Nutrition experts have begun to advise low-carbohydrate diets to treat or prevent some chronic diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.
A low-carb diet focuses on proteins, including meat, poultry, fish and eggs, and some non-starchy vegetables. A low-carb diet generally excludes or limits most grains, legumes, fruits, breads, sweets, pastas and starchy vegetables. Some low-carb diet plans allow small amounts of certain fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Decrease Carbohydrates
The idea behind the low-carb diet is that decreasing carbs lowers insulin levels, which causes the body to burn stored fat for energy and ultimately leads to weight loss. According to Dr. Atkins, a carbohydrate count of less than 20 per day for two weeks will start a fat-burning state called ketosis.
Ketosis
Ketosis is a normal metabolic process, something your body does to keep working when it doesn’t have access to carbohydrates. Ketosis uses stored fat as body fuel due to the limited amount of glucose available when carbohydrate restriction is used for dieting. Without carbohydrates, the body’s fuel of choice, the body uses up the energy in the body’s fat stores which results in weight loss.
Net Carbs
Some types of carbohydrates do not affect blood sugar in the body as much as others, so the thought is that net carbs only account for carbs that do affect blood sugar. Net carbs are total carbohydrates per serving minus the number of grams of fiber (soluble and insoluble) per serving.
When counting carbohydrates for a recipe, I use net carbs which is the total carbohydrates minus the dietary fiber and one-half of the sugar alcohols which reveals the net carbs in a recipe.
Sugar alcohols
5-6 Carb Crock Pot Taco Soup
Sugar alcohols are another form of carbohydrate that has an extremely small impact on blood sugar levels. Sugar alcohols, like sorbitol, malitol, lactitol or sucralose, have half of the calories than those contained in other sugars, and therefore, half of the carbs from sugar alcohols can be deducted from the total carbohydrate count. Since fiber and sugar alcohols are not absorbed by the body, they do not affect the blood glucose.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef, chicken or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes and dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
Dash of salt and pepper
cups chicken broth
1 four oz can of green chilies
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup salsa
Avocado (optional)
Instructions:In a skillet over medium heat, brown meat.Drain fat from meat and put in crock pot.Add remaining ingredients to crock pot (except avocado) and cook over low heat for 6-8 hours. Garnish soup with avocado, if desired.
The information contained in this book is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment, and, as author, I encourage readers to consult with qualified medical professionals for treatment and related advice for their health. 5
I encourage individuals and their families to consult with qualified medical professionals for treatment and related advice on individual cases before beginning any diet. Decisions relating to the prevention, detection and treatment of all health issues should be made only after discussing the risks and benefits with your health care provider, taking into account your personal medical history, your current situation and your future health risks and concerns. If you are pregnant, nursing, diabetic, on medication, have a medical condition, or are beginning a health or weight control program, consult your physician.
Candied orange peel gleams like jewels in sunlight.
My grandmother’s favorite candy was candied orange peel.
Born in 1898 she grew up on a homestead in Oklahoma that was staked out during
the Oklahoma Land Rush. Oklahoma did not become a state until 1906. Oranges were
a rare treat, and not a bit was wasted not even the peel.
The orange is one of the oldest fruits on earth. Most
historians believe that it was first grown in ancient China four thousand years
ago. Then, during the age of exploration, European explorers spread the orange
all over the world.
In the United States citrus plantings were extensively done in California by the Spanish missionaries. The commercial industry began to grow with the 1849 Gold Rush boom and efforts to supply the miners from San Francisco with citrus fruit. The completion of the Transcontinental Railway further stimulated the citrus industry. Later improvements of refrigeration helped to increase citrus growing and planting in 1889.
Fruitcake Scarcity
My husband and I love fruitcake but found a lack of the
Christmas holiday treat this year. Our
local grocer had one small display for one day before it disappeared. I
determined to produce the necessary ingredients from scratch for the Christmas
treat for our family. My grandmother’s recipe is the foundation for an
exemplary Christmas concoction.
On a holiday visit I asked Grandma Effa for her recipe for candied orange peel. The recipe is dated June 21, 1981 in my handwritten collection of family favorite recipes. It wasn’t until this Christmas and the dearth of holiday fruitcake that I remembered Grandma’s candied orange peel.
The first task was to collect orange peels. I quartered our breakfast oranges and refrigerated the quartered peelings of 6-8 oranges. The orange peel must be pared from the white pith with a sharp paring knife as the pith s a bitter taste to the finished product. Or strip oranges with a vegetable peeler. Each orange will yield about 1 cup of peel. Cut the peels into ¼ inch strips to prepare for candy.
Grandma Effa’s
Candied Orange Peel
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
Extra sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
Begin by boiling and draining the orange peels
three times for about 5 minutes each time to eliminate bitterness.
In a saucepan combine syrup, sugar and water and
bring to boil.
Add peels and continue boiling until syrup
becomes thick and absorbed into orange peels.
Remove peels to parchment paper and let dry for
several hours.
Sprinkle with sugar and enjoy.
Candied Peel
You can also candy clementines by halving them crosswise and eating or juicing the pulp. Discard any membranes still attached to peel. Then cut each half into eighths. Candy the peel just as you would an orange peel.
There are more uses for those orange peels. Orange extract can be made by simply steeping
orange peels in vodka for several weeks to flavor the alcohol to be used in
baked goodies like cookies, bread and cakes.
The Homesteader’s Motto was and is, “Waste not, want not.”
They left a legacy of beauty and goodness from the scraps of living. I have quilts, tablecloths and aprons made
from flour sacks; tops whittled from empty thread spools; dolls made from
wooden clothespins and hats made from
pheasant feathers that testify to the homesteaders’ use of every available
resource.
The apple tree I planted 40 years ago produces a harvest about every three years when the blossoming tree escapes the late spring snows of the Rocky Mountains. This year produced a bumper crop of lovely Anoka apples. It’s a great variety for canning, cooking and eating right off the tree. Self-pollinating, it does not require another tree to produce a crop. The single dwarf tree fits neatly into a backyard garden leaving space for other fruit trees, or berry patches, or a vegetable garden.
September encourages gardeners to hurry and gather in garden goodies before the winter snows. I filled a laundry basket with the fruit from lower boughs and set up my roaster oven which is the largest cooking container that I have. The roaster not only consolidates the apple saucing process but also furnishes a hot water bath that will accommodate a dozen or more filled canning jars at a time.
Process
Making applesauce is a simple process for beginners or experienced canners. Just follow these easy steps:
1) Wash apples. There is no need to peel the apples.
2) Chunk the apples by cutting the apple flesh from its core. Cut away any imperfections like bruises or wayward insect or bird damage. Reserve cores for apple jelly.
3) Put apples in a roaster oven or large kettle. Add a little water to keep apples from sticking to bottom of pan. Sweetener, cinnamon and spices are optional. I added 1/2 cup sugar to the water since Anokas are on the tart side.
4) Cook at 300 degrees until soft (about 2 hours).
5) Use sieve to sauce the apples and remove the skin and seeds.
6) Fill clean, sterilized canning jars with sauce while hot and seal with sterilized canning lids.
7) Process the jars for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath that comes to the neck of the jars.
8) Use a jar lifter to remove applesauce jars from the hot water bath.
Use the Apple Cores for Jelly
Don’t waste the apple cores. They can make a lovely jelly when boiled to extract the apple juice. I had enough juice to make 10 cups of jelly to give as homemade Christmas gifts for friends and family.
My trusty roaster is a versatile appliance that I have used for processing apples and pumpkins, roasting turkeys, and cooking sloppy joes for crowds of a hundred.
It is a satisfying day’s work to capture summer’s sweetness for winter’s pleasure.
To make apple sugar from the apple crop see my “how to” post https://countryparsonswife.com/apple-sugar/ . For over a hundred recipes from the garden check out my cookbook Eat What Your Grow below.
Kale is a rewarding plant to add to the summer garden. Kale is one of the world’s healthiest vegetables. The nutrients it contains support healthy skin, hair, and bones. The fiber content enhances digestion and contributes to cardiovascular health. It may help improve blood glucose control in diabetes,, lower the risk of cancer,, reduce blood pressure, and help prevent the development of asthma. It contains fiber,antioxidants, calcium, and vitamin K.
Kale and Vitamin K
Because of its abundant vitamin K, patients on blood thinners should consult with their doctors before adding kale to their diet as this vitamin helps blood clot. One cup of cooked kale has 1000 percent more vitamin C than a cup of cooked spinach. Kale is low in oxalate, so the calcium and iron it provides are more easily absorbed by the human digestive system.
Nutritional yeast & B-complex
Nutritional yeast is a significant source of some B-complex vitamins and contains trace amounts of several other vitamins and minerals. It has a taste that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy. A serving also provides 9 grams of protein. It is a complete protein providing all nine amino acids the human body cannot produce. I like it sprinkled on popcorn as well.
Despite its name nutritional yeast is quite different from brewer’s yeast, baker’s yeast and pathogenic, or disease causing, yeast. It cannot cause or contribute to Candida yeast infections because it is derived from a different species that has been deactivated. Because nutritional yeast has not been associated with the candida albicans strain related to yeast infections, it has proven to be one of the best remedies for chronic candida symptoms, a specific type of yeast infection. It has also shown profound effects on E.coli, salmonella and staphylococcus.
Preparation and Dehydration
Besides my favorite kale salad, my family enjoys snacking on kale chips. With the addition of an Excaliber dehydrator, making kale chips is quick and easy. I use scissors to cut the washed kale from its center rib in long strips. The kale will shrink with dehydration. Place the kale in a large bowl or a gallon zip lock bag and add 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Then massage the leaves to distribute the oil throughout the kale. Sprinkle the kale while in the bag with salt and nutritional yeast for taste and added nutritional value.
Spread the kale chips on the dehydrating trays. Since I grow curly kale, I insert the trays in every other slot to accommodate the ruffly chips.
Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 2-4 hours until kale is crisp. Store in airtight container for snacking. This is a quick and easy way to preserve the kale harvest and boost your family’s nutrition with one of the world’s healthiest foods.
This book is a delight! Easy to follow recipes along with the warmth and wisdom of the author. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Terri
This book is a delight! Easy to follow recipes along with the warmth and wisdom of t author. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Get more recipes for your garden produce from my book Eat What You Grow: Easy Recipes for the Backyard Homestead.
Who doesn’t love the scent of vanilla? My sister Rosalyn sent me some vanilla beans several years ago. She had ordered some and had more than she could use, so she sent them to me with instructions on making vanilla. Store-bought vanilla has become a thing of the past in our cottage. Her gift has been enjoyed and shared many times over.
Did you know that vanilla comes from an orchid? Spanish explorers arriving on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the early 16th century found the Aztecs using vanilla and gave vanilla its current name. Later that century Spanish and Portuguese sailors and explorers brought vanilla into Africa and Asia. They called it vainilla, or “little pod”. Although it is native to Mexico, it is now widely grown throughout the tropics. Indonesia and Madagascar are the world’s largest producers.
When a cyclone hit Madagascar and destroyed the harvest. the price of vanilla sky-rocketed. Currently, vanilla is fetching upwards of $600 per kilo—about $60 more than the price of precious silver. The cost of vanilla is about 10 times what it used to cost just a few years ago. For the treasured flavor and aroma of vanilla for baking, making it yourself is cost effective and results in a premium product.
Make your own vanilla extract
I love baking and sweetened delights almost always are enhanced with the delicious fragrance of vanilla. Rather than using imitation vanilla, make your own for a fraction of the store-bought price. The process is simple. Depending on your desired strength of vanilla extract, you will need 13-23 oz of vanilla bean to one gallon of vodka. You could use bourbon, brandy or rum instead of vodka; as long as it’s 80 proof alcohol, it will suffice. I use vodka because it is the most neutral in taste of the alcohols. You can use the extract as soon as six weeks but vanilla extract only gets better and better with age and optimally you should wait 6 months.
Supplies
I gathered the necessary equipment: vanilla beans, steeping bottle and vodka. Most recipes call for splitting the vanilla beans lengthwise and scraping the tiny vanilla beans from the bean, but I have just put the whole bean in the alcohol and let the beans steep with good results. I inserted Vanilla beans into a fancy bottle with a stopper and used a funnel to pour the vodka over the beans and up to the neck of the jar. Shake the bottle daily for a week and then put it away to continue steeping. Shake it occasionally to mingle the ingredients.
The steeping process shows in the color change from clear to amber in just two days. It will be at least six weeks before the vanilla is ready. I just leave the vanilla beans in the bottle until it runs out. I have been known to refill the bottle with vodka and use the beans again for a second steep with good results. Vanilla extract makes a wonderful gift.
Other kitchen uses for vodka
The 1.75 liter of vodka was only $13.99. Note: I also use vodka to preserve ginger root so that it doesn’t spoil before I have a chance to use it in various recipes. Just peel the ginger root, put it in a glass container with a tight lid, cover it with vodka, and refrigerate between uses. I’m also going to make the Apple Vodka recipe I saw on Pinterest the other day with the left over alcohol from the vanilla project.
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My son gave me a crepe pan for Christmas which was his subtle way of inducing more crepes from my kitchen. The specialized pan made it easy to create uniformly thin crepes perfectly.
My family loves crepes. We often eat them as a light supper or festive luncheon. My son recently brought home a recipe that makes a scrumptious healthy breakfast especially for kids with sleep-over guests.
At our family get-together luncheon crepes were requested. Our son brought bananas and Nutella to the occasion for each of us to try. Oh my!!! I was hooked from the moment the hazelnut chocolate spread bananas hit my taste buds. Besides being delicious the crepes had healthy aspects as well.
Healthy Goodness
Bananas are rich in antioxidants and several nutrients. A medium-sized banana has about 105 calories. Bananas hold very little protein and almost no fat.
Bananas are rich in potassium and fiber. They may help prevent asthma, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and digestive problems. One medium-sized banana contains 422 milligrams of potassium.
Potassium also helps muscles to contract and nerve cells to respond. It keeps the heart beating regularly and can reduce the effect of sodium on blood pressure.
Potassium may reduce the risk of kidney stones forming as people age. In turn, healthy kidneys make sure that the right amount of potassium is kept in the body.
I want to share our family’s delicious delight with crepes, so here’s the easiest crepe recipe you’ll ever find.
Recipe
Basic Crepes Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons flour
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons softened butter
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender and mix.
Let sit for 20 minutes.
Spray crepe pan with cooking spray and heat pan over medium-high heat.
When water drop sizzles on heated pan, pour a small amount of crepe batter in center of pan and swirl to cover pan with a thin layer of the batter.
When bubbles appear on the top surface of the crepe, flip the crepe and quickly toast the other side. (Due to the hot pan and a thin crepe, this happens very quickly.)
Place crepe on a plate and continue cooking individual crepes.
Place paper towel between each crepe to keep them from sticking together.
Filling:
Banana
Nutella
Slice a banana on an open crepe and drizzle with Nutella. Fold the crepe over the filling and enjoy! This crepe recipe makes 5-6 crepes. It’s easy to double for more!
The Fall orange of pumpkins makes the heart glad and sends the cook on a recipe adventure.
Last Fall I had a bountiful pumpkin harvest from my straw bale garden. (More about that in another post.) Nature’s bounty sent me looking for ways to incorporate the harvest into our daily menus. These are my favorite finds for breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and dessert. I also canned the pumpkin for future use which your can read about in a separate post on this site.
Pumpkin Curry Soup
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups diced yellow onion sautéed in 1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 ½ teaspoons yellow curry
¾ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
1 bay leaf
Pinch of cinnamon
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
3 ½ cups pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic salt
3 Tablespoons whipping cream
½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Saute onion till transparent.
Add spices to onion.
Add broth, pumpkin and salts.
Simmer 30 minutes.After simmering, add whipping cream and black pepper.Serve immediately.May garnish with yogurt and pumpkin seeds, if desired.
Serve this with a kale salad and a crusty roll for a healthy, delicious lunch.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake
Ingredients:
½ cup sweetener of choice (sugar, honey, stevia, etc.)
1/3 cup mashed pumpkin
¼ cup egg whites
2 cups old fashioned oats
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk of choice (dairy, almond, coconut)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Mix together sweetener, pumpkin and egg whites.Add other ingredients and mix well.Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan.Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.Delicious, warm breakfast on frosty Fall mornings.
Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:Add vinegar to milk and let sit for 5 minutes.
Mix wet ingredients, milk, pumpkin puree, egg, and oil till blended.
Whisk dry ingredients flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices together in a separate bowl.
Combine wet and dry ingredients.
Pour ½ cup batter onto heated, oiled griddle for each pancake.
When pancake begins to pop bubbles on uncooked side, flip and finish cooking pancake.Top with softened butter and favorite syrup. Enjoy!
Best Ever Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cup evaporated milk (14 ½ oz.)
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions:
Mix ingredients. Pour into 9 inch pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 40-45 minutes.This is my granddaughter’s favorite pie.The secret ingredient is home-grown, home-canned pumpkin. It’s extraordinary!
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Don’t throw away the seeds from your pumpkins.Roast them for a salty snack by themselves or add to salads or trail mix.
Ingredients:
Seeds cleaned from inside the pumpkin
1 Tablespoons saltWater to cover
Directions:
Soak pumpkin seeds in enough water to cover.
Add salt and stir to dissolve.
After several hours or overnight, drain water.
Place seeds on ungreased baking dish and roast at 350 degrees till crisp and lightly toasted.Cool and enjoy.
This is a great book for those with gardens or even though wanting to start a garden – or even people getting their produce from the grocery store! My kids love asparagus so the asparagus pasta salad will be the first recipe I make. Thanks!
Pumpkin Cheesecake
½ cup pecans, chopped
2 eight ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
½ cup sweetener of choice (sugar or sugar substitute)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups canned or fresh mashed pumpkin
½ cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Butter bottom and sides of springform pan
.Sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan.
Use electric mixer to beat sweetener, cream cheese and vanilla till fluffy.
Add pumpkin, sour cream and combine with mixer on medium.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each one.
Finally, add the spices and use mixer to blend in spices.
Pour over pecans.Bake for 60-70 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.
Cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan. Chill for two hours before serving.
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
For the spiced glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
Add cold butter and work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, egg and vanilla.
Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together.
Using a rolling pill, roll the dough into a 10- by 7-inch rectangle, about 1-inch thick.
Using a large knife or a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut into 2 even pieces crosswise, making four rectangles.
Then cut each each rectangle into two triangles, making 8 triangles.
Place scones onto prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
To make the glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and milk. Whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk as needed.
To make the spiced glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and milk. Whisk until smooth.
When the scones are done, cool for 10 minutes and spoon the glaze on each scone before drizzling with spiced glaze.Allow glazes to set before serving.
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can pumpkin
½ cup canola oil
½ cup water
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk first 8 dry ingredients till combined.
Mix eggs, pumpkin, oil and water.
Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.
Fold in walnuts, and if desired, raisins.
Pour into a greased 9.5 inch loaf pan.Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 65-70 minutes
Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients:
¾ cup soft butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 ¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix butter, brown sugar, and egg.Stir in pumpkin puree.
Whisk flour, soda, salt and spices together and add to wet ingredients.
Pumpkins are so colorful in the garden peeking orange through the trailing green vines. My straw bale garden yielded five big pumpkins in the Fall. I decided to can the pumpkins and preserve them for future use. Never having canned pumpkins before, I got out the trusty Ball Blue Book: Home Canning and Freezing Recipes and Methods. My mother-in-law loaned this to me years ago. I still have it and use it for putting food by.
Canning pumpkins is a simple three step process. First, cook the pumpkin. Second, scoop the cooked pumpkin from its shell and pack cooked pumpkin into clean, sterilized canning jars adding 1 teaspoon of salt to each quart of pumpkin. Finally, process the canned pumpkin in a pressure cooker at 10 pounds of pressure. Pints are processed for 60 minutes and quarts for 80 minutes in order to insure that no bacteria can invade the contents. The first step was cooking the pumpkin.
With my bounteous supply I found that my inherited Westinghouse roaster oven (again from my mother-in-law) could handle the bounteous pumpkins. The Oster Roaster Oven can accommodate at least one or two large pumpkins at a time. You could also bake the pumpkin in a conventional oven at 350 degrees until softened or use a vegetable steamer; however, for large quantities of pumpkin, I found the roaster oven ideal.
After cooking the pumpkin, scoop the flesh into a large bowl and fill the sterilized canning jars. I use my dishwasher to clean and sterilize my canning supplies. It’s simple to leave the clean jars in the dishwasher until time to fill them. Add one teaspoon of salt to each quart or ½ teaspoon of salt to each pint of pumpkin.
A pint of pumpkin makes a wonderful pumpkin pie.
After you fill the jars, wipe the jar rim and threads and seal with a canning lid screwed down tightly. Place the sealed jars in a pressure cooker. Since pumpkins are a low acid food, a pressure cooker is the only kitchen utensil which supplies enough heat to destroy the spores of bacteria, which cause flat-sour, and some other types of spoilage.
To pressure can:
Add 2-3 inches of water (or as recommended by manufacturer) to canner and space jars so they are not touching.
Place canner over heat and lock lid according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Leave the petcock (or vent) open until steam escapes for 10 minutes.
Close petcock and bring pressure to 10 pounds and adjust heat to hold pressure at 10 pounds. Process pints 60 minutes or quarts 80 minutes.
Remove canner from heat.
Let pressure fall to zero. Wait 2 minutes, then slowly open petcock.
Open canner. Remove jars.
Do not tighten bands.
Stand jars several inches apart and out of draft to cool for about 12 hours. Then remove bands.
Test seal by pressing center of lid. If dome is down, the jar is sealed.
Store in a dry, dark, reasonably cool place. Since I live in the Rocky Mountains, I adjust the steam pressure. The instructions listed above are for altitudes from sea level to 2000 feet. For altitudes 2000-3000 feet process at 11 ½ pounds pressure; 3000-4000 feet process at 12 pounds, 4000-5000 feet process at 12 ½ pounds; 5000-6000 feet process at 13 pounds pressure, 6000-7000 feet process at 13 ½ pounds pressure.
Try out some of my pumpkin recipes in my blog articleCapturing the Pumpkin Harvest: 10 Recipes to color your world delicious Enjoy your garden bounty all winter long. Home preserved foods remain safe for eating far longer than their first year, but their quality does decline the longer the jars remain on the shelf.
This is a great book for those with gardens or even those wanting to start a garden – or even people getting their produce from the grocery store! My kids love asparagus so the asparagus pasta salad will be the first recipe I make. Thanks!
Welcome to Country Parson's Wife, I'm Dr. Mary Ellen, author, teacher and wife of a country pastor for 50 years. My blog is dedicated to a lifestyle built on faith, family, simplicity and self-sufficiency that enhances the health, peace, beauty and industry of our homes and gardens.
My prayer is that you be encouraged and propelled into the abundant life God has prepared for you.
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