Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

With canning season in the horizon I figured I’d better share this recipe.  I have experimented with making spaghetti sauce on several occasions and this recipe is the one I ALWAYS return to.  It comes from a good friend’s mom who has canned for many years. I am posting with her permission of course!

• 12 lbs peeled and diced tomatoes (4-5 qts)
• 12 oz can of tomato paste
• 1/3-1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons of dried sweet basil or 1/3 cup of fresh chopped basil
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 green pepper diced
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

Put tomatoes, paste, sugar, basil, salt, and pepper in large pot.

Sauté onion, peppers in oil for 5 minutes adding garlic just before time is up.  Then add to tomatoes.  Bring to a boil then simmer on low heat for 2 hours or desired consistency.  Stir occasionally.  Pack into pint or quart jars.  Pressure cook @ 10lbs of pressure for 20-25 minutes or you can take the lazy easy way out and  freeze in plastic containers or bags.  I have been known to take that route on a good many occasions.

PERSONAL NOTES

1. I shared not only to be nice but mostly because organization is not one of my finer points and I would be distraught if I lost this recipe.
2. I don’t chop up my tomatoes I use my tomato saucer I purchased a few years back from Johnny’s select seed.  It is pictured in this post from 2011.  It is by far one of my favorite kitchen gadgets!
3. As my sauce is cooking I blend with my immersion blender (another favorite in the kitchen) so there are “NO CHUNKS” because the kids won’t eat it if it has “CHUNKS”.  PUNKS!!!!
4. Last note….I promise.  A couple weeks back we were in Boston and we ate at an authentic Italian restaurant.  It was DIVINE!  My boy said “Mom this sauce tastes a lot like yours.”  That is all he needed to say.  I hoping to put up at least 30-40 quarts….enough to make it through a long Maine winter.  Happy Canning!

Gardening Trials and Tribulations

A couple weeks back I awoke at 5:30 a.m. in a complete panic because I had forgotten my tomatoes out in the greenhouse overnight.  I slipped on my boots and ran out only to discover lots of limp vegetable seedlings. 50 plus plants tossed into the compost.  SO disappointing!   Thankfully I had enough time to replant.

Maine Man has decided to cut WAY back on gardening this year.  I’ll admit when he first told me I was a tad bit peeved because I have lots of big bad plans for preserving this year.

Last garden season I was in the midst of maintaining two homes while caring for my farmer friend.  I did not have a lot left to put into the gardens and preserving was not a priority.  I did make time to put up the best spaghetti sauce I ever did make but that’s about it.  That recipe I plan to share soon!

The picture above is from a few weeks back before any greens had sprouted in the greenhouse.   MM and CB did a little reorganizing and set up half of it for growing vegetables and the other half to house some birds they had ordered.

So far I have planted radishes, kale, bok choy, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli,  peppers, beans, beets, basil,and oregano.  They have all surfaced except the broccoli, beans, and peppers.  Not quite sure how I screwed them up but I did.  Since I have NEVER been the primary gardener of this homestead this should be an interesting year.  Regardless, whatever I don’t grow I will buy from local farm stands or the farmers market.  I have made a plan as to what I am most interested in canning: spaghetti sauce, salsa, beets, and pickles.  So I will focus more on the crops needed for the final product.  MM did plant some onions from seed.  He also planted some high bush blueberry bushes so I wouldn’t say he hasn’t washed his hands completely of gardening.  In addition to that he also has the responsibility of haying and maintaining our 40 acre pasture as of last year.  That in itself is a lot of work!

The meat birds are growing fast.  We are looking forward to filling the freezers.  We also have some pigs that will be going at the end of the month and a cow come fall.  It is rewarding to  raise some of the food that sustains our family.  I think more and more people are going to go down this path in the future.

Struggles in Beekeeping

Last Spring I was ecstatic that my hive survived a cold, long, winter in Maine!  After a year of searching for my queen I FINALLY spotted her.  I was beginning to doubt others when they said “you’ll know it when you see her.”  They were right, she’s much bigger then the worker bees and her wings are smaller as pictured above.  About a month later she swarmed with a bunch of her buddies. I was bummed but I moved on as they did.  The hive re-queened and seemed to have plenty of honey to make it through winter.

Trying to be “all natural” I didn’t not treat my hive for mites.  Mistake # 199 in beekeeping 101 for this chicka.  This Spring I discovered I had lost my hive probably due to mites.

LESSON LEARNED!  Since I don’t give up real easy I have another nuke coming in May.  Earlier this week I picked up the makings for a new hive and CB has started to assemble it.  Last year I was lean on supplies and found myself in a pickle on a Sunday when my bees swarmed.  This year and in the future I WILL be prepared in the event I need another set up.

Since there was a lot of honey leftover I attempted to try and extract some of it by hand but that was an epic failure and one heck of a mess.  I called the local bee place but they don’t extract until June.  I must admit I can’t stand relying on someone else for things!  My plan is to sweet talk Maine Man into building me one or maybe I will purchase an inexpensive extractor if I must.  Any thoughts or suggestions on that from any bee peeps would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Chemistry 101

FG made her first batch of soap last month.  She called it “Mint Magic”.  It came out better then the batch I made.  I am still a novice at soap making but since getting over my fear of the lye I finally welcomed her to join along.  It’s kind of like using a pressure cooker for the first time.  Scared as hell but once you’ve done it a couple times you feel more comfortable.

The kids like doing hands-on projects, so do I!  There is so much more then “book work” when it comes to schooling.  Don’t get me wrong, we do spend a decent about of time with our nose in the books.  Actually, we love books!  My son hated reading when he was in school.  Since we started homeschooling and he gets to read about topics he is most interested in he says it’s one of his favorite parts of the day.

This year we are way ahead of schedule and should be done most everything next month.  We are skipping April vacation with our eye on the prize.  The school year will be finished with some field trips including a trip to Boston via train.

The kids and their friends submitted applications to the Common Ground Fair to become part of the youth vendors.  We are looking forward to hearing back so that we can start making products.  FG and her friend plan to make and sell lip balm, soaps, lotions, and body spray.  CB and his cousins plan to make products of woods such as coasters and bird houses.  I am really hoping all works out for them, it will be a great experience for all and we have until September to prepare.

Thoughts to ponder…

By no means have I ever considered ourselves “preppers”. Not really sure what we would be labeled as. I don’t consider us as hobby farmers because we truly farm for food not just for fun. A while back we had some company and they asked if we came from farming families. Neither of us did, and I proudly exclaimed without even giving it much thought that we were first generation farmers.

Reading the news of the banks flopping in Europe, threats of nuclear war from North Korea, damn Monsanto who is working really hard to taint our entire food system, and the bee colony collapse disorder gives me ANXIETY! I’m thinking that maybe the “preppers” are pretty smart peeps.

Another issue that REALLY bothers me is the recent crisis in obtaining ammunition and reloading supplies. So the government buys it all up, there is less supply, and now when it is available people are hoarding. That is just one commodity that is in short supply…I have not doubt that there will be more to follow.

With all that gloom and doom I have no immediate plans in building a bunker but I am motivated to dabble a little more in canning this summer. I have only canned fruits, vegetables, and broth but I’m interested in learning to can meats, beans, and soup.

What are some of your goals and ambitions in light of recent times?

Nature’s Goodness

Over 4 gallons of maple syrup put up for our consumption during the coming year.  Pancakes, waffles, warmed over ice cream, in smoothies, homemade pop, drizzled over yogurt or by the spoonful.

For my foodie friends that use cheesecloth right steady and are tired of buying it.  I recently discovered this washable filter material at the natural food store. It washes up easily and it is heat tolerant too.  It cost about $2.50 and I’ve already used it many times…for broth, syrup, and cheese making.  I wish I knew about this stuff long ago but I’m happy to have discovered it!

Jeb, our pesky pup.  He went out on his first hike last night with me a CB.  He walked 2.75 miles of our 3 mile hike. He’s definitely a keeper!

Making liquid hand soap

A sneak peak at out latest addition to the farm!

I don’t know about you but I am always looking to create new things.  Some stuff I stick with and other stuff I’m just happy I know how to do in case some day I need to know.

I have been wanting to make liquid hand soap for a long time now.  I will confess I have been saving the ends of old bars of soap since we bought the farm (6 years ago).  They were stashed away so that Maine Man would not throw them away.

You could also make this with a new bar of soap but I like being resourceful and recycle.  If I was to give it as a present I would do that and maybe even doctor it up with some essential oils.   Either way you are saving a TON of money in comparison to buying liquid soap from the stores.

Easy Peasy…I made a half gallon first time around in case I failed but amazingly it was a success!

1. Grate soap ends or bar with a cheese grater.  Approximately 1 cup
2. Bring 1/2 gallon of water to a light boil
3. Add soap and stir until shavings melt
4. Cool down a bit then add 1 Tablespoon of glycerin
5. Pour into container (I used a 1/2 gallon milk jug)

I found that the consistency was thinner then store bought liquid soap. But I do think it could be easily thickened by adding more glycerin if you felt it was necessary.  I am happy with the results especially the fact  that it cost almost NOTHING to make!