The past 4 days has been a whirlwind of canning..,pickles. I thought I'd try a couple of new varieties :Jalepeno Bread and Butter pickles (a friend's recipe).Spicy Dill Picles (Emerill Legasse's recipe), and "Simply dill pickles (my swedish grandmother's recipe).  The recipes aren't difficult but when you make them in volume, there is quite a bit of prep. The cucumbers must be scrubbed and the blossom end cut off (The blossom end is opposite the stem). They are put in a cooler covered in ice and cooled for about 4 hours. Each sterile jar is packed with a sprig of dill, a clove of garlic and cucumbers, covered in brine, jar tops wiped lids and rings put on and processed in a waterbath canner for 10 minutes. A canner only holds 7 jars so when you are canning 41 quarts...that's quite a bit of time. In grandma's day, they used to ferment the cucumbers in a crock (no jars). My mother and I used to pack the dill, garlic and ice cold cucumbers in jars still hot from the dishwasher dry cycle, wipe the rims and finally add the lids and rings. We didn't process them as they usually sealed by themselves. If they didn't, we redid them the following day. Pickles have a high PH so they don't have to be processed in a canner. However, since I'm selling them, I decided it would be prudent to process them for 10 minutes. Hoping they turn out as yummy as they have always been..
My mom used to tell my brothers and me that the jars had to sit and cure until Thanksgiving. We got to look at the huge 2 quart canning jar filled with goodness for what seemed like weeks upon endless weeks. Guess what, they cure in 3 weeks LOL Since I would eat the pickles and my broer drank the juice I'm thinking that was a ploy to keep us from eating the entire batch by Thanksgiving.

I learned several things yesterday. 

1. Check the weather forecast for market day and dress accordingly. Also, keep a spare sweatshirt in the truck.
2. Take a thermos of coffee, hot cider or hot chocolate if it's going to be cool and plenty of water if it's going to be hot.
3. Be fair to myself when setting prices. Remind myself that it's not just the cost of what I make, it's the time and effort it takes to make it, and just because I grow it doesn't make it free.
4. Herbs are not very popular even when recipes are provided. I need to think on ways to improve that or quit selling them.
5. Labels should be waterproof to survive a rainy market day.
6. Start preparing for market day months before the market opens. Know what I'm going to sell and start canning it as soon as possible and/or sell remaining jars from the year before.
   
7. Even on a rainy day, the market can be fun....especially when friends and family show up.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• 2/3 cups mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream or thick yogurt
• 1/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 T white wine vinegar
• 1 t runny honey
• 1 T minced garlic scapes (can substitute chives)
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. If you like a smooth dressing, grab a medium bowl and mash the blue cheese into the mayo with the back of a fork. If chunky dressing is preferred (my choice), keep the blue cheese aside and proceed to step two.
2. Mix the mayonnaise with the sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar and honey.
3. Add the chives to the bowl, along with the blue cheese (if making the chunky version). Fold to combine, and season with pepper. Taste for seasoning (add more buttermilk, honey, pepper and/or vinegar as necessary.
4. You can use the dressing right away, and trust me, you will want to, but it is even tastier after a day in the fridge. The dressing will thicken as it sits, but can be thinned with a few drops of water. Keep any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the fredge and use it up within a few  days.
5. NOTE...if you like your dressing with a little heat, serve it with a dash of cayenne hot sauce.

I have quite a bunch of garlic scapes that I gleaned from my garden yesterday. Garlic scapes are the gracefully curling tops of a garlic plant with a small white bulb at the tip. Although I have never tried them, I am told they have a mild and delicious garlicky flavor. Tomorrow I plan to change the "never tried" to "have tried" by making and sampling Blue cheese dressing (made with garlic scapes as an onion substitute) and garlic scape pesto.The remaining scapes will be pickled (with basil leaves vinegar and chili flakes). I will, of course, post recipes and pics.
Enjoy your weekend!

Granny J's first day at the market was a success. I sold some but learned more and any day that I learn something is a success! I learned that jam's (especially blackberry, apricot rosemary with red pepper flakes, rhubarb orange)  and sauerkraut are popular items. I learned that next year I need to concentrate on growing dill, basil, oregano and rosemary. My next year plan is to sell fresh herbs along with window kitchen gardens (small pots of basil, parsley, oregano and rosemary). I also learned that there is a need at the market for dog, cat and chicken treats. 
So...next week I will be busy prepping for Thursday's market...making jam and herbal animal treats. I'm wondering if I can clone myself so my clone can do all my other tasks (weeding the garden, doing the laundry, cleaning the house). Any ideas?

I've learned that canning is not only a way to provide your family with wholesome and chemical free food, but the doing of it can be fun. "In any job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and <snap> the job's a game" Mary Poppins. Canning is most fun when you do it with someone. Usually that's my husband but in the last several years I've also shared my joy of canning with my daughter and with a few of my friends. If I'm canning alone, I play my favorite music ... loudly and dance around the kitchen in between process steps. Silly? yes, but fun.
A few canning tips:

• read the recipe through before you start. It's important to know that you have the correct ingredients as well as what to add, when to add them and the cooking/process time at each step.
• get all your equipment (jars, lids, rings, canner etc. together before you start.
• make sure you are using the correct and safest process (waterbath or pressure canner) for what you are canning. Jams, jellies and fermented foods can safely be processed in a waterbath canner. Low acid foods (all vegetables except for most tomatoes, soups, stews, stocks, meats, poultry, and seafood MUST be processed in a pressure canner. Two great resources for proper canning methods are The National Center for Home Food Preservation (nchfp.uga.edu) and the Ball canning site (www.freshpreserving.com) USE THEM

I'm at a time in my life when people tell me that I should be slowing down, and not speeding up, so why have I decided to open a business (albeit a seasonal one)? I have a passion for gardening, for canning/preserving,  for providing my family with as much chemical free food as possible. I love to cook and I enjoy trying new recipes. Add to that an interest in learning more about cultivating and using various vegetables, herbs and spices...and "voila! My new adventure".
I will be opening a booth at my local farmer's market selling my home grown herbs and spices, my home canned fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut and various kinds of pickles, and any extra produce from my garden. To make it more fun, I am starting this blog to share how my garden grows , my farmer's market adventures, my favorite recipes (and hopefully some of yours), and everything I learn about growing and using vegetables, herbs and spices.