Category: Healthy Living

After I cut the grass this morning, I returned to the garden and gathered some produce.

I picked heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beans, peaches, and squash yesterday morning. I could not get it all since I did not have a large enough basket. That is fine; I’ll return to harvest what’s left today.

 

 

Last evening, I made a simple dish of squash, white potatoes, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and yellow onion. No name for it, really; perhaps I’ll refer to it as a ‘Vegetable Medley’? The squash and tomatoes came from our garden. And the garbanzo beans were canned in February. Although simple, it was a delicious and filling meal.

Last evening, I made strawberry sorbet using strawberry ‘seconds’ that I’d purchased from a local farm. The sorbet is sugar-free. I used a small amount of honey in place of sugar. Results? It was amazing. I did not make a lot, so I’ll be making another batch soon, most likely later this evening.

I used my Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker to make the sorbet.

My Breville Smart Scoop has a compressor

I’ve had the Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker for a few weeks. It’s a step up from the Cuisinart I purchased many years ago. My Cuisinart ice cream maker did not have a built-in condenser, so I had to freeze the pail holding the ice cream (for 24 hours) before making my ice cream. Since the Breville Smart Scoop has a built-in compressor, I can make ice cream, gelato, sorbet, frozen yogurt… well, you get the idea! Yummy frosty goodness in under an hour! It tastes just as good as frozen treats bought from the store.

Memories of my first time eating homemade ice cream

I fondly remember my Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Zirk, making homemade ice cream manually at her place. She had her Sunday school class at her home. I sat on her porch steps with her, and a few other children were gathered about her as she talked and stirred the heavy cream and other ingredients within the wooden bucket.

I bought the Breville Smart Scoop locally

Typically, I buy items from Amazon; however, I wanted to make ice cream later that day, and although I can get many things the same day, depending on what I chose, this was unavailable. A quick search showed me that the closest place that had them available was WIlliams-Sonoma which is almost an hour from where I live. Fine, road trip! My lovely daughter created the first item in the ice cream maker; She made her favorite ice cream, mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I look forward to making many frozen treats with my Breville Smart Scoop ice cream maker.

Where has the time gone?

It’s finally getting warm here, so my daughter and I have spent considerable time outdoors during the week when I’m not working.

A few weeks ago, I rented a roll-off to assist in removing items, and now it’s complete. Ace Roll Off is the company I used. Their prices are very reasonable, and their customer service is fantastic. This is my second time this year using them. This is a 20-yard roll-off; my first was a 30-yard roll-off. Ace will be picking up the roll-off between today and Friday.

I’ve purchased additional equipment to make the process a bit smoother; The gas/oil-powered items are all made by Stihl.

What did I purchase?

1. STIHL SH 86 C-E 170 mph 444 CFM Gas Handheld Blower/Mulcher/Vac
2. STIHL FS 111 R 16.5 in. Gas Brushcutter, and the Stihl Backpack BR800x
3. STIHL Magnum BR 800 X 239 mph 912 CFM Gas Backpack Leaf Blower

I must say that the devices have reduced the time I’m outside.

Because of the weather, my daughter and I have been outside almost daily.

We’ll be back out today after I’m off of work.

This morning,

I removed bananas and tomatoes from my Harvest Right freeze-dryer.

The drying cycle stopped around 9:00 am last evening; however, upon opening the freeze dryer, I decided they needed a few more hours since I did not want to awaken within a few hours. So, I added ten more hours to the freeze-dryer. So, I pulled them out of the freeze-dryer this morning. The banana and tomatoes are delicious, and I’m looking forward to more freeze-drying tomorrow.

The weather has been excellent, so I’ve been outside daily since Saturday, preparing the garden for the raised Vego garden beds I purchased.

Yesterday evening, I was craving potatoes and made a potato bake.

 

Initially, I was going to add some of my canned chicken to this dish; however, I decided to make this vegetarian. What’s in it? Well, potatoes, garbanzo beans, red onion, portabella mushrooms, ginger, and other herbs. I cubed the potatoes, placed them in a skillet, and added water. I allowed it to simmer until the potatoes were soft and then put them in a baking dish. I spread a layer of the potato mix and added garbanzo beans and provolone cheese. I repeated this one more time and then placed it into a preheated oven (375F). It took about 15 minutes to cook.

My daughter loved the dish and called it “juicy and yummy!” I’ll take that as a compliment. Guess what: the garbanzo beans were canned, and the portabella mushrooms and ginger were freeze-dried.

Since December, I have stepped up my canning game.

I have two All-American canners that I use to can my low-acid foods. My smallest canner has gotten a workout over the past few months. In the above picture, I share a glimpse of one of my canning shelves. I need to upgrade these shelves so I can have wider frames. However, this is doing fine for now. You’ll find mainly chicken, beef, meatballs, soups, and New England clam chowder on these shelves. I also have vegetables and beans. I can reach my shelves when I’m super busy and still have a delicious and nutritious meal. I like that I know exactly what’s going into the items since I made them myself, and they don’t have any unnecessary ingredients added. If canned properly, canned foods can be shelf stable for several years. I don’t can food to save. I use my canned goods weekly.

Admittedly, I have slowed down canning the past month. However, I will step up my canning game when I find meats and other items on sale. Between canning and freeze drying, I have a few ways to snap up meat/produce when it’s on sale and preserve it so I have shelf-stable food.

Today marks the first time that I’ve canned meat, and I must say that I’m excited. I’ve canned for several years; however, it’s mainly been jams and jellies. When I canned with my mother as a child, I assisted her with the canning, including produce. However, even my mother never canned meat. Since I like to have food on hand and thought about ways to preserve food that didn’t include placing items in the deep freezer, naturally canned meat was a topic of interest for me.

Over the years, I’ve read numerous articles about canning meat and watched several videos about the process a few months ago; I figured it was high time that stops sitting on the sidelines and started canning my meat instead of purchasing canned goods from the store.

So, over the past few months, I bought the canner that I’ve had on my want list for several years. I bought the All-American Canner. Initially, I purchased the 21.5 quarts, and yesterday, I bought the 10.5 quarts and… I’m canning on a glass-top stove.

Canning gives me more control over the types of foods that are consumed.

Reviewing the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving,

I started simple and made the Beef Stew With Vegetables listed on page 409. I used five-pint jars and canned for 75 minutes at a 10-pound pressure.

It’s 11:33 pm, and based on the time from my iPad, I have 48 minutes and 41 seconds left of canning.

Tomorrow, after my appointments, I plan to can the remaining beef I purchased today, and I have a lot of about nine pounds of chicken breast. I cannot wait. I took a few videos and planned to add at least one to a later canning post.