Pick Your Own Strawberries

It didn’t really take very long to pick a box as the plants were literally dripping with red ripe berries.  I ended up spending $17 on strawberries and it took me about 45 minutes to pick them.  I ended up with about 2 gallons of sliced strawberries.  So what do you do with 2 gallons of strawberries?  I got them with the intention of making jam and it turns out that I am actually going to have enough left to freeze about half.

SugarFree  Strawberry Jam Recipe

This is the recipe from the Sure Jell No Sugar box:

• 3 pints of strawberries
• 1 box of Sure Jell No Sugar Added
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup splenda

Preparation is key in canning anything.  Make sure your jars are hot and sterile.  Soak your lids in boiling water while preparing and make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready to go.  You need to stir the jam constantly so will not have time to measure ingredients.

Prepare strawberries by washing and de-stemming. I sliced mine as well.

Clean sliced strawberries

Slice or not, you then mash them until they are about 3 cups with some chunks of fruit remaining.

Crush strawberries with a potato masher

Put the crushed strawberries in a 3 quart pan.  Add sure jell and 3/4 cup of water.

Strawberries cooking for jam

Cook on high heat until they come to a full rolling boil that does not stop when you stir.  Continue to boil for exactly 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Rolling boil

Skim any foam that formed on the top and ladle into hot, clean jars.  Fill to 1/4 to 1/8 inch from top.

Ladle into jars

When you are finished filling the jars, wipe the rims with a wet paper towel to remove any jam that might be there.  Put hot lids on jars and screw down with rings.  Let rest until the ‘tops pop’ and the jars are cool.  This completes the sealing process.

Strawberry jam jars resting and cooling

Voila!  That’s all there is to it.  It took me about an hour to make 4 pints of sugar free jam and 8 pints of  regular jam.  I used about half of the strawberries so the fruit cost of the jam was about $8.  I used 4 cups of sugar in the regular jam recipe which costs about $1.  1/2 cup of splenda which might cost 50 cents and $5 for the Sure Jell.   It works out to about $1.21 per pint.  I honestly don’t buy jam or jelly much but I know the cost comparison is favorable and I have the added benefit of knowing exactly what is in it.

Green Tomato Relish

With frost coming quickly here in central Virginia, I decided to pick the majority of our green tomatoes.  The larger ones I am going to cover with newspaper and set to ripen.  These will continue to ripen until probably Christmas or New Year.

The smaller ones I made into green tomato relish.  Green Tomato Relish is also called Chow Chow or Picalilli.  It is a good way to use up a surplus of green tomatoes, green and red peppers and onions.

It tastes like a spicy sweet relish similar to bread and butter pickles and it is excellent on hot dogs, pork, in soups, etc.   Randy can eat it right out of the jar.  I prefer it on hot dogs or hamburgers.

Green Tomato Relish

• 4 cups of finely chopped green tomatoes
  

  Main ingredients for Picalilli

• 8 bell peppers – green, red or yellow
• 5 onions, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons pickling spice
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of pickling salt

All vegetables should be finely chopped.  You can use a food processor but I use my handy dandy Pampered Chef chopper.  It’s a bit more work but I try to keep our electric appliances to a minimum.  I have survived a year without a mixer or a food processor.

After chopping the tomatoes put them in a colander to drain.  Sprinkle them lightly with pickling salt.  If you use regular salt, your relish may turn cloudy due to impurities in the salt.

Chop the bell peppers and add them to colander sprinkling lightly with pickling salt.

Chop the onions and add them to colander sprinkling them lightly with pickling salt.

Chopped vegetables

Let vegetables drain for 3 hours – 24 hours.

After vegetables are drained, add them and the remaining ingredients to a large pan.  Set temperature on med high and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.  Once it is boiling, turn heat to med low and bring back to a boil.

Once it has come back to a boil for the second time, you can ladle it into hot sterilized jars.  Add lids and then put them in a water bath and boil for 20 minute.

Remove jars from water and set out to cool.  Check tops to make sure that all have sealed.

I am trying to keep up with all of my chores plus R’s chores.  I can’t do it all but I am making a pretty good stab at it.  I made it out into the garden today and oh my gosh!!!  It has gone wild over the last 5 days.  I picked half a row of lima beans and got 2 gallons.  Then I picked two gallons of tomatoes.  There will be more by Sunday.  I still have another full row of lima beans and all of the peppers to pick.

I figure that I will have 15 – 20 Green peppers and another 2 gallons of lima beans.  Then there are the chili and jalapeno peppers that need picking.  Believe me, I am not complaining.  We should easily have enough vegetables to see us through the winter and into the spring.  The big freezer is almost full and I am going to have to start using the two smaller freezers.

I am going to try Marci’s suggestion of freezing the tomatoes whole and unpeeled.  She puts hers in a paper bag and then blanches and peels them as she needs them.  Hopefully they will work just as well in a plastic grocery bag.  I should have much more time to blanch and peel them as I need them than I do right now.

Over the next week, I need to get the fall greens planted.  I am planting turnip and collard greens.  I am also going to plant some more cabbage, lettuce and spinach plants.  These will pretty much round out the vegetables for the winter.

Fresh Tomatoes

Today I was faced with an ever growing supply and decided that it was time to put some up.  Rather than canning them and having to deal with sterilizing jars, buying lids and processing, I decided to freeze the majority.  We have 3 freezers plus the refrigerator freezer so there is ample room.

Freezing tomatoes is simple.  You can freeze them with their skins on just by cutting them into wedges or slices and popping them into a freezer bag.  Frozen tomatoes are best used in soups, sauces and casseroles because they do not retain their texture.  I am peeling them, quartering them and freezing them by the quart.

Freezing Tomatoes

1. Wash all tomatoes before processing.
2. Boil enough water in a pan to cover several tomatoes.


Blanching tomatoes

3. Drop whole tomatoes into boiling water.  Boil for one minute or until the skin splits.
   

   Split skin on blanched tomatoes

4. Remove from boiling water and set aside to cool.
   

   Peel Comes Away Easily

5. Use fingers to peel skin from tomatoes.
6. Core with sharp knife and cut into wedges or dice.
   

   Quartered Tomatoes

7. Put juice and tomatoes into freezer bag.
8. Label and place into freezer.

Frozen tomatoes retain their flavor if not their texture.  They are excellent used in stews, soups and casseroles.  Today I put up 15 quarts of tomatoes in about an hour and a half.

However, the rain did help the corn, limas and tomatoes.  I have been keeping track of what I have picked and put up.   The limas and the corn are the definite winners here.  Cucumbers would be a close third.  The squash and tomatoes have just not done well.

We have picked:

• 152 ears of corn
• 5 gallons of limas
• 25 cucumbers
• 15 yellow squash
• 5 tomatoes

I have put up:

• 15 quarts of corn
• 10 quarts of limas
• 5 quarts of squash
• 5 1/2 pints of bread and butter pickles

I have been a little disappointed in the garden so far.  I had hoped to have enough to put up to see us through the winter as well as sharing some with R’s and my kids.   Right now with the exception of the corn, it doesn’t look like we will have enough to see us through the winter much less the kids.

Some of it is our own fault.  We killed half a row of green beans with weed killer overspray trying to get rid of the wire grass.  The  wire grass has made it difficult to keep garden pests off of the plants.  It doesn’t hurt the plants themselves too much but you can’t see what is attacking the plants.  We also did not do enough preparation prior to planting the garden.  We should have sprayed the wire grass and let it die and then covered the rows.

Regardless, for the small amount of money that we have spent in seed, we have done well.  The tomatoes will ripen eventually.  There are tons on the vines and it’s just a matter of having enough warm nights to ripen them.

We have already planted a late summer planting of beans and squash so we should do better with them in August and September.  Once the corn is finished, we are going to plant turnips and collards there.  I also want to get some brussel sprouts and broccoli planted for the fall.

The first post that caught my eye at The Homesteading Carnival was Grandma’s Fried Tomatoes.  I haven’t had fried tomatoes in ages but I think I might try some tonight.  They might have to be Fried Green Tomatoes as I don’t think my tomatoes are EVER going to get ripe.

Also at The Homesteading Carnival another post caught my eye, Home Life Weekly has a post on Types Of Mulch.  It is an interesting look at the different types of mulches available.

My favorite at the Make It From Scratch carnival was this delicious looking Sausage Spinach Pasta Toss.  These are making me HUNGRY.  Try making it with fresh garden spinach and garden tomatoes.  YUM!

I also had to take a peek at these Crocheted Baby Thongs.  I was imagining a baby in a thong diaper but these are really cute.

We also had an article in A Gardening Carnival.  You can learn how Home (Garden) Economics works with How Gardens Save You Money.

Raised Bed Gardening has an article on how to garden if you don’t have a yard.  If you live in an apartment or townhouse you might want to check out one of these two articles Going To Pot With Container Gardening and 12 Vegetables You Can Grow In A Pot.

The Money Hacks Carnival always has great tips for saving, investing and making money.  This week’s carnival was no different and here are my own favorites.

From I Need More Allowance:  A Teen’s Summer Guide To Getting More Money comes 23 Ways To Make Money.  I wish that more teens were as enterprising as this one is.

5 Personal Finance Lessons We Should All Relearn from the Present Financial Crisis is right on the money.  I wished I had learned them the first time around.

By gosh, I think that is all for the week.  I hope you enjoy browsing the carnivals and picking out your own favorites.

Just before he got here, we picked another 32 ears of corn plus a 2 1/2 gallons of lima beans.  Last night instead of watching tv, we all sat outside and shelled limas.  My grandson was entertained for hours trying to see who could shell them the fastest and whose bowl had the most.  Then there was the excitement of finding a really big one with FOUR lima beans in it instead of two or three.

First thing this morning, he was off to check the cucumber plants to see if there were any big cukes and he actually found one as well as a nice red tomato.  Then it was up to the barn to feed the animals and give everyone fresh water.  He took the little miniature horse for a walk around the barn and let him munch on some grass.

Then it was back to the house to shuck corn and start water boiling to par boil it for freezing.  A watched pot might not boil but he checked the water often enough that we were ready when it did.  While I cut corn off the cob, Hunter ate any of the remaining kernals and threw away the cobs.  He then got to put the bags into the freezer.

We also boiled the limas and froze 6 quarts of lima beans.  He had a blast counting how many spoonfuls it took to fill up a bag and how many bags we put into the freezer.  Of course, it was a little messier with a helper but he also helped sweep up the floor and wash the dishes.

Now it’s lunch time and then it will be time for a nap.  Mine, not his….

This afternoon we might take a walk and see if there are any late blackberries.  If we can find enough we can make a blackberry cobbler for dinner.  It is one of his favorite desserts especially if he gets to pick the berries himself.

After dinner it will be time to start again.  We have some tomatoes to pick and a few more green peppers to plant.  We might plant another row of green beans since we lost the first two rows to the bunnies.  Then it will be time to put the animals to bed and our little helper soon afterwards.

Canning

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to make Strawberry Jam posted at The Barber Bunch.

RC presents Create an Edible Container Garden This Spring posted at Think Your Way to Wealth.

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: Canning Class at Carriage Hill Metro Park posted at The Barber Bunch.

Cindy S presents 12 Vegetables You Can Grow in a Pot posted at Oh My Aching Debts, saying, “No Room for a garden? Of course, you have room! This list will give you vegetables you can grow in a pot.”

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to make Sauerkraut posted at The Barber Bunch.

Cindy S presents Seven Deadly Homemade Weedkillers Unmasked: Vinegar posted at Small Homestead, saying, “I have been trying each one of the seven deadly homemade weedkillers. Today I experimented with vinegar and you can see the results.”

Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Preserving Asparagus by Canning posted at Survival Cooking, Gardening and Emergency Preparedness Info, saying, “Asparagus is ready to harvest, but what can be done with it? Dehydrate it (http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-asparagus-by-dehydrating.html) or preserve it by canning (http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-asparagus-by-canning.html).”

Gardening

Yanic Arsenault presents Our garden –Year 2 : Eggshells, the wonder trash posted at Adventures into green.

Wren Caulfield presents Save Money on Food: Grow Your Own! posted at True Adventures in Money Hacking.

Meadowwood Garden presents Growing Tomatoes posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “Everything you need to know to grow the best-tasting tomatoes you have ever eaten!”

Gregory E. Rouse presents Raised Bed Gardening with a Tractor Tire posted at Raised-Bed-Gardening Blog, saying, “how to build a raised bed out of an old tractor tire”

Mary@SimplyForties presents Update on my Urban “Farm” posted at SimplyForties.

Jason presents How to Build a Square Foot Garden posted at The Frugal Dad.

Julian Pollock presents The History of Shutters – From Marble and Straw Mats to Metal and Poly-Wood Slats | TheHistoryOf.net posted at The History Of – Blog, saying, “It’s a double benefit when one discovers that polywood style materials, developed to be a cost saver – also turn out to help reduce one’s carbon footprint. More households are turning to door and window shutters for protection against our increasingly unpredictable weather. So now there are eco-options using forest-saving polymers as well as sustainable wood as regulated by the FSC.”

Kristen Welch presents We Are THAT Family: Green Acres Edition posted at We Are THAT Family.

Farm Animals

Belle presents How to Pasteurize Goat Milk posted at Homesteaderbelle’s Blog.

00FF00 presents Battery Hen Welfare Trust posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community discovers how to adopt an “ex-bat” and other ways of making changes to benefit the welfare of battery hens in an interview with Jane Howarth of the Battery Hen Welfare Trust.”

Sahara Reins presents Presentation is Important When Selling Free Range Eggs posted at Fowl Visions.

Belle presents Fried Fish, a LaMancha Dairy Goat, and Homemade Goat Milk Ice Cream posted at Homesteaderbelle’s Blog.

Recipes

kara thurmond presents Grilled Blue Cheese Portobello Burgers posted at An Hour In the Kitchen, saying, “Make your own buns, mayo, mustard and ketchup for your grilled Portobello Burgers!”

Marjorie Morgan presents The Woman’s Guide to Boating and Cooking posted at GO! Girls Outdoors, saying, “a review of a wonderful ‘boatkeeping’ manual (written in the style of a 60’s or 70’s housekeeping manual) that I found at a garage sale – entertaining, amusing and very different!”

Gregory E. Rouse presents Family Meals Under $5 – Spaghetti posted at Frugal-Living-Skills Blog, saying, “Weekly grocery circulars often read “feed a family of 4 for under $10!”. I’m sure most of you have laughed at this as I did. As a result, I began to wonder what does dinner really cost for my family of 8? So I set a challenge for myself and I figured if I kept it under $5, I was doing good”

Belle presents How to make Fried Zucchini – with pictures posted at Homesteaderbelle’s Blog.

Gardening

Sandy Wong presents Guidelines and Basic Tips of Drilling Drainage Hole on Garden Container | Gardening on Cloud 9 posted at Gardening on Cloud 9, saying, “We know that good drainage is the key to healthy plants, but the containers that we find most attractive are often the ones without drainage holes. But we can drill the drainage holes by ourselves, and it is much easier than what most of us would expect. All we need is an electric drill and steady hands. And here, let me show you how to drill holes on our containers.”

The Austerity Kitchen presents Mushrooms: The Poor Man’s Meat posted at The Austerity Kitchen.

Mother Hen presents Garden Update posted at Mother Hen.

Stan Wrobel presents Rhubarb « Cottage and Yard posted at Cottage and Yard, saying, “If your going to plant something why not make it a delicious perennial vegetable that you can eat over ice cream or pancakes.”

The Family presents Planting tomatoes posted at Once Upon a Family, saying, “Get your tomatoes off to a good start”

Rani presents Apple Dapple Cake posted at Indoor Garden Musings.

Brian presents Super Sturdy Trellis posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “Need support? The Super Sturdy Trellis is inexpensive, easy to make and a hurricane couldn’t knock it down! Perfect for pole beans, peas, melons, cucumbers etc. Visit us to learn how to make yours!”

Renee V. Rouse presents Family Meals for Under $5 May 1st posted at Frugal-Living-Skills Blog, saying, “…Weekly grocery circulars often read “feed a family of 4 for under $10!”. I’m sure most of you have laughed at this as I did. As a result, I began to wonder what does dinner really cost for my family of 8? I figured if I kept it under $5, I was doing good…”

00FF00 presents Wildlife in your Garden posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community presents nine top tips on managing as well as encouraging natural wildlife in your garden.”

Miscellaneous

Chris presents Dealing with unwelcome guests in your house (part 2) posted at Home I Own, saying, “The rest of my article about dealing with spiders”

Emma presents What is your child eating? posted at Baby-Log.

Sahara Reins presents Things to Consider When Buying Humming bird Feeders posted at Fowl Visions.

Sustainable living

Kristen Welch presents We Are THAT Family: Shades of Green posted at We Are THAT Family.

Flea presents Be A Survivor: …I Will CRUSH You… posted at Be A Survivor.

Heather Levin presents Natural Ant Control posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, “Don’t put chemicals down to get rid of summer ants. Try these natural home remedies instead!”

Preserving

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to Dry Tomatoes posted at The Barber Bunch.

Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Preserving Rhubarb from the Garden posted at Survival Cooking, Gardening and Emergency Preparedness Info, saying, “Rhubarb isn’t just for pies and preserves. Dehydrate it, then this winter, sprinkle it in your oatmeal! http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-rhubarb-from-garden.html”

The Smarter Wallet presents Family Budget For Frugal Living: Living Cheap Can Be Fun, Too! posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks!”

Recipes

00FF00 presents Top 10 Vegetarian Soups posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community presents ten scrumptious veggie soup recipes to take you through the year, from summer watercress to winter minestrone.”

The Austerity Kitchen presents Fried Elderberry Blossoms posted at The Austerity Kitchen.

Heather Levin presents Easy Frugal Bread Recipe posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, “This no-knead bread recipe is super easy and it’s made in a Dutch Oven. Lots of pictures for each step!”

Sahara Reins presents How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs posted at Fowl Visions.

jenafer presents How To: Making Mozzarella Cheese posted at Cage Free Monkeys.

Recycling

Yanic Arsenault presents Rethinking recycling – When you move, donate goods and share resources! posted at Adventures into green.

Brian presents When Good Frugality Goes Bad posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “The story of a man, a truck, a dog, some glass, and good intentions…”

MomToCherubs presents It’s Berry Pickin’ Time posted at Simply Beck’s Bounty.

2 Pennies Earned presents Frugal Tips for the Home Cook posted at Two Pennies Earned, saying, “I’d like to share some tips I’ve been using lately as I’m cooking for myself more, eating out less, and trying hard to not throw anything away.”

Sara presents Polliwogs and Doodles, unschooling, hands on learning, natural parenting, homeschooling, nutrition, gardening, baking, frugal living, foraging posted at Polliwogs and Doodles, saying, “Easy tutorial for making diapers out of recycled clothing!”

presents Cat Urine Smell Remover Recipe posted at Home Life Weekly, saying, “It can be difficult to remove cat urine smell from furnishings as the cat urine odor tends to linger, well instead of buying expensive odour removers, this recipe can be used to remove the odor of other pets as well.”

Sustainable Living

Joshua presents Tips for Learning during Summertime posted at Family and Parenting, saying, “Even though it is summertime, it is a good idea to keep your child’s mind active.”

Clea Danaan presents Happiness is Living the Farm Life in the Suburbs posted at Clea Danaan’s Intuitive Gardening Blog.

Pinyo presents Save Money and Benefit with Homemade Products posted at Moolanomy, saying, “Learn how to make your own homemade products is fun and good for you and the environment. Here are some examples to help you get started today.”

Nancy Miller presents Top 100 Blogs for DIY Home Improvement posted at Construction Management Degrees.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homesteading using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of homesteading, blog carnival.

Plowing the field

When I was a child, my mother decided that we were going to homestead.  We lived in the country so it was an easy shift to put more focus on growing your own food.  We gardened and we raised animals for food.  We had magazines on goats, chickens, making your own cheese, shearing your own sheep and plucking chickens.    It was a trend of the times and although we supplemented our food, we in no way came close to being totally self sufficient.

Times have changed, the homesteading trend has come and gone and come again but does homesteading still mean the same thing?  The tendency to get back to basics seems to be tied to times of economic hardship.  However, I think that in the twenty first century homesteading has changed.   Today there are more people living in the suburbs and there are fewer farms so there is less opportunity to move out to the country and become self sufficient.   Rather than making homesteading less popular, it has made it more creative.

It seems that homesteading is more a state of mind than a vocation.  To homestead is to become more self sufficient.  It is to grow and make what you can and to re use what is available.   It is part frugality and part returning to the basics.  It isn’t a product of rural living, it is bringing a taste of rural living to wherever you live.

Basics of Homesteading

Grow Your Own -  More and more people are growing their own food.  Even apartment dwellers have discovered container gardening and community gardens.  Square foot gardening has grown more popular in the suburbs and produces a surprising amount of food.

Pick Your Own - Farms and orchards across the country, allow you to go out and pick your own fruits and vegetables at a considerable discount.   Modern day homesteaders can add variety at a pick your own farm without the hassle of having the space and time to grow them.

Make it from Scratch – Many are rediscovering that meals made from scratch not only taste better but are healthier.  With so many news stories about bacteria contaminating our food, people are making more from scratch just to be able to control the raw ingredients.   Things made from scratch usually have fewer preservatives and more nutrition.  For those on special diets, you can control the amount of sugar, salt and cholesterol.

When you think of making things from scratch, you generally think of food but you can make most anything from scratch.  Clothing, furniture, household decor  items can all be made from scratch and usually they are better quality and less expensive.

Canning & Preserving – Whether you grow your own, pick your own or just buy it fresh, there are multiple options for canning and preserving food.  There are many more options today than in the past.  Freezing fresh fruit and vegetables can be as simple as washing, blanching and putting it into a freezer bag.  There are vacuum packing gadgets that will keep it fresh longer.  There are tons of websites on canning, pickling, freezing and preserving food.

Re-use & Recycle – One of the most basic concepts of self sufficiency is to use and reuse everything.  In the old days, feed and flour bags were often remade into clothing, dish towels, linens, etc.  Today’s plastic bags are not good for making into clothes but they can be re-used as trash bags, totes and other creative ideas.  Reusable cloth shopping bags are available at almost every grocery store.  You can recycle or reuse just about everything if you are creative enough. Toilet paper & paper towel rolls can be used as seed starters.  Plastic containers can be reused as freezer containers.  Old clothes can be made into quilts that are not only useful but also can preserve those memories.  Even pantyhose can be reused in many different ways.  My latest pair are currently being used to sprinkle sevin dust on the garden.

Frugality – While to many being frugal is just being cheap but to those of us who make it a lifestyle, it means living well on less.  It means saving where we can so we have more to spend where we want.  It does not mean buying the cheapest option of anything but finding a balance between cost and quality.  Frugality has been a part of every homestead as very little is wasted or thrown away.

Self Sufficiency – I think that homesteading is all about becoming more self sufficient and spending less of our hard earned dollars on things that we can do, grow or make ourselves.  Self sufficiency is about using what we have available to the best advantage.  For example, we live on a small farm and a good portion of our farm is wooded.  We use the wood to heat our water and our home.  We have a good amount of sun so we also use solar energy to heat water for the barn.   Becoming more self sufficient can be as small as mowing your own grass or washing your own car.  It can be as simple as catching rainwater to water your garden or your lawn.

Homesteading is not necessarily moving to the country and giving up on the grocery store.  We can simplify our lives in many ways and save money along the way.  I personally think that our life is better, richer and more satisfying than it was when I just went out and bought whatever we needed.  I live now on an income that most would think impossible but I don’t think that we are poor.

Bread and butter pickles

Our cucumber plants have been going wild.  We are getting four or five cucumbers per day so I decided to take advantage of the surplus to make Bread and Butter Pickles.  I found the recipe over at Get Rich Slowly and followed it pretty closely.  They have great pictures of the process.

Here is my version:

Bread and Butter Pickles

• 3 1/2 lbs of cucumbers – sliced
• 1/4 cup pickling salt
• 2 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 2 Tb Pickling spice
• 5 grape leaves

I sliced the pickles and onions and layered them in a bowl.  Make sure that you discard the blossom end of the cucumber as this will make your pickles soft.  I sprinkled each layer lightly with pickling salt.  Then I placed a plate on top of them with a weight on top of it to press it down.  I let this set for a couple hours while I got every thing else ready. (Part of my preparations included sterilizing the jars and cleaning the canner)

Put the water in your canner and begin to heat.  It takes a long time to bring this much water to a boil.  I rinsed and drained the cucumber slices.  I put the sugar, water, vinegar and spices into a stainless steel pot and brought them to a boil. Once the solution was boiling, I added the cucumber and onion slices, making sure that they were covered with liquid.  I let the liquid return to a boil and took them off the heat after 90 seconds.   At this point, put the jar lids in a small pan of water and bring to a boil.

At this point, I added a washed grape leaf to each jar.  This also helps to keep your pickles from becoming soft.  Then I spooned the cucumber slices into each jar.  Once I filled the jars, I ladled in the liquid to cover the pickle slices.  This is a hot process and you need to use something to handle the jars.

Once the jars are filled, take a clean damp paper towel and wipe the jar clean.  Take the lids out of the pan and place on jars.  Screw rings down.  Place jars on rack in boiling water in canner.  Bring water back to a boil and let it cook 10 minutes of pint jars and 20 minutes for quart jars.  Take the jars out and set aside to cool.  Space them out so that they do not touch each other.  Leave them for 24 hours.

The tops should have a dimple in the center once they have cooled.  You will hear them popping as the jars cool.  If any do not have a dimple, then they did not seal.  Put a new lid on the jar and process in hot water bath again.  Or you can put them in the refrigerator and eat them.

I had a half jar extra when I was finished canning.  R and I finished off almost the whole jar for dinner.  They were delicious!