a day of canning

One of my favourite things about the fall is the ensuing harvest!

Yesterday was our second annual canning extravaganza. A group of my friends come together, everyone bringing bits and pieces for the day and then we mass produce our preserves and split everything at the end. Last year we canned Spicy Pickled Beans, Peaches, Hot Pepper and Garlic Jelly (courtesy of Fiber at 28 cooks) and a variety of jams. Now we loved everything but the jam. Collectively as a group we don't eat enough jam to warrant the volume we created...and truly you can only give away so much!

This year we repeated the pickled beans, and garlic jelly (too late for the peaches in our part of the world) and added garlic dill pickles to our repertoire. The most time consuming part of the day was pealing the garlic. Other than that, we were fairly efficient and were pleased with the results. Special thanks to Brent for playing photographer!

Below are all the recipes we used and the quantities that we used to make enough for 4 couples (no kids!).

Spicy Pickled Beans Ingredients

20 x 500 mL jars
9 lbs Young green beans
20 long, thin red chilies (cut into eighths)
80 large Garlic cloves (4 per jar)
1/4 tsp per jar Peppercorns (white, black, green or a mixture)
1/4 cup loosely-packed fresh dill sprigs per jar
12 + 1/2 cup water (12 ½ cup)
12 + 1/2 cup white vinegar (12 ½ cup)
1 1/4 cup table salt

Directions

1. Trim and strings from the beans. Rinse well and set aside.
2. Peal and prepare garlic, slice hot peppers (make sure to wear gloves, nasty burns can ensure if you aren't careful!)
3. Sterilize jars and lids in not quite boiling water. When jars are cool enough to handle, fill each upright with beans until they are snug. Insert chilies and garlic cloves (preferably around outside so they can be seen). Divide peppercorns and dill among jars.
4. Separately bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil in a non-reactive sauce pan. Ladle the hot brine over the beans leaving about 1/2-inch head space.
5. Wipe jar edge clean and screw on sterilized lid and band according to manufacturers instructions.
6. Process in a boiling water bath for 12 minutes (no more, or you get soggy beans!). Remove and allow to cool completely at room temperature away from drafts.
7. Check lids to make sure proper seal has been attained.
8. Store for at least six weeks before using to allow flavours to develop. - YUM - so good with Caesars or just on their own.

Hot Pepper and Garlic Jelly
30 x 250 mL jars

6 red bell peppers, minced
4 cups fresh mix hot peppers, chopped
2 cups minced garlic
6 cups white vinegar
24 cups sugar - I know that is so much!
8 tsp cracked black pepper
4-5 pkt liquid Certo (4 for a more liquidy jelly and 5 for a little more strength to it)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in large saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring often - watch though, because once this comes to a boil, it is a little temperamental.
2. Boil for 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and add Certo. Stir well.
3. Pour into sterilized jars and cover with prepared lids to seal (specific canning instructions are below)

*The easiest way to can is this - wash and dry canning jars thoroughly. Place lids and rings in a pot of barely simmering water. Once jelly is ready, fill a jar, leaving about a 1/4" headspace. With tongs, remove lid and ring from water, place on jar, and tighten, although not all the way. Turn jar upside down on a dishtowel. Repeat with remaining jars. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Turn upright and allow to seal. Tighten rings on all jars. If any of the jars don't seal, simply store in the refrigerator once cool. The other jars can be stored in a pantry for 8 months to a year, if it lasts that long.

A special thank you to Fiber for this great recipe. It is amazing with crackers and cheeses, mixed in cream cheese as a dip, my mom even uses it with sausage rolls. I imagine spring rolls would be nice with it too!

Garlic Dill Pickles
28 x 1 L jars

30 lbs fresh pickling baby cukes
13 1/2 cups vinegar
45 cups (11 Litres + 1 cup) water
3 3/8 cups pickling salt
10 Bunches of dill
Bowl of peppercorns (1/4 tsp per jar)
140 peeled whole garlic cloves

Directions:

1. Sterilize canning jars in a hot oven.
2. Scrub cucumbers in cold water until clean.
3. Bring a large vat of water, enough to cover all the cucumbers, to a boil.(I think we used about 30 Liters to cover up the cukes in the sink).
4. Pour boiled water over cucumbers in a well cleaned and rinsed sink and let sit for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile peel garlic, set aside peppercorns, clean and separate out dill bunches.
6. In another pot add vinegar, water, salt to a boil - DO NOT over boil or salty pickles will be had by all
7. Pull hot jars from oven and to each jar add a handful of dill (or more if you like dilly-ious pickles),5 cloves garlic, and peppercorns.
8. Tightly pack jars with hot pickles - this turned into a race for us and was lots of fun to see which way worked best!
9. Fill each jar with hot/boiling brine (~2 cups per jar), leaving 1/2" headspace.
10. Adjust lids/rings and seal tightly - no processing needed.

A big thank you to my good friend, Tlell for this recipe she has shared. She and her mom make these pickles and as a receiver of such a nice treat, I must be sure to pass along credit where credit is due!

daring baker's challenge: lavash crackers + dips

This has to be a record fast post. First of all I am up against the clock deadline of the Daring Bakers Challenge to post today. Second of all, we had company surprise us and drop in (and they are still here!) I'm not very good with that. I like notice and to feel prepared. It's not even making sure the house is tidy, it's just my mindset...

Anyhow as I write this the crackers are baking. This month's challenge was Lavash Crackers, a first for the Daring Bakers, courteousy of bakers from the "alternative baking list", Natalie from Gluten A Go Go and Shel of Musings From the Fishbowl teamed up to bring us a two-part challenge. After months of rich cakes, and involved recipes, this was lovely. Quick easy and you have everything you need in your pantry. The second part of the challenge was to create a topping or dip that was vegan friendly. Because I am up against the clock, I had to make something quick and easy (sorry!) and insert hummus. Yum!

For a great look at lots of delicious savoury niblets check out the Daring Baker's Blog Roll. And for the recipe, visit Natalie (Gluten A Go Go) and Shel (Musings From the Fishbowl). One thing I have noticed about this recipe is that the thinner you can roll the dough, the better it is. I thought I had rolled it out enough, but I just peaked in the oven and it resembles pita more than crispy crackers. Over at A Whisk and Spoon, she suggested rolling the dough with a pasta machine on the setting for lasagna - BRILLIANT! Now if only I had a pasta machine... next time, more muscles!

(worst picture ever!)

Hummus Ingredients
1 can drained chickpeas
1/4 cup tahini paste
5 cloves of roasted garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp sour cream (not necessary, but a nice touch if you are ok with making this non-vegan)
salt to taste

Directions:
Take all ingredients, blend until creamy and ready to eat in a food processor. And you are done!

chorizo mussels

Every summer I have a few seafood kicks. Living on the west coast, there is an abundance of delights from the sea. A few months ago there was the Spotted Prawn Festival in Vancouver...fresh fresh fresh meaty prawns, cooked simply either steamed or grilled and a little garlic butter - delish!

Today after work I wondered down to Granville Island, visited our favourite fish shop and picked up a few pounds of mussels and wild coho salmon fillets...and out of it we had a tasty summer seafood fest.

Here is our appetizer: chorizio mussels - the heat was delayed, using fresh chili's would have a stronger intense heat, the chorizo was more subtle.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 diced yellow onion
1 Roma tomato diced
3 cloves diced garlic
1 pinch salt
1 large chorizo sausage, sliced
1 Tbsp chili flakes
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup vegetable stock
2 lbs mussels, cleaned - only use tightly closed mussels
1/3 cup heavy cream
4-5 basil leaves

Lots slices of crusty bread

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot (I used a dutch oven)
2. Add to garlic, onions and salt to the pot, sauté until they begin to sweat, do not let brown
3. Add chorizo sausage and chili flakes, sauté for about 2 minutes, stir occasionally
4. Add tomatoes, allow to warm through
5. Add white wine and vegetable stock - bring to a boil
6. Add cleaned mussels, cover and let steam for approximately 5 minutes
7. Once the majority of all the mussels have opened, remove from heat.
8. Transfer mussels to a large bowl, leave sauce in the pot.
   
9. Add heavy cream, bring to simmer and allow to thicken - about 2 minutes.
10. Take all but one leaf of the basil, tear and add to pot, stir and pour into bowl with mussels.
11. Garnish with remaining leaf.
12. Serve with bread - use it to absorb all the tasty broth
    

NB: Only eat the mussels that have fully opened - the other's should be tossed.

crab wonton crisps

A friend of mine is getting married and we had a bridal shower for her this weekend. I love the opportunity to try new things at such gatherings, though I am sure most people prefer to try something new when it is just them - and not 15 other people! C'est la vie.

I love crispy wontons as an appetizer, and crab is tasty! I also love quick appies that can be prepared the night before, and then assembled just before needed. This is a combo of several different recipes I have tried over the years, and thought worked out pretty well - AND they look fancier than they actually are!

Ingredients:
24 square wonton wrappers
2 x 6 oz cans of crab, drained
4 oz softened creamcheese
3 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
cooking spray

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
   
2. In a medium sized bowl combine: crab, creamcheese, 2 green onions, Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
   
3. Spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
4. Gently place a wonton wrapper in each cup, and press down.
   
5. Divide crab mixture, evenly amongst the 24 cups. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through.
   
7. Top with remaining green onion slices. Serve warm.

You can make filling the day before and then bake just before they are needed.

raincoast crips

Savory or sweet? Hmmm... I like both and that is why I think these little crisps are pretty great! Lesley Stowe makes these Raincoast Crisps that are fantastic. These crackers (?) come in lots of different flavours, but Fig and Olive are my favourite. They are great to have on hand for company, and at the holidays.

The recipe below is more like the original - nutty. They are a great accompaniment to a cheese platter, goat cheese, spicy garlic jelly, smoked salmon, Parmesan artichoke dip - whatever tickles your fancy! Anyhow, they get a little pricey at $7-$9 per box. Terra Breads has their own version that are a few dollars less, but I was convinced we could make them at home, I just wasn't entirely sure how... in pops Google (how much do I love the internet sometimes?!) So the recipe below is not mine. It is from Vitamin V - the only change is that I didn't have any pecans at home, so in went slivered almonds instead. Really, I think you could substitute any time of nuts and seeds in this - gotta love recipes like that?

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white flour
1/4 cup flax or wheat germ
(I used flax seeds)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped (I used slivered almonds,chopped)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp blackstrap molasses

Directions:

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl together - set aside
   
2. In a saucepan for less than a minute, warm up buttermilk and molasses (just long enough to combine molasses and buttermilk)
3. Gradually add wet ingredients to dry until dough just starts to hold together (you may not need all the liquid or may need a pinch more flour)
   
4. Roll as thinly as possible between two sheets of parchment paper (if you think you have rolled thinly enough, roll a little bit more, I would have preferred them to be just a bit thinner) and bake on a cookie sheet in low oven (250 degrees) for one hour
5. After 30 minutes,take off top sheet of parchment paper*
6. When one hour is up,turn off oven with crisps still inside and forget about them - 5 hours or so.
   
7. After the crisps have sat in the oven and are fully cool and crisp, you will have a sheet of perfect crisps to break into bite-sized pieces.

* I think that you could score the crackers at this point with a sharp paring knife, this would give you some clean break lines...Or, if you want it organic you could just break into bite-sized pieces like I did.

There are a few other recipes out there that I found that may be worth trying too:

• Rosemary Raincoast Crisps
• Cranberry-Rosemary Seed Crackers * different baking method

yam fries + chipotle mayo

These make a great snack, appy or side. I think they are best to make when your other mealtime tasks are minimal. I know that deep frying is so bad for you, but everyone once in a while right? All good things in moderation!

Ingredients
2-3 small yams
3 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
6 cups water

3/4 cup mayo
2 cloves roasted garlic
juice from one lemon
2-4 chipotle peppers

Directions:

1. Bring water a boil
2. Heat oil to about 375 degree F
3. Peal, wash and slice up yams
4. Boil yams for about 1-2 minutes
5. Strain yams, do not rinse, and lay out on towel to absorb extra moisture
   
6. Carefully fry a handful of yams for about 2 minutes, remove and let drain on paper towel
7. Fry remainder of yams
8. Fry up yams in similar fashion a second time, this time let batches fry for about 4-5 min until golden brown
9. Drain yams on a paper towel
10. In a bowl, add yams and toss with salt and Cajun spice.

To make the chipotle mayo, in a food processor combine mayo, roasted garlic, lemon juice and chipotle (to taste).

Enjoy!