If you're interested in any of the recipes for these, be sure to check our Preserving the Harvest playlist. Almost every single jar, has a video showing how to make it: ru-vid.com/group/PLoi3On3ZiLmHoHGiYYlPNjrUWqmSJ-e20
TY. I live in Tucson where salsa verde is eaten by the ton. I have grown to love it even more than the red salsas. This year I'm growing tomatoes thanks to a master gardener's class. I'll check out your recipe for salsa verde. Thank you for the link.
FYI for those on the fence on the green tomato salsa verde Rachel is talking about, I have always canned Salsa Verde using green tomatoes like she does and it's always the most amazing salsa verde. I grew tomatillos for the first time last year, definitely grow well in my zone (6b), but it is honestly not my favorite salsa verde, we barely use it compared to running out every year on the green tomato kind, tomatillos are just way too sweet in comparison and I won't be growing them to take up precious gardening space in the future since I can utilize the green tomatoes and get a product we prefer. Just my food for thought on the topic, if you're interested she's is absolutely right about using the green tomatoes up!
I grew tomatillos for the 1st time last year & made salsa verde (Ball recipe) and I agree it is very sweet. I'll not be growing it again, as it takes up way too much space in my little garden. I'm going to try green tomatoes this year too, it sounds wonderful.
I love to use a dehydrator, too, for things as well. I make a a soup starter mix with dehydrated onions, celery, and carrots. I dry and powder tomatoes and peppers to add to soups, stews, and even breads to add a little extra zip to my cooking. Plus, dehydrating little scraps of vegetables, I powder the scraps and mix them into cream cheese to make an amazing bagel topper. You can also use dehydrated and powdered tomato to make catsup, or use it in place of tomato paste and it lasts longer. And don't forget any fruit you can dehydrate as well. Perfect for making fruit powders for drinks, or just some tasty snacks.
Winter squash is a staple for me! I plant 4 butternut squash (which store all winter) and 1 acorn squash for fall eating and freezing. I highly recommend growing winter squash!
I'm growing it for the first time this year. It is a pumpkin looking squash. I can't wait. Us southerners aren't experienced cooking with winter squash. Historically, we cook with sweet potatoes in place of winter squash. But, we do eat the heck out of summer squash.
I plant my seedlings in mid-May (I live in Chicago, Zone 5) and will start to harvest in August. When you harvest, cut the stem with scissors so there is about an inch of stem. Lay in the sun to dry/cure for a week. Then wash with a bleach water solution to kill all bacteria. Then store in cool, dry place. Acorn squash will.mold in about 6 weeks, so eat that immediately. I also roast them and then freeze in portions for winter baking (any recipe that calls for pumpkin can be substituted for any winter squash - muffins, breads, pie, scones). I save the butternut to start eating in Dec - June - soups, roasted, and I give them.away as Christmas gifts. 🙂
I have been canning since I was 23. But a huge amount of years past when I didn’t do it any longer. I am now 63 growing a big garden and beginning to cam again. For those that are faint of heart my one suggestion would be your prep area has to be scrupulously clean particularly the jars lids and jars and screw tops. The food itself also Hass to be scrupulously clean. Follow the directions of the canner to a T. And you will be so proud of the magic that happens when you pull that lid off and pull out those jars of sunshine!
One staple I always grow which is a bit unusual but its Jerusalem artichoke. It gives a decent crop of root vegetables which can also be seed for the next year but also when the plant dies back you can cut the dead stems to use as stakes for the green beans the next year! I just love the fact it gives you two benefits in your garden rather than just being a crop.
Thank you so much for this video. I'm going to grow a garden for the first time this year. As a busy mom to 4 (3-13), I've been struggling with wanting to grow it all but not wanting to get so overwhelmed that it's not successful. Thank you for this reminder to focus on the staples.
I don't want to tell you how. But I will say, if you make a garden that is manageable to your lifestyle, you will enjoy it much more. When I was raising 3 kids, I would always plant more of one item and try to can a couple of years worth of that item. Until I got better and they were more help. Most kids love working in a garden. I started small and as I got better I grew more. Eventually got a pressure canner, and then a dehydrator, reg pot canner. It can be addicting. 😉
Hi Rachel. Don't worry what people think of your pantry. It is awesome to have all the food stored in your pantry. You Rachel are amazing. The corn, carrots and green beans are my favorite. God Bless you my friend. Take care. Maria. 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😎😎😎😎😎😎😎
Love your pantry! You guys built it well! I would paint the edge with chalkboard paint so I can use chalk or chalk markers to label (and erase as needed) each section🤗
We had so many green tomatoes last season. So we made chutney for first time using the green tomatoes with sweet onions, jalapeno peppers and apples. It turned out great.
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE all things about your channel and especially the dynamics between you two (Rachel and Tod) keep these inspirational videos coming! 😉
This is exactly what I am doing this year. I made a list of things that are always on the grocery list, and got what I needed to grow what is possible, here at home.. We can look at the economy and get so frustrated, and that it can freeze you in your tracks. I'm not watching the news and concentrating on..Ya know, I LOVE to garden, and by golly, I'm going to enjoy it! The garden giving back for the time and attention is a bonus 😊
I LOVE the sound of the cheeping chicks in the background!!! My hens we hatched last year still come up to me cheeping like that a bit with their grown up voices.... Great video & I'm SO SO excited to can and dehydrate much more of our harvest this year. Last year, I grew too many tomatoes and peppers & didn't have a plan to store them. We are ready, this year!
Last year my pickles did not do good! But my tomatoes did! So I made a green tomato relish with red and green peppers and onions! It is quite tasty! Thank you for making this so fun!
What's the deal with canned carrots? I love them! But I always wonder how it is that canned carrots taste so carroty where the same served up for tea same day I canned the same batch of carrots taste less carroty, but now later in the year POW! How did those carrots in my jar get EXTRA carrot flavour? Canned carrots are amazing. Love the vids. Blessings from Australia.
More people need to learn how to garden and preserve their food. I was lucky enough to learn alot of my grandparents when they were still alive. I grow most of the things you mentioned except for cabbage. I have limited room and it just takes up so much room for what you get on cabbage. Thankfully we have a couple of good farmer markets around here and things I don't/cant grow I can get from there in season.
Is a Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable? The age-old question actually has an answer-it's both! Tomatoes are fruits that are considered vegetables by nutritionists. Botanically, a fruit is a ripened flower ovary and contains seeds. Tomatoes, plums, zucchinis, and melons are all edible fruits, but things like maple “helicopters” and floating dandelion puffs are fruits too. For some reason, people got hung up on tomatoes, but the “fruit or vegetable” question could also work for any vegetable with seeds. Now, nutritionally, the term “fruit” is used to describe sweet and fleshy botanical fruits, and “vegetable” is used to indicate a wide variety of plant parts that are not so high in fructose. In many cultures, vegetables tend to be served as part of the main dish or side, whereas sweet fruits are typically snacks or desserts. Thus, roots, tubers, stems, flower buds, leaves, and certain botanical fruits, including green beans, pumpkins, and of course tomatoes, are all considered vegetables by nutritionists. There is no hard-and-fast rule that clearly designates a botanical fruit as a vegetable, but, given that tomatoes are generally not used in desserts and are closely related to other fruit-vegetables (e.g., eggplants and peppers), it is not too counterintuitive for tomatoes to be classified as vegetables. Source: www.britannica.com/story/is-a-tomato-a-fruit-or-a-vegetable
So can we please start calling sweet potatoes a fruit? Because like you said, it's like a dessert, lol. Also my mouth watered all throughout this video. Thanks so much for sharing.
Love your pantry my mom got my sister & I canning in high school got to get back into the pickles & really everything to not need going to stores. Hard at 61 with 5 acres to get everything done by myself but doing my best to get friends involved that dont have land to grow help me & help themselves at same time.
A few years ago a client gave me an original model vacuum sealer that sat in her basement for years. I used it til I wore it out. I waited til after Christmas & a got new one. I LOVE it! It also has a moist setting on it so I freeze bread, muffins, etc. Just made zucchini bread for Thanksgiving. I don’t have a big freezer, but buy everything in bulk & it saves so much space. It keeps food fresh, no freezer burn, for so much longer. Much longer then Ziplocks. Idk if you’ve tried them, but they’re worth it! I buy flour, sugar, rolled oats, white popcorn etc 25-50 pounds at a time, divide them into 5lb bags & seal them. Keeps the moisture & air out.
Just recently found your channel and I love it!! I am very new to canning, haven't even done any pressure canning yet, but I am so excited for the wealth of knowledge and experience on your channel! My mom used to do some mild canning of some meats and tomato juice and a few beans, but I was young during her canning days and never learned how she did it before she died in 2017, so I am so thankful for for all you are sharing to newby canners like me! And it's taking some of the scariness out of it for me. God bless!
Today I pulled my Presto canner from a long 15 year slumber in my attic. I'm going in 2 days to a great hardware in town that keeps all the gaskets and rubber pieces for the lid. Can't wait to get started again. Gonna start with dry pinto beans.
YT recommended this to me so I’m brand new here. Thank you for doing this! It helps me prioritize my upcoming garden. Hoping to find more about setting aside food from you!
Oh my, I am just starting to build my house on my new property, doing a temporary garden this year while I am in the RV, and my mind is spinning with excitement from your enthusiasm! I can already see my shelves stocked. Thank you for all the joy.
I made your onion jam when I saw that vlog some time ago. I love it on meat loaf. Your pantry is beautiful. You are encouraging and you should be proud.
I am so glad that Amy asked you about your pantry so that you could provide this FABULOUS in-depth kitchen garden planning tutorial. I think this is one of your best videos ever 🤩 Thank you for taking the time to make it, as well as sharing your knowledge and thought process with us.
I just started canning this year. I have a garden in my suburban yard--much smaller than what you have--and have had trouble keeping up with the produce all summer. Your videos have been extremely helpful so thank you. I love the way you hug your jars! :) Now that I have some of my own, I can say I know how you feel!
I love your pantry organization. My dream is to have a place to house my canning crop and supplies so it isn’t a chore to get to and so I don’t loose track of what I have. Today I’m processing potatoes for the first time and will be on the look out for carrots at a decent price. Blessings to you and yours.
You are so precious! I LOVE watching you, especially if you and Todd are teaming up because y'all are so sweet together! I love how excited you are about canning in this video. That makes people want to do it too! You go girl but remember to rest too!
Oh how i wish there was a LOVE button on here instead of LIKE!!! This was the most inspirational video ever!!!! Just love you Rachel and Todd!!! I'm going to research your vidoes for your pickles and enchilada sauce!!!
Don't forget too, farmers markets and farm stands. I have gotten some "damaged" or less than perfect veggies for super cheap to help fill in what I don't have the garden space to grow. Awesome video Rachel. This makes me so excited for spring and gardening. Now if only MN would quit having snow in the forecast I could actually begin. Lol
I was recommended this video by a friend and I'm so glad. I watched your plan for the garden before but this really cemented it for me. Gives me so much more confidence to concentrate on fewer things and learn how to do them well for our family.
I’m new to your channel. What a blessing you are .I’m 69 and just started canning a few months ago. My kitchen looks like a jungle right now I’ve started my seeds .😆 You’ve given me so many good ideas. This old Georgia mountain gal thanks you from the bottom of my heart.❤️🙏🏻❤️
You are my inspiration this season! I am an old suburban gal living on rented land at the edge of a woodland. This will be my first year canning what I grow (God willing), which is similar to your ten! My list is strawberries, cabbage, kale, onions, potatoes, snow peas, tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins (second generation volunteers) plus salad greens and sunflowers (for beauty and the birds). Blessings and Prayers for Peace to all! 🌻
So glad I stumbled onto your channel. Getting back into canning and wasn't great at it before. I hope you can whip me into shape. Love your pantry! God Bless you.
This felt like the best kind of home tour. The Aladdin’s cave! I’ve had dreams my whole life of having stored homemade food. The lesson here, as with everything, is the best life advice. Start simply. As I plan my garden this is lovely. We haven’t canned many tomato products and diced tomatoes and sauce is what we buy the most. Excited to try. Maybe you could start by writing a PDF per vegetable. How you grow it to how you can it and what you cook with it. The Tomato Book for example.
I make cowboy candy for my hubby and one year I had a ton of cowboy candy juice left over and a bunch of sliced pickling cucumbers. So I put them in the juice and made cowboy candy pickles, they are a must have. I do make sure that some peppers get in the jars. But so so good!
So listening to your joy describing all of your varieties of foods you have canned, I either need you to write a cookbook on your “pa try tables” or I will be coming to to stay with you for a year or so to pick your brain and learn from a master! Thank you for your lessons!
This is the first video of yours I'm watching, and oh my gosh are you amazing! Your delight is so contagious, I can't wait for the growing season next year!
Thank you Rachel! Thanks to you..I now add zucchini, squash to my pasta sauces! I'm a ingredient canner. I can everything to make stews, casseroles..including meats.
Thanks for this video and the playlist you linked to for canning. This really helped me with knowing what to focus on in my garden this coming season. I will be watching this multiple times and you playlist recommendations.
It seems like so many in the comments are narrowing down to the basics this year! I am too. Really focusing on growing more of the stuff we already love, eat, and store. It's been a slow start to the season here, but blessings on everyone's garden year!! 🌿
You guys are so awesome. The info that you're sharing is priceless. I just wish I had started earlier.....but I did start. God Bless You Both. I hope to meet you someday.
Love this video! Something funny happened to me while I was watching you talk about the pickles…I looked over on the right hand side of the screen and noticed your fly swatter!!! I have the exact same one that I think I probably bought in the 70’s!! Of course I started cracking up!! It is the same lovely pink color and worn out paint on the handle. Hang on to that thing…it will never wear out!!
The way you reacted to your green tomato curry 😆🙌🏼 I’ve never had it before but now I’m DEFINITELY making some this year haha Thanks for the great video! I’m over in Kalkaska, MI, third year gardening, first year preserving :) binge watching all your videos 💜
I loved this video. I learnt real quick that 'the basics garden' is the most practical and best in the long run. Like you said, you can make so many things from just those basics that make everyday meals extra special. Thanks Racheal. Here In New Zealand we are in Autumn and my garden is winding down. I look at all my hard work all summer and all the jars on my shelves and feel such a feeling of satisfaction, just like a pioneer. Thankyou for all your inspiration this past summer x ~ Linda
Great video Rachel!!! Our pantry is less then half of your. The reason is that we can grow fresh 9 months out of the year. We were harvesting in late November and December. I'll do a quick video on our food storage. God Bless Mike.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have to say that this is one of the most inspiring garden videos ever! You totally created goal that felt like it could easily be accomplished and showed so many ways to use the produce. I am so excited to concentrate on the 10. Looking forward to my best garden.
My staples are the same as yours! I do grow a lot of broccoli and freeze it for winter months. I also freeze a ton of corn but out source it from a local farmer. This is a great video...thanks for sharing!
Rachel, you crack me up. You are so passionate about your veggies. I have expanded my garden this year and hope to be able to can some of my own this year. Thanks so much for sharing with us and inspiring us.
