Just turned the fire off under eight pints of nice green beans in the
pressure canner. Have another three or four pints to go, probably will
blanch and freeze that batch. Green beans still producing well and the
Straight 8 cukes are coming on like gang busters, expect to be able to
put up pickles next week if we're lucky.

Green beans will need to be picked again Friday or Saturday so I think I
will leave the canner on the stove until needed. We do like Ma Nature's
bounty.

George

On Wed, 09 May 2012 10:03:37 -0500, George Shirley
> wrote:

>Just turned the fire off under eight pints of nice green beans in the
>pressure canner. Have another three or four pints to go, probably will
>blanch and freeze that batch. Green beans still producing well and the
>Straight 8 cukes are coming on like gang busters, expect to be able to
>put up pickles next week if we're lucky.
>
>Green beans will need to be picked again Friday or Saturday so I think I
>will leave the canner on the stove until needed. We do like Ma Nature's
>bounty.
>
>George

We need to get some bean seeds into the ground. Today it is raining,
thank goodness, and the ground will be a sinkhole for a day or two.
But all of the plants that were ready are now in the ground and will
appreciate the rain I am sure.

Today I pulled 27 beets and they have been boiled and are on a cookie
sheet cooling. I am going to slice and freeze them with some of the
cooking water (after I strain the water through a coffee filter.) I
freeze them in portions to make "Harvard Beets." That is the way we
like them best. If I decide to use some for something else it is easy
to pull out a couple of bags. I may drop a few into the pickle jar in
the refrigerator.


--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On 5/9/2012 11:26 AM, The Cook wrote:
> On Wed, 09 May 2012 10:03:37 -0500, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> Just turned the fire off under eight pints of nice green beans in the
>> pressure canner. Have another three or four pints to go, probably will
>> blanch and freeze that batch. Green beans still producing well and the
>> Straight 8 cukes are coming on like gang busters, expect to be able to
>> put up pickles next week if we're lucky.
>>
>> Green beans will need to be picked again Friday or Saturday so I think I
>> will leave the canner on the stove until needed. We do like Ma Nature's
>> bounty.
>>
>> George
>
> We need to get some bean seeds into the ground. Today it is raining,
> thank goodness, and the ground will be a sinkhole for a day or two.
> But all of the plants that were ready are now in the ground and will
> appreciate the rain I am sure.
>
> Today I pulled 27 beets and they have been boiled and are on a cookie
> sheet cooling. I am going to slice and freeze them with some of the
> cooking water (after I strain the water through a coffee filter.) I
> freeze them in portions to make "Harvard Beets." That is the way we
> like them best. If I decide to use some for something else it is easy
> to pull out a couple of bags. I may drop a few into the pickle jar in
> the refrigerator.
>
>
We canned some beets this past winter, also made pickled beets with
onions, both were tasty. It rained a bit last night and we are looking
at isolated thunderstorms for the next few days. After two solid years
of drought and several winter and early spring freezes we're glad to get
back to our normal weather, all but the mosquitoes.

We will plant green beans again in late August, early September if we
are still here, if not we will plant them at a new place. We're only
looking at moving about 125 miles and the USDA zone is the same.

I'm still wanting to build raised beds, four feet wide by sixteen feet
long when we get a new house. DW still wants rows in a garden. I'm going
to have to really pump up my version of a garden to get her to agree.
With her hip and my bad back we don't need to be stooping or bending. I
use an Ames Garden buddy, combination rolling stool and garden cart, to
get around the garden as it is. Easy enough to buy another one.

The blanched beans are in the freezer on a bun sheet at -10F, in about
an hour I will vacuum bag them and stuff them in the freezer, probably
on top of the two racks of baby back pork ribs I bought on sale the
other day. Smoked another rack plus six boneless, skinless chicken
thighs last Sunday, both came out excellent. Used an Alton Brown meat
rub I found on the Food Channel website, have used the rub for a few
years now and we like it.

George