The previous blog post was a compilation of this woman's daughter, Myrtle Buntin Winchester. This lady is Cora Barker Buntin, my paternal great grandmother. I like to think that her canning gene is within me as well. Cora raised twelve children and lived in Tennessee.I keep a daily farm journal of my gardening , foraging, gathering, and cooking experiences. This has become a gem of information for me as I refer back to each previous year's journal to stay on track of what needs to be accomplished in a particular month and to see where the current year compares. In 2010 , there were three months that were swallowed up in canning of tomato sauces and salsas besides regular daily gardening chores. I regret not even keeping scraps of paper noting how many sauces I canned. There were 150 tomato plants that year and we didn't sell any tomatoes. I canned and dehydrated night and day. In 2011 there were considerably fewer tomato plants and we are still eating sauces from the 2010 marathon. Still delicious. Also from 2010 are many jars of pear butter. I developed three different spiced recipes and that year was a bumper crop of pears. I spent most of that fall canning pears.
Here is my list from 2011. I hope Great Grandmother Cora is pleased with the fruits of my labor. I am sad to say that I never met this lady. She was gone before I was born.
Apricot jam 88 half pints ( two trees in our yard )
Strawberry jam 19 half pints ( I pick these at a farm north of our place )
Peach jam 28 half pints ( these peaches came from southern Missouri and there are more in the freezer to be worked up)
Blackberry jam 7 half pints ( from our canes, more in freezer to work up )
Blackberry jelly 6 jelly jars ( 4oz. )
Blackberry vinegar
Mulberry vinegar ( from our tree )
Gooseberry jam ( from wild gooseberries I pick in our woods ) 4 half pints
Boysenberry jam ( from our canes ) 4 half pints
Elderberry Grape jelly ( from elderberries on our place + grapes from farmer couple in Arkansas ) 8 jelly jars ( 4 oz. , more in freezer to work up )
Pontak sauce 1 recipe
Elderberry shrub ( good medicinal )
Breakfast Pears 36 pints ( from one ancient tree in neighbor's yard)
Pear Mincemeat 13 pints ( an all fruit and spices recipe + rum, cellar it for a year to deepen flavor )
Still have raspberries, red currants, blackberries, peaches, mulberries, and gooseberries in freezer to work up into jams and jellies before spring.
Pickled Greens 7 half pints ( turnip, amaranth, and nettles, separately. The concept for this recipe is a good one but I wasn't thrilled with this particular recipe. Will create my own recipe and try again this year.)
Pickled Jalapeños 17 pints
Pear and Sweet Onion Chutney 4 pints
Major Grey Pear Chutney 9 pints
Apple Onion ale relish 8 pints
Pepper Onion relish 7 half pints
Cranberry Onion Jalapeño relish 6 half pints ( didn't care for this recipe at all)
Smokey Three Pepper Cucumber relish 9 half pints ( blue ribbon recipe)
Peperoncini 4 pints
Picked Sweet Green Peppers 4 pints
Bread and Butter Cucumber pickles 3 pints
Persian Tarragon cucumber pickles 2 quart jars ( fridge recipe, blue ribbon)
Pickled Green Tomato slices and Onions 1 quart jar ( fridge recipe, blue ribbon)
Tomato preserves 10 half pints
Bruschetta in a jar 10 half pints ( not crazy about this recipe, needs fixing )
Tomato salsa 18 pints
Tomato sauce 26 pints ( herbs + onions + chiles )
* remember the larder shelves are loaded with 2010 tomato sauces and pear butter( three recipes I developed )
The above list does not reflect the three large ( rather ) upright deep freezers packed to the point of bursting. Nor does it reflect the dehydrated cherry tomatoes, herbs, and greens stored in glass jars. Nor does it reflect the root cellared crops. Not to mention the barrels of black walnuts gathered from our trees, pecans gathered from our trees, and acorns , also gathered from our trees.
The funny part is that this is food for two people. We eat all of our meals at home.
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5 comments:
that's it. we are selling our house and moving in with you. i KNOW now you can feed us 3, too. Hee. this is AMAZING, KElly!!!!!!!!!! wow. you are so inspiring. thank you so much for sharing! i look forward to learning more and more from you in this realm! xoxojenny
Please bring the dome though for our winter gardening adventures. I will have Rhett come with the big trailer to haul it back to Missouri. I am thrilled we will have new neighbors !
Oh, my! Those jars are so pretty! Seems like every time I come to this blog, we are expecting snow.
Just discovered you blog and art through a podcast by Rice and find both amazing and your lifestyle very fascinating. Truth be told a little envious. You have inspired me to march more often the beat of my inner drummer rather than the hurry-scurry hustle that society deems I should.
Amazing abundance you have provided. My maternal grandmother grew all her own food for herself and her four children. They raised a garden, had hens for eggs, milk cows for milk, butter, cream, cheese, cottage cheese, and buttermilk. She also foraged and often on warm summer days we would go down to the creek bank and pick watercress to cool summer sandwiches. Fruit and nut trees grew in abundance on her property. So many sweet memories were stirred by your post. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to reading more of your posts.
my mouth is watering from all your delicious endeavors. i remember canning many years ago, learned from mom and gram. found your blog through mixed media.com and so glad i did. looking forward to reading more...thanks so much for sharing
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