SAVING SUMMER

Growing up, we had a big, sweet, nameless apple tree that produced a lot of apples, but weird only all summer long; yes, summer, not autumn. During the “summer of apples” my mother was in the business of picking apples which made us pick the fallen apples following her technical quarters and apple quarters. It was a delicious sauce, with a contrasting pink, fleshy color of nameless apples. I have been adding or cooling apricots since then.




As I write this healthy living note in early summer, I have ideas for the August-September harvest. Throughout the summer we are blessed with plenty, new products spilling over our gardens, sidewalks, farmers' markets and grocery stores and fortunately it continues to fall as the days get shorter. If you have ever tried to grow three or four tomato plants, and now it is August, you may be picking more tomatoes than you can eat. You can't provide it fast enough to unlock the next option. And even though you may not have a peach tree, peaches are everywhere in the market and apples are coming.


Consider adding cans or freezing some of this healthy crop so that in the depths of winter, you can enjoy the pot "in the summer" or share the pot as a gift to a friend. Home cold and cold retain and retain fresh flavor and retain essential nutrients.


Canning 101

If you are a new canned student, start by adding high-acid foods such as tomatoes, salsa, sauces, peaches, apple sauce, fruit reserves, jams, jars and cucumbers. These foods can be safely processed through tested recipes.


Resources. Large stockpile pot with lid and jar, grain jars with new lids, rings, wooden spoons, ladder, funnel, pot holder.

Choose a product that is less ripe, damaged, frozen or inferior.

Surprisingly tomatoes need extra acid such as lemon juice, vinegar or citric acid to increase acidity.

Consider height as it affects processing time.

Low-fat foods such as meat, poultry and fresh vegetables require pressure equipment to ensure food is heated to a sufficient temperature to kill germs and especially Clostridium botulinum.

The best cookbook for recipes and recipes is the All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving. USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation publication, USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning 2015 provides detailed information on difficult canner.


Frozen Fruits and Vegetables 101


Dishes. Use sturdy plastic containers with tight lids or glass-lined jars as canning jars.

Cool food before packing to retain color and flavor.

Freeze food when it is too hot to retain nutrients, color and taste.

Fruits and vegetables can be frozen for eight to 12 months.

** For more information on frozen foods, go to the USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation How Do I Freeze….


** Fresh corn in the barn is plentiful in July and August. Buy enough to freeze. Water blanch the ears of corn for four minutes. Cool immediately and drain the water. Cut the seeds, rip the ears off the back of the knife to extract the juice and heart of the grain.


Cooking Tip

Fresh Peaches with Raspberry Sauce (Cardinal Peaches). Blanche 4 large peaches, cool, peel. Cut the peaches in half, remove the seeds. Melt a 10 ounces pack of frozen raspberries or use two cups of fresh raspberries. Stir in the raspberries through a sieve to remove the seeds. Add one teaspoon of superfine sugar. Arrange half the peaches in four dessert bowls next to the vanilla ice cream. Spoon the raspberry sauce over the peaches and ice cream. Sprinkle with fresh raspberries. Services: 4