the big and the small of it

This Brandywine weighed in at 1 pound 11 ounces.

Don't these look like miniature watermelons?
They are Mexican Sour Gherkins and appropriately named as they have a real tartness tasting almost as if they were already pickled. When ripened they fall off the vine.
A unique addition to fresh salads and so darn cute!

Recently canned tomatoes here and another 14 quart canned today.
These ones are seasoned with herbs.

Sunday pickins from the garden...

I'll be canning again tomorrow but I'll be posting soon about our day trip this past Saturday to Serpent Mound.

Yum! Sweet Refrigerator Pickles

This recipe came from an old and worn favorite recipe book I bought new when Coop and I first got together. You know the kind. One in which the pages have come loose from the binding and many are stained and worn from repetitive use. It’s been my best loved recipe source for the past twenty eight years.

These pickles are easy to make and require few ingredients. They work wonderfully as a side dish and taste great on a burger as well. They are similar to a bread and butter style pickle. The following recipe will make about 3 pints of pickles. I normally double it and make 3 quarts or put them into a gallon size jar.

Sweet Refrigerator Pickles

7 cup unpeeled cucumbers or young zucchini or a mix of both sliced thin ( Actually usually I make them with young zucchini.)

1 large onion sliced thin

A green or red pepper chopped is optional

1/8 cup salt

Place veggies in large pan or bowl. (I use a dishpan when making a double batch.) Sprinkle salt over sliced veggies and cover with ice water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain.

After placing pickles in jars, make the following syrup and bringing it to a boil. Ladle or pour over the pickles.

1 cup vinegar

2 cup sugar

1 tsp. celery seed

Store in fridge. The recipe says they will keep indefinitely but they won’t really last that long! : )

I have also canned these pickles (shown in photo). The only difference in doing so is that I make the syrup up, bring to a boil and then add the drained pickles to the syrup and return to a boil before putting in jars. If you do can them follow basic canning instructions, (hot jars, hot lids, wipe rims well, etc) be sure to run a small spatula around the inside of jar before sealing to remove air bubbles. Hot water bath them for about 10-15 minutes.

my first time (using a pressure canner)

Over the years I’ve done quite a lot of canning. However I never owned anything but a regular water bath canner. Years ago I canned everything in a hot water bath. That included green beans and other things now considered unsafe to process that way.

Later I quit gardening and canning for a number of years because I was busy working and raising a family and food was fairly cheap, not to mention I didn’t question the quality and safety of commercially grown and packaged food back then.

When I returned to gardening and preserving my own food I continued to use my old water bath canner and for safety sake I resorted to freezing beans, beets, and any and all low acid foods. Freezing foods is fine and good if you have dependable power and adequate insurance to cover your loss in the event of a power outage. Here in our area the electric is far more dependable that it used to be, but there are still times when the power goes out. I like the idea of having my preserved goods canned…safe and sealed and being in no harm of losing them over an energy outage. I put a lot of energy and love into growing my own food so I sure don’t want to lose it or have to replace it which, in the truest sense would be impossible to do. So for that reason and safety of course, I had a strong desire for a pressure canner despite my slight fear of them.

Over the 2007 holidays I was thrilled (to the point of tears) when my dear son gifted me with a pressure canner.

I knew when the beets were coming on I would have to get that baby out and examine it and study the booklet. On Monday after pulling the majority of our beets, I followed the directions methodically and carefully and successfully canned them. Yay!

Now when I do the beans I won’t be quite so nervous. : )