Putting Up Green Beans

I was a little worried this year about my green beans.

I built a new trellis for the plants, hoping to save quality space in the garden.

I planted.

They grew.

For more info on how I built my trellis, click here.

And I have to say, the trellis worked great...

but there weren't any beans!

Long story short, I waited

and found out quickly that I really needn't have worried.

We've gotten so many green beans this year,

and the plants are still going strong.

I've been putting them up in batches because we've even been getting way more than we can eat.

Ben's new favorite activity is picking beans in the morning.

Every morning I pick and hand the beans to Ben, and he puts them in the basket.

For some reason, he thinks it's hilarious.

I don't do pressure canning as of now, just good ole water bathing,

so the only canning I do of green beans is of dilly (pickled) beans.

Luckily, I have plenty of freezer space this year.

I get all of my beans cleaned up,

blanch them in salted water for a minute,

shock them in my sink filled with ice water,

and then lay out to dry a bit before portioning and freezing them.

And that's it! So simple.

They're all ready when I need them.

And usually I need them with bacon.

Mind you, we don't have enough to really put up huge amounts without supplementing from the farmers market, but I'm just so excited that I'm able to put up any at all from my own limited space.

Overall, I am more than pleased.
What do you all do with your beans? recipes? canning? pickling?

I Like Bread and Butter

Here's the thing about cucumbers:

you plant them,

you watch them grow,

and then overnight you have 10 million.

Luckily, we love cucumbers (even especially Ben).

We eat about 5 varieties of cucumber salads,

put them in regular green salads,

eat them plain with hummus,

etc etc etc.

And if and when we still have a ton extra, I make pickles.

Lots of different kinds, and one of our faves is this recipe for bread and butter pickles.

Great for snacking, putting out for company, and throwing on a "sammich".

Bread and Butter Pickles:

For a batch of about 4 pint-sized Mason jars:

about 9 cups cucumbers, sliced

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 large onion (like a Vidalia if you can get one)

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

a healthy pinch or a couple shakes of tumeric

Clean, trim, and slice thinnly your cucumbers and add to a large bowl.

Sprinkle the salt over them and give them a toss. cover them lightly with a cloth and put them in the refrigerator for a couple hours.

They'll lose a lot of their excess water.

Rinse them off in a colander, place them back in your bowl, and add your onion. Toss so everything is evenly disributed.

In a medium pan, add the rest of your ingredients and bring to a bowl.

Meanwhile, put your cucumber-onion mixture into your sterilized mason jars using a funnel so you're sure not to touch the rim.

In a small saucepan bring a couple inches of water to a simmer (not boil) and place your lids in the water to activate the seal.

Pour your brine over the cucumbers (again using a funnel), leaving a 1/4 inch of headspace.

wipe down your rims if there is any spillage.

Note: Be careful with the brine! Tumeric can stain, so you may want to wear an apron.

Place lids on the jars being careful not to touch the under side, and place ring over the top.

Screw on lightly.

Process in a waterbath for 30 minutes.

Done! The longer they sit, the better they taste, but I'd say (as with the pickled peppers) wait at least a week for some good flavor to develop.

Peter Piper Had a Peck of...

pickled peppers.

duh.

Pickled peppers are one of my husband's favorite things.

He eats them on sandwiches, salads,

and more often than not, straight out of the jar.

I started making them last year,

starting with about 4 jars and thinking that would last awhile.

They lasted not even 2 weeks.

So I kept making more

and more

and more.

And still don't know if I could ever make enough.

As with most of our veg,

we don't have enough space in our garden to grow everthing that we like to put up for the off seasons.
But I think we've figured out a good system where we grow our own hot peppers,

and just buy the bells in bulk from our regular guy at the farmers market.


And this time, I was lucky enough to get a whole trash bag full of bells from a family friend! Score!

 

 

 

I use a variety of sweet and hot peppers, but you can use this recipe with all bells or all hots.

I think it would be good to use with just jalepenos if you're a fan of spicy.

They have the heat, but not so much that they're inedible if you eat them straight.

You can also easily control the heat level by keeping or leaving the seeds and ribs

(see my note at the very bottom for tips when working with hot peppers).

So without further ado, here's my recipe:

My varieties:

Bells (red, orange, yellow, green)

Jalapenos

Sweet Banana

Hot Banana

Anaheim

Cayenne

Step One: Roasting

Wash your peppers and cut them in pieces.

I roast my bells and the larger banana peppers to take some of the skins off and to give them better flavor.

For the little ones, I just split down the middle and remove some of the ribs and seeds to control the heat. Set them aside in a large bowl.
Now back to the roasting, I cut mine into pieces and take out the ribs and seeds, trying to cut them about to "snacking size" (or the size I would want them to fit on a sandwich).

Place them skin side up on a baking sheet.

Put the baking sheet under the broiler until they begin to char.

This usually takes me many batched and turns of the pepper pieces for as even a char as I can get.

Once they're charred, place them in a large bowl and cover with a lid.

This will let them steam while they cool down and help the skins to come off later.

After all of your peppers are done and cooled enough to handle, start taking the skins off (it should just slide right off).

Then place them with the small peppers and mix together.

Then, place them in your sterilized mason jars.

I use wide-mouthed quart jars.








See all that juice left at the bottom? Don't pitch it!
I just add all of that to my brine (keep reading for more on my brine)

Step Two: Brine

To make your brine, place the following ingredients in a nonreactive pan and bring to a boil.

5 Cups Water

5 Cups White Vinegar

4 bay leaves

3 Tbsp Ground Coriander

4 Tbsp whole peppercorns

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Coarse Salt

5-7 Whole Garlic Cloves, peeled

Allow to boil for a bit, until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Step Three: Canning

Using a funnel, pour brine over peppers into mason jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Meanwhile, place your mason jar lids in boiling water for about 10 minutes.

Using a sterilized knife, run the knife along the outside of the mason jars, allowing some of the air bubbles to work themselves out.

Wipe off the rims of the jars with a clean cloth and place the lids on top, not touching the inner side.

Loosely screw on the rings.

Process in a waterbath for about 20 minutes (for quart containers).

Tighten rings and allow to cool.

You should hear the lids pop if they're airtight.

If they don't pop, or if they come unpopped after time, throw them out.

The longer these sit, the better,

but I recommend letting them marinate for at least a few weeks for the best flavor.

Tips for Working with Hot Peppers:

• Know your peppers. The better you know the variety you're using, the more prepared you'll be for their heat.
• Wear gloves. This seemed a little extreme to me at first... until I went a week afterward feeling like my hands were ON. FIRE.
• Take out the ribs and seeds to control the heat. The more you leave, the hotter they'll be.
• Use a separate cutting board and tools, and try to use a nonporous cutting surface. Nothing worse than making baby food or cookies and tasting the remnants of hot peppers! (I've done it. And it was bad.)
• Clean up afterwards really well. The oils from the peppers can linger, so wash up thoroughly!
• DO NOT touch your face (or anything really) until you've done the above.

Cukes!

My cucumbers have been coming in more and more as the days go on.

There is not quite enough to make a big batch of pickles yet,

but there are too many for just salads and snacking,

so I've been making a lot of cucumber salad,

one of our favorite summertime sides.

My husband is on a low carb/dairy free diet right now, though,

so I've had to adjust my recipes.

I had one with a dressing similar to green goddess (dairy)

and one vinegar based (with sugar).

So here is our compromise:

4 Cucumbers, peeled and sliced thinly

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (some sugar, yes, but much less that my other recipe)

1 green onion, finely chopped

a couple sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped

a pinch of salt

freshly cracked black pepper

Mix, let set for a bit (the cukes will release a lot of their water in this time), and enjoy.

Simple, cheap, and my kid (who has been particularly picky lately) LOVES it to boot!

Win, win, win.

Garden Update June 2012

June went really well in the garden.

Everything is looking great,

and the first fruits (vegetables, really) are popping up everywhere.

First tomatoes and peppers.

First zucchini
and yellow squash.

And just wee little beginnings of cucumbers.

My herbs are growing like crazy.

(I'm so happy to finally have some lavender!

I was surprised to have so much trouble finding a plant,

but I eventually found a plant at the farmers market from my regular guy)

My peas are about done,

it's getting way too hot for them,

but I'm pleased with what I was able to harvest.

I'll definitely be planting more shelling peas next year.

The farmers market is full of new food stuff,

so I'm getting my canning supplies together and planning out what I would like to put up this year.

Living on such a small piece of property really limits what we can grow,

and we pretty much eat through what we grow ourselves.

Luckily, we have a great farmers market,

and I've fostered a relationship with a local farmer there,

so I can "order" bushels of whatever I would like to put up.

You'll be seeing lots of putting up posts in the future,

but for now, I'm just planning out what I can put up that we would eat a lot of through the winter.

Anyone out there have a favorite?

Strawberry Jam

We had a beautifully laid back weekend.

Chris and I were determined to do next to nothing,

with the scheduled event being relaxing with our family.

Done and done.

About the only thing that happened that was somewhat productive

was the making and canning of strawberry jam.

We moved the strawberry plants to a new location in the yard because they were taking over the garden...

and then I proceeded to neglect them,

so we got all of two strawberries this year...

which the dogs ate.

Luckily, I found a FABULOUS new local fruit and veggie stand that has been selling them super super super cheap.

So I picked up 5 lbs and made some jam.

If you've never canned before,

strawberry jam is a good place to start.

There are very few ingredients,

few steps,

and best of all, you don't need a pressure cooker/canner to preserve them (just a big pot for the hot bath method).

I hull and cut mine into smaller pieces.

and then pulse them in the mini processor in small batches until they're broken down but still fairly chunky (they'll break down a little more when you cook them).

Then into the pot with sugar, lemon juice, and pectin.

Then funnel into the jars and process for 15 minutes in boiling water, turn off the heat, 

leave them for 15 minutes more in the water,

take them out,

and let them cool overnight.

So simple. So pretty. So tasty.

DIY Rain Barrels

We finally got a new roof with nice new efficient gutters and downspouts

which means that rain is now very specifcally directed right into my new rain barrels.

Collecting rain is great for a number of reasons.

Here are a few starting with my favorite:

1) Rain water is free. I love free.

You can use it to water plants and such, rinse off outdoor items, bathe dogs. You get it.

Note: Do not drink it.

2) Using rain water relieves some of the stress on the environment when utilizing in place of public works water.

3) Collecting rain in barrels allows you to choose where the water goes,

which is really nice especially if you get heavy downpours which can cause runoff and such.

4) It's the cool thing to do.

So, you're convinced? Awesome.

Before you run out and pay a hefty sum for a rain barrel (some are around $100! huh?), consider making one yourself

and upcycling a barrel that has already been used.

It's cheaper and it's better for the environment.

Win/win.

Where to find a barrel:

First things first, you want to find/buy a "food grade" barrel.

I should mention, also, that "food grade" speaks less to what was in the barrel and more to what was not. i.e. no harmful chemicals and such that should not be injested.

They can come in different shapes and sizes. The most common is this 55 gallon.

I found some at a flea market that got them from an olive importer.

Only $15 a piece!

Tips for finding barrels near you:

1) Check craigslist. In my area, there are A TON listed.

2) Check food importers (they probably use them, and who knows? Maybe you'll score some for free!)

3) If you live in a "rain barrel community" like I do, ask your neighbors where they got theirs.

4) If you can't find a barrel, consider using a large outdoor trash can. Not beautiful, no, but just as functional.

 

Alright! Here we go:

DIY Rain Barrel How To:

Step One: Gather your supplies.

Once you have your barrel, the only other items you'll need is a rain barrel kit (sold by many home impreovement retailers online) and a diverter.

Diverter

The diverter isn't necessary, but I highly recommend it. If you're barrel fills up, a diverter will divert the excess water down the downspout instead of  flooding out the top of your barrel, or worse, backing up your downspout.

The kit that I used is by EarthMinded, and guess what? It comes with a diverter.

I also love this one because it comes with absolutely everything you'll need including three different hole saw bits and crystal clear instructions.

You just need a drill and a level. Easy peasy.

*If you want to hook your rain barrel right up, go ahead! :)

Just follow the instructions with your kit.

It will look something like this:

*If your barrel is in a more visible area and you want a more finished look, check out these steps:

Step Two: Sand

I used a 60 grit sandpaper just to rough up the plastic surface a bit so the paint would stick more securely.

 

Step Three: Paint

I used a textured biege Krylon spray paint, one color for the lid and one for the barrel because I wanted it to match my other outdoor stuff since the barrel in the back yard is in full view when you're sitting on the patio.

 

Step Four: Attach your Spigot and Drain

(you'll want to drain it in the winter if you live in a freezing climate)

Be sure to place your spigot about 12 inches from the bottom of the barrel if you want to get a watering can underneath.

You can also build a stand to put the barrel on.

 

Step Five: Attach your Connector Hose









Make sure that the hose is level. If it travels down to your barrel, it will overflow the top when it is full. If it travels up to your barrel, the water will bypass the hose and go directly through your diverter and down the downspout.

Total Costs:


For the unpainted barrel- $42
For the painted barrel- $67
Not bad.

Now I'm just waiting for rain!