entrance (about 2 feet wide). Have the children plant sunflower seeds and morning glory seeds in the line and cover gently. Water well. The sunflowers will sprout and grow quickly. When they get about 4 or 5 feet high, weave a net of yarn in and out of the stalks and back and forth across the tops. As the morning glories grow they will trail over the yarn lines and form a “roof”.          
     My husband makes bean trees by welding an old bicycle wheel onto a stalk of re-bar. He then makes a ring which sticks into the ground about 4 inches above the earth. From the ring at the bottom to the wheel at the top he strings sea grass  back and forth, then plants our beans around the perimeter of the lower ring. As the beans grow, they latch onto the string and quickly grow to the top. This creates a lovely green “tee-pee” that is laden with beans on the inside of the structure. This also works with sugar snap peas.

          Another fun gardening project is to grow a pizza garden. Mark out a circle about 4 foot in diameter and mark it off in wedges. Then plant a vegetable in each section: cherry tomato plants, a bunch of green onions, a green pepper plant, some basil, a bit of oregano,  and whatever else you like on your pizza pie. As the plants mature, teach the children to harvest  their “crop” and properly preserve it. Washing a few cherry tomatoes or a green pepper, then placing it in a container for the refrigerator is the work of a few minutes. Cutting leaves or branches of herbs and washing then drying them in the oven is also quickly done. On Friday night Pizza Night, it is exciting to start sampling their harvest.

          Depending on the child’s age you may want to assign garden chores. Sometimes this means each child is responsible for a single plant, and sometimes they are responsible for a row. I used to babysit in my home and one of my guests became fascinated with our chickens. She quickly learned to take all weeds to the chicken yard and throw them over the fence. She also learned (at the age of 3) that pebbles or rocks the size of her fist went in the yard, but any stones larger than that went in a rock pile for us to use in rock walls. She very carefully instructed her parents on these rules when they would work in the garden too!

          When it comes to canning (or cooking for that matter!) children can be taught to do their share as well. In my experience, children love working with grown-ups for the

attention as well as the learning. And when they can brag on the skills they have learned, or offer a product they have helped make, they are really proud of themselves.

          I would put a dish pan with a couple inches of water in it on a chair and place a few tomatoes or peppers in it for them to wash. Then I would wash the others at the big sink. Putting the chore on their level helps them accomplish things as well. Sometimes a toddler's job was to carry what I washed to the empty dishpan and let me know when it was full. When I would cut up the food and discard the stems or scraps or tops, they would take the bowls of scraps to the compost pile or chicken yard to dispose of them. Yes I know I could do it myself and usually faster and better, but it kept the children under my watch and taught them to participate in a family chore. They also improved as they grew, but grew up helping the family. They also learned to appreciate the work that goes into making things from scratch, and to value better food.

         Both of our children have gardens at their homes now that they are adults, and both have an appreciation of homegrown food. Our daughter and her hudband both can what they grow and buy at the farmers market and not just the basics. They preserve fancy herbal vinegars and gourmet sauces and jellies. Their Christmas gift baskets are treasure troves of home-canned goodness and homemade delights such as cheese as well as home baked goodies. Every recipient feels like they have been showered with riches.

          A while back a woman told me that she was thinking of giving her 10 year old  some chores. Another woman asked me how old my children were when we gave them chores. I replied “As soon as they could walk!” My children were plumping bed pillows as I made beds, emptying small wastebaskets around the house, folding washcloths and hand towels, sorting their own laundry, and setting the table all before the age of 3. The work wasn't always perfect at first, but they were helping us with the work of the house. When my husband would carry in wood, our son would carry in kindling and felt really proud to be working with his dad! The secret to success of course is lots of praise and appreciation. Rewards should be in keeping with the work. We always sampled the jams and jellies as well as the salsa. We also tried to have a harvest dinner in October where we cooked only what we had grown and/or preserved ourselves. A kind of personal Thanksgiving.

          A few years ago, I had a little girl of 18 months visiting. When I got ready to start supper, I didn't want to leave her on her own so I asked her to wash my dishes for me. We pushed a kitchen chair to the sink and tied an apron under her arms. I threw a bunch of spoons and some measuring cups into the sink and let her wash them. She was delighted  and would scrub and rinse repeatedly. At one point, she called me to her side and gave me a great big hug and said “Thanks you! Thank you!” When everything was in the oven, my husband ran a warm bath for her, but noticed the floor was flooded. He handed her a towel and told her to clean up the floor which she did with equal industry and enjoyment. This was not work to her.

         

          I encourage you not to cheat yourselves or your children of these valuable lessons. Yes you can probably do the work quicker and better, but that means your children will not be able to function until adulthood. And you will be exhausted from doing ALL the work. Instead, why not share the work and the free time?

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Technical Difficulties

Hello All,
     Well I am sad to report that our computer is acting up and I have no way to post the blogs unless I am at someone else's computer as I am today. (Many thanks Jess!) I will be posting again in the next few days on gardening with children and again on entertaining. Please be patient. See you soon!

Planning Ahead

     Someone asked me recently "How far ahead do you plan your food for the year?" As any farmer will tell you, you start planning the next year's crop as soon as you harvest this year's. The same is true of canning and "putting food by". When I run out of something in January, I am quick to make a note of it in my plans for this year because I don't want that to happen again!
     Two of our budget stretchers are Garbage soup and Kitchen Sink soup. These 2 tips, along with having a "bean night" will give your budget a boost!
     In order to make "Garbage" soup, I save my scraps to do double (or even triple!) duty. All through the year I save my vegetable scraps in the freezer. I use large, gallon-sized, resealable baggies in which to keep these  and I label them "Garbage". (This keeps me or my beloved from thawing something for supper that later turns out to be less than desireable!) Into these I put the ends of onions or peppers, carrot or potato peelings, the ends of squash and tomatoes and any other vegetable scraps. (All of these I wash first, of course.) I do not use the vegetables from the cabbage family as these are too strong in flavor, although an occasional cabbage leaf is not too overpowering.
     When I have accumulated 3-4 bags, I choose a day and make soup broth. I place all the vegetables in a large water bath canner and cover with plenty of water. I also add some of my favorite  herbs and seasonings and bring to a boil then turn down after half an hour. I let this simmer all day, filling my house with a delicious fragrance better than anything I could spray around the rooms!          
     After several hours, I strain the vegetables out of the liquid. (Scraps then go to chickens or if you don't have stock at least start a compost pile. Our chickens provide a third use for the vegetables and in turn they provide eggs and fertilizer!) I ladle the broth into pint and quart jars and process them, then label the lids.
     You can also freeze broth in baggies. I measure them out in amounts I cook with for this (1/2 cup to 2 cup amounts)and label clearly. I lay them out on a cookie sheet in my freezer until solid. Then I file them in whatever box I have available. (I really like using those plastic shoe boxes for this to help keep my freezer tidy.)
     Kitchen Sink soup is done more in the fall and winter months only. All week as we eat I take the leftover bits of vegetables I serve each night and add them to a baggie in the freezer labeled "Kitchen Sink". At the end of the week I toss them all in a pot and add a couple quarts of tomato juice or soup broth as well as any leftover cooked chicken or turkey bits we might have in the freezer
and we have a nice toasty soup that is a fresh way to serve left-overs. Because the vegetables I serve are different each week, the soup tastes different each week.
     One thing I have always tried to do for my husband is to fix him a microwaveable plate for work so that he has a hot meal at lunch. Before setting our supper on the table, I take a divided plate and dole out a serving of each item. With a lid on it and a quick label of masking tape, I pop this in the freezer for him to snag for his lunches. If I do this before we eat, we are less likely to eat everything on the table. I try to keep ahead of him by 2 or 3 days so that he doesn't eat the same thing the day after we eat it for supper. When this sometimes results in a tablespoon or 2 of beans or corn left in the pan after supper, they can go into either baggie depending on the time of year. He is a big man who works hard around the farm and in the blacksmith shop as well as at the university where he is employed as a welder, so I like him to be well fed and not rely on sandwiches too much of the time.
     If you are the only one in your home think about starting to fix your own meals for work as well. They will certainly be to your liking and will also have a lot less preservatives and sodium than commercial meals.
     The best thing I learned to do was to ask myself "What else can I do with this before throwing it in the garbage?" I've used popsicle sticks as plant markers, the plastic sheets that bacon comes on for quilting templates, meat trays for paint palettes, and so much more. I'd love to hear your "double duty" stories!

What Should I Can?

     A few years ago some young women asked me if I would teach them to can. I agreed and asked what did they want to learn. They asked, "What is there?" Often people ask me "How much should I can of what?" My answer is that you need to do a little figuring for yourself. Here is a basic starter on how to do this.
     Most people stick to a few basic meals on a regular basis. Spaghetti once every 2 weeks for example is a good place to start. Sit down and look at your menu plan (or if you haven't got a plan, look at what you ate for the last couple of weeks). Mine tends to look like this: poultry, beef, pork, soup or salad (depending on the season) vegetarian, sandwiches or easy fixes, beans. This covers 7 nights or one week Then I plan my meals around this guideline. Wednesdays are usually bean night because my nusband loves his pinto beans and they are a budget saver. He eats his with the traditional cornbread, sliced raw onions and some pickled beets or chowchow, whereas I eat mine with cheese, diced onions, and a little A-1 sauce as tho' it were a taco. So right off the bat I know that we will probably eat 52 pounds of pinto beans in a year, as well as 26+ pints of pickled beets and 26+ pints of chowchow. Friday night is kind of a date night for the 2 of us so it tends to be  hamburgers, pizza, sloppy joes,  hotdogs, tacos, or some other kind of sandwiches that can be eaten while we watch a movie. This means that we will be needing ketchup, mustard, relish, salsa, pizza sauce, and sloppy joe sauce for the year. Kitchen Sink soup is a budget saver because it takes all the vegetables from the week and adds them to a tomato or chicken stock base so I figure on canning chicken broth and tomato juice for a year as well. Everything else gets fit in around these and then I figure out how much of this am I planning to can myself instead of buying from the grocer?
     As I mentioned previously, my salsa, pickled jalapeno peppers, and spicy mustard are as good as currency for my son's friends as well as a couple of our preachers/pastors so I try to make extra of those for purchasing yardwork or thank you gifts. Jams and jellies as well as breads and cakes (yes you can can those too!) are also welcome gifts anytime of the year.
     The next thing to consider is what is in season and what can you do with it. I have included a very basic chart below but it should in no way be considered comprehensive. Think of  it as your jumping off point.
       Fruits and Vegetables by Season

April

     Strawberries

May

     Rhubarb

     Strawberries

     Asparagas

June

     June Apples

     Beets

     Broccoli

     Brussels Sprouts

     Cabbage (early variety)

July

     Blackberries

     Cherries

      Beans 

     Tomatoes (early varieties)

     Turnips (Sow now)

August

     Apples (early varieties)

     Elderberries (early varieties) 

     Peaches

     Corn

     Peppers

     Tomatoes

September

     Apples 

     Elderberries

     Grapes

     Beef

 October

      Potatoes (dig after frost)

      Sweet Potatoes 

     Turnips

       Beef

November

      Pork   

     The next thing to decide is how you like to eat each item you will be canning. For example let's look at corn: in my house, we like it whole kernel (for corn chowder and other soups), cream style for the table, and on the cob (which involves freezing). When it comes to tomatoes we go through literally 3-4 hundred pounds of them so I have to prioritize: spiced tomato juice, plain tomato juice or stewed tomatos, salsa, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joe sauce, pizza sauce and catsup. Then  anything new I want to try gets done with whatever we have leftover.

     Another thing to consider is any herbs you might want to use in your canning. I grow my own basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary for my italian spices as well as cilantro and garlic for my salsa. This can be harvested a little each day and dried in the oven or in a warm dark room before placing in a jar to use in the fall.

     I hope in this way I have given you a plan for figuring out how to plan your canning for this next season anyway. It is certainly a joy to provide for your family and save some money. I look forward to hearing from you!

Better Berries?

     Years ago I read a quote (altho' I can't remember who the author was - perhaps Josh Billings?) who said about strawberries, " Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless He never did!" I was a long time in coming to this truth, but I do embrace it whole-heartedly now. The berries are in season and to my mind, NOTHING else could be a more rewarding way to start the canning season.
     Strawberries are luscious and sweet and delightful to can with. Of course my favorite thing to start with is strawberry jam. When my kids were little, I made this a big celebration. We would go pick together, then come home and gently wash them. I would cap them - tops go to chickens or compost - and, using a cabbage cutter, they would take turns chopping. I would measure out berries and sugar, and the children would pour them into the pot. We would use a commercial pectin and bring everything to a boil. Carefully I would skim the foam off the top into a bowl which we would then save in the refrigerator to spoon over vanilla ice cream. We would fill the jars, wipe the rims, and  screw on the lids. Then while the jam was in the water- or steam-bath we would make a pan of biscuits to "sample" the fresh jam with to be sure it was good enough to share. We would sit around the table with that first batch of leavings in the pot and savor the taste of the jam on our tongues and try to identify the flavor of the sun in the jam. This immediate "testing" was a joyful  reward for the hard work we had done.When the bath was done, I would turn the jars upside onto old towels to cool and we would all smile as we heard each lid "plonk"  as it sealed. I would store these jars upside down so that when we would set a fresh jar on the table there would be a space at the bottom. When the kids asked why it did that, I would tell them it was the love we put in. What a delight to eat that "love-filled, sun-infused, ruby jeweled" spread in the dark of winter!
     We also freeze berries for baking or for smoothies. Just wash, cap, and chop as desired. Then measure out in quantities you would use according to the size of your recipes and family. I use those freezer bags that "zip" closed. Label (include the amount) and date your contents and lay flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. Then when they are "set", you can file them in a shoebox in the freezer. Not only does this create an orderly freezer and save space, it also makes the contents thaw more quickly!
     Another treat is to pick out the largest, perfectly shaped berries. Leave the caps on but wash gently. Carefully dry with a paper towel and set aside. In your microwave or in a double-boiler melt some chocolate chips. I add about a teaspoon of shortening too to help the "setting up" process. When the chocolate is melted, carefully dip each berry halfway in the chocolate and set on a piece of waxed paper to dry. Depending on the temperature where you live, you may need to store these in a container in your refrid-gerator. If you really want to dress them up, drizzle melted white chocolate over the chocolate. How delicious!
     One of my rules was that we had to wait til the beginning of the next month to open a jar of jam. Otherwise my family would go right through all of it in a week. This also gave them time to consider whatever else we might can in the next month: elderberry jelly, blackberry jam, apple jelly, and peach preserves. In this way, I "preserved" the harvest in more than one way!
     Lastly, we make a strawberry balsamic vinegar spread that makes a nice appetizers.  Take 2 cups of chopped strawberries, 1 cup of sugar, and  2 Tbl. of balsamic vinegar. Cook strawberries, sugar, and balsamic vinegar in a medium pan on med heat for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally. I usually eye-ball the thickness of the sauce to determine when it is done. When the jam mixture has reduced to the consistency of thick honey or 220 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Try a cracker spread with cream cheese and topped with a drop of this! Yum! 
     One last word - did you know that strawberries are the only fruit with its seeds on the outside?