Category Archives: techniques

Canning Tips & Tricks From Your Favorite Bloggers (+ Me!)

10 June 2012 by local kitchen

Do you remember way back in May (3 whole weeks ago) when I said that the time to prepare for preserving was now, because once the season hits, you’ll be overwhelmed? I was right. The fridge is full to overflowing with the first CSA of the season (greens, greens and more greens!), I still have Grandma’s rhubarb to work through, the European Championships and World Cup qualifying have started, and somehow, people still want me to work for a living. […]

Categories: canning, community, preserving, techniques, tools & gear • Tags: canning, cooking, preserving, techniques

Rhubarb Cherry Ginger Crumble (Gluten-Free)

4 June 2012 by local kitchen

So, you know what happens now, right? Twenty-five pounds of rhubarb from Grandma’s garden that I need to work my way through means all rhubarb, all the time for the next 10 posts. I’m contemplating changing the blog name to Rhubarb Kitchen. I jest, I jest. Mostly. I know that some of you out there are not so fond of the pink stalks (perish the thought), so I will try not to deluge you with too many rhubarb recipes in a row. […]

Categories: baking, cherries, dessert, oats, rhubarb, spring, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: baking, cherries, cooking, dessert, food, gluten free, local, quick & easy, recipes, rhubarb

Rhubarb Prosecco Jelly

30 May 2012 by local kitchen

Even before I brought home 25 lbs of rhubarb from Tai’s Grandma’s massive Maine rhubarb patch, I had begun the season’s rhubarbapalooza with about 8 lbs of gorgeous, fat and deeply magenta stalks courtesy of Madura Farm. Since the pale pinky-green stalks are far more common in New England, I pounced on these beauties, and knew that I would save them for preserves where color counts: rhubeena and jelly. Last year, when I was leafing through my new copy of Sherri Brooks […]

Categories: canning, jellies, preserving, rhubarb, spring, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb, spring

Use It or Lose It! Ancho Braised Beef Tacos

18 May 2012 by local kitchen

Chapter 2 in The Beef Chronicles: spicy Mexican braised beef tacos. The last episode found our intrepid heroine eating beef for the first time in 25 years: specifically, berry-braised beef with blackberry reduction. And while that recipe was a resounding success in the husband-pleasing department, and our heroine managed to eat a bite or two without significant gastro-intestinal distress, it wasn’t the most enjoyable of meals. The rice and blackberry sauce were her favorite part. Fast forward nearly two months (Can you believe […]

Categories: 100% local, beef, bell pepper, braising, main course, tomatoes, Use it or Lose it!, year round • Tags: beef, cooking, food, local, Mexican, recipes

Preparing for Preserving Season

14 May 2012 by local kitchen

This weekend, in addition to enjoying the glorious weather, getting to the farmer’s market, and finally getting my hands on some rhubarb, I did something strange: I planned ahead. Planning: it’s not something I do a lot of in my everyday life. Oh, I do it all the time in my work life: plans, and contingency plans, worst-case sceanario and best-case scenario. Every conceivable outcome of a study or analysis has to be considered and planned for in order to […]

Categories: preserving, spring, tools & gear • Tags: canning, planning, preserving

Savory Cheddar & Chive Bread

4 April 2012 by local kitchen

Did you catch the awesome deal on Amazon last week? Two of Dorie Greenspan’s books, Baking and Around My French Table, for $6! As soon as David Lebovitz posted it, I snapped up two sets of books: one for me, one for future gifting. And posted it to my Facebook page, whereupon some of you lovely people snapped up your own copies. This is what social media is all about: $3 cookbooks! (OK. Not really. But still: a nice perk.) […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breakfast, cheese, chives, quick & easy, snack, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian, whole grain breads

Berry-Braised Beef with Herbed Chèvre Rice & Blackberry Reduction

27 March 2012 by local kitchen

The last time I ate beef was the summer of 1987. I remember it quite well: I was home from college, working in Boston as a temp secretary for a rather stuffy accounting firm down at South Station, and living out near Boston College with some friends. The father of one of my roommates was in town on business and decided to take “us girls” out to dinner. He chose Anthony’s Pier 4, which was a bit of a thrill […]

Categories: 100% local, beef, berries, braising, meat & dairy, parsley, Use it or Lose it!, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: beef, cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, recipes

Blood Orange Curd + Bars

9 March 2012 by local kitchen

You thought citrus was done, didn’t you? You thought maybe, just maybe, I was going to get back to, I don’t know, eating locally? Oh, granted, I snuck some peel into this dinner, and added the last wrinkly kumquats to these roasted veg, but for the most part, it’s been All Quiet On The Citrus Front ’round these parts, for a few days at least. But the Ides of March are just around the corner (What?? Wasn’t it just Christmas?) and, what with […]

Categories: baking, citrus, dessert, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: baking, bar, blood orange, citrus, cooking, dessert, food, recipes, winter

Use It or Lose It! Salsa-Braised Turkey Breast with Chile & Citrus Peel

4 March 2012 by local kitchen

Take half a turkey breast: brown the outside. Add it to a pot with liquid and vegetables. Simmer. Rest meat, reduce sauce, serve. Such a simple procedure and one I’ve done many times, often, like now, when I have things that need clearing out of the fridge and freezer: an open pint of salsa; a gallon Ziploc full of fat, frozen jalapeños; another jammed with citrus peels. It’s generally tasty, sometimes ugly, but almost always satisfying in the filling-up and using-up categories. Occasionally, […]

Categories: braising, citrus, hot chile peppers, main course, turkey, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, quick & easy, recipes, turkey

Roasted Summer Vegetables

25 February 2012 by local kitchen

A week or two ago, my friend Crunchy Metro Mom posed a question on her blog: what one-off meals (that is, meals destined for one night only, with no leftovers) do you rely upon in your weekly meal planning and what tips do you have for quick & easy one-off meals that don’t rely heavily on prepared or processed foods? Now, there is no question that we can eat very differently here at Local Kitchen than they do at Crunchy Metro […]

Categories: 100% local, bell pepper, corn, roasting, side dish, vegetable, vegetarian, winter, year round, zucchini • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

Bubbly Meyer Marmalade

19 February 2012 by local kitchen

Tonight is the last episode of Season 2 of Downton Abbey. I know: I’m sad too. It went by so fast! Alas, the war, and the season, is over my friends, and we have nothing to do but contemplate the long, dreary, Downton-less months until Season 3 (with Shirley MacLaine! Shirley and Maggie, throwing down 1920’s style. I can hardly wait.) So what do I, a lowly food blogger with neither manor house, liveried servants, nor fabulous peacock-feathered hats, have to offer you as […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: canning, champagne, citrus, cooking, food, Meyer lemon, preserving, recipes

Meyer Mandarin Marmalade

6 February 2012 by local kitchen

Ah, New England: I’m so sorry. That one was a heartbreaker. In those last, crucial seconds, being one of those who remember it well, I kept saying, “Flutie did it!,” while Tai looked on pityingly, saying, “game over.” Ah, well. Until next year. New York: congratulations. It was a brilliant win. Time to do what you do best: celebrate! Whether you are mourning or celebrating today, or just trying to get on with your Monday after last night’s commercial viewing, it’s […]

Categories: canning, citrus, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, winter

Cranberry Meyer Lemon Chutney

1 February 2012 by local kitchen

As promised, more citrus action: a take on my favorite cranberry chutney, this time with Meyer lemons. This recipe started out as a Meyer lemon marmalade; hence the marmalade-esque process of slicing, measuring, adding water, and simmering of the lemons. The next day I decided that I wanted to try a chutney instead, so I drained the lemons and adapted a cranberry chutney recipe. There may be no need for preparing the citrus pectin as described below, but I do […]

Categories: canning, chutneys, citrus, cranberries, hot chile peppers, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, chutney, citrus, cooking, food, local, Meyer lemon, preserving, recipes

Honeyed Grapefruit Jamalade

30 January 2012 by local kitchen

Jamalade, you say? Yes. Jamalade. Not quite a jam: toothsome slivers of citrus zest and a touch of pithy bitterness from the addition of citrus pectin make this flavorful preserve reminiscent of marmalade. Yet not quite a marmalade either: the majority of the white pith is left out of this recipe, and the fruit is strained from the syrup and added only at the end of the cooking process, yielding visible chunks of ruby red grapefruit in the final product, […]

Categories: canning, citrus, jams, preserves, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, citrus, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Mini Linguiça Drop Muffins

27 January 2012 by local kitchen

We interrupt this citrus-filled January for a horse of a different color: mini linguiça drop muffins! I had a dream about these muffins last night: spicy, smoky linguiça, sharp cheddar cheese, tangy buttermilk, nutty whole wheat flour. I woke up with my stomach growling, a woman on a mission to recreate my dream. (On a side note, when I’m actually dreaming about processed pork products, I think it’s safe to say I might have overdosed, just a wee bit, on citrus. […]

Categories: appetizer, baking, breads, breakfast, cheese, holiday, oregano, pork, sausage, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, linguica, local, quick & easy, recipes, whole grain breads, winter