Under Pressure: Pressure Canning Without Fear

I have a new post up at Feminist Mormon Housewives on pressure canning tomatoes, though the tips are helpful for any food you want to pressure can (low acid foods like green beans, and meats, and things like soups should be pressure canned.

Product Preview: In search of the perfect lunch container

I've been searching for over a year now for the perfect container to send homemade yogurt to school with my kids for lunch.  I've looked at lots, and found a few that might work, but they just cost so much that I hadn't yet bit the bullet and bought them.

Enter Preserve.  The containers are made from recycled #5 plastics (things like yogurt cups).  Kind of fitting to use recycled yogurt cups to store my homemade yogurt.

At 3.99 for two or 9.99 for ten, they're inexpensive enough that I don't worry so much about sending them to the school lunch room.  Plus they're super cute.  I'll report back after I get them and we've tried them out a few times.

The website sells toothbrushes and razors (and the neat thing about these, is that you send them back when you're done and they recycle them to make more), kitchen items and tableware.  

Apples

Head over to feminist Mormon housewives to read my new post, and learn how to can applesauce and pie apples. 

(pay no attention to the jar of apricot puree)

Salsa Tutorial Plus lots more...

I posted over at Feminist Mormon Housewives this week, head on over and learn how to can your very own salsa, it's easy, and Oh So delicious!

While you're there you can check out my other "Inner Pioneer" posts:

 Pickles Tutorial

Pollination (bees baby!)

Foraging

Lessons from the green bean patch.

Backyard Chickens, they're easier than you might think.

Make your own yogurt: a tutorial.

Tips for simplifying gardening.

How to grow and care for your own berry patch.

Edible Perennials make for low-work gardens: Asparagus, Rhubarb, Garlic

So you grew garlic, here's what to do with it...

Jam Tutorial

Soil- keeping it healthy helps your garden grow!

TIps for growing healthy tomato plants.

Alice Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

Every year, I plant one or two jalapeno pepper plants.  Inevitably, if I plant one, it dies, and if I plant two, they both flourish.  The same thing seems to happen with zucchini plants.  It just happened that while I was making salsa with my Mister, we took a break for lunch, and he pulled the store bought jar of pickled jalapeno peppers out of the fridge to put some on his sandwich.  It was an "aha" moment.  Something we've been buying that we don't need to be.  A few days later I went out and picked all the jalapeno peppers, did a little googling for a good, simple recipe and got busy.  My adjusted recipe worked perfectly for 2 half pints of chopped peppers.  

1 quarts jalapeno peppers
1 cups white wine vinegar
1 cups water
1/2 teaspoon pickling salt per half pint
1 small garlic clove peeled, whole per half pint

Wash the jalapeno peppers, then, wearing gloves, chop them all into quarter inch slices.  The gloves are important so that you don't burn your skin.

Fill your jars, leaving an inch or so headspace (these were packed down a bit before we added the brine).

Add garlic clove and salt.

In a pan, combine vinegar and water and bring to a boil.  Pour boiling liquid into jars, wipe rims, and top with 2 piece caps.  Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes (adjusted for altitude in my area it was actually 20 minutes).  

This is my first year getting into pickling, and it's so easy, I can't believe I haven't done it before.  Remove the jars from the BWB canner, and place on a towel on the counter until cool.  Check for seal by pushing in on the lid.  If it didn't seal, put it in the fridge and eat it first.  Jars that sealed can be wiped down and put in the pantry.  Delicious, easy pickled jalapeno peppers ready for use all year!