Canning Day

8:30 AM, WE BEGIN,

LOAD THE STEREO WITH A FEW CD'S.

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN AMY WINEHOUSE, MEATLOAF, LOREENA MCKENNITT & CHER KIND OF DAY!!!

REMEMBER THESE?

Well, today we are going to can them up. All 25 pounds, OMG!!

I'm going to need them this winter for chili, spaghetti, lasagna soup & anything else I can think of.

OK lets get down to it!!!

First thing we need to do is get those skins off. (Not very pretty floating around in your chili.)

Here I have them blanching in a pot of boiling water. When the skins crack I will put them into a basin of ice water. Next we peel the skins off. (Save these, we'll use them later.)

OK, here I have them in my roaster to keep them warm till I'm ready to start putting them into jars.

OK, I'm filling, can't stop to photo. Got to be quick!

                                              

Peeking under the lid (left) to get a quick shot.

Processing in the water bath canner  for 45 minutes & viola we have

canned whole tomatoes.

Well, you might ask where are the rest, surely that's not 25 lbs.

You're right, we aren't done yet.

I ran out of big jars so we're going to make stewed tomatoes with the rest.

I have smaller jars for this project plus this gives me a chance to add .....

Some onions, celery & sweet yellow bell peppers (I used the red one in my potato salad.YUM.

OK, let's get back to work...

                                                    

CHOPPING,CHOPPING & MORE CHOPPING!!!!!

(Yes, I'm wearing my swimsuit under my apron, It's hot in this here kitchen!)

Resting from chopping.

 Having some cheese & crackers with a little homemade orange marmalade. Bueno!

OK, back to work! (That was a short break.)

This time we'll be using the pressure canner instead of the water bath canner.

I put those skins that we saved in a pot with a little water & simmered them for a while then strained them & added the resulting tomato nectar to the the pot with the chopped tomatoes, onions & peppers.

Heated it all up & then filled my jars. And using a quote from  Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets,

IT'S JUST LIKE MAGIC!!! We now have stewed tomatoes...

OK, on to the next project.

Remember me mentioning the case of pineapples?

They're next on the menu...

                                                

Now it's Steve's turn to chop. We are making pineapple spears, chunks & jam.

Spears for out of the jar munching, chunks for kabobs & jam for glaze on the holiday ham. Plus there's nothing wrong with pineapple jam on toast or pancakes or waffles or biskits or...!!

First the spears, We make a light syrup to can them in. Heating the pineapple & sugar syrup on right. (I knew this roaster was a good investment.)

Now it's off to the jars you go!!!

Process for 10 minutes & then on to the chunks, same for you. Be gone!!

ON TO THE JAM!!

A little sugar added to the diced pineapple, boiling  for 15 min. & now time for you to go into the jars.

Water bath canner for 10 min. & you're done...

VIOLA

PINEAPPLE HEAVEN!!!

(Those large jars on the left are peaches (from our peach trees)

waiting to magically transform into Peach Liquor. (ETA 6 months.)

OK, on to the next project.

THE PATTY PAN SQUASH...

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!!!!

Well,  last week I pickled several jars of patty pan squash, (from the garden)

 so today we are going to freeze them.

This winter I will be using them for soups & stews.

I will even be making some sweet bread with them.

(Think pumpkin bread but with white squash, TRUST ME)

Cute little patty pan on the left, cute little patty pan ready for the freezer on the right.

All I did was blanch them for 3 min. in boiling water,

       then chill them in ice water, drain & bag.

Well, we were in the kitchen all day, finally finished up about 5PM. 

I hear the TV from the living room.(AKA the space where the TV lives, for now.)

Star Trek, TNG   The Best Of Both Worlds.

THE BORG!!! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!!

I have to go & help the Captain resist the assimilation.

V

      Bonjour