Onions . . .

Today I wanted to talk about ONIONS - our onions did very well this year, not as well as some years but I am certainly not complaining!! I have now picked all 4 kinds that I had grown this year and already put new ones in for the fall growing season to harvest just before frost!

Each year I grow the standard white and yellow kitchen cooking onions, as well as the Walla Walla huge yummy sweet onions.

Usually for me, I know when it's time to pick because the tops start to shrivel up and turn brown, HOWEVER the past 2 years we have been soaked with so much rain that I couldn't wait for that, as you would reach down to pick an onion for supper, I started noticing that they were getting mushy, hmmm, time to yank them I said, only because if they continue to get the drenching that they have been getting they will start to rot right down the center and we certainly don't want that to happen.

Above you can see some of the onions that WERE ready, tops have turned brown and have shriveled up, this is completely normal, the weeds are NOT lol but its been so wet it was hard controlling the weeds this year

and now these ones above, see the tops are yet green, but if you were to grab ahold of one of them to yank out, it feels mushy in your hands ~ these are the ones I said were coming out whether they were finished or not

so our son Dakota and the hubby and I got to work, yanking and pulling onions, let me tell you it certainly took awhile, we had hundreds of cutting onions to pull and get ready to hang to dry as well as over 150 of the Walla Walla onions! I had also put in 75 of the Texas Sweet onions, however we pulled those awhile ago as I was not pleased with them, and won't be growing them again here in my area.

Just look at those luscious onions, I could eat an onion every day and never tire of them!

Happy now that the job is done :)

so now it's time to take these onions to the side of the house, we will sit under the canopy at the end of our small greenhouse and get busy

what a haul, we had 4 loads of onions!

braiding the onions to hang, and yes, he takes his job VERY seriously

not what I had in mind, but eh . . . he is happy and I am not going to complain!

men and boys lol I won't even say what they were talking about!

it took about an hour to pull and get onions ready to hang, but we had fun while doing it

once we had them in clusters we simply added a few screws under the canopy and hung them, this is so they can dry properly out in the heat without the rain getting to them, they need lots of air circulation to dry properly

the underside is simply loaded down, we will allow them to hang until the tops dry completely, then they will be put into onion sacks and hung in the basement but NOT in my root cellar, I don't want it smelling of onions in that enclosed room

and just hope that they don't start dropping on our heads when we sit out there

the ones we hung were the regular kitchen cutting onions, however the Walla Walla onions we have laying out in the greenhouse to dry

when the Walla Walla sweet candy onions are dry and ready, I will slice, dice and chop them up for the freezer, the sweet candy onions DO NOT store well, they won't last just drying and hanging like we do the kitchen onions, I have always used my FoodSaver bags for freezing, however my mother just bought herself a new model and in the manual it says NOT to use them for onions, hmmm, I am still alive and have been doing them in mine for years, of course I had to run grab my manual to see if mine said that, and NOPE it did not, something has changed since I purchased mine years ago, since it is now in the new manual, so for your own protection, I would suggest you follow your own brain, whereas I on the other hand, have done it and will continue to do it this way, they do suggest however that a ziploc brand baggie is ok to use for freezer. Use your own judgement!!!! They say that the FoodSaver brand of packaging doesn't allow any air circulation and can cause a harmful bacteria to grow and also the gasses can "expand" the bag, whereas a ziploc baggie does allow some air circulation and that is why they can be used.

This is a bag of the Texas Sweet onions we put up into the freezer last month. It won't be long and all of those onions will be either hangin' in the basement or in my freezer, well, the ones I keep, we always share with neighbors and friends, not to mention the family of course!! Each time someone stops I find myself asking, "Do you need any onions, beans, potatoes?" HA HA I always grow a ton more than I need even for all the storing I do, and what a better way than to share the wealth!!

I will be back to talk about carrots next time, since I have just pulled them all and am going to be canning them up for the root cellar!

Homemade Italian Sausage & Canning it with Zucchini & Tomato Sauce

Today I want to talk to you about how you can make your own Italian Sausage for starters :)

and then we will get into the pressure canning of the

Italian Sausage & Zucchini in Tomato Sauce

So let's begin, to start with you will need these items to make your own Italian Sausage:

2 pounds ground pork (we process our own hogs so I have the ground pork in 1 pound packages already in my freezer, when I am making my breakfast sausage I leave some plain ground pork for using in these type of recipes)

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dry parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1-1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 teaspoon dried fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon minced dried onion

2 teaspoons salt

Mix the above ingredients all together and then fry, drain and set aside. I crumble mine into chunks for the sauce.

2 pounds ground pork

gather your seasonings

measure out your seasonings into a bowl

add seasonings into ground pork and mix well

fry your pork mixture, drain then set aside.

Next get all this stuff together:

Pressure Canner

jar grabber

jar funnel

lid lifter

plastic knife

spoons and ladles

large pots for boiling water

quart jars, seals and bands/rings

hand towels

cloth for wiping down rims before you add seal

pickling and canning salt (optional)

Zucchini, Summer Squash, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

Onions, diced

fresh tomatoes or (like me, my tomatoes are not yet ready) your already canned whole tomatoes or tomato sauce (I used 4 quart jars of my already prepared tomato sauce from pantry & 1 jar of whole tomatoes)

1 can of tomato paste (if needed to thicken)

2 pounds of Italian Sausage

For this recipe you can expect 7-8 quart jars.

Ok the importance of using a pressure canner for certain items such as any meats & certain vegetables, is so you can get the high temperatures you need to kill any bacteria, simply something a water bath canning method cannot do (or reach those high temperatures).

So, lets get started today . . .

Zucchini & Summer Squash, get those picked, washed and the ends cut off, DO NOT PEEL. Dice into 1/2 inch or so cubes/chunks, they WILL get smaller during cooking so I like mine a bit over bite sized to start with.

Inform the cat that she is not welcome on the counter at this time, we do not want kitty fur in the goods!!

After you have all your zucchini and summer squash cubed up, grab that onion from the garden, clean it up and dice it up

It's time to start thinking about heating up those jars, I set up the propane turkey cooker on the back porch for this because I have so much sauce to do today and won't have the space on my stove top

While those get sterilized, you need to get your water added to the pressure canner and set to simmer

I also take this time to add the seals in there to soften the rubber, no need for a special separate sauce pan for these, just add into the pressure canner, keep in mind you do not want the seals boiling, just a simmer is all you need.

There! now everything is getting heated up, it's time to get your tomatoes diced up OR like I did, grab your jars of tomatoes and tomato juice off the pantry shelf and get them dumped into a huge stock pot

at the end of each garden season when I am finished with the sauces I wish to put up, I always process the extra tomatoes into either stewed tomatoes, plain whole tomatoes or tomato juice for times like this when the tomatoes are NOT yet ready in my garden but the zucchini and onions and such are!

I used 5 quart jars off the pantry shelf.

HOWEVER if your garden is ready and you have tomatoes you will need enough tomatoes processed down to make about 48 ounces of tomato puree.

so get that dumped into your stock pot

and add the following spices for your sauce:

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon thyme

4 teaspoons salt

Start this stock pot simmering while you mix in your spices, bring up to a boil, stirring often so it doesn't stick.

This is when I add my onion and sausage

Once it comes to a boil add in the big pan of zucchini you have diced up

remember to keep stirring, you may have to add your zucchini in two batches as they cook down allowing more space in your stock pot

keep stirring, you don't want any sticking going on!

I have to cover mine sometimes or it splatters all over the cabinet to the right of my stove! I am a very messy person while canning!!

now that you have it all nice and boiling, leave it to a slow boil for 15 minutes, then it's time to drop down to a nice simmer to hold it hot so you can get your stuff setup and ready to start filling jars!!

Are you with me? Have I lost you yet?

Head to back porch and grab those jars that have been sitting there all sterilized for you (yes it's a pig sty out there!)

grab that seal/lid lifter and make sure you know where it is, I always have mine stuck right on the stove

grab your other things and set up an old towel, because if you are like me you will be a little messy

Hot jars are now ready to be filled

just look at how lovely it has simmered down for us

I like to start with a slotted spoon to get at least 3/4 of the jar filled with the goodies, you can press the goodies down firmly and then I add the sauce from the pan using the funnel and ladle

Remember to run the spatula around the jar to release any air bubbles, wipe the rims of the jars from any goo that may have gotten on there

now get into your seals and get your jars sealed up

Remember to check your headspace, leaving 1 inch between the lip of the jar to the food product.

next add your bands, remember ONLY to finger tighten, do not over tighten the bands or your seals may not seal or they may crinkle up on you, by finger tightening I simply mean to use only your fingertips and screw the band on, once the jar starts to move with the band it's time to stop turning!!

As you fill each jar and get the seal and rings onto the jars, gently place them into the pressure canner that you have had water in there simmering this whole time, be sure to double check your water level at this point to be sure it hasn't evaporated, fill canner with your jars as you get them sealed and banded up, mine holds 7 quart jars when filled. 

DO NOT ADD THE LID YET

Once you have all your jars filled, sealed and into the pressure canner, it's time for all the excitement :)

Put the lid on and twist it into place, follow your canners instructions, mine just sits down onto the slots and turns and locks into place, do NOT add the weight yet (or do not close the valve if you have that type of pressure canner)

The next important step is to turn up your burner to start that pressure canner to boiling, you need to leave the weight off so that during this time your canner can vent steam, once it's boiling the steam will start escaping out the valve, it's important to allow a steady stream to escape for 10 MINUTES, this gets the air out of the pressure canner, once you have seen a nice steady stream of steam escaping for 10 minutes it's time to add the weight to the valve, it simply just sits right onto the valve.

It's time now to start watching that pressure gauge, your burner should be heating the canner up and the pressure will start building, get the pressure up to 11 pounds, you may have to adjust your burner to keep it at the 11 pounds of pressure, do not allow it to drop below 11 pounds or you will have to start the timing process all over again!! 

Once your pressure hits 11 pounds it's time to start the timer, we need 11 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes, so set your timer for 90 minutes.
(or like my timer 1 hour 30 minutes)

While it's building pressure I like to clean up the kitchen a little bit, remember I said I was pretty messy! Remember you have an hour and a half to keep an eye on the pressure gauge but also time to wander a bit too, just not too far

I will have plenty of laundry to do, I just fold these towels over until my canning is finished, this is also why I keep a stash of old hand towels because of the staining they get

there, a little better

I grab up my labeling stuff and get a spot ready out of the heat and any drafts for the jars when I take them from the pressure canner

now may be a good time to look for the cat, to be sure you didn't accidentally can her up in the process!! ehhh she thinks she is hiding!!

alrighty then, back to business, have you been keeping an eye on your pressure gauge? and the timer? I have :)
5 more minutes!!!

I like to set my canner off the stove when it's time to de-pressurize, as the stove is so very hot.

I also had some left over sauce, so instead of one more jar in the canner all by itself, I decided to grab a pork loin and cook the hubby a nice sauced up pork loin for supper, it's in the oven now, fat side up oh yeah!!

ok time is up, set the canner on the cooling rack, do NOT touch anything, leave the weight on and go find sometime to do while you wait for it to drop back down to zero

and the safety release is up, when the gauge drops to zero AND the safety release goes back down is the only time you want to start messing with it

it can take 25 minutes to an hour or better to drop that safety button back down, I take the time to clean up the kitchen during this time, OR get your next batch ready, or read a book!

alright, the safety valve has dropped, the pressure gauge is reading zero, it's time to remove the weight and remove the lid, using pot holders unlatch it and when lifting the lid be sure to open it carefully and away from you so the steam still in there that comes out is not coming up into your face!

Set the lid aside, grab your jar lifters.

Carefully remove one jar at a time and place onto the hand towel without touching, they need a little air space between jars to cool down.

Leave them alone, you will start hearing the popping sound of the seals actually sealing, you will know when they are sealed by the way the seal has been sucked down onto the jar, using your finger you can push on the lid and it doesn't give any, (or pop up and down) if it does move up and down it means it did not seal properly for whatever reason and you need to put it in the fridge and use within 2 weeks. Some people I know have removed and replaced the seal and processed them all over again, I have never done that, I feel it's way over cooked product and prefer just to use them up within the 2 week time frame.

What a beautiful sight!! son and hubby are snapping beans for me again!!
I snuck a photo through the back screen door :)

Don't forget to label your new canned goodies with the date!

what's next on my to-do list you ask?
why ONIONS of course!
So the family and I will see you back here next time when I talk about the onions we just harvested :)