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I cranked the AC down to 78F and turned on the table fan for extra comfort, then dug into that packed refrigerator. I got rid of all the cabbage, the largest zucchini and all of the beans. At least it made a dent!
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Six pints of sauerkraut. I'll leave it in the kitchen until it bubbles and stinks, then it will have to go out to the garage. It's supposed to stay at 75F or cooler, and it got up to 79F in the garage today. Maybe it will cool down a bit before I have to move the jars. I used some old jar lids for this fermenting process (clean ones, of course), but I'll switch to new ones when it comes time to process them.
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Two loaves of zucchini nut bread.
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Six bags of green beans, for a total of 6-1/2 pounds.
After dinner, I'll slice, blanch, freeze and bag the yellow crookneck squash. Then I can clean out the fridge and take inventory. I have no idea what else I have in there! Oh....broccoli, for sure. That can be prepped at the same time I do the squash.
I didn't water anything in the garden today!
I had to laugh when I saw your post because i also spent afternoon blanching and freezing all those green beans :)
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike, Jenny!
DeleteThat was quite a lot you got accomplished today. It's nice to see your laying in a big supply of green beans for Annie and Otto. I hope you get to enjoy some too ;)
ReplyDeleteEd, hmmmmm, I already answered your comment, but now it's gone. Am I so tired I failed to hit "publish", LOL? I got the yellow squash done before dinner, it's on trays in the freezer to be bagged tomorrow. I found two more heads of cabbage in the back of the fridge, but that's OK, they will get eaten as cole slaw.
DeleteMr. Granny even likes the French beans, so I make Annie and Otto share!
I need to learn how to prepare my veggies and fruit for freezing like all of you do. Maybe my brother will teach me how sometime! I just eat all I can while it's fresh and give the rest away each year. I need to start utilizing a 55 cubic feet freezer I have just sitting in my garage....empty. The zucchini bread looks scrumptious, Granny!
ReplyDeleteGreg, freezing is so easy. I can give you lessons via email. The zucchini bread is a good one, and it's easy too. I have three loaves in the freezer now....come and get one :-D
DeleteAre you back home now?
Greg, I use the book "Putting Food By" to learn how to preserve foods. But Granny and a few other garden bloggers fill in the gaps of knowledge that the book doesn't cover.
DeleteOk, I have to ask, don't smack me. If you cranked the air down to 78, what do you normally run it on? We run ours on 75 and if we want to move it up we go to 76. Just curious.
ReplyDeleteKris, I usually try to keep it at about 80 degrees, but never higher than 80 or colder than 75...yes, Mr. Granny complains he's too hot. I usually have a fan going in the room with me, and we have ceiling fans. I like the movement of the air much better than cold air blasting me. I have it set at 78 right now, and I'm freezing! There's a vent right next to my desk. I guess I could close it :-)
DeleteOur thermostat is always between 78 and 80, just enough to take the humidity out of the air. Well it does get higher but that is when I don't have the AC on. Most summers that is normal. So far the last few weeks have been way too hot. My melons might like it, but I want our normal cool summers back.
DeleteYou'd freeze at our house. We keep it at 65. I can't sleep if it's any warmer- even in the winter. We keep our bedroom windows cracked open all winter long.
DeleteOh, dear, Langela! I couldn't stand that at all! I just hate going into stores and restaurants in the summer, because it will be 68 and freezing to me.
DeleteHoly smoke langela, that is like a meat locker! LOL
DeleteLooks like you have been busy.
ReplyDeleteTexan, I should always get this much done!
DeleteI grew up in corn country (lots of heat/humidity!) so it takes a lot for me to feel warm. I prefer 85. Hubby gets hot if it's above 65. We don't have AC---I know he must suffer. Ah, what a man does for love. Or, is it cookies? LOL! Well, whatever,-it works.
DeleteSue, it's cookies. :-D
DeleteIf you ever have the time to write up a step-by-step on your sauerkraut, I'd be most grateful! I've never tried making it myself. :)
ReplyDeleteNina, I addressed that in a previous post comment, but here it is again:
DeleteThe recipe I used, which is nearly identical to the one in my old Farm Journal cookbook that I always used before....
http://www.sauerkrautrecipes.com/recipe6885.shtml
But I did make a couple of changes/additions:
1. I placed a folded cabbage leaf over the top of the kraut, tucking it down around the edges to hold the kraut down in the brine, then put on the lids. I used old clean lids, and will use new ones when I process the kraut in a water bath. Fermentation is best at 70F. No place in my house is quite that cool, so I hope mine ferments properly.
1. Do NOT screw the bands down tight, as in that recipe. Set the jars in a pan or on folded newspaper, as the brine may bubble out a bit.
2. Check on the jars every two days to make sure that the cabbage is still submerged in the brine, and skim off any film that may form.
By making it in pint jars, you can easily adjust the amount of cabbage and salt to what you have on hand.
Different recipes say anywhere from 10 days to 8 weeks for fermentation, my old Farm Journal cook book says 10 days, and that's the recipe I used to use. I guess it's a matter of taste, and it all tastes nasty to me!
Thank you!! I must have missed your earlier post with the recipe, I appreciate you posting it again. I don't eat sauerkraut often these days but it was a staple in our household back in my youth (a looong time ago!) and I've never lost the taste for it but I never learned how to make it, either. I've filed the recipe away and when life is less busy, I'll give it a go. Thanks again. :)
DeleteOh Granny you must be the energizer bunny! How do you make your sauerkraut? I've never seen it in jars like that and it just might be the thing for me to do. Also loving the look of that zucchini bread!
ReplyDeleteNutmeg, I'm ignoring this comment, LOL! When you fill those jars, just take the handle of your wooden spoon and ram that cabbage down into the jar as tight as you can. The more you ram, the more brine created so the top of the cabbage will be covered in brine when you are done. The folded cabbage leaf over the top was a pretty nifty trick! (see my reply to Nina, above)
DeleteOops! Scratch that question about the sauerkraut! I just saw your answer on the previous post, lol!
ReplyDeleteI froze my first zucchini today. I found a monster in the garden and grated it all. I've got zucchini bread in the oven and the extra in the freezer. Oh the smell in the house is so wonderful right now.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I think you and I use the same zucc bread recipe, except for the spices. I only use cinnamon in mine.
DeleteYour Sunday is my Tuesday! I load up on Monday's...garden harvest and then Farmers Market. Tuesday I chop, peel, blanch, freeze, can, bake, dehydrate and crockpot a dinner! Whew! Sure is nice in the Winter to have all that summer goodness ready to eat up! Glad you reminded me of your sauerkraut recipe...wanted to give that a try!
ReplyDeleteLynda, I always hated making sauerkraut in the crock, so when the crock cracked, many years ago, I began using the glass jar method and never looked back!
DeleteThe newly frozen good look great, but now I need to clean out the freezers to make more room :-(
I'm so glad you posted about the sauerkraut. I've been fumbling through recipe books trying to find one that I can do since i have very few small places in the house that will stay the right temperature and only some very small cabbages. All the recipes call for a crock! And 10 pounds or more of cabbage! Plus, my family would never eat more than a pint of kraut in a year anyway. Thanks Granny!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, anywhere!
Deleteyou are have been busy!! Glad to see you got everyone done and survived to post about it. I am going to try and make sauerkraut this year I am going to copy down the recipe you provided above :)
ReplyDeleteMrs. Pickles, I never eat the stuff, but it is basically the same recipe I used years ago, and Mr. Granny loved it back then. It's so much simpler than fermenting it in a crock. I've never done it in pint jars before, just quarts, and I always had a cool basement to keep it in. This time it's in pints, on the floor vent in the laundry room, with the AC on and a box over it to keep it dark.
Deletegreat job! i made sauerkraut too in jars. did you know it's best to eat it raw? like yogurt, it has many beneficial bacteria which keep your gut healthy! google it! it's delicious too. i try to eat a little each day to keep the doctor away.=)
ReplyDeleteKelli, I don't care what you say, I'm not eating that stuff! LOL!!!
Deletelol, i just read your comment when you said it all tastes nasty! john thinks so too. i guess you two aren't meant to eat it.=)
ReplyDeleteGranny and John agree on that!
DeleteI am impressed by your work!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vanessa.
DeleteLove the saurkraut - rinsed off, in the bottom of a crock pot, a little caraway seed, some brown sugar, a chopped apple and a few pork chops nestled on top glug of white wine and a long simmer. Ha! I made myself hungry!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'd love the pork chops, but I'd have to feed that sauerkraut to Mr. Granny! Oh, I might eat a bite or two, if I could have a big bite of pork in the same mouthful, but I just never developed a taste for it.
DeleteNice! It's been crazy here too, I've been trying to make actual loaves of bread from the squash and zucchini but I'm ready to just start shredding and freezing I'm running out of room LOL!
ReplyDeleteErin, I know I have zucchini hiding from me in the back of the fridge. How many loaves of zucchini bread can we eat this winter? I need to label what I have baked. I saw a loaf of zucchini bread that had been squashed flat by something heavy being set on it. I brought it inside and thawed it out, figuring I'd eat it flat or not. Sliced off a big chunk and took a bite....it was chocolate zucchini cake, upside down, frosting on the bottom. It was supposed to be that flat!
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