You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Preserving’ category.
I’m a fan of making your own mustard. It’s honestly one of the easiest condiments to make, it’s very safe, because mustard, on its own, is so naturally antimicrobial, and the variations are practically endless. I have more background on making your own mustard, along with a beer mustard recipe here.
I use Dijon mustard in various recipes that call for it, and as an emulsifier in salad dressings. Many years ago now, I went looking for a DIY Dijon mustard recipe. Traditional Dijon (named for its city of origin in France) is made with verjuice, the acidic juice from unripe grapes. (Verjuice has been on my list to make for a while now). This is NOT that recipe.
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My husband hates cucumber pickles. Me? I’m kind of so so on them. I don’t like dill pickles on my hamburgers (sweet pickle relish is OK). Sometimes a dill pickle spear that comes with a sandwich will taste amazing. Sometimes terrible. I’m never sure why. Dill is far down the list for my favorite fresh herbs. I’ll choose rosemary, thyme and cilantro any day. Even sage and parsley get more use in my kitchen.
So when it comes to making pickles, I don’t do a lot of it. I’ve tried all manor of recipes for boiling water bath canned dill pickles over the years, including the new technique where you pasteurized them at 180 for 30 minutes instead of boiling them, and I’ve never been all that excited about the results. The texture is never as crisp as I’m looking for. I’ve tried all the tricks including a grape leaf in the jar and using pickling lime.
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I’m a fan of America’s Test Kitchen and have been a subscriber to Cooks Illustrated since the late 1990’s. Over the years, when I’ve had an abundance of one ripe fruit or another, I’ve tried out a variety of their ice cream recipes. A very long time ago, I had an uncle send me a small pint sized ice cream maker where you froze the special bowl and then hand cranked it for 5-10 minutes. It was fun to experiment with it. Then a few years ago, I broke down an ordered a Cuisinart ice cream maker, which was really just a larger electric version of the same system, for less than $100.
But as I get older, and can afford fewer and fewer calories and have more dramatic reactions to large amounts of sugar, I’ve done that less and less. Not to mention most recipes require you to make a custard with eggs and cream, being careful not to overcook and scramble them, and then chill well before churning. Seriously. I don’t have that kind of time or patience most days, no matter how delightful the results.
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When we’re in the height of tomato season, there’s always a bit of “tyranny of produce” happening in our house, as flats of long awaited tomatoes start to stack up on counters, chairs, chest freezer lids… you get the idea.
I’ve learned over the years to rotate which preserved foods to focus on year to year, as we often don’t finish up all of last year’s bounty by the following year. So one year I might make BBQ sauce and a lot of salsa. Another I might focus on tomato soup and simple canned tomatoes. Every year I make a few batches of roasted tomato sauce for the freezer.
And lately, every year I make a very concentrated batch of tomato paste, which I call Conserva – though technically, Conserva in Italian just means preserved. And according to Hank Shaw, who’s recipe I am documenting here, I’m really taking Conserva to the next level, which is ‘Strattu (short for estratto, which translates as extract).
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Pickled Wenk’s Yellow hot (left), pickled pepperoncini (right)
As anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows, this is a household that loves all things peppers. From growing our own paprika and cayenne to roasting green chilies for use all winter, to making our own hot sauce, to freezing chopped ripe bell peppers that we use all year, we can’t get enough of these wonderful members of the nightshade family. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve written on this blog, quite a lot actually, about my love affair with dried beans. I’ve always loved them. Ever since I was a kid eating Navy Bean Soup. Sometimes when I eat at a Mexican restaurant, I’m really just there for the refried beans. And if the beans at a Mexican place AREN’T good? Well, then I tend to steer clear of the place from then on, regardless of how good the rest of the food is. Because if you can’t do justice to this humble staple, how much do you really care about the rest of your offerings? Read the rest of this entry »
I didn’t grow as many bell peppers this year as I have in the past. They don’t sell well for me at farmers market, no matter how I have them priced. A fact that utterly baffles me because I love them and they are super nutritious. We eat them fresh in humus and stuffed this time of year, and freeze extras for later and enjoy them all winter.
Did you know that: Read the rest of this entry »
August. Ugh. I’ve learned to just say no to anything additional in August. Because its hot, and everything I’ve worked since March for is ripe and needs to be harvested. Onions. Potatoes. Seemingly endless cucumbers. Peppers galore. And of course, tomatoes. Lots and lots of heirloom tomatoes. Read the rest of this entry »
First harvest from my own Apricot trees EVER!
We were in full on summer here. June strawberries are long gone, cherries are just finishing up, apricots and raspberries are ripe, and the first nectarines and peaches are starting to appear at farmers markets. If you happen to have fruit trees, now is the time you start stuffing fruit into jars and freezer bags in an effort to deal with the deluge of fruit sitting on your kitchen counter right now.
But you can only eat so much jam and make so many smoothies. Yes, pies and buckles and crumbles and crisps are nice, but may not be where your diet is at right now. Alternatives?
Shrubs and Liqueurs! Read the rest of this entry »
Beets, as a vegetable, are a challenge for me. In my quest to overcome my various childhood vegetable phobias, I’ve made it a point to have a go-to recipe for each vegetable, that makes them not just tolerable, but something that I really enjoy. But earthy beets, the poster child for vegetable terroir (which translates loosely to “of the earth”)? Well, I’m still in search of that go-to recipe. I’ve roasted them. I’ve boiled or steamed them. I’ve spiraled and shredded them raw. I’ve turned them into fritters and borscht. I’m most likely to turn them into a beet salad, married with other strong flavors such as onion, garlic, orange, sharp vinegar, a spicy fruity olive oil, feta cheese and nuts.
But my favorite way to eat beets, my go-to recipe, is pickled. Not just normal picked, but with added onion, mustard and warm baking spices. I LOVE them tossed into a dinner salad, including the bright red pickled onions also in the jar. Read the rest of this entry »
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Miles Away Farm Blog 