Sew Crazy Dog Lady

Last year, I started canning things. Mostly because we joined a CSA for the first time and we would never have been able to eat all of those veggies and fruits! In the process, I discovered the joy of “puttin’ up” food. I bought a canner from Walmart and tons of jars. With the overabundance of pears, apples, plums, brussel sprouts and tomatillos, I had snacks, and salsa and jam to last all winter. But the one thing I had an ungodly amount of?

Beets.

In New York State, beets are harvested from June to November and because they are a root veggie, they can be stored in a root cellar, making them available for 9 months out of the year.

Normally, ew. I don’t care for beets.. but that changed.
I don’t have a pressure canner, which is the only safe way to can low acid veggies like beets, unless you pickle them.

And pickle them I did. I pickled a TON of beets. Last week, I realized… this was all that was left from that bountiful beet season.

That’s it.. one 1/2 jar. And my local farmers market doesn’t have beets yet. **whine**

I have, however starting putting things up.

So far:

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam: this is a soft set, no pectin jam. From The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round

Rose Petal Jelly from Herbal Treasures which is evidently out of print. I also adapted this recipe and didn’t add the petals back in and processed for 10 minutes.

Lemon Balm Jelly. I got this recipe on the Harvest Forum but doubled the lemon balm. Lemon Balm is great for stress, by the way.

And on the right there is the Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate. That is going fast already.. Probably won’t manage to take any to the August Summer Training Camp if we keep drinking it at this rate. I may have to put up some more! That recipe is from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

I had a request for my recipe for the pickled beets. It’s also from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving but I used the “Sweet and Sour” version and used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar. (ok to do as long as it’s 5% concentration)

Sweet and Sour Pickled Beets
adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Makes about 6 pint jars

10 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks about 4 inches long, broken
2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
10 cups Prepared Beets.

(Tip: prepare beets by scrubbing and boiling until just tender. Peel and Slice. Wear gloves.. really, unless you enjoy having pink hands. For more info buy the book. You’ll use it.. trust me)

Put the spices in a spice bag (or do what I do and just toss them in there.. I take the extra step to strain them)
Combine sugar, vinegar, water and spices in a large saucepan. Boil to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and boil for 15 minutes.
Remove spices.
Add beets and return to a boil. (This is the hot pack method)
Using a slotted spoon, ladle beets into hot jars within 1/2 inch of top. Ladle hot liquid into jar leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Process in a Boiling Water Bath for 30 minutes.

In writing this out, I’m assuming you have the basic knowledge of canning; how to prepare the lids, sterilize your equipment etc.

If not, here are some great resources:
Garden Web Harvest Forum
Fresh Preserving
National Center for Home Preservation
Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving
Ball Blue Book

I know this post isn’t about crafting.. but it kinda is. I’ve noticed that many of the folks that are crafters are also finding that the “old ways” are worth investing in again.

I’ve learned a lot from my family.. things that I’m looking at again with a critical eye and thinking “I should be doing that”

So, I’m sharing with you.. the things I’ve learned.

From my Great Grandmother:

• When I was 6, she taught me how to crochet.  Although I love knitting, crochet will always be my first love.
• A place for everything and everything in it’s place.

From my Grandmother:

• Mashed Turnips look nasty but are really quite tasty
• You can find make toys out of just about anything you have hanging around.  (Although I was stacking beer cans and saving beer bottle caps, I’ve certainly made a few dog toys out of plastic soda bottles!)
• That women CAN run a business and be quite successful at it.
• How to mix a drink (Don’t ask)

I’m a child of the 70′s   Another time of social change, economic struggle and fuel crisis.  My family was very much the “earthy crunchy”  type.   My father had an idea that we needed to be self sufficient, something that came back around in 1999.    I was telling some coworkers the other day that I like plain yogurt.  They really thought this was wierd but the were even more shocked when I told them I didn’t know what white bread was until I went to public school.

From my Mother

• How to sew.  She let me play with her scraps of fabric and sewing machine.  By the time I was ten, I was making doll clothes and piecing quilted pillows.
• How to make bread.  I’ve (by her own admission) surpassed her skill with this only because I went to culinary school, but she was the one who taught me the joy of kneading and shaping.
• How to make yogurt in a crock pot.  (I now use a cooler covered in towels)
• How to make freezer jam.  (Now I make cooked jams because my freezer is full of dog food)

From my Father:

• Gardening doesn’t have to be limited to farms.
• Raw honey is the absolute best.
• Its always worth trying to “do it yourself” first.
• How to get more than one use out of something.  Soda bottles were great traps for japanese beetles, egg cartons can start seeds, newspapers can be composted along with your table scraps.

I’ve taken a lot of these things to heart lately.  I’ve always been a wee bit “crunchy”.  I’ve recycled as much as I can, try to buy things that are limited in packaging or at least are made with recycled products.  Ironically, the internet, being a global thing, has encouraged me to seek out local farmers, find new ways to reduce waste and reminded me that sometimes doing it yourself is better.

Last year, we bought a farm share.  Because of the over abundace of veggies and fruits, we actually ended up wasting a lot so we decided this year to let another family take our spot.  But because we had so much, I taught myself how to can.  I put up brussel sprouts, pears, peaches, salsas, etc etc.

I’m looking foward to making jam this weekend.  We went to the farmers market this morning and bought some strawberries and rhubarb.  Yum!

I have more earthy crunchy things to share, but I’ll save them for the next post..because I want to share some pictures too!