Quick Pickled Red Onions

April 21, 2024 Sarah

I’ve pickled red onions often, using various methods, and I’ve always searched for ways to replicate the pickled onions served in cafes. While tasty, water bath canning them never produced the results I wanted. The onions were cooked and didn’t have the snap they needed. Then I played with this quick pickling method, and I think I cracked the code on having vibrant onions that still have the crunch but are not raw. Red onions with all the taste, but not the fiery essence that raw ones can have.

However, it should be noted that onions used to be ‘poverty food‘ and now are treading into bougie land. I was reading up that Mexico had issues with the white onion crop (and they grow most of them) and they are incredibly expensive this year. More troubling is when yellow onions are the same price as sweet onions.

Quick Pickled Red Onions

Ingredients:

1 red onion, about 6 to 8 ounces
1 cup rice vinegar, unseasoned
½ tsp granulated sugar
½ tsp salt, fine sea salt, or kosher (do not use table salt)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and halved
5 black peppercorns
5 whole allspice berries
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups water

Directions:

Add ¾ cup of rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and seasonings (except for the garlic) to a clean pint mason jar. Put on the lid and shake gently until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add in the garlic.

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil.

Trim the onion on both ends and cut it in half. Remove and discard the outer layer. Thinly slice the onion.

Place the onion slices in a metal sieve, hold it over the sink, and slowly pour the boiled water over the onions to par-cook them. Shake the water off.

Pack into the mason jar, pressing down as needed.

If there is space, pour in the remaining vinegar to cover fully.

Put the lid on and gently roll the jar so everything is mixed.

Chill in the refrigerator for at least a day before enjoying. They get better as they pickle slowly in the refrigerator.

Notes:

Do not use table salt. Salt with iodine added can affect the color of preserved foods. Not always, but there is a real chance, so why take it?

And yes, you can use this same recipe to pickle shallots and any color of onion you crave.

~Sarah

Seed Saving: Heirloom Bean Seeds We Grew in 2023 And Saved

March 22, 2024 Sarah

One of the most important things you can do as a gardener and homesteader is to preserve open-pollinated/heirloom seeds that grew well for you. Keep growing them, but also share with others so they can keep these seeds going. One single bean seed can produce many, so even 6 to 8 shared seeds is huge. By the second year of growing, you will have enough to eat.

These are the shelling beans we grew in the summer of 2023. Shelling means you can let the bean pod dry up on the plant and seed the pods once the outside is crispy dry. They can be stored in mason jars for eating in the cold months. They work well as beans in soups and cassoulets. If rain is predicted, we will pull beans by late August and let them finish drying on the counter or greenhouse.

Tiger’s Eye Beans. Originated from South America: Chile, and Argentina. Bush bean.

Hidatsa Red Indian Bean. One seed can produce a plant that produces 100 pods. Each pod holds 6 to 8 beans. They are called” half-runners” because they grow about 3 feet tall. They are drought-resistant.

Painted Pony Bean. It is a prized bush bean, and the markings often survive the cooking process.

Scarlet Runner Bean. It is an incredible bean known for its pole-climbing ability. It’ll grow very tall, so start building a teepee even before you plant it. Massive pods. It’s very popular for children’s gardens, and pollinator friendly.

Yellow Indian Woman Beans, also called Buckeye Beans now, were brought to the US from Sweden and grown in the harsh climate of Montana by the Indigenous people. They are bush beans.

Jacob’s Cattle Beans. Bush plant.

Rockwell Bean. This bean is named after the late 1800s pioneer Elisha Rockwell, who came to Whidbey Island and farmed in the now-Ebey Preserve. It’s a smaller bean and doesn’t grow as tall as some, making it perfect for the PNW region. It is a bush bean, but needs to have something to trellis on.

Orca Bean. Also known as the Calypso bean. It is a bush bean, with 4 to 5 beans per pod.

~Sarah

Freeze Drying · Prepping · Preserving · Recipes

Freeze-Drying Eggs

February 8, 2024November 10, 2024 Sarah

During the pandemic years, freeze-dried and dehydrated eggs were hard to source. People were stocking up, especially at the tail end, when Avian Flu forced many commercial growers to kill their hens. This led to very high prices. At one point, Augason Farms was over $100 a can on Amazon.

The price for Augason Farms dehydrated eggs has dropped to $58.20 on Amazon for a #10 can.

To give an idea of how many eggs are in the cans, Augason Farms is 72 eggs, so .81 cents an egg.

If you raise hens in season, you will have a lot of eggs to deal with. This is when you process the eggs for long-term food storage. Or, if not, find a local store that sells five dozen eggs at an affordable price and process those.

Now, let’s say you happen to have a freeze-dryer on hand. You can start using those eggs.

If you can source eggs for under .33 cents each, that is a good start. Size doesn’t matter, so pick up what is cheapest – medium and extra large are often less than large due to consumers wanting a standard size.

Eggs from our hens, washed and drying on the counter.

I cover the counter to keep the mess down (cracking eggs is always messy).

Freeze-drying Eggs:

I suggest starting with about ten dozen eggs if using a Large-size freeze-dryer. If eggs are homegrown, wash and let eggs dry. If commercial eggs, proceed.

Crack each egg individually and add to a 4-cup measuring cup. Once full, pour into a blender. Run till eggs are mixed, on low. This is an important step – you want to break the whites apart and blend them well.

Pour into molds, then cover molds and let freeze fully.

Once frozen, pop out (using the handle of a wooden spatula across the bottom helps them pop). Either place in gallon freezer bags for later processing or spread out on your freeze-dryer trays. I highly suggest lining the trays with the liners or cutting parchment paper to fit.

The trays are ready for the freeze-dryer. The freeze-dryer is auto-sensing, so turn it on to run the cycle.

Once it says the run is over, with a glove on, poke a few to make sure the interior is fully dry. If any show moisture, put it back on for another six or so hours.

It’s easy to powder the eggs; just add them to a jar, put a lid on, and shake. They drop down into powder quickly.

Pack the eggs into glass mason jars or mylar bags, add an oxygen absorber packet, and seal. For long-term storage, use a vacuum sealer as well.

To rehydrate: Start with 2 Tablespoons dry egg powder and add 2 Tablespoons cool water; stir to blend. Add up to another Tablespoon of water (for three total) to thin as needed. Use as you would fresh eggs for scrambling or in baked goods.

~Sarah

Homesteading · Prepping · Preserving · Recipes

Freeze-Drying Onions

February 7, 2024 Sarah

We grew a lot of onions on our homestead this past year. We specialize in “Whidbey Sweets,” as we call our Walla Walla Onions. They don’t grow as big here on the island as they do in their namesake of Walla Walla, WA, but it’s also a lot cooler here than in blazing-hot Eastern Washington. These are not great “storage onions”, so this past year I worked on processing them into long-term storage by freeze-drying many of them. I found we were not always eating all of them before they’d spoil, even when cured. And that is an awful waste to have happened!

And this leads to something that is often claimed. Something even I have been guilty of – that you shouldn’t preserve food that is cheaper just to buy pre-done. Well…….OK, I get it. Onions, even sweet onions, can be had for $1 a pound or less in summer. And dried onions are rather cheap commercially (it’s a couple of dollars for a jar of dehydrated ones).

But if you grew them yourself…well, the flavor is off the charts. And fresh onions often don’t cause uncontrollable crying while you cut them—especially the sweet types. I’d cry once, clean my face with cold water and be fine. And get back to cutting them up.

Hand-sized onions.

So this past summer I harvested our onions, cleaned them up and cut them into half moons.

I froze them flat on cookie sheets (lined with parchment paper to make removal easier). Then I bagged them up into gallon freezer bags until I had five bags worth.

You will notice a pronounced smell in your freezer for a few hours until they are bagged up. Especially if you are buying commercially grown onions, and they are “storage” ones that have sat well cured in the cold for 6 months to a year. Fresh dissipates a lot faster. Keep this in mind in case you have delicate items such as ice cream in it.

I transferred the frozen onions to the freeze-dryer trays and popped them in for the cycle, which is automatic. We didn’t have to add any extra time for this cycle. Onions dry quickly and evenly I felt.

The onions will be light and crispy, snapping easily when dried. Sweet onions like this can be eaten raw right out of the machine.

I cut them into big pieces, but they are easily broken by hand into smaller pieces for adding to meals.

Once fully dry, remove and bag up immediately, adding an oxygen absorber packet in each bag or mason jar. We also added a desiccant packet to each container. Seal fully.

Mark what is in the bag and what day you did it on.

I used a combination of glass mason jars and mylar bags to store them in for both at-home cooking and for future trail meals.

And yes, the taste and texture were well worth the time, even if possibly it would have been cheaper just to buy them ready to use.

I did a tray of purple onions a friend grew so she could have long-term onions as well. She used her “ugly” scraps from when she was pickling red onions. No waste that way!

I ran another batch when I did this, with more sweet onions I had, her purples, lean diced ham (2 trays), and a yellow split pea soup—keeping the flavor profiles similar.

There was no noticeable smell left behind in the freeze-dryer after the batches. That had been a concern of mine.

These last two runs were a worthy cycle of our freeze-dryer.

Want To See More On What We Have Freeze-dried?

Check out all our posts.

Harvest Right is running a Valentine’s Day Sale with up to $500 off on their freeze-dryers.

~Sarah

Freeze Drying · Prepping · Preserving · Recipes

Freeze Drying Handcrafted Large Batch Beef Pasta Sauce

February 3, 2024 Sarah

Harvest Right is running a sale on their freeze-dryers through February 15th, 2024. If you have been thinking about getting a freeze-dryer, this is the time – prices are up to $500 off.

We had found a great sale on the large cans of tomatoes on Amazon. Then the order showed up and nearly every can was dented. It’s been a learning lesson for sure. You might save money (and often a lot) but they don’t always pack well. Amazon refunded our money because dented cans considerably lower your storage time. You want to use them up first, as soon as possible especially if the seam of the can or the lids were dented.

As I mulled over the many meals we’d be eating with like 36 cans of tomatoes, one idea I had was to make a double batch of pasta sauce and then freeze-dry it. It’s an easy sauce to have on hand. And I could reset the clock on the storage time for the tomatoes.

Now then, this is a sauce I enjoy consuming. It’s a fast-fix recipe for busy nights. It doesn’t need to be cooked all day long. A half-hour is plenty of time to simmer it. Now, why do I use canned beef? Easy. It will freeze-dry far better than fresh will, as it isn’t fatty. We pick it up in packs at Costco (the roast beef is next to the canned chicken).

New to freeze-drying? See all our posts here.

We run a Harvest Right Large-size freeze-dryer on our homestead. There is another company out there now, Blue Alpine, that makes the equivalent of a Medium freeze-dryer.

Beef Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp garlic, minced (or freeze-dried)
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ balsamic vinegar
3 28-ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes
1 6-ounce can of tomato paste with Italian herbs
2 12-ounce cans of roast beef, drained

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium, add onion, and saute till tender.

Meanwhile, open the tomato cans and squish each whole tomato to break up.

Add in the herbs, pepper, vinegar, tomatoes with juices, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, lower heat to medium-low. Let simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring often.

Drain and break up the roast beef with a fork. Add to the sauce and heat through.

Taste for salt and your personal taste if sugar is needed (I did not add any).

It makes enough to cover 2 pounds of pasta. Made 11 cups of sauce.

Option:

Prep 2 pounds of favorite pasta, and cook till al dente. Drain well.

Toss with the sauce and proceed.

If using a long pasta such as spaghetti or angel hair, break it into thirds for easy drying.

To Freeze-Dry:

Line 2 freeze-dryer trays with parchment paper.

Divide the sauce evenly between the 2 trays. (We put 5½ cups sauce on each tray.)

Let cool down, then cover with lids and place in freezer, ensuring the trays are flat.

Freeze fully.

Place trays in freeze-dryer and do setting as usual (Harvest Right machines do auto sensing). When done, test the middle of the powder to ensure it is fully dry. If not, add another 6-8 hours.

Place each tray of dry powder into a mason jar or a mylar bag.

Add in the desiccant packet and oxygen absorber packet, and seal.

Mark on bags when produced.

Option:

Mixing with pasta will take 3 to 4 trays on a Large-size freeze-dryer.

It is best to divide it into 8 servings and measure it beforehand.

That way, you can pack it into the “MRE” style mylar bags for ready-to-go meals.

~Sarah