What did you do in the garden today?

[oldhen2345]

if not a pressure canner,a freeze dryer works too, last a lot longer as well. I have one and love it, can do most anything in it.

aaron

Freeze dryer…

 

[oldhen2345]

I take that as a yes.

 

[oldhen2345]

Picked tomatoes and made cucumber , tomato and onion salad . Not enough tomatoes to process . I may have to buy some . I do some unusual methods that work fine . For juice , sauce and paste I do what I call cold process . I started this when I had a lot of large cherry tomatoes . I run them through the blender first . Then run them through the food mill to remove skin and seeds . Can as juice or after I cook it I let it sit awhile until the juice starts to clump a bit . I then strain it through a cider bag . I get nearly clear juice and paste without the long cook time . I can the clear juice and paste . Much fresher taste . For sauce I add paste to some unstrained juice to thicken and then can . I still can tomatoes for chilli the usual way .

Just made spaghetti sauce from my home grown cherry tomatoes that I had blanched, peeled and frozen and home grown bell peppers. It was pretty good.

 

[NewBoots]

She's so cute, smiling there on her "forbidden" couch! I can't tell from the picture - do her ears flop backwards, or did some jerk in her past do the "gotta cut off the pitbulls' ears" thing? I hate that - but Penny is a cutie either way.

She has uncropped drop-tip ears. Yesterday was the first time she just stretched out on the couch and slept like a baby. Even twitched with dreams. Another milestone in she is relaxed enough to sleep outside her crate. She is such a good girl.

She was scared of Lily the dog at first, but she's a smarty and figured out pretty quickly that Lily, an elderly Golden Retriever who loves absolutely everybody, would be her friend. We call them the "golden girls."

That is so sweet! So many Goldens are angels in fur coats. One of our outside cats rubbed against Penny yesterday and Penny just sniffed her.

I'll have to run to the store this morning, I was just about to start the marinade for jerky but we are all but out of worcestershire sauce. Dang it.

 

[muddy75]

I’m trying to get the motivation to tear out cucumbers, yellow squash and strawberries…..then transplant my flowers into the strawberry pot

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Went out this morning to start picking the second round of Black Raspberries from my Sweet Repeat variety.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I get to get another load also

 

[Birdsonghill]

The first processing was without pectin but I might not have boiled it long enough. Seconding processing was with low sugar pectin and I boiled it longer. It set better and once chilled it sets up pretty well. Still tastes great. The huckleberry jelly I made before set about the same and it was without pectin.

There's morning glories and bindweed. Related plants but in my experience, only the bindweed is a problem and it has large white trumpet flowers or the smaller variety with small pale pink or white flowers. It also has horrible roots that go everywhere and break off when you try to pull it. All those root bits regrow. Terrible stuff. Maybe the climate here keeps the annual ones from reseeding easily. The deep purple ones are pretty reliable at reseeding but that's the only one, the other colors we've planted grew one season then petered out.

That sounds awesome and I am going to give it a try for sure!

Packed about 11 pounds of ripe tomatoes into bags and stuck them in the freezer for now. I had enough between those and another 10 pounds or so already frozen but it's too hot to start the cooking process. Mostly I've been harvesting various slicing and cherry types with just a few paste types thrown in. The paste types (sm, saucy, one other type that slips my mind) seem slower to ripen but the few that I've picked so far are very dry by comparison. They should cook down quicker then the slicers. The slicers are so delicious.

Oh and rule number 1, no dogs on the couch:
View attachment 2823759

Oh well...

You don't know how lucky you are that Morning glories don't naturalize at your location! Love the rescue! I have two rescue dogs and three rescue cats, right now. People dump animals on my dead end road. Some of the best dogs I ever had were rescues! Patience is golden, when rehabilitating animals or rescuing pets. Happy chickens and healthy gardens to all!

 

[jerryse]

Mowed . Cold processed what tomatoes I had into juice . Froze it until I have a large enough quantity to can .

 

[Birdsonghill]

Do you have a recipe that you will share for the chipotles in adobo sauce!!?

I simply slit open and cap/stem the jalapenos(seeding is optional but hotter and fuller flavored if you leave the seeds), smoke them a few hours, using good sized chunks of well soaked, native oak, apple, cherry, hickory or purchased mesquite wood, placed on top of started coals. I smoke in a barrel grill and keep the heat as low as possible(< 250 F. )as best as I can! Placing the chilis in a perforated wire basket or shallow pan on the cool end of the barrel. My favorite wood for taste, is actually oak! Then I dehydrate them until dry for storage. The adobo sauce I make is based on sauces I watched being made in Mexico and recipes found on line, then adapted to my preferences, available ingredients and instincts. I never have written any down! I am Sorry! I am about to have to make more for this seasons Chipotles and will try and remember to write it down, if it turns out as good as before! (i expect it to be good). I put the dry chilis in the adobo sauce and cook together until , somewhat, softened, then can them in a pressure canner at 10 lbs. for 20 minutes in half pint jelly jars. I actually, usually dry the ripe, red jalapenos thoroughly, to leather or even crisp, first and I think they turn out the best finished product of the combine adobo and chipotles, but it takes longer to cook up just right. If I get it right again this year, it will be comparable to better imported brands that are available, or better. I live on the edge of sanity and adventure often, and love to experiment so much , I seldom do anything exactly the same, more than a few times, anyway! The smoked paprika is best with the oak smoke ,for sure! Just quarter, seed, smoke and dry till crisp, then grind it up! You will not be disappointed when you compare your homegrown and fashioned smoked paprika! Even, all my family/friends critics think the oak smoke is the best for both chilis! Be aware that the paprika compacts in the jars and have to be fluffed up sometimes to sprinkle properly! No additives or treatments done by me to make it stay loose and powdery.