Suburban Homestead

Forgotten Birthdays, and Half-Birthday Make-Ups

I used to love throwing kiddo birthday parties. Oh, to dream-up a cute themed party. Not much was more fun for me in those early years of motherhood. ;-)

So many hours were spent, dedicated to the cause!  Looking back now I wonder if I should have chosen sleep instead. After no. 2, I started having *celebration guilt*, seeing as Beanie is a Christmas baby, and not likely to receive the hoopla her big brother had. So we started celebrating half birthdays, not because I wanted to be annoyingly over-the-top, but simply for fear that no. 2 would say she felt forgotten. No gifts, no friends. Just the family, a tiny cake and a nod of acknowledgement. I won't tell you it wasn't cute. 

Then one year, both the big kids specifically requested no party with friends. I was beside myself with disappointment. I couldn't make them want a party if I tried, and trust me, I did. So I let it go, and for two plus years we had simple, family-only celebrations. (I had no idea how lucky I was.)

But this year, the winds changed again, and all the kids requested parties. You'd think this would make me happy. Instead, it gave me anxiety. My love of kiddo birthday parties had dried-up like California's water reserves. At one point I realized it was two months after Christmas and I STILL had not done anything for the seven-year-old. With my right palm to my forehead, I convinced Beanie a half-birthday celebration in warm weather, where we could use the pool, would be soooo much better. She willing agreed, because she's good like that. Which brings us to this week.

We went with a dessert themed pool party. I had the cutest milk-n-cookies pinata (from Whack Pinatas) that I'd bought on a flash sale site and waited for the perfect occasion to pull out. We stuffed it with fun stuff - the ice cream erasers being the cutest! We went to the balloon store and Beanie picked-out her balloons. I found some inflatable desserts for the pool, and we bought all the fixings for ice cream sundaes. 

Yes, kiddie birthday parties can be stressful, but it was so great to see Beanie have a day to feel so special when I often worry that she lives quietly in her big brother's shadow. She doesn't ask for much, and after a year of homeschooling her brother, and giving him so much personalized attention, I can definitely see how she might start to feel second fiddle. She loved every minute, wore a smile ear-to-ear, and when it was all over, she even said, "Thank you for my party, Mama. It was the best day ever."

Rainbow Cakes in Jam Jars

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Personally, I'm on the lookout for a rainbow and hoping I get *lucky* with a call from the Genius Bar. I want my computer back!)

I made these little individual cakes last night to surprise the kids with today. Apparently, I *could have* done more. "Why didn't the leprechaun stop at our house last night?" "Why isn't our toilet water green, Mama?" "Why were there no green surprises left in my room last night?!"

Oh, brother.

Here I was, in all my delusion, thinking I was doing so well! ;-)

I fell in love with these desserts when my friend posted pics of this post on Pinterest. I modified mine and made them in 1/2 pint jars instead (I didn't think anyone in this house needed a whole pint of cake). I did use a white cake mix from a box, but drew the line at frosting and made a small batch of buttercream from scratch. Once the jars were fully cooled, I inserted little surprises into the cakes - chocolate gold coins, like I did with last years cake. The kids added their own sprinkles and coin to the top this morning.

I had high hopes for my Weck jam jars shaped like little pots of gold (see this shape, top left of first picture). Unfortunately, as the cake cooled it peeled back from that glass and didn't look so good - the straight jars worked better.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and don't forget to wear green!

This day last year: St. Patrick's Day Surprise Cake

Christmas Brunch

This Christmas morning, we ate the same tart I made last year, only I used my recently-made pomegranate jelly instead of quince. And instead of topping the tart with circular cuts of pie dough, I used *North Pole Animals*.

Of course, there was also eggs, bacon, sausage and coffee. But you can't really form any of those into cute, cold-weather loving animal shapes, now can you. Enjoy your food!

Quince-e-dink

Have you ever seen the inside of a quince before?

Wait...let's back up. Do you even know what a quince looks like on the outside?

People always ask me that - "What is a quince?!"

I got lucky again last week when there *arose* the *opportunity* for me to visit a family friend's house and pick fresh, organic quince and persimmons from her picture-perfect trees. (OK, fine, I rang her up and begged). Both trees serve as stunning focal points in her front yard. Her back yard is a beach on the bay. 

You are correct in allowing your jaw to drop.

Anywho...I'm guessing I grabbed close to thirty pounds of exotic fruit before heading home to make a batch of Little Miss Who's favorite jelly.

When I think of quince, or olives, totally inedible fruits in their purest, raw state, I wonder how anyone ever figured out how to make them edible.

Here's what quince looks like minutes after being cut - brown.

But after all the work is done, quince makes the prettiest colored, and most wonderful tasting jelly. (Click here for recipe.)

As for those persimmons, I took a grocery bags worth home and adorned my windowsills with them, where they could ripen enough for me to puree them for baking.

This day last year: "Getting My *Persimmon* On"

Apple Butter

My MIL recently put my husband's childhood home on the market.  It quickly went into escrow, but before the deal closed, I made one last trip over and stripped her two apple trees clean of fruit for myself and a friend.

The little man and I collected about 30 pounds of apples that day(!!), 21 of which made their way back to our house where I made them into apple butter and sauce. 

Most of the apples had been attacked, in some way, by a bore worm, so I had to painstakingly cut away all the effected areas...but the girls out back got the benefits:

As far as I'm concerned, all things *apple* are relatively easy to make so long as you have a Squeezo Stainer.  No peeling, coring or seeding necessary.  Just cook your fruit down and pass it through the Squeezo for quick and easy separation.  (Woo-hoo! Now you'll have more time for folding laundry...or unloading the dishwasher...bon-bons?)

After the Squeezo, I take the apple sauce, mix it with sugar and spice, and slow cook it overnight until it is the right consistency.

Apple Butter makes the best gifts during the fall and holiday months!

Go here to see my apple butter post from last year:  How You Like Them Apples?!

Italian Staycation - Day 4 - Dry Creek General Store

I adore the Dry Creek General Store. It's just that simple.

Established in 1881, and still going strong 130 years later, this place is the quintessential modern day general store.  Lucky for me, we drive past it every time we leave, and return, to our summer rental.

Their shelves are lined with locally produced treats from the folks at places like Happy Girl Kitchen (the folks who taught me how to can!!!) and Kiki's Treats (chocolate covered graham crackers, anyone?), to name a few.  Mixed in with the edibles are unique gifts that any homesteader would be proud to give, and/or love to receive.

The deli, with it's freshly prepared gourmet foods of locally grown, organic meats and produce, has yet to disappoint. The menu is extensive, the countertop - overflowing, and if you can forgive the less than enthusiastic staff, you're going to really enjoy yourself.

Today we stopped by for lunch and (woops!) ended up staying for dessert: fresh, homemade "Italian donuts".

They were incredible. Much more dense than what we know as an American donut, they came sprinkled with superfine sugar and a hint of citrus.

I was thrilled to spot some jars of my favorite Verde Olive Oil Body Balm by McEvoy Ranch. (It was displayed between a rack of old school candy bars and hardcover coffee-table-worthy books on farm life.)  I grabbed a couple jars to have on hand for future hostess gifts while fighting the urge to purchase the latest edition of Extraordinary Chickens.

My Fig Tree Loves Me

Be still my beating heart...

...it's frickin' FIG season!! 

What is it about the first fruit or vegetable spotted? It just sends us folks into a dizzy spell of excitement. I don't even love figs - but man-o-man, I sure act like I do!

It's time for Fig + Brie Panini's, Carmelized Fig Ice Cream, or my absolute favorite from last year, Fig + Thyme Jam.

The best part about our Mission Fig tree is that this year it is finally big enough that I can sacrafice branches, dripping with fruit, for indoor floral arrangements. I had thought the tree would rest this year, after the bounty is put out last, but no, no. She's going crazy out back and there is, and will be, plenty to spare. 

Here is an arrangement I made last night using fig tree branches, artichokes and lacecap hydrangeas.

Let's Get Canning

It's (kinda-sorta-maybe) beginning to feel like summer.

It is warming, I think we can all agree on that.  However, I'm observing a bank of fog rolling in outside my kitchen window right now and it really has me worried. 

Are we set to have another mild summer like the one we had last year?! 

Ironically, the only place that's screaming out *summertime* these days is the produce isle of Costco with it's mountains of organic berries and grapes.  I found myself there today, staring up at all that fruit and thinking, "Winter is coming, I better get canning!"

And so I bought 8lbs of grapes, 4lbs. of raspberries, 4lbs. of blueberries and 3.5lbs. of blackberries.  I intend to spend the better part of Sunday channeling my mid-western grandmothers and making things like Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Marmalade, Raspberry Jam with Mint and Lavender, and Daddy's favorite, Old Fashion Blackberry Jelly.

Heath Ceramics + Weck Canning Jars

Once we finished touring all the open studios of this weekends ICB building, we bounced on over to Heath Ceramics which is literally, just next door. We just wanted to have a look.

I have always loved Heath - where the lines of *vintage*, *vintage-inspired* and *modern* all just blur into one stunning collection of brilliant ceramic ware.

Their factory store recently began carrying homewares from other companies that share Heath's philosophies, and they've managed to merchandise everything dangerously well.  I was doomed from the second I set foot in store.

I picked up a pound of my favorite Blue Bottle Coffee and some tea towels for the kitchen (both would make great hostess gifts).  But the my greatest find was the incredible collection of Weck canning jars.

How did I not know these existed before? When the German company that makes them has been around for over 100 years and I've been canning for almost 1??

It's like someone read that excerpt from my diary when I wrote, Dear Diary, Why hasn't someone designed some fabulous looking jars for canning yet?"

Ranging in price from $2 - 4.15, these jars are more expensive than Ball or Mason. But if the jars stay in your house and are reused year after year, or if you jar some organic fruit from your garden, or your local farmers garden, and then gift it to someone special, it doesn't really seem like that much.

Needless to say, I bought a crap-load.

Homemade Yogurt

I finally got around to trying my hand at yogurt from scratch - and I'm completely hooked.

My primary motivation in doing so was to reduce our sugar intake, as well as our consumption of plastic containers.  Our refrigerator has always been stocked with Straus' vanilla, cinnamon and blueberry-pomegranate yogurts.  But regardless of being local and organic, these treats pack a mean kick when it comes to sugar - around 25 grams per cup. That's 5 teaspoons of sugar per 8 oz of yogurt!

ACK!!!

So I set out for a little early morning *project* with the four year old, who is this households largest and most unapologetic consumer of all things dairy.

We followed these instructions but found them a bit loooooong and sometimes even a little confuuuuusing to follow.  If you want to give it a shot, read those instructions first... and then make a batch following my CliffsNotes:

1.  Bring 1/2 gallon of (any) milk to 185 degrees in a double boiler.

2.  Remove pot filled with milk (from larger pot) and place in sink filled with ice water. Stir occasionally until temp reaches 110 degrees.

3.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt (aka: *starter*) to the milk and whisk until fully incorporated.

4.  Remove pot from sink and place on top of a heating pad, which is set flat on the counter. Set pad to medium heat.

5. Place lid on pot, drape pot with a dish towel and leave undisturbed for seven hours.

6. Go fold some laundry or eat some chocolate cake.

7. "Ding-ding-ding!" Seven hours has passed.  Remove lid, stir yogurt and put into sterilized glass jars.  Lids on, date on top. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy in the next 2-3 weeks.

8.  Eat plain or sweeten with honey and fruit. (Tons of cinnamon stirred in well is always our favorite!)

The kids didn't even flinch when we made the switch away from the 25 grams of sugar and on to plain yogurt with just honey, fruit and (tons of) cinnamon.  Hard to believe, but true.  I'm definetely going to try to keep our shelves stocked with the homemade version.

In the summertime, this is one of my favorite treats for breakfast: fresh fruit, cinnamon yogurt and my all-time favorite, Vanilla Pecan Granola from the fabulous Rustic Bakery.

Martha Stewart Competition - Entry #2

It's time for my big reveal.  Are you ready?

Introducing...

Quince Jelly Tart with Cinnamon Cream Cheese!

I'm super happy with the way it turned out (and even have some dried jelly on my cheek to prove it!)

Because this contest was a partnership between Martha Stewart and Food52.com, I decided NOT to reinvent the wheel - especially with something as basic as dough - and to just use a tried and true Martha Stewart recipe - her Foolpoof Pie Crust.  (I so hope this doesn't get me disqualified.)

I love that I got to use some of my quince jelly, which I canned in December.  That whole experience with quince, learning about it and cooking with it, caused me to go out and plant my very own quince tree.

Cinnamon cream cheese!  What's more to say? 

What can I say - I'm a designer!  And I care about layout.

Served up on my wedding china.  This is probably the only time I'll use it this year.  That's OK.  I love it just the same.

Mmm, mmm...breakfast doesn't get any better than this! ;)

QUINCE JELLY TART WITH CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE

Ingredients:

- 1 Martha Stewart Foolproof Pie Crust

- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

- 1 egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1-3/4 cup of quince jelly, stirred-up for easier spreading

- 1 tablespoon of sugar for sprinkling

- Also needed are a 10" tart tin with removable bottom and a 2" circle cookie cutter

Directions:

1. Prepare one Martha Stewart Foolproof Pie Crust per instructions. When sufficiently chilled (about four hours), remove the two halves from refrigerator and roll one half out to fit into the tart dish. Trim excess dough from top edge of tin and use to fill in any thin areas around the walls of the crust. With a fork, poke holes in the dough all around the bottom of the tart.

2. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, brown sugar and cinnamon until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes), scraping down sides one time. Add egg and vanilla and mix until just combined.

3. With a spatula, evenly spread cream cheese mixture in the tart shell.

4. With a clean spatula, gently pour quince jelly evenly around the top of the cream cheese, taking care not to mix the two.

5. Roll out second half of dough to about 1/8" thickness and with a circle cookie cutter, cut out approximately 18 circles. Starting at one edge of the tart, and carefully working your way around in a circle, place the circles of dough with one edge touching the outer crust and one edge barely overlapping the last circle. Continue with a second row of circles and finish with one circle in the center.

6. Sprinkle sugar over the top of the dough circles.

7. Bake on the center rack at 350 degrees F for 30 - 35 minutes or until the top of the tart is golden brown.  Let cool completely and serve at room temperature.

Lady Marmalade

If I could be a rock star - any rock star, I would want to be Celine Dion in My Heart Will Go On Christina Aguilera in "Lady Marmalade".  Seriously.

Instead, I'm sitting here in my flannel, sushi pajamas (say "jammies") - a botched batch of orange and meyer lemon marmalade sits on my counter.

Glamorous, I am not. 

I will not go so far as to post a recipe that almost worked because at the end of the day, it was a pretty poorly written recipe. Granted, the botched part is entirely my fault - having burned the sugar and fruit while changing a poopy diaper.  But whatever, the fruit was free from a neighbors yard and the pictures still paint a memorable afternoon, so here goes.

Pickled Garlic

If you grow your own garlic at home, then this is probably not the recipe for you.

But in case you know of an ethnic market where you can get pounds of fresh peeled garlic, then you might want to give these a try. (Or just have all of us over for dinner and I'll bring you a jar).

Brining Olives - That's a Wrap!

So I'm down to the last few tasks on my 2010 to-do list.

#122,567 - Wrap-up the whole olive brining experience on blog.

So here goes.  I am actually all done with brining my olives at this point, and happy to say so.  To date, that was the most annoying, time consuming homesteading project. I followed the guidelines from this book, but now I'm thinking the author *may* have left out a part like - 'dump your moldy brine everyday and refresh your solution.'  I dunno... just a thought.  At some point, I came across a comment by an olive guru stating you should NOT have mold in your brine. That was enough to get me to toss six pounds of homegrown olives into the composter and to start all over. From then on out, I referenced the more clearly written guidelines set by The Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis.  For the most part, I had success.

When I went back out into the yard (in late October, was it?), I found this - my olives had begun to mature and turn purple.

I thought these olives were all so beautiful together in their little bowl. What I didn't realize at the time (because I still had no idea what I was doing) is that you don't keep your green olives with your purple olives because the different colors take varying lengths of time to brine. Maturing olives should be divided into about five different color groups. (I'm not even sure I have that many bowls so I just simplified matters and divided them into two.)

Here goes brining olives, Round 3. 

Instead of making an individual slit in each olive, as I did in the first go-round, I decided to get *rustic* on this batch and hammer each fruit open. A bit more messy but I loved the raw quality.

Always, always get the kids involved!  If nothing else, it's just good, cheap, child labor.  Here, Little Miss Frijoles dissolves the salt in water. (You can see our olives are now divided by color.)

Flash forward about two weeks and our olives *seem to be* free of any bitterness and so they are ready to jar. I followed the instructions, and added some seasonings to the mix. I divided the olives into various recycled jars and stored them in the basement.

All of this was done right before Thanksgiving, so naturally, I was eager to try them with the family all together. Everyone did a little (courteous) dance around me, telling me how *neat* they were but that, oh maybe, they might just be....a little bitter.

Ugh.

But for some reason (like I'm cheap), I never tossed them and instead brought them out again for Christmas dinner.  And wouldn't you know it - totally different product, and totally awesome homegrown olives!  Just that little extra time in the brine made all the difference and I'm back to looking forward to a 2011 full of olives.

Quince Jelly + Membrillo

This season, I have taken full advantage of my *friends with benefits* - most noteably, the one who has both a quince and persimmon tree in full production.  In all my readings on quince, I have never found a description of a quince quite like the ones on her tree. The fruit is usually said to be like a 'lumpy pear' or even an apple. Hers look more like yellow mangos the size of a small pineapple. The only predictable thing about my friends quince is their intense tropical fragrance. If nothing else, quince can fill your house with the smell of summer in the dead of winter.

The quince is not commonly seen here in the states but appears to be making a comeback with the resurgance of canning.  (Hallaluja!)  It has an incredible story, steaped in ancient history and dating as far back as Asia Minor and the Cradle of Civilization. The Romans and Greeks reveared it, and its jelly is still enjoyed today by the British at teatime.

Only because I had access to quince did I try them. Funny how that works. But the more I learned about them the more I...well...the more I wanted my own damn quince tree!  And so the order has been submitted and I am currently waiting for my bare root quince tree to arrive.

Reading up on the possibiiltes one could explore with six pounds of this facinating fruit, I decided on a recipe for jelly and membrillo provided by a friend.  The results were great. The jelly is such a beautiful shade of light red so it makes a perfect holiday gift. The membrillo is a bit sweet for my palette but when I served it for dinner guests on crackers with manchego, it was praised and then completely devoured.

QUINCE JELLY 

5 lbs. quince
16 cups of water
2 cups sugar to each 2 1/2 cups of quince juice
12 large rose geranium leaves (optional)

Wash quince and chop roughly, including peels and cores.  Place in a heavy-bottom pot with the water and simmer gently for about 50 min, or until soft and pulpy.  Strain through a jelly bag or cheese cloth, making sure to remove as much juice from the pulp as possible.  Measure the juice and return to a clean pan.  You should have about 10 cups. Heat up juice and add appropriate amount of sugar until completely dissolved.
Bring to a boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached, about 15 min. Hot pack into jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

QUINCE MEMBILLO

Take all the fruit pulp left in the cheese cloth and put it in a pot and blend it with an immersion blender. Add 8 cups of sugar and cook about 10 minutes. Flatten out onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment to about 1/2 in. thick. Leave out for about one day and then flip over and leave out for another day. Enjoy a slice or pair it with manchego cheese.

** I divided up my membrillo into small storage containers and froze them for a later date.

Who Knew Pomegranate Jelly Rocked?

A couple years ago, we planted a pomegranate tree after Little Miss showed an interest in this anti-oxidant rich fruit. This year, we only got about six fruits, which is fine - I mean, who really needs more than six pomegranates in one year anyway, right? I've still yet to consume that many in just this lifetime.

But last week I was at Costco, of all places, and just happened to notice a flat of six GIANT, organic pomegranates for $12. Not cheap, but they were HUGE, and they were pomegranates. I dreamed of canning something new and different (what, I had no idea) and so I grabbed some.

I found a very simple recipe in an old-school book on canning and everything sort of fell into place from there.

I juiced the store bought fruit, as well as a couple from our own tree, and got exactly 3-1/2 cups of juice, just what the recipe called for. The pure pomegranate juice was really quite good. Much better than the POM drink you can buy at the grocery store. Go figure.

I put the juice in a pot and dissolved one 1.75 oz pouch of pectin in it and brought the mixture to a boil. I then added (gulp) 5 cups of sugar (organic), returned it to a boil, and let it roll for one minute.

Removing it from the heat I worked quickly to fill sterilized half-pint jars before processing in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

The end result was so good - really, I didn't expect it. To me, pomegranates have always been a bit too tart for my liking, but these GIANT ones from Costco were exceptional. And what's more, the juice-depleted seeds where still worth snacking on, and when we were done doing that, we delivered 3 cups of them to the chickens who went after them like they were living worms. A real win-win for everyone!

Green Tomato and Apple Chutney

I apparently missed the memo announcing November is the new summer here in Northern California.  Seriously, what the heck is going on with this weather?

As I look forward to highs in the 80's this afternoon (!!!), I can't help but mope a bit about having torn out all my tomato plants two weeks ago. Had I not, I might have more green tomatoes to play with today. (Harrumph.)

Green Tomato and Apple Chutney is what I made with my last three pounds and if by chance you can still find three pounds in your garden, I implore you to follow my lead.  This chutney is amazing! After mellowing for two weeks in the basement, I recently opened a jar to discover what is now a new favorite food of mine. All weekend we slathered this on top of French bread and Brie, calling it a meal each time. The perfect blend of sweet and spice, this chutney encapsulates the flavors of the season (--that is the season that we should be having, but aren't because it's still 80 degrees.) Here's how I adapted the original recipe:

In a heavy pot mix the following:

• 3 pounds completely green tomatoes, stems cut out, cut into 1/2" chunks
• 2 pounds apples, peeled cored and cut into 1/2" chunks
• 2 cups raisin, either dark or golden
• 1 1/2 cups diced onions
• 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
• 2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pickling or other fine non-iodized salt
• 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar, plus a little more if needed

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and boil the mixture slowly, uncovered, stirring it often, for 30 minutes. Then add:

• 3 to 4 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons mustard seed
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or 1/4 teaspoon ground hot red Cayenne pepper

Return to a boil, then lower heat so that chutney cooks at a slow boil. Stir often and continue cooking uncovered until it holds a mounded shape when lifted in a spoon. Taste it carefully, remembering that the balance of flavors will improve as the chutney mellows in the jar; add, if needed, more vinegar, sugar, and/or salt.

Ladle the boiling-hot chutney into hot, clean pint or half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Seal the jars with new two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer's directions and process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bat. Cool, label and store the jars. Let the chutney mellow for a few weeks before serving.

Friends with Benefits

You know the kind - they're those really nice people in your life that let you *drop in* any old time and *strip down* their *juicy fruit* trees, expecting nothing in exchange.  Love them!

That's just what my mother's friend did when she let me come to her home and help myself to her quince and persimmon trees. In doing so she delayed me the embarrassment of knocking on the doors of total strangers and asking them if they had any fruit trees I could harvest. This pile of exotic fruits should keep me busy for a while.

Unfortunately, I forgot to do my homework beforehand and so when it came down to picking time,  I had no idea what I was doing.  (No surprise there.)  I came home to discover I had about twenty pounds of unripened fruit. (Sigh.)  The quince should be yellow, and the persimmons need to be soft, before I can make them into sorbets, puddings and jellies. In the mean time, I made some simple but surprisingly decorative arrangements that are filling the house with tutti-frutti goodness. 

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Here is a little pathetic fact about me that you might not have guessed: I have never owned a sharp knife.

It's hard to believe, I know, seeing as I cook as much as I do.  I do own a knife sharpener that I purchased to remedy the situation a couple years back, but it was hardly worth the money spent.  It's been bad. So bad that my own mother carries around an extra set of cooking knives in the trunk of her car (!!!) so that she can have "something decent to cut with" when called to duty at my house.  For nearly five years I have been making mental notes to take my knives to the farmer's market on any given Sunday and have them professionally sharpened. I have never actually remembered...until yesterday!

Amen. Praise the cooking gods. Let's hope I don't end up in the ER with a cut down to the bone.

How did I make it so long without a sharp knife?  It's a whole new experience being able to cut your food before you bruise it. Here's what I did with my newfound freedom and three pounds of unripened, green tomatoes at the season's end:

How excited would you be if you received a little jarred rainbow like this?   For the most part, I followed this recipe but here is how I did it:

Pickled Green Tomatoes

• 2-3 pounds firm green tomatoes, any size will do
• 1 large onion, quartered or cut into 8 pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
• 3-4 bell peppers, mixed colors, seeded and each cut into 6 long pieces
• 6-7 fresh little peppers, halved lengthwise with scissors but left attached at the stem
• 6 small bay leaves
• 2-3 tablespoons coarsely crushed coriander seeds

Take all the above ingredients and divide them equally among 6 to 7 pint jars, carefully layering vegetables around the inside of the jar and giving consideration to color and texture layout.  (Or not. But I'm a designer so you know I did!)  Make sure everything is packed in snug tight, with a bit of headspace.

The Brine:

• 1-1/2 quart white vinegar 

• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons honey 

• 4-1/2 tablespoons salt
• 3 cinnamon sticks

Bring all brining ingredients to a boil on the stove and make sure honey and salt are completely dissolved. Pour brine into jars, completely covering vegetables and making sure there is 1/2" headspace.  Seal with two part lids and process jars for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. If you prefer not to use the hot water bath, then store in the refrigerator. Let sit at least 10 days before tasting.

 

In two weeks I'll post the taste results in the comment section of this post.

Me and Figs - We Got a Relationship

When should one stop taking pictures of their figs?  When the season is over?  OK then, we just aren't there yet.

So, please, indulge me.  Just look at these pink ladies!

I just purchased a stack of books on homesteading. (I may act like I know what I'm doing, but I don't.)  My favorite one out of the bunch is 'Canning & Preserving', by Ashley English. Since I was a designer in a past life, I bought if for no other reason then I loved the cover.  Now in hand, it turns out to be a beautiful book, page after page.

The best part about this book is that it provided me with my new favorite canning recipe, Fig + Thyme Jam.  Fig + Vanilla Bean Jam is now in second place.  To my surprise, 2-1/2 lbs. of figs ripened on our tree the other day. The green figs you see were grabbed from a neighbors tree with branches hanging into the street and I had to pull 1/2 lb. of frozen figs from the freezer to meet the 4 lbs requirement.  Then I was then off and canning!

This recipe called for considerably less sugar then the last fig recipe, a detail my taste buds appreciated.  The fresh thyme adds a wonderful, subtle flavor that I just love in jams. The recipe was simple to make, the shortest I've done to date.  No wonder it's my new favorite!

Click on the image below to see the recipe at a larger scale.

How You Like Them Apples?!

Yes, I am gloating.  The free, organic apples just keep dropping into my lap and the end result could not smell better.

This week, I gleaned the last five pounds of fruit from my in-laws apple trees. It wasn't quite enough for one batch of apple butter but then I just haaaaaappend to stumble upon a lonely apple tree at a local park - drippin' with red, juicy goodness.  A friend helped me glean that baby and before I knew it, I had another ten pounds.

This photo cracks me up - but what was a girl to do?

This experience in the park has sparked some thoughts for me that I want to give more consideration to - like wasted food and nutrients in the form of rotten fruit on the ground.  Huh? That's just not right. Everywhere I go I see fruit trees in peoples yards dripping with fruit that is just going to go to waste and I'm guessing there are plenty of local institutions that would welcome the delivery of that produce.  But more on that later - let's talk apple butter!

This time last month, I didn't even know what apple butter was.  But getting the opportunity to pick thirty pounds of apples from my in-laws house changed all that.  Now I make it, eat it, give it, sing about it and am about to hit the apple butter lecture circuit. (Well, not really...but for now I'm having fun.)

OH - did you NOT see my new Squeezo?!

Come, in! Come in!!  Let me show you how she works:

 

The book said that the slooooow cooker was the way to go. So that's what I did.   Just take the cooked, pureed apples, add the sugar and spice, heat it up and go about your day...and night maybe.  This batch took almost 22 hours (!!) before it was thick and dark enough to can.

This is what the baby contributed to the effort - silence.  Bless his tiny heart!

There you have it, folks -  your Christmas gifts all lined-up!

"Fig and Vanilla Bean Jam" - Sing it!

To know me is to know I have a fig tree.  And man, do I love that tree.

I'm not even crazy about the taste of stand alone, raw figs, but a full grown fig tree is gorgeous!  Not to mention the internal beauty of its fruit.  Over the years I have done enough sampling of fig recipes that I've got my favorites narrowed down.  Here is one of them: Fig and Vanilla Jam.  It comes from the book 'Preserve It!', probably my all time favorite for preserving.  Great recipes and tons of photos. You can click on the bottom image if you wish to enlarge the recipe page for better viewing.

1-1/2 pounds of black mission figs that managed to escape the raccoons.

Figs, apple, lemon juice and zest plus one vanilla pod. Ready to go!

Preparing the jars for the hot water bath.

Just in time for the holidays, the best gift you could give!

I love a dollop of fig jam on top of brie and crackers.  The jam is the sweetest shade of dark pink and just look - you can see both the fig and vanilla bean seeds.

My favorite book for preserving food.

(Click on the image above to enlarge for better viewing of recipe)

In case you can't clearly read the list of ingredients, here they are again:

1-1/2 lb ripe figs with soft skins, trimmed and cut into quarters

Zest and juice of 1 organic lemon, washed

1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and coursely chopped

1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise

3-1/2 cups granulated sugar

This Little Piggy Made Pickles...

I let the two oldest piggies stay up late last night. Not to eat cake or to watch a movie or anything. No, I just needed help making pickles.

Start to finish it was a pretty magical experience. Daddy was out so I had the piglets undivided love and attention.  It was an artful night, filled with a dream-like sequence of teaching moments.

While I had tried to grow pickling cucumbers this summer I was completely unsuccessful. Not even sprouts from the seeds. But at Sunday's farmer market I came across some giant beauties that were just screaming for vinegar and spices. "Twenty-five cents a piece or five for a dollar".  I took fifteen.  For a total for three dollars spent, I was pretty sure I had beaten the (pickle) system.

Then I had to buy the spices.

Black mustard seeds, yellow mustard seeds, allspice berries, dill seeds, cloves, red chilies, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, bay leaves, black peppercorns, whole coriander seeds and cardamom pods. Oh, and how about 1/2 of one star anise pod - just because it's SO cheap! (Not.)

Three dollars in pickles. Sixty-five dollars in spices.

But just look at that star anise. Magic! I didn't know anything about some of these spices before last night but I'm happy to say I do now.  And so do the piggies. We had so much fun smelling each one of them and talking about what images their scents conjured up for us.  I only wish I could have bottled the crisp, clean smell of the dill mixed with all those spices and share it with you.  But instead, I will just have to leave you with this:

(Pickle Watcher)

Red. Plum. Tomatoes.

I just can't look at seven pounds of tomatoes anymore and get excited.

I'm yawning just looking at this picture. 

No more sauce.  No more ketchup.  No more double batches of soup. Mommy's all done for the fall.  Winters coming and this little squirrel has plenty of red food.

These pretty girls are headed to the deep freezer.  Oh yeah - I said 'freezer'.  Didn't know you could do that did you?  Well neither did I until I read about it in this summers favorite read of mine: "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. Pop them into a freezer bag and put them to rest for the winter.

When January comes and I have absolutely nothing to do with my days, I'll think about making more ketchup.

Brining Olives - Week 2

Last week I tried something I had only dreamed about.  I brined olives.

Our beautiful olive tree has been planted now for about three years and it's covered with tons of fruit.  Online, you can find lots of ideas on how to go about brining olives (imagine that) but most include using lye.  I'm personally not a huge fan of using "dangerous" chemicals in my food, but that's just me.  I opted for the protracted brining process using only water and salt. It's supposed to take 3 - 6 weeks before they are edible. I'm certain they will be worth the wait.

When you first pick the olives they are such a beautiful shade of green. When you go to stir them a week later, they are not so beautiful. Here's what they looked like today:

After I snapped this shot, I drained it, rinsed them and remade a new brining solution.  They are now tucked away in the damp, dark basement for one more week before I go down there to scrape off any 'moldy matter' that might be floating on top. Seriously.

But wait - there's at least nine more pounds of olives on our tree and the holidays are just around the corner.  Let's go kiddos!

Ketchup with a kick!

I was desperate yesterday.  With 7 lbs. of freshly picked tomatoes on my hands, and a handful of botched tomato-canning projects in my past, I was starting to panic. The only canned tomato recipes that intrigued me required no less than 30 lbs. of produce. The only recipes I could use, just sounded awful. I had taken a risk once, with a recipe we'll call 'Tomato - Basil Jelly', and I just wasn't willing to go back there for reasons that should have been much clearer from the start.  So far, my greatest successes with tomatoes had come by making simple tomato sauces and just freezing them. Not so bad, I know.

Then I came across a recipe for ketchup in one of my favorite new canning books. "Why bother?", I thought initially.  "I have that huge, squeeze tube of ketchup from Costco anyway. Let me make something more useful...Wait, I don't need anymore red sauce. Fine, let's make ketchup."

It's amazing what 5 1/2 lbs. of tomatoes can boil down to. Three half-pint jars, to be exact.  And so when I was there, stirring the near empty pot, waiting for *thick* to happen, I once again began to doubt the tomato. So much waiting for home-grown organic produce, so much preparation and so little payback.

Then I tried the finished product.  And damn me and a my dirt patch if it wasn't the best darn ketchup I've ever had.

Enough said. Everyone start making your own!