Growing Hope Pantry

Chicken Canned: 2023-01-12 Stored: 1 x 1L of wings(for soup later), 2 x 500mL with drumsticks and chunks(1 didn't seal), 8 x 500mL boneless chunks(1 didn't seal) References:   https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/chicken_rabbit.html What I did: Deboned, cut into pieces and raw packed 3 whole chickens (backbone, skin, bones, etc set aside for broth). Wiped rims with vinegar, placed lids on & loaded canner Slowly heated canner to prevent heat stress on the cold jars and then processed at 11lbs for 75 min After cooling/depressurisation, tightened rims & left to cool After a fully cool, tested seals reveal two that didn't seal and needed to go in the fridge Notes on this batch: Drumsticks are hell to debone. I only did two before giving up and canning the other 4 with the bones.  The breasts and thighs were carefully deboned and chunked up so it's clear which jars have bones in The drumsticks barely fit so I'm thinking they should go in a 1L with the wings

Chicken Broth Canned/sealed/etc: 2023-01-03 Stored: 12 x 500mL References:   https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/stock_broth.html What I did: Bones boiled approx 24hrs Broth strained and cooled 24 hours Removed fat Heated to a boil, poured into jars, cleaned rims, added lids Processed at 11lbs for 20 min After canner cooling/depressurisation, tightened the lids After cooling several hours, tested seals and washed jars Notes on this batch: Worked out nice and even in the 12 jars. The pasta pot and the largest mixing bowl were needed to cool it all in the fridge. Photos:

Chicken Nuggets Frozen: 2023-01-02 Stored: 5 x approx 14 nuggets References: https://youtu.be/LhWDqa4SUfQ What I did: A half recipe using corn flakes instead of corn chex Misread and mixed starch with the ground cornflakes Chicken bits into dry, then egg, then back into dry Tray lined in parchment, sprayed with pam, nuggets on parchment and then sprayed with pam Into 400F convection oven for 10 min Cooled on rack Bagged Frozen Reheat at 400F for 10 min Notes on this batch: Totally messed up the actual recipe but still made something edible Next time do the starch, then egg, then chunky bits properly Photos:

Stewing Beef Canned/sealed/etc: 2023-01-01 Stored: 4 x 500mL References:   https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/strips_cubes_chunks.html What I did: Chopped Browned Pinch of salt & 2 dashes of Worcestershire per jar Added meat as evenly as possible & filled to shoulder with boiling water Wiped rims & gently put on boiled lids Processed at 11lbs for 75 min After canner cooldown/depressurise process, tightened lids & left to cool completely overnight Seals tested and jars washed in the morning Notes on this batch: Didn't think to weight the meat before adding water. Best guess by adding some water to a jar with a lid to tare the scale says about 150g(approx 1/3 lb) of meat per jar. (the liquid will also likely be delicious) Could probably fit more meat per jar next time. Maybe 250 g. for nice round numbers Photos:

Fermented/Pickled Beets Brined: 2022-12-07 Refrigerated: 2023-01-06 Stored: 1L What I did: 221207 afternoon peeled and sliced beets to fill 1L jar Poured in 2% salt solution Pickle pipe lid & set in tray on counter Evening of 221208 noticed some liquid seeping from pickle pipe, cleaned off with paper towl and went to bed Morning of 221209 there was a large overflow Removed lid and puck rinsing off all the mess in the tray too Removed 5 beet slices and deboubled with debubler tool Topped up with more 2% salt solution Replaced puck and pipe lid and returned to the tray 221224 No further severe bubbling over. Ocasionally tipped to make bubbles rise up the sides. Decided to taste test today. No real zip to it so not acidic enough yet. No yeast floating or mold or anything so we wait more. 2023-01-06 No further bubbles, seems acidic enough Small amount of yeast on surface, scooped off & washed the weight Removed pipe, replaced with solid lid Put in basement f

Apple Pie Baked: 2022-12-30 Yield:  One Pie, One 1L jar of pie crust References: Back of the pie tin and just guessing What I did: Ingredients: Frozen GF pie crusts Two jars of Apple bits cinnamon, allspice, clove Tapioca starch Some sugars Ascorbic acid Method: Cook apple bits with a good dose of cinnamon and a small pinch of the clove and allspice. Added tapioca starch to thicken it up. Added stuff based on taste. The sugar helped the spices mellow, but the apples were too plain so I added a bit of sour in the form of ascorbic acid and it made everything just pop. Followed directions on the box of crusts which involved defrosting one crust and reforming it between two pieces of parchment, as well as slightly defrosting the other. Filled the lower crust with filling and topped with the other crust pinching to seal and cut vent holes Baked at 375F for an hour Cooled on a rack for a few hours The rest of the filling went into a jar and into the fridge. Notes on this batch: Su

Put photo here Oatmeal Chocolate Chip(or Raisin) Cookies Made:  2022-12-27 Stored: 24 x chocolate chip version, 24 x raisin version in freezer References:   https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/_printer/42801 What I did: In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt, and combine well. Add the granulated sugar and oats, and whisk again to combine. Add the brown sugar and mix, breaking up any lumps in.  Add the butter, and mix with a stand mixer, scraping down with a spatula to moisten the other ingredients. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla, and mix until the dough comes together. It will be very thick, and a bit difficult to stir. Add the chocolate chips or raisins, and mix to distribute the chips evenly throughout and until the dough is completely integrated. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces, each about the size of a golf ball, on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Press each piece of dough with the palm of your hand to flatten it into a di

Lobster Shell Broth Made: 2022-12-24 Stored in the fridge: 1 x 1L, 1 x 500mL References: Out of Old NovaScotia Kitchens pg32 "Lobster Soup" What I did: Ingredients Used: Shells of 4 lobsters 4 cups broth    (replaces the water) 1 cup ACV     (replaces 1/2 the wine) 1 cup Rice Vinegar    (replaces 1/2 the wine) 1 cup Clamato    (replaces 1/2 the tomato juice) 1 cup water + 1 can tomato paste    (replaces 1/2 the tomato juice) 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend     (replaces the herbs) 1 Tbsp Salt Method: Mixed all in pot & brought to a boil(smash shells a bit to get at the inner bits) Boil for an hour Take out the big bits and then strain through cheesecloth Store in the Fridge Notes on this batch: Clearly not exactly the recipe, but definitely based on it.  In the big stock pot, the liquid didn't really cover all the way. If too strong, next time add a bunch of water. Unfortunately "Store in refrigerator until needed" doesn't tell me how long

Mock Pineapple (a.k.a False Pineapple, Zucchini Pineapple) Canned: 2022-12-24 Stored: 8 x 250 mL , (1 x 250 mL in the fridge that was mostly syrup) What I did: I found a great deal on pineapple juice and it was the end of zucchini season so I made a 1/2 recipe Zucchini top & tailed, peeled, cut long wedges, and then cut the wedges in small tidbits Ingredients Used: 2 qts. Zucchini (about 7 or 8) 23 fl.oz. Pineapple Juice 3/4 cup Lemon Juice 1 1/2 cup Sugar Also added a pinch of salt(about 1 tsp?) Method: Mixed all in pot & brought to a boil Simmered 20 min ... but the canning pot wasn't ready yet so it sat on low keeping hot for another 20-30 min Jarred up Processed: Waterbath 15 min Notes on this batch: Doesn't taste like pineapple. Not zippy enough at all. I could mess with the acidity but... Mrs and I both like it. Mrs says it tastes like motts fruit cocktail that is missing the cherries. The variability of the jars isn't making me happy. Maybe nex

Split Pea Soup with Ham Canned: 2022-12-23 Stored: 4 x 1L, 1 x 500mL References:  Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving Pg.99 "Habitant Soup" + The Amish Canning Cookbook Pg.199 "Split Pea Soup" What I did: Used the Bernardin proportions and switched out the bay leaf for the allspice from Amish Ingredients Used: 2 lbs dried split peas(green) 4 L broth 3 cups carrots(prev.canned, drained) 2 cups chopped onion 2 cups diced cooked ham 1 Tbsp black pepper 2 Tbsp salt 1/2 tsp allspice Method: Boiled dried peas in broth for an hour Add carrots, onion, and seasoning cooking for 30 min Used food processor to whiz it smooth Add ham and reheat so its all hot before jarring up. Processed: 90min at 10lbs Notes on this batch: Green peas instead of yellow. It looks a bit weird but tastes good. One jar siphoned but still sealed. 2022-12-26 Tastes GREAT. A bit thicker than I expected so a bit more water could be added Photos:

Lobster Cooked: 2022-12-22 Made: (live weights) 1 lb 1 lb 1 oz 1 lb 2 oz 1 lb 7oz References: Mrs looked up cooking info on various sites What I did: large stockpot with 8L water and 1 cup salt (2Tbsp/L)brought to boil held lobster with silicon oven glove and used scissors to snip rubber bands lobster into pot head first and quickly while guarding against splashing two at a time is all that properly fits in that pot so we did two batches cooked based on weight (between 5 -10 min) set on a towel in a dish to drain while prepping next batch I also melted some margarine with garlic and garlic powder for dipping Notes on this batch: Fairly straight forward and tasty. Definitely not worth an extra $50 for someone to boil it for me. kept the shells for  broth 4lb10oz live weight - 2lbs7oz leftover shells = ~ 2lbs3oz meat eaten Photos:

Fudge Created: 2022-12-04 Made:  one 9x9 pan What I did: Ingredients> one bag plus a little bit of chocolate chips(about 350g) one can sweetened condensed milk(300mL) a bunch of dashes of vanilla extract (about 5mL) Instructions: Put it all in the 4Cup measuring cup and stir with lil spatula Microwave high one minute Let rest 30 seconds Stir thoroughly with lil spatula Microwave high 30 seconds to get it gooey again Pour into 9x9 silicone baking dish making sure to scrape the measuring cup Spread out in the dish using the lil spatula Place on cooling rack to set A few hours later, decided to pop it into the fridge because it wasn't hard enough to demold/cut Next day, cut & wrapped Notes on this batch: Recipe called for a 12 oz bag. I had a 300g bag and didn't want to weight it out. Photos:

Put photo here Ginger Bug Started Fermentation: 2022-11-26 Fridged for Storage: 2022-12-03 Stored:  1L What I did: Buried ginger for a day or two to make sure it wasn't sterile. Rinsed off the soil. 30mL grated ginger + 30mL sugar + 3.5 cups water Mixed in 1L jar and capped with a pickle pipe before placing jar in a dish to prevent overflow problems Next few days 5mL grated ginger + 5mL sugar and a stir before capping again Sat Dec, 3 it went in the fridge with a solid plastic cap instead of the pickle pipe. Notes on this batch: Simple process and cheap ingredients. Does require daily attention though. Makes a nice warming sweet liquid that tastes good in juice. Photos:

Baked Beans Canned:  2022-11-24 Stored: 3 x 500mL Tomato, 3 x 500mL Molasses, 2 x 500mL Blend, 1 x 500mL Blend Sauce What I did: Prepped Jars/Lids/Canner. Approx. 960g White Pea Beans sorted and quick soaked Made both sauce bases Tomato: 150 mL    Tomato paste 100 mL    Ketchup 2 Tbsp     Onion, fine chopped 3 Cups     Bean water Molasses: 1 Cup       Onion, fine chopped 3 Tbsp      Molasses 1 Tbsp      Worcestershire 1 Tbsp      Malt Vinegar 2 tsp         Salt 1 tsp         Dry Mustard Powder 4 Cups     Bean water Drained beans. Refilled pot with fresh water & brought to boil before turning off. Drained bean water into a bowl & measured into the sauce bases. The tomato sauce in the measuring cup got warmed in the microwave and the molasses sauce in a sauce pot on the stove. Each jar got 3/4 full of beans and then sauce poured in for a 1" headspace. (de-bubbled and adjusted) Did 3 of each and then blended the sauces to make a third flavour.  Wiped the rims and placed

Carrot Cake Baked:  2022-11-20 What I did: Ingredients Cake: 1 1/2 cups BRM all-purpose gluten-free flour 1 cup fine corn four 3/4 tsp. xanthan gum 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. ground cinnamon  1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg  1/8 tsp. ground cloves  1/4 tsp. ground allspice  1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 4 large eggs 1 cup (and a bit) unsweetened applesauce (I meant to do one cup but accidentally did the whole jar which was definitely more than one cup but definitely less than two) 1/2 cup melted stick margarine  1 lb finely shredded carrots (about 3 cups) Frosting: 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature  1/2 cup stick margerine, softened to room temperature 500g powdered sugar 2 Tbsp. half and half 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract Instructions Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 9x13 baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl