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lentils and pulses
On 3/3/2015 11:18 AM, Derald wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote: On 3/03/2015 3:51 AM, Derald wrote: Many tree fruits, even citrus, need some amount of coddling (primarily protection from cold, heat, sun), which I'm not willing to do, and those that "vernalize" easily get badly confused, bloom 'way too early only to have blossoms and nascent fruit freeze in February (I just watched my neighbor's peaches do that dance for the third consecutive winter) That's interesting about the peaches. We can grow peaches here well out in the open and even though we get heavy frosts, I am starting to get lemons to grow close in to the house and put in a spot where the sun doesn't reach them in winter till about 10am so that the frost is thawing before the sun hits their leaves. The on, off nature of our winters and the long near-tropical summers make it nearly impossible for peaches, apples, pears to cope. Although, within my memory, serious attempts were made to introduce hybrid peaches, apples, "improved" blackberries, "improved" wine grapes, and "improved" table grapes commercialy in my immediate "neighborhood", all failed and I never have seen any of those, save for Pierce-resistant table grapes, grown as "dooryard" fruit. Citrus is less common now than in past years but still popular, although, it requires protection or strategic siting, as you mention. We have one tangerine tree, from a volunteer seedling, that bears sparsely because it's shaded but the trees that shade it are protective so.... Commercial orange groves (In the US Southeast, oranges and pecans live in "groves", not in "orchards". Who knows why.) once abounded where I live but several successive freezes between 1984-1989 were major factors in the eventual death of that industry in these parts. Nowadays, many former groves now sustain introduced planted pines or houses but a fair amount of it is being allowed to naturalize. We have a fig and a kumquat, both young, growing in the backyard. The kumquat fruits in the fall and we have been picking them up until late last month. We have a young pear tree in the front yard, blossoms last year got frost bit, this year it looks as though we may escape a late frost and may, maybe, I hope, get a few pears this year. We moved back to Texas after 24 years in SW Louisiana, town called Sulphur. Had a very large backyard with a mature fruit trees, two kumquat trees generally gave us about ten gallons of fruit, fig tree almost that much, Japanese persimmon, two plum trees, one Ponderosa lemon tree that was very fruitful too. We were basically one step up from sub-tropical, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) heat zone 9b, we're one zone down here at the new place so get a bit more frost. In 8b our last frost date was generally around mid-February, here it's mid-to-late March. snip Climate variations and what is achievable in certain areas always interests me. I'm continuously confused by the phase differences among regional climates in the two hemispheres. Although we have had March surprises, for practical purposes, "winter" is over where I live. Only had overnight freezing temperatures two or three times. One night, temps remained at or below freezing for almost nine hours, which is unusual—two nights like that are a cold wave. One sparkling frosty morning and no ice, at all. Haven't made a fire for a couple of weeks, at least. Looking for a high today of 26-27 real degrees; low tonight 15-16. The window for planting veggies that demand cool temperatures is closed, or nearly so, and it's time to think about beans, eggplant, etc. snip As far as the freezer goes and without bothering to go look: Okra, green peppers (julienne and diced), hot peppers (whole), Do you use those in cooking? I assume they go squishy which is why I ask about cooking. The okra is frozen either whole or sliced, the slices being alread breaded and ready to cook (fry). The diced/sliced "bell" peppers keep their texture very nearly as well as the flash frozen commercial products. The hot peppers (mostly jalapeño) are frozen whole and, yes, they do get squishy and are suitable only as ingredients. Slicing, if needed, is done while peppers are still nearly frozen. Although we keep a stock in the freezer, with a little effort, I can grow jalapeño peppers as perennials, which keeps fresh green peppers available almost year 'round but we use enough ripe (red) ones that we keep some in the freezer. We freeze a lot of vegetables. Generally I will slice and dice then put on a bun pan and into the freezer for 1 hour, then vacuum bag. Do that with peppers, okra, green beans, etc. For greens I blanch them for three minutes in boiling water, drain the liquid off, put on a bun pan in a serving size for two, vacuum pack and into the freezer again. Pulled some Swiss chard out the other night from 2011, still like new snip LOL. You freeze much more than I do in it's vegetative state. If I was going to freeze a lot of those things, they'd be included in cooked meals (stews/casseroles etc). I'm trying to think what veg we eat that has come out of the freezer and the only thing that comes to mind is peas. Well, as noted, many of the veggies named _are_ pre-cooked or are in finished side dishes. Eggplant, for example, frequently will be in a casserole or vegetarian lasagna, although DW has learned a technique for preserving its texture well enough for other uses; the collards and other greens are only par-cooked so that they can finish cooking without getting all mooshy. Green beans don't freeze well in home freezers but they're tolerable in January, when there's not a fresh bean in sight unless one is willing to pay exhorbitant prices for those things the grocery stores sell. We puree a lot of eggplant and/or zucchini, turn into fritters, let cool, vacuum bag and freeze, handy to get out for dinner in the winter. Lots of zucchini and other summer squashes get either sliced for casseroles, or shredded to make bread or fritters during the winter. snip Pressure canners have only fairly recently become available int his country... Goodness; I find that surprising but I do remember seeing, in an online catalog, types of containers no longer used here. Seems to me the lid-sealing arrangement differed. I would not be without my pressure canner and assorted menagerie of boiling water bath canners. We put up a lot of beans and peas by pressure canning plus we make lots of jams and jellies for our extended family there's about 21 of us around the area now, all descendants or married into the family. We both learned to pressure can and otherwise preserve food in the late forties, early fifties from our parents. Hardy farm folk in the main. I have a small closet in my office that is full of canning jars, lids, rings, full jars of this and that, and most of our canning pots and pans plus extra rolls of vacuum bags, etc. Once you learn how to do it and do it the proper way so no one dies from eating your stuff it becomes easy and, I think, saves lots of money instead of buying more stuff that you don't know where it comes from. I have become one of those who avidly reads food labels. I don't buy food canned in certain countries and try not to eat anything that comes out of those countries. I don't visit certain American restaurants because most of their food comes from one or more of those countries. Home made is best. |
#2
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lentils and pulses
On 4/03/2015 5:27 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 3/3/2015 11:18 AM, Derald wrote: Fran Farmer wrote: On 3/03/2015 3:51 AM, Derald wrote: Many tree fruits, even citrus, need some amount of coddling (primarily protection from cold, heat, sun), which I'm not willing to do, and those that "vernalize" easily get badly confused, bloom 'way too early only to have blossoms and nascent fruit freeze in February (I just watched my neighbor's peaches do that dance for the third consecutive winter) That's interesting about the peaches. We can grow peaches here well out in the open and even though we get heavy frosts, I am starting to get lemons to grow close in to the house and put in a spot where the sun doesn't reach them in winter till about 10am so that the frost is thawing before the sun hits their leaves. The on, off nature of our winters and the long near-tropical summers make it nearly impossible for peaches, apples, pears to cope. Although, within my memory, serious attempts were made to introduce hybrid peaches, apples, "improved" blackberries, "improved" wine grapes, and "improved" table grapes commercialy in my immediate "neighborhood", all failed and I never have seen any of those, save for Pierce-resistant table grapes, grown as "dooryard" fruit. Citrus is less common now than in past years but still popular, although, it requires protection or strategic siting, as you mention. We have one tangerine tree, from a volunteer seedling, that bears sparsely because it's shaded but the trees that shade it are protective so.... Commercial orange groves (In the US Southeast, oranges and pecans live in "groves", not in "orchards". Who knows why.) once abounded where I live but several successive freezes between 1984-1989 were major factors in the eventual death of that industry in these parts. Nowadays, many former groves now sustain introduced planted pines or houses but a fair amount of it is being allowed to naturalize. We have a fig and a kumquat, both young, growing in the backyard. The kumquat fruits in the fall and we have been picking them up until late last month. We have a young pear tree in the front yard, blossoms last year got frost bit, this year it looks as though we may escape a late frost and may, maybe, I hope, get a few pears this year. We moved back to Texas after 24 years in SW Louisiana, town called Sulphur. Had a very large backyard with a mature fruit trees, two kumquat trees generally gave us about ten gallons of fruit, fig tree almost that much, Japanese persimmon, two plum trees, one Ponderosa lemon tree that was very fruitful too. We were basically one step up from sub-tropical, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) heat zone 9b, we're one zone down here at the new place so get a bit more frost. In 8b our last frost date was generally around mid-February, here it's mid-to-late March. snip Climate variations and what is achievable in certain areas always interests me. I'm continuously confused by the phase differences among regional climates in the two hemispheres. Although we have had March surprises, for practical purposes, "winter" is over where I live. Only had overnight freezing temperatures two or three times. One night, temps remained at or below freezing for almost nine hours, which is unusual—two nights like that are a cold wave. One sparkling frosty morning and no ice, at all. Haven't made a fire for a couple of weeks, at least. Looking for a high today of 26-27 real degrees; low tonight 15-16. The window for planting veggies that demand cool temperatures is closed, or nearly so, and it's time to think about beans, eggplant, etc. snip As far as the freezer goes and without bothering to go look: Okra, green peppers (julienne and diced), hot peppers (whole), Do you use those in cooking? I assume they go squishy which is why I ask about cooking. The okra is frozen either whole or sliced, the slices being alread breaded and ready to cook (fry). The diced/sliced "bell" peppers keep their texture very nearly as well as the flash frozen commercial products. The hot peppers (mostly jalapeño) are frozen whole and, yes, they do get squishy and are suitable only as ingredients. Slicing, if needed, is done while peppers are still nearly frozen. Although we keep a stock in the freezer, with a little effort, I can grow jalapeño peppers as perennials, which keeps fresh green peppers available almost year 'round but we use enough ripe (red) ones that we keep some in the freezer. We freeze a lot of vegetables. Generally I will slice and dice then put on a bun pan and into the freezer for 1 hour, then vacuum bag. Do that with peppers, okra, green beans, etc. For greens I blanch them for three minutes in boiling water, drain the liquid off, put on a bun pan in a serving size for two, vacuum pack and into the freezer again. Pulled some Swiss chard out the other night from 2011, still like new snip LOL. You freeze much more than I do in it's vegetative state. If I was going to freeze a lot of those things, they'd be included in cooked meals (stews/casseroles etc). I'm trying to think what veg we eat that has come out of the freezer and the only thing that comes to mind is peas. Well, as noted, many of the veggies named _are_ pre-cooked or are in finished side dishes. Eggplant, for example, frequently will be in a casserole or vegetarian lasagna, although DW has learned a technique for preserving its texture well enough for other uses; the collards and other greens are only par-cooked so that they can finish cooking without getting all mooshy. Green beans don't freeze well in home freezers but they're tolerable in January, when there's not a fresh bean in sight unless one is willing to pay exhorbitant prices for those things the grocery stores sell. We puree a lot of eggplant and/or zucchini, turn into fritters, let cool, vacuum bag and freeze, handy to get out for dinner in the winter. Lots of zucchini and other summer squashes get either sliced for casseroles, or shredded to make bread or fritters during the winter. snip Pressure canners have only fairly recently become available int his country... Goodness; I find that surprising but I do remember seeing, in an online catalog, types of containers no longer used here. Seems to me the lid-sealing arrangement differed. I would not be without my pressure canner and assorted menagerie of boiling water bath canners. I don't own a pressure canner and can't see that I would ever use one. I do own three water bath preserving outfits but these days the 2 stove top ones are in retirement and I only use my Electric outfit. We put up a lot of beans and peas by pressure canning plus we make lots of jams and jellies for our extended family there's about 21 of us around the area now, all descendants or married into the family. I make lots of jams and jellies but of course I don't need any of my water bath outfits when I make them. I did recently do a very extravagant thing though for my jam and jelly making. I've always wanted a big copper jam pan and when we cam back form an overseas trip and i still had a few hundred unspent dollars, I lashed out and bought myself the biggest copper jam pan I could find. It IS beautiful but TBH, I don't believe it improves my jam and it IS a pig to clean, but I feel like such a good little hausfrau each time I use it. We both learned to pressure can and otherwise preserve food in the late forties, early fifties from our parents. Hardy farm folk in the main. I have a small closet in my office that is full of canning jars, lids, rings, full jars of this and that, and most of our canning pots and pans plus extra rolls of vacuum bags, etc. Once you learn how to do it and do it the proper way so no one dies from eating your stuff it becomes easy and, :-)) Botulism will do that. That is probably why most people in this country who are into preserving only do fruit and use the freezer for long term keeping of veg or meat. |
#3
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lentils and pulses
On 3/3/2015 9:19 PM, Derald wrote:
George Shirley wrote: We moved back to Texas after 24 years in SW Louisiana, town called Sulphur. Had a very large backyard with a mature fruit trees, two kumquat trees generally gave us about ten gallons of fruit, fig tree almost that much, Japanese persimmon, two plum trees, one Ponderosa lemon tree that was very fruitful too. We were basically one step up from sub-tropical, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) heat zone 9b, we're one zone down here at the new place so get a bit more frost. In 8b our last frost date was generally around mid-February, here it's mid-to-late March. The most recent USDA remapping changed us from 9a to 9b. However, the white shirts neglected to tell the weather sprites and nothing really has changed. We freeze a lot of vegetables. Generally I will slice and dice then put on a bun pan and into the freezer for 1 hour, then vacuum bag. Do that with peppers, okra, green beans, etc. For greens I blanch them for three minutes in boiling water, drain the liquid off, put on a bun pan in a serving size for two, vacuum pack and into the freezer again. Pulled some Swiss chard out the other night from 2011, still like new Yours is basically the procedure that I follow except for the vacuum. I spread the stuff out on cookie sheets so that individuals are separated. They freeze quickly and remain separate when packaged. I do, however, vacuum pack dehydrated foods such as onion or celery but don't use any of those "systems" that use plastic bags. In the 1990's DW&I purchased and tested every countertop vacuum appliance that we could find at retail. 100% of the bags, even brand name bags, failed within just a few months. In many cases the failure was undetectable until one opened the package. Most failed along the factory seams. I obtain a higher vacuum than the Tilia ever achieved by using a high quality bicycle pump (the repairable kind from a bicycle shop, not a Walmart throwaway) with reversed valving (Had to add an external check valve because the stock valve does not seal when reversed). Tape tabs over piercings in the lids of the same Mason jars we used for canning makes touching up the vacuum from time to time easy. The last time I used the Foodsaver was to remove excess fluid through the fill tube of an automatic transmission in '03 or '04; really. I'm still using the FoodSaver but I don't buy bags from them. Find 50 foot rolls online and have only had two fail in service recently. My main gripe with the FoodSaver is that the new ones eat about an extra two inches of bag each time you seal one due to setting the vacuum channel back that much. My first FoodSaver only used about a quarter inch of bag but it croaked after several years due to bad construction of hinges on the lid. Super glued that and it kept working until some of the internal plastic died too. I'm looking on line for a better vacuum sealer without all the foibles of Tilia. I would not be without my pressure canner and assorted menagerie of boiling water bath canners. We still have ours, too, along with a motley assortment of pressure cookers none of which ever gets used. However, a five or six quart weight-regulated pressure cooker makes a fine retort in which to evacuate multiple small jars at once. Attach the pump onto the cooker's vent tube and let'er rip. snip I have a small closet in my office that is full of canning jars, lids, rings, full jars of this and that, and most of our canning pots and pans plus extra rolls of vacuum bags, etc. Once you learn how to do it and do it the proper way so no one dies from eating your stuff it becomes easy and, I think, saves lots of money instead of buying more stuff that you don't know where it comes from. I have become one of those who avidly reads food labels. I don't buy food canned in certain countries and try not to eat anything that comes out of those countries. I don't visit certain American restaurants because most of their food comes from one or more of those countries. Home made is best. Ironically, even at upscale restaurants the fancy dishes could come frozen in a bright white box bearing the "Sysco" label. Not many upscale restaurants where I live, mostly TexMex, sandwich shops, etc. Do better cooking everything myself. My kraut is working, made its own water and is doing well. Hit 81F here today and if it stays hot there goes the kraut. Unless I put it in the old fridge in the garage and keep it around 60F, if possible. What the heck, it was only two five lb heads of cabbage, turn it into compost if it fails as kraut. |
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