Plantain-Comfrey Salve

Pick a bunch of plantain and comfrey leaves.  Chop them up roughly and put them in a baking pan.  

Add tallow.  The tallow was very hard in the jar, and has a beefy aroma.  I added a drizzle of olive oil, and some rose petals.

Stir and bake at 170°F (my lowest oven setting) for 3 hours.
Strain through cheesecloth.  (I didn't let it cool first, as it would start hardening).
Reheat the oil.
Add 3 tablets vitamin E.  Mix through. (Preservative).
Pour into jars.

It hardened to a lovely shade of green, with just a tiny bit of sediment at the bottom of the jars.  It smells pretty good, not really rosey, but not beefy either.  It's still a bit stiffer than I would like it, about the consistency of chapstick.  I'll add more olive oil to the next batch.

Cucumber Relish

Cucumber Relish

        4 1/2 cups cucumbers, chopped
        3 1/2 cups celery, chopped
        3 cups onions, chopped
        2 cups red bell peppers, chopped
        1/4 cup canning salt
        4 cups water
        4 cups vinegar
        3 cups sugar
        2 teaspoons mustard seeds
        2 teaspoons celery seeds

Directions

    Combine cucumbers, celery, onion and peppers in a large bowl; add salt and water.
    Cover and refrigerate overnight. Drain; rinse and drain again.
    Combine remaining ingredients in a large kettle; bring to a boil.
    Add vegetables; simmer for 10 minutes.
    Ladle hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Adjust caps.
Process in a hot water bath according to your altitude (10 minutes for up 1000 ft.).

Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd

1 1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C lemon juice
2 T lemon rind
4 1/2 C sugar
12 whole eggs
6 egg yolks

Melt the butter in the top of a saucepan or double boiler. Add the juice, rind and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Beat the eggs and egg yolks together until thick and blend into the butter/sugar mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until quite thick. Cool and refrigerate.

To Can:

Pour into sterilized jars, seal. Water bath can for 20 minutes.

Cream of Celery Soup

  Dede's Cream of Celery Soup

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter
3 cups celery, 1/4″ dice
1/2 cup sweet onion, 1/4″ dice
1/3 cup finely diced celery leaves (set aside)
1 quart vegetable broth
1 quart chicken broth
(or use ALL chicken broth)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. ground celery seed
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup Clearjel

Directions

Melt butter. Add celery and onion and sauté until crisp-tender.
Add broth, saving 1 cup to mix with the Clearjel.
Add the seasonings, lemon juice, and the reserved celery leaves.
Mix the Clearjel with the reserved broth.
Mix all ingredients and heat until it boils, stirring often.
Put in jars and process in pressure canner for 45 minutes
at 10 lbs. pressure (adjust for altitude).

Dill Pickle Relish

Dill Pickle Relish

"A nice addition to burgers or hot dogs. And very pretty for gift giving. You could substitute green bell peppers for the red ones, but it wouldn't be as attractive. You can also substitute zucchini for part of the cucumbers if desired."
Ingredients

        6 cups cucumbers, chopped
        2 cups red bell peppers, chopped
        2 cups onions, chopped
        1 cup celery, chopped
        2/3 cup salt
        6 cups water
        4 cups cider vinegar
        1 cup sugar (optional)
        2 tablespoons mustard seeds
        1 teaspoon celery seeds
        3 garlic cloves, minced
        2 chili peppers, minced
        1/2 cup dill weed, chopped


    Combine cucumber, peppers, onion and celery with salt and water. Let sit 3 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water and drain well again.
    Bring vinegar, sugar, and remaining ingredients to a boil in a large pan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add drained, chopped vegetables, and return to boil. Reduce to simmer and continue until relish reaches desired consistency - about 15 minutes.
    Ladle into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Close with hot 2-piece caps, and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
    Store in cool dry place.

Rhubarb-Raspberry Jam

Rhubarb-Raspberry Jam

4 cups 1-inch pieces fresh rhubarb (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 sprigs fresh mint
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 Cups raspberries

Combine rhubarb pieces, mint leaves, sugar and fresh lemon juice in heavy large Dutch oven. Cover and refrigerate until juices form, stirring occasionally, at least 8 hours or overnight.

Bring rhubarb mixture to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil until rhubarb mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Juice raspberries, add to rhubarb mixture, and boil until mixture is thick, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes longer. Remove jam from heat. Cool jam completely.

Process in hot water bath 10 minutes.

Dill Pickles

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com about 15 years ago, and I use it all the time. It works great!  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be there anymore, but like the original author says- it has never let me down.

Dill Pickles 

 Prep Time: 2 Hours Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 2 Hours 15 Minutes Yields: 64 servings

"This recipe for Kosher style dills was given to me 25 years ago by a farmer's wife who grew cucumbers and it has never let me down. The two things I have found critical to crisp dill pickles are soaking the cukes in ice water for at least 2 hours and ensuring the brine is at a full boil when poured over the dills."

INGREDIENTS:
8 pounds 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers
4 cups white vinegar
12 cups water
2/3 cup pickling salt
16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
8 sprigs fresh dill weed
8 heads fresh dill weed

DIRECTIONS:
1. Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink ( I use the bathtub!) with cold water and lots of ice cubes. Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice as required. Sterilize 8 (1 quart ) canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
2. In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil.
3. In each jar, place 2 half-cloves of garlic, one head of dill, then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves, and 1 sprig of dill. Fill jars with hot brine. Seal jars, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue.
4. Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes.
5. Store pickles for a minimum of 8 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place.

 

*NOTE*:  When I only have enough cucumbers for a few jars, I can the leftover brine separately, then reheat for the next batch.

Too-Blue-Raspberry Jelly

TOO-BLUE-RASPBERRY JELLY

8 cups mix Saskatoons, Blueberries, and Raspberries 6 cups sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice

Rinse stem fruit. Throw it all in the Magic Bullet juicer. Add to pot. Then I poured the seeds and pulp in a strainer to drip over top. It lets a few seeds in, but you get most of the pulp as well. Mix well.

 Add sugar and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Add lemon juice; bring to a boil and cook, stirring frequently until thick, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

 Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space; wipe jar rims thoroughly. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.