Canning tomatoes: a rookie's perspective

When I was 2 or 3 my mother was featured in our local paper for her canning practices. She canned/froze EVERYTHING she could and I was her 'big helper'. Ever since I can remember in the summers she would can vegetables, freeze berries and remind us how important this practice was. When I was little I thought this was just the way country-folk like us lived...what I didn't understand was that we were among the few that canned our annual yield and we did it because we were poor. I had no idea we didn't have a lot of money and if you had come by the house at any given time, you wouldn't have known either.

Looking back I still don't remember my childhood as one where we went without. I didn't even know I was missing out on anything. Now, I look back and wonder how we managed to can every year and why we don't do it as much as before...I feel now, that as a child I was spoiled by fresh vegetables year round and homemade jam. I cant even eat the store bought stuff (blah!) and who would want to??? Its terrible!

Im sure many would rather buy pre-canned veggies than spend 7+ hours picking, cleaning, cutting, canning and freezing fresh vegetables like I did yesterday. I understand, but as long as I can do it, I will...

For anyone who has never done it before, canning is pretty easy work. The biggest deterrent is how time consuming it is.

Some recipes call for the use of canning salt & citric acid (or lemon juice), but that is only if one desires to use it. I chose to use canning salt only, but its up to you.

It is also important to know, that while canning foods is a safe practice and the food is preserved for a long time, it is recommended to cycle through your canned/frozen goods within a year to maintain optimal flavor. Plus, its just good practice so you have adequate room for next years harvest.



Canning Diced Tomatoes:
-tomatoes
-canning salt

You will need:
-large stockpot
-medium stockpot that will fit the jars covered with water OR dishwasher
-medium saucepan
-ladle
-canning funnel
-new canning lids (available at most grocery stores in the summer)
-canning jars (look for these 2nd-hand)
-canning bands (2nd-hand, if possible)
-jar wrench (or a oven mit can work as long as you can grip the jar well)


Cut up tomatoes into desired size and place in large stockpot over medium heat. Begin boiling jars, lids and bands. If you have a dishwasher, put jars in dishwasher and just boil the lids and bands (I only boil bands if they've been used).

As soon as the tomatoes are slowly boiling begin removing bands from water and place on a towel to cool. When the lids are boiling and jars are washed and very hot, put canning funnel in jars and fill with tomatoes 1/2-1'' from top. *Make sure the lip of the jar is clean before putting on the lid.* Add 1/2 teaspoon (per quart) canning salt to the top, cover jar with hot lid and apply band.

Set filled jars aside and allow them to cool completely (usually overnight). When the jars seal they will make a soft popping noise. Label and store in a cool, dark, dry place.

Enjoy!

Pepper season is fast approaching!

I truly believe that the produce section of my local market is my favorite section of the store. I love the way the fruits and veggies are stacked together, getting the occasional spritz from an overhead mister and coming across something Ive never seen before.

I don't fret over the price of bananas or lettuce because I'm among those who feel that food is an investment. But I will say that I am always curious about the price of peppers. I find it very interesting the way peppers flux in price and how a single green pepper is consistently above $1 in price. If I wanted to make stuffed peppers it would be cheaper to just go to the freezer section and grab a Stouffer's instead of doing it myself! In addition, if I want to make something and it calls for a green pepper I may not have one handy or it may have already gone bad by the time I get around to cooking it.

I am blessed to have a mother who is a horticulturist by trade. More and more as I have been cooking I have taken additional interest in gardening, canning and preserving food. Last summer, my mom had a reasonably large yield of green & purple bell peppers. I hate wasting food, especially when peppers are on the higher priced end of the market.

So what did we do?

We decided to freeze them! Freezing fresh vegetables maintains more nutrients than any other way of storing food (including processing). We sliced half of the peppers into long fajita-style slices and diced the rest. Each sliced pepper was stored individually and the diced peppers were stored in 1 cup portions. And if I decided to make stuffed peppers, I will know ahead of time so I wont waste the store bought!

It didn't take long to start dipping into the packages of peppers and I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh and flavorful they still were! Plus, the added convenience of having them every time I needed one was great!

I purchased my own Seal-a-Meal in March for around $40. It comes with a few bags, but the rolls are only around $10 and last awhile! I have used it a lot for portioning meat and it will be used again very soon to stock up on peppers for the next year!

My Lovely Seal-A-Meal:






The amount of peppers Mom and I froze was about the amount of two plastic shopping bags (before cutting them up). I took about 2/3 home and they lasted me almost a full year, which was something else I wasnt expecting! At the time I was hoping they would last til December! :) I do use peppers quite often in my cooking, so this was a pleasant surprise to both me and my pocketbook!

Please keep in mind freezing your surplus veggies as opposed to throwing them away! They taste great and are incredibly handy!

Making Homemade Pasta il Boccaccio style, A Review

For my first attempt at homemade pasta, I decided to pick a simple recipe and style. The video showing Chef Joe Venezia seemed to have all the qualities I was looking for and I liked the way he instructed on the video as opposed to showing off.

I found il Boccaccio's basic ratios to work quite well and I only made a 1lb & 3 eggs amount for my trial run. Let me tell ya, that produced much more pasta than expected (see photo)!



I didn't cut my pasta with a knife. I used the attachments on my machine to cut the linguine and spaghetti and I was happy with the results. I have also watched a few other videos in the past that discuss hanging the pasta to dry out if its not being used. I don't own a pasta rack (even though they are very inexpensive and readily available), so I used my clothes drying rack instead and it worked fine, but I do believe the detachable arms on a pasta rack would made the dry presentation better.

After letting the pasta dry for an hour (and making some homemade marinara) I added the fresh noodles to boiling salted water and cooked until they were to my liking.

The flavor was delicious and the pasta wrapped around my fork as it should. In the end I was quite please with my experience and this recipe!

Try it and enjoy!

A couple notes:
-my pasta machine wouldn't clamp to my counter and kept wiggling loose...any advice?

-clean off your counters and have as much room as possible while rolling out the dough! It makes approx 2 whole boxes of linguine noodles.

-I put the unused spaghetti in the freezer...thoughts?

In Tony, I trust...

Eight years ago I had just moved to a new town. I didn't really know anyone and I wasn't even sure if this new arrangement was going to work. I was young and throwing my fate to the wind. A friend loaned me a copy of 'Kitchen Confidential' by Anthony Bourdain and I think I read it in just a few days. In the years since, I have used that book for inspiration, the reason not to quit my job (I work in the food industry)and just a place to escape to. I have probably bought over ten copies of the book because I would never get my loaned copy back. And with those loaned copies, another fan is born.

I have kept tabs on Chef Bourdain ever since. I have much of his published work and find each article as inspiring as the last. He is modest in his skill, simplistic in his methods and if nothing else, honest to a fault.

I went to the bookstore after Chef Bourdain's 'Les Halles Cookbook' came out. The language in the book is very candid and plain, all formal terms are explained. Julie can try to emulate Julia, but Im gonna stick with Tony.

As soon as I brought it home I knew the first recipe I was going to try, moules marinières (mussels in white wine). Reading it made my mouth water! I love shellfish, if I had a shellfish allergy I might still eat this and suffer...yes, its that good!

This recipe is easy, fast and mouthwatering! If you have a dinner party and want to cook a very nice dinner with not a lot of time-do this! Its a one-pot wonder and one of my favorite items Ive ever made!

Enjoy!

I dont even know where this idea came from #1

After pondering a moment about what to title this, I decided on making it a reoccurring theme. I felt that occasionally my trials ended in success, even if I don't know how and hopefully, there will be more than one!

Today is a scorcher. I didn't check the actual temp, but lets just say, wow! Hiding out in the ac is definitely preferable. Getting home I had a creole recipe I wanted to try, but that required a trip to the grocery store and I really didn't want to deal with that. Call it lazy, call it being economical-I don't care.

Sifting through my fridge I was trying to figure out what I could make. One sirloin steak thawed out, 1 red bell pepper, 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce, 1.5 cups homemade marinara (very chunky)...what can I do with all this? How about Dirty Rice?

I cook off the steak and cut up into very tiny pieces, make rice, saute red pepper and add spaghetti sauce and marinara, season with cajun seasoning and mix all together and BAM! Dirty Rice!

Its filling, a people pleaser and it got quite a few odd and ends out of my fridge!

Try it at your house!

Naked Breakfast #4: Beignets

A year ago my former boyfriend, his 16 yr old daughter and I all decided to take a trip to New Orleans. While we were there I was on a mission to try every local foodie treat I could find. My boyfriend (a somewhat picky eater) turned his nose at almost everything I ordered, alligator, raw oysters, fried oysters, craw fish, etc...I think his daughter found this amusing because she was quick to try everything I did, but only after checking my reaction first.

On the last day we made a final trek over to the French Market to grab a few last minute gifts. I got back to the car first and the 16 yr old got in the back seat a few minutes later. She had been on a mission to go to Cafe du Monde for beignets (I, at the time, didnt know what they were).

Now, I had just bought a new car that contained black interior upholstery. As I turn around to see what she bought, I look down upon a box with an enormous pastry COVERED with powdered sugar! I have no doubt you can imagine how big my eyes got! I almost made her hang her head out the window to eat it! But she being a good kid, was very careful and managed to devour the beignet, with minimal evidence of the fact left in my car. And of course, she shared.

My experience in New Orleans effected my outlook on food and culture. And Im thrilled at any reminders of my time there. So you can imagine my joy in finding a box of Cafe Du Monde Beignet Mix at my local Meijer! And of course I bought it and made beignets for naked breakfast!

Dish: Cafe Du Monde Beignets
Film: The Incredible Hulk (w. Edward Norton)

Now, I just followed the directions on the box. For the first time making something I dont usually veer off the recipe much, so I will give a few pointers off of my experience.

1. Dont roll the beignets as thin as 1/8 inch as suggested. Its too thin. I would probably double that...the beignets at Cafe Du Monde were large and soft. A consistency similar to a doughnut, but square (no holes).

2. Dont cut them as small either...I would probably dbl that as well (4"x4").

3. Trial & Error is the key with these! Cook a couple and then adjust size or thickness to preference.

4. I think they need cinnamon. Either on top or in the mix. They need an additional spice otherwise they can be a little bland.

5. Like most fried food, its never good unless it goes from fryer to plate. The thicker ones may transport better, but the small ones dont.

6. They cook fast! So keep an eye on them and don't let them get too golden. The corners can get really chewy!

Enjoy!