Andrew Acomb

Saturday, Jennifer and  I went to the Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast near Port Townsend, Washington to learn how to pickle cucumbers. This is just one of the classes that Linda teaches at the farm.

When we arrived, Linda already had everything in the kitchen that we needed to start pickling. She had grape leaves, garlic, dill, and about 20 pounds of cucumbers all grown right there on her farm.

As soon as we walked into the house, Jennifer and I both could smell the fresh  dill!

I learned so much from Linda. She took the time to answer all of our questions. Here she explained to us what to look for when choosing dill for pickling. Getting dill in a supermarket is definitely not the same as growing your own.

First Jennifer washed the cucumbers and I chopped them up. I was surprised they let me handle the sharp knife! I was a little slow on the chopping, so Jennifer ending up helping me with that. Someone had to take all the photos and videos!

In each jar we put a grape leaf, a clove of garlic and a clump of dill. Then we packed it full of “thousands” of tasty cucumbers.

Next we filled the jar up with the warm brine, put the lid on, and tightened the band down. The jars sat until cool.

The whole process was much easier than I thought. Of course Linda was a great teacher and made it seem so simple! She also gave us her recipe for brine, but you’ll have to take her class to get that!

There is one really bad part to the whole process though. I have to wait for at least two weeks for those cucumbers to become delicious pickles!

If your in the area, definitely give the Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast a call to see what classes might be coming up. Linda is such a wonderful teacher. I think she needs her own show on the Food Network!

Instead of making the usual apple cider this year, I decided to try something a little different. I found a few recipes for cranberry cider online. I modified and combined a couple of them to create my own.

The ingredients are:

8 Cups 100% Cranberry Juice
6 Cups 100% Apple Juice
2 Tablespoons Pure Lemon Juice
½ Cup Packed Brown Sugar
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Tablespoon Cloves
1 Tablespoon All Spice Berries

I combined the cranberry juice, apple juice, and lemon juice in a large pot. I then added the brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice berries. I brought the mixture to a boil and then reduced the heat to let it simmer for about 30 minutes. I then spooned out all the cloves, all spice berries, and cinnamon sticks.

Serve hot!

There are a few things I wanted to get done before my surgery tomorrow. One of them was to make some preserves.  Jennifer and I went berry picking at Graysmarsh Farm this past weekend and I didn’t want any of the tasty berries to go to waste. So I spent a good portion of my day teaching myself how to make and can preserves.

I asked my father about the whole process of home canning. He recommended a book called The Ball Blue Book of Preserving. This book has everything you need to get started. It walks you through the entire process with lots of great pictures. It even has a wide variety of recipes for fruits and vegetables.

Another great resource is FreshPreserving.com. Here you will find information on the canning process, equipment, and accessories. The site also has a great list of other websites to visit for even more information.

I started by washing all the mason jars, lids, bands, and utensils with warm soapy water. Once they were nice and clean, I put the lids in a pot filled with water and the glass jars in the water bath canner. I kept both at a temperature just under boiling. This ensures that everything stays clean. By keeping the glass jars warm, this will prevent them from cracking when the hot preserves are poured into them.

Next I made the preserves. I did the raspberries first, then the loganberries and finally the blueberries. The recipe raspberry preserves was very simple. I combined 2 pounds of raspberries and 4 cups of sugar in a pot. I gently stirred until the juices started to flow. Then I slowly brought the mixture to a boil. I kept stirring almost constantly. Eventually all the sugar dissolved.

I kept the mixture at a hard boil while I checked the gel point. I checked it by placing a small amount of the preserves on a chilled plate. I let the preserves on the plate cool to room temperature, so could I see how thick they were. Once the preserves were thick enough for me, they were ready to can. This whole gel point process took about five minutes of boiling. I made note of how long this process took so I wouldn’t have to check it for the next batch. Instead I could just time the boiling.

I removed one glass jar at a time from the water bath canner. With Jennifer’s help, I filled the glass jar with preserves leaving a quarter inch space at the top. I popped any bubbles that were on the surface of the preserves with a plastic stick. I also made sure there was nothing on the rim of the jar. Sometimes I had to gently wipe any preserves that might have accidentally dripped on the rim. It’s very important to have the rim clean in order to make a good seal.

I then took a lid out of the pot, placed it on the jar, and tightened the band down. I put the filled jar back into the water bath canner. I filled jars until there was no more preserves left. Then I turned the heat up on the water bath canner until the water was at a rolling boil. I started a timer and kept it at this temperature for fifteen minutes. It’s very important to keep the filled jars at this temperature to kill any bacteria that may cause botulism. It’s also important to keep the jars at this temperature for the required amount of time. You may have to add more time depending on what elevation your at.

After fifteen minutes, I took the jars out and placed them on a towel to let them cool. As the jars cool, the preserves and the air in the space at the top of the jar contracts. This causes the lid to be sucked in making a popping sound. When I started to hear the lids pop I knew a good seal was created. The preserves were officially canned!