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HardwareGrl · 09-21-2011, 01:36 PM

(09-21-2011 12:37 PM)ladijules Wrote:
(09-21-2011 04:30 AM)Scythe Matters Wrote: Well, they say you can't can it.... This is what I've seen regarding freezing (which does appear to be the only way besides dehydrating it):

Freezing - Select squash when 5 to 7 inches long and rind is tender and seeds small. Simply wash and cut in pieces. Blanch 1/4-inch slices 3 minutes and 1 1/2-inch slices for 6 minutes. Chill immediately in ice water, pack in freezer containers, date and freeze.

Did you blanch your before you tried to freeze it? I bet that makes the difference. Let us know how it works out.

thank you! I did blanche it, but maybe not long enough. I'll certainly give it a shot! I hate to see it go to waste.

For the record, dehydrating works really well for zuchinni.
I'm visting a friend that gave me a jar of zuchinni pickles, I haven't tried them yet, but the look great!

ladijules · 08-10-2012, 01:40 PM

does anyone have a decent recipe for Spaghetti sauce that preserves well? Not one with meat.. I don't want to use the pressure cooker. I have a ton of tomatoes to deal with! I already have a ton of salsa, so I don't want to make more of that.. I still have some from last year. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Counselor · 08-10-2012, 05:25 PM

Mine is quite simple. I put the tomatoes and garlic through the food mill on my kitchen aide mixer (the blender will work too). for every full pot of sauce 2 gal or so, I use a head of garlic and 1/4 of a good dry Greek ouzo. I add my basil to the jar and not to the cooking sauce, (I think it adds a fresher note). Jar it up and pop it in the canner. I will add a bit of olive oil when I re-heat and sauce the pasta.

Hope this helps.

**burma.girl** · 08-11-2012, 10:43 AM

Hubby ended up with a whole mess 'o' green maters at the beginning of the season, so he tried out this recipe for green tomato chutney:
Green Mater Chutney Recipe

Our yield:

He had so many maters he decided to spice up half the batch with about 6-8 homegrown serrano peppers. OH LAWDY it was delicious! We took several jars with us while vacationing with my family and our SIL pretty much hoovered up an entire jar of the hot in one sitting. It was great eaten with a scoop-style tortilla chip, and also dabbed on bites of (perfectly rare) steak. I imagine it would taste good spooned over saffron rice.

Counselor · (This post was last modified: 08-11-2012 12:04 PM by Counselor.)

(08-11-2012 10:43 AM)burma.girl Wrote: Hubby ended up with a whole mess 'o' green maters at the beginning of the season, so he tried out this recipe for green tomato chutney:
Green Mater Chutney Recipe

Our yield:

He had so many maters he decided to spice up half the batch with about 6-8 homegrown serrano peppers. OH LAWDY it was delicious! We took several jars with us while vacationing with my family and our SIL pretty much hoovered up an entire jar of the hot in one sitting. It was great eaten with a scoop-style tortilla chip, and also dabbed on bites of (perfectly rare) steak. I imagine it would taste good spooned over saffron rice.

Love the sounds of this. I think it will be an end of the season job for me though as I dont want to forgo all those canned ripe Maters and cans of fresh sauce. Maters hardly ever ripen well on the shelf and i usually have BUCKETS full of them. Now that I know something like this is worth the time ... im all in.

ladijules · 08-11-2012, 09:05 PM

Thank you folks!! You always come through! I have a bushel of ripe tomatoes... I will definitely try your recipe Counselor! And that Green tomato chutney sounds wonderful! Thank you!!!

LiveToCook · (This post was last modified: 08-14-2012 07:27 PM by LiveToCook.)

Ladijules, just to add my grain of salt. I have eliminated making sauces that I can or ''jar''. What I now do is tomatoes only... regular or Italian with the proper rules of canning. They could be whole or passed in a basic manual machine(30.00$) that separates skin and seeds from the pulp and juice of tomatoes. When you want to make sauce, you just pull a jar of tomatoes and convert into your ''inspiration of the day'' type sauce. Either by starting with roasted vegetables like onions, garlic, peppers and so-on. Then you add the tomatoes and reduce. From there you add your spices and herbs (fresh or/and dried) and whatever seasoning that you like, throw in stuff like tomato paste, hot sauce and ect.. Towards the finish you can add a creamy type cheese like goat, Brie, Mascarpone, a blue type or whatever (I prefer soft type cheeses, it is easier to incorporate). Even some cream to make a rosé sauce towards the end. This is as you feel, you could even reverse the process by starting with the tomatoes, the taste is different all together. To finish, you can put some fresh parmesan or your favorite cheese, olives, roasted or fresh veggies including mushrooms or shrimps or favorite sea food. It is definitely a ''I feel like that today'' and you do not eat the same for the next year or so. All this takes less than 30 minutes. Made one today, started boiling the water at the same time I started the sauce and the sauce was ready before the pasta. ''Just food for thought''. If you want more precise recipes, just let me know. Wink

**Scythe Matters** · 08-15-2012, 03:16 AM

The blackberries are ripening. Soon it's time to make jam again. Who wants some?

***RN-PRN*** · 08-15-2012, 05:12 AM

Mmmmmmm....Blackberry jam.....I'll take some Big Grin

Counselor · 08-15-2012, 05:56 AM

Earlier someone mentioned they were pickling beets. I should have a bit more than the "Fam" can eat fresh this year and am struggling to find a shelf stable recipe that I like the sounds of. They all say to process for 30+ min and I am afraid they will be so soft that they are really just mush.

on another note: I am currently canning 9 quarts of tomatoes. We came back from vacation to be greeted by 5 gal of ripe tomatoes of differing varieties. I am saving the seeds and would be willing to share if others are interested. I only grow heirlooms and they can be a lot of fun but a bit fussy. I can post descriptions if people are interested.