Homemade Claussens

Claussen (a brand name) pickles are my favorite. They're super crunchy and garlicky and dillish. MMMMMmmmmm. I have never bought a jar, because they are expensive. I steal them. From my mom, people. Now I've got a recipe.

Also known as "Half-Sours" or "Kosher", these pickles are awesome! They aren't canned, because there isn't enough vinegar to prevent bacteria from growing if they sit on the shelf, however, they last for a year in your fridge! So do Claussens, which are bought in the refrigerated section of your grocery (they aren't shelf-stable, either). So try some, they won't last long. My cukes came from my mother in law, and the garlic, onion and dill from my garden!

Half-Sour Pickles

5 lbs. pickling cucumbers

1 c. onion, chopped fine

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. mustard seeds

2 Tbs. dill seed (fresh weed & seeds if you've got them)

1 1/2 qts. water

2 c. cider vinegar

1/2 c. canning salt

Dissolve the salt in the water, warming it up if you must, and combine the last seven ingredients. After scrubbing cukes, slice lengthwise, or leave whole if small. Place in jars or an ice cream bucket and pour liquid over them. I get four quart jars. Let sit on your counter three days and then refrigerate before consuming. You're gonna love 'em!

On a roll...

I've been missing for a few weeks. My children have come to think of Grandma's as their second home and wonder why we come to our own some days after kindergarten. We have been on a canning kick. No, I wasn't much of a canner before, but she wanted to try some things and so did I and we ended up doing much more than planned, but the good thing is, it all goes faster with more than one person.
Our first endeavors all had to do with the abundance of tomatoes in our garden. Here we have two different salsas, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, and spaghetti sauce (my pressure canner is AWESOME!). Our latest was enchilada sauce, which is better than anything storebought, makes 60 pints with one recipe and requires a pot taller than my son, which Mother-in-Law happened to come upon just days before we planned our excursion. Oh, and don't forget a two-and-a-half foot wooden spoon...


We did peaches and pears for the fun of it and pear sauce because the way Sara described it, I just had to have some...

Joni's family gave us a box of apples which I didn't can because I found myself alone and not able to embark on an all-day project without help, so I made dehydrated cinnamon apple chips (nice and crunchy like potato chips, the thinner the better) and cinnamon applesauce for the freezer in my crockpot, thank you, Joni...

Two different recipes for dill relish. I like the sweet stuff, I just prefer it sour...

And last, but not least, chicken. It ain't pretty, but it tastes just fine and I bought a forty pound box of boneless skinless for $1.19 a pound. Can you get it cheaper?

Next week: beef chunks.

Canning Season

There is something completely satisfying about putting bottled food on your shelves. It may be the "I just saved $2.50 a jar on that apricot jam!" or the "I only eat my mom's pickles, so you should learn how to make them," from my husband, but I absolutely adore looking at jars of food I have canned myself. So here they are: apricot jam from my tree--next year I will pick them underripe (before the birds get the lot of them) and ripen in brown bags; Heather's zucchini relish--my first batch, (zucchini from my garden, most else from the store) and rather tasty if I do say so; Husband's mom's pickles--they really are the best and her 4 cucumber plants have produced some 26? quarts so far; and beets from MIL's garden and mine--mine are the one inchers, though I planted a month earlier than she did click here for my excuse (if you haven't noticed, even I don't visit my garden blog anymore).

Beans!

So, my bean class was lots of fun...for me at least. I think I talked too fast and too quiet, but I sure learned a lot! This was one of my experiments: pressure canning dried beans. They turned out quite delicious and sodium free! I also enjoy making homemade refried beans that are fat-free. Have you taken a look at the back of your canned beans? Yikes! We learned about soaking, cooking, freezing, and eating; using bean flour and mashed beans--did you know mashed white beans can replace shortening in baked goods? We had a cake made with this substitution and it was delicious! (I also tried this with Snickerdoodles that called for one cup of shortening--they poofed up instead of getting crisp, but were still edible. No, you cannot use beans to butter your pans.) I made black bean fudge and there was a sandwich spread with garbanzo beans from another lady. I have an entire packet of information and recipes put together with the help of some ladies in the ward. It is too much to retype it, but I can scan-and-email, so if anyone is interested in how to use your bean storage, let me know and I'll send it to you.