Follow my adventures in finding out how my local CSA produce was grown, growing my own produce, and embracing my inner “homemaker goddess” in the Good Eats series.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know how excited I was when I found out Hen House would be offering Bader Peaches for $.68/lb this week. I’ve “went off” about these peaches before, but they are truly like candy with a pit. So even though I have never canned fruit before – the chance of having these peaches in February was worth giving it a shot.

But, before we get too far…let’s start with last week’s CSA.

As you can see from the artful picture (I’ve been messing with my new Nikon camera), I received about 8 lbs of peaches, Apple Butter, Good Natured Family Farms Milk and All-Beef Hot Dogs and a watermelon.

Originally, I wanted to can those peaches because they tasted so amazing. Which was good in theory, but not good in self-control. By the time we got around to canning, there were only seven left. Again, why I was so happy they were on sale this week.

So after a quick run to Hen House yesterday, I was the proud owner of another 10 lbs. of peaches.

Canning Peaches

Here are the necessities for canning peaches – peaches, sugar, canning jars and lids, and an ascorbic-acid (darkening reducer). You can either buy an ascorbic-acid (Fruit Fresh) or you can make your own with either lemon juice or crushed vitamin C and water.

I started taking amazing photos of my canning process, but canning is fast paced work and I kept forgetting to take pictures of each step. So, there isn’t going to be a step-by-step of my trials of canning fruit.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you hanging. This canning peaches tutorial is TONS better than one I could put together. So if you are interested in canning your own peaches this week – print this off as a reference.

As a novice fruit-canner, there are a couple of steps I wished would have been better outlined. So here is my two-cents.

• Give yourself three hours to can peaches. It is five-step process and shouldn’t be started at 8:00 at night. Unfortunately, once you start, you have to finish.

• Pick firm peaches that have minimal amounts of bruising.

• Don’t be afraid to put peaches back into boiling water if the skins don’t come off easy. It is better to give them a little more time than to mutilate them while getting the skins off.

• Rule of thumb is 3 lbs. of peaches per quart jar. This can vary greatly, so it is better to have more canning jars sterilized than less.

• The best time to can peaches is before a meal. As you are cutting them into slices, you will have “pieces” that aren’t fit for canning, but are fit for eating. Since you don’t want to be wasteful, you’ll end up eating quite a few and may end up with a tummy ache. Not that I’m speaking from experience.

Final Product

Look at it. It reminds me of my grandmother’s peaches. And while there aren’t twenty-five jars of peaches, there are enough to bring a little sunshine in my life on a cold and gray Kansas February day. And that will be when the work was TOTALLY worth it.

What about you? Have you ever canned peaches? Let me know in the comments.

Follow my adventures in finding out how my local CSA produce was grown, growing my own produce, and embracing my inner “homemaker goddess” in the Good Eats series.

My favorite produce has arrived – Sweet Corn.

Maybe it is because I’m from the best state in the Union – Nebraska – and we produce a ton of it. Or maybe it is because my college football team is know as the Cornhuskers. Or maybe it is because I love carbohydrates…but I love sweet corn.

And not the crummy stuff that you find at Walmart. I’m talking about back-of-a-farmer’s truck, picked-this-morning, each-kernel-explodes, never-waxy-yummy-carbohydrate sweet corn. (Excuse me while I wipe the drool…)

This week my Hen House CSA featured my second favorite farm (Bader’s Peaches being #1) – Andy’s Candy Corn from Columbus, NE. Hubs and I did a little trading and ended up with 60 ears of heaven on a cob. We also were blessed with Cheddar & Dill Cheese and Sausage from Good Nature Family Farms, Farm to Market Bread, and acorn squash from Twin County Family Farms – but really, it was about the corn.

I remember having frozen sweet corn as a girl. My grandmother – also known as best Farm Cook Ever – used to grown corn in her garden and freeze it every summer. She’d always pull it out when I came to stay with her or for family dinners at Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter. That corn with a dollop of butter and a pinch of  salt and pepper was almost better than dessert. Almost.

I know this goes without saying, but frozen sweet corn is LIGHTYEARS better than any store frozen or canned corn. There is no comparison, so I’m not going to even try. The good news is that corn is plentiful and not terribly expensive right now and it is incredibly easy to freeze – so embrace your inner home-econ goddess and freeze some – so you can enjoy it year-round.

Freezin’ Corn

Ingredients

You’ll need 5-6 ears per quart freezer bag, so I would have at least 40 ears of corn. You will also need a pyrex dish for storage, a good knife, and a large stockpot (not pictured).

Step #1: Boil and Cut Corn

Shuck and wash corn. Fill large stock pot half-way with water and bring to a boil. Put several ears of corn into stockpot and boil for approximately three minutes. Corn will start to turn a more deep yellow color when it is ready, but don’t boil too long. Remove corn and place on platter to cool slightly. When cool to the touch, take knife and start slicing corn off the husk. Be careful not to go too deep – you just want the kernels, not the husk.

Step #2: Getting the Milk from the Corn

This is a keep or leave step. Hubs loves the corn-milky-mush (I’m sure that is a technical term) that this step makes. And doing this step also increases your yields.

However, if you are looking for more pristine corn kernels, then move on to Step #3. The trick to getting the corn-milky-mush is to flip your knife over and use the dull edge to “scape” all the leftover bits from the husk. It also helps intensify the flavor – since you are adding a concentrated “corn liquid” to your cut corn.

Step #3: Put the Corn Into Freezer Bags

After you get between four to six ears done (depending on their size), place the kernels – and milk – into quart-size freezer bags. Push all excess air out of bag and label the bags with the date. Place them in your freezer, where they will be good for up to one year.

And just for the record – freezing sweet corn takes virtually no time. Hubs and I worked together and were able to do nine bags of sweet corn in about a half hour. Come this Thanksgiving – I’ll be more than happy I took those 30 minutes to have a side dish that could almost be labeled as dessert.

What about you? What do you like to do with sweet corn? Let me know in the comments.

Follow my adventures in finding out how my local CSA produce was grown, growing my own produce, and embracing my inner “homemaker goddess” in the Good Eats series.

Last week my CSA consisted of Good Natured Family Farms Skim Milk and Ground Bison (yum), Seedless Red Raspberry Jelly, Heirloom Tomatoes, Green Beans, Red Potatoes and Cucumbers. The red potatoes and tomatoes were used this weekend for some amazing potato salad and pico. Everything else, except the green beans were either frozen, put into my stockpile, or used immediately.

Since I had fresh green beans, I decided we would blanch and freeze them. I’ve said before that canning and freezing fruits and vegetables is a lost art. And this kills me, especially since freezing is so easy. So I thought I would run you through a little tutorial of blanching and freezing beans.

BTW –  I had always heard my grandparents use the phrase “putting up beans” and never knew what they meant. I didn’t know if was “putting-up” with each other while they did it or “putting-up” them in the freezer. But after “putting up beans” myself, I’ve decided it is “putting-up” with cutting the little tails off the beans.

Blanching Beans: Time Needed 20 – 30 minutes

Step #1: Here is a  lovely pound of green beans from my Hen House CSA. You can find green beans at most Farmers Markets through end of July. The key to having great tasting beans when you blanch and freeze them is to do it when they are fresh. Try to find ones that  ”snap” when you break them in two. Give them a good wash and move on to Step #2.

Step #2. Cut off the “ends” of the beans or “snap” them into desired size. I like my knives – so we cut them into about one inch lengths. This part is the most time consuming and tedious (in my opinion). BTW – check out my new manicure?

Step #3: Fill a pot with water, place on the stove on high, and wait for it to boil.

Step #4: Once water is boiling, place beans in boiling water for about three minutes. You want to see the beans turn a bright green color.

Step #5: Once the beans turn bright green, take them off the burner, drain boiling water and place beans in an ice bath in a big mixing bowl. (Sounds luxurious doesn’t it?) The ice bath should be able to cover the beans and still have enough room for a little breathing room. Let them sit in the ice bath until they are room temperature or cool to the touch.

Step #6: Drain the beans, again. Give them a good shake to get rid of excess water and place in a freezer ziploc bag. Write the date on the bag and transfer to the freezer.

You are done! This is a great way to have fresh tasting beans during the fall and winter – or if you can’t resist use this German Style Green Bean Recipe to make a divine side dish that goes quite well with a good steak.