Category Archives: techniques

Use it or Lose it! Drunken Cherry Pie

30 November 2010 by local kitchen

Hands up – who still has turkey? Yep, I’m with you, sista. Even though we got a small bird (11.5 lbs), and we’ve been eating turkey steadily since Thursday, there is a lot left. We don’t eat a lot of meat in general, so at 3 to 4 ounces at a time… well, it’s going to take a while. I’m going to have to make a turkey soup, or chili, or pot pie, or something (I know – shocking revelations at […]

Categories: baking, cherries, dessert, fall, pastry, pie, Use it or Lose it!, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: baking, cherries, cooking, dessert, drunken, food, leaf lattice, local, pie, recipes, vegetarian

Locavirgin: Roasted Cauliflower with Bacon

27 November 2010 by local kitchen

So, you get it right, the way this blog works? Every other cooking blog on the planet regales you with Thanksgiving recipes in the weeks prior to the event. Bah, I say. Humbug! Now that everyone else is featuring turkey tacos, turkey tamales and turkey tettrazini, I’ll give you… Thanksgiving dishes! The ones that were on my table. Because, you know that I love to test recipes on the fly (and making any of my Thanksgiving recipes in advance would […]

Categories: 100% local, cauliflower, fall, holiday, Locavirgin, pork, roasting, side dish, winter • Tags: bacon, cauliflower, cooking, fall, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, side dishes

Apple Jelly with Lemon & Lavender

18 November 2010 by local kitchen

Another jelly? Could it be that I’m becoming a jelly fiend like someone else we know? Not bloody likely, but, I do like how this one came out. With the extra acid from a full sliced lemon, it took a little less sugar than the apple quince jelly to yield a gel. The set is a little more firm, but still satisfyingly squishy, almost, but not quite, the set of a marmalade. Not surprising as the poached lemon peel in the […]

Categories: apples, breakfast, Can Jam, canning, citrus, fall, jellies, preserving • Tags: apples, canning, cooking, fall, food, jelly, local, preserves, preserving, recipes

Can Jam: Apple Quince Jelly with Vanilla Bean

14 November 2010 by local kitchen

The last Tigress Can Jam of the year but one, and the lovely Cosmic Cowgirl comes to the rescue with the November choice of pomes: apples, pears and quince, oh my! And a rescue it was, indeed, as I still had 20 lbs of apples, leftover from my October picking excursion to Fishkill Farms with Julia, Kate and Liz, going soft in the garage. From that very same excursion, I had a couple of beautiful quince, and some of the most perfect […]

Categories: apples, Can Jam, canning, condiments, fall, jellies, preserving • Tags: apple, breakfast, canning, condiments, cooking, fall, food, jelly, local, preserving, quince, recipes, vegetarian

Habanero Lime Chipotle Mustard

11 November 2010 by local kitchen

It’s that time of year again: while preserving the bounty of Fall continues (apples, quince, and pumpkins galore), the urgency has ramped down a notch and I have time to focus on replenishing Tai’s mustard supply. This batch started out as my standard habanero recipe, except I swapped tequila for vodka. As I was reducing it in the saucepan, that tequila must have been on my mind, because at the last minue I tossed in some lime juice and a […]

Categories: canning, fall, hot chile peppers, mustard, vegetarian, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: canning, chipotle, condiments, cooking, food, food gifts, habanero, local, mustard, preserving, recipes, vegetarian

Jalapeno Cornbread

5 November 2010 by local kitchen

I was nearly out of whole wheat pastry flour and, with the holidays approaching, I knew I would need some more, sooner rather than later. I placed an order with Amy at Wild Hive Farm, my wonderful local flour producers, and asked Tai to pick it up on his way home from work. At the last minute, I tacked on a “grab some corn meal, too, OK?” request to my darling hubs, because the last time I made pizza, I realized I […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breads, corn, grains & legumes, hot chile peppers, side dish, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, bread, cast iron cooking, cooking, corn, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, tex mex, vegetarian, whole grain breads

Use it or Lose it! Roasted Turkey with Plum Preserves

4 November 2010 by local kitchen

Like many of my fellow canning bloggers, I’ve had a lot of requests for recipes that fall into the “What to do with all of that jam?!” category. For me, this is a bit of a conundrum, because I’m not really sure how I use it up: I don’t eat a whole lot of jam on toast (mostly preferring peanut butter); the obvious classics, like a jam tart or thumbprint cookies, aren’t things that I make often; and despite giving some of it away, […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, main course, plums, roasting, sage, turkey, Use it or Lose it!, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, fall, food, main course, plums, preserves, quick & easy, recipes, roasting, turkey, winter

How to Make Pumpkin Purée

2 November 2010 by local kitchen

Now that Halloween is behind us, there will be a lot of pumpkins at the markets going for a song. The best pumpkins for eating are the small, 3 – 4 pound sugar or pie pumpkins. While the large, dark orange Jack o’ lanterns do not make for great eating (they are bred for size and skin color more than juicy, delicious flesh), you can often find larger-than-pie-pumpkin pumpkins and winter squash that are delicious and very economical. I cracked open […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, preserving, techniques, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, how to, local, preserving, pumpkin, recipes, techniques

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

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

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

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