Great Shape! Inc. In the News

Here we go! Great Shape! Inc. and the SuperKids Literacy Project is making waves in the news.
And I am on my way to participate in this humanitarian mission to empower the Jamaican children and communities with access to education and health care.

http://www.kptv.com/video/21426315/index.html

Reports from the field soon come!
One Love!

October is Harvest Moon

I'm still here, and it's been really busy between work and putting up my harvest. I have about 100 jars of food put up now. The harvest kitchen is almost ready to close for the season. Expect to see me back here soon catching up with photos and commentary for this amazing year of growing food organically. Thanks, and get out there and experience some harvest time! Such a wonderful time to give thanks, this harvest moon. We truly reap what we sow. Experience picking some organic apples and pears, persimmons, grapes, fall raspberries, check it out before they're gone or in cold storage. There's something about picking your own food, it just makes you feel so thankful and lucky to be alive. Plus it's really fun to do with kids, nice memories of going to the orchard with all the sounds and smells of autumn leaves and crispy air and colors, check it out. Rain soon come!

Here's a little somethin to brighten your day, I'm heading back to Jamaica soon to volunteer in the schools with Great Shape! Inc. SuperKids Literacy Team. "Skills to read, power to lead". Go to http://www.gsjamaica.org/ to learn more, and if you want to be one of my sponsors, $50. will sponsor 5 kids with schools supplies, and enter you into a drawing for a free 5-night stay at one of the all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica. Plus, we still need a couple volunteers for this year. Check it out. One Love, One Heart, One Aim...One Destiny.

Making Dilly Beans

Here's the recipe I started with. I used 2 dry hot peppas and 5 peppercorns per jar.

You can use any shape of bean, just trim both ends---make yourself one as a ruler for the rest to fit in the jar, leaving 1/2" at the top.

Get all your spices ready, peel and crush the garlic ( I used what I grew), dry hot peppers, peppercorns and fresh dill heads, with seeds or flowers.

Oh, and I used 1 fresh grape leaf at the bottom of each jar, it's supposed to keep them crispy. I laid everything in before the beans, so it'll look nice and show everything.

With the beans loaded, see the grape leaf, the dill and hot peppa peppa.

I usually do one jar at a time, pack, pour in brine and seal, but if you work quickly, and keep those jars and brine hot, you can do it like this.

After 10 minutes in the boiling water bath, here are the beauties coolin on the counter, snappin their lids with that sound of success. This took one hour and I got 7 pints of gourmet, organic, local, artisan, yeah well you get the idea---we're makin our own food to eat and lovin it. Try it, you'll love it too.

Still Life

A recent haul of Sungolds and Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes from the Earth Box on the porch. Try Sungold, you'll love it.

I got 4 pounds of these for $4 special at Farmers Market for making Dilly Beans (pickled beans), recipe to follow.

One recent day's harvest from the 'big' garden at the Community Garden.

Ites Gold and Green! Peppers and Crookneck, the yellow heirloom squash, fresh basil and garlic.

Freshies from the garden, all cleaned and ready to go. Thanks, Joan, for sharing that problem of too much pac choi, it found a good home.

Blueberry Jammin Part 1

Here's the recipe I'm using for my first batch of blueberry jam. I'm excited. When I saw all the sugar called for, I adjusted amounts. I used about 6 1/2 cups of berries to get the 4 1/2 cups of crushed berries. I crushed them with a potato masher. I used organic raw cane sugar, and organic lemon and lime peel, and fresh lime juice. I've never made this recipe before, but Valerie Bear, at Bear Hollow Blueberry Heritage Farm, where my blueberries came from, said it was a good one.

I got a dozen of these half-pint jars for $5.86 at Winco, cheapest price around I could find, and here they are washed and drying with their lids and rings.

Tools of the trade...get yourself some measuring spoons, a little juicer, measuring cup, couple big containers, couple big pots, and a half ton of organic evaporated cane sugar ($.97/lb. at Winco). It's unbelievable how much sugar you can use in jam. The OG raw sug is milder than the white refined crack grade. In jam, sugar does bring out the flavor of fruit, and it's a preservative. My next batch will be with a low-sugar pectin, and I'll use less than half the sugar I do with this one.

The mashed blueberries are measured and ready in the pot.

Heating up the jars in the canner with the rack in place.

The lids are heating too.

Blueberry Jammin Part 2

How beautiful is that? The pectin is in with the berries now and I'm heating it to a boil. See the recipe, Part 1.

Stirrin in the sugar, then it has to boil hard without sticking for one minute. A heavy pot is good, plus you gotta stir it. Burnt sugar tastes bitter, so this is crucial. Did I mention it's really hot tonight, not the best night for firin up the canner, but that's typical canning weather---that's what makes those fruits so yummy sweet.

The profound moment of jarring has arrived. If you want to can and make all this great food for winter, get a Ball Canning Book. It's only about $7., and it has all these important steps to make sure you will safely put up your food. It's easy, but there are rules to it, like heating your jars, and a bunch of other things, but once you learn the process, you can do amazing things, canning, freezing and drying. Also, there are a few tools that you'll need, like a canner with rack, jar funnel, tongs, and jars. I won't explain all these steps here, because this info is readily available, even online. I love this stuff, I learned it from my mother, and it's really in my blood, literally I think, from eating this way over the years. I give thanks that I'm here and able to pick my food again another year, this amazing organic food that we're so blessed to eat, and put it away for winter. I'm doing more canning this year than freezing because it's better storage for me. I don't even eat that much jam, but you can use this in smoothies, a spoon in fruit salad, in plain yogurt, on cereal and a little in any baked thing for brilliant color and pizazz. Layer a little with peaches and yogurt in a pretty glass.

As I fill each jar, it goes into the canner on the rack, then I'll lower them all at once, make sure there's water to cover them 1-2", turn up the heat and start counting 15 min. when it comes to a boil.

After the 15 min., I lift them out with big jar tongs, put em on a towel away from drafts, and leave them overnight. You hear the lids popping as they seal. Success!
I got 8 half pints done in 1-1/2 hr. time, including setup and cleanup. Today in the store, I saw some fancy blueberry jam that was selling 5 oz/ $4.95. Mine are 8 oz. and organic and with the lemon and lime. Mine probably cost $2. ea. I'm estimating. $40. vs. $16. makes it even sweeter!