Hello again! I thought I would separate out my canning list from my recipe list to try and make it not so long. I probably have one more review post and then it will be back to the normal posting schedule.
We were going to go to the zoo today, but I woke up with a sore neck and shoulder. Too much relentless partying! 🙂
Canning Review:
So I wanted to get more canning done than I actually was able to do. I still have the whole canning tomatoes in the freezer. I think I’ll just chop them up and use them whole.
Here is what I did get canned this year.
Apple sauce, two batches from The Ball Blue Book. I have no pictures of the second one for some reason. One batch of applesauce was canned and one is in the freezer. The Husband only likes the second one. The first one was too smooth. It works very well for cooking though and I like it, so all is not lost.
Tea Blends! I’m going to count these as canning because they are in canning jars. I made them for my vending event and when they didn’t sell, my craft ladies happily snapped them up for Christmas. It was so much fun to put them together and I still have a bunch of the materials, so I would like to make some more up for me as well.
Pickles from The Art of Preserving. I didn’t like this recipe, but the ones with extra garlic went over very well. I will try more pickles with a different recipe for next year.
I also had my first burst jar in the canning pot. It was scary, but not as messy as it could have been.
Rhubarb marmalade from Taste of Home Canning 2012. This was delicious. I quite enjoy it on toast and on yogurt.
Strawberry Marmalade from Taste of Home 2012. This is also delicious and I like in lots of different ways.
Rhubarb BBQ sauce from the An Oregon Cottage website. I liked this, but it’s possible the Husband is allerfic to rhubarb, so I haven’t used it since. This was a freezer recipe, it was too low of a PH level to safely can.
Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate from Ball Canning online. This is lovely. I wanted to make some blackberry as well, but didn’t get to it. I have some blackberries in the freezer, so may try it. The Husband likes it with Sprite. He was excited to have our own lemonade.
Gardening Review:
My herbs did very well. I was able to move the rosemary plant inside even though it got caught in a snowstorm. I was excited by how pretty this picture looked and it was also exciting to get to cut my own fresh herbs for foods. My only problem was keeping them watered enough. My work schedule was not conducive to watering schedules.
Strawberries! I waged a war with the squirrels and the ants to get some strawberries for us. We actually got a bunch this year and I’m hoping the plants will survive to be used next year. They are protected in the garage.
We got one zucchini! I brought it up with us when we went up to visit my parents and we had it sautéed with other veggies. Sadly, the plant didn’t survive much after this. It was not happy in a pot.
Gardening Goals and What I Learned:
Next year we need to get the raised bed set. Now that we know how much work it will be, we’ll set aside a gardening weekend early. We’re thinking of putting raised planter boxes by the garage with berries in them. Perhaps the ants will not get them this year after all.
What I learned was that consistent watering needs to be a priority. Also, learning what is up with my tomatoes to stop end blossom rot would be good. I can’t stop it, it seems, but am hoping that when they are in an actual bed with tomato cages they will be less prone to it.
I am not good with cucumbers either. The only one I got this year was bitter and inedible. Blech.
Canning Goals:
Try a pomegranate or wine jelly this winter. Put aside a few full weekends for canning. Prep everything one day and can the next.
Learning: Smaller goals? Make sure I have the time to properly deal with my produce.
I hope you enjoyed this review. It’s a good feeling to have these things prepared to use in the winter time.
