Jackson Farmers Market Photo's

 This was our second week at the Jackson Farmers Market. We were blessed with a beautiful day! Great for taking pictures too! Here are a few of our set up.

Our sign. Small but to the point.

Besides the veggies, honey and maple syrup, we also have bags made by Liz and muffins made by Sarah! Yum!!

Some of our yummy veggies.

A close-up of Lizzie-Tish Designs Bags.

Lot's of HUGE zucchini this week!

Thanks to Pat for fixing our shelf so that we had a nice display for our honey and maple syrup! 

 Please come and visit us on Saturdays from 9 to 1 at the Jackson Farmers Market! It is located next to the Snowflake Inn. We are also planning on trying out the new Ctr. Conway Farmers Market on Fridays from 12 to 5pm at the Country Hearth and Home Store located between the Post Office and the Rec.Center. 

Our stand is also open each day on Tasker Hill if you miss us at the Markets. 

Joanies Refrigerator Pickles

We really enjoyed these pickles over the summer and even still have some in the fridge! 

Joanies Refrigerator Pickles

5 cups sugar

4 cups vinegar

1/3 cup salt

1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed

1/2 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. tumeric

cucumbers

onions***

Directions:

Fill a 1 gallon jar 3/4 with thinly sliced cucumbers and 1/4 with thinly sliced onion alternating each and packing them in tightly. We have also used 4 quart jars instead and it worked just fine. In a large pot combine the rest of the ingredients and warm slightly until the sugar is dissolved. Fill each jar with the liquid mixture, cover and place in the fridge. They will be ready in 1 week but will last a LONG time if you have room to store them in your fridge.

***Note: We have also made this recipe without onions for those picky eaters.

Green Tomato Mincemeat Recipe (And Cookies)

As promised we are posting the Green Tomato Mincemeat recipe we made this year. We had LOTS of green ones this year because of some nutrient deficiencies in the soil. Thankfully there are ways to turn those green beauties into yummyness! Also adding a Mincemeat Cookie recipe below, it's great made with this mincemeat!

Green Tomato Mincemeat

(adapted from the Blue Book Guide to Preserving 2009) 

 

2 1/2 quarts chopped green tomatoes 

1 T. salt

2 quarts chopped, peeled, and cored apples

3 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped suet

1 lb. raisins

2/3 cup chopped orange pulp

3 T. grated orange peel

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 cup vinegar

Place chopped tomatoes in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 1 hour. While waiting add the rest of the ingredients to a large pot. (We doubled this recipe so we used a large stock pot.)  After 1 hour is up rinse and drain the tomatoes then cover with boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes and then drain again. Add the tomatoes to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until everything is soft. Ladle the hot mincemeat into jars, screw on lids and bands and process in a pressure cooker for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Mincemeat Cookies

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar (we used Sucanat, brown sugar would be good too)

3/4 cup butter (softened)

2 cups green tomato mincemeat (or other prepared mincemeat)

1 tsp. vanilla

3 1/4 cups flour (we used white whole wheat)

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

 Beat butter and sugar together until throughly combined. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in mincemeat and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add dry ingriedents to wet and mix well. Drop cookies onto a cookies sheet (we used the Pampered Chef cookie scoop and it made 3 doz.) Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.

These reminded us of old fashioned hermit cookies! Soft and very tasty!!! Sorry no photo... they were gone before we knew it!

Nana's Rhubarb Pie and Rhubarb Tips

Our first recipe made with our own produce was this rhubarb pie (scroll all the way down for the recipe). After transplanting this patch of rhubarb back in the early spring (see this post) we thought we would have to wait a year before harvesting any. We thought wrong! We have picked close to 10lbs. of rhubarb already and it is still coming! We have some different opinions about what to do with it though... some want to eat it! Some want to freeze it and store it away for the winter when it will be a welcomed reminder of spring.

The 7.5lbs picked this past week went into the pie above and the freezer so all would be happy.

As you can see from the photo below taken yesterday the rhubarb is still coming along nicely! If your patch does not look quite so nice there are some things you can do.

Tips for Great Rhubarb:
1. Rhubarb loves organic matter so be sure to load on the manure each season.
2. When you see flower stalks shooting up, pull them out right away before they blossom. This is a sign that your plants need to be divided. It is best to divide plants during the spring or fall when the plant is dormant.
3. Rhubarb likes fertile well drained soil with a PH of 5-6.8 and little to no weeds.
4. Rhubarb does like a little shade, ours is pretty much in sun all day except the evening when the end wall casts a shadow. It does not tollerate very hot and dry areas.
5. Don't forget to water! Lot's of water and some fertilizer will keep your plants going strong into the summer.
For more details on growing rhubarb click here.

Nana's Rhubarb Pie

1 batch of pie dough for a double crust pie
1c. sugar
2T. flour
a dash of nutmeg
1 egg
6-8 cups chopped rhubarb

Roll out bottom crust and fit it into your pie plate. Combine all filling ingredients and pour over the bottom crust. Top with second crust and seal by pinching tightly around the edge.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.