This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

A Busy Weekend and a Winner

January 29th, 2011

On Thursday afternoon the mail lady honked her horn in the driveway to deliver a few packages. When I went out to get them I realized it was 10 lbs of meyer lemons from the Lemon Ladies Orchard and 20lbs of organic olives from Chaffin Family Orchard. We had plans on Thursday night and yesterday was spent working and getting my taxes ready to go. I also spent some times reading up on brining and preserving olives.

That means today I’ll be spending my time cutting olives, soaking them, salting them and working my way through the entire box (most likely I’ll be doing it again tomorrow as well). I’m planning on using three different preservation methods, water curing, brine curing, and dry salt curing. That will help me decide which kind of preservation method I like. I’m a really big fan of Kalamata olives, so I’m thinking I’m going to like the water cured olives the best. I’ll post more about the process later next week, although sadly I won’t be able to talk about the outcome for quite a while, olives are a definitely a SLOW food! Just in case you’re interested in information about brining your own olives at home here’s the link to a great booklet from UC Davis Home Curing Olives.

Are you doing anything exciting this weekend?

We have a WINNER!

Congratulations! Head on over to Morgan’s blog Grounded and read about things like: making your own seed balls, how to build a worm bin and what life is like in Southern California.

13 Comments to “A Busy Weekend and a Winner”
  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mark mile, Susy Morris. Susy Morris said: A Busy Weekend and a Winner http://goo.gl/fb/ZwXMu #harvestkeeperschallenge #makeyourown #briningolives […]

    Reply to Tweets that mention Brining Olives | Chiot’s Run — Topsy.com's comment

  2. CharM on January 29, 2011 at 8:57 am

    Your “Contact Me” application doesn’t seem to be working.

    I really enjoy reading your blog and have viewed your albums on Flickr. I’d appreciate it if you replied to my email address, because I would like permission to use one of your photos as a reference for my watercolour painting…

    Reply to CharM's comment

  3. goatpod2 on January 29, 2011 at 8:57 am

    That’s a lot of lemons and olives!

    Amy

    Reply to goatpod2's comment

  4. Nebraska Dave on January 29, 2011 at 8:57 am

    @Susy, I guess I never thought about preserving olives since they don’t grow here in Nebraska. I didn’t even know that fresh ones could be ordered through the mail. I’m really interested in hearing about the processes that you have mentioned to preserve them.

    Have a great preservation day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

    • Susy on January 29, 2011 at 9:10 am

      I know, I was going to order some olive oil and saw they had olives for curing and decided I’d give it a shot. I can’t wait to try them, too bad it takes so long for them to ready to eat!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Amy @ Homestead Revival on January 29, 2011 at 10:57 am

    All those olives and lemons… just beautiful!

    And congratulations to Morgan – I’m off to visit her!

    Reply to Amy @ Homestead Revival's comment

  6. Ghislaine on January 29, 2011 at 12:09 pm

    Hi! Have you ever read this post http://honest-food.net/2010/10/26/curing-olives-dont-be-afraid-to-lye/ –he has interesting things to say about curing olives.
    Good luck with all that work!

    Reply to Ghislaine's comment

    • Susy on January 30, 2011 at 12:03 am

      Thanks for the link, I’ll definitely try that method when I get my hands on some green olives.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. Morgan G on January 29, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    Thanks, Susy! Can’t wait to get hoppin’ on my “Zinger” Hibiscus. I promise to report back on my bounty! :)

    Reply to Morgan G's comment

  8. Lee on January 29, 2011 at 12:58 pm

    I’m curious if you have plans for the lemons? Will you be preserving them as well? How will you keep them?

    Reply to Lee's comment

  9. Terry on January 29, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    When I lived in AZ there were a lot of olive trees and the olives would just be on the ground. I always wondered about making my own but never did anything about it. Now I know a lot more about olives but I do not live there anymore. Be sure to let us know how they turn out!

    Reply to Terry's comment

  10. MAYBELLINE on January 29, 2011 at 3:31 pm

    Wow. Olive trees can be a huge mess. Lindsay, California is just up the road from Bakersfield and is known for its olive production. As olive orchards are converted to neighborhoods, the trees are sometimes boxed up and sold for high dollar. Rather than struggle with the mess of olives, people should know that the trees can be sprayed to prevent fruit production. They really are beautiful trees that are well suited to zone 8-9.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  11. Karen Morss on February 1, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    Thanks so much Susy for posting a link to my orchard! I hope the lemons survived the journey. And even more, that you enjoy each and every one! I have already received another order becaause of your sweet post!

    Karen
    Lemon Ladies Orchard

    Reply to Karen Morss's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
Friday Favorite: Home Canned Tomatoes

One thing I do enjoy about winter is that I have more time to cook. I really love to cook...

Close