2016 Journal

We got the canning station set up, finally. So we are able to do all of this out in the shop which helps both in the cold, early spring, and the hot hot days at the end of summer.

 

Tally for 2016

  • Applesauce - 35 quarts
    Asparagus Soup - 14 quarts
    Cauliflower Soup - 16 quarts
    Chicken Soup - 13 quarts
    Corn Chowder - 14 quarts
    Nectarines - 19 quarts
    Onion Soup - 15 quarts
    Peaches - 23 quarts
    Pear Preserves - 28 half-pints
    Pears - 14 quarts
    Pesto - 34 half-pints
    Rhubarb Relish - 29 half-pints
    Ribollita - 17 quarts
    Tomato Soup - 18 quarts
    Whole Tomatoes - 50 quarts
    Zucchini Soup - 15 quarts

 

Story of 2016

May 15, 2016
  • Asparagus Soup — 14 quarts
  • This is a new recipe for us. Asparagus is plentiful and we decided to see how we like the soup. We got 25 pounds from our friends at King Orchards and set out to see. It was a lot of work! Also we had a cold-snap and there was snow on the ground - in the middle of May!!! - so it was quite cold in the shop.
June 4, 2016
  • Rhubarb Relish - 29 half-pints
  • We got this year's rhubarb at Friske Orchards. We almost missed the harvest this year! Our first effort in making this last season turned out to be quite a success. Everyone loved it. This time around we doubled the recipe so we would have extras for other folks!
August 6, 2016
  • Pesto - 23 half-pints
  • We grew a huge amount of basil this year. We uncovered a bunch of old seed packets and decided to plant them all figuring a lot would sprout. Of course, every single last one of them grew! We kept seperating them so they would crowd the pots ... until we ran out of pots to put them in! So we made pesto - and lots of it. However, we only harvested a little over half the basil and it's still growing. Now to figure out what to do with the rest. Basil salt? Basil butter? Just freeze the leaves?
August 20, 2016
  • Nectarines - 19 quarts
  • A bushel of "seconds" from King Orchards did the trick. They were quite ripe and a bit spotty but absolutely delicious. We missed the Nectarines last year - a hard winter resulted in low yield - so we were thrilled to catch them this time around.
August 21, 2016
  • Peaches - 23 quarts
  • We got a bushel of these from our friends at King Orchards and they were almost perfect. I have never had a better batch of peaches. Perfect ripeness, they just fell off the pits into the jars. Can't wait to eat 'em!
August 27, 2016
  • Pesto - 11 half-pints
  • With the grow-back from our first pesto harvesting of the basil, we got another 11 half-pints bringing our pesto total this year to 34 half-pints. And, there is still more basil. Not sure what we are going to do with it all! Maybe freeze some.
     
  • Tomato Soup - 18 quarts
  • Our favorite local tomato grower is back after two years and we are very glad. Love their tomatoes, and they price is great.
August 28, 2016
  • Whole Tomatoes - 18 quarts
  • We have a bushel ripe and ready to can, and another bushel and a half not-quite-ripe. Nice thing with tomatoes, is you can just can them as they ripen so we'll be going these off and on over the next week or so.
August 31, 2016
  • Corn Chowder - 14 quarts
  • Corn is plentiful now and we got 65 ears. We used 45 of them to make one of our favorites, Corn Chowder. Although we rarely talk about costs, the ears cost a little over 20 cents each. The total for this batch was around $10. Adding the other ingredients, the equipment and the heat to can, each quart cost about 1.10 and that's pretty darn cheap for delicious and nutitious soup!
September 3, 2016
  • Zucchini Soup - 15 quarts
  • This year we combined zucchini and cousa. As we love cilantro, we used a little extra this time and the result was delicious. Also we modified the recipe and used cooked rice rather than raw and added it just before the puree.
     
  • Whole Tomatoes - 32 quarts
  • Last weekend we canned our first group of tomatoes and left the remaining two bushels to ripen. They did, beautifully, and this weekend we finished them off. This gives us a total of 50 quarts, plenty for all year. Some will go in the Ribollita and some in the Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables.
September 4, 2016
  • Ribolitta - 17 quarts
  • We have not made this in a few years so we thought we'd revisit it. Someone called in the Soup of Many 'C's - chard, cabbage, kale, celery, cannellini beans... It's a very hearty soup and one we have always enjoyed. Lot's of chopping but otherwise pretty simple.
September 10, 2016
  • Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables- 13 quarts
  • One of our favorites. The weather was cool so cooking this up was not a problem. We made our own stock this year and, as expected, that took quite a long time. But the end result was worth it!
September 17, 2016
  • Cauliflower Soup - 16 quarts
  • We've made this soup before but have never canned it. The soup was delicious and canning it was not a problem as long as it is pureed chunky and not smooth, it gets very thick if you really puree it. As always, skinning the roasted peppers is a mess and, if you do not roast them thoroughly, the skins are very hard to remove. All in all, this is a nice addition to our pantry.
September 18, 2016
  • Pears - 14 quarts
  • This was a first time for us. Pears are interesting. If they are unripe, they are easy to peel, not slimy at all. However they are very difficult to core, and of course, are not as sweet. If they are very ripe, they are very juicy and difficult to peel, and can fall apart as you core them. However, if they are just right, they are a breeze, well, it's a lot of sticky work, but no more trouble than peaches. A full bushel (less about a dozen) gave us exacty 14 quarts. A light honey syrup and we can't wait to try 'em.
September 24, 2016
  • Pear Preserves - 28 half-pints
  • We had some pears left over from last week's canning and decided to try this recipe. It it tasty but - OH - is it sweet. Have to see how it goes when we use it in cooking.
October 8, 2016
  • Applesauce - 35 quarts
  • All feral apples. This is the yearly supply for our parents.
    Update: It's February 1st and they have only 11 quarts left! How do they eat so much applesauce????
December 17, 2016
  • Onion Soup - 15 quarts
  • This was a very late start for us this year. However, onions keep well after harvest so that was not a problem. Did not make as many as we wanted being this is one of our favorites, maybe we'll make more deep in the winter!