Solar Canning Jar Lights

Here is a picture of this solar-powered canning jar light that I made last night. I can foresee many variations on this using blue jars, clear jars, with and without frosted glass, etc. Hopefully soon I can post some directions on how to make these.

Layered Chicken-Vegetable Soup, Canned

I saw a picture of this online somewhere and I just HAD to make it. Now that I've made it I don't want to open the jars, they are just too pretty!



Here are the ingredients, but there is a lot of room for variations among the vegetables. Amounts are approximate for a one-quart jar:

1 cup cubed potatoes (peeled, raw)
1 cup sliced/cubed carrot
2/3 cup corn
2/3 cup green beans
1/2 cup cooked chicken meat (reserve the broth)
1 Tablespoon (or more if you like) Onion
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Roma tomatoes
1/2 Chicken bullion Cube

Cook the chicken in seasoned, simmering water for about 20 minutes. Remove bones and excess fat, and cut into chunks.



I used baby carrots which made it easier to chop into a consistent size.



The corn and green beans were frozen. I wouldn't suggest using already-canned green beans or corn because they are going to cook AGAIN for a long time.

The potatoes were cut to about 3/4 inch cubes.



Layer each of these ingredients into a one-quart canning jar. Alternate darker and lighter colors for a good look to your layers. I arranged mine in this order; potato, carrot, green bean, chicken, corn, tomato, onion.



Cover with the broth that you made when you cooked the chicken meat, leaving 1 inch of headspace. PRESSURE CAN at 11 lbs for 90 minutes, allowing for your local elevation.

Something I did was I made extra chicken and broth. I saved the extra chicken for another meal, but then I canned the extra broth. First I allowed it to cool, then skimmed off the fat on top. Then I strained it thru a fine strainer. Muslin might be a good strainer for this, also. For the broth it was also processed for 90 minutes at 11 lbs of pressure. Now I have quart jars of chicken broth all ready for whatever I want to use it in.

Easy grape juice

I used to make grape juice by cooking the grapes then filtering through cheesecloth. It was a long process but it made great grape juice. Then someone told me about a way to make juice with a LOT less effort and a LOT less time. In a nutshell you put the grapes in the jar with a little sugar (or none if you want) filling up the rest of the way with hot water, and processing in a water bath canner for 25 minutes. THAT'S IT, you are done! I've been making it this way now for about 10 years now, and don't plan on going back to a longer, harder process.
I grow concord, Catawba and Thompson Seedless but use the Concords and Catawbas for juice.

Ingredients per jar:
1 1/2 to 2 cups of grapes (I use 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar (I use 1/4 cup)
Boiling water to fill jar the rest of the way.

First wash your grapes well, I do it in the kitchen sink. Remove grapes from vine, and sort out bad grapes, stems, leaves, leaving just the good-quality grapes.

Prepare a pot of boiling water to use to fill the jars. You will need a little less than a quart for every quart of juice you are going to make.

Prepare your lids by boiling in water. I heat my washed jars in the microwave by placing a half inch of water into each jar and microwaving until the water boils. Then I use my 'hold warm' function on my microwave to keep them warm until ready to use. Or you could microwave them for a minute every few minutes to keep them hot.

Pour 1 1/2 cups of grapes and 1/4 cup of sugar into each jar.



Now pour the boiling water into the jar, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace, and place in water bath canner.


Process in boiling water bath for 25 minutes and you are done. This is so simple and makes great juice. When serving, pour slowly and usually the grapes will stay in the jar. Or you could pour over a strainer to keep the grapes out.

Sauerkraut-making pictorial

Last year I posted a how-to for making sauerkraut (Here), but I didn't post any pictures. Since I made a new batch of kraut today, I wanted to show some pics of the process.

This was a 13.5 lb cabbage I picked. Honestly, I waited too long to pick it, I should have picked it a week ago.

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A big'n, 13.5 lbs. The variety is Late Flat Dutch

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Coring the cabbage

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Cutting/shredding the cabbage

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Shredded cabbage

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Work in batches of 5 lbs at a time. Add 3 Tablespoons of CANNING SALT to each 5 lbs of cabbage. Iodized salt(table salt) will discolor the kraut.

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Squishing down the cabbage until each batch is covered in its own liquid. I use an inverted flat-bottomed coffee mug that is made of pottery. A glass could break in your hand! There are some tools that are made specifically for squashing down cabbage, but a mug works fine for me.

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I use an oven roasting bag with a half-gallon of salt water (3 Tbsp of canning salt to a half-gallon of water) to cover the mixture

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Then let it set at room temperature for 4-6 weeks, until no bubbles rise to the top when the side of the crock/bucket is tapped. Then its just a matter of processing in a water-bath canner. See recipe post HERE.

Hot Dog Relish

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The zucchini is coming along strongly, as it normally does this time of year. Personally I get tired of fried or steamed zucchini easily, and am always searching for new ways to use zucchini. So about 10 years ago I started making homemade hot-dog relish. I have tried several recipes and they have all been fantastic. This year's recipe goes something like this, with a little improvisation thrown in here and there, see notes.

12 cups shredded zucchini, core but do not peel (I peeled about half of them before chopping. I also substituted 2 of the 12 cups with 2 cups of chopped cucumber)
3 large onions, chopped fine (I used 5 medium-sized onions)
2 large green peppers, chopped fine
2 large red peppers, chopped fine
1/2 cup pickling salt
3 cups sugar
1 quart vinegar (you can use white or cider)
2 teaspoons celery seed
2 teaspoons mustard seed (recipe called for seed, I used dry mustard powder)
2 tsp. turmeric

I chopped the zucchini, peppers and onions in a food processor until it was the consistency that I liked in a relish, some people like it a lot chunkier than I like it. Combine the chopped zucchini, onion, green and red peppers, sprinkle with the salt and cover with cold water, let stand at least 2 hours (I have done it overnight in the fridge.) Drain well and press out excess liquid. I did this by pouring the pot of chopped veggies into a couple of colanders that were placed in the sink, then running cold water over them for several minutes. If it is not rinsed well it is too salty.

In a large (6-8 quart?) pot boil together the sugar, vinegar, turmeric, celery and mustard for 3 minutes. Add the chopped vegetables and bring to a boil again. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then spoon into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, tighten caps.

Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath.

Yield: I got 8 pints, a half-pint jar and one quart jar. I did the quart jar just for kicks and giggles. Hopefully I can take the quart jar to a church event or a large picnic sometime.

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Garlic Jelly ??

Every year when I do my canning I like to attempt to make something different, something I have never made before. This year I decided to use some of the incredible amount of garlic that I grew, and make garlic jelly. Yes, it sounds very strange, but it is really good when served with cream cheese and crackers. This is also the way I serve my Hot Pepper Jam, and it is really tasty this way. I'm thinking that it would go well with a plate of bread, cheeses and olives also.

Garlic Jelly Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh garlic, finely chopped
2 cups white wine vinegar
5 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups water 1 (2 ounce) package dry pectin
1/4 teaspoon butter or oil
2 drops food coloring (optional)

Directions

Combine garlic& vinegar in a 2 qt. kettle. Simmer mixture gently, uncovered, over medium heat for 15 minutes.
Remove pan from heat& pour mixture into a 1 quart glass jar. Cover& let stand at room temperature for 24-36 hours.
Pour flavored vinegar through a wire strainer into a bowl, pressing the garlic with the back of a spoon to squeeze out liquid. Discard any residue.
Measure the liquid and add vinegar, if needed, to make 1 cup. Measure sugar into a dry bowl. Combine the garlic-vinegar solution& the water in a 5 or 6 quart kettle. Add pectin, stirring well. Over high heat, bring mixture to boil, stirring constantly to avoid scorching. Add sugar,& stir well.
Bring mixture to a full, rolling boil. Add butter to reduce foaming. Continue stirring.
Boil the mixture hard for exactly 2 minutes.
Remove pan from heat& skim off any foam.
Add red, yellow or orange food coloring if desired. Pour jelly into prepared glasses.
Place in boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Introduction

I have started this blog where I can relate my gardening, cooking and canning that I do here at the Junker Ranch(all .2 acres of it.) to you.
I started gardening about 1985 after I moved to central Ohio from Cincinnati Ohio. After starting a garden, I wanted to preserve my harvest. At first I was just freezing things, but got curious about how to do home canning. I learn while doing, so I asked my friend Chris B. to show me in person. She showed me how to pressure can beans in her home and I was off to the races. I quickly bought canning equipment for both water bath canning and pressure canning. I learned how to make jams and jellies, vegetable canning and fruit canning.
I moved into this house in 1996 and it is now a lot easier to do vegetable gardening and canning. I used to have to travel to a friend's property and bring the produce home. I have a 25 by 40 foot garden, and of course wished I had a lot more. The thought of a 5-10 acre piece of property for growing fruits, berries and veggies appeals to me quite a bit. Oh well. True contentment is being happy with what you have.
I hope to keep current with my cooking, canning and gardening activities with this blog even though we are in the advent of fall/winter. Stay tuned for recipes, hints and the activities that I am up to around here.
MJ/10-22-08