Porchmas 2016

I have an amazing group of young friends that used to all live in this two-story house that had a glassed-in sun porch on the upper level. We had so many good times on that porch, that even though everyone has moved out of that residence now, we still refer to ourselves as "Porchlings" when we have our get-togethers. Likewise, our seasonal gift exchange and potluck is dubbed "Porchmas." Tee hee.

For my first culinary contribution, I made Pulled Pork Sliders with Homemade Pickled Green Tomatoes.

For the pulled pork, I marinated about three pounds of boneless ribs in soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable oil, sriracha, garlic powder and black pepper overnight. Then I browned them on all sides in a large skillet, placed them on the trivet along with a sliced onion over a cup of beef broth, and cooked them on "Meat" for 25 minutes. I let them sit for 10 or 15 minutes before releasing, then shredded the meat with two forks. I sprinkled the shredded meat with a couple of tablespoons of cider vinegar, added a few drops of liquid smoke, a big tablespoon of grainy mustard, and a small bottle of spicy honey barbecue sauce. I served the pulled pork on Hawaiian rolls with homemade pickled green tomatoes.

Pickled Green Tomatoes
(Source: Garden Betty)

Bring the following brine (per quart) to a boil:
1 cup white distilled vinegar (5% acidity)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Place in a washed quart jar:

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon dill seeds

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, peeled

Slice the tomatoes to desired thickness and pack into the jar. Cover with hot brine, leaving a half inch of head space. Remove bubbles with the end of a wooden spoon or a chopstick, wipe the rim, and add a lid and ring (fingertip tighten only). Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Store in a cool, dark place. Wait 3-4 weeks before tasting.

My second potluck offering was my old standby, potato salad prepared quickly and easily in the magic pot (four minutes!), which I made a little more festive-looking by including some of my homemade red-and-green cucumber relish that I made this summer/fall. (It was the Year of Peppers and Cucumbers!)

Instant Pot Potato Salad

3 lbs. red potatoes (I peel mine, but you can leave the peels on if you prefer), cut into one-inch chunks
4 large eggs
about 1/2 cup chopped green onions (four large, ends removed)
2 tablespoons sweet relish (I use homemade piccallili or cucumber or pepper relish)
1 large dill pickle, chopped (and about a tablespoon of juice)
about 3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons mustard (I like to use one yellow and one Dijon)
1 teaspoon ground celery
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
salt and pepper, to taste (I like to use Cajun seasoning for more "zip")

In a steamer basket over 1 1/2 cups water (I like to use 1 1/4 cups water plus 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to infuse the potatoes with some tanginess) put in the potato chunks with the whole eggs on top. Cook on manual/high for four minutes, then immediately release. Spread the potato pieces out on a cookie sheet to cool, and dunk the eggs into cold water until cool enough to handle.

Peel and chop the eggs. Mix together green onions, relish, chopped dill pickle and pickle juice, mayo, mustard, ground celery and granulated garlic. Toss in the slightly warm potatoes, using a potato masher or pastry cutter to create a texture like very chunky mashed potatoes, then fold in the chopped eggs. Season to taste. Chill thoroughly, then serve.

Cucumber Pickle Relish
(Source: Ball Blue Book)

4 cups chopped cucumbers
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped sweet red peppers (or hot peppers)
1/4 cup salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Combine cucumbers, onions, red peppers in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand two hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly

Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Add drained vegetables; simmer ten minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes (15 for pints) in a boiling-water canner.

Yield: About four pints 

Lastly, for Christmukkah treats, I made three batches of the beloved matzoh toffee, so that I could bag it up as little gifts. And as we are going through a very early cold snap, I was able to use my own porch as a blast chiller for both the potato salad and the matzoh toffee before the party. Ha ha.

In which I create blackberry beer jam...

Back in September at a meeting of my book club, I sampled some blackberry beer jam that a friend acquired at a microbrew festival in Quebec. When I mentioned the jam in passing online, my beer connoisseur and brewmaster friend, Mike, got all excited and wanted to try some. So I thought I might buy a couple of jars for him as a Christmas gift. But it's not available online, and even a trip to the Unibroue Brewery in Chambly, QC proved, err, fruitless. So I thought, fine then, I'll make my own dang blackberry beer jam! How hard could it be? Well...it was a bit of a challenge, mostly because I searched the entire internet for a recipe that I could use or at least follow somewhat closely and modify, but I couldn't find much. Was this a bad sign? Is the sweet pairing of berries and beer that uncommon and far-fetched?

As it turns out, I ended up morphing together a recipe for rhubarb beer jam (yes, that's a thing) and a methodology for making seedless blackberry jam without commercial pectin, and I was shocked that my Franken-jam actually turned out GREAT! It was delicous, and it set up perfectly using natural pectin from green apples. I ended up with 14 half-pint jars of the stuff, and I mailed quite a few of those all over the country for friends at Christmas who were enticed by just the idea of blackberry beer jam, and by some of the pictures that  posted on Facebook, no doubt. I used frozen fruit at this time of year, of course, but I can't wait to try this again next summer when the local berries are ripe, and maybe make a raspberry beer jam, too!

I recommend making this jam over two days to split up the work and spare the cook, and also to enhance the flavors. I completed Phases I and II of Operation Blackberry Beer Jam in one evening session. Last night, I crushed four pounds of blackberries with a potato masher and cooked them with five cups of chopped Granny Smith apples (cores, seeds, peels and all) in three pints (four cans) of Long Trail Blackberry Wheat Beer for about 25 minutes until soft and pulpy. I pressed all of this through a fine mesh sieve, removing most of the seeds and skins. To the resulting ten cups of puree, I added an equal amount of sugar (I might cut this down to 75% next time), two split vanilla beans, and the zest and juice of three lemons.

At that point, I put the whole pot in the fridge and let it macerate overnight. Then today, I cooked it down until it reached 220 degrees (and passed the frozen plate test*), and then I jarred it up, processed it in a boiling water bath for ten minutes, and prayed that it would set without commercial pectin. And it did! YAY! I swear, I may have to go into business selling this stuff--it's a hot commodity!

*When you start cooking your jam, put a small glass plate in the freezer. Once the jam hits 220 degrees on a candy thermometer, place a teaspoonful on the frozen plate, let it cool for a minute, and then press it a bit gently with your fingertip. If it wrinkles, you're good to go. Alternately, run your fingertip through the middle of the jam, and if the furrow stays clear and the two halves of the jam don't run back together, you're good to go. If not, keep cooking the jam another five minutes and try the test(s) again.

LOOK at the gorgeous color of that purée!











I got 14 jars--PLENTY to share with friends as tasty little Christmas gifts!

Clinging to the spoon as it cooled--a PERFECT set!

The First Canning Project of the Harvest Season: Pickled Peaches!

Peaches don't grow here in the North Country, but we do get lovely ones from downstate, and they are just starting to arrive. I bought a couple of small baskets the other day, and decided to make pickled peaches. I'm not sure where or why this idea entered my head, as I have never even had pickled peaches. But I have never met a pickle I didn't like, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Maybe they will mellow as they sit in the jar, but my initial impression is that they are mighty powerful ju-ju on their own. (Of course, I only used half the sugar called for and a straight vinegar brine, so there's that.) But I can tell you that they are DEE-licious with some grilled pork chops!

One little tip, though. I had peaches at three stages of ripeness. The ripest ones almost turned to mush in the jar, and the hard ones were too crunchy for my tastes when pickled. So go for the peaches that are just a wee bit underripe, like they need another day on your counter before you'd eat them out of hand. They'll turn out perfectly.

Pickled Peaches
(Source:adapted from GardenWeb's Harvest Forum)

24 small peaches, peeled
3 cups sugar (I cut this in half)
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 tablespoons pickling spice
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
3” section of ginger peeled and thinly sliced (I cut the slices into tiny matchsticks)

Bring a sauce pan of water to the boil, the dunk the peaches in for 30-60 seconds. Strain them into a bowl of iced water to cool, the slip off the skins. Cut the peaches into eighths, and squeeze a little lemon or lime juice (or Fruit Fresh) over them as you work to keep them from turning brown.

Bring the sugar, vinegars, spices and ginger to the boil. Add the peaches to hot jars, then cover with the boiled brine. Remove the air bubbles, wipe the rims, add the lids and rings (fingertip tighten), then process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts.
 

My new pickled OBSESSION!

I discovered the pungent joy of spring's garlic scapes quite a few years ago, but up until now, all I've ever done with them is add them to a stir fry or make a powerful pesto. But this year, I decided to try making them into PICKLES! I just used my favorite dilly bean recipe (without the garlic cloves, of course), and they turned out PERFECTLY!

However, the most important thing I learned was that the wispy, chive-like bit at the end of each scape are tough and NOT good eats. So just trim those away, and then cut the thicker stems into lengths that will fit into pint jars. IF the flower head is slender and still tightly closed, you can add those to the jars as well, then proceed as you would do with green beans. You really should wait two weeks before you open and try them (even better, wait a month), but I only made it week before I ate the first jar, and went in search of more scapes to pickle a second batch! ;-)

A Yummy Trip to Florida for Spring Break

My amazingly generous friends, the Padulas, let me invite myself along on their vacay to sunny Florida for Spring Break last week. We flew out of little old Plattsburgh (first time I've done this--so convenient!) to Orlando where we hit most of the theme parks--Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Universal and Islands of Adventure, including Harry Potter! We split our time between the madness of Orlando and the serenity of Port Richey, where my friends recently bought a mobile home in a retirement village. We shopped, we ate, we swam, we hit the flea market and farm stands, we visited with Padula relatives, I read two novels, and we all tried just to chill out and hide from reality for a week. It was very enjoyable and over far too quickly, as is always the way.

When we got to Florida, we had just missed some big strawberry festival (boo hiss), but the fruit was still abundant and at its peak of deliciousness at all of the local farm stands. Janice and I are probably the only two people in the world who think canning is a fun thing to do while on vacation, but that's what we did! We made one batch which yielded eleven luscious half-pint jars (that we mailed home to ourselves so as not to overburden our suitcases and incur extra luggage fees).  We used a simple recipe that was basically straight from the pink box of No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell, and I swear that it was the best strawberry jam I've ever made: tender, ripe red in color, and the perfect blend of sweet and slightly tart. Edible souvenirs are the best!

Reduced-Sugar Strawberry Jam
(Source: adapted from House Beautiful)

6 pints freshly picked strawberries
4 cups sugar
1.75 ounce box No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell (pink box)
1 to 2 teaspoons butter
8 8-ounce glass canning jars (We got 11 plus!)
Regular jar lids
Regular jar rings


1. Place 8 8-ounce size jars in the rack of a canner two-thirds full of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Fill a saucepan wth hot water and add the lids and rings. Keep warm until needed.
2. Avoid fruit with insect marks or over ripe spots. Carefully inspect fruit. Remove any stems, soft spots, insect marks. Rinse well in metal collander.
3. Move strawberries to a large bowl and use a potato masher to crush the berries. Do not puree, as you want some chunks of strawberry in the jam.
5. Measure exactly 4 cups of sugar into a separate bowl, set aside. Inaccurate measuring will make the jam fail to set.
6. Place the crushed berries into an eight quart stock pot and place on medium heat. In a small bowl, measure 1/4 cup of sugar from your premeasured sugar and mix with the 1.75 ounce box of No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell. Stir this sugar and Sure-Jell mixture into the strawberries. Mix with a wooden spoon, increase heat to high and allow mixture to reach a full rolling boil. If there is a lot of foam, on top of the berries add up to two teaspoons of butter. (Any amount of foam less than half the surface could suffice with 1 teaspoon of butter.)  When a full rolling boil is reached, add the remaining sugar and stir constantly until the mixture again reaches a full rolling boil. When a full rolling boil (constant bubbles) is reached allow the mixture to continue for 3-4 minutes. Remember you must stir vigorously the whole time. Remove the pot from heat. Skim off any foam at the top of the pot.
7. Immediately, ladle the jam into the hot jars. Work carefully as you pour the hot jam into the jars and carefully wipe the rims. Place warm canning lids onto the jars and secure the lids in place with a jar ring (fingertip tighten only).
8. Place the jars into canning rack, ensure that jars are not touching each other. Lower the canning rack into the boiling water. Be sure the jars are at least 1 1/2 inches submerged under water. Cover with the lid to the canner. Allow the jars to boil for ten minutes. Pull the whole canning rack out of the canner. Using jar tongs, place the jars onto a folded tea towel (soft surface). Listen for the ping sound as the cool air creates a vacuum and pulls the jar lid into place creating the seal.
9. After 24 hours, check the jars. You can usually see a slight indentation in jars that have sealed. You can also check by pushing down on the jar lid, movement indicates a seal did not form, refrigerate and jars that did not seal immediately.

As Janice put it, we "ate like we were going to the chair" while in Florida (tee hee), but walking five miles a day at each theme park helped keep our waistlines in check. My big splurge meal was at Emeril's at Universal where I had the chef's tasting menu, including some pan-seared scallops that nearly made me weep in ecstasy. The last night before we flew home, we finished our Grand Floridian Seafood Tour with a truly fabulous feast at the Bonefish Grill. The highlights included their signature appetizer, Bang Bang Shrimp, and this Chilean sea bass with a chimichurri sauce. SO GOOD! Most of their entrees come with one side dish that you choose and one daily special. The night we were there, the special garnish was this delicious chickpea dish with spicy chicken sausage and fresh spinach. It was savory, colorful, and quite healthful to boot! And it also seemed like the sort of thing that I could recreate when I got home as a quick-fix, midweek meal. So I did...

Chickpeas with Spicy Chicken Sausage and Spinach
(Source: adapted from Blue Kitchen)

1/4 cup olive oil
4 links spicy chicken sausage, casings removed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika plus 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
5 to 6 ounces baby spinach, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium flame. Add oil. When it starts to shimmer, add chicken sausage and sauté until lightly brown, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and continue to cook until fragrant, about another minute. Add chickpeas and paprika. Stir to coat chickpeas with oil and paprika and cook until chickpeas are just heated through, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach (in batches, if necessary), tossing to coat it with oil and wilt it. When the spinach is just wilted, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature to serve.

Time for the kitchen elves to get to work!

Over Thanksgiving break, I took the opportunity to bust out my canner and start working on some holiday treats for friends and colleagues. First up was a lovely apple butter that I made in my crock pot. Usually, I make an apple butter that is highly spiced, but I ran across a recipe for a maple vanilla apple butter that sounded heavenly, and it skips the traditional spices that would surely mask the subtler flavors of the maple and vanilla. In fact, the taste reminds one of a caramel apple. Yum! And making it in the crock pot is so easy, and saves you from being burned by the spattering! I highly recommend this apple butter for a holiday gift-giving idea.

Maple Vanilla Apple Butter
(Source: adapted from Good Cheap Eats)
Yield: 3 pints

12 Granny Smith apples, about 3 pounds, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used Macs and Cortlands)
1 cup apple cider (or juice)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract  

Place the apples and cider or juice in a five quart slow cooker. Set on high and cook for three hours. Puree apple mixture until smooth using an immersion blender or in a food processor.

Stir in brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Continue to cook on high for another three hours. The sauce should thicken and darken and mound up on a spoon. (It won’t spread out across the spoon when you scoop some up.)

Pour apple butter into hot, sterilized jars. Fit with metal lids and bands. Place in hot water bath and process for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water bath and allow to cool undisturbed overnight on a towel on the counter, spacing them at least an inch apart. Once cool, remove bands and check lids for seal. Store in a cool, dark place.

My second holiday gift idea was inspired by a company that I just love that I discovered on our vacation to Maine last summer, Raye's Mustard, I had originally thought to order some of their sampler packs for Christmas presents for some of my colleagues, but then I became inspired by my friend, Carl, who reportedly makes a mean Oktoberfest beer mustard. I decided to make two varieties: a double batch of a sweet, fruity cranberry mustard, and then the German mustard that packs a real punch. I canned them in those cute little four-ounce jelly jars, and I ended up with two dozen gifts for folks at work that haven't been naughty. ;-)

Cranberry Mustard
(Source: Ball Canning)
Yield: at least 7 (4 oz.) jars

1 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup yellow mustard seeds
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (about 2 12-oz bag)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry mustard
2-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1.) BRING vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add mustard seeds. Cover and let stand at room temperature until seeds have absorbed most of the moisture, about 1-1/2 hours
2.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
3.) COMBINE mustard seeds and liquid, water and Worcestershire sauce in a food processor or blender. Process until slightly grainy. Add cranberries and blend until chopped.
4.) BRING cranberry mixture to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk in sugar, dry mustard and allspice. Continue to simmer, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced by a third, about 15 minutes.
5.) LADLE hot mustard into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
6.) PROCESS in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Oktoberfest Beer Mustard
(Source: adapted from Ball Canning)
Yield: at least 5 (4 oz.) jars

1-1/2 cups beer (Carl uses Guiness; I used a pumpkin ale)
1 cup brown mustard seeds (I used half brown and half yellow seeds)
1 cup water
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar (I used a whole cup)
1/4 cup dry mustard
1 tablespoon onion powder

1.) COMBINE beer and mustard seeds in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand at room temperature until seeds have absorbed most of the moisture, about two hours.
2.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
3.) PLACE mustard seeds and remaining liquid in a food processor or blender. Process until chopped and slightly grainy.
4.) TRANSFER mixture to a large saucepan. Whisk in water, vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard and onion powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced by a third, about 15 minutes.
5.) LADLE hot mustard into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
6.) PROCESS in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Processing the late-harvest bounty...

So...I went to the Harvest Bounty Food Swap last weekend, and I still had all the produce that I had traded canned goods for hanging around. It was high time I figured something to do with all that bounty!

I began with the beautiful green and tomatillos. I tried not to be greedy and only took thirty of them at first, but no one else took any, so at the end of the swap, they gave them all to me. SCORE! So I had enough to make four pints of this scrumptious, oven-roasted salsa verde that I found on a blog called The Yummy Life. As written, the recipe will probably yield two pints--I doubled it.






Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde
(Source: The Yummy Life)

2 lbs. tomatillos, husks and stems removed (approx. 25-30 medium size)
4 garlic cloves
1 medium onion
1/2 lb. Anaheim green chile peppers; may substitute other large green chiles such as New Mexico or poblano or use 2 4-oz cans chopped green chiles from the Mexican aisle of the grocery store (I used a poblano)
2 small or 1 large jalapeno (I used a serrano)
1/2 cup cilantro, loosely packed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar (may reduce to 2 tablespoons if not canning salsa)
1/4 cup bottled lime juice (okay to use fresh if not canning salsa)

ROAST THE VEGGIES: Roast tomatillos, chile peppers, onions and garlic using one of two methods:
--OVEN ROASTING: Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place veggies in single layer on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes until tomatillos and peppers are charred, softened, and oozing juices.
--STOVE-TOP GRILLING. Heat stove-top grill/griddle on medium high heat. Arrange veggies in single layer, rotating with tongs until charred bits are present on all sides, and tomatillos are soft and oozing juices; move to bowl to collect juices.

PEEL, STEM AND SEED the green chiles. Stem and seed the jalepenos (skin can be left on); or leave seeds if hotter salsa is desired. Leave skin on tomatillos.

BLEND INGREDIENTS: Add roasted veggies (including juices that collected after roasting) and remaining ingredients to a blender or food processor; blend until desired consistency--anywhere from slightly chunky to pureed.

To eat salsa without canning, wait at least 4 hours to eat to allow the flavors to blend and vinegar to mellow. Best if eaten the next day. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

TO FREEZE, transfer salsa to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 6 months. Allow at least 1/2" headspace for expansion when frozen.

TO CAN: add blended salsa mixture to pot on stove top, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Pour salsa into hot, sterilized pint or half pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process for 15 minutes in boiling water canner. Turn off heat and remove cover; leaving jars in hot water for 5 minutes. Remove jars carefully and rest on towel undisturbed for 12-24 hours. If any jars don't seal, store in fridge to use within 2 weeks; or freeze. Canned salsa tastes better if it's stored unopened for at least one month to allow flavors to blend and vinegar to mellow. Recipe may be doubled or tripled.


When I completed my afternoon canning project, I begin putting together a crock pot of soup for the next night's dinner. I used a recipe that I had made before for Zarco bean, fennel, and chicken sausage soup, and swapped out Bolito beans (also from Rancho Gordo) that are bit like pintos, but smaller and meatier, and instead of using celery in the soup, I chopped up the stems from a small bunch of Swiss chard, and then added the slivered leaves at the end. And in a stroke of near genius, instead of plain water, I used whey left over from a recent cheesemaking endeavor as the cooking liquid. It gave the soup a slight creaminess and a bit of tang, not unlike buttermilk. In fact, you can use whey wherever buttermilk is called for, especially for baking.

Bolito Bean and Chicken Sausage Soup with Fennel and Swiss Chard

1 lb. bolito (or pinto) beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large bulb fennel, diced (fronds, too)
6 or 8 large leaves Swiss chard (stalks, too)
4 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 whole head of garlic, peeled and chopped
8 cups water (or better yet, whey left over from cheesemaking)
1 15 oz. can diced Italian-style tomatoes (the juice, too)
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon ground celery

1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons chicken or vegetable soup base (I like Better Than Bouillon)

1 lb. chicken sausage, thickly-sliced (or remove the casing and form little meatballs)

Pick over the beans and remove any debris. Rinse thoroughly, then cover the beans with several inches of water. Let soak for 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain.

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil and saute the onions, fennel, the stalks of the chard (diced), carrots, and garlic until softened. Add to the crock pot. Pour in the drained beans, plus the water or whey, and the can of tomatoes with juice.. Add the bay leaves, cumin, ground celery, pepper, and soup base, and stir. Cook on high for four hours or low for eight (or until the beans are tender).

In the last hour of cooking, add the leaves of the Swiss chard (very thinly sliced=chiffonade) and the pieces of chicken sausage. When the chicken is cooked through, remove the bay leaves, taste to correct seasonings, and serve.

Harvest Bounty Food Swap 2012

Today was my friend Melissa's second annual Harvest Bounty Food Swap at the local co-op. I'm happy to report that attendance doubled from last year, and there were lots of yummy things to trade for, including a lot of raw produce from community gardens. Along with home-canned goods, I came home with cabbage, Swiss chard, winter squashes, Daikon radishes, and a whole bunch of green and purple tomatillos.






























We also had another great potluck. I took my favorite banana nut bread baked in a bundt pan to look fancy, but there were some fabulous dishes that others brought to share. One lady named Carmen brought a delicious shrimp and butternut squash risotto that I simply have to make at home. She even sent me home with an extra bowlful to have for lunch the next day! Wasn't that nice of her? 

The hostess with the most-ess, Melissa, brought an awesome pumpkin pie made from a real pumpkin (not from a can), and the crust was made with lard that she rendered herself. I liked the texture of the pie, and the balance of spice was spot on, not overbearing. Here is her recipe:

Melissa's Pumpkin Pie

About 2 cups pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup half-n-half (Melissa used heavy cream)

First combine the pumpkin and spices, then beat in eggs and gradually add cream. Stir just to combine and pour into blind-baked* crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the tip of a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.

*To blind bake the crust, bake covered with parchment and pie weights at 350 for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden. Cool completely.

But the best dish at the potluck, in my humble opinion, was this amazing Asian kale salad that a woman named Marsha brought. I have recently come around to including this superfood in my diet, but usually only thrown into soups or once in awhile as crispy, oven-baked chips. But I never thought I would enjoy it raw. Boy, was I wrong! This salad is SO GOOD! Y'all have to try it!

Asian Kale Salad

1 bunch kale, ribs removed and sliced thinly or chopped – approximately 1/2 pound chopped (OK to use the pre-cut bagged kale from store, but remove any really fat stem pieces)
1 carrot, peeled and julienned (I used two)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
1 red pepper, diced (I used a large spicy red chile)
2 scallions, chopped (I used a thinly-sliced shallot)

Dressing:
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used four cloves!)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated (about 1 to 2 inch length of ginger root)
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce or teriyaki)
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey squirt of sriracha, optional


Garnishes:
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds/pepitas (I used 1/2 cup!)
1/8 cup toasted sesame seeds

1. Combine all veggies and craisins in a very large bowl.
2. Prepare dressing by mixing all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir well and mix in all the items.
3. Pour dressing over veggies in bowl. Toss well. Let marinate at least 15 minutes.

Follow-Up (10/15/12): If you have leftover kale salad, it will wilt after being in the fridge for a day. It's still good like that (just with a softer texture), but another idea is to use it to make a delicious fried rice!

Kale Fried Rice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar snap (or snow) peas
2 cups Asian kale salad
2 eggs
salt  and pepper
4 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
squirt of sriracha

In a large skillet, heat the oil and stir-fry the sugar snap or snow peas for a few minutes Add the kale salad to another section of the pan just to warm it up, and crack in two eggs, cooking them until just barely set. Add four cups of cooked rice, and the soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, sesame oil, granulated garlic, and sriracha. Toss everything together and continue to cook until everything is heated through.

Save us all from.....THE ZUCCHINI!

On their vacations, most people would head for the nearest beach with a book from their summer reading list. But not me, Crazy Canning Lady! Already this week, I've managed to produce 11 jars of the much-heralded blueberry-lime jam, and five pints of.....wait, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. First, my typically lengthy exposition.

I have had a long-standing belief that there should be city ordinances regulating the planting of zucchini each year. I think one plant per neighborhood is all that should be allowed. But we all seem to feel it necessary to plant several "hills" of different varieties, and then by late summer, the sinister summer squashes creep inside our houses and threaten to smother us all in our sleep! No matter how often you harvest, another full-grown squash miraculously takes the place of the one you picked the day before. And if you don't pick them one day, they are the size of RV's by the next! So this year, with the farmers' market baking and canning consuming all of my time, I decided just to plant tomatoes and peppers, and nothing else. But let me tell you, the only thing worse than having to contend with your own prolific squash plants is making the mistake of telling people that you didn't plant any this year, and then being DELUGED with their "gifts" of zucchini.

Initially, I was quite grateful, as I do bake zucchini bread weekly for the market, and it kills me to have to BUY zucchini. But now that the harvest is in full swing, I am DROWNING in it! This week, I had a big cardboard boxful of a yummy, light-green, ribbed variety dropped at my back door (thanks to Kelly and Dana, my friends/colleagues/neighbors/fellow carpoolers), and a huge basketful of monster-sized organic black beauties given to me at the farmers' market by Ruthie, the cheese vendor in the stall next to me. (I gave her some red currant jelly in return, which I think was an excellent trade.) I saved a few of the smaller squashes just to eat with our dinners this week, and it took me several hours yesterday to peel, core and shred the rest. I ended up with 21 pint-sized bags for the freezer (no more room left in there!), and still had ten cups left over. But I took that as a sign from on high, because ten cups is the perfect amount to make a batch of zucchini relish. What's that, you say? Zucchini relish? Yes, indeed, it's good stuff! You use it anywhere you might use regular pickle relish, say on a burger or hot dog, or stirred into potato or macaroni salad. Or you could use it as a zesty condiment for any grilled meats or fish. Some folks love it so much, they eat it straight from the jar with a spoon!

A quick Google search will yield a legion of recipes for zucchini relish, but I was struck with how similar most of them are. Then again, I suppose to make a shelf-stable product, you would have to maintain basic proportions of ingredients. But I do think you can be a little creative with your relish, as long as those proportions are generally maintained. As for me, I worked with two recipes that were nearly identical, one from my dear friend Kurt's mother, Muriel, and one from the GardenWeb's Linda Lou, of the apple pie jam fame. I particularly liked that Muriel adds carrots to hers, giving the resulting product a lovely confetti look and sweeter taste. Linda Lou's, on the other hand, has extra onion for more kick, and I love the addition of celery seed, one of my favorite spices.

However, there were several places where I parted company with both Muriel and Linda Lou. Though Linda Lou uses less sugar than Muriel, I really wanted a relish that was not too sweet. (As you may recall, with cucumbers, I like sour dills, not sweet pickles or even bread-and-butter varieties.) In my review of recipes online, I saw recipes with as little as three cups of sugar all the way up to six cups. So I opted for the low end on the sugar. Also, instead of a regular green pepper, I swapped out hot peppers (anaheims, jalapenos, serranos and super chilis) instead for some punch. In the same vein, I also added a few cloves of minced garlic, as is my way. And though both Muriel and Linda Lou (and many others out there) call for it, I simply cannot support the addition of nutmeg to this relish. Some people swear by it, that it makes the relish truly special, but I am just not a big fan of nutmeg in savory applications. As a final note, I should mention that I peeled my zucchini before grating it, but you might choose not to. It certainly makes a prettier relish if you don't peel it. But peeled or not, if your zucchini are large, you will definitely want to remove the spongy core and the seeds, neither of which are good eats. Anyway, that's why my relish isn't green but looks more like a sort of golden sauerkraut (due to the tumeric and mustard seed and maybe a little from the carrots). Actually, I suppose you could use cabbage instead of zucchini, if you were so inclined, but that would make it chow-chow, wouldn't it? Ok, ok, enough nonsense. On to the recipe:


Zucchini Relish
(an homage to Muriel and Linda Lou)

10 cups zucchini, peeled or not, cored, seeded and either ground (who has a grinder anymore?) or shredded (which I much prefer)
3 cups onions, peeled, ends removed and grated or finely chopped
2 cups carrots, ground or shredded
1 red pepper, seeded, cored and finely chopped
1 cup mixed hot peppers, seeded, cored and finely chopped (or one green pepper if you're a wuss)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
5 tablespoons canning/pickling salt
2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons mustard seeds (I used yellow--brown would be spicier)
2 teaspoons celery seeds
3/4 teaspoon tumeric

Combine all of the shredded/chopped vegetables with the salt in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain very well. (Some people choose to rinse the mixture to remove more of the salt, but I like my pickled relishes a little on the salty side!)

Bring the vinegar, sugar, and spices to a boil in a large stock pot. Add the drained zucchini mixture, stir well, and bring back to a vigorous boil. Some recipes call for up to 30 minutes of simmering the relish, but I think it gets too mushy and colorless if you cook it that long. I would opt for 10-15 minutes until much of the liquid evaporates and the mixture just starts to thicken. Pack in hot, sterilized jars (using that plastic stick thing that came with your canning kit, or any non-metallic spatula, to remove air bubbles from the thick relish). Process in a boiling water bath, 10 minutes for half-pints, and 15 minutes for pints. As with all pickled products, let the flavors develop for at least a month before opening and consuming.

Yield: 5 pints