The Deep Freeze Continues, Confetti and Beans

Happy Friday!

The Cold Snap continues here in Central Alberta, Canada.  Today is -25 C, with the snow beginning to fall again as I type.  It hasn't been a bad winter this year, save for these past couple weeks of wicked, bitter cold. 

Sincerely though, the cold is not a bad thing.  It helps to keep some of the summer pests at bay.  I heard on the news the other morning that the dreaded Pine Beetle, which has been boring its way to Alberta, may have had a 90% kill due to this long term cold snap.  From what I understand, the beetle lays its eggs just under the bark of the pine tree trunk and the larvae decimate the tree from the inside out.  By the time you realize you have the problem, it is too late.  The critters have been rapidly spreading throughout BC and have been aggressively making their way to Alberta.  This is all due to the mild winters these past few years.  They can easily survive -30 C, but not extended periods of it. This year, they may be taking a bit of a hit.  I sure do hope so.  It is the young and healthy trees they destroy, not the old and decaying ones.  If you would like more information, here's a link:  https://globalnews.ca/news/4952823/mountain-pine-beetle-cold-alberta/

Confetti on the Snow:

Another good thing about the cold, is I get to spend more time doing the things I love.  I started my Scrap Busting Project just at the end of December 2018.  With all the cold and snow, I actually got to finish the whole project by early February 2019.  That is pieced, quilted, bound and labelled.  I am very happy with the end result: 

Confetti on the Snow photographed at No Regrets Ranch/Prairie Points Quilters Studio property.

I was going out to check on the chickens and realized that although it was still -25 C, there was no wind and the sun was shining.  I took the opportunity to scout the property to find a suitable place to photograph the quilt, outside, in the snow and cold.  I felt it was appropriate since it is called Confetti on the Snow.  I love the high contrast in the photo.  

Beans:

I have been wanting to attempt pressure canned dry beans for a while.  After watching several YouTube videos and checking several recipes in my library, I decided to take the plunge last Sunday.  Too cold to go out.  A great day for another pressure canning project.  And having ready to use beans on hand is a thrilling option for me!  I know, I am a dork.

Since it was my first time canning them and there were so many options, I opted to try a couple of methods.   Pre-cooking the beans, though was not going to be one way I wanted to try.  Cooking them, then pressure canning the pints for 75 minutes, plus heat up and pressure down time, I felt they would be nothing but a jar of gooey mush.  Scratch that one.

The other two methods I researched included rinsing and soaking the beans over night and just putting rinsed, un-soaked beans into the jars.  Both methods require adding hot, boiled water to the required head space allowance and pressure canning for 75 minutes for pints.  Since the actual processing time was the same for both, the only difference would be to soak the beans overnight or to not soak at all.  I deduced that these two options would be the best trial for a maiden voyage bean processing.  

Now, what type of beans?  Should I attempt a "baked style" as well?  

In the pantry were Romano, Black Eyed, Navy and our very own home grown Kidney beans.  The canner will comfortably hold 16 pints, using both levels.  I'll do four jars of each type of bean.  Two soaked and two dry.  For the Romano, Black Eyes and Kidney, I will just add the water. For the Navy, I will add the ingredients of our favorite baked bean recipe and fill all the jars with water.

Dry beans added to jars.  Ingredients for Boston Baked Beans added to Navy bean jar.

Pre-soaked beans with boiled water added to 1" head space.

For the Boston Style Baked Beans, I added 2 tablespoons each of Brown Sugar and Maple Syrup, 1 tablespoon of dehydrated onion, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tablespoons of cured pork and 1/4 of a peeled and diced apple.  Like the other jars, these were filled to the 1" head space.

Into the canner they go.  Processing time, complete.  Cool down and depressurizing time complete.  Beans removed.  OMGosh!  These look beautiful!  

16 pints of pressure canned beans!

We opened one jar each of the dry canned and the pre-soaked beans.  I am sure glad I trusted my instinct and didn't pre-cook the beans!  The pre-soaked ones were mushy, but not horribly so.  Still, they were no comparison to the dry canned ones.  Flavor of each was superb!  We haven't tried the Boston Style yet, but I am confident that they will be amazing as well.  The Great Bean Experiment was a great success!

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep warm.

Until next time,

Gremlynn