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!

pumpkin pie muffins with cream cheese filling

One of my favourite pies is a moist and flavourful pumpkin pie. I loved it as a kid and I love it as an adult. In the fall, closer to Thanksgiving (in Canada!) and Halloween you can easily find the 2 for $5 pies at Safeway or any local grocery store. As a child I loved those... as an adult, not so much. The crusts are moderately better than cardboard and the flavour of filling is, ok. A few years ago for Thanksgiving I found a recipe from somewhere on the internet that was a combination of pumpkin, maple syrup and cayenne pepper (yes, really). I'm not here for Thanksgiving this year, but that won't stop me from enjoying the bounty of pumpkin season...even if it has to come from a can (shhh... don't tell).

I wanted a pumpkin muffin that was rich and moist, and felt like a treat to eat. Stuffed with an gooey cream cheese filling, and topped with pumpkin seeds (which I didn't have so substituted walnuts instead) and a little brown sugar. As these baked the apartment smelled wonderful. Settle in with a cup of tea, wrapped in a blanket on the patio on a cool afternoon, and it is a lovely way to take a time out from the busyness of life.

Muffin Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 x 14 oz can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking soda

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp butter
(you could easily half this and have less cream cheese filling in the muffin, that would be Pete's preference, I like the ooey gooey cream cheese filling)

Topping Ingredients
Small handful of chopped walnuts are pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
   
2. Lightly grease a muffin pan and line with muffin liners (I like to grease the pan even though I use the liners so the muffin tops don't get stuck to the pan)
3. Combine filling ingredients until smooth, set aside.
   
4. Combine eggs, oil, and pumpkin until smooth.
5. Stir together dry ingredients and add to the wet.
6. Fill muffin tin 3/4 of the way with batter.
   
7. With two spoons, use one to create a well in each muffin and the other to drop in about a teaspoon of the cream cheese filling.
8. Top with pumpkin seeds or walnuts and a little touch of brown sugar.
   
9. Bake for about 20 minutes. Test the doneness by inserting a toothpick or skewer into the muffin part of the muffin (not the cream cheese part).
   
10. Allow to set for about 15-20 minutes, this allows the cream cheese filling to settle a little more so that the muffins don't tear apart.
    

Makes 18 good sized muffins.

gummy creations

August is always a crazy month for me. Getting ready for classes to start again, and for the return of students I still am amazed how fast the month flies by. So while I haven't been posting, I have been busy, and busy with lots of food related stuff.

We went to the family reunion in the Okanagan, and brought back with us, some peaches, pears, cherries, tomatoes and peppers...and so I have been busy canning some new stuff (to be posted later when I get a decent picture of the jars in natural light).

As I was sitting at the table looking at the freshly canned Roma tomatoes, I started to think about how I could have walked about 50 feet to the little grocery store practically out my door and picked up a tin of tomatoes for a measly buck something, there is something so satisfying doing it myself.

Then, as it often does, my mind wondered away and I started thinking about random things I could try to make from home.... I am not sure if anyone has ever watched "How It's Made", but it tends to be something that catches my attention, perhaps because it helps me think about how I could make things that we so often run out to the store to buy. I just love the challenge of trying to make something at least once...and so came the ah, ha moment when I thought, why don't I make my own gummy candies. Truly I have never desired to do it, but I figured the kitchen is already a mess, why not!? The result is below... not exactly the same as the junk you can buy at the corner store, but still kind of fun. We made the recipe below twice, first raspberry flavoured and then lime. I'm looking forward to trying to make these with my nephew!

Ingredients:

1 package flavored jello
6 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, mix both the flavored and the unflavored gelatin.

2. Stir the gelatins up. Pour cold water in mixture and stir with a spatula until you have a gloppy-chunky blob not unlike play-doh.

3. Turn heat stove top burner on medium and melt blob.

4. Stir the blob constantly until melted.

5. Spray molds very lightly with a vegetable spray like Pam.

6. Pour the melted mixture into miniature bear molds, or other small candy type molds.

7. Place filled molds in freezer for 10 minutes to cool.

** I don't have candy molds but I do have silicon shapes ice cube trays from Ikea...and as a result, flowers and puzzle pieces. Voila!

Recipe from Marianne Dambra

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!