Processing the Harvest

Today is potato harvest - I hope. And blackberry picking to freeze till the whole season is picked and jam making then. I am a pretty good baker - pies especially, and want to make jam tarts - I need to find a good bottom layer - I recon cheese cake. So a tart crust (I bought a bulk shipment of single use, foil, tart and small pie pans.) then say 3/4 inch deep cheesecake and then 1/4 inch jam - home made, home grown, organic, naturally (I made marmalade from my fruit so have that too.)

But I have to go to the library and copy tax forms, and want to get the boat in the water too.....

This is my boat, a small electric motor which runs from a car battery - takes 12 minutes at a walking speed to get to the big water and the fishing is good there, should be eating lots of fish soon. Also crabs. (see the tiny motor, really works amazingly well - my wife bought it for $20 at a yard sale. - Much better than using the gas motor which then means washing and flushing the salt off each use - this one you just let stay on the boat all season; just charge the battery over night and good to go - it will push the boat 3 hours on a charge, I can go about 7 miles on a charge comfortably but have come home with the battery almost dead by overdoing it.)

Those are the fish we will be harvesting - and another 3 kinds mostly, and crabs.

 

Thinking of all those eggs you have and the fruit, how about Pavlova?

 

Would love to hear a recipe Sheal.

I have a bag of amazing berries in the freezer, about two pounds, but the majority still unripe, but my wife went off to do something and I decided to wait for her to harvest the potatoes. Those purple ones - amazing potatoes. The plant tops have died back which I believe is the sign to dig them (am I right?) - or unpot them actually as they are in 3 massive pots. The bottom half mostly chopped leaves, the upper half leaves with some soil - no idea at all what we will find. The 1 in ground four foot row we dug had a small crop (a 1 gallon bucket, small ones, but nice) but was only 4 seed potato sections planted. Each pot had 7.

 

I have a quick question on potatoes - in just a bit I will begin proper harvesting of my potatoes, small purple ones - hopefully. I like the skin of a potato and never peel them - and I have this idea (it is true of sweet potatoes) that the potatoes need to sit in an ventilated bin with the dirt on for a day to let the air cure the skins - then wash if desired. I have grown potatoes and do this but do not know if it is just something I imagined.

Also if there is a crop down there I plan to blanch them for 5 minutes in boiling water, cool in ice water, and freeze in vacuum pack bags. I do not air-condition my house much at all so it is hot and potatoes do not last long in summer. (Sweet potatoes do - I just planted slips I grew from a potato I grew last year, they just sat in a basket in the Kitchen all winter.) Any thoughts on the potato freezing?

Also time to cook and vacuum pack the beet roots! We love them and they stay as perfect in the freezer as the day they were cooked, so sweet and flavorful.

 

Bear with me on the recipe please Colne, I was out all day yesterday and this evening I'm catching up here on GC.

 

Hi sheal, I will probably reproduce this on international - but this cooker is from a house we watch - they use it for shrimp boils (here crawfish, crabs, shrimp are boiled outside on these for parties - I borrow it for outdoor cooking - which does not heat up the kitchen (it is hot here now))

Today we harvested the carrots - very few purple or white ones, they had been eaten. But potatoes (picked yesterday) and todays carrots were blanched five minutes, drained, cooled quickly with the hose, then put into ice water to stop the cooking, and then vacuum packed.



My cheap packer - we re-use the bags. I process and butcher most things outside under my house.



A typical bag:



Vacuum packed bags on the crab traps - they are actually pretty uniform but look different depending which side is up. they are now frozen, and hopefully are good prepped this way - the internet says they are. Potatoes and carrots will not last during the summer here for any time - so doing this - if the other veg I have done like this are typical it works great and will keep frozen for years.

 

The vegetables look good Colne and you've certainly got the packaging thing together.

 

The Pavlova recipe for you. I had problems scanning it and then took to my camera instead. Not brilliant with that either but here goes!





I leave out the walnuts but obviously you can use just about any fruit you like. If you have problems with the recipe let me know.

 

I would use pecans. Will it last for a second day or should it be eaten within a certain amount of hours after coming out od the oven? I could make ice-cream with 6 yolks - then this with the whites.

 

If I may be allowed to comment. A Pavlova won't keep as the moisture will soften it too much. We will soon be awash with our Strawberry season Colne. Now there's a Pavlova to worship....
I like very ripe strawbs, chopped and dribbled with a bit of Amaretto liqueur and placed on a bed of whipped cream with a hint of vanilla flavoured caster sugar - with the Pavlova shell at the base,
well wicked,
Jenny

 

Jenny, how does a pavlova base differ from a flat meringue? How would vacuum packing one work? (does it have a moist interior that would then make it all soggy) Would it crush it? That would certainly exclude the air - two would be as easy to make as one - or two smaller ones and keep one for later. The vacuum bags are pricey, but one can reuse them a couple times.

I envy you your strawberries. I am about to begin potting up the runners from mine to make a better patch under an asparagus bed - I think the two would compliment eachother with not too much season overlap in my climate.

 

According to the great Goddess Delia Smith, it doesn't. She just uses 3 large fresh egg whites and 6 ounces of caster sugar and bakes gently until very dry. Can't see why it wouldn't vac freeze and thaw out in a dry atmosphere later?
Jenny

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/entertaining/strawberry-and-vanilla-pavlova.html

 

Bit elegant, I miss the days when that would have been perfect - but will try it, epically as Delia says they freeze excellently. I will buy some baking paper and get trying. Then the eggs for custard - which I am good at - both custard for cold dessert, and custard for an ice cream base. She even said the custard freezes! Post a picture of your pavlova.

 

I don't make many puddings Colne - unless we have guests. I may make a strawberry one as it is easy but looks great,
Jenny

 

I think a Pavlova is slightly less dense than a meringue Colne. I don't know if the Pecans will work as they are heavier than walnuts but it's worth a try. A Pavlova will certainly last all day but don't put it in the fridge, it will become soggy. The thing you have to worry about really is the cream turning sour.