22 March 2018 Lentils

[Durgan]

22 March 2018 Lentils
Posted on March 22, 2018 by Durgan
http://durgan.org/2018/March 2018/22 March 2018 Lentils/HTML// 22 March 2018 Lentils
Desiring some fresh food during the non growing months, after some trials lentils were chosen for sprouting. They are reliable sprouts, economic and readily available. I keep two batches going and utilize almost every day. They are blended with my various pressure canned juices as required. They readily sprout at room temperature so can be grown in most environments. Accompanying pictures depict processing and preparing for sprouting.

 

[Arden Sage]

They look tasty; I'm a big fan of sprouting seeds (and micro greens)

They are blended with my various pressure canned juices as required.

What are your "various pressure canned juices"? Not sure I understand (I'm a bit thick)

 

[Durgan]

I pressure can anything vegetables and all plant material. The general method is to pick anything fresh, wash, cut into smaller pieces, cook on a burner, beat into a slurry using a hand blender. Put through a food mill strainer 2mm mesh to remove seeds and the harsh material, place in liter jars and pressure can at 15 PSI for 15 minutes. I do about 500 liter jars every year. It is my main method of preserving. I only have around four months due to my cold climate. I document all in a journal. http://durgan.org/2011/ Garden Journal. Ingest around a liter per day. I add lentils for something really fresh buying the seeds from a bulk store and sprouting. I grow most but buy locally if I don't grow. My yard is about half an acre of good soil. Only dependent on the weather. Area is the Niagara Peninsula. Brantford, Ontario.

Here is a sample
31 August 2018 Tomato Juice (Pure Tomato Juice)
Posted on August 31, 2018 by Durgan
http://durgan.org/2018/August 2018/31 August 2018 Tomato Juice/HTML/31 August 2018 Tomato Juice
Fifty six pounds of tomatoes were picked and processed into pure tomato juice meaning nothing was added. The tomatoes were cooked in their own juice. The tomatoes were quartered and cooked about 20 minutes, made into a slurry with the hand blender, strained through a 5 mm mesh on the food mill to remove seeds. The food mill output was put through a Champion Juicer to get maximum nutriments. Fourteen liter jars were obtained for Pressure Canning at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for long term storage at room temperature. Each liter jar has about 4 pounds of tomatoes. This is almost the end of the tomato season in my Zone 5.

 

[Arden Sage]

Thank you for such an informative post, and very detailed response, to my query. Enlightening, to say the least!
How lovely to have such a track of land to play with; very productively too.

Alas, my sprouting seed venture is merely windowsil in scale and they are used in salads, sandwiches, added as a garnish to hotpots and the like, or thrown in (last minute) to omelettes. No canned juices here to speak of.

I have used gluts of tomatoes to make a base and then freeze that base for future uses. I find that works out rather well and economical (scale dependent, of course).

 

[Durgan]

Go down in the journal to the months of Summer to see the variety that is processed. My aim is to avoid he commercial food industry which is distrusted for health reasons primarily, plus China is now taking over. Around 500 pounds of tomatoes are processed each years. Root cellar, a bit of freezing, dehydrating, is also practiced but pressure canning is the main system. I have never had a jar go bad and have processed probably 4000 plus liters over time. I now eat little meat for better or worse. The world obesity figures can be a major stimulater to find something different. I suspect we have become too dependent upon the commercial food supply. But I am a voice in the wilderness.

I found freezing is a poor preservation method except for animal products, hence use the method sparingly. As mentioned animal products have almost been eliminated from my diet. I sort of believe the propaganda about eating more plant food. It is easy to practice, since I have a good growing area and a conducive climate of sorts.