Rutabaga Dinner - In Progress



Rhutabaga Dinner - this is out of my husband's old old (1940's) presto cookbook and I'm going on memory here.

Two pork steaks, six potatoes, and two large rutabaga's

Layer chopped (one inch pieces) peeled baking potatoes on the bottomof the cooker

Add layer of peeled chopped (one inch pieces) rutabaga's on top ofpotatoes Salt and Pepper at this point.

Add pork steaks (cut into thirds) Salt and pepper meat

Add an inch of water

Cover and bring to pressure then pressure cook for 20 - 25 minutes.

Remove heat source and let cool down naturally. Serve with worthchestershire sauce (mispelled I know)

I think the pressure cooker is set permamently to 10 pounds.

Note you know your doing it right because it smells like wet dog about half way through the cooking process.

Black Raspberry Jam - In Progress


In progress my jam making efforts were interrupted last night due to excessive chicken broth canning - some things always take longer than you think they will. So the berries sit in the fridge covered in sugar.

I found it rather interesting the ball blue book has several recipes for Strawberry Jam - the recommended recipe for Black Raspberry Jam is the Strawberry Jam but which one??? I went with the one on page 81 of my book which means not cooking the berries prior to processing them, the flavor is really strong.

Chicken Update



We survived our first experience pressure canning - chicken of all things! I've done lots of BWB, boiling water baths in my adult life, and pressure cooking food, but never pressure canning food in jars. 40 pounds of chicken hind quarters yeilds approximately 14 pints and a half of chicken in broth, 14 quarts of broth, and about 5 pounds of chicken fat.

Pint and a Half Canning Jars

Seriously I"m not kidding pints and a half! I have eleven of them in the pressure canner right now! My mother had hundreds of them and if I make it back to Illinois, if the price of gas goes down enough so I can make the trip, then I'll be brining them back with me.

Here's the probelm though, every canning books gives times for pints and quarts, but not pints and a half (which lie in between a pint and a quart). I have a headache!

All American Canner


My friend Nancy brought her All American Canner over, I believe it's the 941, anyway who knew how greatful I'd really be! Dh bought, on spectulation that the freezer that was arriving yesterday would actually work, 40 pounds of chicken parts! Well lets just say I'll be canning lots of chicken tonight.
Yes I love color and tried a few things on the walls in my kitchen, but then got busy and wasn't able to finish the job. In the next few weeks I'll be painting the kitchen a very nice medici white (sherwin williams) and the ceiling a nice pale yellow. Haven't decided on a cabinet color yet.