Chick,Chick,Chick peas

We have gone through a fair few tins of chick peas and four bean mix over the years, so when I recently saw a quick method of canning  chick peas and beans recently I was keen to give it a go.
I owe credit for the info to a fellow called Ben Scholes on one of my canning sites I belong to, and the recipe was just called "Ben's Beans ".
I started with just one jar, slipped into a canner load of raw packed lamb chunks.as they are processed for the same time.
When I opened the jar we were very impressed as the  ratio of beans to liquid was perfect and the texture of the peas was just right.
So I decided that I would do a whole canner load of chick peas.I used  packets of dried chick peas that I purchased at a  middle eastern shop down in our local shopping centre that sells lot's of interesting bits and pieces.

I started by rinsing off the chick peas in a strainer under running water and then placed 1/2 cup of the dried chick peas into each pint(or 1 cupful per quart).

Next I filled the the pre-washed  jars with plain water  leaving about 1 inch headspace.

I then  wiped all the jar  rims with paper towel dipped in white vinegar, and applied the lids that had been previously simmered in water for a few minutes to soften the seals.  I then added the rings and screwed just  until finger tight.

I also added 1 jar of 4 bean mix as well so i could see how they would process too.

I then placed them all in my pressure canner and processed them at 10lbs pressure for 75 minutes for pints(or 90 minutes for quarts)

After the processing time was complete I turned off the stove and let the canner  drop back down in pressure and after it returned to zero I removed the weight,and when all steam had completely ceased I removed the canner lid .
I then removed all the jars and placed on a towel on the table to cool for 24 hours.

The next day I removed all the rings, checked my seals were intact and washed the jars and stored my rings for future use.I then stored the chick peas away for future use.
I had also on a previous load of  lamb stock processed some lima beans in the same way, but forgot that stock is processed at a shorter time than beans, so the beans really hadn't been done correctly so I refrigerated those and used them straight away.
I made "pantry stew" the next day, with jars of,lamb chunks,tomatoes,carrots,corn,stock,and the lima beans, It was really delicious.

We had unexpected quests turn up that weekend also  and I was quickly able to make up a 4 bean salad with the jars of beans, a  pint of canned corn, and a few other bits, and it was  great too.

Tonight I am cooking a small piece of pork and instead of the usual baked vegetables, my husband requested  that we have a chick pea salad and coleslaw, suits me just fine.

These beans will be so handy to us for quick salads and ways to stretch a soup or stew if extras turn up, I am certain that I will can many more jars of them in the future. Every time I can meat and I haven't a full load I will just slip a few of these in.
I must away now as it is close to our dinner time and I have that roast to check,
Until we meet again,
Cheers,
Jane.

Our own meat.

We have just spent a nearly a week up the bush. My husband did not want to return to work this morning (and I can't blame him). It is a little dry up there but we are getting a few small showers to keep everything plodding along.
We arrived late in the afternoon to find our front lawn covered with wonderful mushrooms, which of course we picked and devoured for our tea that night. What better dinner than  wild grown mushrooms with so much flavour and a nice piece of your own steak off a animal that you have raised yourself.

We had to restock our hay while we were there, our very kind next door neighbour feeds the occasional bale out to our stock while we are away if there hasn't been enough rain for good feed. Although we do keep Dorper breed sheep which are a South African breed which do really well in drier country. They also have the added bonus that they are good heavy meat sheep and they don't have to be shorn as they automatically loose their wool/hair by rubbing aaginst trees, posts,frnces and gates. You see lettle  bits of fluff all round the place if you look carefully. They are also a very friendly, quiet  breed.

We get our hay from a friend a few kilometres away  for which we pay about $8 per bale.
We butchered two lambs while we were there just for regular meat(no processing or canning)
We kill early in the morning ,we then portion the meat into smaller sections and age for 4-5 days in a spare refrigerator up in the shed.We hope to get a cool room down the track when finances allow, (to allow the  carcus to hang whole )but for now we find that the refrigerator works just fine.

Then when we are ready we get out the trusty electric band saw and cut up the meat...feels like we have come along way, we used to do it all by hand with a knife,hand saw and cleaver...such a neater job now. The  worst part is cleaning the band saw after, so we usually make it worthwhile and do at least two  animals at a time.

Just love all that meat..We love our veggies too but also love meat. Sometimes we  do all the legs and shoulders into chunks to raw pack and can, other times we make sausages and sometimes into lamb/beef bolognaise sauce..whatever we find ourselves needing. We are slowly learning to be more varied with our final products for the freezer and pantry.

Here also is a photo of the lamb sausages we made last time, this was 16kgs( approx 32 lbs)  We got this from 4 legs and 4 shoulders of lamb.They were lamb and rosemary flavour. We are still experimenting with different ones, as we are real beginners in the sausage making world.
We had a lovely break away, didn't get half the  jobs done that we had planned, but oh well.There is always next time,and the time after.
Winter is really starting to set in,good big frosts of a morning, but usually good days, then a roaring fire of a night. Nothing better than a nice glass of wine by the fire to end a productive day.
All the best until next time,
Cheers,
Jane