Canning Photo Journal

Spent the afternoon canning one day - pretty pics...'nuff said.

Glean a Little Glean for Me

I am, what one might call, a freegan - I will eat pretty much any food if it is free.  Ok...not really ANY food, but I do look on a daily basis to capitalize on what is out there for me to consume.  There is so much food waste in this world, and I am totally OK with being a scavenger.  Working on a college campus I end up at a lot of pickup pizza parties!  I don't mind if it is out of date - I body test it and see whether or not it's good.  And - I glean.

Three weeks or so ago I was taking out the trash, and I noted that there were a number of apples in my front yard.  My front yard sports a plum tree, so I knew it was not that.  I looked around and saw no other evidence, so I wrote it off as some random thing...neighborhood kids or the like.  But earlier this week smashed apples starting showing up in the street, and I started looking carefully.  I found that there is a lone apple tree across from my house in an empty lot.  Right above what I had known was there for some time now - blackberries.

Rolling home from work on Thursday, I decided it was time to get my glean on.  The only other time that gleaning was this easy for me was when I picked 15 gallons of peachcots from my neighbor's backyard...and in that scenario I had to deal with hauling the buckets around the fence!  I stepped across the street and started with windfalls - then spent some time shaking the tree.  At about 5:30 my neighbor came home from work to find me waist deep in the brush, hauling on apple tree branches and chasing apples out into the street.  Hey - at least my dog does not bark and I don't play loud music!

I picked blackberries next.  I ended up with about 5lb of apples and a quart of berries.  Not too bad considering I was within sight of my house the whole time.  I took my spoils into the kitchen and whipped up some blackberry applesauce.  Here's my VERY simple recipe.

• 5lb. of apples cut up into small pieces (I leave skins on, but then again I am lazy)
• 1qt. blackberries
• 1/4c. honey
• 1c. water

Place the fruit and water into a large cookpot and simmer.  The water helps to keep things from burning (I hate to sit there are stir the whole time).  Once the fruit is cooked down you can either leave it chunky, or mash it up with a potato masher or some other implement.  I add the honey at the last minute to taste.

I do want to say a few things about gleaning.  In my town there are gleaners programs that pick food for local food banks.  Seeing as I run one of those, I try not to step on toes.  I also am not a proponent of picking fruit guerrilla-style.  In the case of my picking from my neighbor's yard, I left them a note in their mailbox asking if I could pick there.  They were not using the fruit, and I offered them some of the finished product once I processed it.  They were happy to comply.  That said, there are plenty of places where no one owns the tree/bush.  I am going to head to the park today and pick - there are a number of others who do the same.  Freegan for life!

You CAN Teach Old Tomatoes New Tricks

Hey all - I know it's been a looong time. Apologies. Lots has been a-happenin' - one thing is that I have relocated.

Of course not before I planted and nurtured 10 tomato plants.

Let's start with the fact that the sheet mulch from earlier posts did not break down as quickly as hoped, but the tomatoes seemed to do well as long as I kept them well fed with fish fertilizer and old milk. They were smaller sized than I had hoped (the tallest one being about 3' tall), but were producing at a lovely rate that kept me in tomatoey goodness daily without overwhelming me.

But this move...

The person who moved into the duplex behind me is the daughter of the people in the other 1/2, so I hoped perhaps I could leave my babies there and come back to harvest. The folks next door are sooo nice I figured that would work out. But alas - the daughter was planning on taking out all 4 beds and putting in a trampoline (she's 19 so I can't be too upset, but all that work!). So since the tomatoes were going to be ripped out anyhow, I figured I would see if tomatoes that are well established could survive transplantation.

I started by watering them and giving them fertilizer the day before I uprooted them. I also took off all of the fruit - red or green - beforehand. I figured it might fall off anyhow so why not? On the day I made sure that I was going to be able to dig them up and get them back into the ground in less than 30 minutes. I was sure to keep as much soil around the roots as possible, and packed them loosely into tupperware tubs. I put them into my car and covered the windows to avoid burns through the glass. I buried them as deeply as they had been before, staked them well, and gave them more water and fertilizer.

The first two days it seemed touch and go. The plants were severely wilted and sad looking. I watered them every evening, and gave them another feeding. Two weeks later 8 of the 10 are perked up with minimal dead leaves. The other two are yellowing and might die. Am still working on them. Of the 8 that are looking good, 7 are producing more fruit, and 5 have new flowers on them. Not sure how the fruit will be, but I am pleased to know that this is possible if necessary. I don't recommend it!

Sorry for the poor quality photo - the camera is out of batteries

I had a HUGE number of green tomatoes. I have been letting many of them ripen over time, but I did put up three quarts of pickled tomatoes. I used a modified recipe from Joy of Cooking, and used a technique for fridge pickling that I learned on NPR. Here is the recipe:

To make 1 Quart of Bread and Butter Fridge Pickles (I used green tomatoes)

- 1qt. loosely packed veggie you want to pickle
-1/2c. salt
- 1c. white wine vinegar
- 1c. sugar or honey
- 1t. mustard seeds
- 1t. turmeric
- 5-6 cloves or a small cinnamon stick
- 1/2t. celery seeds

I made 3 quarts. I took a large number of green cherry tomatoes and just punctured them with a paring knife to get the brine into the tomato. I also chopped 2qt worth of larger ones into bits.

- Soak the tomatoes overnight in a large bowl with the salt. I filled the bowl with water until the tomatoes were covered and then set a plate on top to hold them under.
- take the tomatoes out and rinse them at least twice
- loosely pack the tomatoes into quart jars (or whatever size you like)
- bring the sugar/honey and vinegar to a boil
- pour the hot mixture into the jar leaving about 1/4 inch at the top
- add turmeric, mustard, cloves/cinnamon, and celery seeds
- screw on lids tightly and turn over a few times to mix in spices
- place in fridge and let sit for two weeks before eating. these should be refrigerated for the duration.

I also added a bit of a twist to two of the jars - one got freshly chopped lemon balm, and another got a sprig of parsley. You could also add garlic if you like (I forgot).

They are tasty!

Putting it all Together

Now THIS is what I call a feast...


Pork chops - Jason got them in work trade from Afton Field Farm. Dredged in paprika flour and roasted in cast iron.

Potatoes - Purchased at the First Alternative Natural Food Co-op and came from Gathering Together Farm. Marinated in balsamic vinegar and roasted with rosemary, sea salt, and pepper.

Salad - Kale and carrots purchased from Denison Farms and beets from GTF gotten at the Saturday Farmers' Market. Grated and mixed with sesame and flax seeds and tossed with a honey mustard vinaigrette.

Some food needs to be celebrated don't you think?

Homemade Chai

Before moving to Oregon I stayed with Jason in his place in Moab while he finished up some earth building projects. His roommate made up chai from scratch and it was AMAZING!!! Here is his recipe and my thoughts as I sit here and enjoy a cup of my first batch.

4 qt saucepan full of water
2-3 T cardamom pods
3-4 T fresh chopped ginger
1 t black pepper corns
1 nutmeg seed (grind in coffee grinder with black pepper corns)
1/2 to 1 t cloves (the more you put in the more your tongue goes numb)
4 small cinnamon sticks

Boil that down slowly til about 2/3rd water left in pot, then add milk of your choice to fill the pot back up again, and lightly boil down about 1/2 inch or so. Steep in roiboos or tea of your choice, strain into cup, add honey to taste, and serve (if you use black tea then steep in each individual cup as it will turn bitter in the pot).

If you like spice this chai is amazing. It has a great bite due to the ginger and black peppercorns. I would halve the peppercorns and double the clove if you like a sweeter tone. I used soymilk in my brew, but it will work with any kind of milk. I also did not have a nutmeg seed and had to go with pre-ground nutmeg which worked just fine. If you think your chai is not strong enough you can always cook it down more or store it with the spices in. When you heat it up each time it will steep further.


I got all of my ingredients in bulk from the First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op here in Corvallis which keeps the cost of the spices much lower than if you were purchasing them in containers. In order to keep my chai spices organized I put all of the baggies into a large mason jar and taped the recipe to the outside.


You can also save the spices from one pot and make another batch. Just freshen it up with a a few bits of each ingredient and make a slightly smaller amount.

Bread and Circus

This weekend Jason and I started a series of projects that mark a threshold from dipping our toes in the homesteading arts to more of a serious wade. Jason's parents were kind enough to give him a beer brewing kit for Christmas. This new equipment at hand he set out to start his first batch of homebrew - hopefully soon to be the subject of another post - while I began my own 'first'...baking yeast-rising bread.

I will say that I have made attempts at baking bread in the past, so this was not a FIRST in the way of baking bread, but of coming out at the end with something I had mixed, kneaded, risen, proofed and baked without mishap. Well...without mishap was a bit off, but I did end up with some tasty loaves.

The day started with a trip to the First Alternative Natural Food Co-Op for flour. I must say that I LOVE the bulk foods section there because a) they have all kinds of things I did not expect as bulk foods like tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and frozen berries, and b) you can grind your own flour!!! It was a lot of fun to watch the grains slipping down from the bin and come out into my mason jar as coarsely ground goodness. I picked up my yeast and then headed home to get my bake on.

I should preface the rest of this article by saying that I am in NO way a baker. I love love love to cook, but when it comes to flour and sugar and measuring spoons I generally steer clear. Cooking to me is improv jazz - I know the key, feel the beat, and play what makes the most sense to me at the time. Recipes are guidelines to me...something I reference but in no way take seriously. Baking however is more akin to science. It's actually important to follow the recipe. In the past I've tried to apply my libertarian (don't put your measurements and 'calls for' laws on me!) approach to baking and it ends up in cookies that look like pancakes, cakes that look like doughnuts, and pie crusts that require a machete to dent. A great example of my baking prowess is that the last time I tried to bake bread (I will not tell you how many times I have tried, but suffice to say that its more than two and less than ten) I killed the yeast with water that was too hot. This might have been due to the fact that I did not want to have to buy a thermometer and decided I could feel 115 degrees with my pinkie finger.

So...if you are new to baking let my story help you feel less inadequate, and if you are an accomplished baker please feel free to treat this as a baking comedy.

I decided to use the Whole Wheat Bread recipe from The Joy of Cooking, which, as I learned just now, was recently corrected to say that it makes two loaves, not three (no wonder I thought my three loaves looked pathetically small). I really enjoy this book - it's a total classic. What I like best about it is that the recipes are clear, concise, and generally very simple. When I use it for cooking it serves more as a foundation for inspiration rather than a guide, but for baking I like it because I am the kind of person who hates to read the instructions before playing with a new toy.

I did get a thermometer for the project.

I mixed the wet and dry ingredients in advance of activating the yeast, and got my water to the proper temperature thanks to my new candy thermometer. Once all of the ingredients were incorporated I went a bit off script (though in fairness I found this idea in the recipe for bread right after the one I was doing so it seemed safe enough) and divided the dough up into three pieces to flavor each one differently. I decided to keep one plain, add dill and cumin to one, and put sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds in the third. I kneaded them just enough to get all the ingredients mixed in and set each in its own bowl to rise.

And yeah, nothing happened.

Now I have led you to believe that my big mistake was that I added things to the dough. Actually that was fine, and would have worked well had I not bumbled other things up. Once I waited an hour in excited anticipation (I was SURE this was going to work this time) the lumps of dough were still pathetically small.

So...I started looking into bread issues.

I found a great website called Baking911.com that cued me in to two of the things I screwed up. The first was that I got to see a picture of what activated yeast actually looks like. I KNOW I got the right temperature with my yeast since I took pains to stare my thermometer down until it hit my temp zone. However, I did not let the yeast sit long enough to get going properly. I also learned that adding a bit of honey or sugar to the yeast right when you put it into the water is helpful. I also learned that salt kills yeast. This is where Joy of Cooking failed me! It called for me to put the salt into the wet ingredients not the dry, and then add the yeast to the liquids before putting in the flour. Why I don't know, and apparently this has not stopped people from making this bread for 75 years. I guess the irony for me is that the girl who never follows directions followed them too well.

I also learned that kneading is kind of important. Not just to get the bread mixed well, but to create the gluten needed to hold up the dough while it rises, and to add in air to the dough to help the yeast do its thing. How did I miss this crucial bit you ask?

Yeah...I might have skipped reading all of the directions about bread making that the recipe suggested.

I was very very upset. I had three bricks of wheaty uselessness and no bread to bake. Fortunately for me I also suck at writing down ingredients when I go to the store. While there I could not remember if I needed one yeast packet or two. So here is where improv cooking girl decided to toss caution to the wind and ignore all the threaded online posts indicating that unrisen bread should be tossed or turned into pizza dough.

I activated the yeast using the directions I'd found, added honey to the mix and viola! The yeast fizzed and came to life. Very cool. I let it get good and active while I took my three fun little loaves and kneaded them into one. I felt sad that I was not going to get three unique flavors, but at this point I decided I was just going to be happy to get myself some damn bread. I added the yeast, kneaded, proofed, and set the dough out to rise.

And it did!

At least some - not nearly to double in size...but beggars can't be choosers.

In the end I baked three round peasant-bread style loaves that were dense but springy with a thick, crispy crust and a nice nutty flavor. I immediately transported one of them to my friend Josh's place to cut up with a myriad of spreads and cheeses for a wine tasting and scrabble party.

So now that I know what to do I will certainly be making more bread in the future. In the end even having to use the second yeast packet, we figured that the bread comes out to be $1.75/loaf, meets our culinary needs for two weeks, and is WAY WAY tastier than what we usually get at the store. If you are interested in what else is on this platter, or in learning more about the wine in the picture, please check out this post on The Oregon Wine Blog.