Under Pressure

This week has been an adventure in pressure. Pressure Canners, to be specific.

As I develop my domestic side, I have found I actually kinda like canning all my homegrown produce. It's fun, and I feel productive. Even better, I get to show off later! 

The really cool thing about being close to not only my family, but Sweetie's family too, is that I was gifted a (now) fourth generation pressure canner, complete with the original manual containing many handwritten recipes stapled and tucked inside. It is so old there is no model number on the canner, only "Maid of Honor" and "Our Best Quality". The manual doesn't even have a print date. I was able to find advertisments for the manuals online, but virtually no information about the canner itseslf.

Today, I hulked the canner and all the associated implements to the OSU Extension office to find out if it was safe to use. The short answer is, no. The guage is miles off the mark, and the emergency valve is incomplete. After discussing what it would take to repair it, I was told I would be better off to just get a newer canner. :( Sweetie doesn't know his Mom gave "us" a small pet project to get it running again!

By some stroke of luck, I had arranged to visit Grandma this morning, and she mentioned she would like to have her canner's rubber gasket checked. Turns out, her gasket is fine, but her guage is also off. It is safe to use, and we got instructions on what the guage will read at 5, 10 and 15lbs but it was recommended that she replace the guage.

The Master Food Preserver at the Hillsboro office was fantastic. She was in awe of my ancient canner, and really helped Grandma make sure she was doing things safely, without damaging her final product. Turns out they even knew some of the same people from way back when, and a mountain range away.

After lugging both canners through Hillsboro (really only a few blocks, but they're big and heavy and it was 90 degrees out!), we load up and drive home. At that point, Grandma had already decided that she has no interest in canning alone any more, I am going to take her canner off her hands. Suprise! 

Inheriting not one, but two pressure canners in one week... I am proud that our families have entrusted these sorts of items to us. While they are bulky, and I don't know what I'm going do with the true antique, I am honored to have them both.

Many women now don't have a way to learn canning, even though they may have an interest. In my mind, there is nothing stopping anyone from growing their own food and preserving it. I have tasted the difference between tomato sauce in a can at the grocery store, and tomato sauce canned at home with homegrown produce. No comparison! The cool thing is, absolutely anyone can do it if they're willing to sacrifice a bit of outdoor space, a window, or even install grow lights in a back bedroom.

Black Forest Cupcakes

I really shouldn't be taking the time, now, but I am so stinking proud I had to stop and share!

Sweetie and I bought cherries last weekend. I think he likes cherries, but every time we buy them I eat them all!  It didn't help this time that he left to go to work on Monday. It's now Thursday, and he is getting the last few cherries inside cupcakes. Black forest cupcakes.

Awww, yeah! 
Here's the skinny (well, not this time)...

I almost always use a Hungry Girl recipe when doing cupcakes. Rather than eggs and oil added to a box mix, you add either canned pumpkin, applesauce, or 12oz of diet soda. It's supposed to reduce the calories, and normally it does. For these, I didn't care; I went with a full-sugar Cherry Coke, and a milk chocolate cake mix. Mmmm.
Inside each cupcake is a bit of cherry that had been tossed in cocoa powder. For the little ones, I used only a half cherry, and the big ones got three halves.

*Note, when using a HG cake recipe, I have discovered that they almost always come out much more dense than they would if you followed the box. Mini brownies are good, but not what I'm aiming for, usually. This time, I used a lighter mix (avoiding the triple chocolate chunk, fudgy cakes), and added a half teaspoon of baking soda. If I was using anything less acidic than soda, I would probably use baking powder instead to get the right chemistry in there.

The icing was the hard part. I don't like massive quantities of frosting on my cupcakes. I put a lot of effort into flavoring the cake part, and I don't want it smothered! So, I went toward a donut type, powdered sugar icing and planned to just dip the tops. Even though the recipe I started with had measurements, the reviews were mixed and I knew I was going to change it, so I didn't measure anything. Probably should have because it was amazing.

Started with a small (tea?)spoonful of cocoa, sifted with maybe 3/4 cup of powdered sugar. Added about four drops of cherry vodka with the aim of helping it dry out later. Then, about a tablespoon of chocolate syrup. Thank goodness for my stand mixer, or I would have given up before it was even mixed. It did, eventually, mix into a sweet paste. Probably could have molded things with it. I considered doing a mounded, spreadable frosting but the flavor was flat. I knew I needed to go further.

Many of the reviews for the original recipe said the powdered sugar/milk mix needed the addition of butter for flavor and sheen. Sheen is good. Flavor is necessary. Mine wasn't warm, but the friction of the mixer would get it going well enough to taste. I'm going to say, it was about a 1/8" slice off the end of a stick. Not much. Then, I added virtually equal parts of the cocoa, powdered sugar, and chocolate syrup because if I was going to dip these guys, I needed more volume to work with. The cherry flavor was non-existant, so I added about 1/4 teaspoon the second time. Mix, taste... still too thick, no cherry flavor, etc. Then it hit me; I still have the remaining bit from my bottle of soda. Over two doses, I added maybe two tablespoons of the Cherry Coke. Perfection. While testing the consistency, I noticed that it drizzled beautifully off the end of the whisk, so I drizzled instead of dipping. I am glad I did. It's pretty, and reduced the amount of icing. I wish I had left it just a smidge thicker, so the icing wouldn't melt into the top of the cupcake so much, but those nuances should be left to a person who measures. They taste good, and that's what matters.

Every little thing, all the way through, reinforces the chocolate cherry flavor. And about the time you start to think it might be too sweet, you hit the actual cherry and get that bit of sour. Yummy!

The only thing left is to get them packaged up and delivered to Sweetie at work in Eugene.

Overwhelmed

I was told, "If you plant that many (insert veggie plant), you're going to get overwhelmed with them."

I ignored them; and they were right.

If were trying to eat the young zucchini fresh, we'd be sick. When I was a kid, Mom planted 15 zucchini plants and I still tease her about making zucchini pizza (it was in the crust, it was a topping, I am pretty sure it was in the sauce). Now, I have exactly 15 zucchini plants-darn them for all germinating-but no zucchini pizza. Instead, our's is getting dehydrated and will get added to soups and such in the winter. In the interest of being uber-conservative, the juice I squeezed out before setting the shreds in the dehydrator was poured into ice cube molds and saved for the dog. Sure gave him a boost in the 100 degree temps we had last weekend. He was reluctant to drink but would eat those frozen juice pops right away! Was nice to know that I could get both water and vitamins in him any time I felt he needed it, without excessive calories.

Pickling cucumbers. I never dreamed that four little plants would get so huge. I had to make an impromptu support so they didn't smother the green beans. I also  had no idea the cucumbers would grow so darn fast... Like 1" long yesterday, and barely recognizeable as produce and probably 4" long tomorrow. And so, so many!! I had to go buy quart jars because I could only fit three cucumbers in a pint, and that's just wasteful. As it is, I am going to probably have to quarter or chip some of the larger ones so I can get more than three in a quart jar! Kinda glad Mom got confused and gave me the recipe for processed pickles rather than fridge pickles. They would never all fit in the fridge!

Green beans also got a dose of the dills. I would loved to have eaten more of them fresh. Even though we eat a pound at a time each, there were a LOT of beans all ready at once. They're also not the best for, "I think I'll go pick green beans for dinner tonight." After picking, washing, trimming, snapping, and drying, I don't want to look at them anymore, nevermind eat them. Most of that is my fault. I didn't do the proper research.

In square foot gardening, which I attempted to emulate, you are supposed to plant nine bean plants per square foot. You are also supposed to reseed every couple of weeks to spread out the harvest. I took that to mean, plant four seeds now, and go back and plant five seeds later. Nope. If I had done the research, I would have learned that you plant all nine seeds at once, and leave the remainder of your bed empty, to be seeded later.

Even more important, is to put in supports as you put in the seeds, no matter what you're planting. Nothing is more difficult than trying to lift three foot tall bean, pea, cucumber, tomato, etc plants onto supports after they have fallen over. They will never recover. Also, the traditional support methods-strings for peas, and pole beans, cages for tomatoes and bush beans-really are the best. Strings do not work well for tomatoes, nor for bush beans. I suppose cages would have worked well enough for the peas, but been even more difficult to pick in the center.

I am regretting not supporting the squashes at all. The zucchini is fine. No need for support. The winter squash, however, is taking over the planet. Without separating the leaves, I don't actually know where the delineation is between the two beds of butternut; it's just one 10+ foot wide mass. Every other day or so, I have to go move a warty pumpkin vine to keep from smothering the jalapenos. Thank goodness the canteloupe vines/leaves are so petite or I wouln't have anywhere to step in the whole front half of the garden. The jack-o-lanterns are just getting started, but if they take after the warty's they're likely going to need extra room. Hopefully the melons or the zukes will be finished and I can take them out to let the jacks spread.

If I remember, I'll share the plan for a massively improved bed system. Minimal water waste, weeds, and work with maximum production, and rotation. Plus, I will be able to make it "pretty" for mid-winter when there will be little else to look at.

Houseguest!

True to the name, we have our very own transplant for the week!

Bell is a beautiful lab mix. She has been an addition that comes with mixed emotions!  On the one hand, she is an amazing dog. On the other, Porter hates her. When she was in my dog classes, she seemed so willing to do what her family and I instructed that I thought she would pretty much submit to whatever torture Porter wanted to dish out. Nope!!  I expected a few scuffles as they worked out their relationship. Instead, it's a constant battle to keep them from staring each other down, and when it has escalated, Bell lets Porter know SHE makes the rules!

The great thing is that their relationship has been a fantastic motivator for me to get more exercise!  Not only does Bell not allow me to use the snooze button ("You're awake? Let's play!!! No, don't lay back down. Here, let me wash your face with my beard."), but I am pretty sure that if they didn't get a morning walk, one or the other would need to see a vet when I got home from work. The down side is that there is absolutely no way Porter can keep up with Bell. She has him beat in both speed and stamina. Luckily, we have dog parks!

I am pretty sure Bell hadn't ever been to an off-leash park, because she was very timid the first half hour and didn't want anyone to sniff her. She did, however, run interference for Mr. Leave-me-alone, which was amazing to see after only 24 hours together. Fortunetly, she opened up a little and sniffed butt quite a bit, but this pic was about the farthest she got from me in two hours.

Our second attempt had a much better result. Not sure if it was the previous experience or the fact that we tried a different park. Bell left my side to run with the pack, and even Porter found a not-so-secret admirer. Prior to having Bell in the house, Porter would have outright attacked any dog who mounted him, nevermind one that pestered him non-stop. Don't know if it was good or bad that he just stood and took it, but very nice to not have him attacking a 15lb delicate little Italian Greyhound!

In other news...
Today is pickle day. I have about three pounds of green beans that need dealt with, and cucumbers are just starting to get big enough to put them in jars. If I don't get started I am gonna lose some produce. Will keep you updated on the results


***Update: Turns out Bell was a much better educator than I first thought. I remember the two dogs having a scuffle, about the third day she was here, and Porter took on a very pathetic bark/scream as I separate them. After that, he'd yell at her, but wouldn't run up and try to bite her chest and neck. Turns out she just nicked him with her teeth (probably as I separated them). A week later, a scab came off in my fingers, leaving a quarter inch scar. Good job, Girlie! Too bad he hasn't been able to transfer the lesson to other large black females. Still hates Midnight with a passion.