Archive for the ‘Food Preservation’ Category

The Clarksdale Farmer’s Market

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

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This past week my husband, his family and I traveled to the Mississippi Delta. We went for a celebration of the patrons of The Box Project, to which my husband’s family has been involved for the past 24 years.

We ate our way through the south, feasting on our share of fried catfish, shrimp and grits, dry rub ribs, coleslaw and plenty of sweet tea.  Even though not always seasonal or healthy, it was delicious.

But when I visit a new place, the first thing I like to do is find the local farmer’s market.  It is always where I am happiest. You can learn so much about a place by speaking to the farmers and seeing what is grown locally. When we hit two farmers’ markets, we were offered a glimpse of what is thriving in the south this time of year.

The little farmer’s market in Clarksdale, Mississippi had some of the most gorgeous and delicious tomatoes I have ever had.  In fact, the farmer we spoke with said that he keeps a little shaker of salt in his truck to snack on his tomatoes.  We bought a couple and moved onto the Health Crops stand run by students from the local high school.  They are a part of a program where the local teenagers learn to garden.  A bottle of Kool Aid pickles was the inspiration of one of the students and once you tasted it you knew exactly what the brining liquid contained!

Here is Dennis’ recipe for his inspired Kool Aid Pickles:

-White vinegar
-Cherry Kool Aid
-Cucumbers

Allow the cucumbers to sit in the brining liquid for about two weeks for the best flavor.  Click here to see a video of Dennis’ own explanation.

Posted in At The Market, Buying Local, Farms and Farming, Food Preservation, Pickling, Summer, Travel | 1 Comment »

West Coast Local: Mom’s Peach-Bourbon Jam

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

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Growing up in Idaho, we always had access to locally grown fruits and vegetables (my parent’s house is located in an area that used to be orchards). The annual trip to Greenbluff, however, was one bit of local food culture that was a special tradition in our family. Greenbluff is the go-to place in the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene area for you-pick produce…at jaw-droppingly low prices.

Recently, my mom has been relaying the highlights of her latest Greenbluff adventure. She and my grandmother went for the peaches this time…and came home with 20 lbs of the fuzzy beauties. My mom did what she does best with sweet and juicy things — and made jam. This lady is a master at jam-making, and even made a name for herself at my previous job here in the city. After opening a jar I had delivered to the office, she was quickly fulfilling special orders from my co-workers who had gotten a sample.

This time around, she decided on Peach-Bourbon Jam…and she says this batch is the best she’s ever made. From my perspective, that’s quite a statement, so I asked her to pass along the recipe — maybe it’ll be your best batch ever as well!

Annie’s Mom’s Peach-Bourbon Jam

3 c. sugar
6 c. fresh peaches, peeled and chopped
2 T. lemon juice
1.75 ounce box of sugar-free pectin
1 T. bourbon
1 t. vanilla

1. Peel, pit and chop peaches. Put peaches in saucepan and use a potato masher to mash the fruit a little just to get some juice. You want the Jam to be chunky.
2. Add lemon juice and pectin.
3. Cook over high heat stirring constantly, about 5 minutes or until you have a full rolling boil.
4. Stir in sugar.
5. Return to a full rolling boil.
6. Boil hard for (3) minutes while stirring constantly.
7. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract, dab of butter and bourbon
8. Skim off foam.
9. Ladle in hot sterilized jars and process in boiling bath for 5 minutes.

Posted in Canning, Food Preservation, Recipes, Summer | 2 Comments »

Canning in Green Bay

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

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picklingbooks

I landed in Green Bay Wisconsin yesterday to discover it was not the “city” my client had so adamantly proclaimed, but was instead a tiny little place on the flattest piece of land I had ever seen. But what Green Bay lacks in big-city buzz, it surely makes up for in small-town hospitality. No sooner had I arrived at my destination than I had a plate of amazing fresh basil pesto pasta plopped down in front of me…I scarfed it down and began chatting with the generous chef — a woman named Deb, who has become my de-facto local cuisine and culture guru. She was kind enough after feeding me to let me tag along to a vegetable canning course at the U. of Wisconsin Extension Office. We learned how make dilly beans, refrigerator pickles and pickled three-bean salad. The Extension office had a fantastic garden out back, with a little hoop house to encourage some of the more finicky vegies along. I have to say that after only one day in Green Bay I’m feeling quite at home. More from Wisconsin to come. In the mean time, here’s a recipe for refrigerator pickles courtesy of the U. of Wisconsin Extension office…super easy, and (almost) instant satisfaction since they don’t have to sit around for weeks to “pickle”.

Cucumber Pickles with Onions

8 cups cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 cup onion, peeled and sliced (i might also try using tiny spring onions…yum)

Pickling Solution:
4 cups vinegar (5% acetic acid)
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup canning and pickling salt
1 1/2 teaspoon each of celery seed, mustard seed and turmeric

1. Mix pickling solution ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. This mixture does not have to be heated, but heating will more rapidly dissolve the sugar and pickle the vegetables.

2. Wash and prepare vegetables, trim blossom ends from cucumbers and discard

3. Fill hot sterilized pint or quart jars with thinly sliced cucumbers and other vegetables. Cover vegis with hot pickling solution, and cap jars with clean lids. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. (You must keep these pickles in the fridge since they are not processed!!)

Posted in Food Preservation, Pickling, Recipes, Summer, Travel | 1 Comment »