Monthly Archives: October 2010

Pumpkin Potato Pancakes

31 October 2010 by local kitchen

Update: I’ve made these in the past with pumpkin purée, which works fine, but I prefer them this way, with grated pumpkin flesh. The recipe is quite adaptable, so I highly recommend frying a test pancake first and making adjustments to egg, flour, and/or seasonings as you go. Enjoy! ~October 2013 . . . . . A spooky, spicy pumpkin-and-potato pancake for your Halloween pleasure! OK, so there’s nothing spooky about these pancakes (unless you’re harvesting pumpkins from a nuclear test […]

Categories: appetizer, fall, parsley, potato, snack, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, food, local, pumpkin, recipes, vegetarian

Oven-Braised Barbecue Chicken

28 October 2010 by local kitchen

This was my lunch on Tuesday, such a glorious, warm, sunny day that I was compelled, despite a crazy-busy week and a looming analysis deadline, to enjoy it out on the back deck. Because basking in the sun, watching the leaves drift down, and reveling in sticky, messy, moist & delicious, finger-looking good barbecue chicken is soon going away, not to be seen again around these parts for many moons. If I were a Brit, I’d call this recipe “cheap […]

Categories: 100% local, braising, chicken, fall, meat & dairy, sauces, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Informal Poll: Name that Blog!

26 October 2010 by local kitchen

So, I need to upgrade the blog soon, because I am running out of disk storage space (can you believe it? It feels like yesterday she was just a wee babe… <sniff>) and I decided it made sense to register my own domain name at the same time; easier than all that .wordpress.com jazz. Naturally, because this is the way that my life goes, http://www.localkitchen.com is taken. Not that it’s a website or anything; someone just has the domain name, […]

Categories: 100% local, community

Preserving Apples

26 October 2010 by local kitchen

I know you all thought that October’s Can Jam would be apples, which, of course, would have been wonderful, since I still have 20 lbs in the garage awaiting preservation. Some were thrilled with my pick of chiles (although none more than I!) while others, not so much. As a consolation prize of sorts, I’ve done my own round-up of apple preserving recipes, tips & techniques (just in time for apple season to be over here in the Northeast. Don’t […]

Categories: apples, canning, drying, fall, fermenting, freezing, preserving • Tags: apples, canning, cooking, food, jam, jelly, local, preserves, preserving, recipes

Grape Jelly with Balsamic & Black Pepper

24 October 2010 by local kitchen

With the last of my 13-pound haul of Concord grapes from Maine I decided to attempt a jelly (even though jelly and I are not best friends). Since I’d already made a sweet-tart jam and a maply graple syrup, I decided to hit a savory note with this one; I went with the classic addition of balsamic vinegar and black pepper. As usual with my jelly attempts, I’m not so sure about this one. It did set, at least, but […]

Categories: canning, fall, grapes, jellies, preserving • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Can Jam: Apple Jalapeno Preserves

21 October 2010 by local kitchen

You didn’t think I could stop at just one, did you? The current experiment in chile-lovin’ jams is a Ferber-style apple preserve with a healthy kick from spicy red jalapenos. As usual, I had to augment the liquid in order to compensate for the fact that I use much less sugar than a typical Ferber recipe; also I did not cook this one to the gel stage as I wanted a loose preserve, with a beautifully spicy syrup, suitable for pouring over […]

Categories: apples, Can Jam, canning, fall, hot chile peppers, preserves, preserving • Tags: apples, canning, cooking, food, jam, local, preserving, recipes

Gifts: New Baby

20 October 2010 by local kitchen

I give a lot of gifts. It’s hard to say that without sounding “Yay, me!” but, honestly, I enjoy it; I’m one of those people who never shows up at your house without something in hand, who (usually) remembers birthdays & anniversarys, and who lives for Christmas. Before my canning days (when I also had a steady income) my gifts were more traditional: wine, truffles or dessert as a hostess gift; adorable baby clothes for a new baby or a shower; […]

Categories: community, gifts, tools & gear • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local

Can Jam: Charred Chile Barbecue Sauce

18 October 2010 by local kitchen

October’s Can Jam is chiles! I’m so excited to see the fabulous recipes that y’all come up with. I know you’re expecting some wacky jam or a crazy-too-hot salsa, but for this one, I tested out a new recipe, from my brand spankin’ new copy of Put ’em Up! (a birthday gift from my sweet hubs). I snagged some of the last fresh tomatoes of the season, from Madura Farms at my local farmer’s market, and had a pile of fresh chiles from […]

Categories: Can Jam, canning, condiments, hot chile peppers, preserving, sauces, summer, tomatoes • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, tomatoes

Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

16 October 2010 by local kitchen

I know, I know: Local, Seasonal Girl makes out-of-season dessert! Film at 11. Actually, I’ve made this dessert several times since Heidi posted the original recipe back in May, but somehow, I never posted the recipe. Either we were starving and dived right in, or the light was gone, or we had friends over and I didn’t feel like embarrassing myself making them wait while I took 32 pictures of a fruit crumble for the blog. Whatever it was, I finally […]

Categories: 100% local

Labels: A Tutorial

14 October 2010 by local kitchen

I get a lot of questions, comments and compliments about my jar labels: if I buy them (and where!) or if I make them (and how??). I’m very flattered and I want everyone to be able to create their own inexpensive, not-so-labor-intensive, yet pretty labels for her (or his!) fabulous canned goods. Because, after all, presentation is everything in cooking: when I give jars as gifts, I get as many oohs and ahhs over the labels on the jars as I do over […]

Categories: canning, techniques, tools & gear • Tags: canning, techniques

100% Local: Maine Graple Syrup

11 October 2010 by local kitchen

More goodness from my haul of Concord grapes from Tai’s grandmom Louisa’s Downeast Maine grapevines: grape + maple = graple syrup! This syrup is like Voltaire: if it didn’t exist, someone would have to invent it. Mostly so that someone could run around the house singing “graple, graple, graple, I made you out of clay…graple, graple, graple, with graple I will play!” Until that someone’s husband shakes his head, rolls his eyes, says “You’re insane,” and escapes to the garage. This recipe […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, condiments, fall, foraging, grapes, preserving, sauces, wild foods • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, dessert, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Crock-Pot African Chicken

10 October 2010 by local kitchen

My friend Nadine very generously gave me a Crock-Pot for my birthday, and while I’ve never really lusted after one (I didn’t know they were so sleek and modern now; I remember too well my Mom’s enormous brown crockery Crock-Pot that weighed about 30 pounds and sat unused in the cabinet over the stove), I’m getting excited about the possibility of Crock-Pot apple butter, or pumpkin butter, maybe even ketchup before tomatoes disappear for the season. But as a test run, […]

Categories: chicken, crock-pot, tools & gear, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, local, recipes

Purple Basil Vinegar

8 October 2010 by local kitchen

Purple basil is a lovely thing: a deep, dark, almost black purple, with that familiar basil flavor & aroma, but just slightly mellower; a little sweeter, a little less grassy, perhaps just a touch more refined. Dare I say regal? Must be the purple. Whenever I get some, I feel I must do something special with it, not just toss it into salads, bruschetta, pasta or pesto like most of the green basil that comes my way. Are you still […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, herbs, preserving, summer, vinegar • Tags: cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Tartilicious Concord Grape Jam

6 October 2010 by local kitchen

I came back from Maine with 13 pounds of Tai’s grandmother’s homegrown grapes, a Concord varietal that are amazingly delicious. So I’ve been busy this week with various batches of grape jam, jelly and syrup. I wish I could share with you the smell of the house as these grapes cook down into jammy goodness: delicious hardly does it justice. Delectable, delightful, swoonworthy. All of the above. This jam is as simple as it gets: grapes and a little bit […]

Categories: canning, fall, grapes, jams, preserving • Tags: canning, cooking, dessert, food, local, preserving, recipes

Pumpkin Granola

4 October 2010 by local kitchen

Since I made my very first batch of homemade granola last year, based on Kristin’s recipe at The Kitchen Sink, I’ve never gone back. I’m not the biggest granola fan, but Tai loves it, and will gladly eat a bowl of granola in milk every morning of his life, and I have to admit when this granola comes out of the oven I find myself sneaking pinches of sweetly-spicy oats & nuts as it cools. Let me tell you folks – […]

Categories: apples, breakfast, cranberries, fall, nuts, oats, quick & easy, snack, winter squash, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes