Halloween Table

It's that time!

Canning Beans

Every year, as fresh produce is disappearing from market stands and canning season is winding down, I stop at the "Good Food Store Co-op"  to stock up on beans for canning.  I always get at least three varieties: navy, black and kidney.  Sometimes I try a different variety and I experiment with new recipes, but these three are a must for baked beans, bean soups, chili and side dishes.  The navy beans are canned with an old family recipe, the black beans canned plain and the kidney beans are canned with added chili powder & seasonings.  My bean recipes follow, below the pic.  Baked beans can also be frozen successfully.  Note: Plan ahead because beans must first be soaked 12-18 hours ahead of time (see recipes).  Each recipe makes 6-7 pints.

Baked, Black and Kidney Beans

Baked Beans 
2# dried navy beans
2 tsp salt
1/2# salt pork, cut into pieces
3 small diced onions partially cooked in bacon fat (optional)
2/3 cup brown sugar (can use part white sugar)
2/3 cup molasses
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp dry mustard
--Rinse beans well.  Cover beans with 3 quarts of water in tall pot and let stand 12-18 hours in a cool place.  Add 1 tsp soda and 1 tsp salt to soaking water with beans and bring to boil.  Cover and simmer until skins split when you blow on them.  Drain, saving liquid.  Pour beans into a baking dish or roaster.  Add salt pork (and onions or pepper if desired).  Combine remaining ingredients along with 4 cups of the saved bean liquid (use water or broth to make 4 cups if necessary).  Pour all over beans.  Cover and bake at 350 just until beans are soft (1-1/2 to 2 hours).  Add liquid if necessary so that beans are soupy.  Pack into hot jars and pressure can at 10 pounds of pressure:  pints-75 min, quarts-90 min.

Kidney Beans
2 pounds dried kidney beans
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
chili powder
--Rinse beans well. Cover beans with 3 quarts of water in tall pot and let stand 12-18 hours in a cool place. Add 1 tsp soda and 1 tsp salt to soaking water with beans and bring to boil.  Boil for 30 minutes.  Pack beans into hot jars.  Add 1 TBlsp chili powder per pint.  Cover with cooking liquid to within 1/2 " from top of jar.  Pressure can at 10 pounds of pressure:  pints-75 min, quarts-90 min.

Black Beans
2 pounds dried black beans
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
canning salt
--Rinse beans well. Cover beans with 3 quarts of water in tall pot and let stand 12-18 hours in a cool place. Add 1 tsp soda and 1 tsp salt to soaking water with beans and bring to boil. Boil for 30 minutes. Pack beans into hot jars. Add 1/2 tsp canning salt per pint. Cover with cooking liquid to within 1/2 " from top of jar. Pressure can at 10 pounds of pressure: pints-75 min, quarts-90 min.

Homemade Granola

Several years ago, a friend (Judy Schultz) gave me a granola recipe saying I "must try it".  The recipe was definately a keeper and I've used it ever since to make double and triple batches of granola for breakfast cereal.  I usually make this in the Fall as the oven is going much of the day.  Knowing I will be making granola, I always dehydrate fruit during the summer and save them for this purpose (strawberries, blueberries, bananas, peaches and grapes).  I substitute refined coconut oil for the granola oil (your choice); but I prefer coconut oil for it's nutty flavor and because it is the healthiest of all oils. (google it)  Granola keeps well in the freezer, packaged in gal. ziploc bags.  To serve it warm, boil twice the amount of milk as cereal, add the cereal, lower heat to simmer and continue cooking to desired consistency.

Breakfast in a dish--grains, nuts, fruit, bananas and dairy.

Homemade Granola

1 cup shredded coconut

8 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups chopped, slivered or sliced almonds

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup flax seeds

2/3 cup coconut oil or canola oil

1-1/2 cup honey

1-1/2 cup raisins (golden, dark or mix of the two) or 1-1/2 cup dried fruit

1/2 cup banana chips, broken into pieces (optional)

1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)  I add this later, if desired.

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (optional)  I add this later, if desired.

--Preheat oven to 350.  Spread coconut on pan and toast 5 min--until starting to brown on top--watch closely, it will burn easily.  Set coconut aside to cool.  Reduce oven to 300.  Line baking pans with parchment or foil.  Combine all but coconut and raisins.  Spread in single layer on pans.  Bake approx. 25 min until golden.  Remove from pans immediately if using foil.  Cool and break apart.  Add coconut, banana chips and raisins or fruit.  Store in airtight container for up to one month or freeze for up to six months.

A Little More Salsa

Though I have already made plenty of salsa, I discovered an unopened package of Ball's salsa mix in the back of my canning drawer.  I've never used Ball's packaged mix for my salsas, but the package expires at the beginning of next year.  It only makes four half-pints and I do have enough ripe tomatoes ; so why not try it.  I'll either discover a new and delicious salsa recipe, or I'll remind myself never to use that mix again.  It turned out pretty good.  I prefer salsa with chunks of onion and peppers, but this will definately do in a pinch.  All you need to do is cut up 8-10 medium-size tomatoes, add a little vinegar and the mix.  Boil for 5 min and can or serve fresh. 

A package of this would nice to have on hand for a potluck appetiser.

Grandma's Fall Tablecloth and Leaf-Embroidered Napkins

I will soon be putting out my Halloween tablecloth/napkins; but I couldn't let this Fall slip by without using Grandma Springer's fall table linens, which were embroidered by her mother, even if only for a week.

Canned Potatoes

Canned potatoes are a favorite among my sisters and their families.  My niece, Sally Schmidt, shared with me the easiest way possible to can them successfully:
--Wash and scrub fresh potatoes.  Cut them into half-inch cubes and put in hot canning jars.  Pour boiling water over them to within 1/2" from top of jar.  Add salt--1 tsp per quart, 1/2 tsp per pint.  Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure; 35 min for pints, 45 min for quarts.

 I'm anxious to taste and compare varieties.

I used four different varieties of potatoes thanks to a friend, Judy Schultz, who provided me with the seed potatoes for my garden last Spring.  Judy buys organic seeds from the best sources available.  The seed potatoes came from Colorado in small mesh bags with fancy names and unique colors of flesh (pink, purple, red, yellow, orange...).  I didn't mix the potatoes, but made four jars of each variety. 

 

Note:  Over time, the potato water will turn a bit cloudy due to the starch.  This is perfectly harmless and does not affect the quality of the potatoes.  To eliminate this though, can new potatoes (usually most available at the beginning of the summer) --the water will stay clear.

 



 



Vegetable Beef Soup

We enjoyed the canned chicken soup so well, I decided to also can beef

 vegetable soup. It turned out delicious!

Canned in pints--perfect for hubby's lunches

For the broth:  I started with some beef short ribs that I had in the freezer.  Short ribs have so much fat on them (and so little meat) that I usually reserve them for a rich broth. I always roast them first before making broth, as that gives the broth better flavor.  Any leftover bones & scraps from a beef roast will do as well.  Set any leftover meat scraps aside for the soup, as you don't want to boil the flavor out of them.  Put beef bones (or roasted shortribs) in a pot, cover with water--about four inches above the bones, and bring to a boil. Take the bones out to cool and then pick all the meat off. This method makes getting all the meat from the bones much easier. Chop the meat and put in refrigerator until ready to use. Put the beef bones (and fat) back into the water and simmer for a few hours. Remove from heat, strain broth, cool a bit, then refrigerate until ready to use--preferrably several hours or overnight so fat turns solid.
The Veggies and Beef
Retrieve the broth from the fridge, take the fat off the top and measure the broth.  Add one beef boullion cube (or 1 tsp beef granules) for each cup of broth.  Put the broth and boullion in a pot with lots of cut-up raw or frozen veggies.  You will need one to one-and-one-half cups of veggies for each cup of broth you have.  Suggestions for veggies include green beans, onion, green pepper, corn, carrots, celery, potatoes, peas, a little garlic.  Cook the veggies in the broth just until they start to soften. Add the cut up beef and continue cooking until the meat is heated through.
--Fill hot jars half to three-fourths full with the meat and veggies. Use a slotted spoon to retrieve it from the broth.  Ladle broth to fill rest of jar to within 1/2" from top. If you need more broth, make beef boullion.  You can add whatever herbs and spice you'd like, up to a tablespoon total per quart, but here is my favorite for beef soup in quart jars:  1 tsp paprika,  1/2 tsp dill weed, pinch of nutmeg.  Don't add salt as you're boullion cubes are the salt. 
--Pressure can at 10 pounds of pressure: pints 60 min, quarts 75 min.