Puttin em Up!

Me and My Boy!

Pickled Jalapenos

Dilly Beans

This Summer seems to have flown right by.  A lot of that is probably because I had surgery.  I was down and out a lot of the Summer.  I did take Aidan to the zoo.  We had a blast.  I also made sure I got to the farmer's market every Saturday, and my CSA pick up on Tuesdays.  This is the first year in a long time that  I began doing one of my other loves again after a long hiatus....Canning.  I didn't grow up around anyone who canned, I was just drawn to it.  I really missed it.  I have had to take it easy, but it has been like therapy...to me it is calming, and I love creating and making things for other people.  I started with watermelon rind pickles, and since I have made diced tomatoes, salsa, dill pickles, and dilly beans, strawberry jam, cherry jam, pickled jalapenos, apple sauce, peach jam, peaches in vanilla, and hot pepper jelly.  I have also canned kidney beans and chickpeas.  It feels so good knowing what it going into the food that my family will eat this year into the next growing season.  No unknown ingredients, I have become friends with many of the farmers I get my food from.  The milk I make my yogurt from comes from Kimball's, my garlic, and green and wax beans from Polly at Fletcher's Community Farms, tomatoes from Farmer Dave, and Wally's, but the majority came from Jeff at Simone Farms.  Can you say where your food comes from?  To me it is important.  By buying local, you are supporting your community and helping keep small farms and business' alive.  My peaches and pears this week came from my Aunt Lynne's trees.  I am going to share some pictures, and post the recipe for the Peaches in Vanilla!  It is worth the time spent.  Home canned goods make excellent gifts as well! 

 

Peaches in Vanilla!

Peaches in Vanilla adapted from (Canning For A New Generation by Liana Krissoff)

1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar (I used lemon juice)
8 pounds peaches (freestone are best)
4 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans split, and cut in half
2 quarts water

Fill a large bowl or pot with cold water and stir in the lemon juice.  Blanch and peel the peaches, putting them in the acidulated water as you peel (helps retain their color).  Halve and pit the peaches.  Slice or quarter them.  Return to the water.
Prepare for water-bath canning.  In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 quarts water and bring the syrup to a boil.  Drain the peaches and pack them tightly into the jars, leaving 1 inch headspace at the top.  Ladle the hot syrup into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Slip 1 or 2 pieces of vanilla bean into each jar.  Use a butter knife to remove air bubbles around the inside of each jar.  Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars and place a lid and ring on each jar, adjusting so it is finger tight. Return the jars to the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by a 1/2 inch.  Bring to a boil and boil pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes.  Remove the jars to a folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours.  You should hear that wonderful "ping" sound.  This is your jars sealing!  If a jar does not seal properly refrigerate and eat soon.  Otherwise label the sealed jars and store to enjoy later!  Peaches in Vanilla make fabulous gifts, just ask my friend Ellen.

With our first jar of them, I made a quick dessert of peach shortcake.  I took one can of Pillsbury buttermilk grands and baked them according to the package directions.  I used about a pint of peaches in vanilla, and heated it in a saucepan on low.  While stirring I slowly added some water combined with cornstarch to thicken the sauce.  I lowered the temp and let it cook until it was the consistency I wanted.  I cut the biscuits in half, scooped some vanilla ice cream, topped with some peaches and sauce, topped with some whipped cream and the top of the biscuit.  One little peach slice on top and a dollop of whipped cream.....delicious, quick and easy!!!!

Farmer Dave's CSA

 Can I just tell you...I love Farmer Dave's CSA!  I love CSAs period!  A CSA is Community Supported Agriculture.  Members in a CSA give a certain amount of money before the growing season, so the farmers have the money they need to get the crops started without having to take out loans.  In return for your money you get a weekly share of vegetables.  It all depends on how the farm does what you get.  It is local seasonal eating at it's best.  The vegetables are nothing like the bland tomatoes and cucumbers that you find in the grocery store produce aisle that flew or was driven thousands of miles to get to you.  Your CSA veggies were most likely picked the very day you pick them up, if not the night before.  They are tasty, and vibrant, and loaded with nutrients.  Look at the color of these radishes.  I have never seen radishes like this at the grocery store. 

 This was one of our first salads of the season. I think it was probably the best salad I ever had.  They send us a newsletter either the day before, or the morning of pick up, letting us know what we are likely to get in our share for the week.  I love to cook and experiment with food and different cookbooks, so it is exciting getting vegetables we have never even had before, and enjoying them in many different ways.  I will get into more about the cookbooks in another post.  If you are trying to incorporate more fresh, healthy foods into your diet a CSA is definitely a great way to do so.  You meet many new people as well.  It's nice to see the community come together for good.

Aidan used to be a picky eater...well I take that back, he still can be a picky eater.  He has gotten much better since we started going every Tuesday to pick up our share.  The child who would only eat carrots, cucumbers, and mashed potatoes, is turning into a little dinosaur.  He loves helping us pick out our vegetables.  One day when we came home he said "May I please have some fennel Mama?"  He walks around with plain leaves of red, green, butter, and romaine lettuce.  He likes fennel. parsley, white radishes, of course the carrots and cucumbers, he loves the corn on the cob again.  He wouldn't touch blueberries for a few years, and now he could eat a whole pint.  I'm not saying he likes all of it.  I was surprised he didn't like the sugar snap peas and peaches, but he is expanding his palate and likes to talk to people about our farm.  I am grateful for that!  I know that I am now a CSAer for life.  Thanks Farmer Dave!

Chickens!

I so wish that I could have a small chicken coop, so that we can have fresh chicken eggs for all our our cooking and baking.  Chickens are great.  They are not messy, they keep away fleas and other bugs such as mosquitos, and they are not messy or noisy.   The other cool thing about chickens is that you only need to have three hens (no rooster needed), to be provided with an abundance of eggs for you and your family. 
We are so interested in chickens that we went to a discussion at the Haverhill Library put on by the Haverhill Farmer's Market. about keeping chickens put on by local farmers.  So one of my reading topics as of late has been urban farming, and  keeping chickens in the city.  I know realistically I will not be able to have chickens any time soon, but as a start my family and I can commit to buy local farm fresh eggs, and learn as much as we can about someday having a coop of our own.  I have read some great books on the subject.  One is called Made from Scratch Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich.  Two others I have been perusing are A Chicken in Every Yard by Robert and Hannah Litt.   I also just got the book Chicken and Egg by Janice Cole, but I have not had the time to look through that one yet. 

Jenna has a great blog  called Cold Antler Farm which can be found here:
http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/

I decided to start blogging again!

I have a lot to say.  I love reading blogs, and books, sharing reviews and products, and letting others I know about the stuff I am trying and learning about.  It has been a long time since I have blogged at all and I am sure as I get used to blogger there will be some changes on my blog as I go.  I need to figure out how to have my header on top of the page, and I definitely have a lot of pictures to share.  What a better time to start a blog than when I am laid up on the couch recooperating.  I have a nice stack of books by my side to keep me company.  I want to find out how to do product reviews for cookbooks.  We use a bunch of them, and we have our favorites, but we love trying new recipes as a family and are enjoying using our new ingredients from Farmer Dave's CSA.  We have been using Simply in Season a lot to help us make use of our bounty.  We have purchased a few new canning cookbooks, and so far have been using Put Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.  You can find it on Amazon.com here.  http://www.amazon.com/Put-Up-Comprehensive-Preserving-Creative/dp/1603425462.  Aidan and I have made the Classic Strawberry Preserves, Watermelon Rind Pickles, and Cherry Preserves, and so far all have been great.  I need to get a new pressure canner, and stock up on some canning jars.  I also have my eye on a few new cookbooks.  For now, John is doing all of the cooking etc, until I am able to get back to my regular routine.  I am lucky to have him.