Today I am joining
Carole Knits for Three on Thursday. I am also pickling cucumbers with my Mom's recipe for bread and butter pickles. I think of her while I slice cucumbers, peppers, and onion in a food processor. She sliced her veggies on a box grater. I also have another new fangled small appliance that is quite helpful. Two years ago our kitchen update included a new glass top range. The appliance store recommended not using a traditional water bath canner on the top because the weight could crack the glass. Some online opinions suggested the opposite but we decided to err on the side of caution. I ordered an electric stand-alone canner made by Ball. It has been worth the investment and storage space it requires. I use the canner beside the sink for easy filling and draining from the spigot. When I am finished, I release the rubber stopper and drain water from the spigot into the sink. No more hauling the heavy canner of water between sink and stove top. It heats up more quickly than the old canner and it doesn't spit boiling water out of the top and onto the surface below.
Besides pickling cucumbers, I am up to my armpits in tomatoes - cherry, roma, rutgers, and one other variety that I tried this summer but whose name escapes me at the moment. I have sauced and canned tomatoes this week and there are at least two more batches on the vine.
So there you have it - Three on Thursday: pickled, sauced, and canned
1. Pickled
2. Sauced
3. Canned (The ping of jar lids as they seal is so satisfying.)
I bet your kitchen has that delightful aroma that is a combination of pickles and tomatoes! I'm going to look into that electric stand-alone canner. I've ruined burners on my NJ stove from canning (water spit out and stained around them permanently), and I also have a glass top range in MD. I don't enjoy canning very much, but this appliance sounds like it might do the job and make it a bit easier. May you hear those sweet pings!
ReplyDeleteI love that ping sound!! I had not heard of the electric stand-alone canner, but I'm going to look into that too. I've used my stove-top canner on my glass-top stove, but I hate the heat and the water spitting out and then carrying the canner outside for the water to cool. I bet I could get back into making jams and other things!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a productive kitchen you have! :-) I think the electric canner sounds perfect!
ReplyDeleteI love thinking of you thinking of your mom. I think of my mom when I knit or when I do things with my daughter. My mom loved to shop for THE bargain. She put so much thought into gifts for us. My dad is the one in the kitchen so when I'm doing any kind of cooking or baking, I think of him.
ReplyDeleteLOVE!! Every bit of this post! Oh those smells are so heavenly and yes that ping!
ReplyDeleteIt's that time of year, isn't it? I'm waiting for the cling free peaches to come in......
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