Our life living off the land in our log cabin, breathing fresh mountain air, and getting back to basics.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Harvesting and Preserving Beets & Carrots

I'm proud to say I have successfully canned my first green beans!  I got a new gasket for my canner and now it works like a charm...click here to read more about my first attempt.  They look good!  I'm also proud to say I used the beans I put in the fridge when I first my first canning attempt didn't work to make a green bean casserole last night, and it was delicious...I have to say canning your own vegetables results in a far tastier product than what you get in grocery store canned veggies...I'm a true believer in canning! 
Being a beginner, I did forget to run a spatula around the edge of the jars before sealing them to get all the extra air out of the jar, so I could see the air bubbles once the canning was finished.  But the jars did produce that delightful popping sound after I took them out of the pressure cooker, and I will test them by removing the rings and making sure the seal is suctioned onto the jar once they cool, but I'm feeling confident they are sealed!

What does all this have to do with carrots and beets?  Well, I was so excited about my success that I decided to go ahead and harvest the carrots and beets to preserve them as well.
I knew we had a lot of carrots, but I didn't realize how many! They totally hide the beets that were on one side of my basket...so I separated everything so you could get a better look at the entire harvest...beets...
 ...carrots.

I'm planning on canning the carrots, some cut up and some whole (love roasted whole carrots), and I may pickle the beets.  I'll be doing that tomorrow and will share my photos then. 

Anyone out there have carrot or beet canning recipes you'd like to share?

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise

3 comments:

Dad/Pepere said...

No recipes here but looking forward to enjoying some of your results at Thanksgiving! Hugs!

Anonymous said...

I'm jealous of your carrots-we have never been able to grow them! Congrats on the beans!! They look so good : )

Lise said...

Won't be long now dad! Hugs back:)

Thanks Tipper, the Sow True Seed beans are still producing too! We are happy with the carrots, wish we had success with tomatoes!