Preserving Summer

We moved in the middle of the summer.  We didn't get a chance to plant a garden this year.  Not that I would have had time as it was with preparing for the move, but it would have been nice to put in a garden again.  My mother shared her garden with us this year and we also took part in a CSA share for the fall from the local Rainbow Heritage Gardens. 

This fall share presented us with weekly, and later bi-weekly orders of fresh veggies, right into the end of November.  It was amazing.  I'll admit, we weren't the best at using all of the vegetables right away, but once our freezer arrived that started to change. 

I can can things.  I know how.  But I'm not a fan of the extra salt required to preserve the veggies, so I usually choose to blanche and freeze.  I have done some pickling of the beets that we received (and also the 10 lb bag I bought.  We also love to just cook up or roast our beets and eat them like that - yum!)

I was talking to someone about how I was putting my kale in the freezer.  They were shocked that you could freeze kale.  So that is what I will continue to post about today. 

Now my family and I were cool before it was cool!  (I always say this! Either that or we're just really nerdy...ha ha).  My hubby and I watched Dr. Who, long before it was discovered by most of North America as a wonderful form of entertainment.  We've also been eating kale, long before kale was a "superfood".  It has to do with being Dutch.  When we lived in the NWT, I had my hubby order it in especially for me at the store.  Many people didn't know what it was.  Then when we moved to Alberta, we could only find it at Sobey's.  Now it's everywhere.  In small baby kale form for salads, fresh stems...you name it! 

Kale is one of those veggies that gets better after the frost.  Roots are the same.  They get sweeter if you wait to harvest them until you've had at least one frost.  The frost helps with removing bugs and stuff from the kale and also helps make it tastier!  Yum! 

Preserving kale is simple!  Probably the most simple of all veggies.  All you need to do is wash and freeze.  No blanching required!

Here are more detailed instructions:

1.  Pull leaves off of stalks.  The stalks are very bony when the kale is matured.  Peel leaves off and discard stalks/stems. 

My little helper!

 

2.  Soak in a sink of cool salted water. I used both kosher and coarse salt.  You can sprinkle the salt on top, but I dissolved it in warmer water first.  The salt helps to clean and remove any remaining bugs and dirt.  Leave to soak for an hour or two.  (Go do something else and forget all about it for a while.  Play memory with your 3 year old maybe?)

3.  Rinse with cool water at least 2 times to remove the extra salt. 

4.  Stuff in freezer bags.  Try to lay flat. 

5.  Put in freezer.  I always label and date my bags so that I know what it is. 

 

That's it!  Easy peasy!

We like to make the Dutch dish "Bourrecole" with the kale.  (It is originally Spanish from my research).  This dish is made by boiling the kale and peeled potatoes.  I have made it with the peel still on the potato, it is your choice.  Have equal amounts, or possibly more kale, when peeling your potatoes.  Boil until done.  Meanwhile, cut bacon or sausage into small pieces.  Fry.  When potatoes and kale are done, mash them up together.  Add meat with drippings to the mashed potatoes and kale.  Mix well.  Serve with vinegar and salt and pepper.  YUMMY! 

Next on the list is trying to preserve the carrots, turnips and squash!

Dryer Balls

I stopped using fabric softeners and dryer sheets long before ever cloth diapering.  It was when a student at the school did his science fair project on how flammable these products were.  I figured that putting something on my clothing that was that flammable then in a hot dryer, probably wasn't the best idea.  So we bought some norwex dryer balls at the local farmer's market and used those.  They were amazing!

Then in my genius, I decided that we should just leave them in our home in Alberta, because we could get new ones. (That and my Norwex toilet brush). 

When we moved into our new home my sister in law was having a Norwex party.  I was pumped!  Now was my chance to get these two items that I so loved...only now we had one income, and apparently prices with Norwex had gone up.  So I could no longer afford to buy my toilet brush and cleaner (as it was $60) and abandoned the idea of getting the dryer balls as well. 

What was a girl to do?  Why, shop at Walmart.  Isn't that what we all do when we're on a budget?  (Although I much prefer Giant Tiger...always loved that store).  We bought a pair of dryer balls at Walmart.  For almost 3 months, I used these balls every time I did a load of laundry. This seems to be about a load a night.  They seemed to be working until the one split in half...now it's a fun playdoh toy. 

Shortly after the second one split in half. 

For the last week I've been drying without the use of a dryer ball.  UNTIL NOW!

Tah Dah! 

 

Aren't they pretty?  Ok, perhaps pretty isn't the best term, but here's hoping they are very useful! 

 

My hubby and I sat and watched TV while we wrapped strands of 100% wool into a tight ball.  We found the instructions on Pinterest.  These are not my creation.  Wool dryer balls have actually been around for quite some time.  I remember seeing them while I was cloth diapering my first and I started almost 4 years ago now. 

 

The wool cost us just under $12 for two skeins, including the crazy Ontario HST.  My husband bought it for me at the local V&S.  (Surprisingly, when we looked at Walmart, they had none...)  It took us about an hour to roll them into balls, while we watched some good old "Murdoch Mysteries".  (That's multitasking for you!)

 

The instructions found at handy b's, told us to wash the balls inside of a sock in a hot wash and then dry in a hot dryer a few times.  Our washer unfortunately doesn't have a hot cycle option, so we boiled them on the stove.  The balls felted, so here's hoping it'll all work out.

 

Tonight, during off peak hours, we will try them out with a load of wash.  Here's hoping they stay together.   

 

Next adventure...homemade cleaning products...but that's for another day!

 

Have a great day and thanks for reading!