Home Canning 101

One thing we don't do much is preserve food. We've frozen some things and canned tomatoes with my mom, but Gerry's always been a little timid about trying to can on his own. He's scared he's going to poison someone, plain and simple. I'm not even sure he trusted my mom, and she's been canning for many years!


So when I saw a coupon for the Ball Canning Discovery Kit, I thought it might be just the thing to tempt Ger into giving it a try. The kit comes with three pint jars with lids and rings, a small canning rack, and a little booklet with a few different recipes, including salsa. Knowing how Gerry feels about salsa, I thought it might be just the thing to spark an interest in canning!



And it worked! Our farm share supplied the tomatoes, peppers, onions, even the cilantro! Ger was a little conservative with the jalapeno peppers, and the salsa could be hotter, but he can adjust that next time. Meanwhile, he's gobbling it up!

The recipe made exactly enough to fill the three pint jars. Those clever people from Ball...they know what they're doing!

Before we bought this kit, I looked up some reviews about it. I liked that it offered a simplified, friendlier approach to canning, but I was worried that it was a complete waste of money. As it turns out, even many experienced canners really like this smaller rack, as it's convenient for preserving small batches.

Also, I have been prowling around at the Ball Canning and Preserving website, and WOW, is there a lot of information there! There are recipes, discussion boards, and tons of other resources. It's worth a look!

Gerry's Delicata Squash

[Susan's note: Getting a decent photo of this was a nightmare. I took about 26 shots, and this is the best of the bunch. Just wish that one piece of onion wasn't sitting there looking like a booger!]

I've never had delicata squash before. I figured it was just like other squash-you bake it and eat it! But in my search for recipes, I came across many that suggested doing a "twice baked" style of cooking. After reading several of the recipes, I decided to-SURPRISE!-wing it.

Here is my recipe:

4- Delicata squash, similar size (2-3 pounds), halved
1- small red onion, finely diced
2-cloves of garlic, minced
1/4-cup of bread crumbs
1/4 to 1/3-cup of parmesan cheese
1-Tbsp butter

After halving the squash, set half of the halves aside.
Place the rest of the squash on a baking sheet with about 1/8 of an inch of water. Bake in 350 degree oven until tender.
When cooked, allow the halves to cool until you are able to handle them, then scoop out the pulp and mash.
While the innards are cooling, sautee the onion and garlic together until soft and translucent.
Combine the onion and garlic with the mashed squash. Mix in the bread crumbs and cheese.
Fill the remaining squash halves with the squash/onion/cheese mixture. Place on a baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the squash is tender and the filling browns.
Serve and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Graham Muffins

Before we even got out of bed this morning, Susan and I discussed what I could cook today for the blog. Then I signed into Facebook and, lo and behold, the first thing I see is a post from Whole Foods about Sweet Potato Graham Muffins. Decision made, let's get cooking!

These were really simple to make, but beware, the batter is EXTREMELY stiff! I opted to add the cinnamon and I'm glad I did. Even with the cinnamon, these are a more savory muffin, very much reminiscent of corn bread. I think these would go really well with chili or jambalaya. I may have to make some to test my theory!

(If Susan doesn't eat them all for breakfast.)

Pumpkins Plus!

Behold the majestic muffin!

I think this is the first time we've ever made something besides a jack-o-lantern from a pumpkin! And because our carrot and parsnip patch is growing like crazy, I asked Gerry to look for a muffin recipe that included both pumpkin and carrots.

Yep, another shot of our carrots. We're so proud of actually GROWING something, we can't help ourselves. Yeah, we know they could have been thinned better so they wouldn't twist around each other, but we sort of like that!

I'm going to hand over the keyboard to Ger now so he can talk about making these, but before I do, I just want to say that they are really good!

My favorite cake is carrot cake. Hands down. I love how moist it is, I love the spices, I love the cream cheese icing. Of course, because Susan doesn't like cream cheese, I have to compromise and leave the icing out. But there is nothing better than a carrot cake! UNLESS it's this recipe for carrot/pumpkin cake!

These are delicious! Once again I have changed the recipe just a little bit. I don't keep canned pineapple in the house but I always have a couple of bags of those jumbo raisins from Trader Joe's, so I substituted the raisins for the pineapple. Combined with the fresh-from-the-garden carrots and fresh-from-the-farm, homemade pumpkin puree, these cakes (or muffins, if you like) are as moist as anything you'll ever have! See if you don't love them, too!

This week's share is coming tomorrow! We flaked this week and didn't remember our pick up until the last minute. Neil was kind enough to let us switch our pick up!

Happy Squash

Susan found me a GOOD recipe, southwestern stuffed acorn squash, at the Eating Well website. This dish is insanely good! I love it!


You can to adapt this recipe to any number of servings you want--it's very simple! I used the two acorn squash from our week 19 share and the carnival squash we got last week.

The tomatoes, onion and bell pepper were also in our share--and I ALWAYS have garlic in the house. I used turkey sausage from Bolton's in Silverdale. [Susan's note: How about a veggie version next time?]

A can of low sodium black beans finished it off! Pay attention to the beans! Some of the brands I looked at had over 1000 mg. of sodium--which is ridiculous! I used the O Organics brand which came in at about 400 mg of sodium.

My cat slotted spoon was almost as happy as I was when this was finished!

Soup's On!

It's FALL! That means it's time for soup.

Starting with this recipe for Turkey and Squash Soup from Eating Well, I made a few, small changes:

- a can of chickpeas instead of the corn;

-a fresh jalepeno from our share instead of the red pepper flakes;

-shallots from the share instead of leeks.

I shared the soup with some co-workers who LOVED it--they all wanted the recipe!

Give it a try and see if you don't love it too!

Fall Comfort Food

Tuesday was dreary and rainy, with no sunshine and cloud cover that made it feel like dusk all day long. As it got closer to lunchtime, I wanted something from the past: a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. There is nothing better than a meal that takes you back to a time in your life when everything was just simpler. I guess that is why they call it comfort food! Of course, what I had in mind was a little more involved than opening a red and white can.

I used this recipe as the basis for my soup. We had plenty of tomatoes on hand from our half share, and I also used both basil and onions from the farm.

The cooking time was a little longer than just heating up a can of soup, but infinitely more rewarding, as the house filled with the aroma of stewing tomatoes.

Preparation was also a bit more complicated than twisting a can opener.



But the final result? Fabulous. Worth it. Just what I wanted. And dare I say it? Mmm, mmm good!

A Change of Pace...Or Not

Susan says: I've been after Gerry to make something that isn't based on tomatoes. Not only do I despise tomatoes, but the blog was looking like a gallery of tomato dishes! So when I saw this recipe in an old Martha Stewart magazine, I thought it would make a nice change from all the 'maters. Of course, look how it wound up: covered in salsa!

Gerry says: I made the recipe exactly as the directions stated--mark this day on your calendar--and it was absolutely delicious! I can see serving it with something like fried chicken and a green vegetable, especially on a cool fall evening. Then I thought about it a little bit and realized that most polenta is cooked and then fried, isn't it, in little patties? So I tried it with the polenta and fresh corn. WOW! EXCELLENT! I dressed them with a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of fresh salsa and had a couple accompanied by an ice cold Corona. Perfect!

Susan interjects: How about homemade salsa with the polenta fries?

Gerry finishes up: I was expecting these to be a little firmer but that didn't happen. I think if I had used a bit less liquid in the original recipe they would have held up a bit better and been great as a finger food for football season.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Hey, sports fans! The NFL season starts in just one week! Is anyone else excited?

There is nothing better than football food--NFL or soccer--it's all delicious! So I thought I'd work on putting together some recipes for game-day snacks.


I love salsa. I love spicy salsa. I love fresh, spicy salsa! This recipe is a quick way to have fresh salsa around when you want it. It's best if you let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of days to let all the flavors meld together.

Salsa is obviously great with tortilla chips, but I also love it on enchiladas (a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of salsa on top add terrific color to the dish), in tacos, or as a garnish on broiled or grilled swordfish. It has loads of uses besides just a dip. Another way I've always enjoyed salsa is with sourdough bread. Some fresh sourdough, butter and a spoonful of salsa--like bruschetta, with loads more kick!

Clean Slate!

Know what this is?

It's our first batch of the Easiest, Best Tomato Sauce Ever! In other words, it's everything we couldn't keep up with last week (while on vacation), roasted and pureed.

I found the recipe in a book called The Quarter Acre Farm by Spring Warren. It's a cool book AND blog about growing enough food on an average residential lot to feed a small family. This is the book I credit with inspiring me to try this:

Yep, those are home-grown carrots! Gerry and I took the plunge and planted our first little raised bed with carrots and parsnips. Farmer Neil didn't sound too optimistic about our chances of growing parsnips, but so far they seem to be doing quite well! We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll have parsnips for Thanksgiving dinner!

Anyway, about Spring and The Quarter Acre Farm. What I love about Spring is her matter of fact approach to gardening. If she runs into a problem, she just does a little research and experiments with something new. She takes some wrong turns, but it's all part of the process. I don't think there's another gardening book out there that I, a non-gardener, would have enjoyed as much as hers.

And this recipe--what's not to love about a recipe that frankly addresses a problem common to almost everyone? Sometimes you just can't keep up and find yourself with an odd assortment of produce past its prime. This is a GREAT way to give yourself a clean slate without adding to the compost pile!

The recipe is a snap, but do pay attention to the warning to use at least two-thirds tomatoes in your mix. We went a little light on the tomatoes once, and the sauce was a very unappetizing shade of brown!

The next recipe we're trying from the site is Zucchini Noodles! Don't they look fun?

Savory Zucchini Bake

Okay, so this dish is not a looker. You can dress it up with a pretty casserole dish or herbs on top, but here it is in all its utilitarian glory. And that's appropriate, because this is not a fussy recipe.

Savory Zucchini Bake

from the book From Asparagus to Zucchini
3 cups peeled and grated zucchini
1 cup packaged quick baking mix (like Bisquick)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2-1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Mix all ingredients and pour into pan. Bake 30 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

When I read this out loud for Gerry, he said, "Mix ALL ingredients?" Yep, indeedy, you just mix everything and dump it in the pan. His next question? "Can I put sausage in it?"

This recipe is very similar to one we posted back in '08, ALA Zucchini from the PA Department of Agriculture. And guess what--he put sausage in that dish too!

Gerry's take: Fussy is definitely not a word I would use to describe this! I needed a recipe that would do three things: 1) Use up some squash. 2) Go together quickly and easily. 3) Work as leftovers. This one filled the bill! I happened to have a lot of yellow squash, so that's what I used, although the zucchini probably would have looked a little better. I also used fresh oregano because, well, our little pot of herbs from the Week Two share has grown into a huge bush.

Give this one a try--you won't be disappointed!

Eating with Relish!

Gerry hoarded his cabbage for two weeks so he could make a huge bowl of slaw. He told me he used this recipe, but I knew there had to be revisions. Sure enough, he left out the celery seed (didn't have any), used both green and red cabbage, and subbed green pepper for red. One thing he didn't change was the inclusion of sweet pickle relish, but he made his own using his homemade pickles! The funny thing is, that probably made the recipe better, because one review of the original version said it was too sweet. I don't think it was too sweet for Gerry, because he's aleady eaten the entire batch in just a couple of days, and everytime he has some he says how much he enjoys the relish in it!

Riffing on Ratatouille

Sooooo...ratatouille...where to begin. My first ever exposure to this dish was back in 1977. I was barely 18, had just started in the grocery industry, and was working in frozen food. I'd never even heard of ratatouille, but my store manager apparently loved it enough for both of us, because he would check on the supply of Stouffer's frozen ratatouille every day. Really! Every. Single. Day. Once I took a good look at the food with the funny name, I realize why I'd never heard of it: it was made with eggplant. I had never had eggplant in my life! I don't think my mother would have known what to do with an eggplant--it simply had never crossed our threshold.

Onward we go and over the years I've tried eggplant parmesan, fried eggplant, various other eggplant dishes, and never found it to be all that interesting. I'll eat it, but I don't need to have it. But then we started to get these lovely little eggplants in our half share, and I thought of that dish with the funny name again.

I discovered that the most famous ratatouille recipe in the world is Julia Child's, so that's where I started. Now, I don't mean any disrespect, but as is my habit, I didn't follow it exactly. She would have you sauteeing each vegetable separately. I'm not patient enough for that, so everything went in together. All in all, it turned out nicely, and doesn't seem to have suffered from my tweaks.




Then we came across the recipe touted as a "baked riff on ratatouille" in the September 2011 issue of Whole Living magazine. This layered dish pairs tomatoes, onion, and squash with potatoes and parmesan cheese. THAT sounded REALLY good, so I gave it a shot! It's isn't a true ratatouille because it doesn't have eggplant, but it is absolutely delicious!

Baked Tomatoes, Squash, and Potatoes

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 small tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium yukon gold potato, sliced 1/4 inch thick
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil over medium and cook onion until tender and lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

Arrange the onion on the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Overlap tomato, squash, and potato on top of the onion. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with thyme and Parmesan, and drizzle with more oil.

Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, 30 minutes more.

In the end, I'm happy I tried both versions. They were both tasty and filling and worth the effort. But the one with cheese? Wonderful.

Carrot Cakes

I'm a little late with this, but last week's carrots went into carrot cupcakes/muffins. Gerry used this recipe as a starting point and made the usual changes of mixed spice and raw sugar. He also substituted another cup of carrot for the apple. I think ours look better than theirs! We whipped up a bit of cream cheese icing for a few we took to a get together on Sunday, but they are every bit as tasty plain!

I couldn't seem to capture the color of the carrots inside. They are much more orange than this in real life!

We love having this kind of thing around to take along as a snack during an afternoon shopping or a breakfast on the run. It's sort of our answer to nutrition bars. They also make nice little "thank you" treats for friends!

Presto, It's Pesto!

Have you ever avoided a food thinking that you just didn't like it? I was that way with pesto. For some reason, I was convinced I disliked pesto. I know I've had it, I know I thought it left a funny aftertaste, and I know for that reason alone, I've avoided it.

Then came last weeks share and another bunch of beautifully fragrant basil. I've felt guilty because I haven't been able to use the basil fast enough in the past few weeks and have had to throw some out. I was looking for recipes that used basil and kept coming back to pesto. After reading How to Make Pesto Like an Italian Grandmother at 101 Cookbooks, I decided to give it a try. The only thing I didn't do according to the recipe was the chopping. I'm way too lazy to do all that chopping, especially when I have the perfect "pesto sized" attachment for my blender! So I did everything precisely to the recipe except I used my machine.

Ok, can I say OMG here? This stuff is awesome! I added it to some linguine from the Dreamfields pasta line (hint: you can get a coupon at the site). I use Dreamfields for the lower absorbed carbs. The flavor of the pesto was INCREDIBLE! Parmesan, garlic, basil, pine nuts and good olive oil? The bomb. I can't say enough about it--except to add that I had to have been a complete idiot to have avoided pesto for all this time. The only thing I can think is that I had pesto from a can or jar--and that just can't be as good as freshly made!

A little tip: BJ's Wholesale Club has an eight ounce bag of pine nuts for $9.99. This is a great price! I've seen them for $7 for a 4 ounce bag in grocery stores. [Susan's note: This does sort of fly in the face of the whole local food thing, but it's hard to avoid that with pine nuts as North American pine nuts are sort of hard to get.]

Finally, thanks to CSA member Velga for this tip--if you aren't going to use the pesto right away, it tends to get darker as seen here. Add a little lemon juice and the acid will help keep the color. Thanks, Velga!

Spice It Up!

With the positively frigid weather we had on Thursday (only in the seventies!), Gerry took the opportunity to cook a dish with a lot of heat: chicken paprikas. I debated for a long time whether it was okay to call this paprikas, which traditionally uses sour cream, but Google turned up a few instances of genuine Hungarians preferring their paprikas sans sour cream, so I'm running with it. The couscous on the other hand...I'm not sure how they'd feel about that in Hungary.

For some reason, Gerry doesn't think to use paprika too often, which explains why our tin of it was six years old! He used it anyway, liberally, but some of the fire had gone out of it. There are also different types of paprika, which was news to me. Now that we need a new supply, we'll keep that in mind! Do you have a favorite place to buy spices? We have been happy with My Spice Sage, because shipping is free and there are always free samples!

One thing Gerry really enjoyed about this dish was the slightly smoky flavor imparted by the paprika. And although the top of his head broke out in a sweat, he wishes it were a little hotter!

Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes

Another quick, easy, tasty and healthy lunch/dinner/snack idea when the weather is just too darn hot to cook. How about fresh tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad? This goes together in a snap--make your favorite tuna salad, cut a nice deep well in your tomatoes, place a heaping scoop of tuna salad in the tomato, eat!

Simple as can be! AND requires no oven/stove/heat whatsoever!

Tasty Cake

Ger has been banging out batches of zucchini muffins for weeks now, using our old standby recipe. They're tasty, but they're nothing new, so we skipped blogging about them. But then--wouldn't you know it--the new Martha Stewart magazine arrived, and Martha takes zucchini muffins to a whole new level.

Zucchini Bundt Cake with Orange Glaze,

From Martha Stewart Living, August 2011
1 1/2 sticked unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
[We used the Goodall's mixed spice we love so much instead of cinnamon and anise seeds. Close enough.]
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional) [Not sure why they say this is optional. It would be a crime to leave it out, in my opinion.]
coarse salt
2 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces each)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 6 cup bundt pan with butter and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, and 1 teaspoon salt.

2. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater, then squeeze dry in a clean kitchen towel or press in a ricer. (You will need 2 1/2 cups.)

3. Stir together eggs and sugar, the stir in melted butter, zucchini, and orange zest and juice. Stir in flour mixture. Transfer batter to pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about one hour (cake will rise quite a bit over the top of the pan but should not run over). Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cake cool for 10 minutes. Run a paring knife around edges of cake to loosen, and turn out onto wire rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.

5. Brush several layers of orange glaze evenly over cake. [I am leaving the candied zucchini part out. Who wants to be boiling syrup in this weather?]

Orange Glaze
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 pinches of ground cardamom (optional)

1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, plus 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
whole milk, as needed for thinning

Whisk together sugar and cardamom. Whisk in orange zest and juice, and whisk until mixture has the consistency of thick honey. If mixture is too thick, whisk in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Gerry didn't thin his glaze as much as they did in the magazine. I like it this way, because I think the drips look more casual and rustic. It would also be nice drizzled on the tops of zucchini muffins, just to add a touch of sweet. The Martha way, with the delicate glaze and candied zucchini would be nice for a party, but who needs all that folderal in everyday life?

We did add a handful of raisins, though. These Trader Joe's Jumbos are just too good to miss. They are one of the reasons we would never make it as locavores! Big and juicy, a little go a long way!

NOT Too Hot to Cook!

Gerry was finally willing to turn on the stove, so tonight was all about the eggplant! He was talking about combining the eggplant with zucchini and cheese and stuff and making a casserole, but I convinced him to save that for standard eggplant and use these delicate beauties in something which would highlight, rather than hide, the eggplant. This recipe seemed to fit the bill: quick, easy, and made from ingredients on hand.

Okay, my turn...Gerry here. I read through the recipe Susan sent me and decided to make some small changes. After all, this really is just sauteeing some vegetables, so you can take liberties. One of the comments after the recipe suggested adding garlic, and I considered it, but then I used a green frying pepper from our share last week, sliced into nice, thin rounds. I also used a red onion because I didn't have a sweet onion and some oregano from our plant.

You could also use olive oil in the pan rather than butter for a healthier version, but I went whole hog tonight! There's always the danger of having a dish like this turn into more of a sauce than a side dish, so take care to cut your tomatoes extra chunky and don't overcook!

While I am not normally a huge eggplant fan--I find that it is rather bland and requires too much "other stuff" to make it interesting--these little japanese eggplants, also known as nasubi, are delicious! They have fewer seeds and a more delicate texture. Susan's idea to give these little guys their moment in the sun was the right way to go--will make this dish again!