Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s been a busy Saturday of baking and spring cleaning! I’ve been on decluttering journey for a couple of weeks. I’m nearing the homestretch of decluttering. Baking for the week ensures I have fresh bread for breakfast toast, lunch, and for supper. It also ensures I have snacks for the week. I also enjoy sharing with others at work, family, and church. But, the biggest reward is that my bread and snacks for the week are healthy, clean, organic, and not processed!
I have baked what I call mookies for years. You might be wondering what a mookie is. It’s not quite a cookie and it’s not quite a muffin. It’s kind of somewhere in between a cookie and a muffin. It’s a mookie. I am anxious to share this recipe with you. It’s a great snack, a healthy snack, awesome with coffee in the morning or tea in the evenings. Our grandchildren love them too. They’re made with minimal ingredients and takes a total twenty minutes to mix and bake. Let’s get started!
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mash the banana and add syrup and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and baking powder and mix. Fold in peanut butter and mix. Finally food in chocolate chips.
Mookie mix
Drop mixture by tablespoons to the lined cookie sheet. Leave a little space between the mookies. Bake for fifteen minutes. I like to brown mine slightly under the broiler. Allow to cool and enjoy!
Peanut butter chocolate chip mookies
These are great without the peanut butter for more of a banana taste. They’re great with chopped walnuts for a take on banana bread flavor. They’re also great with a bit of cocoa powder for a chocolate mookie. The possibilities are limitless.
They’re airy, light, and delicious.
I hope you and your family enjoy this delicious treat as much as our family does. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky.
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s a rainy day in the mountains, which always puts me in the cooking and cleaning mood! So, today I decided to begin cleaning the pantry out and realized that I had an abundance of oats and nuts that I needed to do something with. I went down a rabbit hole and started planning granola! The pantry didn’t get cleaned completely, but I did make some delicious granola! I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we do.
Ingredients:
Three cups of organic old fashioned oats
1/2 cup organic chopped walnuts
1/2 cup organic chopped almonds
1/2 cup organic chopped pecans
3 tbs organic raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbs organic sunflower seeds
1 tbs organic chia seeds
2 tbs organic ground flax seeds
3 tbs gogi berries or raisins
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 cup of organic pure maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup smooth organic peanut butter
1/2 cup organic olive oil
Agave or honey for drizzling not mixing.
Mix all the dry ingredients and preheat the oven to 320 for convection. Mix the remaining ingredients over low heat until it comes together smoothly. Pour the wet ingredient into the bowl of dry and gently stir with a rubber spatula. When mixed spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread evenly and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and mix the granola with a metal spatula. Return to the oven and bake 20 more minutes. Take out of the oven and drizzle your choice of honey or agave and put under the broiler for just enough time for the granola to brown up lightly. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack.
Mixing the ingredients.Spreading the granola in a baking sheet.
Using the spatial mix the granola gently once it’s cool. Store the granola in a glass jar. Keeps for a couple of weeks if it is in an air tight container.
This is a two gallon jar! I’ve got another batch of granola to add to it.
I hope your family enjoys this tasty granola. I think it’s great alone as a snack and wonderful in a parfait. I also like it in a bowl with almond milk as a cereal.
Dinner
Just for fun! A picture of dinner this evening. Fresh beans, corn, potatoes, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes with sautéed portobello mushrooms with peppers and onions and a slice of cornbread. Nothing better than veggies from our garden!
For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! Don’t forget to like, comment, and or follow! We
Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope your day is a blessed one. I am excited to bring to you my new spinach wrap recipe that I’ve been working with for a couple of weeks. Saturday’s wraps were the success that I’ve been working toward! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Ingredients:
3 cups fresh organic baby spinach
3 cups all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur unbleached or wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
3-4 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup cold filtered water (this can be modified if needed)
1 teaspoon fresh ground oregano
1 teaspoon fresh ground basil
1 teaspoon fresh ground parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon organic ground garlic
Add one cup of spinach and one cup of flour to a food processor dicing it to allow room for an additional cup of each. Dice again and add the remaining spinach and flour. Add spices, and process adding oil slowly as the mixture mixes. Add water until you have a dough consistency. Sometimes the amount of water varies. Only add what you need. If the mixture is too wet, add an additional spoon of flour and mix. You can’t go wrong on this mixture if you achieve a doughy consistency. You can play with the oil as well. If you need more, add a tiny bit.
Fresh spinach is the best!!
Preheat a cast iron skillet. I use ceramic cast iron for this and it works great. Add a tiny spray of organic extra virgin olive oil to the pan to heat. While the pan is heating spoon out a large spoon of the mixture onto a floured dough sheet or parchment paper. Using flour on your hands roll the dough into a ball and then begin rolling the dough flat.
Ball of spinach dough.Second rolling of the wrap.
A second rolling of the wrap ensures the desired thickness of the wrap. You can sprinkle flour over the wrap to prevent it from sticking. Once you have achieved the desired thickness, lay your bread in the hot pan. It only takes about 1 1/2 minutes per side. While my bread is browning, I usually roll another piece of dough. Parchment paper, coffee filters, cheese cloth, or white paper towels between the wraps will help prevent them from sticking until they’re cooled.
Preparing the wrap! This is the thickness that I like!
Remove the bread and place on your choice of liner. Once the wraps are completely cooled, I place mine in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for fresheners. This recipe usually yields eight to nine wraps. They taste great warmed with fresh veggies, a smear of peanut butter, as a side for Italian dishes, and extremely good with no dairy cheese melted on them.
You may substitute seasonings for Mexican seasonings, plain with a little salt and pepper, or with curry seasonings. The possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do. I look forward to posting new wraps. I am currently working on a high fiber flax wrap. I would love to hear how you eat yours! Feel free to like, share, comment and follow. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky!
Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky! Cold air invaded the mountains last night. It was a chilling 28 degrees when I awoke this morning. I was thankful that I had covered my ferns up last night. We have several mountain winters in March and April in Kentucky. With so many of the trees and bushes blooming early this year, it’s difficult to determine which winter it is. I’m not sure if this cold snap is redbud winter or dogwood winter. Nevertheless, hope remains as these small winters only last a day or two and then it’s mild weather again.
The smell of yesteryears lingers in the air as the garden was turned this week. The smell of fresh soil always reminds me of growing up only a few miles from where we live. Papaw plowed with a mule and plow from morning till evening. He would wipe the sweat from his brow, fan with his hat, rest a bit and return to his work. The smell of the rich dirt lingered in the air just as it does here today. The chickens are enjoying the freshly plowed ground as well. They love to scratch and search for worms in the loose dirt.
As I prepare breakfast this morning, I am reminded of eating oatmeal with my Papaw. I felt an unction to prepare a hardy bowl of oats, as he called them. I like to use a half cup organic oats, filtered water, fresh honey for the sweetening, and whatever fruit I have available. This morning I added a half of an organic banana, and some organic blueberries. I include a tablespoon of organic walnuts, a teaspoon of flaxseed, hempseed, and chia seeds. White serving I drizzle with almond milk and a tiny bit of honey. I toasted a slice of my homemade seeded bread with breakfast this morning. It’s a hard breakfast that will sustain me until late in the afternoon.
Delicious plant-based breakfast for a busy day!
I’m excited about planting this year. The manure has been spread and the first turning of the garden is complete. Seeds have been sewn in miniature green houses, and in the hydroponic garden. Fresh vegetables are a joy in the summer months. Fall is a time of harvesting and preserving for the winter months ahead. It’s not for the faint of heart, but for those who enjoy eating what they’ve grown from seed to nourish their bodies.
Spreading natural fertilizer.
Gardens can be as large or as small as you want them to be. For us, a large feeds our families all summer and sustains in the cold months. We usually have an abundance to share with neighbors, extended family, and church family. It seems the more we give to others, the more it grows.
Organic lettuce in one of the hydroponic gardens seven days after seeing the seed.
Eating healthy is a large part of being healthy. Eating organic, plant-based, and clean is a foundation for overall health. Get up and get moving! Being active helps prevent and fight many diseases that plague people across the world. Make it a point to know the ingredients in the food that you put in your body. Know the vocabulary of hidden toxic ingredients. Do your research, and start small and make changes weekly. For example, I no longer buy bread that is deemed healthy, but is it really when you can’t pronounce fourteen of the twenty seven ingredients. I choose to bake bread formy family on Saturday mornings. My recipe has four ingredients, of which one is water, and I add various organic seeds for the crunch and fiber. The following is a link to my bread recipe. It’s easy, doesn’t require an abundance of time and tastes delicious. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Living a clean and holistic life is very gratifying. The rewards are great and exceeds the long days and time spent prepping, preparing, and growing, foods that nourish your body, not poisoning them a little at a time with toxic ingredients found in processed foods.
The first turning of the garden!
I would like close with a great book suggestion for young readers, as a read aloud, and great for the primary classroom. It is written by our daughter and it’s beautifully written and illustrated. Check the book out at the following link;
God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! May your day be filled with joy, hope, the love of Christ, and good nutritious foods that can help heal you from the inside out. Feel free to leave a comment, like, and or follow by blog for more posts on clean and holistic living.
First turning of the garden complete! Awaiting a second plowing and plants!
Hello from the mountains of Kentucky! I am super excited to share a new recipe that I have been experimenting with and finally perfected it last week. I love a good moist banana bread. I have tried several vegan recipes with little to no luck with the right amount of moisture and sweetness. This recipe fits the bill for both. It’s quick, easy, and requires minimal ingredients and those that you probably already have in your pantry. It’s also delicious with a cup of hot tea!
Ingredients:
One large overly ripe organic banana or two small overripe bananas
2 cups all purpose flour (I like King Arthur’s unbleached flour)
1/2 tsp pink organic Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp anti-caking organic baking soda
1/2 tsp organic all spice
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp good quality Non-GMO vanilla extract
1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup chopped organic walnuts
Add in options can be; chocolate chips, pecans, raisins, or cranberries.
Process:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or butter a glass 8×8 baking dish. Line it with parchment paper and then spray or butter the paper.
Mash the banana, vanilla, and sugar and mix well. Add salt, baking soda, flour, vinegar, and applesauce and fold the ingredients together without overmixing. Add the milk a little at a time and until the batter well. Fold in the walnuts. Add the bread mixture to the lined glass baking dish. I baked my bread for 45 minutes. I checked it at 30 minutes and determined it needed fifteen more minutes to be baked through and through.
Mixed ingredients
I removed my bread from the parchment paper and set it on a baking rack to cool for thirty minutes. Once the bread was cooled, I placed it in an airtight container. I have enjoyed this bread all week as a snack with my lunch, toasted for a light breakfast, and in the evenings with coffee or tea. It is tasty, moist, and not overly sweet but flavorful.
You may add more sugar or even honey for a little more sweetness. If you’re not a fan of walnuts, pecans are a great substitute. I like to toast this bread for breakfast. It’s delicious with a smear of honey or plant butter. Unsweetened dark chocolate chips are a great addition as well. Either way you eat it, as breakfast, a snack, or dessert, it’s a delicious bread.
For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to comment, like, and subscribe. I look forward to hearing from you.
During COVID many people rediscovered the health benefits of elderberries. I, myself, started taking a good organic elderberry supplement to enhance my immune system. Finding organic elderberry syrup was difficult or ridiculously expensive at the time, and the supplement was not inexpensive. After paying for the supplement for a few years, I decided to try my hand at making elderberry syrup. I am very pleased with the results and inspired to share my recipe with my readers.
There were challenges along the way. But, with determination, I was able to overcome those. First, I wasn’t able to find someone with an elderberry tree that was willing to part with elderberries, so I did the next best thing. I looked on Amazon for organic dried elderberries. The ones pictured below had the best price, largest amount, and the best rating.
Dried organic elderberries from Amazon
Next, I experimented with the amount of elderberries I would mix. After a bit of research and experimental tries, I decided the syrup would be tastier with some spices added. After a few batches, I decided on the addition of organic clove, organic ginger, organic cinnamon and local honey. With this in mind, I was ready to see if the taste was right. It was delicious!
Ingredients (makes a pint) 3/4 cup Dried elderberries 3 cups filtered water 1/2 tsp dried clove 1/2 tsp doTERRA clove essential oil 1/2 tsp doTERRA ginger essential oil 1/2 tsp dried ginger 1 tsp cinnamon Fresh honey to taste
Essential oils are optional. I love the benefits of them and the taste. Read the labels closely before using to ensure they’re consumable.
Process
Add the three cups of filtered water to a stainless steel saucepan. Add 3/4 cup dried elderberries. Add the remaining ingredients except the honey. Bring the ingredients to slow boil. Set a timer and boil the mixture for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes turn the burner off and cover the mixture and allow it to cool. When the mixture is completely cooled strain completely through a fine mesh strainer into a clear pint jar. Cheese cloth can be used as well. Add fresh honey to taste and stir well. Place a lid on the jar and for a better taste keep it refrigerated.
My fist jar after a couple of days of use.
I take a tablespoon a day. A pint typically lasts for two weeks. The taste is wonderful. Elderberry’s have a wide array of health benefits. I’m not sure if the elderberry syrup helps increase one’s sleep, but I have slept unusually well since I started using the syrup as a daily regimen.
I hope you enjoy this simple recipe. Feel free to comment or leave questions. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky!
The leaves are beginning to turn in the mountains!
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. Can you feel fall in the air? Fall is one of my favorite seasons. When fall comes to the mountains, something magical happens. A carpet of beautiful foliage slowly emerges throughout the mountains. The colors are brilliant yellows, crisp oranges, and fiery reds, all mixed with hints of green lingering for a few more weeks. The foliage reminds me of my sister’s handmade quilts. My sister is a brilliant artist who creates gorgeous quilts from scrap materials of diverse colors. She is legally blind but still creates unique quilts by hand with tiny stitches. Not only is she legally blind, she is also totally colorblind. My children used to ask me if she saw things in color, just like a child to wonder. Yes, I would answer she sees in colors; she just can’t distinguish which color is which. So, her quilts come together in a stunning color scheme… just like the foliage in our mountains does in the fall.
A postage stamp quilt gifted to me by my sister. Each block is the size of an actual postage stamp!
When fall comes to the mountains, preserving and canning is usually near completion. Autumn, or fall, as we call it, is the time to go to the apple orchard to pick apples for tasty recipes, preserving, drying, and munching. We enjoyed the orchard this year as the temperature was comfortable; the crowd wasn’t as big as previous visits, and the fried apple pies were delicious. The grandkids had fun playing on the playground and games, while the adults enjoyed the atmosphere and sights. We used the apples we brought home for various dishes. Some of our favorite apple dishes during the fall include frying apples with breakfast or supper. We also peeled and dried many apples, resulting in three large containers of dehydrated apples for healthy snacks, frying, cakes, or pies. Nothing went to waste. We used all the apples, even down to the peels and cores, which the chickens enjoyed as a fall treat.
Picking applesGrandkids having fun at the orchard.
Seed saving is a common tradition within the mountains. Fall is the perfect time to save vegetable, fruit, herb, and flower seeds. The late-bearing acorn squash and peppers are the only vegetables left to be picked. We have a remnant of beans hanging on the fences drying to be used for seed next year. When collecting seeds, it is essential to use sources from plants that are healthy and produce the best vegetation or fruit. We collected seeds from the remaining vegetables and placed them on cheesecloth or white paper towels to dry. Once the seeds are dry, we put them in envelopes for storage. We recognize some sources in recycled brown jars/bottles containing organic vitamins. This is a brilliant method of recycling as well. Also, be sure to label your seeds to identify them when you’re ready to plant.
My seed box.
When fall comes to the mountains, so do pumpkins! Children and adults alike enjoy trips to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, enjoy pumpkin treats, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains. Pumpkin spices and flavors are prominent in restaurants, store shelves, coffee shops, and more. Pumpkin spice is a favorite in the mountains. Many mountain families love pumpkin-flavored treats like coffee, pie, bread, butter, and cookies.
A trip to the pumpkin patch is always fun!
When fall comes to the mountains, it’s a time for family gatherings, cookouts, dinners, and a time to socialize and relax away from the world’s cares. Mountain cookouts usually have hot dogs, hamburgers, vegan burgers, marshmallows, chips, and some sides.. This is also a perfect time to include pumpkin cookies or pumpkin bread. Cookouts in the mountains are about the food and the socialization! Sitting by the campfire with loved ones, roasting marshmallows and sharing stories is the best way to enjoy fall in the Appalachian Mountains.
And finally, when fall comes to the mountains, it’s time to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving in the mountains is a time for family to come together for the day. Each person typically brings a side-dish to menu and everyone gathers at one house, which is typically my house. I love when all our family gathers together to relax with appetizers that consist of; my traditional cheese ball, peanut butter and chocolate buckeye candy, dips with chips, and of course banana and or pumpkin bread. We load Thanksgiving dinner with good food. Dinner usually includes the traditional dishes of turkey, usually prepared two ways. We roast one turkey in the oven and we smoke a second turkey outside in the smoker. A ham is prepared and complete with brown sugar and pineapples. The side dishes usually include mashed potatoes, green beans, fried corn, homemade cornbread stuffing/dressing, brown gravy, sweet potato casserole, and more. It’s a smorgasbord! A literal feast. Family members can be found eating around the dining room table and in the kitchen. We add tables for kids in the family room. After the dinner, dessert is available for those who have room, and those who do not! Dessert typically consists of peach cobbler, Butterfinger delight, carrot cake, cherry cheesecake, and other delicious recipes that family brings with them. Football can be found on the television and often-times, one of our favorite Christmas movies… The Christmas Story is on 24/7 on Thanksgiving and on one of the televisions. It’s also a time that most of the females are bargain shopping as the black Friday sales have begun! But, the best part of the day is the heartfelt prayer that is prayed before the meal begins, and the socializing during dinner and after. It’s a wonderful to catch up on what has been going on in the lives of our family.
When fall comes to the mountains of Kentucky… it’s more than the beautiful scenery. Fall is a time of hard work as we can preserve and clean up the garden. It’s a time of gathering seeds for the following year. Fall is a time of fellowship with friends, our church family, and our family. Fall is a time for campfires, holiday meals, and winter transition.
Late fall last year in the mountains!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and a little time in our small corner of the world. Feel free to follow and or comment. Get ready! I have an outstanding sweet potato recipe that I will post in a few days. You can prepare this cake vegan or non-vegan. It’s delicious. Well, let me give you a sneak peek at the cake!
Sweet potato pound cake… recipe coming soon!
For now, God bless, and happy fall from the mountains of Kentucky!
Good evening, from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope you are having a great start to your week! It’s a hot week in the mountains with temperatures soaring into the nineties. I don’t mind it. I’m savoring the last weeks of summer. With that being said, with the lingering days of summer vanishing swiftly, also comes the final rounds of canning. We have worked to stock and restock our pantry and canned goods from the harvest of our garden. Even though I wasn’t able to do much of the planting because of my hip replacement in June, I have enjoyed the labor of harvesting and canning. Let me say this: God is so good. He has truly been with me literally every step of my recovery. I am so thankful for how well I have progressed. I give Him all the glory for it. Now, to delve deeper into canning vegetable soup.
Recently, I decided I would use the lingering remnants of leftovers in our fridge and turn them into a savory vegan vegetable beef soup. You could easily change this recipe to be vegetable beef soup with real beef.
Vegan vegetable beef simmering on the stove.
Recipeingredients:
One bag of your choice of plant-based beef crumbles. I used a bag of Ultimate Beef pieces.
Half of a yellow onion
One small bell pepper of choice
One tablespoon minced garlic or fresh garlic
One cup of fresh diced tomatoes or organic canned diced tomatoes
One cup of organic vegetable broth
One tablespoon of organic extra virgin olive oil
Two cups of freshly cooked green beans or one can of organic green beans
One cup of fresh corn or one can of organic corn
One cup of frozen organic peas or one can of organic sweet peas
Four medium-size potatoes
One cup of fresh carrots or one can of organic carrots
One quart of freshly canned tomato juice or two-three cups of organic canned juice
Process:
If you are using beef, brown the beef and drain. If you are using vegan meatless meat, you can add to the onions and peppers while they are simmering.
Peel and cut potatoes to desired size. Add potatoes to saucepan of water with a pinch of salt and oil. Cook potatoes until the cut easily with fork or knife. If you’re using fresh carrots, you may either peel, slice and steam them, or cook them with the potatoes. Set potatoes aside.
Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a large stock pot. I prefer cast iron to Teflon. Heat on low and add diced onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Allow onions and peppers to become slightly translucent. Add drained beef or vegan meat and stir. I like to add a little extra seasoning at this stage to build flavor. I use a little cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and turmeric. These are optional. After mixture is mixed well, add diced tomatoes. Drain potatoes and carrots and add to soup mixture. Stir in additional veggies to the soup mixture. Taste to season and add tomato juice. Allow soup to come to a soft boil, then reduce to low and simmer for two hours.
This soup is great served with crackers, cornbread, grilled cheese or vegan grilled cheese. Now to the canning process!
Sterilize jars, rings, and flats. Add warm soup to pint jars. This can be done in the dishwasher or by boiling them in the canne
add water to canner and warm on medium heat. Place canning funnel over pint jar, ladle warm soup into jars. Leave at least a half for head space. I like to wipe the rim of the jar, flat, and ring with a clean dish cloth or paper towel dipped in vinegar before sealing. This helps guard against possible bacteria. Place warm jars of soup in the canner and allow the water to come to a boil. When the water comes to a hard boil set the timer for thirty minutes.
when the time exhausts, turn the stove off and allow the water to simmer for about ten minutes. Remove the jars with the jar lifter. Set the jars on a dry folder to cool. As the jars cool, you should hear the coveted ping ensuring you that the jars are sealed! After the jars have cooled add the date to the lid.
This soup should have a shelf life for 18-24 months. Maybe longer! I’ve never found out as it usually lasts at my house for 10-11 months and it’s gone! This is a great soup to take along as lunch at work, if you have access to a microwave or one of the lunch size crock pots. It’s great for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking. It’s great served with cornbread or crackers. I personally love it with a vegan grilled cheese sandwich. You be the desired!
Don’t forget to add the date to the lids!
I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. As always, feel free to follow for more recipes and canning ideas. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! Thank you for stopping by my blog! Every reader is appreciated!
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. It’s been a bit stormy here today. Days like today make me want to curl up with a good book and read all day. In reality, that isn’t always possible, especially with the academic year about to begin. Our first day back on campus is only a couple of weeks away. Where did summer go?
With the abundance of cucumbers that it seems everyone has been blessed with this summer, I thought I should share my dill pickle recipe. Who doesn’t like a crispy dill pickle on their sandwich or on the side? Dills are great in potato salad, salads, on burgers, and I especially like them on a vegan chicken sandwich.
Ingredients:
4-5 pounds of pickling cucumbers 8 teaspoons of dill seeds 4 teaspoons of mustard seeds 5 cloves of whole garlic 8 teaspoons of whole peppercorns 4 cups of water 3 cups of white vinegar (5% acidity) 4 tablespoons of pickling salt or kosher salt 4 tablespoons of white sugar 8 teaspoons of pickle crisp 8 sprigs of fresh dill
Tools:
Water bath canner Jar lifter funnel Measuring cup Pint jars, rings, and flats A large stock pot
Process:
1. Boil jars, flats, and rings to sterilize them and also to safeguard your pickles from bacteria. Next, prepare your cucumbers by washing them. I like to scrub them to remove the sticky little ends of the skins. This also makes the skin of the cucumber smoother. Trim the ends of the cucumbers. Make sure to remove the flowering end. This end of the cucumber contains an enzyme that can soften the cucumber over time.
2. Prepare the brine by adding sugar, salt, and vinegar to the stockpot and bring to a slow boil. While you wait for the brine to boil, combine the pickling spices and add them in equal parts to the jars. Do not add the pickle crip to the spices. Add a sprig of fresh dill to each jar then add your cucumbers. You can slice them in either direction or slice them into spears. They’re also good as whole pickles, especially if the cucumbers are small ones.
3. Keep an eye on your brine. Once the salt and sugar have dissolved, place the funnel in the jars and pour the hot brine over the cucumbers, leaving at least a half inch from the rim. Add a teaspoon of pickle crip to each jar. Wipe the rims to ensure the rims with a dry cloth or paper towel. Add the flat and ring, but not too tight.
4. Add the jars to the canner and add warm water until the water is at least an inch or two above the jar lids. Slowly bring the water in the canner to a boil. Boil for ten minutes. Turn the stove off and leave the jars until the water settles down and then remove the jars with the jar lifter. Place the jars on a dry folded towel on a flat surface and wait for the sounds of the pinging jars to seal. Once the jars have cooled, add the date to the lids.
This recipe typically makes eight pints of pickles x. You can double the ingredients for quarts or for more pints. The projected shelf life of the pickle is typically one to two years. However, I have opened a jar beyond this timeframe and the pickles were still great. One of the keys to a longer shelf life is to ensure the vinegar is at least 5% acidity.
This is a pictures of sliced dill pickles in quart jars.
I hope you and your family love this recipe as much as we do. As always, feel free to follow or comment. For now, God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky.
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. Quick update on my recovery; Tuesday was week four since I had a total hip replacement. Let me say how good God is. I never encountered the pain that I was told I would have after surgery. Pain medicine was not required, for which I was happy. I don’t like to take medicines due to their negative side-effects on my body. I am in week four of physical therapy and walking without any assistance. I have exceeded the expectations of my surgeon and my therapist. Praise God, I feel better than I’ve felt in several years. I am resuming daily walking, a high-plant-protein diet, and loving time working in my herb garden. I am not yet working in the vegetable garden due to not being released to bend deeply or kneel. But, I have been canning! I should be ready to work in the garden when it’s harvest time. God is so good and He is ever-present. Now, onto the post! I just couldn’t help but brag about our God.
Fresh basil, oregano, and rosemary clipper today..
I’ve been cutting and harvesting herbs this morning and now I have a 1/4 bushel of peaches facing me. So, what do you do when you have this yummy fruit. The answer is to preserve for those cold winter days when the fruit-bearing season is over. I like to freeze peaches in small servings for oatmeal, as a healthy side of fruit, and for a quick serving of sorbet. But, today, I am planning for the uncertain days that lie ahead of us. With the prices of food in the grocery store, it’s a treat to walk downstairs and select home-canned food for supper and fresh canned peaches for a sweet treat. Now, let’s can those peaches!
Fresh peaches ready for canning!
Ingredients for Light Peaches:
1/4 quarter of fresh peaches
12 cups of water (bottled or filtered water is best)
2 cup of organic cane sugar (you may substitute with white sugar or honey)
Tools for Canning:
Stove Top Water Bath Canner
7-quart jars with rings and flats
Jar lifters to remove jars from the canner.
Canning funnel to make filling jars easier.
Stainless steel ladle for adding the simple syrup to jars.
Process:
Boiling jars, rings, and flats ensure safe canning.
Boil jars, rings, and flats and set aside. Mix the water and sugar in a stainless steel cooker. I have gotten away from all non-stick cookware and prefer stainless, glass, or cast iron. Place over medium heat and bring to a slow soft boil.
Peel the peaches and slice them to your preferred thickness. Add the peach slices to the clean jars not filling them. I like to leave room for more syrup. Place the canning funnel in the mouth of the jar and ladle the simple syrup into the jars leaving at least an inch space at the top. Wipe the rims thoroughly and place the sterilized flats and rings on the jars. Don’t tighten the rings too tight. Add hot water to the canner and place on top of the stove on medium to high heat. Place the jars in the canner. Make sure the water is at least an inch above the sealed jars. Slowly bring the water in the canner to a boil. When the water begins boiling set your timer for 25 minutes.
We don’t fill the jars to the top to allow for more syrup. Adding the simple syrup!
When the twenty-five minutes have exhausted, turn the stove off. Leave the peaches in the water for five to six minutes allowing the water to stop boiling. Using the jar lifters, carefully remove the jars of peaches from the canner. I like to place my jars on a folded towel on the counter. You should begin to hear the jars making that pinging sound to let you know the jars have sealed. Once the jars have cooled add the date to the flat with a permanent marker. After the jars have completely cooled, add the beautiful fruit to your pantry shelves. Don’t worry if your peaches have floated to the top. They’re still delicious, this happens when you do not pre-cook the peaches (raw pack) before canning them. Raw packing peaches is the easiest method of canning and does not require you to handle hot peaches. The shelf life is typically 12-18 months. I have found that the shelf life of this type raw packed peaches has lasted for two years, if the jars of peaches last that long. I also like to peel them and freeze them! Either way, results in delicious peaches year around.
Seven quarts of deliciousness!
I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will enjoy my method of preserving peaches during this uncertain time of the rise in prices and in some cases the lack of food on the shelves in many grocery stores. Canning your own food is one of the most rewarding experiences and benefits that you can encounter. If this is your first time canning and or preserving, stay the course, chin up, there will be failures and there will be successes, we’ve all experienced them both. Trust me, the good outweighs the bad. When the snow is flying, you’ll have delicious home-grown food awaiting you in your pantry.
God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. As always, feel free to follow my blog, and know that your comments are always welcome.
John 1:1 King James Version 1 In thebeginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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