Canned zucchini, green beans, plums & chard

Canned goods...
Pickled cauliflour with carrot and red pepper
I am entering this into the county fair two days from now, Thursday. Dave is taking a walnutwood framed mirror he is working on... it's beautiful. When he gets it ready, I'll post a picture here.

All canned good recipes come from Andrea Chesman's Book (click below for a link to amazon.com)

Summer In A Jar

Zucchini Relish. I do not like big over grown zucchini, the flesh is stringy, the skin is tough and over all the only place for it is the compost pile. I never use a succhini longer than 7-8 inches while the flesh is still tender and the seeds are barely noticable. That is the size I use for this relish. It is the only way I preserve zucchini, otherwise I bake it into a bread/muffins or using it fresh in supper menu's or casseroles. I won a blue ribbon on this relish at a previous fair year. That same year I had the kids make seven grain and "everything" bread (my bakehouse recipes) and they both won blue ribbons too. Melissa's bread actually took two ribbons because the judges were impressed that she was under 12 and baked a blue ribbon quality yeast bread.

Here's a link to Bryanna's free recipe archives for more zucchini recipes. Notice the great rice and zucchini patty. Mine tunred out like hashbrowns, but tastes spectacular so there was not disappointment on my end at all.

Swiss Chard
"If vegetables got grades for traditional nutrients alone, Swiss chard would be the vegetable valedictorian." Check out the World's Healthiest Foods website for more information by clicking on the "swiss chard" words above.

What am I going to do with it?
The batch you saw in the picture was eaten fresh in sandwich and salad... it was young, tender and the first picking of the year. I wouldn't do that with chard otherwise because it loses it's sweet flavor not long after picking. Otherwise I like it sauteed with garlic and red pepper, thrown in stirfries, I have a favorite soup that is perfect with chard, I'll mix it into hummous (my fav persian green hummous), maybe add it to a smoothie (stem and core veins removed) if I have excess. Chard is tender like to spinach, but has a thicker leaf flesh.

Dilly beans and plum chutney
Plum Chutney is like a sweet and sour or "duck" sauce. Only this version has no extra additives and really is made from plums! Plums are not grown well in my area, so I had to buy these but 6 pounds for a good supply of excellent quality sweet and sour sauce was worth it!

Melissa and I love almost anything dilled, green beans no exception. I knew I would need to learn how to preserve foods when we first started gardening, but I did not like the suggestions for the well known Ball canning guide. Either their recipes were to sugary or I didn't like the seasonings. Usually when I want to get a broad idea of what information is available on a subject I check out amazon.com and half.com (e-bay's book sellers), then I start checking them out interlibrary loan to see whether the book would match my needs and purposes. Of the gardening preserving information I checked out, I liked the work of Andrea Chesman the best. Her book called SUMMER IN A JAR was my favorite because she offers instructions on how to make a recipe by the pint or a quart. If you are thinking you would like to do any canning, I think this book is a must!

Bryanna's Chili Garlic Green Beans
P. 129 (Fiber For Life Cookbook) See recipe for her complete and excellent directions. My version deviates some from hers.

My absolute favorite way to do green beans!
1 lb fresh green beans, steamed slightly or blanched 2 minutes in boiling water
1 Tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Wok this: Starting with oils, garlic and red pepper flakes, green beans, and then add the flavorings. Stir fry 3-5 minutes, until beans are tender. I like to sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Here's link to a former post I made about BRUSSELL SPROUTS. Roasted is my favorite way to make them.