Well when winter sets in and we can't get outside for any length of time, I read. I read everything I can get my hands on. I read magazines that I'm behind on, I read the once weekly newspaper, I read mysteries and I read cookbooks. I love cookbooks. I just bought two new ones from Amazon. One is on canning and the other is on pickling.
I made a bunch of cucumber pickles this year and last and they seemed to go over pretty well so I got to thinking about it. If I can make pickles with cucumbers and okra, why not other vegetables too? I've eaten pickled beets but never made any myself. I've eaten pickled green beans but never made them either. So, why not? This year when the crops start coming in I'll be making brines for them to ferment in. I'll need to gather lots of pickling spice ingredients. You can buy it in a packet at the store but you don't really know what quantities of spices you're getting in those bags so I'll be blending my own depending on the vegetable to be pickled.
Are you game to try my pickled foods? I hope so :)
As for the canning cookbook, I figure it will provide me with some new ideas on canning different things. I'd like to be able to can my own soup - I love soup! Canning it in big batches would save me time on Sunday when I make enough for my lunch for the week. It would also allow me to ship it to Florida, for those who are interested, without it spoiling. The same could be said for chicken & dumplings :) I know there are a couple people down there who would definitely like it if they received a jar of chicken & dumplings for their birthday or Christmas or just because LOL
So while the snow gently falls to the ground, I'll be plowing through my new cookbooks in an effort to see what new things I can pickle or can. While the west winds blow up off the hill in the front yard, I'll be snuggled in my afghan (thank you Ernie!) reading my cookbooks and dreaming of the summer harvest and all that I'll make from its yield. Too cool!
I didn't realize how much canning I had done over the summer until we started using the jars! Wow I was a busy little canner, that's for sure. We have used two quarts of green beans, four quarts of squash, two pints of chow-chow (thank you Melva!) and we're down to just three jars of pickles and two jars of pickled okra. We still have a couple months of winter yet to go but I think we'll be just fine :) I haven't even begun to tap into the canned turnip greens or tomatoes but it won't be long. Oh and there are the pear preserves too!
I hear those pear preserves are good on peanut butter sandwiches but I haven't actually tried it that way myself. I like them on hot pancakes with a little butter! mmmm They're sugar free too so you needn't worry about your waistline when you eat the preserves...it's just the pancakes you have to be careful of LOL! Well, we use the whole wheat pancake mix so they can't be all that bad...?
This weekend was a floor cleaning weekend for me. I do the living room pretty regularly but upstairs was badly in need and so was the kitchen and hallway. As you can image the kitchen and hallway floors catch everything...indeed, I could sweep them daily and still get a dust pan full of dirt. Get this, there's a shoe scraper outside the door and a rug inside the door and still we carry that dirt inside somehow...?
I used the dry swiffer on the living room floor and then ran the shark steamer (thank you Kris!) with that room done, I took my broom and dust pan and headed upstairs. My plan was just to do our room but of course, once you start, you have to do it all. I dusted the furniture and started sweeping. Before I knew it I was up on the landing and then sweeping the bridge. I swept the steps leading to the landing and I swept the whole bedroom. Whew that was a lot of sweeping!
I filled a bowl with water and added a cap full or two of Murphy's Oil Soap then I wet my rag in it and cleaned the steps leading down from the bedroom. I cleaned the steps from the top down so any residual dust or dirt would be collected when I finally reach the bottom. I think there are 8 steps? They take a while to clean and you have to be careful because some have raw wood and that stuff likes to get snagged in your rag.
I finished my flooring and step job and went to put away my supplies. Low and behold, do you know what I found on my living room floor? Apparently the bridge was dustier than I thought because a whole bunch of it landed downstairs on my freshly cleaned living room floor instead of in my dust pan! argh!! Wally thought that was pretty funny - me? Not so much!
I cleaned up that dust and decided to take a break and read some of my cookbook while sitting my hind end on the couch. Rarely do I sit on the weekends LOL I'm always up doing something so this was a real treat. To sit down, with clean floors and a new cookbook...talk about hog heaven! I learned about making mustard, bbq sauce, flavored vinegars and I had just gotten to the pickling section when break time was over.
We had a party to attend and I had food to make to bring to it. I made macaroni salad, sausage and cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers and a big pot of dirty rice. At the party they had cheeseburgers and hot dogs and all kinds of other stuff. The peppers were gone within about 30 minutes of their arrival LOL They're so easy and so good. I should have made a double batch but who knew they would disappear so quickly?
The party was fun and we stayed later than we planned but sometimes that happens. Fortunately we didn't have anything planned for Sunday that required us to get up and moving very early or very quickly. LOL I think we got up at 6:00 instead of 5:00 and we had a nice breakfast of homemade, whole wheat toast with melted, sharp cheddar cheese, crispy bacon and ripened tomatoes. We had some iced tea even though it was just 27 degrees outside and we had a couple orange slices each. We were full and feeling good!
While Wally did some work down at the barn, guess what I did? hahaha yep - I planted myself back on the couch for some more pickle recipe reading! The book has already given me more ideas than I'll likely have time for but I do know I'm going to need to buy lots of spices in bulk for these pickling recipes. Each recipe in itself doesn't require a whole lot of any one ingredient save for the vegetables but all of them require the same ones; mustard seeds, dill seeds, turmeric, whole peppercorns, etc. It's sounding good to me already!
We let the dogs run loose for about 20 minutes and then they decided to just take off on their own. We saw them doing it and called them back but they decided they weren't coming back. Brats! They were gone for about a half an hour but by then it had gotten too cold for us to stay out there looking for them. We watched out the windows for them to return but still nothing. Finally, Wally went out and started the 4 wheeler to go looking for them on it. Just about the time it was warmed up and ready to go, here they come running up the hill in the front yard. They made it just in time, that's for sure! Even so, since they didn't come when we called them, they got no more fee time to run and play. They won't get any free time today either as they are on grounded for not listening. Silly dogs...
The weather seems to have no affect on them whatsoever. They lie on the ground on top of the snow like it's not even there. They lick the ice in their water bucket like it's a treat. Only when it's raining do we catch them inside the dog house. These guys were born to take the cold weather without complaint. When it was snowing, they were barking at the snow as it fell to the ground. I'm surprised they didn't try to catch it!
I'm not a coffee drinker but here in the office there are lots of coffee drinkers. Indeed, there isn't a time of day that the pot isn't full or brewing. It smells wonderful and I'm sure to them, it probably tastes wonderful. I've no doubt it warms them because it's pretty chilly in this building. I'll stick to my hot chocolate and cup-a-soup to keep me warm but that coffee smell is very inviting LOL
As you, my faithful followers, well know I don't have to buy lettuce during the CSA basket season. Well, the CSA season has ended and I find myself in need of lettuce. I shopped for it at Food Lion where they want $1.79 a head. At Save-A-Lot, it was $1.49 a head. Am I just spoiled from getting lettuce in my basket or have lettuce prices really increased that much in two years???? I thought those prices were just crazy! Another expensive item was canned peas. One store wanted .90 per can while another wanted .79 per can. I left them at the store and finally found them at Save-A-Lot for .65 per can - still high but much better.
I know I read that food prices were going to steadily rise but I had no idea they would go up that much in such a short time. You can bet I'll be increasing the size of my gardens this year keeping those prices in mind. Even with my basket veggies there are still more to grow, harvest and eat...lettuce won't be one of them because my farmers grow it so well that I'll just eat theirs. Peas - ever so hopeful that the mole won't find them this year, green beans - ever so hopeful that the rabbits and deer won't get to them before I do and of course tomatoes. New for me this year will be okra - even though I was given several baskets full of okra over the summer, if I'm going to make enough to share and get through next year, I think I'm going to have to grow some of my own. It takes a lot to fill a pint jar even though it doesn't look like much :)
Pickled okra is just like pickles if it is picked at the right size. If the pods get too big, they're not good pickled because they can be stringy. The big pods are best used in soups, stews and gumbos. The little ones are the ones you want for pickling. They stay so tender you can eat the stem end and pod all together. I'll have to bring some to FL next time I come down so you can try it yourself and see. I just bet you you'll reconsider the fuzzy little okra pod next time you think of pickles :) lol! Wally doesn't even care for okra but he likes it pickled!
So my journey into pickling will be beneficial in many ways. For one thing, fermented foods are good for your gut health and pickling is the same as fermenting in many ways. The health benefits abound and I'll write more about them on another posting. You will benefit because if I have the abundance I think I'll have, I'll be sending some down to my family and friends in FL in the hopes that you too will benefit by some good gut health. Your digestive systems will thank you! (and me? lol) I won't be offended if you don't like my pickling efforts but rather than toss anything in the trash, I'd rather you share it with someone who does like it and then, of course, send me back the jar or make some pickles of your own and re-use the one I send you :) hahahahaha I can't think of one person who will actually make their own pickles...hmmmm?
As Days Go By and I plan for summers bountiful harvest, think of me on my couch reading up on all there is to do to get ready for the season while the snow falls on the yard outside my window and my beef barley soup is cooking away on the stove top. I might even have a jar of it canned up by the next time you see me... :) wouldn't that be cool? lol
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