Blog

The nights are getting frosty here in Southern New-England and the garden is just about ready to be put to bed for the winter. But wait there are still some beets, spinach, lettuce and turnips to harvest. These vegetables are so precious this time of the year. As I serve them for dinner I will not be tapping into my winter supplies. I also have some tiny green tomatoes that haven't had a chance to ripen. I decided to modify my refrigerator dill pickle recipe and pickle them. My daughter... Read more →

Dry Beans are the best source of protein you can easily grow in your garden. In order to cook dry mature beans, they are normally soaked over night, and boiled until they are as soft as you want to serve them. This could be one or two hours, depending on what variety of bean you are cooking, and how soft you like them. Seasoning with salt, sugar or anything which contains some acid, such as tomato or lemon interferes with the beans softening, and should be added after boiling is... Read more →

Be sure to stop by our "Videos" and watch "Harvesting Flint Indian Corn at Seed for Security". From the home page just click on the word 'Videos' in green lettering to see a list of all of them. Our corn is ripe for the harvest. I began collecting dry ears three days ago. Around October 7th is my usual harvest date but this year the crops are about one and a half weeks early. How do you know when the corn is ready? The stalks will be brown and... Read more →

When I was a young child, I found a Con-Servo Steam Canner in one of my Grandparents attics. Being curious, I had to examine it carefully and ask lots of questions. It was a large metal box with a door and two sets of shelves like an oven. In the bottom was a pan for water. I was told a lot of jars of food could be canned in this at once, using steam instead of hot water. Most people were still pumping or even carrying there water by hand... Read more →

Yield: approximately 7 pints 10 cups finely chopped zucchini 4 cups finely chopped onions 1 green pepper, chopped finely 1 sweet red pepper, chopped finely 5 tablespoons pickling salt 2 1/2 cups white vinegar 1 large cayenne pepper with seeds 1 tablespoon nutmeg 1 tablespoon dry mustard 1 tablespoon turmeric 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons celery salt 4 1/2 cups of sugar Chop the vegetables and sprinkle with salt over them. Mix well. Let stand overnight. Drain the vegetables. Rinse thoroughly with cold tap water. Drain again.... Read more →

For many years I have relied on our MEHU-LIISA steam juicer to extract the liquid goodness from all kinds of fruit and tomatoes. It came from Lehman's Hardware, where I have been a customer for nearly 40 years. The hot steam inside the unit releases the juice with out any pressing, straining, peeling or grinding. Steam transfers heat very efficiently, and the fruit is heated less than being processed in a hot water bath canner. It should retain more vitamins, and it is easy to see and taste the difference.... Read more →

Sometimes called the Cole crops, this family of cold hardy vegetables also includes Kale. They readily cross pollinate, so if you want to save seeds, you MUST choose only ONE variety of ONE of these crops in the entire family. The flowers do not form to pollinate until the second year of growth. You must Winter over at least a half dozen plants from the previous year. The second year is when you have to be concerned about cross pollination. For details about saving seeds, my favorite web site is... Read more →

Tomatoes do require starting indoors here in the North. That is not usually a project for beginning gardeners. They are very tricky because they are vulnerable to plant diseases, and need to have just the right amount of heat and water. Artificial light or a well heated greenhouse are needed too. When times are tough, providing these things will be much more difficult. If you master starting tomatoes indoors, you should have no trouble selling some plants if you like. In fact it would be an ideal Cottage Industry. It... Read more →

This is my great grandmother's recipe. My family enjoys it every Spring. Salad for 4-6 people Gather a brown paper grocery bag half full of dandelions. Cut the dandelions plant just below the root. Rinse well with plenty of water. 2 cups of water 1/2 cup of cider vinegar 3/4 pound salt pork , chop finely 7 hard boiled eggs Pick over, wash, and chop dandelions. Fry salt pork until crisp. Set aside fat. Boil water, vinegar, and about 1/3 of the fat. Mix boiling liquid with dandelions, stir well... Read more →

We live in a time of plenty. Foods are brought to our local stores from far and wide. When times get tough, what foods will we NEED to eat? Now we often look to our garden or a produce department to provide vitamin rich fresh foods. Colorful salads look great, but we need foods which provide the energy to keep us going. Our bodies need protein to maintain them. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies won't matter much if we have already STARVED to death! Grains, starchy vegetables and fruit all... Read more →