Peaches

August 14, 2009

We canned peaches!!  This is something I do not want to do again till we have a tree and we need to do something with peaches.  It was a lot of work, I am so glad that Pa and I did this together.

At least now we can say that we have canned peaches before.  Yay!!  -Ma

What to do with Sour Oranges

When we first moved into our house 4 years ago we were excited to have a citrus tree, however we couldn't figure out what it was.  They have the color of an orange yet they are kind of shaped like a lemon.  Then one day a friend came over and he grew up here in Mesa and he told us that this mystery tree of ours is a sour orange tree.  What?  He said, "ya you can make marmalade, or tang.  You can even graft in other fruit trees and make like a fruit salad tree.  I guess these trees are very strong, they can endure a lot.

So today we went out and picked some of those sour oranges so we could make some marmalade.

Then we brought them inside to wash.

And we made marmalade.  Although I don't think I did it right.  Is it supposed to be runny??

Anyways it looks neat.  -Ma

Hardy Black Bean Soup

I'm looking for a good black bean soup recipe. I'm going to can it in my pressure canner. I've got five pounds of black beans soaking overnight. I found this recipe, it sounds good. We also have the Ball Blue Book of preserving. On page 64 there is a recipe for canning navy beans with pork and tomato sauce. Ma says I should prepare the black bean soup according to that recipe. Sounds good to me! I'll let you know how it turns out. - Pa

Ingredients And Procedures

2 tablespoons oil 3 medium onions -- chopped 4 cloves garlic -- minced 48 ounces canned black beans (frijoles negros) -- drained and rinsed 1 tablespoon fresh oregano -- finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin -- or to taste 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme -- finely chopped 1 bay leaf 2 cups cubed ham -- cooked 2 cups chicken stock 1/4 cup dry sherry 16 ounces canned whole tomatoes -- drained & chopped 1/4 cup fresh tomatoes -- peeled and chopped salt and freshly ground pepper -- to taste ACCOMPANIMENTS: fresh lime or lemon wedges sour cream radishes -- thinly sliced green onions -- sliced cilantro leaves chile salsa In a wide-bottomed, large saucepan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Stir in beans, oregano, cumin, thyme, bay leaf, ham, stock, sherry, and tomatoes. Increase heat and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt, if necessary, and pepper. Serve soup with your choice of accompaniments, or cool to room temperature and refrigerate or freeze. Makes about 7 cups. * Timesaver Tip: Soup can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated, or it can be frozen. To freeze, spoon soup into one large or several smaller individual freezer containers. Cover, label, and freeze at 0 degrees F up to 1 month. To serve, defrost soup 15 to 20 minutes on Defrost setting of microwave, or thaw in refrigerator 8 to 24 hours. Gently warm soup in a saucepan or microwave at 50% power until it is warmed through. Stir several times both during defrosting and during reheating. Microwave Version Put oil in a 2-quart casserole and microwave on 70% power 45 seconds. Add onions and microwave another 3 minutes, until onions are soft. Add garlic and microwave a minute longer. Complete step 2 as directed above. Cover casserole with waxed paper or loosely with plastic wrap and microwave, still on 70% power, 30 minutes. time and timesaver tip same as above.

More free recipes

Beans-With Pork and Tomato Sauce (Ball Blue Book of Preserving)

1 quart dried navy beans (about 2 pounds)

1/4 pound salt pork, cut in pieces

1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 quart tomato juice

Cover beans with cold water and let stand 12 to 18 hours in a cool place (Lucky it's winter in Arizona!). Drain. Cover beans with boiling water by 2 inches in a large saucepot. Boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes; drain. Combine onion, sugar, salt, spices and tomato juice; heat to boiling. Pack 1 cup beans into hot jars; top with a piece of pork; fill jar 3/4 full with beans. Ladle hot tomato sauce over beans, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2-piece caps. Process pints 1 hour and 5 minutes, quarts 1 hour and 15 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.