This weeks preps check-in

[Brent S]

The new dog is actually not new. Faith (Teufelshund Semper Fidelis) was born here 5 years ago. When she was 2 years old, I gave her to another breeder. I had to drive to Maryland and back Monday to get her and her last 3 puppies. The breeder didn't want her anymore because she's done breeding. Yes, I called her a very colorful word.
I was not and am still not prepared for keeping a 140 lb dog and after being without Great Danes for months and babysitting small to medium sized dogs during that time - Faith is huge. She takes up more than half of my king size bed.
But, I feel safe here again with a Great Dane in residence so we're going to make this work. This dog has had 4 litters of puppies. The 3 I brought back with her are for sale. She'll not be bred again. And I am confident that she will protect me.
When I was preparing for my trip to get her Monday, everything we've talked about here influenced me into putting together a quick GHB to carry with me. The trip was 400 miles one way and it kept flashing through my mind that I'd have to get through DC if SHTF while I was up there. Not a pleasant thought. It would have been "normal" for me not to think of carrying a bag on a quick turnaround trip like this. Normally when I travel, I carry my own food and drink so I don't have to stop and I carry an overnight bag because I normally won't drive so many hours straight. Fortunately all of my organizing when I first moved back here allowed me to throw together a GHB in less than 5 minutes. When I got home, I didn't unpack the bag. It will sit right where it's at as a BOB now.
And for prepping, this week, I've picked a ton of green beans that will be canned tomorrow. I planted my indoor medicinal herbs garden 4 days ago. Most of those plants are supposed to have a 10 day germination period but 4 of them are already popped out of the soil and seeking the sun. Today is cheese and butter making day (again). I have multiple pounds of shredded mozzarella cheese and butter in the freezer and I haven't ordered cultures yet to make aged cheese. So, today I'm making the mozzarella into bite-sized balls, rolling them in Italian bread crumbs and will freeze them for quickie appetizers. I'll have a whole lot of canned tomato sauce soon as my beefsteak tomatoes have about 20 tomatoes started on each of my 30 plants, so I'm definitely making some of that into marinara sauce.
This afternoon I'll pick the last of my corn for freezing and if I have time, I'll dig up some of my carrots for canning tomorrow, too. It's been cool here the last couple of days and we're expecting a lot of rain coming our way so tomorrow should be a good day for running the pressure canner all day.
Enough procrastinating... time to get to work!

It wasnt too long ago that I put together an emergency bag for the car. I have a crv that has the spare monuted on the back door/gate, but it still had the wheel well under the mat in the back, so I found a great place to store some supplies. I may never need any of the supplies, but it's good to know they are there. By the way, did you ever figure out anything with the handheld radio? I'm still trying to sell my bike, but will probably get the set from Lowes when I do. I'm kind of wondering if a regular CB radio may do better for what I want. Have fun playing in the kitchen! Theres not much more rewarding to me than putting up some of the produce I've worked hard to grow. Take care, Brent

 

[jontte]

this week some more first-aid supplies and I have now finally two light weight tarps to make a tent, easier to carry than my regular tent
and made some char cloth

 

[Akingu]

Making home made tomato paste. Got 1 bushel of Romas = about 5 gals of juice =/- + 10 hours of almost constant stirring= about 1 qt of good, stick-to-the-spoon paste. Will can it and stash it in the cellar.

 

[jontte]

did you spice it with what?
just in case I do get some tomatoes from my plants

 

[jimLE]

that got me to thinking..my mom loves v8 juice..so it might be a good idea for me to look into that

 

[QuietH3art]

I can't wait for my tomatoes. I plan on making sauce out of all of them with peppers, onions, garlic, oregano and basil.

Added a new thing to my list today - pickling eggs. There are no instructions for actually canning them. Even if the lid pops after you add the hot liquid, they are not considered sealed. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says they can be kept in the refrigerator up to 4 months, but they can't be kept on the shelf.

 

[QuietH3art]

that got me to thinking..my mom loves v8 juice..so it might be a good idea for me to look into that

Do you have a juicer, Jim? I just realized I could make my own version of V8 using my juicer just because you posted that.

 

[jimLE]

yeah i got my own juicer..its great for orange juice..lemon juice etc etc..i can even turn graham cracker into crumbs with it,for pie crust

 

[Marv.Schmitz87]

After a really mild winter and a shitty summer here are the first pumpkins. I doubt that they make it till thanksgiving.

 

[Brent S]

I can't wait for my tomatoes. I plan on making sauce out of all of them with peppers, onions, garlic, oregano and basil.

Added a new thing to my list today - pickling eggs. There are no instructions for actually canning them. Even if the lid pops after you add the hot liquid, they are not considered sealed. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says they can be kept in the refrigerator up to 4 months, but they can't be kept on the shelf.

Let me know how the pickeled ones turn out, I have eggs running out of the...... Thefirst batch of chicks I hatched are producing too well now.

After a really mild winter and a shitty summer here are the first pumpkins. I doubt that they make it till thanksgiving. View attachment 3444
View attachment 3445

Nice pumpkins! I planted some giant ones but none of the plants survived. I'll try again next year.

 

[jontte]

that's the nice part of gardening right now..we can try again next year

 

[QuietH3art]

Let me know how the pickeled ones turn out, I have eggs running out of the...... Thefirst batch of chicks I hatched are producing too well now.

My daughter made some pickled eggs a couple of weeks ago that were really spicy with jalapenos and habaneros in the brine. They were really good. My eggs peeled so badly yesterday that I gave up on pickling them and I'm just feeding them to the dogs now. I've tried every trick I could find to get good hard-boiled eggs from fresh eggs and nothing is working.

 

[Akingu]

did you spice it with what?
just in case I do get some tomatoes from my plants

For the paste I don't use any spices except a small bit of salt and little lemon juice to keep it from discoloring. For my sauces like spaghetti or pizza sauce I use 2 tbsp. of Italian herbs with (per qt) minced garlic (1 clove ), 1 small diced onion and extra oregano and basil. Those are ready a few hours before the paste is ready as they are thinner.
After I finished this, I had approx. 3 qts of paste in pint jars. Not bad really. Must have had some good tomatoes this time.

 

[Akingu]

- pickling eggs. There are no instructions for actually canning them. Even if the lid pops after you add the hot liquid, they are not considered sealed. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says they can be kept in the refrigerator up to 4 months, but they can't be kept on the shelf.

I have pickled eggs and beets that have been on the shelf sine 2008 and they're STILL tasty as I rotated some of them just 2 weeks ago to make room for the newest batch. I can them just like anything else for 40 mins at 10 psi. Here's a link I found for you. Enjoy!
How to can pickled eggs with recipes:
http://kuntzfamily.com/recipes/pickled_eggs.shtml

 

[Akingu]

Todays little project is sauerkraut. 2 heads done in a chiffanade and enough brine to cover it all 3 inches. Why 3 inches you might ask? Because after 2 weeks of skimming it all it will still be enough top completely cover it all. After that it's a 1/2 tbsp. toasted caraway seed in each pint jar and canned.

 

[jontte]

we have more canning wizzards here
nothing beats selfmade..you know what's in it I'm still trying to learn alot...canning and bakeing to name a few

 

[QuietH3art]

I have pickled eggs and beets that have been on the shelf sine 2008 and they're STILL tasty as I rotated some of them just 2 weeks ago to make room for the newest batch. I can them just like anything else for 40 mins at 10 psi. Here's a link I found for you. Enjoy!
How to can pickled eggs with recipes:
http://kuntzfamily.com/recipes/pickled_eggs.shtml

These are for storage in a cool basement which isn't much different from a refrigerator. It also calls for perfectly peeled eggs. That's not going to happen here with fresh eggs. They just won't peel well no matter what I do. I suppose I could set aside a dozen eggs, date the carton and let it sit in my fridge for 8 weeks before pickling. That canning recipe still says to eat them within 6 months. I'd rather be safe than dead, even though only one stupid person has died from botulism caused by pickled eggs. With my luck, I'd be the second even if I followed every letter of the instructions perfectly.

 

[Brent S]

My daughter made some pickled eggs a couple of weeks ago that were really spicy with jalapenos and habaneros in the brine. They were really good. My eggs peeled so badly yesterday that I gave up on pickling them and I'm just feeding them to the dogs now. I've tried every trick I could find to get good hard-boiled eggs from fresh eggs and nothing is working.

I've boiled a few this year and didn't have any problem with peeling them, but i didn't try any pickling recipes. I take that back, I soaked a couple in the juice I had left over from my pickled beets. They were pretty good, and very purple! Are you soaking them before peeling them?

 

[Brent S]

I have pickled eggs and beets that have been on the shelf sine 2008 and they're STILL tasty as I rotated some of them just 2 weeks ago to make room for the newest batch. I can them just like anything else for 40 mins at 10 psi. Here's a link I found for you. Enjoy!
How to can pickled eggs with recipes:
http://kuntzfamily.com/recipes/pickled_eggs.shtml

Thanks for sharing!

 

[QuietH3art]

I've boiled a few this year and didn't have any problem with peeling them, but i didn't try any pickling recipes. I take that back, I soaked a couple in the juice I had left over from my pickled beets. They were pretty good, and very purple! Are you soaking them before peeling them?

I roll them on the counter for a few moments. This is supposed to help separate the whites from the membrane. Then I poke a hole in the large end with a needle, put them in the pan, cover them with water, bring it to a boil. Then I remove the pan from the heat, cover it and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then I pour off the hot water and put the eggs into ice water for 15 minutes. And the shell, membrane and whites still stick together.
The only other suggestion I've had is to add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the boiling water.