More fun with preserving

[chowmama]

I've got a week off from my job, so I'm doing a lot at home. I've got a couple more jars of beets done, and two quart jars of canned chicken. The source was two 5# (about) whole chickens, and I've got the leftover drumsticks and wings in the freezer, along with the soup bones. This leaves me with two whole boned breasts, one of which will be stir-fry tonight and the other will probably go in the freezer if I can find the space. Later on, I've got some potatoes to can, as well. If I can find a good inexpensive source of Granny Smiths, I want canned slices in light syrup. I'm not very up on the newest apples and I really want a tart apple that will hold its shape and have a nice tart-sweet flavor (not too sweet) once the syrup does its work. They're getting peeled so any color will do and I'm familiar with Granny Smith.

On the minus side, I got a few green beans at the Farmer's Market and decided to try drying them overnight. I steam-blanched them first, as my sources all recommended. Got up this morning to find them much reduced, crisp and very dark. They remind me of the dry earthworms you sometimes see on a sidewalk. So I'm going to get a cup of very hot water and re-hydrate one so I can see what they end up like. Worst case, I'm going to have some bean powder to put in something, probably a soup. However, if they don't rehydrate well, I won't do this again. I'd can them, but they always turn out too soft and the freezer is full.

On the very plus side, it turns out that using the peach-flavored caramel syrup that I made by reducing the leftover syrup from canning peaches is a wonderful substitution for molasses in gingerbread. It's a fantastic cake, and I'm a bit saddened that I'm now out of peach caramel and have only enough pear caramel for 2 more cakes.