Pressure Canning On your Wood Cookstove

So Ive been Pressure canning ( and water bath canning) our garden harvest for near 7 years now, about the same amount of time I have been cooking and baking with our wood cookstove. So you think I would be totally comfortable Pressure canning on my wood cookstove, right?? wrong.

Any body who has or is learning about pressure canning knows that it can be extremely dangerous. I mean you are essentially building up steam in a large pot, letting little bits come out at a time.. to much pressure and *BOOM ( not sure that's the sound it what make, haha but you get my drift) you could have an exploding canner.

In the winter I do all of my baking ( its actually our only way to bake) and stove top cooking on the woodcookstove. But if I have something to pressure can I use my propane top stove.
Well awhile back our propane stove top ran out of propane and we just haven't gotten around to filling it back up. which why the hurry, we don't use it much anyway..
Until yesterday, when I realized I had boiled down some bones from a chicken and had stock to can.

I have often thought about what if.. what if something happened and their was a gas shortage? would I be able to preserve our  food without propane or gas?

That question was answered today and the answer is YES! Successful pressure canning session on the wood cookstove... and I am going to share with ya'll just how I did it

PLEASE NOTE: if you are not familiar with pressure canning or wood stove cooking, I suggest you try these things separately for awhile before attempting this. This IS or atleast CAN BE dangerous and you should have some experience under your belt first.....


KNOW YOUR STOVE

so Basically, when you get your stove or if you already have one and know your stove, you know that there are Hot spots and cool spots on your stove top. Obviously the hot spot would be right above where the fire is blazing.
My stove has a fire box on one side and then an oven on the other,, anything I have ever needed to boil goes over the fire and then if I need it to simmer just slide it over as needed, the further you push it over/away from the fire the cooler it usually is.

If I am trying to bring something to a boil ( in this case the water in the canner) I usually open up the firebox door and take a quick look to see where the fire is biggest.. then move the canner accordingly, placing it directly over the first.

                canner before I added the weight, you can see its almost directly over the eye and firebox




HOW I PRESSURE CANNED ON MY STOVE

So basically, I placed the water directly over the fire.. I had a good fire roaring ... one mistake I did make,, or one thing I could have done differently, was take the eye ( the metal circle you see on the stove top is removable so you can set your pot directly on the fire) off, my water probably would have boiled a lot faster.
I let the canner exhaust steam for 10 minutes
I then ( this is where it gets tricky) Placed the weight on the canner .( I have a weighted gauge canner)
Once the weight started rocking,, I moved it over about half way,between the firebox and the stove..it was still rocking pretty fast,,(you want a slow and steady rocking motion) so I moved it so I was about 3/4 of the way over ( near the oven)...

So here you see I have it about in the middle,, I ended up moving it over to the right about another 2 inches and that seemed to be the perfect spot for a gentle rocking motion.. if I felt it was slowing down , I would slowwwly move it back over an inch,, etc..

REMEMBER if the weight stops rocking,, that's ok, you just have to start you "time" over, but you DO NOT want it rocking like crazy,, that makes me nervous and should make you nervous too,,lol
once I had a steady rocking motion I only had to move the canner a couple times, and only like 2" to the left or 2" to the right depending....
I choked the fire off to keep a steady burn..


and that's it,, that's how I did it !
again, I am not sure this helps,, but for anyone that is familiar with cooking with wood, I can tell you  if you are confident in your woodstove cooking abilities this will be a BREEZE!

For those of you who haven't cooked on wood,, and want to can with it,, start with less explosive things like soups etc,, haha
LEARN your stove ( as they are all different) , then maybe pressure can on a regular stove for awhile
Then once you feel comfortable with both, maybe you are ready to give it a try!


Any questions?? you can ask them here and I will be glad to help!!


Blessings
Jaime

Beekeeping Basics

I recently had the pleasure of blogging On Cold Creek Homesteads Page..

For anyone interested in the BEEginning Basics of Beekeeping this is a good place to start. A simple write up covering the basics On what it takes to get an apiary up and going!

http://coldcreekhomestead.com/blog/2014/12/28/lets-get-buzzzing-about-bees



Blessings
The Cools

A new fence for the Garden

The last few days have been absolutely gorgeous,, mid 60's and sunny, and it has allowed us to get some projects started that have been on our list for some time.

Robb started on my new fence and I could not be happier! We saw a fence like this at the Schiele Museum in Gastonia NC. while visiting there for my daughters 7th Birthday. They had a mock 1800's Homestead set up, and for the garden they had a fence made of branches ( saplings) .I knew right then I wanted this fence for my back gardens!
We eventually want to do this for all the gardens,, but it may take awhile, as I have 4 separate gardens one of which is really big.
we have used everything for fencing, from chicken wire to plastic netting, and it just never looked nice. It really didn't even do a very good job at keeping the chickens out, as they could slip underneath the plastic fencing.

We are surrounded by National Forest, so there is no shortage of Trees here...;)

We decided on Rebar as opposed to treated lumber, A) because I just didn't think big posts would look nice with the smaller branches, B) we have a bunch of Rebar laying around that could be used..
So this is essentially a FREE fence, We do have to purchase a couple more pieces of Rebar, but had enough to go half way around. Fencing is expensive, so the fact that his is gorgeous and is costing us next to nothing is a bonus.

All you need to do this are Sapling Trees and posts of your choice.. You need to use sapling as the wood is green and pliable so you can weave it in and out of the posts....
As branches rot or fall, etc.. You can just stack more on and replace them.

Stil have a ways to go , you can see where its staked, we have one side done as of now.. Hope to get the rest done in the next week or so.

Blessings
The Cools

Starting a fire, the easy way!

Ok, so after 6 yrs of having our cookstove, you think I would be a pro at starting a fire. Truth be told , I was ok at it. and as a lot of your woostove folks out there,  I had those mornings where all I wanted was a warm house, and I couldn't get a fire started for the life of me ( ok I got it started eventually) without a lot of smoke and generous amount of  swearing mixed in, haha..
My husband tried to convince me to start a fire his way, being stubborn it took me a couple months to agree.. and let me tell you, THIS IS THE WAY to start a fire... set it and forget it,, lights up every time perfect!!
We would like to take credit for this technique, but Robb actually read it somewhere in Countryside Magazine a few years back.....and individual had wrote in , explaining how to start a perfect fire every time..  and he was right, so whoever you are,, Thank you!!

Ok, easy peasy

                                            * set 2 small logs on each side of the fire box

 

 

 

* place newspaper , paper etc in between the logs

 

 



Place Kindling wood on top of newspaper in cross cross fashion. we use stick sometimes, but love cut up pallets for our kindling.

 

 

Light it up!

 

 

Let me know how this works for you!  I don't think I'll ever start a fire another way :)


The Cools

Compost Tea

Woah! look at me,, Im blogging like 2 times in one week ( or 2 weeks or whatever,, either way its unusual for me ;)
I am going to try and do more " how to" blogs.... I receive so many question on homesteading.. and in our busy schedule its hard to answer all the questions individually..... So as I feel inspired to do so, I will put some how to's up here for y'all....

For some reason this spring, my front Garden looks "blah"..  as in "blah" I mean,, kinda a yellow hue, small leaves, etc... just "blah"Nothing like it did last year... We did add compost which had chicken manure in it, leaves etc..,, but I am thinking maybe we did not add enough..
Our Front garden was the first garden we started when we moved here 7 yrs ago,, so as you can imagine,although Ive added nutrients, Im wondering if I have  depleted  the soil and not replaced with enough earthy goodness.....

Photo of front garden,,, so its still filling in, and while it doesnt look awful, certain things ( like me beans) really could use some help.. and while I would like to blame it all on the weather........... its probably isnt TOTALLY the weathers fault,, my babies needs some nutrients!!!

My usual regimen is compost around the plants and fish emulsion solution..... ( which I totally recommend!!! it will help your plants tremendously!)

This year I decided to try Compost Tea and "Garret Juice" ( developed by "THE DIRT DOCTOR" Dr. Howard Garret)

What you will Need
~ Compost ( your own compost is fine, although Ive ready worm castings work amazing)
~ a 5 gallon bucket
~ Pantyhose
~ fish emulsion or seaweed extract
~ an aquarium pump ( about 5-10 dollars at a pet store, you will also need to purchase the hose)
~ Molasses
~apple cider vinegar
~ A garden fairy if at all possible ;)

* check the garden or strawberry Patch..... the garden Fairies are usually there and totally willing to help ;)

** Fill your 5 Gallon bucket up with Rain water ( or from the hose, but we all know rain water is better..;)

*** Fill the pantyhose with about 1 lb ( I used about 3 cups) of compost...

** Place compost filled panty hose in  the 5 gallon bucket, and then add 1 Tbsp Mollasses and 1 Tbsp Fish Emulsion or Liquid Seaweed...

 

 

** Attach hose to Aquarium pump, tie a rock to the hose to keep it at the bottom of the bucket.... Be sure pump is about 12" above the level of the water, but not directly over... ( just read directions on pump before using :) Turn on the pump and let aerate for 24 hours!!

SHAAZAM~!*!*! you have Compost Tea! Use within 8 hours..

 

 

 

 

 

To use Compost Tea,, fill your watering can about 1/3 the way full with the tea, and fill the rest with water.. water around base of plant or on leaves.....

 

 

TO MAKE "GARRET JUICE" Foliar Spray....

 

Mix

1 CUP of Your Compost Tea

1 Ounce Liquid Molasses

1 Ounce Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Ounce Liquid Seaweed ( I might just use the fish emulsion, although the recipe DOES call for liquid seaweed, I just couldnt get my hands on any this week.. its says to add the liquid seaweed AND fish emulsion for "Garret Juice PLus" :))

1 Gallon Water

 

Use this as a Foliar Treatment for your plants ( on the leaves)...

 

 

I am going to Spray the "Garret Juice" On my Plants this evening, hopefully I will have some amazing results! I have read extensively about this and its has amaaaazing reviews!

 

Now go take care of your garden, and it will Take Care of you!!!!

 

 

 

 

Blessings

 

The Cools

 

Chicken Sausage Homestead style

Yesterday we spent the day Making Home Made Chicken Sausage and it turned out fantastic. Homemade chicken sausage is tricky, since you are dealing with chicken ( and not super duper ultra fatty greasy pork,, yum! heheee) its very easy to make chicken sausage that has an end result similar to sawdust, trust me I know, we made that variety 2 years ago ....
with a little trial and error we have come a long way in our sausage making....

what you need:
**a chicken or 2 or 3 or 4.. :)preferrably from your backyard. . The following recipe is based on 3 lbs of chicken meat./ about 1-2 chickens depending on breed etc...
** a Meat Grinder
** a sausage Stuffer
** sausage casing
**spices n extra fixins depending on what kind you want to make..

Step 1.. least favorite part.. butcher your chickens :/  this is my husbands Job
Step 2: Remove meat from the bone,, this is my Job. Be sure to add some of the Fat and skin into the meat as well, if you dont, you will end up with a dry sausage,,, I would say add 50% of the skin and fat from the bird.

steps 1 and 2 will take a better part of your day if you are butchering your own birds. Its time consuming, and labor intensive, but knowing it came directly from you homestead makes it all worth while.

SAVE the Bones if you want to make chicken stock later.

Step 3: Put the meat through the grinder. we use the biggest setting for the first time through

Step 4: add spices ( see recipe below)

Step 5: add Chicken broth or water.. I added chicken broth, we had broth simmering from a previous meal, and Ive read that broth is 100 times better than adding plain ol water.  I added about 2 cups worth to this recipe. This is also going to aid in keeping the moisture content in the sausage.

 

Step6: Attach sausage stuffer. now some grinders have sausage stuffer attachments, or you can buy a seperate sausage stuffer, we have both :). this is just a little plastic hicka ma doo, that goes on the end of the grinder... This is where we put the other attachment on to grind the meat up even smaller and then it goes directly into the casing.

 

 

You can make the links any length you want, you can twist and tie the ends when you have the desired length.
and Voila************ Homemade Chicken Sausage****** You can freeze or Pressure can your sausage.

Recipe for Bratwurst Style Chicken Sausage ( this is what we made)

3 lbs Chicken
1/2 Tsp All spice
3/4 Tsp Caraway seeds Crushed
3/4 Tsp Marjoram
1 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke ( be easy on this stuff, I hear its easy to over do it)
1-2 cups water /broth/beer , some kind of liquid. I hear beer is great to add!

 Recipe for Italian Style

5 lbs Meat
2tsp Whole Fennel seed
2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp Salt
2 Tsp Oregano
2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
( again I would probably add some kind of liquid if using chicken and not pork)

Recommendation: I personally recommend cooking these on the stove top. You could grill them, but again chicken sausage has a low fat content/moisture content so grilling them may dry them out,, but hey! give it a shot and let me know how it comes out :)



Happy Homesteading :)

The Cool Family
 
Oh,, dont forget to save the bones for Chicken Stock! Ill be canning some up this evening :)