Preserving Backyard Fruit: Nanking Cherry Jelly

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the robins were spending a lot of time in our nanking cherry bushes so I went out to investigate.  Sure enough, the cherries were turning red and it was time to get the bushes covered.  Our bushes have gotten tall enough that I now have to 'sew' two 14ft wide nets together with twistie ties before I drape them over the bushes.  I also have to be sure that the net is secured to the ground at all points or the intrepid robins find their way in.

Earlier this week I noticed that a robin had found its way under the net but couldn't get out.  When I went to help it out, I found that most of the cherries were bright red and juicy... it was time to harvest! :)  The kids and I spent a couple of hours harvesting and got 3 ice cream buckets from 3.5 bushes.  I have to harvest the remaining bushes yet, but my fridge can only hold so many ice cream buckets so I spent time processing cherries into juice and then into jelly.  We love nanking cherry jelly/jam and syrup in our home and since we have syrup left from last year, I made jelly. 



First step: Remove the juice from the fruit.
1.  Wash and remove debris.

2.  Just cover the fruit with water and cook until the skin on the fruit starts to split.  (For this batch it took about 30 minutes.)

3. Remove the seeds and skins from the fruit.  I use an old fashion food mill and a little one anxious to help. ;)

Note: If you are looking for a clear, county fair blue ribbon product, you will want to strain the juice trough several layers of cheese cloth to remove the pulp.  I love the texture the pulp gives to the jelly and syrup.  I also cannot imagine wasting any of the fruit, so we mash out as much pulp as we can.


  
Second Step: Turn the juice into jelly.

1. Gather supplies and recipe.  I used Ball No Sugar Added Pectin this year and adjusted the 'sour cherry' recipe on the insert to fit my family.
 
Nanking Cherry Jelly
4 c juice
2 c sugar
1 pkg powdered pectin

2.  Stir the pectin into the juice in a 6-8 quart stock pot.  Heat to a rolling boil (cannot be stirred down) and quickly add all of the sugar.  Stirring continually, bring it back to a rolling boil.  Once at rolling boil, cook for one minute and immediately remove it from the heat.

3.  Skim off foam and ladle into 1 pint jars to within 1/4 inch of the top.  Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes (for everyone under 1000 ft elevation).

4.  Cool and check lids for seal.  Reprocess or refrigerate unsealed jars. 







Third step: Label and store in a cool dry location.

And that is it!  What is better than turning the fruits of your labor into something that your whole family will enjoy for months to come!

Happy Gardening and Preserving! :D

Plant of the Week: Nanking Cherry

Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)

The nanking cherry is a member of the Rose family (Roseace) and a native of northern Asia.  It is a hardy, fast growing shrub that reaches about 8 ft at full height and has a cold hardiness rating of Zone 2.  It produces a bounty of fragrant white flowers in the spring that attract a wide variety of pollinators, and vibrant red cherries mid-summer that are a favorite of songbirds, as well as make great syrup and jelly.  (One plant can produce around a gallon of 1/2 inch cherries if they are protected from the birds.)  It comes as no surprise that this shrub is a frequent choice for shelter belts and hedges as well as for individual plantings.

Plant nanking cherries in full sun or minimal shade for best flowering and fruit production.  Two or more plants are required for cross pollination and should be planted a minimum of 4 ft apart.  Plants can be purchased as bare root stock or as root balls.  Dig the hole twice as wide as the root wad and deep enough so that it sits at the same depth as it was previously planted (top of the root ball or look for a darker mark on the main stem indicating the soil line on bare root stock).  Loosen the roots and place the plant in the hole.  Back fill about half full and tamp down before adding the remaining to the soil line.  Water deeply right away and for its first season.

Happy Gardening! :)

On the Menu This Week (6-24 to 6-30)

For the last several years I have challenged myself to focus on using from my pantry and shop less for a couple months each winter... a Pantry Challenge.  With the end of February and this year's pantry challenge complete, I found that I really enjoyed having a basic menu plan to guide me.  I decided to continue making a month long menu, and be intentional about using garden produce and preserves from last season.

I am now on my sixth consecutive month of making a menu and I'm loving it!  I am also finding that it only takes me 15-20 min to put together a new menu for the month unless I get stuck thinking of something new to add. ;)  Be encouraged, if you are new to menu planning, it does get quicker and easier with time.  I am also finding that I have just about exhausted my stock of frozen and canned garden produce from last year.  Honestly, this is probably the first year that I am able to say that!  Overall, I have to say that intentional menu planning has been good for me and my family. :D  If you are interested in joining me in intentional menu planning, check out my Pantry Challenge post to get an idea of how to get started.

Here is what is on our menu this week...

Meals:
-Smoked Pork Carnita with Black Bean and Corn Salsa (This is an open the can & dump salsa recipe that I look forward to re-making into a fresh ingredient recipe soon!)
-Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes (all store bought ingredients - potatoes are growing well; I look forward to harvest in late summer or fall!)
-Turkey with Sweet Potato Bake (didn't happen last week & turkey sandwiches will be good this weekend with 4th of July holiday activities starting up.)

Snack:
-fresh fruit & veggies
-Rhubarb something? (I pulled one last harvest from my rhubarb this weekend and am trying to decide what to make with it.)


What are you harvesting and eating fresh this week?

Happy Garden Eating! :)

Plant of the Week: Celery

Celery (Apium graveolens) Photo Credit

Celery is a veggie tray staple but less common in the typical northern garden.  A member of the carrot family (Apiaceae), celery is grown for it's leaf stalk or root (aka celeriac).  It has been a part of home life since ancient times but didn't arrive in European kitchens until the 17th Century.

Celery is not a common northern garden addition because it needs a very long, cool, growing season (the long growing season being the limiting factor) but starting it indoors can give the extra time it needs.  Start celery indoors 10 - 12 weeks prior to the average last spring frost and transplant it into the garden about one week before the last frost, or root the bottom end of a purchased celery plant.  Celery does not like hot temperatures and needs 125 growing days or more to reach maturity.  Getting it started early in the spring is essential both to give it the time it needs and to keep it cool.  Plant individuals about 8 inches apart and slightly deeper than they were in the container they were started in. 

Celery is a heavy feeder and benefits significantly from additional applications of garden fertilizer (10-10-10), or a rich compost several times during the growing season.  It also has a shallow root system and is susceptible to drying out which causes tough, stringy stalks, or even, heart rot.  It is very important to maintain even moisture for the plant to survive and produce a quality product.  Stabilize moisture in the root zone by applying a thick layer of mulch around the plants after they have reached about 6 inches tall, and closely monitoring the soil moisture in the top 2 inches.

Some varieties of celery require the stalks to be blanched to keep them from getting a dark green color and bitter tasting.  Blanching is basically removing the stalks from sun exposure.  The easiest way to blanch celery is to place a paper milk carton sleeve around it, or wrap a paper bag around the plant and tie it on. 

Harvest outer stalks anytime after the plant reaches 6-8 inches tall for immediate use or the whole plant can be harvested and stored in a dry cool location for 2 or 3 weeks.  Plants will tolerate a light frost but should be harvested before a hard frost in the fall.

Happy Gardening! :)

On The Menu This Week (6-17 to 6-23)

For the last several years I have challenged myself to focus on using from my pantry and shop less for a couple months each winter... a Pantry Challenge.  With the end of February and this year's pantry challenge complete, I found that I really enjoyed having a basic menu plan to guide me.  I decided to continue making a month long menu, and be intentional about using garden produce and preserves from last season.

I am now on my sixth consecutive month of making a menu and I'm loving it!  I am also finding that it only takes me 15-20 min to put together a new menu for the month unless I get stuck thinking of something new to add. ;)  Be encouraged, if you are new to menu planning, it does get quicker and easier with time.  I am also finding that I have just about exhausted my stock of frozen and canned garden produce from last year.  Honestly, this is probably the first year that I am able to say that!  Overall, I have to say that intentional menu planning has been good for me and my family. :D  If you are interested in joining me in intentional menu planning, check out my Pantry Challenge post to get an idea of how to get started.

Here is what is on our menu this week...

Meals:
Grilled Steak & Shrimp (Father's Day treat), baked potato
Grilled Beef kebobs w/ grilled fresh veggies (meat pre-frozen in marinade)
Turkey & Apple/Sweet Potato Bake (time to start making space in the freezer & make the extra turkey I bought at Thanksgiving!)
Spaghetti (use store bought spaghetti sauce so I make room in my pantry for the tomato products that I will be making in a month or two)

Snack:
fresh fruit & veggies
Banana Bread (have some bananas that need using if I can make the time this week)

Happy Garden Eating! :)

2nd Annual HSV Garden Challenge: Linkup #3

It is time for the third linkup for the HSV Garden Challenge and there is not a lot to report this month.  The school year officially ended the second week of May and we took the rest of May off from structured learning.

#1 lower (everything), #2 upper (no sun)

We have continued to watch our bean experiment and planted #1 and #2 into the garden.  Number 3 was transplanted into 'real' soil along with #1 & #2 but it still has not been given water proving that without water a seed cannot sprout no matter what the 'soil' is.  Number 1 was setting fruit by the time we transplanted it into the garden, but within a week a hungry critter snipped off the top, ending it's life early.  Number 2 was brought out into the light when we transplanted it into 'real' soil and it continues to thrive.  It has set small fruit and we look forward to harvesting fresh beans in a week or so. :)

#3 (no water)

We are all watching the strawberries and veggie garden that we planted this spring for the first sign of harvest-able produce.  It is always a treat to harvest the fruit of your labors and this year the kids are excited to taste from their labors as well.  :)

Are your kids involved in your backyard garden?  What are you all learning together right now?

Happy Garden Learning!  :)

On the Menu This Week (6-3 to 6-9)

For the last several years I have challenged myself to focus on using from my pantry and shop less for a couple months each winter... a Pantry Challenge.  With the end of February, this year's pantry challenge is complete but I have really enjoyed having a basic menu plan to guide me.  This year I decided to continue to make a month long menu, and be intentional about using garden produce and preserves from last season.

I am now on my sixth consecutive month of making a menu and I'm loving it!  I am also finding that it only takes me 15-20 min to put together a new menu for the month unless I get stuck thinking of something new to add. ;)  Be encouraged if you are new to menu planning that it does get quicker and easier with time. 

If you are interested in joining my intentional menu planning, check out my Pantry Challenge post to get an idea of how to get started.

Here is what is on our menu this week...

Meals:
Cheesy Ham & Potato Bake (freezer meal) uses the last of our homemade hash browns
Smoked Pulled Pork - thanks to some friends with a smoker! :)
tacos - still waiting for my lettuce & spinach to be big enough to harvest... hopefully soon!

Snack:
Oatmeal Pumpkin or Squash Cookies - made a batch last week & we are still enjoying them

fresh fruit & veggies


Happy Garden Eating! :)