By late August, things are starting to cool down around here, and work of all sorts is possible (even mid-day). Summer is short and intense here in the North, and we’re soaking in the last few warm days before it’s sweater weather.
This time of year, we’re pulling in all the late-season fruit from our perennials, and there’s still plenty to go around.
In the annual garden, tomatoes are the main attraction, and we’re putting them up with all our favorite tomato canning recipes. Many of them are multi-purpose, like canned whole tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and plain tomato sauce. Those more or less kick the can down the road a bit, but you’ll still need to make them into an actual meal later.
They’re flexible, of course, and they can be any meal…but they’re not yet a meal.
This year, I’m hoping to put up more “meal in a jar” type recipes beyond the basic preserves. On my list, I’ve got:
Tomato Soup
Mixed Vegetable Soup
Pressure Canned Tortilla Soup (beans, tomato, chillis, stock & spices)
Pressure canned Thai curries with cherry tomatoes (coconut milk added at serving)
I’m hoping to add a few more to the list, and if you’ve got favorite tomato-based meals, let me know. Chances are, they can be adapted for pressure canning.
Beyond that, they’re also going into condiments of all sorts, from canned salsa, to BBQ sauce and ketchup…and of course, one of our favorites, tomato jam.
It’s like a grown-up version of ketchup, with a lot more flavor and chunky texture. It’s perfect on top of meatloaf or a fancy homemade burger with blue cheese, caramelized onions, and maybe a fried egg if you really wanna go crazy.
Last week, I had a couple of you ask about where to get canning lids, since there’s still a shortage in some parts of the country (and the supply chain continues to be squirrely.) We bought bulk flats of ball canning lids several years back, and we’ve been slowly working through those, but I’m finally starting to run out.
I've been hearing that the lids made now often have quality issues (as with everything in this supply chain), but thus far, I've heard great things about re-usable canning lids.
I just put in a big order with Harvest Guard Canning Lids, and I'm going to put these babies to the test. It'd be nice not to have to worry about canning lids anymore, and I'm all for re-usable (rather than single use).
We’re also putting our new freeze dryer through its paces, and I’m happy to report that it was incredibly easy to set up, and it’s as simple as pressing “on” to operate. I’ll admit, I was honestly a bit daunted by the whole thing and worried it’d be complicated to operate (and tricky to maintain the pump).
I’m pleasantly surprised, and really, you just load the food on the trays…and then turn it on.
Since we’re at the peak of fruit season, I’ve been concentrating on testing it with small batches of our unique fruits. Things that probably have never been freeze-dried by anyone and all the cool stuff you just can’t get in the stores…plus the old standbys of blueberries, raspberries, and the like.
Next month, I’ll be moving on to testing more savory things like whole pre-cooked meals, eggs, veggies, and everything else. But for now, it’s all about fruit!
Our favorites thus far are freeze-dried cantaloupe, which is truly out of this world, and freeze-dried strawberries, which will never be turned down by my kids.
I’m loving the freeze-dried blueberries, as they’re a lot easier to work with in muffin, pancake, and scone recipes than home-canned blueberries or frozen blueberries.
For fresh raspberries, freeze-drying is by far the best way to preserve them, since they tend to fall apart when frozen, and canning raspberries whole can be tricky unless you’re really diligent about harvesting them at the perfect time.
Freeze-dried, they hold their shape perfectly, and they’re basically the concentrated essence of all that is raspberry…that is to say…superb.
There have been some flops…or really, just fruits that I assumed would be good, but they’re just not great. Kiwi is one good example.
Apparently, what I love about kiwis is a combination of their texture and juiciness combined with their flavor…but take away everything but their pure kiwi flavor…and they’re kinda just “meh.”
At least to me.
That’s been the minority, though, and 90% of what we’ve tried has been excellent.
Even some things I didn’t have high hopes for, namely figs. I like figs, I grew up eating them by the bucket full out of my backyard, but there’s really no great way to preserve them. I didn’t think they’d be great freeze-dried.
They’re truly excellent, and it takes away their kinda mushy awkward texture and just leaves pure fig flavor…which happens to be really distinct. It’s not just sweetness; they do have a flavor of their own that comes to the front when you concentrate it by freeze-drying, and it’s absolutely lovely.
If there’s something you’re buried in on your homestead, and you’re wondering if it’d be a good candidate for freeze drying, let me know. If I can get it locally, I’ll toss it in the freeze-dryer and test it out for you. Happy to experiment, and I’ll take all the ideas I can get.
The pump maintenance is surprisingly straightforward…all you do is filter the oil (through something that looks like a Britta filter) every 20 or so batches. To filter, you just open the valve, pour it into the filter that they provide (looks like a Britta pitcher), and wait 2-3 mintues. Then you pour it back into the pump.
Even with this thing running almost continuously, that’s a once-a-month 2-3 minute operation.
The main time sink is first prepping the food (chopping, etc) and then packing it up after it’s freeze-dried. That’s true of any food preservation technique though, and I gotta say, it’s a lot quicker and easier than canning.
My next step is to start freeze-drying whole meals in there, basically making my own just add water camping meals for busy weeknights (or times during the summer when it’s way too hot to cook).
I’ve reviewed a lot of food in this genre on the blog, and the first one I’m going to try to recreate is the Homestyle Breakfast Scramble from nutrient survival. It’s unbelievably good, and ready in just minutes with just boiling water. If I could make this at home in my freeze dryer, I’d be one happy camper.
Outside the kitchen, we’re making an extra special effort to enjoy the last of summer, with lots of hikes and beach trips to lakes around here. Vermont really is stunning, and this time of year is some of the best the region has to offer.
While we’re out, this mama’s constantly stopping to sample the fruits, nuts, berries, and greens along the trail…and I know half the families at the beach looked at me like I was crazy as I harvested the first wild raisins of the season down by the water’s edge (viburnum species, not related to grapes).
It really is amazing how much food is just free all around us, if you know where to look.
What are you harvesting, preserving, building, or exploring on your homestead this week? I’d love to hear about it!
Leave me a note in the comments…
(Comments only, please. Emails tend to get lost in my inbox, and as much as I’d love to get back to each and everyone, my screen time is very limited…and things fall through the cracks, and emails get buried in my inbox. If you comment here, they’re all in one place, and it’s much easier to get back to every single one.)
Until Next Time,
Ashley at Practical Self Reliance
Just popping in to say I made your tomato jam and it’s so good!!!
Amazing variety. Do you think you would ever consider selling some of your freeze dried fruits? Maybe some of your more unique ones.