Sunday 7 April 2013

This week we had a few firsts!

It began when we harvested the beets, spinach and chard.


I blanched the leaves...


And prepped them for the freezer...


But I had a bunch of chard stalk left over so I thought I'd try a chutney recipe I found on line...


Sadly, it being an online recipe the canning instructions were a little loosey goosey...


So I took this lovely looking pickle and pressure canned it!


I should probably just kept it as a fridge pickle, but there was soooo much of it. 


The pressure canner crushed all of the fluids pit of the veggies and made it really watery. 
I can salvage them by draining the fluid and tossing them into a curry for flavor.

Anyway, we also made beer...


A nice chocolaty porter that will be ready in a few weeks.
So there are all of my firsts!

5 comments:

GB said...

Once upon a time I used to make wine and beer (and won a few prizes) but have not made wine or preserved foods for years. Mind you gardening when one lives in two worlds is not easy anyway.

Naturegirl said...

Ah so nice to be in a climate where you harvest as we here in my world wait for first signs of Spring!You are so busy preparing food each time I come by!
Yum. Beer well I don't care for it.

Cat said...

G.B. I know what you mean about living in 2 worlds, being teachers my husband loves to travel during the summers and this can be hellish as we hand water.

So, fancy sharing any recipes?

Naturegirl I'm working on it, just picked up some frozen berries for my next round of jams. Beer, I'm picky about my beers, but I'm willing to give it a go.

GB said...

Gosh, Cat, that was when I lived in Cheshire in England in my 20s. I wouldn't know where to start now over 40 years later.

Cat said...

Ah, English yeast!