My Organic Pantry - STOCKED!

OK, I might not have a diversified portfolio, at least not in the eyes of Wall Street.
I do, however, have a long list of stocks that I've built up over the course of the late summer/early fall.  I'm talking about my food stores.
I'm not done with the canning and preserving yet, but I figured I might as well start the list, and add to it as I count & continue to process.

Canning List 2009
Bread and Butter Pickles - 12 Quarts
Garlicky Dill Pickles - 25 Pints
Spicy Pickles - 12 Pints
Rasta Squash Pickles - 24 Pints
Mixed Vegetable Pickles - 8 Quarts
Pickled Cauliflower - 5 Quarts
Pickled Beets - 20 Pints
Zucchini-Apple Relish - 12 Quarts
Sweet Pickle Relish - 14 Half Pints
Tomato Sauce - 12 Quarts
Tomato Puree -  10 Pints
Tomato Juice (v8) - 5 Quarts
Salsa Verde - 6 Pints
Caliente Enchilada Sauce - 6 Pints
Zucchini Corn Salsa - 10 Half Pints
Chopped Cherry Jam - 5 Half Pints
Cherry-Rhubarb Jam - 5 Pints
Raspberry Jam - 10 Half Pints
Raspberry Syrup - 12 Half Pints
Raspberry-Lavender Jam - 8 Half Pints
Peach Preserves -
Blueberry Cherry Preserves
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Strawberry Peach Jam
CherryCider Rhubarb Jelly
Apple Butter with Mulling Spice
Apple Butter with Cinnamon
Apple Sauce
Pear Sauce
Pear Plum Sauce
Vegetable Stock
Yellow Beans - 6 Quarts
Green Beans - 6 Quarts

Tea Time with Ginseng

Tonight I am sipping on a hot cuppa Rooibos Earl Grey Tea with a Ginseng /Honey stick swirl.

This evening's ROOIBOS is a fair trade organic variety that I purchased from Starwest Botanicals .  It is tasty, and hard to mess up.  Rooibos has a very low volume of tannins, which are what makes tea bitter after brewing too long or getting too hot.  So, you can leave your leaves in as long as you want, and it doesn't ruin the taste (at least from my experience!).  So, I'll fill an entire press pot of the brew and cup by cup drink the entire thing.  This helps me fill a huge craving I have for hot beverages, as well as avoid brewing a second pot of coffee for the day which I often ponder right around mid-afternoon.   The ginseng in my cup is from ManRoot , a producer of 100% pure wisconsin ginseng, extracted with organic vodka.  Many people think ginseng is just for men and their sex drive.  It's good for more than that!

A recent pilot study at the Mayo Clinic showed positive results for cancer patients who used Wisconsin Ginseng to reduce cancer related fatigue. Patients taking large doses of Wisconsin Ginseng showed improvements in overall energy levels, reported higher vitality levels and less interference with activity due to fatigue. They also reported an improvement in overall mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being.

There are two real species of ginseng on the market today, Panax (Korean or Chinese) and Panax Quinquefolius (Wisconsin).  Since ginseng has been used for thousands of years in China it is easiest to explain the differences in ginseng by using traditional Chinese herbal philosophy.
Wisconsin ginseng is considered a "cooling" type herb and Korean or Chinese ginseng are considered "heating" type herbs.  As a cooling herb Wisconsin ginseng is used as a preventitive medicine.  Here in the U.S. Wisconsin ginseng is considered an adaptogen.  As an adaptogen Wisconsin ginseng acts to normalize body functions and strengthen the immune system and other systems in the body.  Over a period of time it builds up energy and maintains the body at a higher level acting to reduce stress and fatigue.


As my energy wanes, and my 6 month old is busy making crazy noises, looking around the room for what else she can grab and put in her mouth, I keep one eye on her, one hand on the keyboard and the other on my hot cup.  It's cold and rainy outside and it's been a long day of pickling, chopping, canning, and pressurizing.
Today I canned 5 quarts of green and yellow beans, 4 quarts of mixed pickled veggies (cukes, carrots, red peppers, onions), and 2 half gallon jars of veggie stock (which simmered on the stove all day).  I have sweet pickle relish all ready to go for tomorrow.  The veggies for that recipe are being iced down and salted overnight in the refrigerator.  I also have some "Old South Lime Pickles" being limed and iced overnight in the cold garage.  Tomorrow is going to be another busy day.  An end to the season's harvest is barely in sight.  I'm halfway through my to-do list with squirrel-like anticipation of the winter to come.  It's not even mid-October yet, and the temps are hovering at freezing.  I see no Indian Summer in the near future.  With my eye on the prize, a new pressure canner at hand, and a seemingly interested and entertained 6 month old at arms length, I continue channeling the grandmother/manroot energy and do my best at being matriotic.  Organic and Chemical free preservation is my new best friend.

If Armegeddon Comes At Least We'll Have Pickles

Here's an article on sexy sustainability.
Canning Get's It's Sexy Back (click for linked article)

And a picture of some devilishly good Apple Butter that I made and canned the other day.  I'm working on a list of all that I've "put up" this season.  I don't know if it's me, or where I'm living, but it seems everyone is doing it this year.  And as long as we're all doing it safely, it seems like the easiest way to cut the winter costs, continue on our hig vibration locally grown diets, and just, well, BE COOL.

let's salsa to get things going!

Tonight I am canning a zucchini corn salsa with some habaneros I picked up at the farmer's market.  It is going to be hot enough to help me combat the sub zero temperatures that will be arriving shortly.  Texas girls like it HOT!
I made 3x as much as the recipe, as I'm still trying to work through a bushel of yellow squash, using up the last of it in this salsa.

This recipe is adapted from the book Preserving The Harvest by Carol Costenbader.

3 medium yellow squash washed, diced
1.5 tsp canning salt
2 ears yellow corn, husked, silks removed
4 T olive oil
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
2 habanero peppers, seeded and minced**
1/4 cup chopped red onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 T cilantro (optional)

1. Toss the squash with the salt and "sweat" it for 10 minutes in a colander.
2. Coat the corn with 2 tsp of the oil and roast on a cookie sheet for 30 min. @ 400F.
Cool.  Cut off kernels.
3. Combine all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil for 3 minutes.
4. Ladle into hot, clean jars.  Cap and seal.

Yield: about 2 pints

**Be very careful when handling hot peppers, since their heat and oils can cause skin irritation and burning.  Be conscious of what you are doing during this preparation and after.  Use gloves.  They aren't a crutch.  Capsicum does not mix with water, nor does it just get washed away since it is a volatile oil in the pepper that causes the heat, you must wash hands with soapy water or rinse with milk if necessary.
When you wash or reconstitute dried chiles, use cold water, as hot water will create strong fumes that may irritate your eyes and nose.