DID YOU PICK A PECK OF PEPPERS TO PICKLE?

No, me either--but I did process over a peck of tasty Central Oregon grown peaches into 11 jars of jam, 12 pints of sliced canned, plus packets of sliced peaches in a light syrup for the freezer.  I weighed out the pounds as I progressed from one peach process to another.  The final weight added up to 29.5 pounds.  That didn't include the peaches consumed while deciding which process to start with.

Thinking of Peter and his peck of pickled peppers brought to mind the question of how big is a peck?  The magic machine always has the answers.  A peck is a dry measure.  In the U.S. it equals 8 dry quarts.  In Great Britian a peck can be either a dry or liquid measure.  The dry measure would equal one-fourth imperial bushel or a liquid measure would equal eight imperial quarts.  The term has been used since the 14th century as a measure for flour.

Starting the fall canning season for me is as exciting as planting the seeds in the spring.

We gave up on the big crock of sauerkraut when we realized our children didn't share our passion for kraut but we did continue for several years on a smaller scale following the OSU directions using quart jars.

Instead of the kraut, I use the fall cabbage for a frozen Cold Slaw.  The slaw is a combination of cabbage, celery, green pepper, carrot in a vinegar-based marinade.  I package the slaw in 2 cup packets and freeze.  Directions say keeps 6-8 months, I am currently using the last package which makes it a year from freezing and I haven't noticed any quality issue.

A gift of a bag of apples from a neighor lead me down a new path of wanting something different in addition to the traditional applesauce.  A recipe for Curried Apple Chutney caught my attention.  It is a wonderful combination of hot and red peppers, raisins, plus mustard seed, garlic, ginger, curry powder allspice, vinegar and brown sugar.

In 2018 I started making Tuscan Tomato Jam.  It is a sweet and tart jam with many different applications from breakfast toast to a sandwich spread and a cheeseboard at a party.

The last item on the canning list is to do the pickled beets. 

Unfortunately, I ate too many from the garden and will now have to head to a farmers' market to make up the difference.  Note for next year, plant more beets!

The Tuscan Tomato Jam recipe came from www.freshpreserving.com.  It was a 2018 posting.

Denise's Award-Winning Pickled Beets came from a posting by National Garden Bureau in 2018.

The Frozen Cabbage Slaw was from my sister.

1 med head cabbage, shredded, 2 carrots grated, 1 red or green pepper, chopped, 1/2 cup celery, chopped, 1 tsp salt.

For the dressing: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1tsp mustard seed, 1 tsp celery seed

Add salt to cabbage, let sit for l hour.  Squeeze cabbage to bruise, add other veggies.  Combine dressing ingredients and boil l minute.  Let stand till lukewarm.  Pour over cabbage mixture.  Put in serving size containers or bags and freeze.  Keeps 6-8 months.  Thaw in refrigerator overnight.