Dehydrating Celery

How many of you love celery, especially ants on a log? Eating celery is a nice healthy snack but, it does not last very long in the refrigerator. How many times have you thrown out your celery because it is getting limp or soft? Today I want to show you how to save your celery instead of throwing it away and wasting half or more of it.

Last week one of my husband’s employees was going to throw her celery out, but I said I would take it and use it for soups. She asked me why I would want limp celery? I said I would dehydrate it and use it later when I was going to make soups.

Today I will show you how I Dehydrate celery.

1.       First, bring out your dehydrator and place one tray on the bottom with your fruit roll-up tray. This will be the tray that catches anything that falls through as you are dehydrating your cut up celery.

2.       Cut off any ends that are dark. Start slicing your celery thin and cutting into little pieces. Do not throw out the leaves these can be cut up and dehydrated along with your celery pieces.

3.     

  Place your second tray on top of your empty tray with the fruit roll-up insert on it. Place your cut up pieces of celery and leaves around the tray.

4.      

My heat source is on top so, I put another empty tray on top of my full tray of celery. This will prevent any celery getting caught in the motor and wreaking your machine.

5.      

When your celery and leaves are very dry to the touch and can be crunched, you can then place the dried celery and leaves in an airtight zip-lock bag or an airtight container. Always check your dehydrator for temperature and about how much time it will take to dehydrate your celery.

I hate to waste food so when this employee wanted to just throw it away I decided to take it home and dehydrate it. I will take it into work and show her what I have done with the leftover food she wanted to throw away. I always try to find a way to preserve my leftovers or use them instead of wasting food and throwing it away. Now I will have celery for soups for a while without having to go buy it from the store.

I hope you enjoy this very easy way to preserve wilting celery from Suzie Homemaker.

How To Can Beans

It’s canning season again, and today I will show you how to can beans. This time of year is my favorite because I get to go pick fresh vegetables from my gardens. When I start getting so many that we can’t eat fresh, I then start canning them to have for the rest of the year. Canning is a great way to preserve your fresh fruits and vegetables to have year round. Canning has been in my family for years and I hope to pass it onto my own children. Canning your own fruits and vegetables is a way to have fresh food and a fraction of the cost. Store bought fruits and vegetables in a can, is full of sugar and preservatives and not healthy for you. So today I will show you step by step how I can my beans fresh from my garden.

Before you begin, check your canner to make sure your seal is not cracked. Next, wash your canner with hot water. Wash all your jars and canning covers with hot water.

1.       After picking your beans start snipping off the ends.

2.       Cut or snap your beans into pieces and place in a colander.

3.       Rinse your beans off under the water.

4.       Put your cut beans in a large kettle with water and boil them for 5 minutes.

5.       While your beans are cooking boil another kettle of water to pour over your beans.

6.       After the beans have boiled for 5 minutes start filling your jars. Press your beans in your jars filling them to about ¼ inch from the top. Add your canning salt. I use ½ teaspoon of canning salt for each pint jar.

7.       Pour your boiling hot water over the top of your beans filling them to about 1/8 inch from the top. Place a knife done the sides of the jars to release the air bubbles.

8.       Boil your canning lids and place them on your jars and screw the covers on tightly.

9.       Place your jars in your canner and put in the correct amount of water for canning. (Check your canner directions for this).

10.   Place cover on tightly with the pressure gauge on the correct setting for canning beans. (Again check your canning direction book). My canner asked for 10 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes.

11.   Watch your pressure gauge and when it starts giggling start your timer. Make sure the pressure gauge giggles every 15 to 20 seconds to keep the pressure going.

12.   After 20 minutes remove canner from the burner and let stand for 1 hour before opening your canner. You want to let the canner cool down before opening. Take a pot holder and check that the pressure has been released before opening the canner.

13.   Use your can lifter and remove your jars. Place them onto some pot holder to cool. Let them stand for 24 hours before removing covers. Take a permanent marker label and date your jars. Place in a cool dry place to be eaten at a later date.

Canning is a great way to preserve foods. I use a Mirror Canner for large batches and a smaller Mirror Canner that was handed down to me from my grandmother. If your family is bigger this is a great way to save money on fruits and vegetables. Canning is a tradition in my family and I love growing and preserving what I grow. I hope you enjoyed my canning beans  from Suzie Homemaker.