Pressure canning beans

Last Wednesday I posted a picture of some beans that I had just canned.  Leigh had requested that I post how I did them.  They are so easy it's ridiculous, so here you go.  I use this method for all my dried beans because I can never remember to have them ready when I need them.  It also works for all those beans that have been in your pantry for longer than you want to admit, and are hard as little rocks.  I have way too many of them.

 You start by rinsing and sorting your beans the way you would for any cooking.  Next add 1 slightly rounded 1/2 cup of beans to each pint jar.  Fill with warm (not hot) water and let them sit overnight.

 Next you take a picture of your six year old because she's way too cute and wants to be in the post.

In the morning simmer your lids, start your pressure canner heating and boil a few quarts of water.   Next, drain the soaking water from the beans.  You can rinse them more if you're worried about the cleanliness of your beans.  This is also the point where you can add any seasonings that you think might taste good.  These are pintos and I added 1/4 t granulated garlic and a few turns of black pepper.  Fill the jars with boiling water, wipe and cap.  Then pressure can at 11lbs pressure for 60 minutes.  If you want to do quarts, you would do 1 cup of beans and cook for 75 minutes.

Voila!  You have convenience food.  Since it's freezing out here, I tend to do this in the winter.  All of my beans are depleted, so next on the agenda are red kidney beans.  In my pantry I keep jars of red kidney, white, pinto, black and garbanzo (chick peas) beans.

I'll be linking this post to Simple Lives Thursday.

Edit:  This post has gotten quite popular on Pinterest.  To answer a few questions.
1.  I have used this same formula for many kinds of beans.  Garbanzos, black beans, kidney and pinto beans to name a few.
2.  Feel free to add meats and things if you wish.  This is a processing time that will safely process meat and just about anything else you wish to add.

Thanks for your interest!

The first night of Hannukah

Last night was the first night of Hannukah.  Since Hubby is Jewish and I'm a Christian, we celebrate a lot of holidays.  The kids love it and really enjoy the fact that they get to celebrate two religions.  This year our Hannukah was even better because the meal came in large part from our own garden. 

We had latkes made from potatoes that I grew and eggs from our chickens.  The applesauce was made from apples we picked at the farm down the road from us.  I made the brisket from the half cow we got this summer from a local farm and it was simmered with carrots and onions from our garden.  I had even made beef stock from the bones when we got the cow this summer and canned it up.  The best part was that it was delicious.  There are even leftovers for tonight. 

This post is part of the Dark Days Challenge at the (not so) Urban Hennery and Simple Lives Thursday. 

Quahogs for the winter

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday.  Hop on over and check out who else is living simply.

If you're from New England, you know what quahogs are, if not.  For those of you from somewhere else, you probably call them clams.  We call the little ones clams, but the big ones are quahogs.   (pronounced Ko-hogs) 

I got these from my sister in law.  This picture is of only a few of the many giant quahogs that she gave me.  She and her family have a blast out clamming.  They gave me what must have been about 30 pounds.  Unfortunately, that doesn't end up as much when all is said and done.  Since I don't have the time or the inclination to do anything with them these days, I cooked and froze them.  Quahogs are usually either stuffed with a spicy sausage stuffing, or made into clam chowder.  I decided on the latter.

It was really quite easy.  I just brought a pan of water to boil.  Then put a large roasting pan in a 400 degree oven and poured the water in.  The quahogs were put in, in batches until they opened and were removed.  I then just chopped the meat.  The clam broth is essential in a good chowder, so that was saved as well.  Finally, the clam shells were thrown out back to eventually be crushed and added to the garden to add calcium to the soil.  Nothing gets wasted here.

The final product.  It doesn't look like much from so many clams, but will make a nice big pot of chowder on a cool fall or winter day.  I'm quite excited about it and am hoping that I may get a few more before summer is over. 

Being a squirrel

I love this time of year.  There are fruits and veggies everywhere.  My kitchen table and counters are covered in the most beautiful things.  I can go to the local farm and get their special baskets of fruits for canning, or pick my own straight from the bush or tree.  The smells in my kitchen are intoxicating.

I start to feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The imagery in her books of food and food storage is inspiring.  I always wanted to play in the attic with the pumpkins and hams, and braids of onions and garlic.  It sounds like heaven to me.  Increasingly, my summers are about storing things for the long winter.  No longer do we run off to the grocery store whenever the mood strikes for raspberries in January.  Now I try to plan for those things in August. 

This week tomatoes are coming on strong in my garden.  Once we got the taste for homegrown, home canned tomatoes, we just couldn't go back.  Last year's tomato blight was devastating.   We are determined never to eat another industrially canned food again.   The beauties above will be enjoyed all year in our house.  I can feel fall coming on and it makes me more determined to fill the pantry.

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.  Hop on over and check out what everyone is doing.