Homemade Grape Jelly

I'm not posting a picture with this, but decided I had to post to keep myself on track.  On Friday I decided to try my first try at making homemade grape jelly.  We had received wonderful locally grown grapes the last couple of weeks and we weren't eating them.  I couldn't let them go to waste!

It didn't work.  I now have eight or nine jars of thick grape sauce.  Later I'm going to try to "fix" the mess.  I'll be posting pictures when I let you know how it turns out.

Tomato Paste for Lunch

Yesterday I picked up a few Roma tomato "seconds" when I was as Fair Shares to make more tomato paste.  But I didn't buy enough to bother canning it.  Which was actually a good thing.  I got to have some for lunch today!

Last night I blanched and peeled the 12 tomatoes, then put them in the fridge overnight, since I didn't have time to cook them down to a paste.  This morning I drained off the excess water, threw them in the food processor to chop, then dropped them in the crock pot, along with a bay leaf, a garlic clove and a pinch sea salt.  I left the crock pot uncovered and set it to high, then left to take my daughter to school and go walk with friends.

When I came home, I had a beautiful, rich tomato paste.  I removed the bay leaf and garlic clove, and was going to put it in a ziplock bag to freeze, but then I walked by my basil and the combination of smells told me I had to eat some.

I spread some of the paste on a hearty slice of Companion 5 grain bread and chopped some fresh basil on top.  I was going to add some shredded cheese, but decide it may be better kept simple, and I was right.  The deep tomato flavor, with the hit of basil on the hearty bread was perfect.  I did add some Alpenglow cheese on the side to have some protein.  The Alpen glow cheese has a mild, buttery flavor that complemented the tomato paste sandwich.  (I am not much of a cheese person, but I love this one!)

I now need I need to pick up more tomatoes next week so I can add to my tomato paste stash I canned last month.  Having tasty tomato paste all year long will will be a treat on a cold, winter day.

How do you use tomato paste?

A locally sourced treat

Carmel Corn!!!!

This week I faced a big change at home -- my daughter left for college.  I knew I had to do something special for her, and was going to make Grandma Neva cookies, but didn't have time last night.   I also knew I had to come up with something fast since I had to mail her a box today with things she had forgotten. Luckily I remembered a recipe I got from my best friend years ago.  One of those she gave me on the back of her wedding rsvp cards when I was a newlywed.   The carmel is made in the microwave and it always turns out perfect without all the fuss of candy thermometers.  I used locally sourced popcorn, and would have liked to use locally sourced butter, but have not been able to get any for awhile.   

I highly recommend giving this a try.  Here is the recipe:

Pop 3 quarts of popcorn.  Put it in a brown paper bag. 

In a microwave safe bowl, glass 2 qt bowl place:

1/2 c butter

1 c brown sugar

1/4 c corn syrup

1/4 t salt

Cook on high for 1 minute.  Stir.

Cook another minute. Stir

Cook another minute.  Stir.

Cook two minutes.  Stir.

Add 1/2 t baking soda. Stir.  (at this point it will be all bubbly, thick, and ready.)

Pour over the popcorn in the bag and stir well.  

Fold over paper bag and microwave 1 minute.

Pour out on a cookie sheet and bake in a 225 degree oven for 40 minutes.  

Cool and eat.

I made a double batch and put the carmel corn in sandwich ziplock bags that my daughter can share with her friends.  And they worked will for packing material around the items in the box I needed to send.  

Please share ideas for homemade treats that ship well.  I know my daughter and her friends will appreciate it. 

Seasonal pasta dinner

Seasonal Pasta Dinner


This week's share from Fair Shares included Salume Beddu Bolognese sausage, Ozark Forest fresh mushrooms, Zimmerman tomatoes, Nolte pac choi, DeMange honeydew, Jacobs Orchard grapes, and Mangia Pasta whole wheat rotelle.  I looked at all the seasonal goodness on my kitchen counter as I unpacked the bags and immediately saw a seasonal pasta dinner.

I removed the sausage from the casing and browned it while cooking the pak choi stems in a little olive oil, and boiling fresh pasta.  When the pak choi stems had softened some, I added some Theis farms chopped green pepper, that we received last week, and some mushrooms.   Last I threw in the pak choi so it could wilt a little before putting it on the pasta. 


I served it over the pasta with fresh tomatoes.

The end result, was a tasty plate of seasonal goodness.  I think the thing that pulled it all together was the bolognese sausage.  The hint of cinnamon and nutmeg is a great balance to all the veggies. 

Pickling and Canning experiences

lime pickles, bread and butter pickles, pickled peaches, tomato juice (top), and tomato paste (bottom)


This summer I have been trying to pickle and can some items to keep the summer joy of local produce all year long.  Last summer I made bread and butter pickles to great success.  What I found was I didn't make enough so I made more this summer.   I use standard pickling instructions (pickyourown.org has great instructions.)     Here is my recipe:

1/2 t ginger
2 c vinegar
2 c sugar
1 T mustard seed
3/4 T celery seed
1/2 T turmeric
1/2 t red pepper
1 clove garlic
1 c water
2 onions, sliced
2 lbs pickling cucumbers, sliced.
This made about 4 pints of pickles.

Next, I tried making Lime pickles.  My sister in law shared an old family recipe.  I took a sneak taste before canning and they were good, but I haven't opened a jar yet because I want to give them time to pickle thoroughly.

Lime pickles take a lot more time.  The cucumber slices have to be soaked in lime water for 24 hours, then rinsed a number of times to get rid of the lime.  They have to soak again in cold water for an additional three hours, and rinse and drain again.  The lime is said to give the pickles crispness.

The family recipe for 7 lbs pickling cucumbers is:

2 qts vinegar
8 c sugar
2 T canning salt
2 T canning spice (I was going to make some, but ending up buying it from Penzy's)
1 t cloves
1 t celery seed

Mix everything, and pour it over the cold cucumbers and let them sit over night (again).
The next morning bring the pickles to a boil and simmer for 35 minutes.
Put the pickles and syrup in jars and boil in the canner for 45 minutes.  
(Like I said it look a lot of time)

I also pickled peaches.  The recipe I used was from a book, but I didn't like the end result.  It called for equal parts of vinegar and sugar, as well as cloves and fresh ginger.  When I opened the jar this week to try them, I was really disappointed.  The book said I would taste peaches and summer.  All I could taste was vinegar and ginger.  I poured out the jar, but I want to try it again.  I found a new recipe that used half the amount of vinegar to sugar and will post after I try it.

Last, I made tomato paste and tomato juice.

We have spent a lot of time in the car recently and pass the time listening to podcasts.  On Sunday night I was listening to Good Food from KCRW and they discussed canning homemade tomato paste.  Since I had  a dozen locally grown tomatoes on my counter I knew I had to try it.

I used the directions at pickyourown.org and and was thrilled with the result.  I can't wait to open a jar after fresh tomato season.  I'm looking forward to spreading the paste on bruschetta and using it with pasta.

Because you have to squeeze out all the juice to make the paste, I had a lot of juice sitting there that I couldn't waste.  I ended up adding a little seasoning and lemon juice to create a tomato juice.  Noone in my family drinks tomato juice, but I find it in various recipes so I know it will be used.  I canned the paste and juice in half pint jars so I won't end up wasting half of the unused portion.

I'd love to hear what you have canned and pickled.  I am in a learning mode and want to try more.  I may pickle peppers next.  I seem to be getting a bumper crop from my little garden and hate to see them go to waste.

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

It's that time of year -- abundance of zucchini and blueberries.  I found a wonderful recipe at allrecipes.com that gave me the chance to use both!
(search blueberry zucchini bread)

I made a couple of adjustments, of course.  First I used  more zucchini that it called for.  I also increased the cinnamon. And last, I added a streusel to the top made of brown sugar, butter, flour and a little cinnamon.  The crunch made it feel special and more like a blueberry muffin.

I made a few loaves of this to take to a family reunion.  People snacked on it all day and it disappeared quickly.

Fairy Tale Eggplant

Last week we got a pint of Fairy Tale Eggplants in our CCSA share.  If you've never seen them before, they are basically eggplants about the length of your pinky finger.  We got some last year, and I tried a recipe online but I didn't understand the excitement others were feeling. This year I decided to try something simpler.

First, you have to know, my husband HATES eggplant.  It is one of the food carryovers from his childhood that makes him gag.  While I, on the other hand, really love a well prepared eggplant.  One of my favorite dishes on earth is eggplant parmesan.  I order it at every new Italian restaurant we try.  When it is done well I believe it is close to heaven, but more often than not, it is just mushy with cheese and sauce.  With that in mind I knew I didn't want mushy.

Luckily our Fair Shares (my CCSA) newsletter mentioned roasting eggplants a few weeks ago.  While she wasn't discussing the fairy tale eggplant, I decided I should try her approach -- roasting.

I cut off the ends, and split the tiny eggplants in half.  Laid them on a baking pan, drizzled olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and pressed a generous amount of garlic over each piece.  I baked them for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then added shredded buffalo mozzarella over each piece and baked an additional 5 minutes.

The result was a hit it our household.  My eggplant hating husband said they looked like roasted cocoons, which I guess helped him get past the childhood memories.  He had quite a few and said he would have them again.  The girls said they reminded them of roasted potatoes.  I think that is about as high of praise as you can get from my girls.

(One final note: The younger one didn't like seeing the seeds so if I made them again I think I would cover the seeds better with the cheese. )