Got 7 quarts of sauce and 8 quarts of salsa going. I could still go out and pick 100 lbs of tomatoes right now. Going to have to give some away
For us it's a yearly family affair. We did half this week and will do the other half next weekend. 72 quarts.
Three generations there? This harkens back to older and, in so many ways, better days. I love to see this where everyone works and everyone benefits! Probably all are thinking of that big spaghetti dinner!
Actually the one picture is my wife's mother, my wife, our daughter in-law and grand children. So four generations. Next weekend will be my mother who is 91, where the tradition comes from and my siblings. I have our old family tomato milling that my grandfather made which has been retired now for 10+ years now in my basement. It's from the 50's. In some ways it was better but the newer machine cuts a lot of time off the process.
No garden this year so its been a canning dry spell around here. Should be some farm stand finds coming up soon. Found a bunch of fresh floaters out salmon fishing and brought a bunch home. Pickle day for bull kelp. Three cases put up and ready. Owl
I'm not sure how others do it but when we make stuffed peppers, we freeze them on a sheet pan so they don't crush when we vac seal them.
I would never thought of pickling bull kelp. They don't get too soft when you can them? How long in the pressure cooker?
If it’s fresh and doesn’t start soft when you find it, it it usually turns out OK. Not super snappy crunchy though. Thought about trying alum or pickle crisp but haven’t yet. The bigger tougher stuff keeps a better crunch. Takes a couple tries to figure out what you like best, one or two can batches just to test. No pressure canning, water bath for 10 minutes, pressure canners pull double duty to save space. Pressure canning will turn it into a jar of sludge. Go half or less on the salt in the recipe since it’s in marinaded saltwater already, I personally don’t add any salt. We also go easy on the sugar, you can always add a half teaspoon later if needed to take the snap or sharpness of the vinegar out. If you try it, be patient. It will take a few tries to settle on what you like. Talked to the University of Alaska Southeast about safe process times, we didn’t just guess on that. Standard cucumber pickle recipe that you prefer and modify to taste without adjusting the vinegar 5% acidity or dilution. Owl
I just wash them, core, stuff and into freezer bags. Been doing them that way for over 20 years. For the meat I use fresh ground beef, fortunately our local grocery store makes good ground chuck. I cut up onion, some of the green pepper tops, squeeze in some garlic, Italian bread crumbs, rice and tomatoes sauce or juice to be able to kneed everything together.
spotted owl If I were to try it, I doubt anyone in my family would even taste them. Thanks for the information though.
I did 9 quarts of tomato sauce last week , first time in a few years. The local farm stand had cases of tomatoes on sale so figured why not. Had a small jar last night for a taste test. Now I might have to do another batch.
I guess the pictures must be in the seasonal foraging thread. Of the elderberry jelly I made. There’s nothing like a successful first attempt at something to turn someone into a madman. Seems I’ve become a jelly making fool. The clear amber jars are apple jelly, dark green ones are apple-pablono pepper, and the brown jars on the right are apple butter. but that’s gonna have to be it for the year, I gotta get some firewood put up
