Design

Today is a beautiful sunny day in the North Woods.  I'm hoping the temps are warm enough to kick start some growth in the garden.  My rhubarb plants have been producing for a few weeks and it's time to start thinking about preserving some of their yummy goodness.  Perhaps canning some rhubarb sauce this week is in order.  Rhubarb freezes well .. it's great to pull out in the winter to bake up a pie or for stewing. The leaves are poisonous .. but you can add them to the compost heap without a problem.  Nothing says it's gardening time better than the arrival of rhubarb. Simmered Rhubarb: 4 cups diced rhubarb stalks 3/4 cup sugar water to cover Simmer the rhubarb for a few minutes then cover the pan and let it sit until cool.  This method keeps the rhubarb pieces whole.  For a sweeter version, cook uncovered until tender and liquid has reduced by about 1/3 to 1/2 in volume ..  Rhubarb goes well with strawberries and apples in pies.

 We're still harvesting some green beans, broccoli, and sugar peas ... so every other day I'm blanching small batches of veggies, cooling and drying them off, and freezing single layer on trays .. then storing in freezer bags for use this coming winter.  It's amazing how fast the stockpile is growing from small batch freezing. 

This week and last have been spent busily in the kitchen canning various tomato recipes.  While I love to have tomatoes canned and on the shelf, it's nice to have some in the freezer too.  The recipe below is one that was handed down to me by a neighbor.  It had been given to her .. and I'm not sure of the origins.  I made it last year .. and was very happy with how easy it is to make ... it's slow cooking as I type. Crock Pot Tomato Sauce: 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups onions, chopped 1-1/2 cups carrots, chopped 1 cup green pepper, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 8 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced 1 - six ounce can tomato paste 1 teaspoon sea salt 2 teaspoons oregano leaves 2 teaspoons basil leaves 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoon brown sugar Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook the onions, carrots, peppers and garlic until tender.  Place vegetable mixture and remaining ingredients in a 5 quart crock pot.  Cook on high for 8 h...