Posted on 08/17/2019 7:09:33 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
I paid about $10 at the thrift store for a big granite ware canner last year. I thought I would love it but I guess maybe just use it for pickled items and tomatoes and whatnot that don’t need to be pressure canned. Its way too big for batches of jam. I still use the small covered stockpot, a dishtowel and the rack from my small Presto for that.
I have bookmarked the link for the electric canner - thanks! Right now, I have money invested in my large canning pot & the butane burner/fuel, so maybe when the burner gives out (& it will one day), I’ll go to the electric canner. I’ll check it on “Prime Day”, too - might get an extra good deal on it. The food processor I have was an additional $30 off on Prime Day which made for great savings overall.
I’ve got a few things ready to go in, but I need it to cool off a little bit. I get kind of burned out at this stage of the game, I will admit! :)
Yeah...I heard they were not too bright! :-)
I was just going to suggest Prime Day. I got a great deal on an Instant Pot that way. :)
Nice looking jelly. I remember JRandomFreeper telling me long ago that he made orange marmalade with jalapeno peppers. I love orange marmalade. Wonder if anyone here got his recipe?
My grandma did all her canning outside in a big kettle over a fire.
No bunnies in the densely populated city here, but a motorcycle killed a rat in the street last night, and I found a small skunk that made a home in tarped section in the yard, is likely what has been eating about half a tomato occasionally, and leaving the rest. Squirrels usually only take one bite, so it is unlikely one of them (illegal to kill them, but they largely disappeared after I placed rat poisoning around).
Plenty of cover: 
I suspect at this date they're still selling seeds from last year (which isn't necessary bad. I have successfully used seeds that are a decade old).
Is there are a prime window to order seeds?
Who is your favorite seed provider?
Also, does anyone have experience growing asparagus from seeds?
A detailed primer would be appreciated.
Another also.
Has anyone ever tried to grow ginseng? Again, details appreciated.
For people like me, who can’t eat many peaches w/o getting an allergic reaction, there are still other choices.
I just discovered what many have likely known for years.
Nectarines can often be tolerated more easily than peaches.
Both fruits are looking good right now, on sale and about the size of a Baseball. Very tempting!
I tolerate the Nectarines b/c they don’t have that fuzzy texture to the skin. I still have to ration how many and how often I eat the Nectarines, or the insides of my mouth will start getting sore. I can eat two today, then I must wait a day or more before eating them again. If you have fruit sensitivity, you know what I’m talking about.
Some of the ‘newer’ fruits to mainstream America must also be handled with care. Mangoes, Kiwi and Papaya are “forbidden’ and out of the question. You just have to peer through the Candy Store window, and watch others enjoy those things, not you. Hah.
Frito Salads are good....add plenty of garden veggies, corn kernels, lots of cheese .......top with chili.
I think I am done using quarts for canning - there’s just the 2 of us. Except for sauerkraut I use wide mouth quarts. Here’s what’s left in our garden, lettuce making seed heads, basil, banana peppers, cukes, Chinese long beans, some 18” long and still very slim. That’s like 8 or 9 green beans for 1, plus they are easy to spot and pick. This may be the last year I do regular green beans. Tomatoes more than half done, brussel sprouts, colored swiss chard, dill, parsley, cilantro going to seed, baby bell squash, bell peppers, just picked a big one, onions all harvested. And I was surprised this morning by our 4 broccoli plants. They had beautiful main heads which I picked long ago. The secondary shoots have been disappointing this year. This morning I found 3 of the plants have new plants growing up from the base, with new center heads forming. I may cut back the old part to hurry things along. I’ll get a picture tomorrow morning. Too hot to go back out there now. I have canned about 8 pints of tomato sauce. Plus 8 half points of blueberry preserves. I like doing smaller batches these days. Also will be getting the dehydrator out this next week for the San Marzano and roma tomatoes. We cut them in half lengthwise, scoop them out, rub down with olive oil and spices, and dehydrate til like raisins. We keep them in the bottom fridge bin and they are good for a year. We did 5 quart ziplocs last season, packed. This year I think we will be good with 2 or 3. It’s been a good growing season. On a sad note my paw paw fruit all got eaten by the birds, they were in the tiny stage, not much bigger than a rice grain. Have had the trees at least 10 years and they flowered for the first time. I did pollination with a paintbrush. Oh well, I am looking into IrriTape which hangs from the trees to scare off birds. Netting is not an option, trees too big and bushy. Happy gardening to all. Love reading all your news.
I tried finding an orange marmalade with jalapeno recipe by “ducking” (DuckDuckGo) with no real luck. I was looking at the Orange Marmalade recipe in my Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving & I do not see why you couldn’t just add some finely diced jalapenos.
The recipe has thinly sliced orange peel (2 cups), chopped orange pulp (1 quart) & thinly sliced lemon (1 cup) - you boil gently for 5 minutes, then let mixture stand in fridge for 12-18 hours. Sugar is then added (1 cup for each cup of fruit mixture) & boiled until almost gelling point. I think if you added finely diced jalapenos along with the other ingredients during the first boil (I’m thinking a cup), that would add a nice heat. Red jalapenos would be really pretty.
I’d love JRFreeper’s recipe too, if someone has it.
One more thing - I don’t think adding jalapenos would be an issue because you’re adding sugar based on how much fruit mixture you have, not a “fixed” amount. The jalapenos would increase the mixture volume slightly, so you’d be adding a bit more sugar to compensate - that’s why I think it would work.
Now I’m hooked - I’m going to have to try it! :-)
Many thanks for the exquisitely detailed recipe......and your wonderful cooking tips.
First time I ever had pepper jelly was poured over a bar of cream cheese.......mighty yummy.
The convenience stores in my old Phoenix neighborhood used to sell walking tacos, but they used a different name—nacho somethings. Liz, that Frito salad you posted looks spectacular! Do you only top it with chili, or can you use a homemade salad dressing?
I myself like the tangy sweetness of Catalina Dressing on my taco salads.
Ranch would be good.
But by all means......suit your own taste......
Does anybody have Johnny’s recipe for vanilla bean ice cream? The original Breyer’s vanilla was my fave. He was pretty sick by the time I asked him, and I didn’t want to press him.
What a lovely little garden!
Thanks so much, that sounds good.
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