Putting Food By - Beef, Onions and Vanilla

A freezer door left open accidentally left me frantically trying to figure out what to do with the contents. I was especially concerned about the organic, free ranged, grass fed beef and chicken steadily thawing.

I have this marvelous All American 921 pressure canner, which I had only used to cook meals in. For whatever reason, the idea of actually using it to CAN scared the self sufficient right out of me. So I posted on the Facebook page, "Take Back Urban-Homestead(s)" for help and support - and the members there came through in a hurry. When I realized I couldn't find the rack that came with my pressure canner, it was recommended that I use quart size canning rings in the bottom to keep my glass jars off the metal. Who knew? Well, probably most of you, but I never would have thought of that trick.

I managed to get all the beef put up yesterday. It was surprisingly easy, and now I have stew meat ready to go whenever we might need it. A few things I wasn't expecting, being a first timer and all:
1. When I took the jars out of the canner the contents were bubbling like mad! Amazing to watch, but I was concerned at first that I had done something wrong. Turns out it's fine.
2. Canned meat in glass jars looks strange. This must be why they can meat in metal cans for the grocery stores. Regardless, I know what's in my jars; Organic beef, salt, pepper, and water.


I managed to put up 5 quarts of beef. I wanted to put them up in pint jars, but I didn't have any empty, so I made due with what I had.

And did you see that little bit of green hanging out in the picture above? Those are our scallions previously posted here. This is what they look like now:

You can see in the next picture how the roots grow and tangle in the cup of water. If you want to do this at home, it's simple. The next time you have green onions, don't throw away the white ends. Simply submerge them in a glass of water and place them in a sunny window. Your onions will begin to grow almost immediately and can be harvested almost indefinitely. We just use kitchen scissors to cut what we need for meals. I periodically empty out the water, rinse the roots off and give them fresh water.

Finally, I wanted to share our new adventures with vanilla. Growing up I was only familiar with one type of vanilla. Imitation. Can I get a resounding "Gross!?" Did you know imitation vanilla is often made with wood byproducts and chemicals? Yuck.

About 2 years ago I discovered real vanilla. In the pod. It was like the heavens opened up and a chorus of angels started singing. I'll forgive my parents. They were broke. They didn't use the internet much (to be fair, it wasn't really readily available like it is today.) And they probably didn't know any different. I get my vanilla from Vanilla Products USA. They have a site on Ebay that sells the same vanilla bean for even less and I've been very pleased with the quality and quantity.

This week I decided to make my own vanilla extract and vanilla sugar. The extract is simple. Buy the cheapest vodka you can find. Pour it into a mason jar. Add 6-8 vanilla beans, sliced open and chopped up. Put a lid on it. Store it in a cool, dark location for 8 weeks. Shake it every now and then. Strain into a new jar when you're ready to use and add more vodka to the beans in the old jar. Whenever you use a bean for another recipe, toss the remains into your extract jar. It will store indefinitely if kept properly.



Vanilla sugar is also simple to make. Take plain old white sugar and place it in a mason jar. Add a few chopped up beans. Put a lid on it and shake. Store in the pantry. The sugar takes on such a delicious, light vanilla flavor. Perfect for baking, adding to coffee, sweets, etc. Yummy!


Today I'm prepping the makings for chicken noodle soup. Now that I'm no longer terrified of my pressure canner, I'll be using it to save all the chicken that thawed in our freezer. The Boy loves chicken noodle soup, so this will actually be a wonderful thing for us to have on hand. I'm also going to buy a freezer alarm......


***update - 2/5/12.    Wow!   So much traffic to this post.   I had no idea that regrowing scallions in water would be such a popular topic.    Having grown our green onions like this now for several years,  I should clarify my earlier statements.   These onions most likely won't grow indefinitely, but you can get 7 - 15 new clippings from them if you're vigilant.   Please empty and replace your water regularly.  Every 1-2 days.   Rinse off your roots when replacing your water.  This keeps down on onion-y smell and possible rot.  And keep that water right around root level - don't fill the jar all the way up to the green portion of your onions.  That's a sure way to have green onion rot develop.  Happy micro-farming!
Learning new skills every day.

Simple Mama