Chocolate Cherry Jam

I bought some cherries when they were on sale last week. Ive been nibbling them on and off. But somehow I never finish a bag and I hated to waste them. My bf doesn't like cherries. I finally got around to pitting them tho and wasn't sure what to do with them. I was going to just freeze them and maybe use them for jam later on. But then I remembered seeing a chocolate/cherry type jam somewhere online. I couldn't find it so I decided to make my own with what I had. I was completely out of pectin tho  and wasn't going to the store just for that. Jam doesn't need pectin of course but I like to use low/no sugar pectin because I try to reduce the amt. of sugar I eat. I often have it with my yogurt in the mornings.

But jam can just have sugar and be cooked down till thickened, that's the old fashioned way. Cherries are low acid fruit too so I knew I needed to add lemon juice. And I had cocoa powder here so I figured I had all I needed to make this. I got 3 half pts from this amt. I decided to can small jars since I'm the only one that would eat it. And I thought this would be heavenly on ice cream. I was right. I left the cherries whole which I love but next time I make this I think Ill chop them up just a bit. This way they would be spread more evenly thru the rest of it. But I really liked this and may make more just to keep on hand throughout the yr.

Chocolate Cherry Jam  Made 3 half pts.

2 1/2 c. pitted cherries
2 tb. lemon juice
1 3/4c. sugar
1/4c. Ghiardelli cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla

 I first pitted the cherries. I have a cherry pitter but it squirts juice and makes a mess so I tried a new way that I saw online. It works great. You get a narrow necked bottle like a beer bottle, one small enough that the cherry wont fall in and a chopstick. Put the cherry on top of the open empty bottle and stick the chopstick thru it. It should push the pit right out and into the bottle. (how cool is that, all the pits contained so you can just toss it out). It goes pretty fast and makes minimal mess.

 Put the cherries and lemon juice into a pot and bring to a boil. Add the sugar and cook for about 20min. It should start to be getting thick. 

 Once it starts to get thick, add the cocoa powder and stir well to dissolve in the mix. Let cook another 10-15min. till as thick as you would like. Remember it will get thicker as it cools. Stir in the vanilla. 

Pour into jars and water bath, 10min. 

Peach Honey

I read long ago about making something called Peach Honey from the peels of Peaches. And so since I can peaches each yr cuz they are my most favorite fruit, I saved the peels in the freezer till I had time to do something with them. Im glad I did. I'm still not sure what Ill use this on but its tasty. Would be nice on pancakes or waffles or used on ice cream or cakes. It does taste rather honey-like and it does taste of peaches too.

I compared some honey to this and honey does have a more distinctive taste but that could be the honey I use too. I buy a Blackberry honey from a local guy. But this is very similar and the texture if you reduce it down enough is just like it too. So I could see me doing this more often and with other fruit. I bet others would taste yummy too. However it does use sugar and if you dont use it.....you wont be able to make this. Its the reduction of the sugar with the liquid that makes that syrup consistency. (I read that you could use honey too but you would need quite a few cups of it so that makes it quite pricey for people to make.)  Im not sure that it would work with anything else. But then this is a treat, not something you would use all the time so I figured some sugar wont hurt me.

There's not many ingredients and not much work. The hardest part is straining the juices.

Peach Honey (amount depends on how much juice you get) 
Peach peelings saved from lots of peaches (I had about two cases worth of peaches these were saved from)
Water to cover the peelings + plus more to keep it covered if it starts to evaporate.
Sugar...half as much sugar as fruit juice.

Put peach peelings in a large pot and cover with water. You want them to cook awhile till they are very soft and the water has flavor. I tasted it as I cooked it. It wont taste great but it will taste peachy. I wanted to extract as much peach flavor as possible so I let it simmer till it reached a flavor I liked.

Don't be disappointed by what you taste, the sugar will improve it. In fact what I did was take a tiny bit of juice in a spoon and put a little bit of sugar in that same spoon and mixed it, then tasted it. It helped me decide when it had enough peach flavor and when it was ready. ...maybe an hr or so. 

Strain the juices. First I strained all the lg. pieces out so there was only cloudy juice left. Then I strained it again in a strainer lined with coffee filters. This might take some time. I wanted as clear of a juice as I could get. But you do need some bits it in so dont think your making it like a jelly. Its ok to squeeze and push it thru. The tiny bits are what help it be more like honey and hold the syrup consistency. 

Once its gone thru the final straining, measure it as you put it in a lg. pot to reduce. Put in half the amt. of sugar as juice. For instance, I had 5 c. of juice after straining so I added 2 1/2c. sugar to it. Bring to a boil and stir well till sugar is dissolved. Then let it go to a rolling simmer till it reaches the thickness of syrup that you need. I took some out on a spoon and put it in the freezer to get cold. Then I checked the thickness on the spoon. 


The more juice you have of course the longer it will take to reduce. Watch it tho because you dont want it to burn. Sometimes as it reduces it starts to really foam up so lower the heat a bit then. But really its not hard.

When its the thickness you want, can it in some small jars and seal. Water bath for 10min. if you want. I didn't . I did an old fashioned way of turning the sealed jars upside down for 15min. or so then righting them again. The heat seems to seal them and I hear the tops pinging as it does. Some say this isn't good to do tho so which process you use is up to you. I feel there is enough sugar in there to preserve it but if your unsure.....then water bath it.

Fig/Orange Marmalade - low sugar

I got a yummy Christmas present awhile ago but never had a chance to use it. Someone who knows me, knows I adore figs and sent me 3lbs of dried ones. Ive been wanting to make a fig jam with some orange in it for months now. But it wasn't until I made Orange Marmalade that I really felt what I wanted to do would work out good. I never made marmalade before that and always thought it was so complicated. And I never liked the bitterness of it, so I made my own which was not as bitter tasting. In fact it was so good , I'm on the last jar now.

And so I decided to make this like a Marmalade using the whole fruit and the zest from it too. But last time I made the marmalade it was the full sugar recipe. I really wanted to try to make a low sugar one as I often stir this into my morning yogurt or have it on toast. I don't want alot of sugar in the mornings. And so I did it with this recipe. 

 Fig/Orange Marmalade Makes 12 8oz. jars. 
4c. dried figs
3 lg. oranges
6tb. low sugar pectin
3 1 /2c. sugar
Water
Extra Orange juice to even out the measurement when cooked if needed

Remove stems from figs and cut into pieces. I quartered mine but next time Ill chop them smaller I think. I still had lg. chunks of figs that didn't break down. They were soft and could be mashed tho. Toss into 8qt. pot.  

 Next cut off ends of oranges and zest all the skin off with a grater or micro-plane zester. Try not to get much of the white pith. Cut off all white pith on the remaining oranges. Cut in quarters and remove white membranes and hard pieces from the inside. (sometimes the navel looks like another orange growing inside and its hard) Cut the pieces smaller and toss zest and orange pieces into the pot with the figs.

 Cover with water and put on stove. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower and simmer for an hr. The figs will swell and the water level will drop. Try to keep the fruit covered with water by adding more when needed.

When fruit is soft, check to see if the figs can be mashed and either mash them if you want smaller pieces in the mix or do as I did and hit it with an immersion blender a little bit. You don't have to do much, as you do not want it pureed, just breaking down larger chunks.

Measure fruit mixture. It should be about 8 1/2c of fruit and juice. If there's not enough add some Orange juice to make the full amt. (you could just add some water but the juice gives it more flavor) Bring to a boil and whisk in the low sugar pectin. Boil for 2 min. at a hard boil. (Hard boil is one that cant be stirred down.)

 Add sugar all at once and stir in well. Bring to a boil again and simmer for 10min. more.  Pour into hot jars and seal in water bath for 10min. ***This is sweet but not real sweet which was what I wanted. I figured the dried figs would be sweet enough. After cooking it I found they were good but not sweet enough so I added some sugar. Its a nice balance now. You get a tang of citrus but cant always taste it. It just enhances the figs. I think this would make a great filling for jam cookies or linzer type cookies too. And this would make killer Fig Newton type ones for sure.

Sweet Orange Marmalade

My friend made marmalade last week and I watched him. I had never made it before. I don't like the bitterness of marmalade but I do love orange, its one of my most favorite flavors. So I decided after watching him to make some of my own. This is my version and I like it. It has a nice jell to it which set up over night. The color is pretty but it doesn't have big pieces of fruit or zest so its not like some of the classics. However, I opened one this morning and I like it alot. It has a nice orange taste with a bit of bite from the zest but its not bitter. And while you cannot see alot of the fruit or zest in the jar, when using it , you can. I did use regular sugar tho and its a full sugar recipe which I generally don't like. But I felt this probably wouldn't work if I didn't do that. I am considering trying to make a low sugar version one day which will probably be more like a jam.  

I had a few different ideas when making it but decided to just make this plain this time to see if I liked the ratio of tart to sweet. I think another time I might try some grated ginger mixed with the orange while its cooking. Or I'm thinking of adding some whiskey to the finished product before canning. Either one I think would be yummy.

 Sweet Orange Marmalade Makes about 8pts.

10 lg. navel oranges
2 lemons
water
I pkg. pectin
9 1/2c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

 Wash oranges and then cut off the ends, just enough to expose fruit. Using a grater or micro-plane grater, which I used, grate the zest off the oranges in strips as long as your able to make them. You want pieces not gratings. It is much easier to do it on micro-plane lg. hole one like you see in the picture. But it can be done on the lg. holes of a vegetable grater too. Do not grate so hard that you get lots of white pith, but don't grate so light that you don't get any. A little bit is OK so you will have to play around with it till you find what works for you. As you see in the picture this is hardly any pith. When all are zested, set aside.

 Now you want to remove as much pith as you can from the oranges by using a sharp knife and slicing it off, trying not to slice the fruit. It is OK if some remains, it melts away in the cooking somewhat. But you don't want tons of it cuz it will make it bitter. Sort of like the photo you see here.

 Then cut the orange in quarters and take out any pithy stuff inside. Navel oranges often have an end that looks like another orange is starting to grow inside it......and it can be hard. So if it is, remove this too. Then cut the quarters in half and toss in an 8qt. stock pot or larger. 

 When all are cut like this, cover the fruit with cold water and put on the stove to high heat.

 At this point I wash my jars and rings and put them in a 200 degree oven to keep them warm. You can also put the lids in some hot water about 10min. before you are going to can.

 When it starts to boil, add the zest, the juice of 2 lemons and let cook down till the fruit has fallen apart, about an hr.

 When it looks like most of it has broken down, check for any lumps and smash them a bit too.  You want to measure your fruit at this point, you should have 7c. of fruit and juice. I was shy about 1/8th of a cup so I added some orange juice I had on hand. Return measured fruit to pot and at this point add the package of pectin and stir well. Cook to a hard boil. A hard boil is one that even if stirring it , it still bubbles alot. I let it cook about 5 min. Now put 4 spoons into the freezer to use later on for the jell stage.

 Measure out your sugar and add it a bit at a time to the hot pot, stirring it in each time till all is used up. Now you will want to cook this to the jell stage...which can take awhile. Bring this to a boil but don't let it foam up. If it does lower the heat a bit.....you want it bubbling pretty good but not real hard. I tested mine about every 15-20 min. with the cold spoon from the freezer, looking for a good jell.

Take one spoon out and scoop up a bit, put it back in the freezer a minute. Check to see if it has thickened and is making wrinkles if you tilt the spoon. I found mine took an hr of cooking before I hit that stage. So keep checking. Once it gets to that stage, stir in the vanilla, take out your jars and fill them. Wipe the rims, top with lids and rings. 

 My friend didn't Water Bath them, he just filled the hot jars with the hot jam and turned them upside down to distribute the zest and fruit and seal the jars. I did that this time too. However, if you feel safer water bathing, then do it. It jelled fine over nite and all the jars were sealed. 

Processing a big batch of potatoes....

I managed to get my hands on some local organic potatoes. So I had decided to dry all of them until my SIL got a big stash and couldn't use them all up fast enough. I told her they could be canned and since shes been giving me lots of stuff lately and she asked if I would do that. ... I did. I found out I really like them. I tested them this morning when one jar didn't seal and had to be used up. And then I made breakfast burritos and decided that I will use up the rest of my organic potatoes by canning them. This is how I did all of it. 

 Dehydrating potatoes....

I took one bag of my organic potatoes to dehydrate. First you want to peel them all and wash them. I cut them into thick 1/2 in. slices then diced those slices. You don't want them too big because you want them to dry thoroughly. You could also slice them thin to use to make homemade Au gratin.

Then I got a big pot and filled it with water, bring that to a boil. Also get a big bowl of ice water ready. Be sure you have a strainer or colander that you can lift in and out of the water to make it easier to do the blanching. Once its boiling fill the strainer with the cubed potatoes and plunge into the boiling water. Let it come back to a boil then boil for about 4-5 min. Test and when a skewer can be inserted they are done. Do not over cook tho or they will just fall apart.

When they are done, plunge the strainer with the potatoes in the water to cool quickly. Remove and put in a colander on the side so any excess water can drip off. Repeat this process with all of your potatoes. If you don't cook them enough when they dry they will have black spots in them.

Once they are done, layer them on your dehydrator trays, making sure to leave some spaces around them so they dry thoroughly. I set the temp. to 135 degrees and let it run till the potatoes are dry. Mine dried in about 5hrs. but I was going to bed so I shut it off and checked it the next day. Since I live in an area of humidity I ran it the next morning for another hr or so just to be sure. Then you let it cool. Don't seal them in anything until they are cool but don't leave them out too long or they may start to reabsorb humidity in the air. I put mine in lg. canning jars but you could seal them in bags too...but these sometime have sharp edges so you might want to double bag for long term storage.

BTW someone told me they also dry the potato peels if you know they are organic. This gets ground up when dry and can be used to thicken gravies and such. Its good for those who have to be gluten free. Of course if you plan to do this, make sure you scrub all the potatoes well, first. 

Canning Potatoes

I canned what my SIL gave me so she wouldn't lose them. They couldn't use them up fast enough and she knew they would rot. Canning is very easy if you have a Pressure Canner.  I made qts jars for her but for myself I will make pts. since there's only two of us here.

First fill a lg container with water and sprinkle in some salt, maybe a tb. or so.  It depends on how many potatoes your doing. Peel the potatoes and cube into 1in. cubes, you don't want them too small cuz they will get mushy. If your potatoes are small you could can them whole. Soak these cubes overnight. The reason for this is, it helps remove alot of the starch which settles in the jars and makes them look really cloudy. However if you don't care about that, then skip this step.

Next day get your pressure canner ready, your jars and lids. Boil a pot of water because you will add this to the jars.  

 Now fill each jar with the raw potato cubes, shake it well to make room for more. Leave a 1in. space at the top. Put 1 tsp. salt in each jar and then top with the boiling water. Wipe the rim and put on the lid and ring. At this point I tipped the jar slightly and rolled it to try to release any air bubbles then I checked the water level again. If it needs more add it. You need a 1in. space.

When all are filled put in canner and put the lid on. When canner starts to vent, let it vent for 10min. Then put the weight on it and start your timing. At ll lbs. pressure,  40 min. for qts...35 min. for pts. Let cool and remove from canner. Let cool on a towel on the counter overnight, check seals.

Today I checked them and one of the jars didn't seal so I decided to use it up. I made these ....

Breakfast Burritos 4-6 servings

1qt. jar of canned potatoes
1 med. red onion, chopped
4oz of loose breakfast sausage
4 strips of thick bacon
6 eggs, beaten
2 oz cheddar cheese , shredded
S & P
6 lg. burrito tortillas

Drain the potatoes in a strainer and run a bit of water over them to remove excess salt. Heat a pan and cook the sausage and bacon till browned. Remove. Save bacon grease in the pan.  Add potatoes to the pan. If you need more oil to keep from sticking add a bit of butter to the bacon fat. Add the chopped onion and fry till onions are soft and potatoes start to brown. Add meats back to pan. Add beaten eggs and stir well cooking the eggs. Top with cheese and let melt.

Scoop enough of the potato mixture into a tortilla that has been steamed or grilled and roll up . You could add almost anything to these and serve with salsa or anything you like to have your eggs with.

A new addiction - Cowboy Candy

You may have heard of these, they are all the rage in the Canning world this yr. I had never heard of them tho. A canning group I hang out in was always talking about these and saying how incredible they are. Now I like pickled jalapeños so I couldn't figure out why these would be much different. But I kept seeing people raving about them and saying how great they are on sandwiches and burgers. Some would serve cream cheese or goat cheese on crackers and top them with this.

I kept seeing this over and over wherever any one mentioned these things tho so I figured I was missing out on something. I HAD to make some. OMG I'm so glad I did!!! I finally opened a jar tonight. We weren't that hungry so we were just going to have some cheese burgers off the grill here. I make a sauce of ketchup and mayo , sort of a Mickey Ds sauce. And then I sat down to eat and thought, hmmmmm I wonder how those jalapeños would be with this. My bf  never had them before either. He looked skeptical at the jar. And then he saw me try one and I said OMGGGG these are soooo good and I started to pile them on my burger. He tried it and agreed and did the same.

However I was bad. I only made 4oz jars but I kept eating them with the burger and on the burger and half the jar is gone now lol. I did buy more jalapeños tho to make another batch. Ive mentioned these before and friends were already asking me to send them some even tho I didn't know how they tasted. I just knew they were pickled, garlic, sweet jalapeños. Sounded like a nice combo.

When you make this recipe you will end up with a couple extra jars of syrup. Ive read its good brushed on chicken and steaks and things when you grill. I did that with my first batch. This time Ive decided to make this recipe with 5lbs. of jalapeños so Ill have full jars of them and no extra syrup. And I'm going to use fresh finely chopped garlic for more garlic flavor. And I'm going to can pts. of these too. Here's the recipe if you feel adventurous,,,trust me its worth it and  you will NOT be disappointed. 

COWBOY CANDY

• 3 - 5 pounds Firm, Fresh Jalapeno Peppers, Washed
• 2 cups Cider Vinegar
• 6 cups White Granulated Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Turmeric
• ½ teaspoons Celery Seed
• 3 teaspoons Granulated Garlic (or 3 or so tsp. fresh minced garlic)
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper

The easiest way to slice these is to hold the stem end of the pepper and cut slices from the tip to the stem end. You should probably wear gloves too.  Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds. If you like lots of heat you can use them like this. I washed mine in a colander and then scooped out the peppers, leaving whatever seeds fell out, in the colander. I still had seeds in the peppers tho. The more seeds, the more heat you will get. Doing it this way I had a nice bite but not so much that you were running for a drink. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar. Turn heat up under the pot with the syrup and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 6 minutes.

Use a ladle to pour the boiling syrup into the jars over the jalapeno slices. Insert a cooking chopstick to the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped pockets of air. Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-tip tightness.
If you do not want to can these to the point of shelf stable, you can simply put the jars in your refrigerator and store them there.I dont like to clutter the fridge up with all this extra stuff so I can mine.  If you wish to can them, follow the instructions below.

Note: If you have leftover syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars, too. It’s wonderful brushed on meat on the grill or added to potato salad … don’t toss it out! I got 8 half pt. jars and 4 jars of syrup. I dont want that next time so Ill use pt. jars for all and hopefully wont have extra syrup.

To can, place jars in a canner and cover with water by 2-inches. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack. Leave them to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth, then label.
Allow to mellow for at least two weeks, but preferably a month before eating.

Elderberry Syrup for flu

I went to the Farmers Market last Sunday. I bought a case of tomatoes to can and a few other things. Before I left tho, I spotted a bag of tiny berries on stems. I asked what they were because they had a dusty frosted look to them. They were elderberries. I looked it up online and I guess they turn that color when very ripe. I didn't know that, Ive only seen the dark berries. And so I asked her for 2lbs. Now I wish I asked for more. It was the last day of the Market so I cant get anymore.

They sat here and the next day I came down with the flu. Ive been pretty sick for almost a week. I was frustrated because the stuff I bought needed to be processed and all I could do was sleep and cough. Around Thurs. I decided to try to clean the berries off the stems. I read once long ago to use a fork and it really does work great. This way you do not get really stained fingers and it doesn't take as long. 

And so I left the bag of berries on my butcher block and a bowl next to it...and any time I felt a bit better I would work on some. It really only took me about an hr or so. Probably would have been much faster if I wasn't so sick. And then the berries sat another day or so. I just couldn't do it. I had considered making some jam but not now.

And so since elderberry is a good thing to take for flu, I decided it would be faster and better for me if I made that syrup to take. Elderberry is antiviral. It wont keep you from getting sick but will cut down on the length of time you are sick. Ive taken some from one I bought at the health food store but I think one you make yourself is fresher. Ive noticed it working much faster than what I bought.

And so I decided to add some other good things for colds to it. Rather than use sugar to make it syrupy, I added honey. Its not a thick syrup but that's ok. I did it for the health benefits of honey and for flavor. And I buy local honey which is even better to use. Then I decided ginger is good too. I often buy ginger knobs and peel them, then slice them into coins about 1/4 in. thick. Then I cover them with dry sherry to preserve it. Kept in the refrigerator, I can use them in all my stir fries and even the sherry adds a nice flavor. This way I always have some on hand. And because this was a syrup to heal, I added the zest of one small lemon for a bit more flavor and some Vit. C.

Elderberry Syrup makes about 3 1/2pts.

2lbs. of elderberries, fresh picked still on stems
4c. water
2c. honey
2 1/4in. slices of ginger
Zest of one small lemon

Clean the berries from the stems with a fork. Put all berries in a lg. pot and add the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20min. till berries are really soft.  Strain the berries and juice thru a very fine strainer into a bowl. Let berries drip for about an hr., pressing juices out and stirring them around to release all the juices.

When you can get no more juice, toss berries in garbage. Pour juices into a pan and add the honey. Bring to a boil, then add the ginger and lemon and simmer till it tastes like you would like. I let mine simmer about 15min. more. I wanted some of the flavors but didn't want them to overwhelm the elderberry flavor since I really like that. Then strain the ginger and lemon peel out.
You can pour into jars and refrigerate or you can can them for longer use. How much you get will depend on how many berries were in that 2lbs OR how many berries you have. . The jars can be water bathed for 10min. if needed.

*And by the way, Ive taken it for two days now and last night I slept better and my cough is easing. 

 And for anyone else planning on doing this......dont use any stems in the mix. I read of one case of poisoning from these berries and it was due to some just throwing it all in a pot then straining. The cause was from the stems. So use the fork to rake them off the stems, it works great and its quick and you get almost no stems at all that way.

Green Chili Salsa

Tomatillos were on sale so I bought 3 lbs. I love green chili salsa so I thought Id like to try to make my own. I found this recipe and a day later was out at the store again so I bought more tomatillos and Anaheim chilies. Sadly I didn't buy enough of the chilies and I was NOT going back again but it still turned out yummy. I found this recipe in Preserving the Harvest.

 Green Chile Salsa
18 (I only had 10) poblano or Anaheim chilies
10 cups/4 lbs coarsely chopped, husked tomatillos with juice
2 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice (12 limes)
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup water
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt

1. Place the chilies on a hot grill and roast, turning throughout, to blister the skins, about 15 minutes. (I have a gas stove so I did mine on the burners, blistering them then putting them in a covered bowl till they were all done.)
2. Discard the skins, membranes and seeds from the chilies. Wearing gloves will help protect your skin. Chop the chilies coarsely and combine with the tomatillos in a heavy nonreactive saucepan. (Recipe says with juice from the tomatillos but mine didn't have any so I added the water from the recipe now.)

3. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the onions, lime juice, cilantro, water, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
4. Add salt. Stir well.5. Ladle into hot, clean jars. Cap and seal.
6 Process in a boiling water bath canner for 30 minutes.  

 The recipe called for 18 chilies but I only had 10 and wasn't going to go to the store for more. It still came out yummy. However I do like a bit more heat so next time Ill either get more chilies or toss a chopped jalapeno in. Plus this recipe calls for things to be coarsely chopped and it really doesn't cook long so they dont break down. I dont like big chunks like that so I zapped the cooked salsa with an immersion blender for just a few seconds to break some of it up and make it more saucy. Next time I will chop things much finer.

I added a jar of this to my regular chili recipe. http://mermaidstreasures.blogspot.com/2007/09/its-good-day-for-chili.html  I use either canned chilies or when I dont have them I use green chili salsa. This time I added both the regular canned chilies and a jar of this. It was the best chili Ive ever made so Ill be making it that way from now on. I did tweak my chili recipe and added a tsp. or two of ground cumin and an extra Tb. of my chili mix but I did make a big batch of chili too.....using 4lb. of beef chunks this time.

I added a jar to my Honey Lime Enchilada sauce too before I poured it over them. It was awesome. So you can see theres lots of uses for this.

Rosemary Della Robbia Jam

The other day I was given a lot of grapes. Now I can only eat so many and my bf wont eat many either. So I wandered online looking for recipes to use them in. I was looking to preserve them. There's really not many recipes out there for grapes other than Concord and those kind. The grapes you get from the store which is plentiful for me, I never see any canning recipes for. So I gathered the few I did find and went into my kitchen to do what I do best....play Mad Scientist.

I had two nice Honeycrisp apples left I wanted to use up so I decide to add those and I'm glad. These grapes really don't have much substance, there's more juice than pulp. And I didn't want skins in this either, I don't like them. But once I cooked up the grapes and apples they had a sickly pale beige color. Yuck. And so I had some plums here yet and decided to add just one for color and it worked. Its a nice rosy color now. But again I wanted more, I wanted spice. So I added cinnamon. It was good but needed more so I added orange zest.........okay NOW we're talking! Yum. But again I wanted more so I added fresh ground black pepper....lets get this thing spicier now. That gave it a little bit of heat, not alot. And finally I decided to try an herb and I picked rosemary cuz I know its yummy with orange.

This turned out really  yummy. Even my bf tasted it and said its really good. I picture this for the holidays for entertaining........with some nice goat cheese or even a brie on crackers. I have just a bit left chilling in the fridge now that I'm hoping to snack on later. So for those interested , here's my recipe. You could add more pepper if you want it hotter but since I wasn't sure what would happen with cooking and canning, I didn't want to overwhelm it. Right now it has a nice bite but something you don't notice right away.

Rosemary Della Robbia Jam Makes 3 pts.

6c. assorted grapes off the stems
2 Honeycrisp apples, quartered, cored
1 Italian plum, pitted 
1c. water
1 lg. orange
1tsp. cinnamon
1tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 4 in. long sprig of fresh rosemary
4 tb. low sugar pectin
1 1/2c. organic sugar
3 extra sprigs of rosemary about 2in. long each

Cook grapes, apples and plum in the water till soft and skins are tender. Cool a bit then run thru a food mill to remove skins. I used a plum to add a better color. I was given a big batch of red and greens grapes and the color was a pale pink beige and just didn't look too appetizing, so I added the plum to give it more color.

Put juice and pulp back in pan and heat. Add one tb. of zested orange peel, chopped fine and the juice from the orange. Add the cinnamon and pepper and bring to a boil.

Add pectin and stir in quickly. Let come back to a boil and boil for 1min. a boil you cannot stir down.

Add sugar and bring to a boil and let boil for 1min. with a boil you cannot stir down. Remove Rosemary from pot.

You should have your jars hot and ready to go. In each jar put a piece of Rosemary about 2in. long and pour hot jam over and seal. Water bath for 10 min. Turn off heat and let sit 5min. more then take out and let cool on counter for 24 hrs. Check seals.

This has a sweet, orangey, herby taste with a bit of heat you don't feel right away. It would be yummy with cream cheese or goat cheese on crackers for the holidays.

Bruschetta Salsa

I love Bruschetta. We used to make it in the restaurant for some of the private parties. I didn't think I could can it tho since it really does need fresh garden tomatoes not that cardboard stuff from the stores. I looked around and theres mostly one recipe out there and it has way too much vinegar for my tastes. To me it should have very little or none at all, maybe just a drizzle of balsamic.

And so I looked around online and in my books and found this version. I liked that it didn't have much vinegar , just a touch and some lemon juice. That acid is needed for water bath canning so I knew doing this , it had to have some.

I had some plum tomatoes growing in my garden this yr. Im still working on getting it to produce. I dont live in an area where they grow well but I managed to get some. They are however very small and other than tossing in a salad I wasn't sure what to do with them. Then I saw this recipe. I also got a great deal on some heirlooms at the farmers market this week...$1 lb. Heirlooms in the stores around here are almost $4lb. So I grabbed quite a few to use in this too.

I also got two nice big bunches of fresh basil. I had some nice garlic from another vendor there I bought the week before too. And so I decided to try this. I did taste it as it cooked a bit. It was very good. I did add the tomato paste cuz the tomatoes threw alot of juice. I drained some of that juice and added a TB. more of tomato paste to the recipe. But I didn't add the green onions. I like a more garlic flavor in my bruschetta and since it already had shallots which I dont normally put in, I decided adding green onions would be overkill.

It looks nice in the jar and I hope it tastes fresh still. I figure I can mix some bits of chopped mozzarella to it and stir in some olive oil when I serve it on nice crusty garlic bread. I slice baguettes, brush them with a nice virgin olive oil and toast or grill them. Then I rub fresh garlic on them. Top with the bruschetta........YUM!

 (Looks separated right out of the canner, but as it cools its blending nicely.)
(I found this in The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) 
BRUSCHETTA SALSA Makes 3 pts.

    3 cups Roma tomatoes; peeled and diced
    2 large cloves garlic; minced
    2 shallots; minced
    1 cup fresh basil; chopped
    1 tbsp red wine vinegar
    1 tsp lemon juice
    1/2 tsp pickling salt
    1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
    2 green onions; minced
    3 tbsp tomato paste

Prepare for water bath canning.
Blanch tomatoes to remove skins.  Remove seeds and dice.

In a large stainless steel saucepan combine tomatoes, garlic, shallots, basil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add green onion and tomato paste stirring until ingredients are well combined.   Return to a boil. Remove from heat and ladle hot salsa into hot sterilized jars leaving a 1/2in.  head space.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, place lids and screw bands on adjusting so they are just  finger-tip tight.  Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. When the time is up turn off the heat and remove lid, wait 5 minutes before removing the jars.  Check seals, label, and store.

Processing Peaches, Peppers and more....

I bought two boxes of Alberta peaches last week. These were beauties right off the trees locally. Some were as big as soft balls. I almost hated to cut them up. I lost a couple on the bottom of one box tho , they started to go bad but still I had tons to do. So I started out peeling them.

Dipping them in hot water for 30sec. and then into cold water, and the skins slip off ez. Ive saved all the skins to add to some I had in the freezer. Later on when all this canning dies down some, I want to make Peach honey, which is basically jelly. You cover the skins with water and cook them down and strain it to use the juice to make the jelly. 

 I sliced these up and put them in qt. jars. A friend told me he makes a light honey syrup. Last year I did a sugar syrup which was good but I think honey is better. So I bought a big bottle from the local honey guy at the farmers market. Only 7qts fit in the water bath canner so I did those with the honey syrup. When I was making more syrup for the rest I thought why not add cinnamon to the rest so I did. I got 12qts sliced peaches, 7 plain, 5 cinnamon. One didn't seal so I'm eating it with my yogurt this week.(Honey syrup for a light syrup is 1qt. water/3/4c. honey)

Then I peeled the other box and cut them up. They got tossed in the crock-pot with the leftover honey syrup, to cook down overnight. Today I added some organic sugar, some cinnamon and then I thought it needed something more so I added one tsp. of pumpkin pie spice. Its yummy. So these got canned in two batches in small half pts. I figure Ill use several as Christmas gifts this yr. 

 While I had the canner going I remembered I had peppers still in a big bag in the garage. They ripened even more and many turned yellow. There were also a couple reds and a few greens. I saved the green to freeze, roasted the others. I made a brine of 1c. lemon juice, 1c. white vinegar, 1c. homemade chive vinegar (could be 2c. white instead), 1c. olive oil, 2tsp. kosher salt and 3 sliced garlic cloves. I put some opal basil in the bottom of a couple of small jars then topped with the peppers. Then I poured the hot brine over them and sealed to water bath them too. 

I hated to waste the brine tho cuz I didn't have enough peppers to use it up so I had about 1lb. mushrooms. I sliced them up and tossed them in the brine. Then I added a few peppercorns and a few springs of thyme. I let them cook then filled two small jars with the mushrooms and topped them with the hot brine. Peppers and mushrooms were water-bathed for 20min. plus 5 extra just sitting in the hot water to ensure a good seal.

One slice of mushroom stuck to the pot so I tasted it......and omg they are really yummy! So I'm thinking I may do this again real soon when the big crush of canning is done here. They are worth keeping around. I use those peppers in omelets and salads and I use both in antipasto platters. Its nice to have my own around.

Tomorrow is tomato sauce. I have to get them going before they go bad. I have jars for it but I need to run more jars thru the dishwasher. Busy busy week here.  

Corn Overload.....

I don't know what I was thinking when I said I want 12 dozen ears of corn from the farm. Sounded like a nice round number that I could handle. I added my family's order in and asked for 15 dozen. WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING? lol If you read the post where I did the big farm haul you will know how this all came about. It wasn't till our order came on the pickup truck that I thought I might have bit off more than I could handle. I rationalized mine isn't that much cuz my friend ordered way more. When we got to my house and portioned out my order and 6 bags with corn sat in my garage, I had a moment of panic. But then I thought Hey Ive done massive prep at fine restaurants for parties bigger than all this. True I didn't do it alone but heck this was just corn right? Most gets composted anyway. 

WRONG! lol. And so I plunged in the next day. I started shucking and blanching away. In between Id toss big buckets of husks into my compost bin outside.....in the rain I might add lol. I haven't felt well the last day or so but figured it was just allergies. Um NO . Seems Ive got a cold or something and pushing hard to process all this and in and out of the house in the rain.....has not helped.

(The farmer told me the easiest way to shuck corn is to feel for the end of the ear. Take a knife and slice it at that point. Most of the husk will peel away real easy then. It does work, I was flying thru shucking all by myself.)I kept plugging away at the massive pile of corn and finally at about 9 dozen or so I said ...I quit. I called family and asked if they wanted the rest. I knew I still had to process all this and I just couldn't deal with any more corn. I still have other things out in the garage to deal with after this.

And so last nite after all the blanching was done, I cut up enough corn into coblets to fill 3 gallon freezer bags. There's only two of us here so I'm sure it will be enough for the yr. Sadly I now have to clean out a shelf in the freezer cuz there's no room. I didn't expect this corn till next month. So now Ill be going crazy trying to find room for all this.  

 I cut off all the kernels from one pan of the corn. As you can see in my pictures theres two piled high with several dozen ears still. And there was one half tray not filled yet. The half tray I cut up into coblets.

The blanching water smelled good tho and since I had decided to make corn cob stock later with the leftover cobs, I tossed them back in that water as I cut. I also scraped off any milk on each cob before throwing it in that water. After one pan tho it was late and  I wasn't feeling well so I just turned the water on under the cobs to cook awhile and had something to eat. I ended up going to bed very early cuz I was sick. 

(Corn cob stock)

Next morning I started in heating the Pressure canner up and getting my jars ready too. I took all the cobs from the water and tasted it . YUM very nice, just like sweet corn so I heated it up. I decided I would use this stock instead of boiling water to can the corn with. It would add a lot of flavor. Ive read where sometimes the juice gets caramelized from canning so I added about a tbsp. of Fruit Fresh to the stock. I figured it might help with that and surely couldn't hurt it. Its just an acid which help keeps things from going bad anyway. One of my friends has a yummy freezer corn recipe that I'm going to use for the rest of that stack...but I decided to try to make the jarred corn just as good. 

So for each pt. jar I added a pat of butter, I topped it with the corn kernels. You pack it loosely in the jar, not really hard. Once I was ready to can it I poured a ladle or so of the corn stock thru a strainer into my jar. Run a knife around the edges and in the middle a bit to mix it up and remove bubbles. If it needs more stock, then top it up to a half inch from the top. Then I wipe the rims of the jar real good and put the lids on. From this pan of corn I was able to get 24 pts. of corn. So Ill be pressure canning them in two batches.  

 The rest I put in plastic freezer bags using my friends recipe. Sadly I blanched all the corn before I read her recipe. She cut off raw corn and then did the recipe. It should still be good cuz the main part, scraping the corn, I still did. That's where all the good flavor is. 

 Today I cooked the second batch of corn cobs and made stock from that. I strained it and ended up with 5qts. I'm going to try it in my clam chowder. And I read that you can make corn cob jelly from it too. I don't have time to do that right now so at least its canned till I am able to do that.

I just know I'm tired and I still have two boxes of peaches and two boxes of tomatoes to do. lol. I only wish I wasn't sick.
 * Pts. of corn were pressure canned at 11lbs for 55minutes.
Corn cob stock was pressure canned at 11lbs. for 20min.

Update: This yr. I think Im going to use some of that corn cob stock when I can the corn. I used all the milk and juices from it. But now that Im opening them to use the top color looks a bit off cuz I think there wasn't enough liquid. I just scraped that off and used the rest, Its fine. But this yr. I dont want to have to do that so Ill use corn cob stock to top the jars before canning.