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What is everyone preserving this summer?
Summer is in full swing here and we're eating good! This is the year I try to figure out how to much to can and freeze to feed my family with fresh fruits and veggies for an entire year.
I've already starting freezing peas, some early onions, strawberries, rhubarb and now early cherries. I've canned strawberry and cherry preserves.
What is everyone preserving from the harvest this summer?
I've already starting freezing peas, some early onions, strawberries, rhubarb and now early cherries. I've canned strawberry and cherry preserves.
What is everyone preserving from the harvest this summer?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bonnie on -
I've done strawberry jam, and I'm waiting for apricots to come on for jam, and tomatoes and peppers for salsa. Yum!
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Carls on -
I just started canning this year and I'm having so much fun! So far I've made two kinds of strawberry jam, one with vanilla, and one with lemon. I made a peach with rum sauce. I pickled assorted hot peppers (so so good). And last weekend I canned tomatoes.
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Permalink Reply by Fostermamas on -
Ooohh. I think I need to try my hand at pickling some hot peppers this year.
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Permalink Reply by Cindy Amador on -
I have frozen peas and pea pods for stir fry. Just finished drying cherries. Plan to put up pickles, (dill , bread and butter) Stewed tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato soup, salsa,whole tomatoes,spaghetti sauce. Peaches, peach salsa, pears,fruit cocktail,apricot nectar, and apricot butter and Jalapeno jelly. I also plan on drying several herbs. All my receipts are low sugar as my daughter is a diabetic and so many of the store products have sugar added. Over the years I have collected some very good receipts and am willing to share . Just let me know and I will send you these. I also like trying new receipts.
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Permalink Reply by Magpie Ima on -
I have been busy, busy, busy this summer. My big coup was convincing my husband to let me buy a freezer. I am working on filling it up for winter. So far I have sweet cherries, strawberries, and many pounds of u-pick blueberries. I have just frozen my first few quarts of slow cooker tomato sauce http://magpieeats.blogspot.com/2008/09/hello.html which will continue through September. I am going to try to freeze zucchini and see how that goes.
I've canned more half pint jars than I can count at this point: apricot jam, sour cherry jam, strawberry jam, blueberry-orange marmalade, apricot-orange marmalade, sweet tomato chutney, and apricot-red pepper chutney. Still to come: plum jam and peaches.
I've used my dehydrator for blueberries, cherries, and apricots and hope to run a few batches of tomatoes as well.
I'm new her at homegrown and still trying to figure out where we share recipes for all this great stuff!
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Permalink Reply by Fostermamas on
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Our deep freeze went out this week and it's a perfect excuse to get a stand up freezer like I've always wanted. I'm excited about not having to dig for my frozen goodies!
Magpie Ima said:I have been busy, busy, busy this summer. My big coup was convincing my husband to let me buy a freezer. I am working on filling it up for winter. So far I have sweet cherries, strawberries, and many pounds of u-pick blueberries. I have just frozen my first few quarts of slow cooker tomato sauce http://magpieeats.blogspot.com/2008/09/hello.html which will continue through September. I am going to try to freeze zucchini and see how that goes.
I've canned more half pint jars than I can count at this point: apricot jam, sour cherry jam, strawberry jam, blueberry-orange marmalade, apricot-orange marmalade, sweet tomato chutney, and apricot-red pepper chutney. Still to come: plum jam and peaches.
I've used my dehydrator for blueberries, cherries, and apricots and hope to run a few batches of tomatoes as well.
I'm new her at homegrown and still trying to figure out where we share recipes for all this great stuff!
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Permalink Reply by Jolinda Buchanan on -
Green Beans & Tomato Juice just completed!! :)
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Permalink Reply by Sigrid Arnott on -
I have been making little batches of jam all summer: raspberry-mulberry, blueberry-bramble, cherry-plum, strawberry etc. It's all good except my cherry-raspberry didn't set up, so I might re-process with crab apples.
I tried drying sour cherries for the first time.
Now I'm doing sun to refrigerator pickles. This is a first for me and I am excited by the flavor possibilities. I have written a bit about this here: analogme.typepad.com/analog-me/
I hope to can tomatoes too, but i might have to buy some because my yield was so much lower this year.
I like the idea of canned soup. Anyone have any good recipes?
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USDA Issues New Regulations Protecting Contract Farmers
The USDA released regulations (PDF link) this week that will provide new, much-needed protections for contract poultry farmers.Contract farming generally refers to a system in which a farmer raises or grows an agricultural product for a larger company. Contract poultry farmers invest their own money to build poultry barns to company specifications. Under contract, a company delivers the chicks to the grower who uses company feed and medicine to raise the chicks. The company retains ownership of the birds and dictates how the chicks are to be raised. The grown birds then go back to be processed by the poultry company for a previously agreed-upon price based on the birds' weight.
A typical chicken house costs about $300,000 to build, and most companies encourage growers to build at least four houses, for an investment in excess of $1 million. Frequently, growers take out loans covering that entire expense, only to find themselves dropped by the company, often with little or no notice. While there exists the potential for fair contracts in this agricultural system, that has not been the case historically. Contract growers have typically been extremely vulnerable, the contracts tilted against the grower who is subject to the whims of the poultry company. These new regulations issued by the USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration will help change that system.
Under the new rules:
- Companies must provide farmers with a written copy of the contract before the farmer makes an initial investment in his or her poultry houses;
- Contracts with confidentiality clauses must allow farmers to discuss contract offers with federal or state agencies, immediate family members, business associates, farmers who contract with the same company, accounting services hired by the farmer, a lawyer or financial advisor before signing;
- Contracts must state that if a farmer is put on a performance improvement plan (in other words, if they've received a warning that could potentially lead to their contract being terminated), they must be told why, what steps will be taken to help them improve, how they can regain good standing, and the factors that will be used to determine when or if the contract will be terminated;
- Farmers must be notified in writing within 90 days before a contract is terminated, expired, not renewed or not replaced.
"When the company terminated my contract, the company representative left a message on my answering machine saying that the flock of chickens that we had would be our last," Kevin said. "We had no warning. No one should be in that situation."
Mickey Box, a farmer in Berryville, Arkansas, agreed. "Growers have been left in the dark," Mickey said. "When I was put on a performance improvement plan, I knew I could lose my contract. It would have helped to know how I could get back in good standing."
Becky Ceartas, director of the contract agriculture reform program at Farm Aid-funded group Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI), said these rules increase fairness, transparency and good business practices.
"Before farmers make the financial commitment to build poultry facilities on their farms, they need to know exactly what's expected and what the terms of that arrangement will be," said Ceartas. "An informed farmer can make better decisions, and that benefits everyone."
Farmers and concerned consumers can get more information about these rules by calling Ceartas at (919) 542-1396 x209 or by visiting www.rafiusa.org.
The Administration will release additional proposed regulations in early 2010 that will deal with other competition and fairness issues in poultry and livestock agriculture—stay tuned!
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