admin, Author at Ankeny Hill Farm

DIY Bread and Butter Pickles-Canned or Refrigerator

September 27, 2018 By admin Leave a Comment

I’ve always loved bread and butter pickles. They are my favorite pickles, especially for putting on hamburgers. This is our 3rd summer here on the farm, and the first time doing some canning. My mom bought a water bath canner last month, so we’ve been canning pickles galore! We have quite a few dill pickles canned since those are the simplest, but I’ve also been mixing in some bread and butter pickles as well.

To tell you the truth, I am not a huge pickle fan, aside from bread and butter pickles. I’ll eat them, but they aren’t on the top of my list unless on a hamburger or sandwich lol. However, since we have so many pickles now, I am going to be eating them more! They are healthy, so there’s that!

Bread and butter pickles take a little more time than regular dill, but they are so worth it and sooooo delicious. The cool thing about pickles is that you can make them for the refrigerator too so you don’t have to bother with canning if you only want smaller batches. This goes for bread and butter pickles as well!

If you don’t want to can these pickles, you can just do the recipe as stated, but leave out the water bath part. Just put them in jars with lids, let them cool on the counter and then stick them in the refrigerator. Let them sit in the refrigerator for at least a couple days or so before eating them for the best flavor.

Let’s get started!

First you’ll need to get your cucumbers sliced up. About 6lbs of cucumbers should fill 4 quart jars. Slice up about 4 medium onions as well.

Mix together the onions and sliced cucumbers in a large bowl or pan. Pour 1/2 cup pickling salt over the cucumbers and onions and carefully mix so that everything is covered in the salt. (I use sea salt, but you can also use Kosher salt. Do not use regular table salt because the additives in it will turn the pickles a dark color)

Now you’ll need to cover the pickle/onion mixture with a clean towel and put ice all on the top of it and let it chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours. This will help keep the pickles crisp (so I’ve read, I’m not entirely convinced about this part!) Make sure to not let the towel drape over the sides of the pan because when the ice starts melting, it will soak up the water and drip all over your refrigerator…. Ask me how I know! lol

When the 4 hours is up, put the cucumber and onion mixture in a colander and rinse well. Let it sit to drain and then rinse again and let sit to drain again while you prepare the canner and jars.

Now, get your canning jars washed and sterilized. You can do this by running them through the dishwasher, or you can wash them and then set them with some water in the canner and boil for a few minutes. I sterilize mine in the canner. This is also good so that when you are ready to pack the jars with the pickles, the jars will be nice and warm already.

Sterlize Canning Jars in Boiling Water — Sterilize your jars in the water bath canner and boil for about 5 min. Then turn the heat down and let them sit in the hot water until you are ready to pack the jars with pickles. See that green jar grabber? That is a must to have and you can get one here: Jar Grabber (Amazon.com link)

So of course, in order to sterilize the jars in the water bath canner, you’ll need to get that thing filled with water about 3/4 full. Set it on the burner on high and put the lid on. You’ll want to get the canner going just before, or as soon as you take the cucumbers out of the refrigerator because it will take quite awhile to get to boiling.

You’ll also want to sterilize the lids and rings at this time. Just stick them in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Then I just turn the burner off and let them sit there until I’m ready to use them.

Once you’ve set the canning jars in the boiling water to sterilize, you’ll want to get the brine ready. Use a 4 quart pot and pour in 2 1/2 cups of white distilled vinegar

2 cups of Apple Cider Vinegar

Add 4 1/2 cups sugar. I know, it seems like a lot, but bread and butter pickles are sweet! This is basically making a thin syrup and it’s so yummy!

Next add 2tbsp mustard seeds…. I don’t understand why the store doesn’t sell mustard seeds in a bigger container! Look at that…. It’s tiny 🙁 I think I may try growing my own mustard seeds next year.

2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper. You can add less if you like, but I find this amount is just right to give it that tang. I don’t like very spicy foods, and this does not make the pickles too spicy, just tangy.

Add the crushed red pepper to the pickle brine

1 1/2 teaspoons of celery seeds

Cut two 1 inch pieces of a cinnamon stick and add that to your brine. That’s about 2/3 of a whole cinnamon stick

An inch of cinnamon stick for pickle brine

I just LOVE these colors!

Next add 12 allspice berries and about 1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice

Add 12 whole cloves plus 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

And last, but not least, add 1 teaspoon of Turmeric

Doesn’t it just look beautiful? I love the colors and the smell! It smells like Christmas 😉

Bring this brine/syrup to a boil and then add your pickle and onion mixture to the hot brine. Bring it back to a boil and then turn off the heat.

Take your jars out of the canner with the
Jar Grabber (Amazon.com link) , dumping the hot water back into the canner and set them on a towel on the counter.

Use a slotted spoon and fill the jars with the hot cucumbers and onions to about 1 inch from the top of the jars.

Once the jars are filled, pour the pickle brine/syrup into each jar about 1/2 inch from the top of the jars. I like to take the cinnamon sticks out and let them cool a minute and then cut them up and stick a piece of cinnamon stick in each jar as well.

Use a butter knife to stick down the sides of the jars. Carefully use an up and down motion, going around each side of the jar to get the air bubbles out. If there’s any extra brine left, you might top off the jars if they sank down some after getting the air bubbles out.

Now that the jars are all filled with the pickles and brine, wipe the tops of the jars with a clean damp cloth or paper towel and put the lids and rings on and place them in the boiling water bath canner.

Make sure the water covers the tops of the jars at least an inch (that is the current recommendation). Bring the water back to a boil and let boil for 15min. or longer depending on your altitude.

Put bread and butter pickle jars in water bath canner

When the pickles are done processing, pull them out with your jar lifter and set them on a dish towel on the counter to cool, making sure they don’t touch each other. You should hear the beautiful sound of lids popping shortly as they seal. After the jars are cooled, you can check that they’ve sealed by pressing down on each lid. If a lid pops back up, then it is not sealed and you’ll want to put that jar into the refrigerator.

I hope you give this bread and butter pickle recipe a try. It is delicious! You’ll want to let the pickles set for about a month before opening them, so I’ve heard, for best flavor.

Canning Plums-Delicious Spiced Plum Recipe

September 20, 2018 By admin Leave a Comment

We’ve lived here on the farm for 2 years now. When we moved here, the plum tree that is here was still young and small. We got a few plums the first year, a bit more last year, but this year the tree was “plum” full so I decided to try canning them. We will be pruning the tree this year so that hopefully next year it will grow more full and wide instead of tall, and hopefully we’ll get even more plums (unless its an off year because of pruning 🙁

What to do with all those plums?

I had thought about making jam, but that’s a lot of plum jam and we just don’t eat much of it anyway even with 3 boys. So, I decided we should just try canning the firmer plums whole and the softer ones I will turn into jam.

This is the first year I’ve actually canned anything myself, so of course this is the first time I’ve canned plums! I used a basic recipe for canning plums and added a few spices to it, not knowing how it would turn out. If you’re gonna jump in you might as well jump all in!!

I’ll give it away though…. These canned plums with the spices added taste delicious! They taste like Christmas lol

Speaking of jumping in, lets get to the recipe!

Spiced Canned Plum Recipe-Canning Plums

Step 1- Wash The Plums

Canning plums is so easy! First pick your plums, wash them and pull off any stems. Pick out the firmer plums for canning. Plums that are fairly soft can be eaten or used for jam or whatever else you can think of.

Step 2- Prepare Your Canning Jars

Next, get your quart jars ready. Wide mouth jars are best for canning whole plums. It’s just easier to get them in and out of the jar and you can fit a couple more in than you can with narrow mouth jars. If you don’t have wide mouth quart jars, that’s ok, just use what you have.

To get your jars ready, make sure you’ve washed them in the dishwasher, or if you don’t have a dishwasher, scrub them really well with hot soapy water. Next, get your water bath canner kettle filled about 2/3 full with water, cover with the lid and bring it to a boil. This is going to take awhile, so it’s something you could get started before washing the jars if you like.

Once the canner is boiling, go ahead and use your handy jar grabber thingy (canning jar lifter) and place 3 quart jars into the boiling water on their sides so the water can get inside them and just leave them in there for a couple minutes to sterilize.

At this time you can also get your rings and lids ready by putting them in a small pot of boiling water. I just set them in the pot of water, bring it to a boil and then turn it off once it’s boiling. The lids can sit in the hot water until you are ready to put them on the jars.

Now that your jars are sterilized, pull them out of the canner with the jar grabber and carefully dump the hot water out of them back into the canner. If you need to sterilize more jars, go ahead and place some more in there after you take the first ones out.

Step 3- Prepare The Canning Brine

Time to get the brine ready! I used a 4:1 ratio for the sugar and water. So add 4 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to a cooking pot.

Then add your spices. I used cloves, allspice and anise seed. Bring this brine to a boil and stir, making sure the sugar is fully dissolved.

Step 4- Fill The Canning Jars with Plums and Brine

While your brine is coming to a boil you can start filling your jars with plums. I found that anywhere from 10-12 purple plums fit per jar. Leave about 1 inch from the top of the jars. Be sure not to pack them too tight as you don’t want to squish them!

Now that the plums are in the jars, go ahead and begin filling the jars with the hot brine, allowing some of the spices to go into each jar as well. Fill to about 1 inch from the top of the jars.

Wipe the top of each jar with a clean damp cloth (where the lids will sit and around the threads since they might be sticky). Then go ahead and place your lids and then tighten the rings on each jar.

Step 5- Canning Plums in The Water Bath Canner

Place the jars in the water bath canner. Be sure the water covers the jars by about an inch. You may need to add more water, but make sure to add hot water so it doesn’t cool the canner down too much (if you have to add more water, wait until it starts boiling again before placing the jars into the canner). After placing the jars in the canner, bring replace the lid. Bring the water back to a boil and leave the jars to process in the canner for 25 minutes. Be sure to set your timer!

Once the time is up, use your jar grabber to take the jars out and set them on a dish towel on the counter with space between them to cool. After they have cooled, press the top of each lid to be sure they have all sealed. If you press the lid and it pops back up, the jar did not seal and you’ll need to put it in the fridge. I would not try to reprocess it in the canner.

Step 6- Store Your Canned Plums and Enjoy!

If all went well and they’re all sealed, then you can store your home canned plums for later use, whether to just eat out of the jar, or use in a recipe that calls for canned plums. Enjoy!!

Canning Whole Plums

4 quart Canning Jars
4.5 lbs Purple plums
4 cups Water
1 cup Sugar
12 pieces Whole Allspice (Optional)
12 pieces Whole cloves (Optional)
1/2 tsp Anise seed (Optional….can also use Star Anise as well)
1 stick Cinnamon (Optional (if you use cinnamon, you can cut it into fourths and add to each jar before putting the lids on)

Fill water bath canner 3/4 full with water. Turn stove top on high
While waiting for canner to boil, wash plums and remove stems
Place lids and rings in boiling pot of water to sanitize, then turn off and let sit until you are ready to use them.
Wash jars thoroughly. Once the canner water begins to boil, place jars 3 at a time into the canner on their sides so the water can get inside them. Leave to sanitize a couple of minutes, then pull them out with the jar lifter and set on a dish towel.
Once the jars are sanitized, you can begin filling them with the plums. 10-12 plums should fit in each jar. Leave 1 inch space from the top of the jar. Do not press them down as this could squish them.
Add the water, sugar and spices (if using) to a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the stove top and pour the hot brine into the jars. Be sure to leave 1 inch space from the top of the jar.
Wipe the tops of the jars and around the threads with a clean, damp cloth. Put the lids on and tighten the rings.
Set the filled jars into the water bath canner and bring it back to a boil. You might need to add more water to be sure the tops of the jars are covered by 1 inch of water. Once the water is boiling again, set the timer for 20min. After 20min. , pull the jars out of the canner with the jar lifter and set on a dish towel on the counter, not allowing the jars to touch.
Let cool. Once the jars are cool, check that the lids have sealed by pressing down on each lid. If the center of the lid pops back up, it did not seal and you will need to put that jar in the refrigerator.

Side Dish

canned fruit, canned plums, canning, canning plums, how to can plums, spiced plums

Baked Zucchini Recipe-Quick and Easy!

September 19, 2018 By admin Leave a Comment

Zucchini is in full swing this time of year here in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by this summer squash! One second it’s small and you’re like, oh I’ll pick it in a day or two, and the next second you’re like Whoa!!! It’s as big as a house! What am I going to do with this huge zucchini!

There are so many things you can do with zucchini.

Zucchini bread, a favorite and go-to for many!
Zucchini lasagna
Zucchini casserole
Baked zucchini (what I’ll show you today!)
BBQ zucchini
Zucchini spaghetti
Cheesy zucchini tots
Zucchini Quiche
Cheesy zucchini rice
Zucchini brownies
Zucchini boats
Zucchini pancakes
Zucchini on homemade pizza

And so much more! I’ll be posting more zucchini recipes soon, so be prepared to be inundated over the next month. I’ve frozen much of the zucchini we’ve picked so far, so I have plenty to try out new recipes.

I am going to kick off the zucchini season with a very simple baked zucchini recipe. This is so easy! Even though grating zucchini for zucchini bread is pretty easy, it still gets a bit messy, so some days you just don’t really want to deal with it! Well, if you really need to use some of your zucchini and you’re not sure exactly what to do that’s super easy, just SLICE it! Especially if it’s one that you picked after it suddenly grew to the size of a house! lol

Just slice that baby up into half inch rounds. Easy peasy!

Then put the zucchini slices into a bowl with about 1/4 cup of oil of your choice or butter. Some ideas are: Olive oil (may not want to use extra virgin if you don’t like that strong flavor), Canola or vegetable oil, Avocado oil (This would taste amazing!), coconut oil(haven’t tried that yet, but it might give it an interesting twist), butter (a definite win!)

Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder and a little pepper if you like. You can use any seasonings you want of course. Parmesan cheese, onion powder, maybe some minced fresh garlic cloves, basil, oregano, sliced onions, the sky is the limit!

Now, mix it all up and you can either put the slices on the baking sheet right away if you don’t have much time, or you can let them sit and marinate for a bit. I’d say 10-30min. The longer you let them soak, the stronger the flavor will be.

Once you have the zucchini slices on the baking sheet, slide them into a 350F degree oven and bake for about 15min.

Another great way to cook your zucchini slices is to put them on the barbecue. BBQ your zucchini for an even richer flavor! Just leave the zucchini slices on for 4-5min. and then flip them. BBQ 3-4 min. on that side and your done!

And there you have it! Very yummy, very easy, baked or bbq zucchini!

Below is a super convenient printable recipe card….

Easy Baked Zucchini Recipe

1 Zucchini (Medium or large)
1/2 tsp Salt (To taste)
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp Ground Pepper (To taste)
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (Olive oil, butter, coconut oil etc.. are some examples)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Slice zucchini into approx. 1/2 inch slices, cutting off and discarding about 1/2 inch of each end.
Place zucchini slices in a large bowl with the oil
Add salt, garlic powder and ground pepper and mix well so the zucchini slices are evenly covered.
Place zucchini slices onto a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15min. or until zucchini slices are tender.
Let cool 5 min. before eating because they will be very hot!

Enjoy!!

Building Our Chicken Coop With Old Barn Wood

May 17, 2018 By admin Leave a Comment

Last spring, after we’d been here nearly a year, we bought our first chickens. We happened to have a building that is perfect for a chicken coop/feed storage area. We also had a bunch of old barn wood that was taken off one of the big shops out here since we needed to completely re do the shop. Of course I didn’t want to toss all that neat old wood!

The chicken coop was pretty fun to build. I’ll show you how we did it below. This year I plan on adding to it on the other side so it will be U shaped. I also plan to make better nesting boxes that are easier to get eggs out of. That’s one thing I didn’t plan very well when we built the first part, but we were kind of in a rush to get it done since we had just got our first chicks home.

I love the barn wood look and I am hoping to have enough to use for some other things on the property, and for some country decor.

As you can see, we already had a great structure to work with! I love that those benches are there as it made it super easy to just install plywood over top for the floor. We also used some left over vinyl flooring on top of the plywood for easy cleanup and protect the wood from getting wet.

Next we used some leftover pieces of particle board and other plywood type board to cover the inside walls as well as the top. Then we used some 2×4’s and 2×6’s for the corners and other supports to be able to attach the barn wood on the outside.

Doesn’t that old wood look beautiful? Another project on my list this year is to stain the whole thing. Not a dark stain, just something to make it pop a bit more and protect it from the weather.

And here is the door that I made myself! I was a little bit proud of myself. I had a picture in my head of how I wanted it to look, and thankfully we have a chop saw, so I was able to make the angle cuts. I love it! We didn’t have to go buy any of the wood. These were all pieces of wood that we had lying around. I did have to go buy the chicken wire, door hinges and latches.

Here’s the finished coop. Like I said, this year’s project is to do the same thing to the other side of the bench so the whole coop will be a U shape. I may even make a removable divider so I can separate chickens if need be. I will be sure to make good nesting boxes on the other side that I can actually open up from the end to grab eggs instead of having to reach around the corner through the main doors.

After getting the coop done, we made a very small run on the backside of this shed and cut a small door on the back wall for the chickens to go out. At the moment I am working on expanding their run. Forgive the pictures if they look off. The tree next to that building is pushing it so the building itself is leaning a bit to the left. The chicken run boards are level and straight up and down lol The ground also slopes down a bit so it looks like the run is not level!

A tip I learned when researching before building this, make sure to set the chicken wire or preferably a more sturdy wire, down into the ground a bit so that predators cannot dig underneath. I have some other fencing I need to put around the run in place of the chicken wire, I just haven’t got to it yet! Actually, I am planning on siding the left side of this run so it will only have the right side open. Once I expand the run off to the right, I can remove the chicken wire from that side too.

I would love to just free range our chickens, but both our dogs, that had been doing great around the chickens for months, decided to kill a couple last year, so I’ve been afraid to free range the chickens since. The dogs are fine if I’m out there with them, so I plan on doing some training. I’ll probably keep the dogs inside a couple hours before dark and let the chickens free range in the evening. The nice thing about chickens is they put themselves to bed!

I’ll be sure to post an update once we get the other part of the coop done!

The Beginning of a Dream

April 25, 2018 By admin Leave a Comment

Ankeny Hill Farm Jefferson Oregon
I’ve dreamed of having a farm like this for years. Growing up, my parents had nearly the same size property and I showed my horses, trained and gave riding lessons. Well, then I got married (nearly 18 years and 3 boys later) and my husband and I lived in town most of that time. 2 years ago, the dream began to come true when we moved out here to Ankeny Hill from Albany after my parents sold their home in Oregon City to move here and retire.

We are still working on building what I have brewing in my mind that I want this place to be. My goal is to turn it into a small equestrian facility. Horses are my passion. Boarding, riding lessons and a large trail course that goes around the property where people can come and practice as if on an actual trail ride (though a bit smaller scale) are some ideas that I would like to see come to life.

As of right now, I am homeschooling, working from home, enjoying our chickens and farm fresh eggs (which we will have available to purchase by the end of this summer), two horses and a dairy goat for fresh raw milk! I have always wanted to homestead, and this is close enough! I gradually want to get to where we are mostly self sustainable. I’m not expecting to go off grid, nor do I want to, but it would be nice to feel that if we had to, we could pretty much live off of what we produce here on the farm.

I will be posting our progress, so I hope you will follow along on our journey. Please contact me if you are interested in riding lessons, farm fresh eggs, fresh goat milk, grass fed beef or any other questions!