30 Days, 30 Ways Challenge

At work I heard about a "game" to help people prepare during National Preparedness Month, which if you didn't know just started today. It's known as 30 Days, 30 Ways and it is being run (I believe) by CRESA or Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency. So since I have a great competitive nature I signed up.

The first task is to talk about the last thing you have done to prepare for an emergency situation. You earn a point for your answer and another one for talking about it through social media, such as this wonderful blog. I would get a third point if someone mentions me in their response (hint). It's all about points, it's what makes the world go round.

So I know it has been a long time since I wrote anything on the blog and I should update about this year's garden. Quickly, tomatoes not as good as last year, but some. Zucchini grew but I harvested it too late. Pickling cucumbers going good, first batch in the fermentation crock which I will talk about in a later post. Eggplant is starting to bloom, as you know I have had trouble growing it before and have posted about how wonderful it is before too. And I am determined to get it to grow! And actually got two small pumpkins from seeds I saved from one I bought at the farmer's market last fall.

But back to the main point of this post. What have I done lately that would help me and my wife prepare for an emergency situation. I could mention the cucumbers I canned this weekend, but in an emergency pickles are the last thing on your mind, sadly. I could also mention how I harvested the zucchini and made a large batch of zucchini pancakes which I froze to eat over the winter, but in a real emergency I might not have electricity. I could also mention how I expanded the garden, perennial and annual portions, but growing food is a long term project and not the best response.

It would have to be the three day water supply that I finally put together earlier this year. I saved the gallon sized apple cider bottles because they have the plastic handle on top that makes it easier to carry and pour. That and it's easier to clean out than a gallon sized vinegar bottle. I don't mind having a hint of apple in my water, might be annoyed if it tastes like vinegar. The bottles sit in the garage and I also know in a cabinet in the laundry room are a bunch of 12 oz water bottles as well, they may work better if we have to leave the house. But six gallons of water for my wife and I would last us three days. I will try to increase by five days later this year, but if the worst happens we'll be able to wash down those pickles with apple flavored water.

2010 Garden Part 2

Take a look at my new best friend. Yes I got a tiller and is it electric. Before you make take back my peak oil credentials I want to explain why I bought this wonderful device. Last year I dug out my backyard by hand, but that was just before I had a heart attack. It's not easy digging up clay soil. And even though I am healthier, pushing my body too hard is something that I shouldn't be doing. Also if you had to choose between gas powered or electric, the electric is less environmentally damaging than gas powered, not much but slightly.

Anyway I was able to tear up the ground much easier than before. Boy does that thing have a mind of it's own. It has a safety bar, when you release it stops, but when it starts you need to hold on tightly. It's good on the clay soil, fine with small roots, but bigger ones will get jammed in the blades. The area I cleared you see on the left will be my pumpkin patch. I saved some seeds from a pumpkin I got at the farmer's market last year and planted them. After making a mock greenhouse setup (more on that later) they started to grow. I know that pumpkins need enough space to stretch out so putting them in the corner of the garden should work. May not get enough sun but they should grow. Tilling I did find some thicker roots but they are at least 8 inches down. I've heard that pumpkins don't set their roots too deep so it should work. If all goes well and I can get at least five or six pumpkins, I can make pumpkin bread from home grown pumpkins this year.

It worked much better in the new perennial garden. The wife and I decided to use the area near the headless Mary statue (another story for another day) to put perennials, herbs, fruits, flowers, just anything that will keep coming back each year. The gardening strips, the east side of the backyard, will be for annual gardening with crop rotation. As I get more starts into the ground I'll update some more.

2010 Garden Part 1

Time to get ready for gardening. Seeing that I have one year of experience under my belt, this means, um, nothing. So I'm ready to start preparing the yard, planning out what to grow, where to grow it and then get it into the ground. My exploits from last year (May, June and end of year) talked about how I prepared the yard, how I grew and how I thought I did.

Last week I finally dig up the last of the dead tomato plants and tilled the ground a bit. Weeded my garlic and shallots and cleared out tree branches I cut down last fall. Taking a tape measure I measured out the current spaces I have and where I plan on expanding. As for expanding, I did get approval from the wife. At first I tried to find a freeware program to help my layout my garden. No such luck. There were some shareware programs and ones that cost money. So I tried to look for 2D CAD software. Found one but didn't take the time to try and layout my garden.

So I went old school with a piece of graph paper. Set each square for one foot, drew what I have and what will expand. Even used colored pencils to color in the grass and everything. Then to plan out what goes where. I know that lettuce will go where I put the salad mix I did in the fall, that spot works great. I have to rotate my tomatoes. I have the space for the garlic set up. Where is everything else going to go? What else am I going to grow?

So yesterday went to Bi Mart where they were having a 50% sale on seeds. The seeds were from Plantation and their sub division NK Lawn and Garden. The cost was about 90 cents per packet, the salad mix was 1.50 after discount. Also bought natural fiber seed starter pots, 23 small ones and eight more of the larger to a total of 16, the wife bought some earlier in the week to show me. This is not everything I will grow, but most of it. Here is what I got:

Asparagus - Mary Washington type - I know this is a three year commitment before I can enjoy it, but it is a perennial so I will be enjoying it for years. Looking at taking a portion of the garden where the bench is and making that a perennial garden with herbs, flowers and the asparagus.

Basil - Dark Opal - Apparently a dark leaf basil, the wife was interested, may as well try it out. Basil is basil, and so good.

Beets - Detroit Dark Red - Sure there must be a joke in there. The packet listed it as good for canning. Personally I don't like beets, but I love borscht. So what I grow will be made into a large vat of borscht that I can enjoy over the rest of the year.

Cabbage - Wong Bok - This is Napa cabbage. This can only mean one thing. Yep Kim chi!

Cauliflower - Snowball X - Sounds like a bad sci-fi movie from the 50's. Not much of a fan of cauliflower per se, do steam up the florets, sprinkle them with flour, mix two eggs with mustard, pour over cauliflower, cover with dried herbs and bread crumbs, bake until crispy (Herb crusted cauliflower). But since the pickled cauliflower and spicy pickled cauliflower I made last year was so good, seriously everyone told me that it was incredible, I need to make some more. It's tasty to have but does make for good gifts or trading.

Eggplant - Black Beauty - I do love eggplant. I don't care if nothing else grow, except for the tomatoes and garlic and cabbage, OK I care if everything grows, but I want some home grown eggplant. I want to try and can eggplant salad and make eggplant parmigiana to freeze so the wife and I can enjoy it all year long. Well at least a few weeks long, who am I kidding it won't stay in the freezer for long.

Lettuce - Green Leaf - Want to grow a standard lettuce to go along with the French weed mix. That and plain lettuce is great, as long as the Lettuce Prosecutor doesn't go after me again.

Lettuce Mix - French - Which includes Blonde de Paris, Madrilene, Merveille de Quatre Saisons, Rouge d'Hiver and Sucrene for lettuce and for the greens: Chervil curled, corn salad verte de cambri; Endive: Grosse Pancaliere & Scarole Ronde Verte Cover Plein; Spinach: Gernt d' Hiver & Monstrueux de Viroflax; Swiss Chard: Lucullus & Rainbow mix. Little concerned since there are no seed packets, just one big packet full of dirt and I'm hoping seeds. I'll put it in the salad spot from last year and see how it works.

Oregano - My favorite herb, somehow none was grown last year, a error that will not occur again this year.

Pepper - Grand Bell Mix - Bell peppers but in different colors. Good for eating and cooking, probably will trade if lots grow. Not sure if can be canned, maybe as a gardenia mix.

Radish - Daikan - Ultimately I would rather grow Korean radish, but daikan should be close enough for my homemade Kim chi.

Tomato - San Marzano - Good old Roma tomatoes. My main purpose for growing tomatoes is to make my own tomato sauce and other tomato products so that I never have to buy them from the store ever again. I grew the wrong type but did turn out good pickled and diced, but I need to grow roma's. Didn't see them at first in the seed section. I did notice that there were some inside a salsa mix, but I want a full pack. There were two other women who were looking for roma tomatoes as well. By luck I found the packets on the other side of the seed packet wall. Found the women who were looking and told them that I found roma tomatoes, they got some as well. They were telling me that this is their first year for growing food and might start canning. I gave them my card for this blog, if you are reading this hello again and good luck.

Also the wife wanted to start putting something in the front of the house. There are still some bulbs under the Japanese maple, but not much else. When it rains hard water pools up. She got a packet of English daisy mixed colors that are perennials. Put them in next week. Actually debated peppermint but realized that in a few years it would be all over the front lawn. Maybe in the planter next to the front door, maybe not as I hear my wife's voice in my head.

So I still am thinking about onions, I really want to try them again. Also promised the wife some cherry tomatoes, those I'll get as starters. I have to find my pumpkin seeds I saved from last year, if I can't no loss, it can wait another year. Also thinking about a hot pepper plant or two, that I will get as a start as well. Depending on spacing I'll grab one or two more, but the seeds are the main crops for this year. I'll try and keep an update every few weeks and take photos.

Yeah, I get to save money........er.... um......I mean.......um...the environment?

Last month the washing machine decided to quit. No two weeks notice, no goodbye parties, just started to leak water all over the laundry room. My wonderful wife, wonderful in the sense that she does the laundry, knew that it could no longer be saved. The machine had to be at least 35 years old judging by the style of the machine and the manuals that came with it. Lots of paisley and pictures of women smiling and doing laundry. And they were all white. My guess would be 1968 to 1974. So in washing machine years it was about 96 years old.

Now the dryer is still good and seeing that I have already angered it, I have no comment. So instead of buying a washer and dryer together, my wife and I agreed tho just get a washer now and a dryer when it dies. Note, dryer years and washer years are not the same. Of course I've just jinxed myself and it'll die as soon as I upload this post. Never-the-less we needed a new washer, I have gotten spoiled by wearing clean clothes.

Looking online I saw that the current style we had, top loader costs about $400. I've heard that front loaders are more energy efficient, clean better, and spin out more water than the top loaders. They seem to cost more, but they really don't. More about that later. I started to research energy efficient washers. Lots of different types but they all work the same way. Comments were at least 85% or higher praising the washing machine. You need to weight out all advantages and disadvantages before buying something that you'll have for a long time.

Advantages:
- Cleans clothes better than top loader
- Full digital display
- Quieter, no longer sounds like the space shuttle taking off
- Spins out more water therefore less time in the dryer
- Uses less detergent
- Uses less water
- Uses less energy
- Will measure how much you put in and adjust the time and water

Disadvantages:
- Average cycle is almost an hour
- Have to use HE (high efficiency) detergent
- Very old pipes in houses have had issues during startup

Clearly the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and if you look closely you'll see a pattern. But first I must disprove the disadvantages. The average cycle is an hour, boo-hoo. The top loader takes about 25 to 30 minutes, half the time. I don't see how an extra twenty five minutes would be much of a problem. How much laundry are you doing anyway? As for the detergent, almost every detergent out there is HE. In fact the detergent we've been using for years is HE. And the issue with the pipes, very, very rare and there are solutions that can be applied.

So not counting the first three advantages, the rest all save you money. If the clothes leave the washer drier, then you don't run the dryer as long. Less detergent means you don't buy it as often. Since the city of Forest Grove charges me for water, I want to use less. They also bill me for any electricity I use, more savings. And since it senses the load before it starts it can adjust the wash I can run a smaller load, something that you really can't do in a top loader. So am I saving money or am I saving the environment by using less water, less detergent, less electricity?

While you ponder that for a moment I want to add the rebates and why it's cheaper to get an energy efficient washer. As I stated earlier a top loader is about $400. A energy efficient front loader similar size, is about $700. Now here's where the savings come in. First Home Depot had a sale on LG energy efficient front loaders, 10% off. So it went from $699 to $630. The state of Oregon gives up to $180 in tax credits for buying energy efficient appliances. This came out to a $157 rebate. Now its down to $473. The city of Forest Grove has a $70 rebate. So the final cost after rebates and sales is $403, three dollars more than a top loader. Add to that the money I will save each year on my water, electricity and detergent, it's a no-brainer.

Now I know as a Libertarian that getting tax credits is not the best use of government money. If the product is that much better, then the free market will work this out. This is true. But my mama didn't raise no fool either. If someone is going to give me money back then I'm going to take it. Ideally it would be better if there weren't tax credits or the government handing out rebates, but they are and there's isn't much I can do to change it. Even without the rebates I would still save money, much more in the long run than if I bought a top loader washer. The question then is why would someone not buy an energy efficient washer?

(Don't say revenge, don't say revenge.) Seriously, why do people avoid energy efficient or environmental friendly products? I think the problem is with the messenger. Most times when people talk about energy efficient they don't say "'save money" they say "save the planet". Now I like the planet as much as the next guy, but I like money a lot more. And so do many other people. Some environmentalist believe the only way to feel like you are doing something good for the environment is if you suffer. Like the person who thinks the only way to exercise is to push themselves to the point of pain (i.e. no pain no gain) instead of doing what is sensible. A number of people who spread the message of "saving the planet" are not the most avid free market supporters. And if someone doesn't think the free market is important, then they are not going to mention it. The problem is that most people do see the free market as important, without it you wouldn't be able to do much to save the environment.

More than that people don't like sacrifice, if people think they are making a sacrifice then they won't do it. If they think that this will not change what they would normally do, or not enough to truly notice, and save them money, then they'll jump on board. I have no problem saving a dollar, heck I'd save a nickel if it means I don't need to burn any calories over it. This is the message we need to get out there.

Buying the new washing machine meant I had to put up additional money first in order to get it back. Unless someone had to scrimp, borrow and pull together the $400 to buy a washer, then there is no reason not to get the most energy efficient model. I even opened a Home Depot credit card on the spot and they gave me six months of no interest, apparently on anything over $200 they do that, something to keep in mind in the future. Yet people still buy the less efficient model. Are they penny wise and pound foolish? Or do they think that since they have been told that it will "save the planet" which translates to them as "I'm going to suffer by having to make a sacrifice." This goes beyond washing machines, there are so many ways to save money by being environmentally sound, but people will actually avoid it because they haven't been told enough that they will save money.

What I ask is to anyone who wants to see more people do good for the environment, talk more about the money you can save. Mention both, some people will like to help the environment, some, like myself, want to help the environment and save money. Everyone else just wants to hear that they will save money. The goal is to balance our way of life with doing as little harm to our planet. If you make it an either or option guess which side most people will choose.

Now only if my wife can get me to actually use the washing machine........

Tearing Up My Lawn Part 3 - Year in Review

My first year of gardening is now over. My previous posts talked about how I tore up strips of my lawn and then how I started to plant fruits and vegetables. Now it's time to be objective and critical about what I grew, how well it grew and whether or not I'll try it again next year, a few years from now or never again even if my life depends on it.

Basil - Bought a plant from Trader Joes that was only 2.99 and was a large plant. Got a good deal of fresh basil from the plant, used scissors to cut leaves from the top and side. The taste of fresh herbs, especially basil, it incredible in anything you cook. Never planted in the ground, cold weather eventually killed it off. I feel I got my money's worth, easily got and shared more than $3 of basil. Would I grow it again, yes. Grade B

Beets - Planted them in late September in an attempt to get a fall crop of vegetables. Started to pop up but since it was a very cold October they never matured. I debated whether or not to try and pick the leaves to at least cook them but never bothered. Never got any beets. Did I get my money's worth, clearly no. Would I grow it again, yes. Grade D

Blueberries - Just planted them this fall. There was a special at Larsen Family Nursery, half price (or two for one) on fruit plants. Realizing how complex it would be to grow an apple or pear tree right now my wife and I opted for blueberries. We bought two plants, both mid-season, was told it's better to have two of the same for cross pollination. One of them is a Vaccinium 'Duke' the other I don't remember. They have started to grow, hopefully the cold hasn't killed them, too soon to tell. Grade Incomplete

Chives - Grown from seeds with the other herbs, started indoors and then moved to a pot for outside. Since they are perennials and can spread, they were not put into the ground. As a kid growing up there was a chive plant in the backyard that we would cut from each summer. I might have them moved to a planter box this year, but they should come back. They did in New York and the winter is much colder there. Used often in cooking, added a terrific flavor. Clearly got my money's worth since they are so expensive dried, let alone fresh. Will I grow them again, have no choice they are coming back. But this is good. Grade A


Fennel - Be careful what you wish for! Turns out that we grew the wrong type. My wife was responsible for the herbs, I was in charge of the vegetables. These were grown from seeds, decided to drop them in the garden. There are two types of fennel, one has a large bulb and short stalks, the type I though we planted. The other, as seen from the photo, grow as tall as five feet. Gave a lot of it away, cooked some but there is only so much fennel you can cook with. Decided to pull up before it seeded and took the leaves and placed in a mason jar with white vinegar to make fennel vinegar. Money's worth, yes. Grow again, maybe one day but not next year. Grade B+

Garlic - Two types grew in the garden, regular and elephant. The elephant was an accident. During the summer as I was clearing out the area around the garden I noticed in a pile of weeds what looked like a full bloomed garlic plant. As I cleared around it and dug it up, turned out it was garlic. I think it was there for years. Elephant garlic has large mild bulbs some people prefer them since they taste like garlic but not a strong. Cooked them and gave some away. The regular garlic was my goal since I first moved into our house. Didn't have the time in the fall of 2008 to plant it so I waited to early spring 2009 to plant about 35 cloves. I didn't do anything to the soil, just put it in the clay soil and it grew. I'm sure it would have done better if I added better soil or compost or something. But I got nice sized bulbs, the purple type! I found out that these are stronger in flavor than the plain white. I got my money's worth since one head of garlic produces another ten to fifteen heads. Will I grow again, I've planted two hundred cloves in September so I hope to have enough next year. Grade A+ (with a bonus from the existing elephant garlic)

Jalapeno Pepper - This one seemed more of a goof than anything else. My wife got it for me at the farmers market in May, I didn't think it would grow. I planted it in a space between the fennel, one of the plants didn't take. It started to take off and actually grew a number of peppers, at least six or seven. They were good, not the spiciest pepper I ever had but definitely the freshest. I got my moneys worth, one dollar for the plant got me about two to three dollars of peppers, a good return on investment. Will I grow again, maybe next year but definitely again in the future. Grade A

Lavender - This came from the herb mix my wife used, I believe. A good sized plant was put in the front of the house, but since we were going to be gone for almost two weeks in July, we needed to make sure it would be watered. Since I put a automated timer in the backyard, the lavender was moved to a pot and put in the path of watering. It stayed in the pot and grew pretty wild but was never replanted. It still seems to be growing, will see how it survives the winter. Getting my money's worth, it grew so I guess it's a break even. Will I grow it again, possibly but if it survives then I'll keep it. Grade C

Lettuce - Different types were grown. First was some green leaf which I stared from seed inside one of those mini greenhouse peat moss growing things. I realized that this was probably not necessary since lettuce can grow in colder weather and I should have just put the seeds in the ground in late March or early April. Nevertheless, I did get a few plants and had enough for a salad which made a great classic blog post. I decided, like the beets, to make an attempt in the fall to grow some more. My goal was to have enough grown so that the salad for Thanksgiving could be picked directly from the garden. I planted more green leaf, romaine, and a salad mix that included arugula, endive-green curled, kale-red russian, lettuce-red romaine, lettuce-parris island cos, lettuce-salad bowl and lettuce-lolla rossa. I put the romaine split in the same row with the beets, the next row over green leaf shared with the attempted spinach and set up a new area, as seen in the photo, for the salad mix. The only thing that grew was some of the salad mix. The romaine never came up, found out later that is a warmer weather variety of lettuce. The green leaf started but then due to the cold October, third coldest on record I hear, it died quickly. Not sure what types took for the salad mix, think some of the arugula, endive and possibly the kale, but they grew well. There was enough to pick to add to the basic lettuce salad for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately since I was eating mostly turkey, as well as most everyone else, I didn't get to taste too much. Also my mother-in-law did add all of what I picked, I should have stressed to leave some out, and she dressed the entire salad. The end result is after a day it's so soaked in oil that it's not good for leftovers or to be used again. For grading, did I get my money's worth, yes since I got a few salads out of the spring crop and at least one from the fall. Will I grow again, definitely and different types. Grade Green Leaf B / Salad Mix B / Romaine F

Onions - This didn't turn out as well as I thought it would. I stared from seeds, put them in the ground, they started to grow, but they never really grew well. I have a couple of theories of what went wrong. First I never removed them from mesh thing that I used when I stared them in the mini greenhouse. Second, they may have received a bit too much water during the summer. Third, I never did anything to the ground so it grew in clay soil. I still got a bunch, about a dozen, small bulbs of which I dried out and used them in my Thanksgiving stuffing. On a side note the stuffing was shallots, garden onions, garlic, mushrooms and fennel vinegar mixed with a generic stuffing mix and moistened with vegetable broth. Everyone commented that this was the best stuffing they ever had. I want to think that the onions helped a bit, it'll help them in their final grade. Money's worth, pretty close to breaking even on this one. Would I try them again, yes I'll try one more time this year. Grade C+

Parsley - Another one from the herb seed mix. Seeds got everywhere though. When I was planting my lettuce, turns out the first one in the row was a parsley plant. They were also put into pots next to the chives. Used regularly during the summer for cooking, tastes much better than the store bought and actually adds good flavor to most items you add it to. Moved the ground plant to in between my tomatoes later in the season, kept growing. Still growing now in January. Money's worth, yes. Will grow again, it's still growing and if it's there I'll cook with it. Grade A-

Radish - Purely by accident. Turns out that a radish seed was mixed up in my tomato seeds. I didn't notice it, although the leaves looked different than the tomatoes and it grew faster, I didn't think there was a difference. It was planted with the rest of the tomatoes and only after we got back from visiting family did I notice that it was not a tomato. I saw a red base, pulled it out and discovered that it was a radish. Cut up the leaves and added them to a kale sausage potato soup, ate the radish in a salad. I got my money's worth since I never bought any seeds or plants and got it as a bonus. Will I grow it again, no since I didn't want to grow it in the first place. Grade A

Shallots - Planted them in the fall with the garlic. Put fifty of them into the ground, spaced between rows of garlic. So far they have started to grow. I am tempted to start digging some up but I still have some from last years farmers market and I want to wait until the spring. I am confident that they will turn out great. They grow just like garlic, bulbs surround the one you plant. Money's worth, so far it's looking like a yes. Will I grow it again, the question is would I ever think of not growing them, like garlic it will always be grown. Grade Incomplete (possible A+)

Spinach - Started too late, became too cold. Planted with the beets and lettuce mixes in the fall. Started to see some leaves but they never grew large enough. So I didn't get my money's worth, but that sometimes happens. Will I grow again, yes I will try some in the spring this year. Grade D

Squash - Grew Delicata Bush, the type with black and white stripes on the outside. This was a replacement for the radish that I though was a tomato plant. After I pulled the radish out, and ate it, I wanted to fill the empty spot. Going to Bi-Mart, they had a bunch of tomato plants they were selling for one dollar. Since I already planted twelve other plants, I didn't want to put another tomato there. There I am looking for anything that is not a tomato and all of a sudden I see a Delicata Bush Squash, the only plant that wasn't a tomato. So I bought it, planted it and watched it grow. It started to flower soon after. I have heard that you could eat the flowers, but I didn't bother. Flower after flower kept blooming but no squash. Finally around early September did I see some squashes growing, one started to get really big, and then it got cold. The small one shriveled up, I pulled off the one that was trying to grow, ate it later on in December, it was delicious. Someone told me that the male flowers grow first and then eventually the females, the ones that have fruit, will grow. I think since the plant was grown and put into the ground late, and it getting cold earlier, it didn't grow that well. I feel that I got my money's worth, especially after the radish bonus. Will I grow again, yes. Grade B-

Tomatoes - The main reason for me to garden, next to garlic that is. First set of seeds only grew me one plant. Got additional seeds, got twelve others (eleven if you don't count the radish) and got them into the ground, eventually. Nursed them, put wooden stakes in the ground to tie them to, burried milk cartons next to them to get them well watered, finally got tomatoes. They were started late so most of them stayed green. They started to turn red in late September, early October, but it was too late. I still got lots of tomatoes that I canned and pickled. I did find out that in order to get tomato sauce, one of my goals of growing tomatoes, you need to grow roma tomatoes. They are also good for diced and whole tomatoes. I'll focus on those, but will do others to pickle and of course just to eat. Money's worth, clearly yes. Will I grow again, definitely yes. Grade A

Seeing that I ended up growing almost twenty items, some not even of my choosing, I feel proud for a first year attempt at gardening. So adding up my grades and not counting the incomplete of blueberries and shallots, it rounds up to a B. I feel motivated and ready for this year and will add some more vegetables and of course have to create more growing space. Maybe then I'll be able to bribe the lettuce prosecutor.

Ode To A Cranberry

For years now I have been making cranberry sauce from scratch for Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas. This year was the first when I canned cranberry sauce. Using my age old recipe and harnessing the awesome power of canning I have achieved I made me some cranberry sauce in jars.

My history of cranberry sauce is rather short in my food life. I only started to make it not more than 10 years ago. I would never eat cranberry sauce when I was a kid, it was the jelled canned type that was sliced into rings. The plate would be passed around on Thanksgiving and I would keep it going past me. The texture looked horrible and the one time that I actually tasted it was worse. I just remember it tasting way too sweet and slimy. Slimy I can deal with, sweet I cannot. So all throughout my childhood, adolescence and adulthood I avoided cranberry sauce.

One Thanksgiving, sometime last decade, I had a bag of cranberries that I somehow obtained, legally I hope. I went to my cooking bible, Fanny Farmer, and looked up how to make cranberry sauce. I was amazed, well not amazed more surprised, at how simple it was.

Cranberry Sauce
12 oz bag of Cranberries
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar

Wash the cranberries, boil the water, add cranberries and sugar. Scrape off froth as cranberries pop, cook for about 10 minutes or until all the cranberries pop, cool and serve.

OK, so it's easy, but how does it taste. It tasted great. It was enjoyed by everyone that year and I then added it the annual Thanksgiving menu. This is known as whole berry cranberry sauce which is different than jelled cranberry sauce like the type in the can. The difference is that with jelled you would strain out the cranberry skins. I like this better, it seems more natural, tastier and I'll admit I'm too lazy to strain it once it's cooked. I think you need to keep cooking it as well and you know how I feel about overcooking anything.

So every year I'd make a batch, or a double batch of sauce. I get a few extra bags and leave them in the freezer to make whenever I, or my wife, has a craving for some. Somehow between last year, this year and a great sale on cranberries, I found myself with nine bags of cranberries. Since I still have all of my fingers, limbs and internal organs from my previous attempts to can, I was ready to roll the pressure caner dice again.

There was a great sale on the 12 ounce tall mason jars, as seen on the top of the post, so I got two cases of them. The smaller jars cost more and who wants to only get 2 ounces of cranberry sauce. At the same time no one would want a quart either, so this seems like the perfect size to use for Christmas gifts. Reading up on how to can cranberry sauce, since it has a high acid content, a simple hot water bath for fifteen minutes will safely work.

I debated whether to use my pressure caner, it can hold 23 quarts or the regular stainless steel tall pot that we use for pasta and other general items. I'm not sure of the size but I think it holds about 12 quarts. I wasn't sure if all of the cranberries would fit in the smaller pot, but I didn't want to have to clean out the pressure caner just before I use it. I used the steamer/pasta basket that fits inside the pot to wash the cranberries and eight bags seemed to fit. I poured them into the pot, they fit, I decided to be daring and make the sauce in the smaller pot.

Added the eight cups of water, when it boiled I added the cranberries, which went right to the top since they float in water, and poured the sugar over all of it. Carefully shifting the cranberries I got the sugar to drop into the pot and moved the cranberries on the edge to the center. As the water began to boil again and the froth started to rise, so did the cranberries. I was fighting Mt. Vesuvius, frantically I kept moving cranberries to the center, making a pyramid, while scraping off froth and pushing the berries back down. By sheer determination and some luck I was able to keep the cranberry volcano from erupting all over my stove and the floor. I knew as the cranberries would pop, they would sink down. To be honest I panicked and lowered the heat and kept scraping. Finally about fifteen minutes later it was ready. And to avoid the red cabbage disaster of not adding the canning perseve, I added the proper amount, about three tablespoons to the sauce. I put the pot in the refrigerator and let it cool until the next day.

The funny thing was that while the cranberries were cooling I was more concerned with how to cook the black beans I was going to make for dinner. I've done a few hot water canings but never used the pressure cooker to cook food. I went through all the steps in my head how to sterilize the jars, heat the cranberry sauce, put the jars in hot water, blah blah blah. But to cook beans in the pressure cooker, that was getting me worried. More on that later, time to can cranberry sauce.

So after the Seahawks beat the 49ers on a last second field goal (Yah Olindo Mare), I started the process. Nothing exciting, filled the jars, boiled for fifteen minutes, removed, tested, looks great. I filled 14 twelve ounce jars, so I have over a gallon of whole berry cranberry sauce. Most will go as gifts along with some pumpkin bread. Or just when there is a craving a few months from now for some cranberry sauce, I can pop open a jar.

But my main concern was how to use the pressure cooker. When I first got the caner I looked at the recipes in the book. Besides how to make twelve pounds of corned beef in twenty minutes there were recipes for dried beans. The time chart listed on average two to four minutes. I'm thinking to myself "This can't be true, this is a filthy lie!" I'm starting to eat dried beans again, it would be nice to have them cook quickly, but in four minutes?

Back in the early nineties when things were really tight financially for my wife and I, dried beans were a staple of our diet. Along with pork shoulders and chicken drumstick/thigh quarters, our diet was limited to what we could afford. Doing food shopping in New York City for $25 a week won't get you much. Dried beans were cheap and filling. Since I didn't know much of what I was doing, I would soak them but would mess up the cooking process. The few times that they didn't taste like pebbles, they didn't have much flavor or taste good. It didn't taste like what you would get out of a can, and after making some more money we moved to store canned beans.

As I now realize the health benefits of making beans from scratch, mainly much less salt than the factory canned, having a faster way to cook dried beans would be great. I read over and over again and realized that all I had to do is after I soaked the beans, add them to the pressure cooker, cover with water, add one tablespoon of vegetable oil (keeps the vent from getting clogged I believe), put the lid on, put the weight over the vent and turn on the heat. When the gauge reaches 15psi time for four minutes, less if you want them firmer, turn off heat, remove and wait for pressure to drop.

I soaked the beans for about six hours. I drained them, added them to the pot covered them with water and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sealed the lid, but the cover on top of the vent and turned the heat up to high. I stood watching until the pressure gauge started to rise and then thought that if this thing blows up right now I'll be covered in shrapnel and the gauge would get wedged in my throat. Somewhere around the 10psi mark the vent cover started to rock, and I didn't touch it this time! I placed a pot holder over it to still allow steam out but to keep it from rolling. Not sure if this is proper, or safe, but when the gauge got to 15 I lowered the heat, set the timer for four minutes and adjusted the heat to keep the gauge at 15psi. The time went off, I turned off the heat, moved the pressure cooker off the heat and waited to the steam escape valve to drop.

I looked inside after I opened it, the beans didn't explode. I tasted one. It tasted as soft as if it came out of a can! I was amazed, unlike the cranberry sauce, this was true amazement. The total time from start to finish after I drained the beans from soaking, no more than 25 minutes. I remembered back to the early 90's waiting hours for the beans to be cooked and somehow they would never get there. Now in less than 30 minutes it was done. I then proceeded to make a black bean soup. I looked online for recipes, many different types but none seemed to impress me, even one with a tomato base. So I made one up, see if it works for you.

Black Bean Soup
2 cups prepared black beans (or two to three 14.5 ounce cans)
1/2 pound of smoked sausage
1 onion
1/2 head of garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 to 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry sherry
Cilantro
Salt
Pepper

1. Saute onion, garlic and sausage to just tender, add broth
2. Add beans, remaining ingredients and stir.
3. Using a masher, mash about half to two-thirds of the beans. Leave some whole but mash up enough to thicken.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least thirty minutes, longer if possible.
5. Add seasoning according to taste.

Substituting vegetable broth and omitting the sausage will make it a vegetarian soup. The taste was terrific, savory beans, smoked sausage, there were lots of umami going on in my mouth. The soup didn't last long, but I will be making it again, as well as many other bean dishes this winter. I recommend getting a pressure caner, it's a two for one deal. You can can foods and you can cook in so much less time and it still tastes great, unlike the microwave where it cooks fast and tastes like death. In fact only use your microwave for defrosting and maybe making nachos. Use your pressure cooker to make magic, or at least black beans in four minutes.

Tales From The Harvest Market

The last farmers market of the season in Beaverton is the harvest market. I've been there previously, it's the Saturday just before Thanksgiving. People bring down the last of their fruits and vegetables. It's a good time to get fresh items for your Thanksgiving dinner and to stock up. This year, since I haven't blown up my house yet, I can can (jar) the last items of the season. Over the past two years, when I have gone to the harvest market I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to stock up for the winter, but that changed this year. Maybe I should be careful what I wish for.

My wife and I arrived about 9am, she went to get some coffee or cider or hot chocolate (or a mix of the three I think) and I decided to walk around and see what was there. There was one less aisle than usual, but the market was still full. Being a choosy shopper I looked at the prices and the quality. My first good deal was cauliflower. I bought two large heads from a woman who was taking them off a truck. They were two dollars for large heads and three for monster sized. I got two of the monster sized and then got a hernia carrying them with me.

To add to that weight I got two red cabbages that were 39 cents a pound, cost about five and a half (done the math yet?) dollars. Also grabbed a brussel sprout tree for half the price of what other boots were selling for. By this time I had no room in my bags so when I found my wife we walked back to our car and got some more bags. They were then filled with apples, Italian artichokes, cherry tomatoes and I can't remember if there was anything else. My mind was on the cauliflower and cabbage that I snagged at a great deal. Time to start canning.

But first let me talk about how the other items were served. The brussel sprouts were cut from the stalk, to clean remove any part of the outer leaves that look worn or spotty, just like a cabbage. I then split them in half, top to bottom not across the center, and then steam them for about five to ten minutes. The cabbage should be tender but not mushy. I also sometimes add some chopped garlic to steam as well. Remove the brussel sprouts from the steamer and drop into a hot frying pan with olive oil. Saute for a minute or two and then add balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, Italian seasoning and mix well. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce begins to thicken.

The Italian artichokes, only different from the standard artichoke in that the leaves are more meatier, were boiled for about twenty five minutes. They were eaten plain since they were so fresh and tasty, why smother the flavor? The apples, at least five different types ranging from sweet to super tart, were used in an apple pie. May I add that it was with a cheddar cheese crust. One problem with the pie, since I made it on Thanksgiving and prepared it in a hurry to get it in the oven right after the turkey came out, I forgot to add flour or corn starch with the apples and sugar (half cup white and half cup brown, so much better that way). So the crust was a bit soggy on the bottom and you almost needed a spoon to eat it. The one thing that everyone said was "The pie is good but these apples are the best I have ever tasted!" The tomatoes were eaten pretty much every time we walked by them in the kitchen.

Now to the main focus of the post, using my newly acquired skills as a canning ninja to can the cauliflower and the red cabbage. I weighed them both, there was eleven and a half pounds of cauliflower and fourteen pounds of cabbage. I figure that's enough to last through the winter. I put the cabbages into the garage since I know that they would last the week and that I need to make sure I had enough red currant jelly since that is part of my basting sauce for the turkey. I decided to pickle the cauliflower and make German style red cabbage, I knew I had enough jars since I had been stocking up on them over the past few weeks whenever there was a sale.

My good friends, and pretty much unrelated family, Rene and Wayne brought with them over the summer pickled cauliflower for my wife and I. It was a bit too salty for her, I was amazed. Trying to recapture that wonderful flavor I decided to use the same brine that I had left over from the pickled tomatoes but used cauliflower instead. I also had a bunch of really, really hot peppers one of my co-workers dropped off at work from his garden. I decided to mix them in with some of the cauliflower. It is a hot water canning method that I used, see here for how I did the tomatoes.

Of course since I am learning, I had to make a mistake. Today's lesson, as I hear J. Walter Weathermen in my head, "...and that's why you always fill your jars with hot liquid." I heated my brine, as well as the jars, filled them with cauliflower and sometimes with peppers, lots of garlic (did you think otherwise) and some dill seed and peppercorns. I turned off the heat on the burner for the brine so when I got to the last jar it had cooled to room temperature. I went to check on the jars just before the water was to boil and noticed that one of the jars was floating near the top. This is strange since I had at least three inches of water over the top of the jars. Upon closer review I saw that the jar split on the bottom. I fished it out, removed the broken base and threw them out. I was debating reusing the cauliflower but my wife offered wisdom by stating that who knows if there are any bits of glass in the mix. Good point and now I know that's why you always....(blah, blah, blah)....hot liquid.

The red cabbage I knew would take longer so I waited for the Friday after Thanksgiving. While I was making turkey soup I also made red cabbage. The recipe I use is from a German cookbook that I've had for years, I had to start making it since it's almost impossible to find it out here in Oregon. Back in New York it was everywhere, seriously. I remember once back in the early 90's going into a C-Town (supermarket chain on the east coast) in Harlem on 125th street and buying a jar of red cabbage. It was everywhere back there but nowhere out here. So I have to make it. It is a bit of a time consuming process, but one that is well worth it. I always make a batch for my birthday and usually around Christmas, Easter and whenever I get the craving. So if I make fourteen pounds of red cabbage, it'll save me time through the rest of the year. Right! Right?

First the recipe I used:

Ingredients
Red Cabbage
1/4 lb bacon
1 Tbs sugar
1 Apple chopped (peeled and cored)
1 Onion minced
1 cup beef broth
3/4 cup white vinegar
Salt
8 to 10 oz Red Currant Jelly

1) Remove outer spotted leaves from cabbage, quarter and remove core. Slice cabbage and set aside.
2) Mince bacon and saute slowly until it melts, when it begins to brown add sugar and mix.
3) Add chopped apple and minced onion, mix, cover for 4 to 5 minutes.
4) Add cabbage and stir around to get it coated and add vinegar. Add salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until cabbage becomes bright purple.
5) Add beef broth, allow to boil and then reduce to simmer and cook until cabbage is tender, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.
6) Stir in red currant jelly about an hour before serving.

I used my pressure caner since it would be large enough to hold everything. I let it cook all day, transferred it to a smaller pot and some on the side since we were having dinner guests on Saturday. Got up Saturday morning and started to can. I spend most of the previous day looking for an official recipe for canning the red cabbage. Officially there is no approved method of canning plain red cabbage, no problem with me. The only recipes I found were either pickled cabbage or spiced cabbage, which was basically pickled cabbage with allspice. Since I couldn't find instructions I started to use logic. 1) You buy it in the store in a jar, so someone in a factory or nuclear power plant is putting this into a jar and I haven't died yet, not that I am aware of. 2) Seeing that there is a process, using 11psi for twenty five minutes will kill all the bacteria. It could kill the flavor too, but I wouldn't die of botulism. 3) Other people mentioned that they do this too, so I decided to thumb my nose at the USDA and can my cabbage.

Guess what, I made another canning mistake. I followed all the steps like when I used the pressure caner for my diced tomatoes, see here for that post, and all looked well. None of the jars exploded, they looked like they sealed well, I was going to have seven quarts of red cabbage. I then noticed something shortly after the cabbage came out of the caner. It wasn't red or purplish, it was brown. I'm starting to panic and think what has happened to my beautiful cabbage, but since I've never done this before I decided to just wait and see. That night at dinner my friend Peter told me that when you can fruits or vegetables like that you need to add a preserver. He wasn't sure what it was called but that they sell it next to the canning supplies in the supermarket. He said by adding small amount of that it will keep the color. I asked about the flavor and he told me that it will still taste the same just not look the same. A second d'oh is that I didn't season with canning salt but regular table salt. The amount of salt is minimal in the recipe, but since it was going to end up in a can it should have been seasoned with canning salt.

Anyway, it was good practice using the pressure caner and I do have a bunch of food to last all winter and probably next spring as well. One thing I want to add is a preserving e-book I found while looking for a process to can red cabbage. It's called The Beginners Guide to Preserving, click the link to see the pdf. It talks about the history of canning, how to can, how dry, how to freeze, just an over good online guide.