Ldychef2k: Notes from a Wannabe - Ldychef2k fesses up.

[Ldychef2k]

Sure ! I will probably not be telling you anything new, though. I am new at this, just got my pressure canner last month !

So far, the main no-no I have encountered is not to thicken anything that you are canning with flour or other agents. Apparently thickening means that the contents of the jar will not heat evenly and thus the buggies are not always eliminated. You also can't use pastas, breadcrumbs, or any other filler, same reason I think. You CAN use barley. So, the first thing I did was to make vegetable soup. Because it was an experiment, I used frozen mixed veggies, cubed white potatoes, and actually added browned hamburger that had been thoroughly drained. From what I have read, a lot of fat in the food can cause a failed seal.

Okay, anyway, I know you already new that stuff, but I am trying to think in a srtaight line, and for me that's a challenge.

So, I made the soup. I made also some "stew", but didn't thicken the broth. What I did was cube some chuck steak, crock pot it overnight with Montreal steak seasoning. Then I prepped onions, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and new potatoes (russets I think would get mealy. Not sure, so I used new.) I didn't cook them ahead of time. I put the meat in the bottom of the jar and then layered the veggies. I ended with potatoes, and next time I would put them on the bottom and let the smaller pieces be on top, to settle in the jar and make a more compact product.

Then I added some stock to the defatted crock pot juices and filled the jars, added salt, and processed them 90 minutes.

Hmm. I also made chili. Again, defatted the meat thorougly. Otherwise, just my normal recipe.

I have done chicken breasts with enormous success. They are just wonderful. I cooked them in a huge pot with carrots, onions, celery, peppercorns and a bay leaf. Removed them from the stock, let them cool while the stock reduced by about half. Deboned them, packed three in a quart, and added the reduced stock.

Because the beef for the stew was so good, I have also crock potted a lot of chuck roasts (6!) when they were on sale. Same Montreal steak seasoning, and I packed pints of the beef cubes to be ready to add to other recipes.

That's really about it on the meals so far. I am dying to get paid (Two more days !) so that I can do things like pot pie fillings, etc. By not thickening before canning, through, that leave me to thicken when I am ready to serve. An extra step, but a safety issue !

Now that apples will be coming in, I am hoping to can applie pie filling, too.

Hope that was what you were looking for ! CanningUSA.com is a really good resource for me. They are sorta Canning for Dummies, but their videos gave me a lot of confidence.

Kris

 

[freemotion]

Hey, did you know you can save a step and skip the crockpot? You can even can the meat raw with all the flavorings. The 90 minutes of pressure canning will leave the meat very tender and flavorful, as it you had it in the crockpot all night. Leaner cuts work great, since you can't skim the fat in advance this way.

I plan on getting 60 lbs of lean grass-fed beef this fall, some cubed and some ground, to can by itself and as meals....soups, stews, spaghetti sauce, chili, meatloaf.

 

[Ldychef2k]

YIKES ! I missed your post ! Sorry...

Before I forget, here is the link to the modern version of Pear Harlequin: http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/preserves/pear-harlequin1.html I think it's pretty close to my grandmother's. Watch it carefully, because when it starts to turn a little amber colored it is almost there. I scorched my last batch because i was trying to multitask.

Okay, the garden area. Well, for me it's a big area. The entire thing is I am thinking 30 x 60, which probably isn't that much to most gardeners, but this is my first time and I have a bit of a physical challenge. Right now, half of the area is filled with cleared brush and tree trimmings, and an entire tree I took out this summer. So, I am slowly breaking all that down into: 1. Dry leaves for the compost bin. 2. Twigs and small branches for the rocket stove, and 3. Firewood. It will take most of the winter to clear out that half of the garden area.

Anyway, the ground is very uneven and overgrown with Bermuda. I think I have settled on a plan which is a combination of what you suggested and what a local lady thought would work after she saw the area. Please, tell me what you think.

First, I need to rake it up and see what's under there. I went out there this morning while it was cool and used the steel rake on the clear side to start piling up the debris from more than 20 years of ignoring it. I got LOTS of stuff for the compost pile. I also found toys from kids when I used to rent this place out, aerosol cans, deteriorated swimming pools, dog toys, hot wheels, and on and on. So, all that has to get cleaned up.

Oh, there is also a 1-2 foot high pile in the middle of the area which is where a past gardener piled lawn clippings. It is on top of a huge piece of black plastic that apparently was under an above ground swimming pool. So, I have to dig that pile out and remove the plastic.

Okay, so I get it cleared out, then I want to spray Roundup once over the whole thing, wait two weeks, water it to see if any more bermuda is going to sprout. Spray it again. THEN, I will lay newspaper over the whole area, cover it with black plastic and weight down the edges over the winter, and our winters are very mild.

Come February, remove the plastic and rototill and level. I can start planting in mid March.

Someone told me to just cover the entire area with hay over the winter, but sounds to me like critters would love that just a bit too much.

Sure would appreciate your input......this is a very new thing to me.

Also hope to get enough RoundUp to kill the first layer of bermuda in my future garden area.

I just this minute started reading your journal! So glad you are finally writing it.

I wanted to tell you a BETTER way to kill that grass. Try laying down several layers of newspaper right over the weeds and grass. Overlap the layers. Then top the paper with lawn clippings, straw, shavings or other topper to hold the paper down.

AND I need that Harlequin pear recipe!

 

[Ldychef2k]

Wish I lived near you !

I am sure you are right, but I am apprehensive after some problems with digestion in the past. Tenderness is a huge issue for me. I had weight loss surgery in 1988, had my stomach stapled, and I can only eat beef in very small amounts, and it has to be "like buttuh". Anything I eat has to pass through a very small channel, about the size of a drinking straw, and beef doesn't break down all that well.

Blech...you didn't need to hear that, did you?

Hey, did you know you can save a step and skip the crockpot? You can even can the meat raw with all the flavorings. The 90 minutes of pressure canning will leave the meat very tender and flavorful, as it you had it in the crockpot all night. Leaner cuts work great, since you can't skim the fat in advance this way.

I plan on getting 60 lbs of lean grass-fed beef this fall, some cubed and some ground, to can by itself and as meals....soups, stews, spaghetti sauce, chili, meatloaf.

 

[Farmfresh]

30 x 60, which probably isn't that much to most gardeners, but this is my first time and I have a bit of a physical challenge. Right now, half of the area is filled with cleared brush and tree trimmings, and an entire tree I took out this summer. So, I am slowly breaking all that down into: 1. Dry leaves for the compost bin. 2. Twigs and small branches for the rocket stove, and 3. Firewood. It will take most of the winter to clear out that half of the garden area.

Anyway, the ground is very uneven and overgrown with Bermuda. I think I have settled on a plan which is a combination of what you suggested and what a local lady thought would work after she saw the area. Please, tell me what you think.

First, I need to rake it up and see what's under there. I went out there this morning while it was cool and used the steel rake on the clear side to start piling up the debris from more than 20 years of ignoring it. I got LOTS of stuff for the compost pile. I also found toys from kids when I used to rent this place out, aerosol cans, deteriorated swimming pools, dog toys, hot wheels, and on and on. So, all that has to get cleaned up.

Oh, there is also a 1-2 foot high pile in the middle of the area which is where a past gardener piled lawn clippings. It is on top of a huge piece of black plastic that apparently was under an above ground swimming pool. So, I have to dig that pile out and remove the plastic.

Okay, so I get it cleared out, then I want to spray Roundup once over the whole thing, wait two weeks, water it to see if any more bermuda is going to sprout. Spray it again. THEN, I will lay newspaper over the whole area, cover it with black plastic and weight down the edges over the winter, and our winters are very mild.

Come February, remove the plastic and rototill and level. I can start planting in mid March.

Someone told me to just cover the entire area with hay over the winter, but sounds to me like critters would love that just a bit too much.

Sure would appreciate your input......this is a very new thing to me.

I have physical challenges as well. Severe arthritis and I ain't so very young either!

That giant pile of grass clippings is your first pile of good compost! I would just uncover it and rake it all around to help level. I am a member of the pile on the mulch and compost in place clan. I would clean up all of the trash and then USE that piece of old pool liner to smother the Bermuda grass! Especially this time of the year when it is so very hot, by spreading out that black plastic and weighting it down you will basically cook the Bermuda grass underneath!

Those newspapers can be had for free! I just spread them out and pile on whatever I can get that is organic and free or cheap to hold them down. The newspaper (most of which are printed with soy based inks these days) will prevent light from reaching the grass and weeds beneath and they will simply die.

I don't "till". Sometimes I dig up a portion of my garden by digging potatoes or some such thing and sometimes I loosen a bit of the top by pushing aside the mulch and using my hoe or little cultivator to plant some seeds, but by and large I try to keep a deep mulch everywhere. I just dig some away and make a hole for what I am planting.
Read the book Ruth Stout' s book, Gardening Without Work. She is an OLD lady that plants a BIG garden.

I never hoe either. I find it easier to wait until the weeds have enough height on them to pull and then I pull them up and lay them back down where they grew to add to the mulch. The only rules on that is I never lay down a plant with nearly viable seeds or one that will readily re root. At least until it is dried in the sun for a while!

Where I garden I can not get a tractor in to it, I have NO big tiller only a little cultivator and my body will not stand for a lot of digging and hoeing. This method works for me.

Forgot to say:

As for the compost pile. I compost those necessary things in a movable wire bin made from a cattle panel set right IN the garden. Year 1 I fill it up. Year 2 I move the bin to a new area and plant a vining crop, like squash, all around the old pile and grow them right over the top of it. That keeps it shady and more moist and allows it to further decompose. Year three I rake it out and plant like normal. This way I have no compost to move or turn yet I still have decent compost.

 

[Ldychef2k]

Now THAT is some great advice ! Never thought about actually USING that plastic. Hope it is in good shape ! That pile is going to be tough to move without damaging the palstic, but now I want to go out and do it NOW.

You are a complete inspiration !

ETA: I have Ruth Stout's book checked out from the library right now ! Wish I could afford some hay.

 

[Farmfresh]

I edited the above message.

You don't need hay! Anything to hold down the paper sheets will work. I have even used MORE shredded newspaper! Leaves are also great!

 

[Farmfresh]

If the pile is ON the plastic that will make spreading it even EASIER!

CAREFULLY rake the top of the pile away or use a shovel to remove a lot of it then grab a plastic edge and start lifting and pulling to "roll" compost off. You may have to shovel a couple of times to lessen the weight off of the "tarp", but eventually you can pull one side and roll the compost off of the tarp while spreading it around the area.

I use the same principle to unload my truck if I am hauling something - makes FAR less shoveling! I also use that trick to bed down and then clean out the trailer where I raise my broilers. I lay a sturdy tarp down in the trailer bed, then add bedding. When I need to clean it out I pull the trailer to a likely spot grab the front of the tarp and pull. The dirty bedding "rolls" out of the trailer and into a pile. Then I hose the tarp clean, let it dry a bit and then re-bed with clean shavings!

 

[Ldychef2k]

Wish I had thought of that compost idea ! Maybe next year.

Oh, I know I don't need hay, but it sounded so earthy and farmery !!! I live smack dab in the middle of town, on one of the busiest intersections. I just thought how fun it would be... I wanted to be like the cool kids!

I heard that Ruth Stout died not too long ago, and was also interested to learn that she was the sister of author Rex Stout!

 

[Ldychef2k]

I will give it a try, but it's been there probably 15 or 20 years. It's hard as a brick - can't even get the steel rake to make a dent..tried this morning. Maybe I can wet it a bit before taking a shovel to it. I don't know if the palstic is intact. All you can see is about 6" of it around the perimeter of the circle.

The technique you use sounds similar to how they seem to make cob for the mud ovens. That's my big winter project.

If the pile is ON the plastic that will make spreading it even EASIER!

CAREFULLY rake the top of the pile away or use a shovel to remove a lot of it then grab a plastic edge and start lifting and pulling to "roll" compost off. You may have to shovel a couple of times to lessen the weight off of the "tarp", but eventually you can pull one side and roll the compost off of the tarp while spreading it around the area.

I use the same principle to unload my truck if I am hauling something - makes FAR less shoveling! I also use that trick to bed down and then clean out the trailer where I raise my broilers. I lay a sturdy tarp down in the trailer bed, then add bedding. When I need to clean it out I pull the trailer to a likely spot grab the front of the tarp and pull. The dirty bedding "rolls" out of the trailer and into a pile. Then I hose the tarp clean, let it dry a bit and then re-bed with clean shavings!