Dried Swiss Chard

The Swiss Chard I planted last summer finally bolted. I did some research and you can dry chard for later use. That sounded good to me. I picked and cleaned the chard at the cabin and saved only the leaves. The rest of the plants I chopped up to go in my compost pile.

I was heading to town to visit Mom, so I decided to use the condo's electric oven. It's easier to control at low temperatures than my propane oven in the cabin. So I packed up my chard and headed down the lake. First I gave the big leaves a course chop.

Next I needed to find something to use as a steamer. I found two metal pans from the pie shop that had holes in the bottom. I inverted one and filled a pot with 3/4" of water. I placed the other pie pan on top and voila, I had a steamer for free.

Before drying, it's recommended to blanch chard for 3 minutes. This helps stop enzyme activity and prepare it for drying. Some recommend water blanching, but with the delicate chard I chose the steam method. The key is to use small batches so that it blanches uniformly.

Next I used cookie sheets to spread the blanched chard into thin layers for drying in the oven, already preheated on the lowest setting, 150 degrees. I spread the cookie sheets out on the two oven shelves with lots of space for the warm air to circulate.

To allow moisture to escape, I propped the oven door slightly open with metal tongs. I checked the chard every half hour and turned the leaves. I also rotated the pans on the shelves. When I turned the heat off, I left the pans inside the cooling oven. For me, all three sheets were dry in four hours.

The last step before storing is conditioning. Some leaves may hold residual moisture. To ensure they were all dry, I used a brown bag and left the leaves inside for several days. A few shakes a day helped disperse any moisture. Finally, I stored my dried chard in tightly sealed plastic containers, ready to add as a taste of summer to my winter soups.

Do you dry fruits or vegetables? Now that I've had one success I am ready to try something new. -- Margy

Strawberry Jam

Even though it isn't strawberry season up the lake, it is in sunny Southern California. Our market had quarts of ripe berries on sale for $1.98. I picked up two. One we enjoyed fresh, the other I made into strawberry jam.

I used Certo fruit pectin and the quick cook method. I didn't use all of the fruit called for in the recipe so I cut everything in half. I know you have to be very careful doing that. My jam didn't jell the first time, so I had to reprocess it. I'm not sure if it was because I cooked it too long after the pectin was added or if it just needed more pectin. But after I reprocessed the batch with the remaining half packet of pectin, it it jelled fine. Here is the recipe I ended up with:

Strawberry Jam

(makes about 4 half-pints)

2 cups prepared strawberries (1 qt raw)

4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 packet (box) CERTO Fruit Pectin

While I prepared the fruit, I brought water in my canning pot to a boil. To sterilize everything, I put clean half-pint (250ml) jars in the boiling water and the screw bands and lids in a separate pan covered with the boiled water.

To make it easier to mash the berries, I diced them after washing and hulling. Then I used my wire whisk to lightly crush them to get the juices flowing. The berries went into a large cooking pot along with the sugar. I brought them to a rolling boil, stirring constantly over high heat. Next I added the lemon juice followed by the pectin, still stirring.

Once it came back to a rolling boil I cooked it for exactly one minute. At this point, the jam will still be very liquid. I removed it from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes before skimming the scum that forms on top. It isn't bad for you, it just doesn't look nice.

I got my canning jars out of the hot water and let them drain. They need to be hot for the filling process. I filled the jars to 1/8" from the top and wiped the rims and sides clean. I covered them with the self-sealing snap lids. Then the screw bands went on until finger tight. The jam filled four half pint (250 ml) jars with a little bit extra for the fridge.

All four sealed jars went into the hot water bath covered by 2" of water. After it got back up to a rolling boil (with the lid on) I timed it for 10 minutes. When done, the jars came out of the water bath to cool. I heard the four distinctive snapping sounds as the seals set. Now we have an alternative to the blackberry jam I made last summer.

Speaking of Southern California, they had a "jamming session" down on the Little Homestead in the City. Check out their wonderful blog and website. They have turned a city lot in Pasadena, California, into an urban homestead. As a part of their outreach program they went to a local school to teach students how to make strawberry jam. What a wonderful experience! Head on over to their blog and check it out. -- Margy

Canned Pickled Beets

Six weeks ago I pulled the last of my beets and put them in storage. I was checking and noticed some were starting to dry out so I decided to can what was left. For a recipe, I used my favourite canning reference book, the Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook.

Canned Pickled Beets

24 small beets (2-2 1/2")
water

Cook beets well. Cool, peel and slice.

1 large onion sliced (if desired)
2 cups 5% acid strength cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canning/pickling salt
1 cup water
6 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon

Tie cloves and cinnamon in a cheesecloth bag. Bring vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spice bag to a boil. Add sliced beets and onions and simmer for five minutes. Remove the spice bag.

Fill four sterilized hot pint jars (I used two quarts instead) with beets and liquid to 1/4" from the top. Remove air bubbles and clean the jar rims. Place sterilized lids on top and secure with rings.

Place jars in a boiling water bath that covers the lids by at least 1" and process for thirty minutes. Begin timing once the water returns to a full boil. When done, remove the jars and allow them to cool undisturbed. Once cool, check the seal. Keep your jars in a dark, cool place until needed.

This is a lot more work than the simple fresh pickled beets I make in the summer, but it's a good way to keep the last of my crop from spoiling. - Margy

Storing Root Crops for Winter Use

My floating garden is relatively small, consisting of four 3X10' beds raised above the lake surface on a cedar log foundation. I use Companion Planting and Intensive Cultivation (Rodale Press, 1989) and grow an amazing amount of vegetables in the limited space. But I still haven't figured out how much to plant, especially for root crops. I always end up with a row or two left at the end of fall.

A really helpful book on preserving crops is Stocking Up: How to Preserve the Foods You Grow, Naturally by the Editors of Organic Gardening and Farming. It's a great reference for harvesting, storing, drying, freezing and canning fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, and nuts, seeds and grains. It gave me directions for leave my root crops in the ground through the winter. Now that I have my carrots and beets out of the soil, I'm going to use their directions for storage (well, sort of).

First I pulled all of my remaining crop and discarded any damaged ones. I removed and composted all the carrots tops. But for the beets, I tore the tops off leaving about three inches of stem. To help prevent them from "bleeding" red beet juice, the book recommends not using a knife for this part of the process. Because the soils was so wet, I arranged the unwashed veggies on newspaper to dry a bit. After about thirty minutes I gave them a flip to dry the other side. Then finally, I rubbed off the excess dirt with a dry paper towel.

The next step was to arrange the cleaned (not washed) carrots and beets in plastic trays I purchased at the Dollar Store. The open sides allow air to circulate. This helps reduce mold or rot as time goes by. I started with a damp paper towel on the bottom covered by a folded sheet of dry newspaper. The damp towel helps increase atmospheric moisture which helps keep the root crops crisper while being stored out of the ground. After one layer of veggies I folded a sheet of newspaper and then added a second layer to each basket.

The final step was to cover the top layer of veggies with folded newspaper, a layer of moist paper towel and finally another folded newspaper. To store the baskets, I place them under the bed in my downstairs guest bedroom. It is the coolest room in my house.

This improvised "root cellar" lets me keep my carrots and beets for several more months of enjoyment in salads, soups, stews and simple pickled beets. -- Margy

Canned Spiced Apples

Quality Foods had a bag of Spartan Apples on sale so I thought I would try my hand at canning some. This is the first year I've tried canning, so I found a simple recipe appropriate for my newbie status. To make them more to my liking, I changed the flavouring from vanilla to spices and added some red food colouring for a crab apple look.

Canned Spiced Apples

10 medium apples
4 3/4 cups sugar
4 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon red food colouring

Fill a large bowl with water then add one tablespoon salt and one tablespoon vinegar. This will be a "bath" to keep the apples from turning brown while you get them all peeled and cut.

Peel, core, slice then put apples in the water bath. Mix sugar, water, food colouring and spices wrapped in cheesecloth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Drain and rinse the apples. Carefully add them to the heavy syrup and cook for 5 minutes or until they become translucent. Stay just under the boiling point to prevent foaming. Spoon the apples into clean hot jars, cover with boiling syrup leaving 1/2 inch head space. Seal the jars and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes.

The syrup is very sweet, making the apples a good side dish or topping for ice cream. I had a lot of syrup left over and hated to waste it. It had a spicy apple flavour so I tried putting some in 7-Up and it made a tasty fall drink. Later, I got some club soda and that was even better. Do you have any favourite fall apple recipes? I'd love to hear them. - Margy

Too Many Tiny Tomatoes

This year I grew tomatoes in pots. I have one Roma and two cherry tomatoes. Early in the season, there were just enough for salads and grilling. When they come in faster, I froze some for winter soups. Then all of a sudden, my cherry tomatoes turned ripe overnight. What was I to do with too many tiny tomatoes?

They aren’t the best variety to can, but I did. I washed, cut and put then into a big pot to cook over low heat. With larger tomatoes, you dip them in boiling water and skin them before stewing. Not so easy with the little guys. I used a wire whisk to mash them and release their skins as they cooked. When they were soft, I poured them into a strainer over large bowl. I used the wire whisk to force the pulp through the fairly large holes. Then I used a spoon my fingers to pick out as many of the small skins as possible. They curl, making them easy to spot and pick out. Yes, it was tedious but worth it.

I returned the juice and pulp to the large cooking and followed the recipe from the Farm Journal’s Freezing and Canning Cookbook for Meatless Spaghetti Sauce (page 244).

Meatless Spaghetti Sauce
(makes 3 pints)

16 pounds ripe tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon canning, pickling salt (don’t used iodized)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground bay leaves
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon basil leaves
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
½ teaspoon parsley flakes
2 tablespoons brown sugar

I didn’t have enough tomatoes so I cut my recipe in half. I like chunky spaghetti sauce, so I peeled and diced four of my Roma tomatoes to add to the stewed mixture. I cooked the onions in the oil until translucent and added them to the mixture, followed by the remaining ingredients. It was too sweet for my taste. Next time I’ll reduce or eliminate the brown sugar. I also added a small green pepper and extra herbs to taste. Everything simmered with occasional stirring for one and a half hours until thickened.

In the meantime, I boiled the water in my canning pot and immersed the jars and lids to sterilize them. I poured the sauce into hot half pint jars (a better serving size for us) to ¼” of the rim. I wiped the rims clean, placed snap lids on top and screwed the rings on to finger tight. The jars were then processed in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

This is the first year I’ve tried canning. Margaret, a fellow blogger in Powell River, has inspired me to try. Take a look at her site Thistle Garden to sample some of the tasty things she has put up from her amazing garden. -- Margy

Canning Blackberries

August is blackberry month in Powell River, BC. Almost everywhere you look within a kilometre of the chuck (ocean) you'll find vines growing in logging slashes, along road cuts and even on empty lots in town. One thing you won’t find for sale in the markets is blackberries. Why bother, they wouldn’t sell with all the free fruit for the pickin'. We even celebrate the blackberry each August with its own weeklong festival. This year I wanted to save a bit of the blackberry season to enjoy this winter.

My first “experiment” was with blackberry jam. That was so successful that I decided to try some other ways of preserving this delicious fruit. I like to make blackberry pancakes and have been buying canned blackberries during the winter. Why not can some of my own? I used the books Stocking Up by the editors of Organic Gardening and Farming and the Farm Journal’s Freezing and Canning Cookbook as guides.

Raw Pack Canned Blackberries

Pick as many ripe berries as you want to preserve. Wash and drain the berries in a colander. Fill canning jars to ½ inch of the top, gently shaking the berries down to remove empty spaces. The berries will shrink during processing. Cover the berries with boiling syrup (thin or medium recommended) to ½ inch of the top. Remove air bubbles with a non-metallic spoon or spatula. Wipe the rims and cover with snap lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath, 10 minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts. I used half-pint jars (a better serving size for the two of us) but went ahead and used the 10-minute process time. 

Sugar Syrup for Canning

Thin: 2 cups sugar and 4 cups water yields 5 cups

Medium: 3 cups sugar and 4 cups water yields 5½ cups

Heavy: 4¾ cups sugar and 4 cups water yields 6½ cups

You need about 1 to 1½ cups of syrup for each quart of fruit. Medium syrup retains best colour and shape of fruits. You can replace up to half of the sugar with light corn syrup or mild flavoured honey, if desired. Heat sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves.

Being new to canning I have been a little afraid of spoilage. I don’t want to make us sick by eating damaged foods. My initial tries have been with fruits and tomatoes that can be processed in boiling water baths. These are foods that are more resident to bacterial growth and deadly botulism. Even so, I have been very careful to sterilize jars and follow processing guidelines. Extra caution can’t be a bad thing, especially in this case.

Are you a new or experienced canner? I’d love to hear about your favourite items to can and preserve? Do you use a pressure cooker? Is it difficult? -- Margy

Blackberry Jamin'

August is blackberry month here in Powell River, BC. There's even a week long Blackberry Festival in honour of the sweet, purple fruit that culminates with a street party. I swear the whole town turns out. Of course, Powell River Books had "Mr. Float Cabin" out on the street for the celebration.

This year the berries have been exceptionally big and juicy. Each time we head up the lake, I pick a some from the bushes in the Shinglemill parking lot. They come in waves, so there've been lots for the picking. I had such success with my strawberry jam, I decided to make some blackberry.

Blackberry Jam Recipe

I used two resources to make my jam. The first was a book I found at Kingfisher Used Books here in Powell River, the Farm Journal's Freezing and Canning Cookbook. I got mine for $3.95 but they are much pricier online. I also used the directions from the Certo Pectin Crystals box.

The ingredients are simple.
Yields about 8 cups. Do not double the recipe.

5 cups crushed blackberries
1 box Certo Pectin Crystals
7 cups granulated sugar

Thoroughly crush berries. You can remove some of the seeds if you wish, but I like them included. The Farm Journal cookbook recommended lemon juice, so I added two tablespoons to the berry mixture.


Mix the crushed berries and the Certo Pectin Crystals in a large pan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then add the sugar all at once. Return it to a hard boil and let it boil for one minute. The cookbook says to be very accurate, so I used my timer. Remove from heat and stir and skim for five minutes.

Pour into warm, sterilized jars to 1/4" from the rim. I used 250 ml (8.5 oz) jars. Wipe the tops clean of any spilled jam and place sterilized lids and screw caps on, making them finger tight. Both my friend Marg and the pectin recipe said this was enough to preserve the jam. The Farm Journal book recommend five minutes of processing in a boiling water bath (the lid was off only for the picture), so that is what I did. I guess overdoing it was better than under doing it.

The trick to jam making for the novice is to have things ready to go. I boiled the water to sterilize my jars and lids first. Then it was held at the ready for the boiling water bath at the end. The whole process took me about two hours, but the end result was some really tasty jam that will last us through the winter, reminding us of the warm, sunny days of August. -- Margy

Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

When I got back to the cabin, my strawberry plants were loaded and there were lots of over ripe berries. I hated to throw them away, so I decided to experiment with some easy refrigerator jam.

Small Batch
Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

1 cup mashed strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sugar

I picked, cleaned and mashed all of the over ripe berries. I then added some less ripe berries to bring the mashed mixture up to one cup. Actually, my recipe book recommended this as a way to elevate the natural pectin content. Then I added one tablespoon of lemon juice and one cup of sugar.

I gently heated the mixture in a heavy pot until the sugar was dissolved. Then I cooked it at a rolling boil until the candy thermometer reached 220º F (104º C). It cooked down a bit, but was still quite liquid. When it was cooled, it was still slightly runny, but oh so tasty! I put the jam in a sterilized jar, but did not complete the canning process. This jam is for immediate consumption and will be kept under refrigeration until gone.

I do want to try some real canning in the future, but for now this was a successful experiment with gustatory rewards. - Margy

Freezing Tomatoes

Yesterday (Tiny Tomato Treats) and last October (Saving Green Tomatoes) I shared posts about how I handle unripened tomatoes when their vines have to come out. Wayne and I love the taste of fresh home grown tomatoes in salads including our favourite Chopped Garden Salad. But even with only a few plants, there can be more produce than we can consume all at once. I didn't have enough to bother with canning, so I decided to freeze my excess tomatoes.

Freezing tomatoes is very simple. You can do them whole, sliced or diced. You can do them with the skins on or off. Since I also had some remaining zucchini and green peppers, I decided to freeze my tomatoes diced (cut in half for the cherries) along with pieces of the other two vegetables. That way I could pop a container directly into the soup pot. You can use any tightly sealed container, but I purchased Bernardin freezer canning jars. They are plastic with tight snapping lids. They can also be saved and reused for the next season.

Denise, a blogger friend that writes the Vintage Log Cabin blog, shared a forum with me that is devoted to tomatoes called Tomatoville. You have to register to read and post messages, but it is free and a very busy community. Check it out, and stop by and meet Denise at vintagelogcabin.blogspot.com. -- Margy

Tiny Tomato Treats

In October, I shared how I picked my green Early Girl tomatoes and brought them into the house to ripen (see Saving Green Tomatoes). They were a big success. When it came time to pull out my cherry tomato plants, I tried the same thing. I removed and kept all of the undamaged green cherry tomatoes. What remained was chopped up for the compost pile. Nothing goes to waste.

I placed all of the little tomatoes on cookie sheets and placed them on a cool dark shelf in the downstairs guest room. They have been there for about a month now and are ripening nicely. When the larger tomatoes ripened, I didn't lose any. With these smaller one,s I have to throw away a few that rot or wither every few days.

When the tiny tomatoes start to turn pink I move them to the kitchen window sill to redden. Here they have a great view and a bit of warmth much like they had on the vine. They end up juicy and tasty in salads that bring back memories of long gone summer days. -- Margy

Storing Potatoes

Last week I dug up the last of the potatoes in my upper garden. There were too many to eat right away, so I prepared the excess for storage. I left them in the sun to dry and to allow the skin to firm up. It is best not to wash potatoes before storage. Just brush off any excess dirt and then inspect them for damage. Damaged spuds should be eaten as soon as possible. They do not store well and may damage your good produce.

Always store potatoes away from light and temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius are best. If they get too cold, the starch will turn to sugar and cause them to be sweet. Paper bags, burlap bags or cardboard boxes are good for potato storage. Do not use a plastic bag. Trapped moisture will accelerate spoilage. Avoid storing potatoes with apples, onions or garlic. They produce a gas that causes potatoes to spoil quickly. If potatoes are exposed to the light they will turn green. Remove any green portions before eating. Potatoes are a member of the Deadly Nightshade family, and the green part is poisonous.

This year I am wrapping my potatoes in newspaper. This keeps them away from the light and separates them from neighboring potatoes. The paper allows the potatoes to "breathe" but also prevents too much moisture from escaping. Properly stored potatoes will remain dormant and will not sprout for about three months after harvesting. That makes for lots of comfort food meals throughout the winter months. -- Margy

Saving Green Tomatoes

Some vegetables are in their prime in the fall, especially in northern climes. I planted my tomatoes in June from starts I got at the nursery. They grew throughout the summer and finally had tomatoes setting in August. I was able to pick my first ripe tomatoes in late August, but the majority were still green when it was time to leave for Southern California in early September. What should I do?

I did some research and found that green tomatoes can be picked and stored in a cool location to ripen slowly. One reference said tomatoes could might even last for six weeks this way. I figured it was worth a try. I chose only unblemished fruits and left the stem attached. I placed them on a tray in a single layer being careful to keep each one separated from its neighbor. That way, if one went bad it might not affect the others nearby. Temperatures 15 to 22 degrees C (60 to 72 degrees F) are best. Below that, ripening will be delayed. Above that, they might rot. For more suggestions try visiting these sites:

• All About Stuff
• Farmgirl Fare
• Wisebread

I returned to my cabin four weeks later. I didn't know what I would find, but I was rewarded with a tray of perfectly ripe tomatoes (minus one still on the way). They were all firm, and juicy and sweet inside, just like the ones that came off the vine. My experiment was a huge success. We are enjoying them fresh, but I will end up freezing some I am sure. -- Margy