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| Canned Pineapple and Pineapple Juice |
It all started with a trip to the grocery store. I haven't seen pineapples for under three dollars for over a year...until last week. They were marked two for three dollars! I bought six and for the nine dollars I spent, I ended up with thirteen pints of cubed pineapples, plus three pints of juice by the end of the day! These will taste like liquid gold in the middle of winter.
Have I told you my favorite fruit is pineapple? My mum told me that she used to eat pineapple every day when she was expecting me. I guess that might have something to do with it.
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| Monday's Bread Production |
Monday is my usual baking day, and yesterday was no exception. This time I made four farmhouse loaves, one asiago cheese loaf (in front), and a small baguette.
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| Condensed Soup Mixes |
While my bread was rising, I mixed up two batches of condensed soup mix. One batch is for condensed cream of mushroom soup, and the other is for condensed tomato soup. Each jar holds the equivalent of eight Campbell's Soup™ cans. These recipes taste almost exactly like the traditional soups. You can't see them, but the mix for the mushroom soup has dehydrates mushrooms and mushroom powder in the jar. It smells wonderful. Likewise, the tomato soup mix has dehydrated tomatoes among the ingredients, and it also smells great.
When I'm ready to use the mix, I've got the directions on the jar for how much mix I need and how to make it. After making the condensed soup, I can either add milk or water to make it soup consistency, or I can add it in condensed form for a casserole or other recipe.
This sure beats running to the store and filling my pantry shelf with cans. The other benefit is that I can choose organic, non-GMO, or other clean ingredients to feed our family. Worth all the time and effort ten times over, if you ask me. I also have a recipe for cream of chicken soup mix, but didn't have another gallon jar to put it in, so I'll get a few gallon jars and then mix that up, too.
We know there's weather coming this week, so the rest of our weekend was spent preparing. We put away the last of the yard furniture, changed over the mower to bucket and blade on our tractor, and then put up those holiday lights. Truthfully, I had nothing left for the studio after all that.
I work today, so my plan is to work on the bluebird wall hanging tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a little studio time, and know that the next few weeks, I'll be spending whole days upstairs. Right now, I'm "making my list and checking it twice". I'll share more later.
Mmmm, the Pineapple & breads look so yummy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to make soup mixes.
I don't eat canned soup, it's way too salty, & not good for you.
It sounds like you had a busy weekend.
I hope you get home from work before the storms come.
Marilyn
Hi Marilyn:
DeleteThat's one of the reasons I like putting up our own food. I can control the salt (or other ingredient) ratios so that it's not like the store bought products. You're right, they sodium is always way high, mainly to enhance the flavor of whatever else they add. Once we use clean ingredients, the high sodium isn't needed anymore. It was a busy weekend, and work had me hopping yesterday. I was bushed when I got home. Thankfully, it was only a light spritzing before we came in the driveway. The wet stuff came later, and now the wind is up, too. I guess we're in for real winter now. Thanks, dear.
Stay safe and warm, my friend.
xoxo
Donna
I can almost smell that bread!! I didn't know you could can pineapple (but why wouldn't you, because it comes in cans in the stores...duh). I'm very intrigued by the soup mixes - any chance you could share the recipes to make them?
ReplyDeleteHi MA:
DeleteI really don't notice the aroma anymore unless I go outside and then come back in. The kitchen smells warm and yeasty, and really inviting. The pineapple only takes a 15 minute water bath for pints. I use a recipe for a light syrup, so it's not real sugary. It's nice knowing we're not eating something that a company canned up months ago. It really is delicious when it's fresher than that. Just for you, my dear, I'm putting up the video I watched (with links in the caption) for the soup mix recipes. Be sure to let me know if you try them. Plus, with limited storage, it's so much nicer to have one half gallon jar with the 8-can mix, as opposed to the 8 cans! Hope you're not getting slammed with winter weather, too.
Hugs from Wisconsin,
xoxo
Donna
You sure worked your way into the week.
ReplyDeleteI like pineapple and I like to make my own soup because I have control of what goes into it.
Shirley
Hi Shirley:
DeleteBoy, ain't that the truth! If these pursuits weren't so rewarding, I'd be happy as a clam to just be a lump in a chair some days! By the time I finished work today, I was ready to be that lump. Handsome made dinner for us, and we caught up on a couple of "Jeopardy!" episodes. I'm off to bed early, as I'd rather be tucked in if and when this crummy weather hits. I may even sleep in a bit in the morning! I do love knowing just exactly what's in our food these days. I don't like how companies are messing with ingredients, so I'd rather spend the time putting up our own healthy options. So far, we're pretty well set for winter. I hope you have a great week, girlfriend.
Hugs,
xoxo
Donna