From Barr
I love my steam canner. I find it so much easier to use then submerging Mason jars into large pots of boiling water.
While searching the web for information on steam canning, I was surprised to find that there are some groups that suggest it isn’t adequate for preserving high acid foods. I find this hard to believe as I’ve been canning preserves with it for many years now and have had no issues.
This weekend I harvested our rhubarb and made a lovely strawberry rhubarb preserve. I also purchased 15 lbs of apricots and made enough apricot preserves for 2 years!
On the strawberry rhubarb I used the technique of sugaring the rhubarb and allowing it to macerate for a few hours before cooking them down. I did the same for the strawberries and then added them to the rhubarb after about 1/2 an hour of cooking the rhubarb.
I don’t use a lot of sugar when I make preserves. In fact for the 15 Lbs of apricots I used about 5 cups of sugar. For the 4 quarts of strawberries I used a cup of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of sugar on the 4 lbs of rhubarb.
Canning is a lot of work but if I consider how much a single jar of preserves costs at the farmer’s market ($7.00 for Plum!) for 1 rainy afternoon of prepping and canning, my yield was significant.
Granted I’ve been doing this for a few years so I’ve got the method down: Prepping the fruit one day ahead and then reheating it to can the next day (make sure you reheat it to boiling) and then placing all the canning jars in the dishwasher and running them on the sanitize cycle and keeping them hot just before filling, and keeping a pot of boiling water on the stove for all the lids.
If you’ve never canned before, try and find someone who has to get the method down. After all canning historically was a community event. With homesteading on the rise, some local cooking schools are offering classes on canning techniques.
In Boulder the Culinary School of the Rockies is offering a class on August 14, with a wonderful chef and urban homesteading guru Teresa Brown. Get your homesteading on and reap the rewards all winter long!
August 18th, 2010
From Kimberly
Here is the 3rd installment of the carrot salad postings and honestly, I cannot select a favorite. I LOVE all three.
If you are looking for straightforward simplicity and utter ease in the kitchen, go with the classic French version. Looking for something a bit more upscale with bright flavors and the added nutrition of walnuts? Try Dorie Greenspan’s version.
Today’s recipe comes via The Wednesday Chef and Smitten Kitchen. It is the boldest version of the three. A warm dressing is made with garlic, spices and harissa; then something magical happens as you toss this spicy, lemony dressing with crunchy carrots. The flavor magic continues when you add fresh herbs and seal the deal with crumbled feta.
This salad is brilliant. For Meatless Monday, we paired it with grilled pitas, hummus, babaganoush and sliced cukes. This salad held up really well to refrigeration, just be sure to let it come to room temperature before eating.
The toasted spices and harissa are the ingredients that make this salad special. There is no substitute for harissa, a Tunisian condiment made from roasted chili peppers. Last fall, Barr posted Kirk Warner’s recipe for harissa and it is indeed an excellent recipe. Additionally, you can buy canned harissa at Whole Foods and harissa in tubes is available at some middle eastern markets or on Amazon.
The original recipe called for ground caraway seeds. I thought I had them in the pantry but I didn’t. I proceeded without them, the salad lacked nothing.
Carrot Salad with Harissa, Mint and Feta
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips (julienned) or coarsely grated
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
1 tsp. harissa, more to taste for added spiciness
1/2 tsp. ground caraway seeds (optional)
1 tsp. sugar or honey
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
generous pinch of kosher salt
3 Tbsp. finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint
6 oz. crumbled feta
In a small frying pan, warm the olive oil. When hot, add the garlic, cumin, paprika and harissa. Cook and stir until quite fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the sugar, lemon juice and salt. Pour the warm dressing over the carrots and toss well. Add the herbs and toss again until the carrots are evenly coated with all the seasonings.
Allow the dressed salad to sit for about 1 hour. (The salad really does improve in flavor as the dressing cools and the carrots absorb all the flavors.). Top with the crumbled feta and serve.
August 16th, 2010
From Barr
If you have zucchini coming out of your ears, we have posted some good ideas here and here. This cake is one of my favorite ways to use up bountiful summer zucchini.
The recipe in Saveur magazine a few years back but when I pulled the recipe from my stack of recipes to post, I realized to my horror that there was no date or issue reference on the page! Luckily they have an amazing website and low and behold the recipe was right there.
For the original recipe click here.
I added 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips to the recipe which I highly recommend. Dusted with powdered sugar and served with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries is a great way to enjoy this as a dressed up dessert.
Otherwise it a great snacking cake. A simple glaze of chocolate ganache would also be lovely. My kids snarfed up this cake and had no idea there was zucchini in it.
August 12th, 2010
From Barr
Perfect for an August dinner, grilled veggies and crispy coleslaw are sure to please. Portobello mushrooms are meaty and easy to grill. The key is to make sure they are properly marinated. I think 24 hours is perfect but 8 hours is the minimum.
The coleslaw recipe is adapted from Cook’s Illustrated. The key here is to salt the cabbage and let sit in a colander for 1 to 4 hours. It makes a huge difference. I really enjoyed this recipe as it is not heavily laden with mayonnaise and is quite refreshing just as coleslaw should be.
Marinade for Vegetable Skewers
Makes 1 Cup, enough for 4 skewers
4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup EVOO
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp. thyme
Whisk all ingredients together. You can use any vegetables you want.
I like the combination of yellow squash, red onion, portobelllo mushrooms, red bell peppers and green bell peppers. Marinate the mushrooms for at least 8 hours or as long as overnight. Place a colander over a bowl. Drain the mushrooms reserving the marinade.
Transfer the marinade to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Marinate the remaining vegetables and marinate for 1 hour, at room temperature. Drain the vegetables
Skewer the marinated vegetables with the portobello mushrooms. Grill the skwers over medium to low heat for 5 minutes per side.
Buttermilk Coleslaw adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
1 pound cabbage, shredded and salted
(see instructions for salting below) with 1 tsp salt
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 fennel bulb, shredded
5 Tbsp. minced chives or 3 green onions, chopped fine
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cider vinegar
2 shallots, minced (or 2 Tbsp. freeze-dried)
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Garnish
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, rough chop or just whole leaves
To salt the cabbage, toss the cabbage and salt together in a colander. Set the colander over a bowl or in a sink and let it drain for 1 to 4 hours. Wrap the cabbage in a large kitchen towel and dry slightly. Place into a large mixing bowl and add the carrots, fennel, chives and shallots. Save the parsley until just before serving.
Mix together the remaining ingredients to make the dressing, whisk them well and pour over the vegetables. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes so that it gets nice and cold.
Just before serving, add the parsley and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Coleslaw will be good for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
August 9th, 2010
From Barr
A recent trip to Mexico preceded by Natural Products Expo inspired this post. Coconut water is a natural isotonic. Next to water it is the best way to rehydrate if you are dehydrated which is the main reason why athletes and weekend warriors alike are buying the retail brands Zico and O.N.E.
I’ve tasted most of the retail coconut waters and can safely say that aside from having fresh coconut water right out of the coconut, the two brands mentioned are the best -bar none.
This is because the water is extracted from young coconuts, or rather coconuts that are about 7 months into their maturing process. The meat of the coconut has not yet developed. Zico and O.N.E. are manufactured in their country of origin which is Brazil.
Coconut water takes a little getting used to which is why these brands are adding natural flavor. Believe it or not but coconut waters do vary in flavor, not only from country to country but from tree to tree,
The Mexican coconuts above were very different in taste. The one on the right, known as Naranja because of its orange color, was sweeter than the greener ones on the left.
On Cozumel, I saw many coconut water cocktails. There was one called Mexican Gatorade which was made with rum that claimed you wouldn’t get a hangover from it. Indeed because of its rich potassium content, it does make a great refresher if you over imbibe. I like to make agua frescas using coconut water. With all this hot summer weather, this recipe is worth a try.
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Using fresh is great but then you are left with having to deal with getting the meat out. The coconut pictured above is actually a mature coconut that I used in Shanghai while developing drinks for a client.
The recipes below use O.N.E. brand in the quart size package. I chose watermelon as the Chinese believe watermelon to be very cooling. You can try using strawberries and mangoes. If you use frozen fruit, you can omit the ice.
Depending on the sweetness of the fruit, you might not need any simple syrup. Simple syrup is made easily by boiling 1 cup water with 1 cup of sugar until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool before using. During the summer I store simple syrup in the refrigerator so that I can make homemade lemonade and agua frescas anytime.
Coconut Agua Fresca
2 cups coconut water
1 cup fresh watermelon or cantelope, no rind
a few cubes of ice
simple syrup, to taste (Kim’s mint syrup would be a great choice)
In a blender place the ice, coconut water and cut up melon. Process until all the ice is broken up.
Add simple syrup, 3 Tbsp. at a time, until you get it to your desired sweetness. Pour into glasses and enjoy!
August 6th, 2010
From Kimberly
Anyone else having fruit fly issues?
With all of the gorgeous summer produce out on the counter, it is understandable that fruit flies might find your kitchen an attractive place to hang out. I can tolerate a few fruits flies but just one single fly can drive Marco crazy bonkers.
I cannot remember where I learned this trick but it is cheap and super effective. Even a fruit fly infestation can be cured with these simple traps over the course of a few days.
Place some ripe fruit into a glass. I have had great luck with bananas, peaches and nectarines. A small amount of red wine mixed with some sugar also works.
Cover the glass with taught plastic wrap and use a rubber band to hold it in place. Poke one small hole in the top of the plastic wrap using a skewer or pencil tip. Set the glass in the area where you have seen fruit flies.
Sit back and watch (or in Marco’s case get on with life and stop obsessing). Flies are drawn to the scent of the fruit. They can get in but they can’t get out.
Fruit flies only live about 24 hours but they reproduce rapidly. After a few days, place the glass and all its inhabitants into your fridge or freezer. Once all the fruit flies have died in the chilled air, clean out the glass and start over.
I promise that you will be amazed at the effectiveness of this simple trap. Fruit flies be gone!
August 4th, 2010
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