Preserving Beauty

Preserving Beauty with Jen

2012-02-08T11:22:00.001-05:00

Note from Jen Gavlin (a truly amazing woman) -

I was thinking today... just 4 months ago, I had my appointment with the orthopedic doctor in Portland. It was the first time I really took my knee pain seriously, seeing the x-rays that showed my femur with dark pockmarks all over. I was feeling a bit frenzied in my calls to schedule an MRI, just wanting to get the scan done so we'd have a better idea what was happening with my knee. I remember pacing at the studio at school while on hold, hoping the person I might speak to would be able to schedule me sooner rather than later and wouldn't need to call me back to do so. I wasn't expecting the final prognosis to be something quite so life disrupting.

Our weekend away in the woods together shortly after Little Tomato was born.

4 months. What a ride.

I began this entry with a list of all of the unfortunate things that have happened to my body over the last 4 months. As I began to wind down to the most recent surgery, my leg jolted with pain. It doesn't happen very often, but it's not a great feeling when it does. I grabbed the brace and shifted, trying to dislodge the muscle cramp that had settled in. I'm not too proud to admit, I cried through the pain. And it subsided. The pity party I started for myself an hour prior with the list of physical woes suffered reached a climax in that moment. "See," I thought, "nothing works the way it should." Zoe, one of 2 cats, picked that moment to climb on the armrest of the couch, and sniff at my head. I patted my stomach and she, in full purr mode, settled in, happy as a clam to have a warm body to curl into. And it made me remember that things aren't as bad as they seem in the dark. When you work yourself into a dark place like I have for the past few days, it doesn't matter what your situation actually is, the only thing you can see is the bad, exaggerated in full monster darkness glory. I'm fully aware that my current health situation isn't grand. But I am blessed in so many ways, including a highly affectionate cat who occasionally has really good timing in her quest for pets.

Note to Jen: I'm not asking permission to use this photo because I love it too much and fear you saying no. Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. Right?

Jen's first meeting with Little Tomato

On Tuesday we had our followup appointment with Dr. Davidson and Dr. Jones. The analysis on the excised tumor is already complete. The whole tumor was removed with clean margins, and, due to chemotherapy, had 70% necrosis, which Dr. Davidson assures us is very good for a leiomyosarcoma. Dr. Jones wants to get back to chemo shortly, make sure any floating cancer cells don't have a chance to settle and grow anywhere. That's been scheduled already to start Sat. Feb. 4th. Not excited for the chemo, but the sooner we start, the sooner we're done.

Preserving Beauty in the Interruptions

2012-02-07T11:18:00.000-05:00

I did something wild yesterday. Something so out of my comfort zone that at first, it was simply a bit uncomfortable. As the day progressed on & time passed my mild discomfort turned to slight anxiety and soon my minor anxiety was looking out the window every 10 minutes... waiting.

It all began with the reading of the book "Reaching Out" by Henri Nouwen, whom I have previously spoken about. It is one of the most beautifully written books in how to not only offer hospitality to others but to ourselves and with our God.

Last week Nouwen's words spoke to me when he shared the following,

"But what if our interruptions are in fact our opportunities, if they are challenges to an inner response by which growth takes place and through which we come to a fullness of being?... What is all the unexpected interruptions are in fact invitations to give up old-fashioned styles of living and are opening up new unexplored areas of experience?...

Then our life would indeed be a different life because then fate became opportunity, wounds... & paralysis an invitation to search for a deeper source of vitality... Then we can look for hope in the middle of crying cities... Then we cast off the temptation of despair and speak about the fertile trees while witnessing the dying of a seed. Then indeed we can break out of the prison of an anonymous series of events and listen to the God of History who speaks to us..."

With great thanks to...

Nouwen continues on to speak of the role of interruptions in our lives and that through these interruptions, if willing, we can use them as opportunities and avenues for hospitality not only to ourselves or others but to our God.

This got me thinking as to how often I welcome, entertain and accept (willingly & with love) interruptions and those who cause them. How often I assert control over my life to the point where there is no room for interruptions but only for that which I have planned before me. How often to I welcome others into this home we live in, but when a knock on the door comes without warning, how emotionally unprepared I am to accept others without warning. How much I enjoy giving and serving others but how uncomfortable I feel when on the receiving end because it simply feels too much out of my control.

With great thanks to...

Therefore, I figured it was time for some good ole' interruptions in my life before I start to become too rigid in this path we have begun to lay down since moving here.

So I called friends. Just a few. I called around 10:00am & left messages for both women that I was going to "be around" this afternoon and would love to have them over for some hot tea, delicious jam & toast. This is the kicker though - I didn't share with them to "give me a call" & share if and when they could make it. I didn't ask for a reservation, time, confirmation or anything of the sorts, I just told them to come on over if they would like, I would be home.

It was torture.

At first I thought to myself, "This is great, if they are available I'll have some good company. They have invited me over in the past and it's time to return the kindness. If they don't come over, then I will have had an afternoon with no commitments outside the home, there is much to do and this will be a good excuse to stay put for an afternoon and get some things done in addition to simply spend some down time with Little Tomato."

Great thoughts, huh?

With great thanks to...

This is the problem though - I was distractedly expecting. I would run the vacuum while looking outside to make sure I didn't miss their knock on the door while the vacuum ran. I was carrying my phone with me everywhere I went - just in case they called. I became totally preoccupied with hope of an interruption that I was interrupting my self and the natural rhythm on our home.

What was I thinking - trying to orchestrate interruptions... in the end I did have a very tidy home and yes, an extremely organized root cellar, but the lesson was learned. I need to let go.

With great thanks to...

I need to preserve the beauty of each moment, accepting unanticipated interruptions with grace & openness.

I need to have tea, toast & jam on hand at all times - ready to welcome others into our home regardless of expectation or lack of preparation.

I need to embrace the knocks on the door; the poorly times phone calls (because are there ever convenient times to talk on the phone when you have children?); the unpleasant taste of having the best-laid plans thrown out the window in response to needed attention & hopeful stories at our doorstep.

I need to listen to the possibilities of interruptions and dive into the often unplanned, unorganized, unintended, uncontrolled life it leads to, full of joyful anticipation & expectation.

I also need to give myself grace in this journey and possibly a bit more time for some tea, toast & jam of my very own.

Preserving Beauty in Preferences

2012-01-30T11:07:00.004-05:00

I've noticed over the past year that there are a variety of preserved preferences our friends & family have. It's been such fun to learn about family members & friends in this way - getting to know what preserved foods makes them giggle, lust, reminisce & let's be honest - sometimes gag.

Do you know any one who have any of the following preserved preferences?

There are those who enjoy pickled beets & pickled eggs and those who, well... who don't necessarily enjoy their eggs floating in liquid.

There are those who would choose sweet thick butters over jelled jams or jellies any day.

There are those who mentally like the idea of eating canned goods but when it comes down to it, really just enjoy looking at them sitting on the shelves.

There are those who enjoy the challenge of receiving & using a chutney or conserve and... well, those who are strictly, "preserving is made for jams" kind of people.

There are those who want more, order more and eat up canned food with a vengence and those who like to take their time working through a jar of delicious goodness.

There are those who like their salsas spicy & simply tomato based and those who prefer a sweet & different kind of salsa.

There are those who like relishes, use relishes and relish in the welcoming of new relishes and those who wouldn't know what to do with a relish if I gave them a recipe to use with it.

There are those who enjoy feisty jams with a wide palete of flavor and those who strictly like strawberry jam for peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

There are those who love the pickles and with great joy eat them up with every meal and those, like us, who often forget those green beautes are sitting in the root cellar or on bottom shelf of the fridge waiting for consumption.

There are those who bask in the alternative and look forward to trying new preserved recipes out in their meals and those who, dare I repeat myself, believe preserving is made for jams and jellies alone (there seems to be a pattern going on here).

There are those who also like to think they are those who like new & different things but in the end, are jam & jelly people. Let's be honest, I could easily fall into this category if it weren't for those darn good chutneys & conserves.

What preserved preferences do you have?

Preserving Beauty with Mango Chutney

2012-01-28T08:56:00.000-05:00

As promised - here is the recipe used for the Mango Chutney found in The Complete Book of Small-Bath Preserving by Ellie Topp & Margaret Howard. Yet, my initiation to the idea of even making a Mango Chutney initially came from Pickyourown.org.

If you haven't yet taken advantage of this website - you are in for a treat!

If you are looking for a local pick-your-own blueberry patch, have a hankering to loose yourself in a near-by corn maze or simply would like to know more about farms around you, this is the place to explore. But this is the icing on the cake - it doesn't stop there!

Over the last few years Pickyourown has expanded it's services and information to include topics such as home canning, drying, freezing & other preserving methods.

They have self-guided wonderful step-by-step (Oh Baby...) instructions accompanied with photos to demonstrate how you make each recipe they provide. They also provide a list of canning supplies, where you can snatch themup & my favorite, a list of helpful publication and books related to canning & preserving. They have really started to ride the preserving wave & I couldn't be more tickled.

Head on over there and have fun exploring home-grown farms & resources near you. Thanks to Pickyourown our family has enjoyed visits to a number of farms we didn't know existed until we found them at Pickyourown.org. Many strawberry patches, organic vegetable farms & apple orchards we have frequented over the years and look forward to making annual visits to them a family tradition.

Last year though, when mangoes were in high season and I could not stop buying/eating them I was searching for ways to preserve the beautiful, rich, sweet taste for the winter root blues. After having peaked my interest in the idea of a chutney at Pickyourown, I came across the following recipe and without question will be making more chutney this year - it actually is in my top 10 list of "what to can this year".

Side Note: I chose to use the recipe from Mango Chutney from The Complete Book of Small-Bath Preserving simply because I had some apples to use and overall, the recipe looked more appetizing for my taste. If you want to take a go at the recipe found at Pickyourown, head on over here.

Mango Chutney

With great thanks to The Complete Book of Small-Bath Preserving by Ellie Topp & Margaret Howard

2 large mangoes, peeled & chopped

3 medium apples, peeled, cored & chopped

1/2 medium sweet red pepper, chopped (I used a yellow pepper)

1 2/2 cups granulated sugar

1 large onion (finely chopped ) about 1 cup

1/2 cup golden raisins (I had the typical brown ones on hand and used those instead)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup ginger, peeled & finely chopped (I simply grated my ginger instead of chopped)

1 Tbs lemon juice

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Begin by peeling the mangoes - the way you do it is up to you. Some use a vegetable peeler, I use a knife. Your lethal culinary tool is your choice but be careful - those mangoes are slippery things when wet & peeled, it's insanely easy to sut yourself during the peeling process, not that I speak from experience - but you know...

When your mangoes are peeled, cut out any brown spots & slice & chop the mangoes up - it takes practice to figure out where the pit is and how to make it all work for you but with practice and a bit of guidance, I'm quite positive you can figure it out. If though, like me you need some assistance, go here.

Next you want to add the following to your chopped mangoes - apples, red pepper, sugar, onion, raisins, vinegar & ginger. Bring this beautiful bright mess to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When you have obtained a boil, reduce heat & boil gently, uncovered for about 20 minutes.

Your main goal here is simply to get the chutney to a texture you desire. I like my chutney chunky so I only simmered for around 15-20 minutes. Remember, when it cools it will thicken further so there's no need to cook it to death. In the end, you just want your fruit tender, the rest is up to you!

When your mixture is at your desired thickness, add the lemon juice, curry powder, nutmeg, cinnamon & salt and boil gently for 5 minutes.

When your chutney is at the desired consistency and your jars & lids are sterilized load them up with the chutney, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe those rims and secure the bands. Process for 15 minutes for a pint jar & 10 minutes for a half-pint. When your time is up, remove your jars and let them cool completely before storing them away.

Looking for pictures & a recipe to go along with this mango chutney? Take a gander here.

Preserving Beauty from the Root Cellar

2012-01-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

Recently our home has taken some pretty dramatic steps toward a hopeful more sustainable way of living out healthy food ethics. I first need to start off by sharing that these small food steps we have been making in our home haven't all been from personal convictions or a driven sense to do better by my family, although those do play into the whole of changes being made.

You know how sometimes you need a no-questions-asked sort of divine intervention that literally make you change? That's what happened here. Over the late summer and into the fall we began to discover that our Little Tomato has a sensitivity to sugar. After many a trials and errors which left her with all sorts of reactions, thank goodness - none too serious, we have officially decided to make our home a sugar-free home for a season (with the exception of all of the jams & chutneys stock piled up in the basement - those we allow ourselves to indulge & take part in although I am already beginning to plan on this summer jams looking a little different than the last).

In addition to going sugar free we decided in late December that we were also going to be much more intentional in eating only seasonal produce. I love myself a food challenge.

So here we are - three+ weeks into eating seasonally sugar-free and, I quote Jake from the other evening, "I think we should eat like this all the time." I have to say, although I do miss fulfilling my glutenous pregnancy sweet tooth, I agree. It has been such joy to make new meals, find new recipes and most importantly, taste new foods that we previously would have never had the motivation to create.

For example (!)...

This past week I was thinking through the produce & items in our home, perusing through a few of our current favorite cook books and I came across the following recipe in Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman.

Her index is categorized by various fruits & vegetables one would keep in their root cellar and from there she lists all recipes which include the vegetable or fruit mentioned. Having recently purchased at the farmers market a bunch of carrots that would make the most selfish rabbit sick to it's stomach, I searched the carrot section and spotted Curried Rice Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing. I dare you to find one item in the title of that recipe that doesn't make your body weak and mouth salivate.

Isn't this simply breathtaking?

Doubly impressed that not only could I use up some items from the root cellar I could also dig into some preserved mango chutney made this past spring. Two for one!

The most important reason I want to share this recipe is not only because it is the prefect demonstration of ways in which we can combine an amazing recipe with an unlikely preserve, but because this recipe is the most perfect demonstration of how beautiful this cookbook is. Truly, I have gone & used my share of recipes from various root cellar cookbooks and often find many very helpful & delightful. Andrea takes it to another level. Her ideas of various food & spice combinations are worth treasuring; her descriptions of how to best purchase, store, prepare & cook various winter vegetables it succinct & so very helpful. I especially enjoy her winter vegetable math - did you know that 1 pound of winter squash = 4 cups cubed = 3 cups diced = 1 3/4 cups pureed? I sure didn't!

Before we move on to the two recipes that made the magic happen I also wanted to share that I am not only to typically go out & buy a cookbook. We are both too short on space & flexible spending to do so. I enjoyed & used Andrea's cookbook so often though throughout the six weeks I had it checked out at the library, I decided to purchase it. I'm already full of anticipation for it's arrival!

Curried Rice Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing

With great thanks to Andrea Chesman, author of Recipes from the Root Cellar

Salad

2 cups of rice (we used whole grain rice although she suggests basmati or long-grain white rice)

2 Tbs sunflower or canola oil

1 shallot, minced

1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced (I shredded ours)

2 garlic cloves, minced (I used three cloves)

4 tsp curry powder (I always encourage heaping tsp.)

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups water

2 red skinned apples, unpeeled & shredded

2 Tbs lime juice (we used lemon)

3 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (about 1 15 ounce can rinsed & drained)

1 cup whole roasted almonds (we had walnuts in the freezer & used them)

Dressing

2/3 cup mango (or peach) chutney (see below)

1/4 cup lime juice

3 Tbs sunflower or canola oil

1 tsp hot pepper sauce

salt & pepper

Begin by washing your rice and hopefully ommitting those pesky rocks that so often find their way in their.

Heat the oil over medium hear in a large saucepan. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, curry powder, garam masala and rice. Saute until the ride appears dry, about 4 minutes. Add the salt and water then reduce the heat and cook at a bentle boil, covered, until the rice is tender and water absorbed, depending on the type of rice you use this may take anywhere between 15-30+ minutes. When rice is fully cooked, fluff with a fork and let cool.

While your rice is cooking away, grate the unpeeled apples into a large bowl and toss with the lime juice. Add the cooled rice, carrots, chickpeas, and almonds - toss to mix.*

To make the dressing: combine the chutney, lime juice, oil and hot pepper sauce in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.** Season with salt & pepper and pour dressing over the salad.

*We actually kept our rice a bit warm and only mixed it with the chickpeas. We then served the rice portion (a bit warm) as a first layer of the salad, then topped it with the mixed shredded apples & carrots and finished off with a garnish of roasted walnuts & mango chutney dressing on top.

**We did not process our dressing in a food processor, only because we chunky food people - I love the big bite surprises that comes with a chunky dressing (or jam or chutney or... you get the picture).

Next? Stay connected for the Mango Chutney recipe shown above!

I have to apologize the for the severe lack of snapshots missing from this post in regards to the Curried Rice Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing. I wasn't thinking at all when we were putting it together that I would write a post about it and before I knew it - the salad was devoured. I do think I may make it for my in-laws this coming weekend and will hopefully sneak in a few photos here & there to put up. No promises though - this recipe is really that good and when a recipe is good, my mind is not focused on taking photos but rather on simply eating.

Preserving Beauty in a Jar of Jam

2012-01-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

...all because of a jar of jam.

After a long walk throughout the winding sidewalks of our neighboring communities I received a call from Kelly, our neighbor to the West, inviting Little Tomato & I over for some pumpkin muffins & hot tea.

Initially shocked my such a gracious invitation I was hesitant to give her a ring back. First off, I'm not a phone person. I'm not good at it, often find myself awkward throughout conversation and in the end wish I could have just spoken with the person on the other end face to face. So the idea of really engaging with this new neighbor for the first time over the phone frightened me a bit. Truthfully though, I was desperate to meet with her. In fact, I was finding through our very limited exchanges as we spoke outside coming & going with our children, groceries in hand, wagons tagging behind, attention foscued elsewhere - I knew I wanted to speak with her further. I simply sensed I could learn from her. So at the prompting of her impromptu invitation I quickly picked up the phone, dialed her number and within hours Little Tomato & I were enjoying a winter afternoon in their cozy & welcoming home.

Three hours later as Little Tomato & I were picking up the plethora of toys she had spead across their living space Kelly shared that next time we come over we can come right on in the back door. I shared with her that I had actually been tempted to knock at the side door earlier but thought, since we had only recently met, that I should go formal and knock on the front door.

To that she responded with a comment that I have yet to fully take in.

"The moment you brough us over a jar of jam for Christmas, you became a back door friend."

Really? Did a jar of jam really just work that kind of magic? Could a jar of jam truly transform this possible shallow relationship of easy neighborly conversation into a forming friendship?

In response I commented with a slight hesitation in my voice, "So you enjoyed the jam?"

Kelly continued then to share how much her & her family not only enjoyed the Strawberry Rhubarb jam but how amazed her 4 & 7 year old children were to already know huw much their family loves rhubarb.

I was tickled & honored, all at the same time... all because of a jar of jam.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
With great thanks to Williams-Sonoma The Art of Preserving
Makes 8 1/2 pints

2 Oranges
1 1/2-2 lbs rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (roughly 6 cups)
3 cups strawberries, hulled & sliced
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice (I like to use bottled lemon juice for consistency)

Begin by cutting the ends off each of the oranges, slice in half and remove any seeds. Place the oranges in a food processor and process until pureed. Go ahead and pour the orange puree into a heavy-bottomed, nonreactive saucepan and add the rhubarb, strawberries and sugar. Gingerly toss them all together, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

The next day start heating up the water in your preserving pot & begin steralizing your jars & lids.

Take your rhubarb mixture our of the fridge and add the lemon juice. Bring your entire beautiful deep orangish-red mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. When it hits a boil reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, constantly stirring, for 10 minutes. Remove your saucepan from the heat and test to see if the jell stage has been met.

When the jam has reached it's jell stage, ladle your hot jam into steralized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove any airbubbles, wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids.

Process the jars for 10 minutes in a rolling-water bath and upon removal of the jars, let them sit on a towel or drying rack until cooled.

Trust me. All because of this one jar of jam, you too could possibly welcome new friendships into your home - it is that good.

Preserving Beauty in Unexpected Surprises

2012-01-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning I awoke before the sun & after a quick shower quickly glanced out the stairwell window as I was heading downstairs to put on a pot of water & begin the much-desired coffee making process.

As I looked out the window though I noticed that the tire tracks in the driveway were gone; the branches that were shaken free from snow by the hands of Little Tomato were weighted again with white dust; the footprints of our winter nature walk around the circumference of our yard were covered & the tracks of our winter friends were fresh.

We are avid NPR/Michigan Public Radio patrons and I didn't remembering hearing anything of fresh snowfall so I ran downstairs to make sure my caffeine free mind wasn't playing tricks with my early morning blurred vision.

Downstairs though - snow covered the cars parked along the culdasac street; driveways & sidewalks were perfectly smooth with soft winter rain; trees were glistening in the pre-sunrise light from the East & again(!), fresh rabbit prints danced around our front yard. We had snow!

Little a child I ran upstairs and whispered in Jake's ears, "We got snow last night!"

As I continued throughout our morning routine I couldn't help but contain my excitement for this new blanket of beauty. I also couldn't help but think of this same event as if it were to happen one year ago.

One year ago, before going to bed the night previous we would have used the internet to pull up BBC, Weather.com & let's be honest - probably our e-mail and inevitable a social media site or some unread blogs. We would have gone to bed later than intended, planned for the snow, minds filled with media concerns & other distracting thoughts that would keep the mind moving at speeds that prevent needed rest & comfort.

Here we are though, seven months into our intentional separation from the internet in our home and there is a fresh covering of soft white winter snow that I didn't know was coming - what a surprise! - that I could receive with excitement & grace, not only because of it's unexpected nature but because we went the sleep the night before after a peaceful evening of hot tea, a winter root meal (found in this phenomenal cookbook), good books & conversation in hand.

Our days now have a more peaceful rhythm to them, not only full of more surprises but with more time to be, plan, rest and focus on what we often placed to the side as we checked the weather, responded to e-mails, read the news, caught up on lovely blogs, searched for recipes...

This season in our life has become a constant practice in preserving beauty in the present, in what is before us, who is with us and the time before us.

As I watched the sun fully begin to show itself I had my morning time to gather thoughts & be in the Presence before I layered on my wool socks, sweaters & pulled up my pregnancy jeans over my ever-expanding belly, grabbed the snow shovel & began making a path for the postman; put the compost away after picking up apple cores munched on by those little winter friends; dug a path in the sidewalk for the AA patrons who make their way to a meeting at the end of the street and, like a child, make a snow angel or two in the secrecy of the backyard.

This is a season of preserving beauty, relishing in the surprises found throughout each day. Let us celebrate & most importantly, take some time to play in the unexpected, unanticipated snow!

Preserving Beauty in Community

2012-01-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

I recently came across the following quote from Henry Nouwen in his book Reaching Out - The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life,

"Usually there is food enough and people enough willing to eat it, but often it seems that the food has lost the power to create community..."

He leads up to this comment by first seeking to address what he believes is the "the most universal source of human suffering today", loneliness. How there are frequent moments in our lives where people are provided, food is plenty and still - many of us leave these social gatherings more lonely than when we first arrived.

The beginnings of Curried Pumpkin Seeds aside some Red Delicious Applesauce

There are times in my life I'm not sure if it's God, in all of Her feminine hint dropping & note leaving, that I come across literature such as this - that at the time is so fit for the season I'm in, or simply sheer luck that I happen to be reading what I'm reading at a specific moment in time... never-the-less - here is this powerful quote and it reaches deeply.

In the advent of our recent move, new soltice season, new year and upcoming new birth I have often been contemplating on the role of food preservation/utilization within community building and the power it could have, if I only let it, to truly build community - and now, how it may be used as a vehicle to, dare I say, possibly eliminate loneliness.

Food preservation = Loneliness elimination?

As I sit, legs crossed, half decaf/half caf coffee by my side, burgundy yoga pants and black robe tied around, I feel quite overwhelmed with that thought, that possibility - that food preservation/utilization could truly be a vehicle in my life at this time to not only build community but, maybe... possibly, eliminate loneliness not only in my life but in the lives of others as well?

When I look back at this past year of food exploration, preservation, purchasing, growing, networking & learning I sense an ever-growing sensation of community, of engaging in a shared life with others through exchanges, conversations, shared passions and growing like-mindedness. In this developing preservation community, are we... am I seeking out something more? Am I searching for more than recipe exchanges, food swap gatherings, farmers market paced conversation, jarred success at the end of the day? Are others doing the same? Or have we just become comfortable in, as Nouwen shares above, providing enough food for all who are willing to eat but not really using food as it was intended to be - as a nutrient not only for our bodies but as a vehicle for our spirits to join in true community with others?

Hard at work - but look at that operation! Oh... that that food mill - Lust.

Maybe this year, along with seeking to increase my education on food preservation techniques, taste & support - I'm wondering and basking in the possibility of using food preservation as a time to build relationships, true relationships. Relationships that preserve conversation and listening, eliminating loneliness and loss.

Seriously, these things are magic.

In celebration of this possible new avenue for food preservation utilization (can I tell you how it tickles my tongue to say those three words out loud, "food preservation utilization" - they just sound so right together) I wanted to share with you a food preservation gathering our friends had mid-fall 2011.

Apples were plenty at the time, often sold on the side roads in bushels for an often shameful amount that made you feel awesome but abusive of circumstances all at the same time.

Our friends Kevin & Christina were in town visiting family and invited us over to Christina's parents home to put up some delicious applesauce.

The best part about preserving with others is, let's be honest, eating together during the process. This apple bread from my Grandma was breath-taking.

I have to say - if you're new to canning & food preservation, putting up applesauce is the place to begin. It could not get more simple than this.

Applesauce

Basic recipe adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Makes around 7-8 pints or 4ish quarts

12 lbs apples (peeled - optional, necessary to core & quarter though)

water

3 cups granulated sugar (optional)

4 Tbs lemon juice

Begin by preparing you canner, jars & lids.

In a large heavy-bottomed pot you want to combine your apples (be they jonagold, breaburn, granny smith or Macintosh - all apples are welcome!) with enough water on the bottom to prevent the apples from sticking/burning to the bottom of the pot. Over medium-high heat you'll want to bring your apples to a boil. When your boil is running all over, reduce heat and all the while stirring, continue to cook your apples until they are soft & tender.

In my experience, various apples take various period of time to cook down - Macintosh are by far the quickest while Red Delicious feel like they take forever before they become mush. Overall, it doesn't matter what you use, how you combine them or how long they cook - they just have to all be equally tender in the end.

After letting your cooked apples set for around 5 minutes you may want to transfer them over to a food mill or food processor to puree until smooth. Again this step is really all about how you like your applesauce. Sometimes I peel my apples and puree them to death to the molecules part. Other times I leave the apple skins on and can the initial cooked apple product as it - chunky. Most of the time I go the in-between route by cooking the apples with the skins and using the immersion blender to blend the batch just enough to break down 1/2-2/3 of the apple chunks & skins.

At this point you'll want to return the apple puree back to it's original heavy-bottomed pot & add the lemon juice & sugar (if you're using it - I never do). Bring your applesauce back to a boil over medium-high heat, continuing to stir frequently to prevent burning which does happen very quickly (if say, you have to change a little ones diaper and forget to turn the heat down, which may have happened once...).

Once your apples have reached a soft consistent boil begin to ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim, center lid and screw band down until finger tight.

Place jars in canner, making sure that they are completely covered with water and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. When time is up, let jars sit in hot water for five minutes before removing jars and placing them on a towel.

Variations:

Chai Spiced Applesauce - Add a little ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg.

Cinnamon Applesauce - Who doesn't like a little cinnamon added to their bowl of hot applesauce?

Strawberry Applesauce - Add a couple of strawberries to the initial apple cooking process to add a little color & flavor.

Ginger Applesauce - A favorite around here. Shred a couple tablespoons of fresh ginger into your pureed applesauce and boil through with the second boil (the step where you add the lemon juice).

Thank you Kevin, Christina & Lynn (Christina's mom) for so wonderfully welcoming us into your home last fall not only for allowing us to help put up some delicious applesauce but for the most generous and welcoming hospitality. You helped close the gap between preserving together and preserving in true community, helping eliminate a bit of loneliness in this big world of ours.

Some of you may be wondering, "Why add the applesauce? My mother never did." You're right - I would completely bet that your mom and her mom and her mom never added lemon juice to their applesauce. Really, they didn't need to. Apples were so less processed and grown in more consistent climates. For many of the apples we work with though, you'll need to use lemon juice not only to help preserve the apples natural color but most importantly, as Ball shares, "to assure the acidity of the finished product, since different varieties and harvesting conditions can produce apples of a lower acidity."

Preserving Blueberry Beauties

2012-01-04T10:53:00.000-05:00

I am a do-er, not a be-er.

I measure the success of each day based upon what I am able to accomplish. How many meals did I cook, who did I spend time with, how many miles did I run, what activities did I accomplish, how many items I was able to check off my seems-to-be never-ending list (finally today after six, count em' - s.i.x, weeks I was able to sharpie the heck out "clean the shower").

Look at those itty-bitty blueberry seeds floating in there!

I measure my days based upon how much I sat down as opposed to how often I was on my feet doing (which probably accounts for the numerous varicose veins popping out left & right). Like this morning - I felt like a beast! All before 8:15am I made & ate breakfast with Jake, made him lunch (because I am such a servant wife), shoveled the driveway & sidewalks, washed dishes, took a shower, got ready for the day and started to make a soup for the day (Simply in Season Potato Soup - we can never get enough, just don't forget to add a couple hot peppers to jazz it up a bit).

Needless to say, I felt awesome. Let's erase that. I didn't awesome. I felt success. I felt like I was already on my way toward a measurable day of professional parental success.

I just adore the way the color of this jam aligns with the shade of the tree in our previous front yard.

But as I sat down to have breakfast with Little Tomato (yes, a second breakfast. Need I remind you I'm pregnant?) yesterday morning I realized I couldn't tell you how the snow felt on my skin. I couldn't remember what I packed Jake for lunch. I didn't take part in offering gratitude for the washed dishes that served nutritious food to my family. I forgot to take time to preserve the beauty of hot water rolling off my belly & down my back during my daily hot shower. I never offered gratitude for the farmers & grocers who helped bring each soup ingredient into our home. I didn't take the time to preserve any of the moments I was now sure were meant to be preserved for remembering if not only for the sake of offering gratitude.

So at breakfast we sat together, just Little Tomato & I and Blueberries for Sal, a book we had recently picked up at the library. And what to my wondering eyes did appear but a story of food preservation, preserving the harvest as a family, preparing for cool winter months by gathering up wild foods between mother & cub. It's a beautiful story about taking time to wander, gather, eat & dream of preserving fresh blueberries while making sweet precious memories.

Isn't that a stunning profile of a slice of rhubarb?

It was a beautiful reminder of the importance of continually engaging the willingness to put one foot before another. Being. Unsure & unafraid of where they will take you. Being. Gathering the goodness & bounty of life as you walk along & by example, teaching your little ones to both Be & Do as well.

So in honor of Sal's fresh Blueberry harvest, although if you've read the book before you know that Sal's harvest tin pail, although full of fresh blue fingerprints, was a bit lacking in whole fresh blueberries - I want to share with you one of our favorite jams this winter, not that it's made from winter fruits - but my oh my, have we ever enjoyed tasting it this winter.

Blubard Jam

Adapted from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp & Margaret Howard

3 1/2 cups fresh chopped rhubarb (frozen can be used as well)

1/2 water

2 1/4 cups blueberries (Small-Batch suggests you chop them, I just threw them in whole)

1 Tbs lemon juice

3 Tbs powder pectin

5 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 Tbs cinnamon

Begin by throwing your chopped rhubarb and water into a large heavy-bottomed stock pot and bring to a boil over high heat. When at a full rolling boil, cover, reduce hear and simmer for around 5 minutes, stirring often.

When your rhubarb starts to break down add your blueberries, lemon juice and pectin, mix well. Turn that stovetop back up to high stirring constantly as you add the sugar and cinnamon. Keep stirring until your jam is at a rolling boil and boil hard for one minute.

Remove you jam from the hear and ladle into hot jars (I used six half pint jars). After sealing properly, process your jars for 10 minutes in a full boiling water bath.

Lastly, and most importantly, take a spatula and save any little taste you can from the preserving pot & lightly spread on a slice of toast. Walk outside to wander, enjoying the fresh fallen snow, dreaming of blueberry season which is truly not too far away.

Preserving Beauty in Flexible Goals

2012-01-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

I am really poor at keeping goals. In fact, up until recent years I flat out refused to make goals because I was just getting tired of making and then almost immediately breaking them.

That was then.

Then I needed to not have goals. I needed to learn to be present in all things and not so determined & focused on meetings goals, fulfilling deadlines, doing, going, and doing some more. Plus, I was so exhausted of what I labeled as "failing" when I didn't reach my goals at the time that I, in my ever addictive all-or-nothing thinking decided that no goals were better than not reaching goals. And so it was - I was goalless.

And it worked for me.

I learned to live in the present without harboring resentment toward the goal interrupter - be they person, circumstance or situation.

I became more flexible - not the leg-splits kind of flexible but the "this doesn't have to be done right now & that's okay" kind of flexible.

I learned to focus on what was before me, literally before me in the absolute most physical sense. Although this kind of sounds like being present as noted above, sometimes I am able to be physically present without being focused on the present. I'm a mind wanderer and even if I was being physically present with the goal interrupter, I was often times thinking of the missing goal as opposed to being truly focused on the goal interrupter.

I also experienced a release of pressure & expectations. I gave myself a break for not getting gifts to people on time for birthdays or celebrations. I let myself off the hook when I simply didn't do things that were not of consequence for not completing - like finishing the book club chapter for discussion or quickly responding in thanks to a gift given or letter received.

I was also able to meditate & enjoy silence and stationary peace when needed as opposed to always feeling like I had to be moving & doing & moving & doing.

But then it happened.

I became a mom.

I quit out-of-home employment, a place where goals were easily reached, acknowledged & celebrated and began my professional work within the home. And I was goalless.

So I made my first goal in many years.

My goal? To keep a child alive. And I did! We are within days of celebrating her 17 month birthday and she is not only alive but full of vigor & joy that erases all expectations I ever had of who a child of ours may be.

So then I thought to myself, "Well, maybe making some goals may not be such a bad idea during this season in my life."

Not only did I then begin to make goals but I also started to keep them... well, most of them.

I continued to keep a child alive; began to learn now to really cook; started making bread; was disciplined at exercising at least 3 times a week; began volunteering outside the home at least twice a week; started to intentionally build relationships with our neighbors; focused on taking time to be present with Jake; learned how to preserve food; joined & am slowly becoming active in a spiritual community; began reading more - for nothing short of pure enjoyment; and, lest we forget - started Preserving Beauty.

And made many many of these baskets for the Holidays.

But this is the thing. I was okay at letting go when these goals weren't met. When meals didn't turn out right, bread didn't rise and jams burned - I was able to let go. When friends could only gather for coffee during available workout times, I was able to let go. When Little Tomato was sick and I had to call in on my volunteer commitment, I felt terrible but also empowered that I was able to meet & respond with peace to the needs she had. When I wanted to read instead of be present with Jake we made some tea, read Jack Gilbert of Wendell Berry together and in ushered rest. And when we moved three times in three months this summer/fall, bought a house, traveled and discovered we were going to be expecting a new little life into our home this coming April, well - Preserving Beauty fell down the list of things I needed to do and although at first I had feelings of failure for releasing/neglecting PB, I was eventually able to let go and know that in this great big world of preserving and blogging, baby making and home building, there is always another day to begin once again what has been set down for a period of time, like that half finished sweater in the basket beside your favorite armchair or that cross-stitch that you started working on for your little sister seven years ago.

This is the thing, this goal making business hasn't been so bad after all and has, as a matter of fact, helped me stay focused & driven to not simply do more but to be more for Little Tomato, Jake, our community, myself and my relationship with God.

So here we are. January 1st, 2012 and with all of the gusto and determination I had built up to publish this first PB entry on this first day of a new year, we are stranded at home in the midst of a most beautiful snow storm without the internet to publish these ramblings (is anyone even reading this?). And although I do sense a bit of sadness to not meet this first literary goal of the new year, I'm more than okay. Little Tomato is resting peacefully in her own bed after a season of bedhopping from one relatives home to another; Jake is sitting beside my growing belly reading Twelve by Twelve as I rest a hot mug of fair trade hot chocolate on my lap, typing before a most magnificent Scotch Pine tree that will hopefully be showcasing more homemade childrens decorations in the coming years - Hoping each of you, whomever you are, are enjoying a peaceful holiday. Know I look forward to a full year ahead of us on learning how to better preserve foods & beauty together - with no specific goals set in mind at the moment and being okay with that (well, except to make more of this in the coming year, I can not get enough!).

Preserving Beauty in a Peachy Morning

2011-09-02T16:43:00.001-04:00

I was prepared.

Today was going to be a hot one, we're talking 90+ degrees. Without a source of cool air I knew that the only bearable time to can peaches was before sunrise.

It's not often I rise after sunrise (we're talking summer sunrise, not so much in the winter months), often finding the space between night life & business hours refreshing, peaceful, rejuvenating.

During this space in each day I choose not to check my e-mail, refrain from housework and try not to attend to the needs of others unless needed.

I do make coffee. I sit. Sit peacefully. Sit with a good book or faithful journal. Sit with ideas, memories, thoughts of friends & family.

Needless to say, I don't have to be at a high functioning level during these early hours. I can be as absent minded as needed to embrace the space between myself and the spirit surrounding the early morning air.

So last night I prepared - knowing that preparing and doing all in one early morning was going to be too much for my brain. I set out my full preserving pot, ready to boil. I placed another pot of water on the adjacent burner with a bowl of cool water close by - prepared to blanch 12 lbs. of peaches. Across the kitchen (the whole three feet across the kitchen) I placed a large bowl out with three Vitamin C tablets to prepare the anti-browning solution, with a slotted spoon beside for the peach transferring. The peaches were weighed out and both a butcher and paring knife were placed on top of them for the slicing. To top if off I unscrewed six quart jar lids and placed all eighteen parts on my drying towel.

I was prepared.

The alarm was set for 5am and at 4:30am I was up & ready to go. 90 degree weather with a partnering thunderstorm will do that - wake you up before your alarm, begging to be noticed.

At 4:37am I started the blanching burner. 4:40, Little Tomato began yelping - morning nursing, 2 hours early.

5:15 Nursing, Jake's lunch & breakfast are complete & ready.

Let the blanching begin!

Yet, in all my preparedness I had for some unknown reason placed two empty unused jars on the floor next to our set of drawers that houses utensils. In moving from the unblanched peaches to the blanching station I tripped, kicking one jar into another and shattering one in a million little pieces.

Blanching burner turned down, again.

After a quick sweep and some short-term sorrow over broken glass the blanching burner was turned up once again and off we were!

Except when I got to lb. 10 I found that I was running low on boiling water and all of my ice cubes were officially deceased as I was using what was left in my cool blanching water. I made due but note to self: fill hot blanching water higher than you would expect & make to sure to prepare enough ice cubes the night before. Check.

When the blanching was done and the peaches were ready to be cut & baptized (that sounds like the title to a dark novel) in their anti-browning solution, I began a slicing. I learned form previous peach preserving moments that it's best to cut your peaches in 8ths, as opposed to 6th - you can fit more peach slices in each jar & the liquid often seen at the bottom of your jars in smaller.

See the difference? Peaches cut in 6th (right) vs. 8th (left)

Have you ever sliced blanched peaches? If so, you know. You know the unspoken connection you make with these slippery red & gold globes.

And yet they are just that - slippery. And I cut myself. The top of my left pinky to be exact.

I threw, literally, my peach & pearing knife to the side and with every desire to prevent blood from infilterating my peaches I ran to the sink, soaked my finger, walked to the bathroom to find that in the midst of our temporaryness, we don't have band-aids. So with toilet paper, a plastic bag & masking tape I made myself a bandage. How? It's best not to ask.

Fast-forward anti-browning - my syrup has boiled, cooled and brought back to a boil once again. My peaches are ready to can!

I pull the quart jars out of my preserving pot (where they were getting nice & hot) and the bottom of one of my jars falls out, literally falls out. Keep in mind, by the way, that I have never broken or had a jar break before, until this morning. Off to find another quart jar, heat that baby up and start our engines.

The rest of the peach preserving went fairly smooth, thank you God.

The jars are beautiful. All 12 (6 from the previous night) sealed without a hitch and all in all, I feel quite confident in my peaching abilities. Post 8:00am.

*Spiced Peaches
Provided by Better Homes & Gardens Canning Edition
5 1/4 cups water
2 1/4 cups sugar
12 whole cloves
2 3-4 inch cinnamon sticks
10-12 lbs ripe peaches (you know their ripe when you can ever so gently push in the top of your peach)
anti-browning solution

First off, the syrup. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan combine your water, sugar, cloves & cinnamon sticks together. Bring your ingredients to a boil, stirring often to assist the sugar in dissolving. When your solution has come to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. When your five minutes is complete, let your syrup cool for 30 minutes.

You then want to begin your blanching. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. In addition, you need to fill a large bowl with ice water. I always make a little slit at the top of my peaches before lowering them down into the boiling water, although it's not necessary. What is necessary is that you lower your peaches into the boiling water gently to roll around for 30 to 60 sec. Using a slotted spoon, remove your peaches from the boiling water and place them in the ice water. When your peaches are cool enough to handle, have fun & peel those skins off. It really should be beyond easy, if not - chances are your peaches are not yet ripe.

Cut your peaches in half, discarding pits and continue to slice into 8 pieces in total. To prevent discoloration, place peach slices immediately into your anti-browning solution (asorbic-acid or Vitamin C concoction).

As you are doing this, you'll want to begin warming up your syrup again, bringing it back to a boiling for a moment. At this time, if you would like your peach jars free of cinnamon sticks or cloves you can remove thwm with a slotted spoon. I took out my cinnamon sticks but kept in the cloves - mostly because it was too much work to get the cloves all out :)

When your peaches are all sliced, remove your jars from your preserving pot, where they should be nice and hot, and pack your peaches. Once your peaches are packed ladle your hot syrup into the jars, covering the peaches and leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims and place on the lids.

You'll want to process your peaches in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes (starting your time when the water returns to a rolling boil). When your time is up, remove your jars and look at how you preserved beauty.

*After making spiced peaches I made a batch of non-spiced peaches using the same recipe, just leaving out the cinnamon sticks & cloves. Simple as that.

Preserving Beauty in the Beet

2011-08-31T12:32:00.000-04:00

I like beets one certain way - sauted up with thick half-moon slices of sweet onion.
The cut edges of each onion slice, like a camelon, takes on the color of the scarlet deep beets. They are a delicious companions and like many older couples in my life - they are better together.

And that's it. Beets, onions & some olive oil.

My mom & sister though - they are big fans of pickled beets. I mean, take a fork and stab into the deep jar of bouyed red globes over and over and over again kind of fans.

So in an effort to give gifts through the art of canning & presrving this year I made Sweet Apple Cider Baby Beets from Tart & Sweet by Kelly Geary & Jessie Knadler.

First off, being the newbie beeting preserver, I have to admit, I didn't know how to peel a beet. So, with hopes that there are others out there who are just as nieve as I let me share, via Mom, how to peel a beet.

Step 1 - Trim your beets by cutting off the top as well as the root & place them in a pot of water, bring to a boil. Boil beets for 13-15 minutes.

Step 2 - When your 15 minutes has passed, remove the pot form the stove and drain the water (Note: If you enjoy or use natural dyes for either baking or creative endeavors - this is an opportunity to pilfer some beautiful dye).

Step 3 - Rince your beets under cool water until they come to a temperature you can touch & handle.

Step 4 - Rub your beets! The beet skin shoudl come off easily, but let's be honest - that's not always the case. Some of my beets gave me heartburn to peel, like a stubborn boiled egg. For those I used my nails and did the best I could to take the skin completely off (it has also been recommended by some that you can also use a vegetable peeler to take those stubborn skins off). Otherwise, I was grateful for the beets who bestowed grace and their skins did just slip right off the beet.
Note: If you aren't into naturally dying your fingers or nails (because the dye does stay under those nails for sometime - as evidenced by first hand experience), Geary & Knadler suggest you may want to wear latex gloves. If you do that though you can't really pretend you are the Purple People Eater in disguise for a week. The choice is yours.

Back to the Sweet Apple Cider Baby Beets.
All in all, this recipe was one of the easiest recipes I have put together. Geary & Knadler have the most beautiful suggestions throughout their book on how to put together your jars and they have yet to dissappoint. As life has it, I believe (okay, I know) I packed one of my jars too tight and didn't leave enough headspace - thus, not a good seal. But like many canners will share, a non-sealed jar is often a delightful opportunity/excuse to try out your recipe and store in the fridge.

I did not try it out but instead gave it to my sister as part of her birthday basket. I'll let you know her review once it comes in.

I chose this recipe for pickled beets over others for a couple of reasons. I really enjoy apple cider vinegar as a means of pickling. There is just something about that more subtle deep flavor of vinegar that I have taken a hankering to. I also was drawn to the combination of alternative ingredients in this recipe as opposed to other pickled beet recipes which include cumin, cloves, sugar and/or dill.

Sweet Apple Cider Baby Beets
Taken from Tart & Sweet

5 lbs baby beets, nice & clean
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 Tbs kosher salt
2 Tbs brown sugar or honey

Per Jar
1/2 tsp allspice berries
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
1 star anise pod
1 cinnamon stick

After following the directions above for peeling your beets, set your beets aside and "start your brine" (this kind of reminds me of "start your engines" - which is often what it feels like when one is canning)!

Combine your vinegar, water, salt and brown sugar to a boil.

While you are waiting for your brine to come to a boil place your allspice, peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon in EACH hot jar. After doing so tightly pack your beets into the jars without bruising them. When all packed pour your boiling brine over the beets leaving 1/2 inch headspace making sure that your beets are fully emmersed in the brine.

Swipe the inside of your jars for air bubbles, wipe your rims and seal by processing in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, contingent upon elevation.

FYI: Geary & Knadler suggest that these scarlet beauties are "perfect for making your own beet salad at home" and "complement the flavors of sharp arugula, shavings of nutty Parmesan, and earthy walnuts" - I just realized I have all of those ingredients in our home right now! Opportunity to try out my tounge on a new avdenture of flavors? Perhaps!

Continued Preserving Beauty with the Zuu-Hee-Nee

2011-08-26T10:40:00.000-04:00

Okay - we're still movin' with the Zucc-Hee-Nees.

Today, a great recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens Canning edition, Zucc-Hee-Nee Bread n' Butter Pickles.

Although I have recently (as in yesterday recently) made (read: pasteurized - oh yeah, pasteurized!) dill pickles, tier not my favorite. They never have been. I was the sister to always pulled them off my Hot n' Now hamburger, praying they (or their flavor) weren't stuck to the burger or the bun. The sister who had the longest french fry in their possession often received the prize worth pickles as part of a trade. I still think I got the better half of the deal.

All of this to say - I'm not a fan of dill pickles. But Bread n' Butter pickles... Yes, Please! I would (and still will) sit with a jar of those sweet cukes in hand, legs criss-crossed, and put down an entire 16 ounce can. Shameless.

This love for sweet pickles may also be why I have, to this day, made three batches of various sweet pickles. More on that next week.

But today. TODAY, Zucc-Hee-Nee Bread n' Butter Pickles (I just shared with Jake how I'm choosing to spell Zucc-Hee-Nee and he promptly shared that I need to slowly take my fingers off the keyboard and find my way to bed, you may be thinking the same actually - but for the sake of this recipe, I'll continue on).

As a I saying...

This recipe was not only ridiculously simple but due to the astronomically calf size zucchini I had purchased at the farmer's market, they looked stunning in the jar. By pure circumstance they were almost exactly the diameter of the jar so for a couple of jars I decided to stack them in there and see how they turn out in a couple of weeks. I really like the look they present (I like order... sometimes) & as always, the turmeric adds such beauty.

The sugar. This recipe has quite a bit of sugar in it, yet not as much as other recipes I have found. I think for my next batch (shhhh... don't tell Jake - he says we already have enough pickles. One more batch won't hurt, right?) I'll try an alternative king of sweetener. Honey, perhaps?

Oh, and the spices. I switched up the spice ratio a bit - simply out of personal preference. You'll find that I noted what I changed below.

Ready for the recipe?

Thanks to Better Homes & Gardens Canning Edition - here you have it!

Zucc-Hee-Nee Bread n' Butter Pickles

3 1/2 lbs medium zucchini

1 cup thinly sliced, halved onion

3 Tbs pickling salt

2 cups cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Tbs mustard seed (I used 1 1/2 Tbs)

1 tsp celery seed (I used 2 tsp)

1/2 tsp whole black peppercorn (I increased it to 1 tsp)

1/2 tsp ground turmeric (I made this a HEAPING tsp)

Start out by washing the dirt off your zucchini, no one needs dirt in their teeth when they bite into a pickle (although, I'm wondering now if the dirt would even survive? Thoughts?). Slice off the very ends of your zucchini and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. BHG shares that this should total 12 cups and they were pretty right on.

In an extra-large nonmetal bowl, combine your sliced zucchini and 1 cups of sliced onions. Sprinkle with your 3 Tbs. of salt and toss gently to coat your veggies. Top with 2 inches of ice and place a heavy plate on top to weight down the ice. Allow your ice veggie bowl to stand at room temperature for 2 hours.

When your 2 hours is up remove any remaining ice chunks and drain mixture.

As your preserving pot is heating up, combine your vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, peppercorns, and turmeric in a nonstick heavy bottomed pot. Bring this vinegar potion to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved (for some reason I'm reminded of the wicked witch & the gingerbread house right now). When the sugar is dissolved add the zucchini mixture and , stirring frequently, reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

After your five minutes have passed ladle the hot mixture into your hot sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath and remove from water when the timer has beeped and you are pulled away, all too soon, from reading Tine Fey's new book, Bossypants.

When removed you may promptly return to your front porch (or back porch) and continue reading this hilarious bio. She sure knows how to tell a story.

Preserving Beauty with THE most beautiful Dilly Carrots

2011-08-25T11:04:00.000-04:00

I know one should never have favorites.

Being the oldest of four girls I can more than appreciate this.

But I may be breaking the cardinal "never pick favorites" rule with this one.

Keep in mind. I'm not choosing favorites based upon flavor or technique but simply on beauty.

Dilly Carrots are the most beautiful vegetable I have preserved thus far.

It may be the springs of dill that posed just so.

Or the long, lean orange treads of roots that fit together just so.

Maybe it's the way the onions fall so delicately & perfectly through the thin pockets between each carrots quarter.

These Dilly Carrots have me wrapped around their little root though and if I thought more people, like myself, would jump at a jar of Dilly Carrots, I would make more. Sadly, my familial & social circles run somewhat traditional - and as someone recently shared, "We loved the rosemary rhubarb strawberry jam - but we like the traditional stuff better." Note to self: Sometimes people just want Dill Pickles & Strawberry Jam - Fancy Smanchy Four word jams be damned.

I found this recipe via (hold your breath) Put Em' Up (we don't yet have a library card due to temporary residence so the pickings mostly revolve around books we have unpacked here and Sherri has been faithful) and although I have not yet tasted them, I do plan on looking at them every day until next spring when I have a hankering for some carrots when they are just hopeful greens in my eyes.

So enjoy.

Dilly Carrots

Courtesy of Put Em' Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton

2 lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds (more simply stated - cut each carrot into 4th unless it's the size of your forearm. In that case refer back to the 1/4 inch round guideline)

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbs black peppercorn

1 bunch of fresh dill (or 2 Tbs of dried dill weed OR if you're really hurtin' for dill you can use 1 Tbs of dill seed)

4 cups distilled white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbs salt

First you want to combine the vinegar, sugar and salt into a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil being sure to dissolve the sugar & salt.

While your vinegar concoction is coming to a boil, divide your carrots, garlic, onion, peppercorns and dill among four clean, HOT pint-sized jars. I would start first with the garlic, onion, peppercorns and dill and then shove those carrots in, otherwise you're going to have a dandy of a time getting those items in post carrots.

When your vinegar solution has come to a boil (and you're hopefully done jammin' those carrots into the jars), pour the brine over the carrots to over by 1/2 inch leaving that as headspace.

Using the boiling water method - wipe the rims clean, center the lids on and screw tight. Process for 15 at a full roiling boil. When time has lapsed turn off your burner and let jars sit in water bath for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let sit for 24 hours before storing in the dark (as suggested). Or, if like me, you can't escape the inherit beauty of these jars - you'll let them sit on your windowsill for over a week before you decide that it is in their best interest to be stored in the dark. And then you'll move them all, except one, into the basement. Two weeks post canning I still can't let the last jar go. It's just too beautiful.)

And for your entertainment:

Preserving Beauty with Italian Flavored Zucchini Spears

2011-08-24T17:03:00.001-04:00

Up here in Michigan we are in full-on-zucchini mode here.

Those long green extended arms of elephant-ear-like plants are everywhere.

On doorsteps.

In markets.

Sauted in stir-fry dinners.

Roasted with other late summer vegetables.

I'm tellin' ya. They are everywhere.

And although I mourn the loss of some beautiful looking plants in West Virginia, I'm making up (or covering up?) my grief with all things zucchini.

First - Zucchini Salsa

Second - Zucchini Jam

Next - Italian Flavored Zucchini Spears

I chose this recipe from the book Put Em' Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.

and, like my other zucchini canning recipes, I made this one twice. I must have some kind of penchant for Zucchini & their deep green skin.

From first making them, I found the process to be quite simple & enjoyable - in fact, all pickle-like recipes are like that for me. I love the quick & easy.

But what sold this recipe for me was not the process but the end product.

After first making these zucchini spears I found that one can did not seal - I'm pretty sure it was the lack of full headspace needed. So, like any good canner, I popped it in the fridge, waited a few weeks for it to set and absorb and then took to enjoying the fruits of my labor.

I'm not too good at texting but I'm going to steal the following acronym because it's all I can come up with at this time of the evening to describe how I felt about them: OMG.

These Italian flavored zucchini spears are delicious! They have a subtle bite to them while carrying with them the strong flavor of spices added. Let's just say, Jake the Little Tomato & I ate one the jar in a day and a half.

Really, I enjoy them so much that I was only too pleased to move up to Michigan and find that not only were zucchini still in season here, so I could make more of these spears, but the season was just beginning. Maybe a third batch is awaiting?

Italian Flavored Zucchini Spears

Courtesy of Put Em' Up

4 pounds of summer squash or zucchini

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup salt

4 garlic cloves, halved

4 cups of distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbs dried oregano

1 tsp black peppercorn

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf, crumbled

Begin by washing your zucchini, trim the ends and then cut into spears one inch shorter than pint jars. I just stood the trimmed zucchini up to the pint jars and used this as a guide for height assessment. Toss together the already cut zucchini with the chopped onion and salt in a large bowl and cover with cool water, set aside for 2 hours (or 8 depending on how many children you have running around, how many calls you receive or if the weather finds it calling your name and you can't bear to stay inside - yes, these do in fact sometimes happen and I just pretend that the longer the zucchini sets the more flavorful it will be. Pretending & rationalizing does wonders!)

After 2 (or 8) hours drain your zucchini, salt, onion combo and rise thoroughly. Even if you think you've rinsed well - Sherri suggests you do it again.

Bring the vinegar, sugar, oregano, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf to a boil in a large heavy bottomed pot. Pour the hot brine over the vegetables to cover. Leave 1/2 inch headspace between the top of the brine & the lid.

Using the boiling-water method process the jars for 30 minutes at a rolling boil. When the 30 minutes has passed let the jars rest in the hot water for 5 minutes.

I usually like my pickled items to rest in the brine for at least two weeks before I dig into them. I was too curious to wait that long this time and 3 days post processing we dug into a jar.

Life changing.

We even got out little tomato to start munching on them for snack.

Oh, and I'm quite unsure why I didn't snap a photo of the end result, because they are simply stunning with their spiny spears to & fro. Alas, I didn't though and that's that.

Preserving Beauty in Zucchini Jam

2011-08-23T12:48:00.001-04:00

As my sisters & I grow older and our palette's continue to expand there is one thing that the four of us (all girls) are finding - we were deprived.

Okay, deprived is the wrong word.

This is deprivation.

What we were... we were slighted. Yes, slighted. Although I'm sure at times, untintentional - we were a bit slighted.

We've concluded that due to my mom's specific food desires & tastes (and let's be honest, limited income), our exposure to various common fruits, vegetables & other higher end meal additions was limited - it's the age old problem - a bowl of mac' n' cheese is always more filling and less expensive that a red pepper.

I only discovered spinach in my late teens, thank you college cafeteria & your phenomenal salad bar.

Hummus? Thank you Jake for sending me a frozen package of this darling meditterian staple during our early years of smittenness. That sealed our fate.

Arugla? Kale? Bok Choy? Really, any green outside of your typical head of pale green lettuce I never knew existed until my early twenties thanks to some new fangled thing called Farmer's Markets that were beginning to pop up around the Metro D.C. area around 10 years ago.

Ricotta cheese? Brie? More specifically - any cheese that didn't come bright orange, wrapped up as plastic slices. Yeah - all new over the last decade.

And who had even heard of lemongrass or cumin anyway?

Don't get me wrong. There was plenty mom did do right regarding food. Homemade applesauce, Endless frozen blueberries. A dish of prepared vegetables to match each hot dog or barbecue chicken dish - check. Plenty of chookies & gallons of neighborly milk to match - most certainly always available.

Plus, there was love. Lots & lots of love in our food.

All of this to say - savory jams? Yeah, never heard of them, until...

Oh yes, until I began canning.

Now though... Now, I can't stop with these not-so-sweet but oh-so-good jams. Thus far, I have processed two batches of the following recipe and look forward to exploring more savory spreads.

A couple notes about the following recipe, gathered from Life Currants.

She suggests taking 1/2 cup & chopping it up as opposed to shredding it. I didn't take time to do that - I shredded the entire 1 1/2 cups. Call it lazy but I call it preserving time. Plus, I like a uniform look. It's that whole need to have the window blinds in a room be at the same level kind of semetrical obsession. I know, ridicelous.

The original recipe calls for an anaheim chili. I didn't have any of those on hand so I went for the common but dependable jalapeno.

The rest was a perfect fit.

Zucchini Jam

Curtsey of Life Currants

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (I took about 1/2 cup and chopped it into thin strips to give different textures)
1 Anaheim Chili, chopped into thin strips
3 cups sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 package pectin

Place a large pot over medium heat and combine zucchini, pepper, sugar, and vinegar.

Boil all ingredients together until thermometer reaches 220 degrees.

When you've reached 220 degrees, take off heat and stir in pectin. Allow to cool for 2 minutes and stir jam for 1 minute (this is to prevent all of the succhini from floating to the top of the jam).

Place jam in jars and store in refrigerator.

Best when served over crackers and cream cheese. Trust me, I'm eating some right now.

And a quick question for you professional canners out there - what are your thoughts on canning this recipe? What needs to be changed in order to preserve it?

Preserving Beauty on Can It Forward Day!

2011-08-13T10:34:00.000-04:00

Let's begin honest. I have made this recipe - two times.

I love it. And I'm not the most generous with that word "love". My husband has sought to condition my verbage to only "love" that which is able to love back. I'm working on it, trying not to love my new shoes or great gas mileage, our new home (oh yes, our new home) or canned goods.

But I fall off the wagon when it comes to this recipe. I love SB Canning's rendition of Zucchini Salsa. Love.

First off - it always amazes me how quickly shredding 10 cups of zucchini actually takes (approx. 10 minutes), in addition to how few zucchini it takes to total 10 cups. I'm talking 4 average sized zucchini - tops (speaking of which, today at the Farmer's Market I saw a zucchini as long and as wide as my entire shin). Speaking of which, SB's initial recipe called for the zucchini to be peeled & then shred. I'm a fan for the look for the dark green intermingled with the rest of the ingredients so there you have it. Plus, I am a huge fan of what I like to call the "Is it really necessary?" model. Meaning - well, if it's not really necessary then I tend to not do it. What else may often fall under this model? Cleaning under the refrigerator & stove, wiping out the window sills and cleaning any & all window blinds. I am not, repeat - not going to have window blinds in our new home.

Other alterations from the original recipe? I didn't add the cornstarch. After searching a bit online I found this recipe in numerous other places - many of them did not add cornstarch and after a bit of research I found that it wasn't imperative, so I chose to ignore it.

I also used two cloves of garlic for garlic powder. What can I say, I like a bite.

Lastly, I just want to share that there is a reason, aside for my unyielding love for this salsa, that I made it twice now totaling 23 pints. Friends & family can't get enough.

My dad, who is a tried & true tomato salsa lover and zucchini hater sat down with a bowl of this zucchini salsa & scoops and licked the bowl clean. My cousin's husband, who I recently discovered has been preserving the last 15 years, shared at a family reunion how much he enjoyed the zucchini salsa & yes, yes he did - he asked for the recipe. To put a cherry on this sweet sundae of success - my brother in law, a fan of all things hot (and we're talkin' flamin' hot here) stopped by the house the other day to share that he had this salsa on his morning eggs & "really enjoyed it". These are big words for Jason.

So, without further ado - I bring you:

Zucchini Salsa

    10 cups zucchini, shredded
    4 medium sized onions, chopped
    2 medium sized green peppers, chopped
    2 medium sized red peppers, chopped
    1/4 cup pickling salt
    1 tablespoon pickling salt
    2 tablespoons dry mustard
    1 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic
    1 tablespoon cumin
    2 cups white vinegar
    1 cup brown sugar
    2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
    1 teaspoon nutmeg
    1 teaspoon pepper
    5 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
    2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
    12 ounces tomato paste

Day One: In a large bowl combine; zucchini, onions, green pepper, red pepper and the 1/4 cup of pickling salt. Mix together and cover. Let stand over night in the fridge. I actually got up quite early and completed this portion of the recipe in the morning, only so I could go about my day & complete the salsa that evening (approx. 12 hours later).

Day Two (or 8-12 hours later): Rinse & drain your zucchini solution well and put into your large pot (in case the bold, italic, underlined font wasn't enough - I want to emphasize that you really do need a large pot for this recipe) and add your mustard, garlic, cumin, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper flakes, salt, nutmeg, pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste.

Bring your zucchini salsa potion to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes and pour into sterilized jars. Seal each jar & set into a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

And enjoy. Really enjoy and gift and have an amazing Can It Forward Day!

Preserving Beauty in Transitions

2011-08-12T11:58:00.001-04:00

As we sit here, the two of us, coffee in hand (black for him, cream for her), we sit. Legs extended. Minds full. Housing temporary. Fingers Interlocking.

We're on hold.

We've just spent the last 20 minutes rolling through the last two months and came up with the following not-so-interesting but honest-to-goodness facts.

In the last 60 days we have: lived in 3 different homes; traveled to four different states to visit friends & family; hosted friends & family in our temporary home(s); We've had 2 family reunions and are looking forward to two birthday parties as well as transporting many family members to various locations across Michigan as they come & go for various celebrations; Jake began new employment and our belongings? They are still in the big red van where they lie until...

Oh - and our little tomato turned One! How did that happen?

So, what is this all about and how on earth does it relate to Preserving Beauty?

During our last few days in West Virginia Jake's parents came down to watch Yael as we packed, said our last good-byes & I canned. I preserved Rhubarb Peach Jam, Peach Jalapeno Salsa, Jalapeno Jelly, Dilly Carrots, Pickled Okra, Apple Onion Sage Chutney, Spiced Apple Chutney and Corn Salsa.

The peach skins slipped off into my fingers (and into some eager & curious hands).

The rhubarb, last of the season, was crisp & sounded like the snap of a stick when broke in half.

Jalapenos? Such a deep green - as though an entire rainforest poured all of their green into each little pod.

The dilly carrots produced such a beautiful jar with the little bits of dill that had popped up in our front yard herb garden that I found myself carrying a jar in my purse when I went to visit friends.

That corn salsa? I was able to recruit a little help from my father-in-law who took to the deli knife & bamboo cutting board like a seasoned butcher and sliced, diced, shredded & carved while I nursed Little Tomato.

Do you see where I am going here?

Then the month of blueberries. Michigan blueberries! Oh, & those pesky abundant zucchini! Blubarb Jam, Dilly Beans, Zucchini Salsa, Zucchini Bread & Butter Pickles, Peach Butter, Nectberry Jam, Pickled Ginger, Italian Zucchini Spears, Cherry Chutney, Zucchini Relish, Dill Pickles, Marinated Red Peppers, Sweet Apple Cider Baby Beets and Peach Syrup.

Have you ever shred zucchini and just run your hands & fingers deep through those fine slivers of that green reproductive goddess?

Have you ever taken time to sit by the river & pit pounds of sweet Michigan cherries (or Mt. Rainer cherries if you're an West Coaster)?

What about lining those spindly carrots or green beans up in a row just as a mother lines up her spindly children according to height for the annual holiday snapshot?

Beets? When I can resist not frying them up with a couple sweet yellow onions and watch the red bleed into the outer banks of the onions arch, I dream of how else I could use those scarlet harlots other than in pickling duel.

In these time of all things temporary there has been one constant (well, actually three constants but for the reason of this entry, I'm leaving out Jake & Yael) - Canning.

It's the been the one personal gift I have been able to carry with me throughout each of these transitions. The box with the pot, pectin, thermometer, couple of towels & all of the canning supplies is never out of reach, even if it is in the big red van. And given just a couple of hours & some fresh fruits & veggies, I can escape. I can chop, dream, configure, engage, admire & taste - oh, how I love to taste!

Now we're here. Here in our temporary upstairs apartment with some mean sounding pit-bulls next door, in waiting for our next adventure - purchasing a house. A place where my home, Jake & Little Tomato, can rest. A place where we can invent for ourselves what we hope life to look like for the next few years. A place where jars are filled, emptied, multiplied then refilled, a place where pots are stirred, local fruits & vegetables find way into new creations and the comfort of peach syrup on top of a large bowl of vanilla bean ice cream welcomes each new face.

Some unearthed jams & veggies post move #1

Preserving the beauty of the season through this time of transition has helped preserve my sense of self. For that I am grateful.

Oh, and did I mention that I put together my first gift basket for a birthday?

Preserving the beauty in the Tomato Cowboy.

2011-07-08T22:21:00.001-04:00

Yesterday my mom & I made our way to the Mt. Pleasant Farmer's Market where, as previously mentioned, we gathered up armfuls of goodies & mouth-watering worthy fruits & veggies.

Among the masses of cherries, strawberries, wheat breads & peppers came one young fella in his urban cowboy hat selling jars of mulberry & rhubarb jam as well as a variety of goat cheeses (from the common to the basil infused).

Those jars though.

Those jars call to me, as I'm finding they often do.

I see those jars and I more often than not I loose all social skills and quickly ease into social awkwardness.

Example:

Self: Oh, these are beautiful jamsl! Where do you get your mulberries?
Jammin' Cowboy: That's a secret. No one knows it, but there is a mulberry tree in an undisclosed cemetery.
Self: How provocative! When did you begin canning?
JC: I started a couple of summers ago. I don't can much but when I come across some berries I make jam.
Self: Tell me more!
JC: Well, I find that people don't like to get their hands dirty and will pay to not have to make their own jam.
Self: How do you not get your hands dirty? I'm a hot mess all the time!
JC: It's a pretty clean hobby. I don't know. I just don't get that dirty.
Self: Woah - you're amazing. Talk to me about your pectin! What kind of pectin do you use?
JC: The regular ball jar pectin. Do you use something different?
Self: I am beginning to...

Followed by talk about an elongated talk of Pomona vs. Ball vs. the use of tart apples in making jams & jelly. I think I may have been the only one enjoying the conversation at this point.

Although I was the instigator and pursuer and promoter of conversation (and I think there was even a hint of tired "why me" in his voice) I really felt alive after talking with him and eventually purchased of some great (and now gone) goat cheese (truth be told, my mom purchased) and was on my merry way.

But this is the problem - I do this to every canner I come across. I cannot get enough information, cannot ask enough questions and most certainly, canNOT get too many recipes or tips. I'm learning how to not be so obnoxious but as most personality imperfections in my life, it's a work in progress.

So, in honor of the Urban Jammin' Cowboy victim, I dedicate this post to some amazing Cowboy Tomato Jam initially provided by the ShowFood Chef. This jam has a little bit of a bite and tastes perfect on a whole wheat bagel or triscuits for a mid-morning delight.

Without question, I would make this again (and again) and more than look forward to gifting my brother-in-law (king of all things spicy and one who is never without Franks Red Hot sauce to douse his meals with) with a jar of this beautiful jam for his up-coming birthday!

Isn't this a beautiful jam?

Cowboy Tomato Jam

Provided for by ShowFood Chef

1 lb. Garden fresh tomatoes (peeled, cored and chopped)

12 oz. sugar

1 lime (juice and zest)

1 Tbs. fresh ginger zested

1 whole Jalapeno (minced)

1 tsp each: cumin, black pepper and cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a deep saucepan. Cook on low until the sugar dissolves, stirring often.

Bring to a boil on medium, continuing to stir, for several minutes.

Increase heat and boil until temp reaches 220F or check for jam set with a chilled plate.

Fill sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace for food expansion. Seal immediately and place in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove, carefully, and leave for 12-24 hours without moving. Label and store in a cool, dry place.

Oh - and if you're in Mt. Pleasant and happen to stop by the farmer's market on Thursday afternoon, give the Urban Jammin' Cowboy some business - he works hard, picks his own produce and sells some great goat cheese & sweet Mulberry Jam. He's the one wearing the cowboy hat on the left side of the pavilion.

Preserving Beauty in Transitions

2011-07-07T22:38:00.001-04:00

And what a series of transitions it has been! After a road-trip with one 11 month old, one red eared slider turtle, one set of walkie-talkies, more than one bean burrito and a whole lot of Elizabeth Mitchell in my mind we have made the trek from West Virginia to Ohio, up to Michigan, down to Indiana and for the last six days we have been tooling around Upper Michigan while searching and sorting through homes, connecting & reconnecting with family and taking in every moment of our on Lake Michigan, strolls in the woods & trips down the Chippewa River.

Today though - Today we went to the Mt. Pleasant farmers market and before I knew it I had a loaf of dill whole wheat in one arm and a flat of strawberries in the other as a bag of pickling cucumbers hung from my left elbow.

Today I am finding myself entering back into the canning groove one again!

Tomorrow my sister & 4 month old neice will be joining us on the river for an afternoon of Vitamin D & fresh cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes & snap peas - all additional catches from our farmers market adventures today.

Oh - and all of those recipes mentioned below! Let us begin! Tomorrow? How about Cowboy Tomato Jam for all you rough ridin' canners out there.

* Pictures of our adventures coming later - truth be told, the camera is out in the car and my motivation for walking outside in the swarm of misquitoes is the last thing I want to do as I sit here, nussled up with a stack of oreos beside me. Maybe tomorrow...

[Preserving Mondays]

2011-06-27T09:54:00.000-04:00

Spending a few precious days with these kids & their family.

What a wonderful way to preserve beauty.

P.S. When all was said & done, packed & boxed and we hit the road northward bound this was an inventory of all recipes canned over the previous six months:

Apple Butter
Spiced Apple Jelly
Enchilada Sauce
Tomato Bruchetta

Zicchini Jam
Applesauce
Ginger Applesauce
Strawberry Applesauce
Dandelion Vinegar
Pickled Ramps
Mango Butter
Cinnamon Marmalade
Apple Chutney
Pepper Jam
Carrot Marmalade
Mango BBQ Sauce
Pickled Onions
Honey Lemon Jam
Corn Relish
Mango Salsa
Tomato Salsa
Mango Chutney
Strawberry Jam
Zucchini Bread & Butter Pickles
Italian Flavored Zucchini Spears
Weeping Peach Preserve
Radish Relish
Onion Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Rhubarb Strawberry Rosemary Jam
Zucchini Salsa

Sweet Rhubarb Wine Jam
Cowboy Tomato Jam

Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Spiced Rhubarb Jam
Strapple Spread
Peppery Strawberry Salsa
Tomato Jam
Rhubarb Peach Jam

Peach Butter
Peach Jalapeno Salsa
Jalapeno Jelly
Dilly Carrots
Pickled Okra
Apple Onion Sage Chutney
Spiced Apple Chutney
Corn Salsa

All high-fives are welcome and yes, I have some catching up to do!

Preserving Beauty with Strapple

2011-06-21T09:10:00.000-04:00

I'm finding myself not the most consistent fan of liquid pectin (much like how I am not the most consistent fan of Detroit sports teams). It's not that it doesn't work for me, it's just that it doesn't fully work for me. Maybe it's the luck of the draw or just luck of the newbie canner such as I, but I just can't seem to get the best set with it.

I have to tell you something though, I'm secretly (or not so secretly any longer) a fan of things not working. Why, you may ask?

Well let me share! Because when things fail it offers me an opportunity to research. And I love me some good excuse to research.

Yes, sometimes too much information is more of a problem than an asset. Yet, I just love digging deeper in.

Flipping my fingers across the pages.

Bringing up tab after tab after tab.

Asking questions.

Forming hypothesis.

Yes, sometimes I even develop an internal logic model as I plan experiments, trials & errors ahead.

It's truly addicting.

Therefore, liquid pectin failure? A-OK with me!

Findings? Here we go!

First off, if you're a newbie canner such as I (I must have a penchant this morning for the tag, "such as I") it would bid you well to take a look over here. SB Canning did it again and did it in high style (if fact, she answered most of the questions I had took the research right out of them!). What a great guideline for pectin knowledge.

I have to admit though, I'm becoming smitten with the simple pectin found in the reliable Tart Granny Smith Apple. She's a beaut, isn't she?

Who peeled all THREE apples with never breaking the peel? Yup! That would be me! Love when that happens!

I have had such beautiful luck with making jams that called for tart apples for the pectin content that when I came across this alternative jam recipe I was in line at Kroger with my frozen unsweetened grape juice concentrate, breathing heavily on it as I waited in line, hoping to assist it in quickly thawing.

I may have received a few concerning looks but within one hour, I was making, what I have renamed - Strapple Jam, courtesy of Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (recipe originally found under Spreadable Fieldberries).

Strapple Jam

Courtesy of Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

2 1/2 tart apples, peeled, cored & chopped

6 cups halved hulled strawberries

1 can of undiluted frozen unsweetened grape juice concentrate, thawed

Begin by preparing canner, jars and lids.

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine apples, strawberries and concentrate.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly while mashing fruit, until mixture thickens - about 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and test gel. If gel state has been reached ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe (Ha! I initially typed "wope" which just sounds like a really funny word this morning!) rim and place lid on jar. Screw band down and process in hot water bath of constant boiling water for 10 minutes (or a wee more depending on your elevation).

When time is up, turn off heat and let jam sit in water bath for five minutes before removing.

This jam... this jam is like nothing I have ever tasted. It is so beautifully sweetened by the juice concentrate and the tart apple pectin, helping aide in the pectin department, and truly allowing the preserved beauty of the strawberry shine through.

Oh - and if you were possibly wondering if you could make your own apple pectin - YOU CAN! Check out Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving by Ashley English. I actually bought a couple extra pounds of Grannies this past week and look forward to trying my hand at it this coming week - thanks to the in-laws who are coming to spend time with the little one as we ~~can~~ pack up for the bigish move!

Ha! I just realized that for two weeks in a row I have forgotten about [Preserving Monday]! Maybe it's the move or that the space that usually is searching out for a good NPO or link to share is filled with anticipatory and on-going good-byes while we begin to welcome & usher in a new adventure.

Alas, hope your Monday was filled with the joy that the beginning of new weeks ahead bring!

Preserving Beauty in Firsts

2011-06-19T07:51:00.005-04:00

Another oldie but goodie.

During those creeping winter months when I was first trying out my hand with canning (and using oh so unsafe canning methods - thongs anyone?) I found myself with an abundance of lemons on hand. I preserved a good couple armfuls but before long was looking for something new to try my hand at.

I think it's evident by now which canning book was my first. I have made more recipes from Well Preserved by Mary Dragan than number of sticks my daughter has played with and/or ate*. From this first canning book came my first jelly as well.

This may not seem like such a significant milestone but for a woman like me, who often remembers "firsts" in her life, this jelly, this book etched itself a place in my memory.

A couple other firsts that hold a deep grain in my mind:
The typical first kiss - Oh James.
First hand hold - Oh Joey.
First Crush - Thank you Joey, one more time.

First scent of spring - Indian Lake.

First goats - Darcee & Rosie.

First time we held a fair at our home - Labor Day weekend at our home on Arch Rd. to raise money for muscular dystrophy.

First death I experienced - My Grandpa, Elmer.

First time I shaved my legs - my parents bathroom when I was in 6th grade and couldn't handle the teasing of my womanly maned legs any longer.

First march in a Gay pride parade - Toronto, 2000 wearing my Support United Way t-shirt.

First musical role - I was the elephant in our kindergarten graduation play.

First time I felt God - running in Washington D.C., 2001, and recognizing the dandelion peeking up from the crack in the sidewalk and connecting with it's journey up through the soil & cement, against all odds to soak in the energy & light of God.

You get the picture. I am big on firsts, each holding a space in my memory that cannot be compromised or questioned - these memories holding tightly onto each space marked just for them.

As will Honey Lemon Jelly. My first jelly.

At the time I made this jelly I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. I was following directions the best I could and kept thinking, "It's got to be more difficult than this?"

But it wasn't! Making jelly was (and is) one of the most satisfying & enjoyable processes (relationships?) I have engaged in. Really, anyone can do this - including you! Go ahead and make this your first!

Honey Lemon Jelly

Courtesy of Well Preserved by Mary Dragan

Two important things to note about this jelly: honey jelly really boils up when it is cooking so take care that the pot does not boil over. It also sets up very quickly when it is removed from the hear, so do not delay in filling the jars.

2 cups honey

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup freshly squeezed juice, strained

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1/2 cup water

one 3 oz. pouch liquid pectin

Prepare preserving jars and your boiling water path.

Combine the honey, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and water in your preserving pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir in the pectin. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture reaches a full, roiling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil hard for exactly one minute. Remove from heat, stir and skim off foam as necessary.

Quickly pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims clean and seal accordingly. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes (or a bit more contingent upon elevation).

There you have it. Really, it doesn't get more simple than this and is the perfect jelly for a jammin' starter such as I.

* Snapshot of our little tomato taken by our good friend Sharon. If you're interested in knowing more about her photography please feel free to send me a note and I'll be happy to pass along her information. She is amazing and throughout the entire shoot let our little tomato be who she is, documenting each moment - full of expression & wonder. Although my mom would say, "Why is the stick in her face?" I can't help but thank Sharon for capturing so beautifully who Little Tomato is, a wee one full of curiosity, always waving a stick in her hand and most often, yes - in front of her face. Obviously we're not worried about her poking an eye out. Should we be?

Preserving the Beauty with Colonel & Corn

2011-06-18T14:10:00.002-04:00

Jake has this sweet tooth for some good ole' corn on the cob. The kind of corn that is has both yellow & white little kernels and tastes more like candy than corn. I think his fondness for this groan-by-the-bite corn stems from his upbringing in the Indiana fields of corn country and his ~~fond~~ memories of summer detasseling. So when I saw some unhusked corn at the market I didn't even hesitate to grab us a couple ~~too many~~ ears, knowing they would make a great number of sides to our summer outdoor evening meals.

What West Virginia corn is: delicious, yellow & fills that hole in your stomach (and spaces in your teeth) that calls to memory the summer afternoons of childhood (and the need for that case of floss in your bathroom medicine cabinet you don't use often enough).

What West Virginia corn is not: Indiana sweet corn.

I once heard that if you go sweet, you never go back.

Such is the case here.

We ate a good number of ears from our stash but soon found ourselves with a bundle of slowly shriveling yellow kernels that needed to be put up because they were certainly not being put down.

What better to do with those beautiful West Virginia yella not-so-sweet ears (the opposite of those sweet ears of our little tomato that I cannot stop nibbling on) than to spice them up a bit and make corn relish!

I received this recipe from Well Preserved by Mary Dragan and would make it again if I didn't have the hankering (or need the challenge) to make some black bean & corn salsa (Pressure canning? You betch ya!). The tumeric really brings depth to the flavor of the corn kernals and I'm tickled to have these jars stocked up for those winter mexical meals that need a little flava with that beans & rice.

Old Fashion Corn Relish

Adapted from Well Preserved by Mary Dragan

5 cups of corn kernels (10 ears)

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet red peppers

1 cup finely chopped green peppers

1 1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 3/4 cups cider vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp celery seed

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp turmeric

If you are using fresh corn, husk it (and let the little ones play with it - I guarantee it will entertain for at least 30 mins and leave fresh tassels all over your home) and cook the ears for 10 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Drain, then plunge the corn into ice water to cool quickly so it can be handled easily. Standing the ears of the corn on end, cut the kernels off the cobs using a very sharp knife. Do not scrape the cobs - the milkly juice will make the relish cloudy.

Start the relish by combining the green & red peppers, onion, celery, vinegar, sugar, salt, celery seed, mustard and turmeric in your heavy-bottomed preserving pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the corn and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring often.

Remove the relish from the stove-top and spoon relish into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Release the air bubbles, wipe rims clean and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

* To curry it up add 2 tsp. of curry powder and 1 tsp of hot pepper sauce along with the other spices. I did this and do not regret it one bit!

You may ask? "What might one do to follow-up canning a killer corn relish?"

Wash the car with the KFC Colonel of course?

Preserving Beauty in Apple Chutney

2011-06-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

As promised, Apple Chutney - Well, technically Apple Raisin Chutney but when I usually hear Raisin in the title of a recipe I run. Assuming that I'm not the only one, and at the same time not wanting to be decietful, I am renaming this recipe in honor of the decreased number of raisins I put in. Initially, Jennifer MacKenzie in The Complete Book of Pickling, suggested I add 1 cup of raisins to this already beautifully spiced Apple Chutney. I declined her offer but took her suggestion and put in half the amount of raisins for a hopeful boost in flavor.
All in all, I am pretty darn pleased as punch that I decreased the number of rotten grapes (as I have called raisins since I was a youngin') and increased the amount of mustard seeds, crushed coriander seeds & cumin seeds. I like my chutney with flavor & these changes in the original recipe were a good match for this household & I.
Without further adieu...

Apple Chutney
Adapted from The Complete Book of Pickling by Jennifer MacKenzie

4 cups of chopped, peeled, tart cooking apples
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
3 Tbs. finely chopped gingerroot
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. mustard seed
2 tsp. coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp. pickling salt
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup civer vinegar

Prepare canner, jars & lids

In a large pot, combine apples, onions, ginger, raisins, brown sugar, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, salt, cumin seeds, cinnamon, fenugreek, cayenne and vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium hear, stirring often. Reduce hear and boil gently, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes or until onions are almost translucent and mixture is thick enough to mound up on a spoon.

Ladle chutney into hot jars, leaving1/2 inch head space. Remove airbubbles and adjust head space as necessary. Wipe rim and place hot lid on jar. Screw on jar and Walla!

Place jars into canning pot and process jar in a roiling boil for 10 minutes. Turn off hear and let jars stand in water for 5 minutes.

Also, be sure to save some for yourself to eat while your jars are processing. I really feel like this is a necessary step in the canning process. Those jars are beauts, but that taste of warm chutney is worth all of that standing.

Preserving Beauty with the Spicy Apple

2011-06-15T16:14:00.000-04:00

In the midst of packing & cleaning, sorting & planning I decided to take an inventory of what I have both canned, posted on the blog & do or do not have the recipe for.

The following observations were made:

A. I have put up quite a bit of food - 16 kinds of jam, 2 butters, 3 kinds of applesauce, 4 chutneys, 2 marmalades, 3 salsas, 2 relishes, 5 kinds of pickles, 2 sauces, & 1 bruschetta.

B. I must really enjoy canning.

C. I was taken back time & time again of how absolutely breathtaking all of these jars are. I mean, these jars of preserved beauty are truly beautiful.

D. I am tickled for holidays & birthday to start rolling in! There are so many ideas of gift baskets I have floating around.

E. There are a lot of recipes I have not posted up here so I'm backing up a bit and for the next couple of days am going to post recipes from the past. Not necessarily in season but hey - what's the fun in being so linear anyway?

First trip? Back to the late fall when my love for apples (of all colors, all varieties, all flavors) was refusing to pause for the winter chill. Remedy? Spiced Apple Jam!

Yes, I made this so long ago my Christmas Cactus was in bloom!

Spiced Apple Jelly

Courtesy of Well Preserved by Mary Ann Dragan

Ingredients

3 lbs. firm tart apples
sugar (and LOTS of it)
2-3 inch cinnamon stick
2 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole allspice
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Begin by chopping those apples but do not peel or core.

Place the apples, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice and vinegar in your preserving pot, adding enough water to completely cover those beautiful apples of yours, appox. 5 cups.

Cover your pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, letting it simmer for 20 - 25 mins. to make sure apples are soft.

When you find that your apples are nice and soft, crush them with potato masher and cook for another 2-3 mins. Quickly remove from heat and transfer mixture to colander or jelly bag to let the juice drip overnight.

The next morning measure your collected juice (approx. 4-5 cups), discard pulp and prepare preserving jars.

In processing pot combine apple juice and 3/4 cup of sugar for ever cup of juice (yup, this is quite a bit of sugar and something I may switch up next time I make this jelly, because I will most certainly be making this smooth apple goodness again!).

Bring to a boil over high heat and boil rapidly, stirring constantly for 15 - 20 mins or until mixture is syrupy.

Test for gel and when it has reached it's gel state remove from heat. Stir and skim off foam if necessary.

Pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace and process jars for 5 minutes (or longer dependent upon elevation).

So there you have it! Our first trip back to the past. Next stop? Apple Chutney!

One more thing! Beckley had trash day a few days back and look what I found! Four in total! Who thought it was wise to throw these out? I happen to be thrilled that did!

Preserving Beauty in the humble Radish

2011-06-09T14:08:00.001-04:00

The humble radish.

Let's get this out of the way - I'm not a radish fan.

In fact, I'm not too keen on them at all.

I move around them in salads. I am always saddened when potato salads include them and I always seem to pass right over them on the relish trays.

But when our spring seeds came in the mail late this winter and I saw that little white packet with the green letters spelling "radish" across the front, I was more than pleased. I may not (or may have) mentioned that I am, at times, a little impatient. It's a character flaw and I'm working on it, most days, and I knew that radishes are a sure plant to success story.

Our small little radishes

Those little red globes, as Carla Emery shares in one of our favorite books The Encyclopedia of Country Living, "...are the vegetable that spring-starved fanatics get out & plant because they're early & quick." That they are! After germination, we potted them and within 3-4 weeks they were ready to harvest.

Sadly, Jake is not the biggest fan of radishes either, so they sat, potted for an additional twoish weeks growing their bitter bite, which became somewhat unbearable to unsophisticated pallets such as ours.

So, what's a girl to do other than to put em' up!

In the advent of my new hobby ~~obsession~~, I snagged Put em' Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton and am oh, so glad I did. You can look forward to a book review in the future but for now - a sneak peek into one of our now standard seasonal recipes to most certainly be made again - Radish Relish.

Sherri shares, "The Indian flavors in this relish complement the vegetable's spicy nature. Stir some into curried chicken salad or creamy potato salad to liven up the flavors and add some texture, or drain it and stir into yogurt for an instant raita."

After having a good cup left over (more on this later) we placed some on top of a piece of toast with hummus and... I actually think I may just leave this computer for a moment to fix myself another slice.

-yes, I left and am actually fixing myself this snack as we type/read-

This relish actually brings me closer into the circle of those who love radishes and offers me an insight to why (and how). It takes the hard spicy bite (I know, me want to decrease spice? Yes, it's possible) and makes it into something not only palatable but truly enjoyable.

Both Jake & I are excited to try adding it to various Indian dishes (our favorite food genre') and strongly encourage you, if you're a radish hater like me, to take a chance on this humble little red globe and make some Radish Relish. In the end, it's a beautiful relish and if you're not a fan - they will make a wonderful gift to those radish lovers.

Radish Relish
Courtesy of Put Em' Up

2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1 Tbs. whole coriander (I used the ground seed because that's what we have)
1 Tbs. cumin seed
1 Tbs. yellow mustard seed
2 pounds radishes, shredded
1 cup diced onion
1 (2-inch) knob of ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, minced

Begin by shredding those radishes. This was by far my favorite part of making this recipe - look at this: They are breathtaking!

When done oogling over the shredded redness, chop those onions, grate that ginger and mince that garlic.

When all is said & done combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, coriander, cumin seed, and mustard seed in a large heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil.

Add the radishes, onion, ginger, and garlic. Return to a boil, stirring to ensure that all ingredients are heated through. Remove from heat.

Using the boiling-water method - ladle relish into clean, hot half pint jars (between 4-5), covering the solids by 1/4 inch with liquid. Leave 1/4 inch of headspace between the top of the liquid and the lid. Release trapped air (I too often forget this step - don't be like me: Release those bubbles!). Wipe the rims clean; center the lids on screw on the bands.

Process for 15 - 20 minutes, depending on your elevation. When time is up, turn off the heat and Sherri suggests you let the jars rest in the water for 5 minutes.

Because of this relish, I think I may be a radish lover convert. Well, maybe just a radish liker for the time being.

* One thing I did learn about radishes is their high level of compassion! Carla shared that they are often planted among slower-germinating plants to not only mark rows but to help those frailer creatures (carrots, parsnips, parsley, etc.) break through the soil's crust. This compassion (and this recipe) make me fall in love & appreciate radishes all the more. Most things that are bitter always have a compassionate side, right?

Preserving the Beauty in Strawbergate

2011-06-08T12:15:00.000-04:00

There aren't many things I'm not willing to give on.

I'll take store brand mac n' chez over Kraft any day (although, sadly, I don't even remember the last time I had mac n' chez).

Give me knock-off Kroger brand cheese in the place of fancy smanchy blocks of Gouda and I'm still pleased.

Really, if you serve me the cheapest wine paired with homemade hummus, off-brand crackers and a plate of sliced carrots, cucumbers & green peppers and I am one happy lady.

But jam.

I am a tried & true strawberry jam fan.

In high school my mom accidently (it must have been an accident, right?) purchased a jumbo sized jar (along with a tub sized tub of crunchy peanut butter - because that's what you do when you have four growing girls) of (gasp!) grape jelly.

There are two things wrong here. Can you identify them?

Let me assist -

Grape.

and

Jelly.

She didn't even make the simple & quite understandable mistake of quickly grabbing a "red jar" off the jam shelf. She picked the purple one.

And I know, I know there are some jelly fans out there. I even have some apple jelly in my pantry as we speak but when it come to my berry jams - give me texture or give me a dry piece of toast.

So when we came upon a beautiful surplus of strawberries this season I knew what one of my first canning recipes had to be.

This simply beautiful recipe from Food In Jars was just what I needed to get my feet wet and boy, oh boy, did I.

I got them soaked actually.

I learned more in the making of this jam than I had in all previous canning attempts.

As I was learning how to ride my motorcycle I was terrified of falling, taking all precautions possible to prevent from doing so. While expressing my fear to Jake one morning as we were taking a pit stop on the north side of Chicago heading westward, Jake kindly shared an old motorcycle cliche', "there are two kinds of motorcyclist in the world. Those who have fallen and those who haven't fallen yet." During this jam - I fell. I fell hard.

Fall #1 - Using a Cuisinart to "mash up" strawberries instead of mashing them with a potato masher (which we didn't have at the them and have since purchased for .25 cents at a garage sale down the road). I have since learned that with lower pectin fruit you do not want to blend your berries for it will break down the fruit's natural pectin, preventing a good set. Thus, for this jam I had to add an additional pectin packet for it to even somewhat gelify.

P.S. This little note of not food processing the strawberries is noted, ever so diligently & boldly in the "What to know" card located inside the pectin boxes. Yeesh! Me & my impatience.

Fall #2 - I didn't wait for the mighty 2-2-0 degree mark. Because of my blending of the berries it was taking far too long to gel and really, I had to feed the little one so I settled for a lesser 2-1-7. The jam turned out oh, so delicious but the gelling... only partial, I'm sure because I was impatient.

Fall #3 - It was such a beautiful day, Jake was home and playing outside with the little tomato. I was frustrated with this jam process already by this time around (this, by the way was not my first jam or jelly and by some luck of the draw, all others had worked perfectly) and I just wanted to be outside with my family so when the timer went off and the jar were to make their exit from the boiling water bath I was in a hurry to help them. There were 14 half pints in total and they "just" fit into the stock pot. But when I went to get them out I could not get my jar lifter to fit in there just right to bring out one of the jar & loosen the tension. So I did what my Grandma use to do and what I knew I should never attempt due to my klutzy nature - I use my tongs. I put those long sleek arms in the constant boiling water, gripped a jar - which quickly slipped from the grip, fell back into the water and splashed my arm & face leaving beautiful red splatter marks glittering my skin.

Fall #4 - Calcium. Before that fateful day I was using regular tap water to boil my jars in. We have a filter on our faucet because, if you haven't heard, the water is wretched & laced with chemicals around these here coal fields, but I didn't see any need to use filtered water - until the Strawbergate Jam Incident (Yes, I think I just named this jam). Because the jam was taking s.o.l.o.n.g. to process my jars were bathing in the boiling water for far too long. When all was said & done there was a not-so-beautiful film of calcium hugging each jar & lid. Vinegar takes it off but it's quite annoying to scrub jar after jar with vinegar when my nasal cavity wants to smell strawberries. Now - I process all jars in filtered water and haven't had one single (visible) calcium deposit on a jar. Thank you Brita.

Also, I read that a calcium film will not harm the end product (jam in this case) - has anyone heard otherwise?

So, what was this jam that was special enough to teach me all of these life-long learning lessons (quadruple alliteration points please.)?

Here she is.

Strawberry Jam Recipe

Adapted from Food In Jars

10-11 cups of sliced strawberries

5 cups of sugar (this makes 7 cups total)

2 lemons, zested and juiced

Before moving on to the jam making process you'll want to chop up those red beauties and throw some sugar (Food In Jar suggests two cups, I used one cup) on them and let them bed together over night before moving forward making this jam. This is to bring out the natural juices of the strawberries - which is totally worth it.

The following day, fill your canning pot 2/3 with water and put on the stove to bring to a boil (I used a large heavy bottomed stock pot for this much jam - 7 pints in total) for your boiling water bath.

Put berries, sugar (the five cups mentioned above) and lemon zest/juice in a large pot and cook over medium high heat for about fifteen minutes. You want to really boil the fruit down so that they begin to look syrup-y. At this time pull out that potato masher and begin mashing until the jam presents the consistency you desire. I'm sure you could use an immersion blender to blend it a bit but after my "experiment" ignorance (cross out), I'm not risking it again.

After mashing, bring back to a boil and squeeze in the pectin. At this point, there may be a bunch of foam on top of the jam. Skim the foam with a large spoon. Let boil for approximately ten - fifteen minutes more, until the jam looks very syrup-y (when boiling, it should resemble boiling candy). This stage will reach around 219 - 220 degrees.

Lay out your clean jars (that you just sterilized in the boiling water bath) and put your lids in the hot water in order to soften the sealing compound. Bring a kettle of water to a boil now as well, in case you need a bit more boiling water for your canning pot (I most certainly did and almost always do).

Fill the jars with your strawberry goodness and wipe the rims with the edge of a towel dipped in boiling water to make a clean seal. Top your jars with lids and screw on rings.

Process jars for ten minutes or more, dependent on your elevation, in the boiling water bath. When time is up, remove the jars from the water and wait for the magic to occur - how hearing the ping of those jars makes a girls happy.

In the end, I'm as tickled as a new canner can be (as I was after my first motorcycle fall) - the adrenaline rush was worth it & lessons were learned. But let me tell you, if I had to do it all over again to get this beautiful red (not purple mind you) jam on my pantry shelves, I would.

Yes, speckled burn & all.

Preserving the Beauty of Strawberries Bounty

2011-06-07T19:02:00.000-04:00

It's a wild one here this evening! Our weather radio (yes, we have a weather radio - it's part of your house warming if you grew up in tornado country) is sending out sirens with warnings that send us closing windows and hunkering down for a wet evening in the homestead.

Slowly we have been gathering up the bounty of spring & early summer vegetables & fruits that pepper the grocery mart & slowly my addiction to canning continues to manifest itself in new & wondrous ways.

New recipes!

New flavors!

New techniques!

New books (more on this later)!

New jars!

Also new? New combinations that I never before would have shimmied together but by all indicators, present to not only work well together but may be lifetime mates in my mind.

This jam from SB Canning is sweet but with a hint of "something"... something that beckons another slice of dark rye toast with another spread of this jam... this jam with that "something" extra that keeps you coming back for more.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Courtesy of SB Canning

4 cups fresh strawberries

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

6 T. Balsamic vinegar

Cut off the greens of the strawberries and slice them into quarters or thick(ish) slices. In a heavy-bottomed pot cook the strawberries with the water to a boil. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue cooking till recipe is at the gel point.

Note: This gel point is not the typical "reach 220" gel point. You will begin to see the jam reach the gel stage after cooking for 10 - 20 minutes. You will know you have reached the end of the gel stage (and beyond) if you begin to sense a burning smell. You know - the kind of overwhelming scent you experience when you're roasting spices on the stove, let it go to long and have to fumigate your entire apartment for up to 30 minutes in order to save all who live there from an intoxicating milky-way of spices straight from the nasal cavity to the brain.

During the cooking process you will want to continue stirring to keep the mixture from burning.

When your jam has reached its gel stage, ladle into hot jars and process in water bath for 10 minutes (or more contingent upon your altitude).

In total, it makes 3-4 half pints.

[Preserving Monday] - Unplugged

2011-06-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

In an unexpected turn of events, my family & I will be packing up our myraid of "things", from camping chairs to infant clothes, and heading north. We are all filled with delight & great expectation for the news ways in which we are sure to learn how to preserve beauty in our new home.

Yet, as the old adage goes - all good things must come to an end. So does our time in good ole' Beckley, West Virginia.

-Jump in thought-

Sometimes it's important to be unplugged. You don't realize how important it is until you're forced to and then, only then, are you able to realize the control (be that slight or significant) the world wide web had over you.

I have never been one to sit in front of the computer for hours unless I had a specific task (which will never include writing a thesis again) to complete.

Since becoming a stay-at-home mother though, I have found that I have become slightly addicted to clicking on "inbox" to see if I got e-mail as I would travel from one end of the house to the other (an entire 30ish feet in total). I also became a pro at using my right index finger to F5 my facebook page - not because I'm particularly interested in facebook statuses but because I'm a fan of some really great organizations/newsgroups/websites and I love knowing what's going on. It makes me feel "connected" in a way that keeps my brain moving and more agile than operating on fast-forward as I pick up blocks, stack them up again, pick up blocks, stack them up again.

-coming full circle-

As we prepare to leave our home here we have also let go of our internet. It's been amazing to learn how we are/I am without it.

I miss Pandora.

I miss streaming WBEZ.

I miss the ability to quickly send an e-mail to a friend.

I miss the ability to quickly look up a recipe either for canning or meal preparation.

Yet, I am hearing the birds better.

I am enjoying our little tomato more intentionally.

I am calling people (gasp! - for those of you who know me, you know how much I hate talking on the phone and what a big deal this is!).

I am using our cookbooks!

I am slowing down more. My mind is slowing down. Recognizing. Processing. Remembering. Taking In.

This is what life is.

I am also canning more (much to my husbands chagrin and all of his concern about everything "fitting" in the big red van again that we moved all of our belonging down here in)! Such joy I am finding in puttin' up!

I'm not concerned though. Maybe it's out of denial. Maybe it's out of shear love of my new passion. Regardless, I am loving it.

Yes, preserving the beauty of being unplugged. It's entering into the twilight & darkness of being still, alone, in order to acknowledge & gather the light that already surrounds me.

Evenings are longer.

Days are slower.

The marrow of each moment is dug deeper into.

Spent more fully.

This time recalls one of my most treasured passages in "True Nature" by Barbara Bash.

She writes,

"Fourth Day
Sitting Practice.
Loosening up the familiar,
the deeply known ruts of thoughts.
Opening for a moment to a bigger landscape.
Wandering off and coming back, over and over, to right now.
Coming back from the thought, the belief,
that I must do something, become something.
For a moment just being alive ie enough.
Dreaming off and away and returning.
Gentle mind. Wild mind. Relaxed mind.
Gaze follows the line of the cloth,
The reflection in the water bowls,
then mind wanders off into worry.
There is no one here pressuring me for anything.
Where does this pressure come from?
The undertow of my own expectations pulls me off
and into a panic. Coming back to the breath. Out and in. This is too much, I can't get my life in order,
all the rows of plants in order.
I'm the sort of person who - this nearly freezes me,
I know what's coming - I'm he sort of person who
will not take a chance, dive down deep,
stay out lae in the dark. These beliefs tighten.
I come back to the breath as it does out.
I look at the picture on the table of Trungpa Rinpoche
making that big black brushstroke, the ink flowing,
the rain falling, the fay unfolding.
I have to get to work, have to focus, have to, have to.
Coming back, coming back.

One bird singing in the rain."

I'm coming back.

Unplugged.

I'm coming back...

Preserving the Beauty of Sweet Rhubarb Wine

2011-06-04T13:17:00.002-04:00

I may have a new favorite wine... I mean jam.

I also went a wee overboard with the rhubarb this season (is there such thing, really?) and am searching far and wide for canning recipes that fit well with our pallet and could be used as gifts within the coming year. In search of the great rhubarb recipes I came across this little dandy from SB Canning: Rhubarb Muscat Wine Jam.

Since I, nor the liquor store down the way, had Muscat wine I had to settle for a lesser sweet wine and yes, there is more than 1/3 cup missing from the bottle in the picture below. And although this sweet wine isn't my favorite - it works most wonderfully with rhubarb.

In fact, I was so pleased with how it turned out I made a second batch and with hopes that I wasn't fooling myself into thinking it was a good as I presumed it was, I gave Jake a taste-test & took a can over to Craig & Peggy, who had just spent all day mulching their yard. Strike when the irons hot, right? What cool sweet jam wouldn't taste good after a full day out in the heat covered in dark mulchy goodness? Can you think of one?

It was unanimous - it is that good; that sweet and oh - with that hint of sweet fruity wine... it may be my favorite wine of the season thus far. Plus, it's the easiest wine I have made to date. Throughout the entire process that little tomato of ours was playing and sliding herself across the floor by pushing a book with both hands - she's a smart one that girl is!

Sweet Rhubarb Wine Jam

4 cups diced fresh Rhubarb
1 t. lemon juice
1/3 cup sweet fruity dessert Wine (I used Arbor Mist - Exotic Fruits)
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 T. pectin (Flex Batch low sugar/no sugar)

Sterilize 4 half pint jars (although at the end of the process my batch only made 3 pints, better to be prepared than not!).

Combine all ingredients in a medium dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot and cook on high heat for about 10 minutes till the recipe is at a boil.

Continue stirring until Rhubarb starts to break down and using a potato masher smash the rhubarb until mixture is smooth(ish). Bring back to a boil for one minute and then add pectin. Continue actively stirring for one minute at a full boil and then remove from heat.

Using a canning funnel, ladle the recipe into the jars leaving 1/4" head space. Add sterilized lids and rings and process in water bath timing 10 - 15 minutes after the water has reach a full boil.

And please, please leave a little uncanned for a sweet treat at the end. You will not be sorry you did. Ugh - I may just go open a can right now!

*This past week we cancelled our internet service because... we're moving! Moving back to Michigan. Moving back "home". Moving back to family & friends.

Therefore, I'm at the library with a very active little tomato with poor reception and little time. Thus, although the pictures of this jam make my mouth water in the present they will have to wait until next time - I have cheerios to pick up and books to puzzle back together!

Preserving the Beauty of Rhubarb

2011-06-01T14:58:00.000-04:00

Two reason I love rhubarb: Garrison Keillor & Shirley.

First Mr. Keillor.

I'm not quite sure how many times "Bebopareebop Rhubarb Pie" has been recited in our home over the last week or so, but I'm pretty sure we're nearing into the hundreds. Like "scandalous", "Bebopareebop Rhubarb Pie" has that rhythm to it, beckoning the tongue to recite it over and over and over once more.

As I sit here on the front porch trying to focus and put out this post before the little tomato awakens, the only words that come to mind are "Bebopareebop Rhubarb Pie" - I hear Garrison's voice in my mind and laugh at to myself recounting this landmark story from Prairie Home Companion all the while singing the tune -

Mama's little baby loves rhubarb, rhubarb,
Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.
Mama's little baby loves rhubarb, rhubarb,
Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.

My affection for this story came only came far after I first fell in love with rhubarb thanks to Shirley, our prep-cook leader-of-the-pack at J.W. Filmore's, the local little restaurant that helped pay not only for many a poor habits I had during those college years in my time but for most of my undergrad degree - who ever said serving wasn't a good career?

Although Filmore's and it's history lay deep beneath a new Walgreen's, the tart squeeze in the depths of my throat still pucker when I think of Shirley's Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. It was the first time I not only had tasted rhubarb but the first time I had even heard of rhubarb.

I know, although my mom was successful in raising four passionate and strong women, she was not very successful at increasing our pallet with fruits & vegetables outside of apples & carrots. I'm working on forgiving her.

But that squeeze in the caverns of my throat still haven't forgotten the delight & surprise of rhubarb, so when spring hit and married with my new love for canning I knew I had a mission to accomplish - How many cans of rhubarb delights can I put up this season that would surely make Garrison & Shirley proud?

First - Strawberry Rosemary Rhubarb Jam
Inspired by Leena Cooks (n' Cans)

Ingredients

3 cups chopped rhubarb (1/2 inch diced)
4 cups of sugar
3 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Place a small plate in the freezer for later & prepare your canning jars

Combine rhubarb and sugar in the pot you plan to cook it in and allow to sit for two hours (I actually let mine sit in the fridge overnight, it happens when you have a youngin' whose teeth just keep comin').

Add the strawberries and lemon juice to the pot o' rhubarb and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to help dissolve the sugar.

When a rapid boil becomes consistent turn heat to medium high and boil rapidly for 20 minutes, stirring, until jam is slightly thickened.

While the jam is cooking, take out the hot sterilized canning jars and set them up. Tear the leaves off a sprig of rosemary and place half of it in the bottom of the jar, saving the other part to go on top.

When you think it is near (which occurs anywhere between 218 - 220 degrees), take the jam off the heat. Remove the plate from the freezer and place a spoonful of jam on it and put the plate back in the freezer for two minutes. If the jam on the plate is still runny it needs to be cooked longer and tested again. If it looks thick and gelled like a jam, it may be pronounced "Done!"

Fill the jars up with hot jam with 1/2 inch headspace at the top using canning best practices.

Sprinkle on remaining rosemary (you can use more or less to suit your own tastes) and place lids on jars. Process in a boiling water bath between 10 - 15 minutes depending on your elevation.

Remove and allow to cool. Jars will last in pantry for up to a year, and once open, two months in the fridge.

Yields around 4 cups.

This is by far one of the most beautiful & tasty jams I have ever made. Take a look -

Next?

Strawberry Rhubarb & Caramelized Onion Jam
Inspired by Local Kitchen

Ingredients

About 1 cup, thinly sliced of any yellow or white onion
1 heaping cup of rhubarb, trimmed and cut to 1/2-inch slices
2 tsp grapeseed or canola oil, divided
2 tsp honey
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottled, or a combination)
2 and 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups sliced strawberries
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp each of salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste (which both Local Kitchen & I forgot - belch!)

If canning, prepare pot, jars and lids.

Heat a medium stockpot and add 1 tsp oil and onions, toss well to coat onions in oil. Sauté over medium to medium-low heat, stirring frequently until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 - 7 minutes (advice from Local Kitchen - if onions begin to stick, add a tiny amount of white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to get up all the good stuff).

Toss rhubarb pieces in remaining 1 tsp of oil and add to pot. Sauté for 1 – 3 minutes until rhubarb looks moist. Add honey, then raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are brown and the rhubarb is beginning to break down, about 6 - 10 minutes.

Add lemon juice and sugar, raise heat, and bring to a rapid & consistent boil. Add strawberries and bring to a boil once again. Reduce heat to a lively simmer, stirring frequently to prevent scorching*, until liquid has thickened and darkened, about 15 – 20+ minutes (mine read 218 – 220 degrees F on an instant thermometer when I stopped cooking).

Add lemon zest, salt & pepper (if using & you haven't forgotten by this point). Stir well, taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Fill hot, sterilized jars to 1/2-inch headspace and process for 20 - 25 minutes in a boiling water bath or store refrigerated in a clean glass jar.

Yields about 4 cups of dark sweet & savory deliciousness.

* Note: If you have a child you're nursing, it's best to schedule/plan around this process or your pan (& jam) may just look like this at the end of the process.

Tonight? Sweet & Savory Rhubarb Jam &, if I can swing it - Rhubarb Muscat Jam.

[Preserving Mondays]

2011-05-30T08:42:00.000-04:00

I've always had mixed feelings about Memorial Day.

On one hand it's been a time for celebration. Let's admit it - for many of us it is a day free from work that most everyone else has free from work as well - and that indeed is a cause for celebration. But for many others, it's a time of remembering, honoring and possibly even grieving. It's a mixed bag this here holiday.

I've never felt particularity connected to this holiday that for our family marked the beginning of white shoes and spring dresses, the end of the school year and cemetery visits.

Every four years my sisters and I, in rotation with my mom and her three siblings, would pile into the minivan and cruise the cemeteries throughout Clinton County placing flowers on each burial site of each deceased family member. As my mom would arrange the flowers as we would search out the next gravestone to adore until our tasks were complete and off to the next cemetery we would go.

Over the years I have made attempts to preserve the beauty in each holiday presented on our calendar (Christian, governmental, ritual). And although I understand the reasons behind "celebrating" Memorial Day I try to stay aware that we are still sending troops over to fight a war. Many are still grieving for their lost sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts... all who truly gave the most sacrificial gift of all so, among many other things, we can freely enjoy days like today.

When the sun is teeming with heat. The robins are singing songs with Little Tomato. I can freely wander, wonder, explore the life at the farmer's market, talk with the old men at the soup kitchen, drink an endless supply & variety of coffee - enjoying and participating in the freedom lives no longer lived provided.

Snapshot provided by Frank Johnston from the Washington Post

In order to better connect with these lives and the lives continuing on after loosing most loved ones I'm getting involved.

This year, with my new ~~white shoes~~ brown shoes on, a spring skirt on & flowers in hand I'm Joining Forces.

This year as I enjoy the day free from commitments I'm going to start taking action to preserve the beauty of lives serving, served and preparing to serve, all for the sake of tomorrow.

What will you do today to preserve the beauty?

Speaking of preserving beauty - My goal for the coming year: make/find one of these for Michigan!

Wherever we rest our heads for more than a year I'm putting one of these up. Oh - and one of these too.

Jake & I cannot stop watching these videos. Their oldies but pure & simple genius.

Another goal for this coming year? Hold one of each of these.

That's right! Speak up for the not so pretty but extremely functional and reusable! My way to organize!

My basil is lookin' good and my mouth watered when I saw this.

Our radishes are up! Must make this in the coming week.

I haven't done ~~any~~ much fermentation. This article got me more interested than ever. What is your experience with fermentation?

Finally! I scored some rhubarb - five lbs. to be exact! Already started to making this. Next? I have this thing for butter... What are your favorite ways to put up rhubarb?

Preserving Beauty in Art for God's Sake

2011-05-27T11:08:00.000-04:00

She makes the world beautiful

and help preserve the beauty where usually absent

or invisible to the naked eye.

She sees life & faces, images & emotions

that only dreams are intended to capture.

We met here and since then our lives have never been filled with such joy, color, love or peace.

Her transparency is refreshing. Her hospitality life-giving.

We are so grateful for her presence & friendship in our lives.

I apologize for the poor quality of these photos. I stole most of them from WPG flickr account. I guess that's what happens when one steals. Ah - retribution.

Preserving Beauty in all Sizes

2011-05-26T12:17:00.003-04:00

When I was pregnant for our little tomato I had this slight ~~obsession~~* interest in what size our little one was. Some count weeks - I measure fruits & vegetables.

At first I went a little overbaord and was e-mailing my sisters, parents & best friends with small up-dates that sounded much like this, "Can you believe it? Eleven weeks along and this little one is the size of a fig! So in honor of the hard work she's doing to grow, enjoying a fig newton on us this week!"

Who really send out e-mails like that - "Have a fig newton on us this week on behalf of the child growing inside me?" Really? I'll take responsibility for most things but I'm handing the blame off to the hormones for this one.

Regardless, I still find it absolutely fascinating! That much like many fruits & vegetables, babies grow & mature so quickly. Not to leave out the oblivious that both are simply delicious.

It didn't stop there though - post pregnancy in her first few months of life Jake & I would snap photos comparing her size to the various produce we had around the house.

Since her growth has taken to plateau rather than continuing to climb lately, the comparison photos have taken a decline but my obsession with fruits & vegetables (as evidenced by this blog) is still going strong.

As is my love for tomatoes.

A month back I tried my first tomato canning recipe. A recipe I plan on making over and over and over again.

Tomato Bruschetta. I have always had a thing for bruschetta. Trader Joe's got me hooked. They can get me hooked on most things though - their tricky like that with their friendly Hawaiian themed shirts & free wine tastings.

But their tomato bruschetta. I needed to learn how to make my own to prevent over spending on my Trader Joe's budget (yes, I need to set myself a budget when I go there or I will walk out with far too many "special items" or frozen pizzas).

When I found the following recipe in the Ball Complete Book to Home Preserving I knew this was my ticket out of Trader Joe bondage.

Tomato Bruschetta
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup white wine vinegar
½ cup water
5 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of dried basil
2 tablespoons of oregano
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
9 cups of cored, peeled, chopped plum tomatoes

Start by sterilizing your jars by boiling them for 10 minutes before filling.

Put all the ingredients except for the tomatoes into a stainless steel saucepan and bring them to a rolling boil with high heat. Stir to make sure that the heat gets evenly distributed and then reduce the heat, letting it simmer uncovered for five minutes. Ideally, the garlic will be heated through. Use the tomatoes to pack the lower halves of all the jars and then ladle the hot vinegar mix on top of the tomatoes.

While removing the air bubbles, wipe the rim and then apply the band. After that, you will be able to process your ball canning jars, remembering to check them for a good seal after 1/2 hour.

I believe I processed mine between 15 - 20 minutes because we are at 1900 elevation.

And know that the Trader Joe's bondage has been broken although your obsession with fruits & vegetables will have not.

* Or maybe I just get my tomato obsession from my Grandma - pictured here sorting through her tomatoes one by one from last years crop.

** Thanks to Hitchhiking to Heaven (one of my favorite canning blogs) for a little shout-out yesterday on facebook! When Jake came home last night the first thing I told him was not congratulations on his new job he scored just that morning - no, it was "Hitchhiking to Heaven linked to me on facebook! I feel famous!" In his amazingly supportive way he offered up his congratulations with a glimmer of pride in his eyes. What a sport! Thanks again Hitchhiking - Can't wait for your next post!

Preserving Beauty in Poetry

2011-05-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was filled with red juicy goodness. After many hours of trial & error (and a good burn while moving fast & not practicing preserving safety - more on that later) 14 half pints of strawberry jam were born and my, oh my do they look beautiful.

My goal this morning was to write up a little ditty about their beauty but alas - I had a most unexpected and delightful spring morning skyping with Jenny (location: Russia) & Erin (location: Australia). Alas, life giving conversations but no write-up on strawberry jam. That's what tomorrows are for, right?

And although it is far from a rainy day, I have been saving this poem sent by a good friend for a day like today. Enjoy...

Snapshot provided by Kitchen Inspiration

PRESERVE

Truth is, we like the labors
better than their fruits

pulling up the plants
spindly and overgrown

fingers scented and smudged
cicadas droning high

then we wash and we trim
count peppercorns like coins

the work's sweetest with extra hands
to pack the treasure tight

we swig cold beer and lemonade
as steam rattles the kettle

the jars line up like proud soldiers
medals gleaming

all winter they stand guard
reassuring me again

that there will be enough
that love will not run dry

- Velveteen Rabbit

[Preserving Mondays]

2011-05-23T07:07:00.000-04:00

Found it!

Over the last 20 minutes I have been searching & searching & searching for one specific facebook note and finally - I found it!

To prevent wasting any more precious morning minutes, let's get to this weeks NPO - Kansas City Rescue Mission (KCRM).

Snapshot provided by Kansas City Rescue Mission

As we bid farewell to my sister & her family this past week as they prepare to leave for an year of mission work in Kosovo I often found myself simply thinking of my sister and basking in all of the ways in which the back wood trails of her life have slowly been leading her into a place where, as an extremely competent professional social worker & lover of Jesus, she is willing to put all aside and enter into a place of learning to love others overseas.

Then I remembered this note from back in April 2010 that was posted on KCRM facebook page:

Richard, a homeless man and KCRM medical client, had suffered several strokes and heart attacks over the years. His long-term goal was to return to North Carolina, where his wife and grandchildren live, but he didn’t want to go home empty handed and unable to contribute to his family’s needs. KCRM’s case managers encouraged RIchard to apply for disability, then advocated for him throughout the process. KCRM volunteer and attorney, Amanda Smith, also helped him clear up several legal issues that stood in his way. After he suffered yet another stroke while in our shelter, Richard’s disability was finally approved in March and he will receive his first check in May. Finally he could go home with a clear conscience and help his family, too!

A parishioner at Grand Avenue Temple learned of Richard’s desire to return to his family and paid his way home. The best news of all is that Richard opened his heart to Christ at KCRM. “When Richard came to the Mission, he was bitter, angry and not repentant about his past crimes,” recalls Sarah Thibault, lead case manager at KCRM. “But he truly encountered Christ during his time here and drew close to Him. Christ changed him into a gentle, repentant and grateful man.”

Snapshot provided by Kansas City Rescue Mission

I'm not sure if it was the hormones of being 6 months pregnant at the time, the remembrance of similar clients I had worked with in the past, the association of Richard's story to those of many previous neighbors or simply the thought that my sister helps changes lives - but I was brought to tears by Richard's story.

I was brought to tears and am still deeply touched today by the idea that through an organization much like KCRM, stories can change. Not only the stories of the many men & women served much like Richard, but our stories as well.

Snapshots provided by Kansas City Rescue Mission

So as we say good-bye to the Thibault family & welcome with great excitement their year in Kosovo, I remember Richard and the lesson he taught me through this small, small note - conspicuously written up & published through a facebook page. My sister has helped change lives with the assistance of KCRM and I'm so very grateful to Richard & his story for teaching me this.

If you're interested in knowing more about KCRM or the various ways you can help, please take a moment and visit their website, read their stories and help change the world like my sister.

Speaking of changing the world - let's take a look at some links that help do just that!

This is good, oh so very good.

Food: Let's start changing lives at their beginnings.

Found out about this a little too late, but what an amazing idea!

Want to change the world today? Start here.

This is amazingly written & wonderfully touching. Thank you Kara.

Take a look at this: USDA Food Desert Locator.

And speaking of changing the world - I for one am all about starting in the home with preserving. Tis' the season - here is a great guide in starting to prepare for the furry of canning. Simple Bites also had provided this little guide too, which is totally worth a look just to dream of what a sustainable pantry could look like.

Can-It-Forward Day!?! Count me in!

I'm slated to make this in the coming day but I cannot resist the dreams of making this, this & this.

This pectin guide is pretty sweet* as well.

Yet another reason to address the on-going coal crisis & it's impact on our lives. This is happening here, right here.

And for your parting music selection - Bring on the Fleet.

Oh, and can I have one of these please?

Preserving Beauty with Red Pepper and Orange Jam

2011-05-21T09:12:00.001-04:00

What a week it has been! With one sister graduating and moving, another sister moving with her family to Kosovo, another sister moving from Seattle to MI and parents finishing up their volunteer service and moving to MI all in June - we are all rounding up around each other, soaking one another in and enjoying the presence of simply being as we all make these life transitions together.

This past week held a lot of that soaking in time. Over the past eight days our little tomato & I (plus Jake for the second half of the journey) combed the states and paved our way from WV - KY - Kansas City - KY - IN - MI - IN - KY and back home to WV. Whew! I think we are all ready for a day of active movement as opposed to stationary seating and cheerio eating.

When we came home last night though, ending our time away we were hungry. We needed food and not just a bowl of cereal kind of food but the "give me substance" kind of food.

Jake and I have found that when we both have this feeling there is only one tried and true meal that will fulfill our desire - a couple thick slices of dark whole wheat or pumpernickle toast (as evidenced by the photo below - wraps will work well too!) slathered with avocado, hearty tomato slices, generous slices of onion, munster and/or pepper jack cheese topped with a dressing of good ole' yellow mustard. Sometimes, just sometimes we add a fried egg. And yes, that makes it that much more delicious, but you have to have a stove for that and sometimes that's not always available.

We first had this meal together during our eight week honeymoon road-trip around the states and have found that there is not much this medley of deliciousness won't cure or solve. Both in our marriage and for our tummies.

So when we rolled into town last night at an ungodly hour with empty stomachs we knew what we needed to put together.

We cut some avocado, sliced some tomato & onion, toasted some caraway bread, cut some slices of muster cheese and pulled out the mustard.

When all was said and done though, for the first time we found we needed something else. Something sweet. Something savory. We needed Red Pepper & Orange Jam.

This jam was the second thing I ever attempted to can and it has never, I mean never let me down. It truly is one of those things that fulfills the sweet meets savory need (outside of salted chocolate cupcakes of coarse). It's also not one of those jams that disappears before you open the jar like stawberry that is a go-to for all peanut butter sandwiches. It's one of those jams that truly is met to be savored, enjoyed, paired with relished in. It's also fantastic matched with cream cheese. In fact, I'm already scoping out the fridge in my mind taking an inventory to see if we have any cream cheese left for a piece of toast right now.

Red Pepper & Orange Jam
Adapted from Well Preserved

3-4 medium to large red bell peppers (for this last batch I had to throw in a couple of green peppers to make the full 2 cups and it didn't compromise the taste what-so-ever, thank goodness!)
1 1/4 cups cider vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup finely grated orange zest
6 cups sugar
two 3 oz pouches of liquid pectin
1/2 - 1 tsp hot pepper sauce, to taste (I use rooster sauce and it's simply perfect)

Its tricky to say how many peppers this will take because they vary so much in size. Cut them into small chunks, discarding the stems, ribs and seeds. Puree* in a foor processor until finely and uniformly chopped. In the end it should measure about 2 cups.

Prepare the preserving jars.

Combine the peppers, vinegar, orange juice, zest and sugar in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Continue to stir over high heat until the mixture returns to a full boil, then boil hard for one minute.

Remove from heat and stir in hot pepper sauce. Skim off the foam the top if necessary. Stir for 3 to 5 minutes to help keep the peppers and zest from floating to the top of the jars.

Pour jam into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe the rims clean and seal accordingly. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

*Well Preserved shares that you really need to use a food processor for this recipe because the peppers must be ground finely enough to extract some juice, which cannot be achieved simply by chopping. Just a heads up!

Preserving Beauty means asking for help sometimes.

2011-05-13T04:00:00.001-04:00

Written by Rebecca from Wild Rumpus

A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I were cleaning up for Passover. Since we are still moving in with each other (who cares if it’s been almost two years already) and have been tearing apart the order that we do have to prepare for a baby, cleaning involved a certain amount of stuff-purging. Jacob approached me with one of my precious items and asked, “Honey, isn’t it time we put this away?” Note that he didn’t say, “Can’t we throw this out?” or “Why do we still have this?” He’s good, that man of mine.

He’s good because he was holding my framed picture of Han Solo that I have had since college. Han Solo. Not Harrison Ford. I have lovingly placed that portrait in a bathroom of every place I have lived.

Han Solo has always been my ideal man. He may be a stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder, but I’ve always fantasized that he was MY Nerf herder.

Unfortunately, he is a scoundrel and when he growled into Princess Leia’s ear that she needed more scoundrels in her life, I . . . I mean . . . she believed him.

I spent the years from age 10 to age 30 chasing scoundrels of one sort or another.

It should not surprise you that I have spent the last 8 years in therapy discovering this fact after my divorce from one.

But Jacob is not a scoundrel.

Jacob is kind of the opposite of scoundrel. He is emotionally available. He is kind. He cares about getting things right. He is a productive member of society. He has a spiritual life. He is earnest. He is honest. He is, in summary, a Good Idea. Not a scoundrel.

So I married him.

We have a beautiful marriage.

But after only three years of knowing each other, we haven’t figured everything out yet. We have an age and experience gap that makes our basic life philosophies about big topics a little misaligned. So, we argue a fair amount and I have noticed recently that our discussions are starting to go in circles. We make the same points, point out the same obstacles and reiterate the same hurt feelings and causes. The rate of change in our dynamic has slowed and I became afraid that we would stagnate because we would begin to bury some things that need to be said because those things couldn’t be attended in the moment, even though if we continued to be vulnerable with each other, the moment might change to one in which attention could be paid.

Also, we got pregnant.

We are full of joy about this child and tickled pink with each other, as if we are the first couple ever to have accomplished this amazing thing.

But we began to argue more and both of us realized that the pattern we are currently in is not one that we want to be stuck in for the next 5-7 years while we shift into survival mode with small children. We want to stay on top of our dynamic so that we can use it to achieve our goals rather than being swept along by it only to find ourselves washed up on separate shores when our children are older.

In other words, we want to preserve the beauty of our young love for each other so that we can continue to pull it off the shelves for the rest of our lives to make toast more lively and to use as a glaze for the roast when necessary. We know that our relationship will continue to provide delicious harvests but the seasons will change and who doesn’t like a bright bit of sugared Spring fruit in Fall’s warmth?

So, we have sought out couples’ counseling. Once a week, we sit in an amazing woman’s office and talk about how we argue and where we came from, from what perspective we view sex and what secret thoughts we had forgotten we were hiding. Then, through the next week, we say things like, “You said this in our session. Will you explain that to me a little more?” or “I’m doing this thing right now because of what you said in our session. Is that helping?”

The difference is remarkable.

On Wednesday night, we had several moments when either of us could have woken the angry bear laying between us and instead chose to use deliberate words and body language to communicate love and forgiveness and a desire to not get sidetracked. When he shouted at me when the oven burned dinner, I threw my hands up in mea culpa and he quickly explained that he wasn’t mad, just responding with emotions of the emergency. When I got frustrated with his tortured efforts to slot me into his schedule the next day by requiring me to haul my giant belly on public transit for more time than I would get to spend with him, he got up from the computer and came over to sit by me on the couch and hold me to reinforce the words of his apology with physical comfort. When I was still feeling offended an hour later after spending some time by myself, I chose to greet him again by thanking him for the good thing he’d done rather than spitting out the petulant words running through my head. He certainly knew I was still mad at him but accepted my olive branch by telling me that he would welcome it if I came into the bathroom while he showered and chatted with him while setting appropriate expectations that he might not have a whole lot to say at that time of night. He knew I needed to be actively welcomed but that I would get mad if I ended up just sitting on the toilet lid quietly if I weren’t prepared for what he could offer, which was shared space, shared breath, shared be-ing. So, he chose the right words to make that happen.

I think it was our most successful night as actual partners in achieving a goal.

Also, we’re much more lovey-dovey. It’s pretty classic pooky bear kind of stuff and I luxuriate in it. Yesterday, Jacob sent me a text that used the phrase, “connected in the soul” to describe us because he had read it in a book and thought of us. Gag-worthy, right? And yet, I practically floated through the rest of the day.

Preserving Beauty means asking for help sometimes.

Preserving Beauty in Mango Salsa

2011-05-11T11:10:00.000-04:00

You thought I forgot didn't you?

Did you really think I was going to leave you high & dry without a salsa to cling to? Never!

In fact, the way things are going around here you will never have to worry about being without a canning salsa recipe as long as I have something to say about it. It's looking as though this is the way I bend, loving salsas. And if I say so myself, I couldn't have planned it better.

You see, if there is one thing I hate purchasing from the grocery store - it's salsa.

First off, I double dog dare you to go to your local grocery store and find a salsa without sugar. I know what you're thinking, "Sugar? In my salsa?" I sense your confusion. I've been in your shoes. And still - it's something I have had to increase my awareness of and not necessarily accept but be willing to purchase against. In my opinion, there is no reason for sugar in salsa.

Secondly, Beckley doesn't recycle glass. And, again - if you head to any local grocery mart, you will find that 9 out of 10 salsas on the shelves are stored in air tight glass containers. Sure, we can reuse the glass but there is only so much beer one can drink and why not reduce unnecessary consumption in the first place?

Lastly, why buy something that is just so easy to make. Mango Salsa - case in point.

With an ever increasing number of mangoes on hand I was quite sure that I could remedy this salsa problem with a couple hours and a couple jars. And la-ti-da we did it!

With a little research I found this most delightful recipe from SB Canning for Mango Salsa. After taking a quick inventory of what ingredients we already had lingering around Little Tomato & I went to work and came up with the most delightfully delicious sweet mango salsa.

The following recipe makes approximately five 1/2 pint jars + one pint jar cans with a little left over for the sampling* & sharing.

Mango Salsa

6 cups Mango diced

1/2 cup diced yellow (or any sweet) pepper

3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 Jalapeno; washed, stemmed, and minced

2 tablespoons Honey

2 tablespoons Lemon juice

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Grated fresh ginger

Mix in a large bowl the yellow pepper, sweet onion, jalapeno, honey, lemon juice, vinegar, and ginger. Mix well.

Go ahead and then ladle into hot prepared jars and process 20 minutes in hot water bath.

Yes, it is that simple. And let me tell you, if the faces of our guests who we served it to the following night are any indicator of how good it is, we are in business!

*Speaking of sampling - if you're in for a real adventure and are up for treating yourself I strongly encourage you to add some chopped avocado to your mango salsa moments before serving. Wow. Yes, I am willing to admit that avocados do have their own set of positive assets.

Preserving Beauty with Pickled Ramps

2011-05-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

When we first moved to West Virginia we asked our dear friend Katie (a six year river guide for the New River and the Gauley River) to make us a list of things to do during our time here.

If you're new to the Beckley area, plan to visit here soon one day or, as a long-term resident are looking for some new things to do - get ready, because here is a list of her top 16 favorite things to experience:

1. Purchase/eat ramps from a roadside stand.

2. Go rock-climbing at "junkyard"

3. Drive west from Fayetteville the day after a major rainfall until you reach "Gauley Bridge"

4. Find a place to camp along the Meadow River and spend the weekend there.

5. Raft the New River with me! (and if you don't know who "me" is just let us know and we will seek to hook you up with the best river guide this side of the Mississippi).

6. Hike Mann's Creek from Babcock State Park to Cunard

7. Do a Bridge Walk before it is commercialized.

8. Hike (or climb) to the top of Seneca.

9. Go to Bridge Day.

10. Catch "The Wild Rumpus", "The Boatmen", and "Verne's Pot of Chili" in concert.

11. Pick blueberries in the Colly Sods wilderness.

12. Read about and check out the Hawk's Nest Tunnel.

13. Go to the town of Sewell (and camp there if you're not afraid of ghosts!).

14. Look into the "Patch Adams" Project.

15. Spend a day at "Canyon Doors" when the Gauley is between 800-1200 CFS.

16. Go the Wing-Nite at Class VI on a summer Monday night.

Well, it's no secret, that during this season - ramps is where it's at. Not only is it #1 on Katie's all time list of things to do but if you're anyone within the forging community, your e-mail box has most likely been lit up by all things ramps.

When we asked Katie where we could get our hands on some ramps she shared that aside from foraging them for ourselves we would most likely find them being sold out of someone's truck bed in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Now, I'm pretty daring - most days. I mean, I have done some things in life that had red flags waving in all directions driving me away from my ultimate choice. But buying food out the back of a truck bed from a strange in a Wal-Mart parking lot was not something I was daring enough to do.

So I went a forging. And found nothing - although I thought I knew what I was looking for I obliviously didn't know the prime spots. So I settled, made my way down to the local farmer's market and bought myself the last 1.75 lbs. of ramps they had. I couldn't have been more thrilled!

Now... what to do with these little beautiful bulb-like buggers Dear Liza, Dear Liza?

Pickle them of coarse Dear Henry, Dear Henry!

But how shall I pickle them Dear Liza, Dear Liza?

With the help of Hunter Angler Gardner Cook & Serious Eats Dear Henry, Dear Henry!

I used HAGC Pickled Ramps w/ Saffron mated with the Pickled Ramp recipe from Serious Eats as my basic starters but with the ramps guiding the way I made a couple of little tweaks here in there (which was more or less actually dictated by the ingredients in my pantry than the ramps but we'll pretend it was the other way around for today) and came up with these beautiful jars of ramp fever:

Pickled Ramps

Makes 1 quart, and can be doubled

1 3/4 pounds of ramp bulbs, garlic cloves or pearl onions

2 cups distilled or white wine vinegar (I used distilled)

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon of whole black peppercorns

1 tablespoon of whole mustard seeds

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 bay leaf

1. Trim the ends off of the ramps and cut down the leaves leaving about 1/4 inch of green, saving the green ends for another purpose (which you will most certainly want to do! Their just like spinach but possibly better). Wash the ramps under cool, running water.

2. Get your canning pot ready & prepare your jars & lids.

3. Blanch the ramps quickly (30 seconds) by dropping them in a large pot of salted, boiling water, and then shock them in ice water. Drain the ramps well and put them aside.

4. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, honey, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, mustard seeds, coriander, black peppercorns, and fennel seeds.

5. Pack ramps into the prepared jars, making sure to not overfill. Then pour vinegar concoction over the ramps. Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean cloth or paper towel and seal.

6. Submerge the jar in the boiling water of the canning pot for 15 minutes (we're at a high elevation so I do everything longer when it comes to canning).

7. Wait at least 2 weeks before eating. Sealed, the pickles should last a year. Refrigerate after opening.

[Preserving Mondays]

2011-05-09T07:58:00.000-04:00

I have a significant number of friends with kids. It started when I was in my early 20's and as I enter into my early to mid-30's I don't believe it has hit it's climax yet. Still, a number of women in my life continue to produce & reproduce with an impressively quick pace.

So, I have friends with kids. What this also means, now that I have a little tomato of my own, is that way too much of my conversations with these new mothers & I consist of dialog about our children.

Talk of children's growth development. "She is crawling from room to room now!"

Talk of personal development in relation to children. "I'm learning how to slow down. He is teaching me hot to take my time."

Talk of relationships in response to our children. "I shared with my partner what our little boy said and he couldn't believe it!"

Talk of children's personality development. "She's developing such a strong sense of self right now."

Talk of our changing relationship with the world in response to our children. "I'm noticing how hungry children are for skin to skin touch, how much they desire to be held & loved."

Snapshot provided by The Sustainability Ninja

More often than not though there is this talk:

"We have too much stuff."

We have all been there. But, as we're experiencing now with our little one, "stuff" takes on a completely different meaning when you have children.

Jake & I have had our stuff doubled since welcoming Little Tomato into this world. And let's keep in mind she's not even one yet.

Our friends & family have been extremely respectful in how they give & what they give to the little one. And yet (YET!), stuff still accumulates.

And it's not all bad stuff either (something but not all the time). But too much of a good thing is not always the best, am I correct?

So, in response to our experience of being the recipient of gifts & our conversations with others about their "stuff" we have decided to take gift giving to children in a different direction.

World Vision has this most wonderful gift giving catalog that allows you to spend as much (or as little) as you please to purchase a number of "items" or support a specific cause that is personal to you.

Snapshot provided by The Whimsical Musings of the Great Hoo Hoo

We tend to purchase animals. I'm a sucker. Yes, I know - water purification is important but I can't really expect children to "get" water purification. But kids know ducks. And kids have pet chickens. Most kids have also played with rabbits.

So that's what we give them. We purchase animals through World Vision, make a fun little card to give to the little one who is having a birthday or celebration and share with them that instead of giving them a nerf ball shooter or a princess pillow case & sheet set, we are giving three ducks to kids just like them in Africa so they can have eggs every morning for breakfast and hopefully baby ducks will eventually come to welcome into the family.

Let's be honest - some kids get it, others not so much. It really depends on the age.

But I have found giving to children in this manner does do a couple of things.

A. It decreases the stuff in your home. Done.

B. It increases your child's awareness of others outside their worldview.

C. It starts a dialog - sometimes about those who are poor, other times about where Africa is and possibly the inevitable, "Why didn't Aunt Jessi just get me the shoes I wanted instead of this." Regardless of what the conversation is - it's started.

D. You, in the end, really do help someone. Whether it's your own child of those you sought to support through your gift-giving. You're giving both tangibly & intangibly.

It really is a win-win situation (except for that sometimes teenage girl who would have rather had those zebra-print tennis shoes than two rabbits given in her name).

Snapshot provided by Let Them Eat Lentils

So think about heading on over to World Vision's gift giving catalog and if not give through them, give to a child through another local NPO and watch change happen.

Speaking of change... There was so much going on this week! I didn't spend much time on the computer due to some mad canning & beautiful days but take a look at some of the highlights in links below:

First let's talk about stuff. I saw this video a number of years ago and it has really stuck with me. Odds are, you have probably already seen this. If not, please watch.

And then on to accumulating stuff: I think I'm going to need to buy myself one of these for Mother's Day.

This was a GREAT list of books for kids that focus on good whole food and good whole stories.

Awesome. I agree with my friend Mike, I need to be friends with these people.

Love cardamom. Really enjoyed this story.

Such a great train of thought and inspiration.

A little reflective piece on the happenings of this past week.

Civil Eats - You make a great case once again.

And lastly - My Aunt.

Have a most wonderfully preserved week everyone!

Preserving Beauty with the Sweetest Superfood

2011-05-05T15:41:00.000-04:00

Let's talk Superfoods.

I know many, myself included, have been fooled into thinking that avocados are the ultimate superfood. And I can see where we ~~have been fooled~~ are coming from. Take look at these nutritional facts - avocados are in essence in the high court of vitamin/nutrient packed "superfood". But I have this belief that they have some close competition for this powerful position.

Avocado, meet Mango.

Let me present my case.

Number One: I believe those yellowish-orangish-redish, sticky sweet treats are pretty compatible with mostly any food course.

Delicious Desserts.

Sassy Salsas.

Bangin' Breakfasts.

Manly Meats or Feisty Fish.

Verbose Vegetables.

Butt-Kickin' Breads.

You name it - Mango is its mate (and I am giving myself mega alliteration points for that list!).

It even does well cohabitating with it's like species -the Familiar Fruits.

Number Two: Mangoes inspired this poem. Beautiful, eh?

Number Three: Mangoes are sweeter than avocados. Enough said.

Number Four: If you're careful, each precious mango can be delicately mashed up within the skin and sucked up like a juice. You should really try it one day.

Number Five: I believe mangoes also create community. Sure, you can eat avocados within a community but it's only with a mango that you can sit around the breakfast table or out on the back porch and peel, dice & eat mangoes until your belly hurts, your hands turn syrup sticky and there are multiple sucked on & discarded pits lingering out in the middle of the yard (or in the compost pile if you're at our house).

You can see, avocados have stiff competition. But where mangos truly trump that superfood impostor is in the canning department. As far as my knowedge extends, the only way to preserve avocados is to dice/puree & freeze. Really avocados, that's all you can say - "Freeze me."

Mangoes though...

Is there anything you can't do with mangoes?

Maybe pickling, but I'm not even fully convinced of that.

First mango canning experience? Mango Butter.

I've canned apple butter (I should really put that amazing recipe up here someday) but Mango Butter... Wow. After quite a bit of searching I came upon this recipe from Mama's Health & let me tell ya' - Mama didn't disappoint!

Mango Butter

6 1/2 cups of ripe mango, peeled, pitted and chopped

3/4 cup of orange juice

3 tbsp of lemon juice

1/2 cup of water

2 1/2 cups of sugar

1. Heat the mango, water and orange to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 35 minutes.

2. Run the mix through a mill, food processor (which is what I did) or wire sieve. Return the mango mush to the pan and add the lemon juice and sugar.

3. Stir until the sugar dissolves and simmer for another 30 minutes, skimming off any foam that accumulates.

4. Spoon the warm butter into canning jars.

5. Steep the jars in a boiling water baths for 10 minutes to seal the jars.

And there you have it! Mangoes are real superfood in and out of the can.

What's next? Mango Salsa!

P.S. Breakfast this morning as Mango Butter was being processed - Theo 91% Dark Chocolate & Coffee.

Preserving Beauty in the Can Art

2011-05-03T11:56:00.000-04:00

This past weekend as we were in Ohio we had the opportunity to scour the shelves of a poet.

What a treat to feast my eyes on the works of men & women whose lives are centered in preserving in prose.

What really caught my eye was this:

How beautiful! What a unique way to cherish family recipes & canning delights (or traditions) in a homespun Moosewood meets Ball Jar kinda way.

When I find out the source of this piece of work I'll let you know. In the meantime, enjoy!