Category Archives: preserving

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

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

Tomato Jam

2 October 2010 by local kitchen

I was going to name this “Marisa’s Former Coworker John’s Wife Amy’s Tomato Jam” but it seemed a bit of a mouthful. No disrespect to Amy, or to Marisa, but this is one of those recipes that everyone seems to adore and I simply… don’t. Granted, I made a whole bunch of changes, so I can’t say that I really tested the original recipe, but it did start out somewhat close to the original – I just kept adding more & more […]

Categories: canning, jams, preserving, seasons, summer, tomatoes • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Boozy Pear Sauce

1 October 2010 by local kitchen

The last recipe from my pear-picking adventure with Julia (in hot, hot summer sunshine that seems like ages away from today’s chilly, rainy damp) this sauce is about as easy as it gets. I took the last 6 and 1/2 pounds of teeny, tiny D’Anjou pears, simmered them in water to soften, pushed them through the food mill, and separated juice from pulp in a jelly bag. The juice became Pear Syrup with Fennel while the pulp? The pulp helped […]

Categories: canning, fall, pears, preserving, sauces, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: canning, cooking, dessert, food, local, preserving, recipes

Pear Syrup with Fennel

28 September 2010 by local kitchen

We are back from the Interweb-less wilds of Maine and rural New Hampshire and there is much to share: wild Maine blueberries, tart-sweet Concord grapes, chocolate birthday cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting and boozy pear sauce filling and grilling chicken & vegetables over a wood fire by headlamp. But first, a simple, and simply delicious, pear syrup. When I made the pear butter with white wine and fennel a couple of weeks ago, I was so captivated by the fragrance of […]

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

Salsa Rojo

18 September 2010 by local kitchen

A basic red salsa with a nod to Mexico: grilled corn, guajillo chile, cumin and cilantro. Corn in salsa? Why, yes, thank you for noticing. I’m not sure why you never seem to find corn included in salsa recipes, since corn and tomatoes are such a natural pair. Maybe it’s because salsa always seems to be served with corn: corn tortillas, chips, nachos, etc. But I got it into my head to add some of Tai’s delicious grilled corn to […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, cilantro, corn, hot chile peppers, preserving, salsa, summer, tomatoes • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, tomatoes

Can Jam: Nectarine, Pear & Chile Jam

16 September 2010 by local kitchen

September already and three-quarters of the Can Jam entries tucked away in the pantry, dreaming of winter. Where did the year go? I have to admit that when Miss Kate over at Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking announced stone fruit as the September Can Jam fruit-of-focus, I’m sure I let out a huge groan. Having just preserved about a bizillion-and-one pounds of peaches, not to mention plums, apricots and nectarines, I thought that I was done with stone fruits for the season. […]

Categories: Can Jam, canning, fall, hot chile peppers, jams, peaches, pears, preserving, summer, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Fire Roasted Tomato & Ancho Chile Sauce

15 September 2010 by local kitchen

I think the Canning Gods have forgiven me for whatever transgression prompted the Great Green Ketchup Debacle of 2010, because this recipe? This recipe kicks ass. I can hardly describe the flavor to you without overusing rhapsodic superlatives (and “thaumaturgic” doesn’t quite seem to fit); it is rich, smoky, definitely a tomato sauce but halfway to a molé, with strong chocolate overtones and just a hint of capsaicin bite. In the space of 24 hours, we have already eaten it on […]

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

Caramelized Pear Jam with Vanilla Bean

13 September 2010 by local kitchen

“Burnt” is such an ugly word. “Caramelized” is so much prettier, inspiring visions of caramel apples, gooey caramel melting into a sundae, or caramel candies festooned with America’s favorite pork product. Let’s face it, there is a fine line between “caramelized” and “burnt” and it is mostly one of taste: does it taste good (caramelized) or bad (burnt)? In fact, the very definition of ‘caramel’ can be “burnt sugar“ (although most do not put it quite so crassly). So why […]

Categories: breakfast, canning, fall, jams, pears, preserving • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, dessert, food, local, preserving, recipes

Watermelon Jelly with Balsamic & Mint

12 September 2010 by local kitchen

If there are still watermelons at your farmer’s market, this one is a keeper. I was intrigued, but a little dubious, about the amount of balsamic vinegar in this recipe, and we all know that I do not have the best luck with jelly. I have to say, however, that this turned out to be quite delicious in addition to being rather beautiful. Tai gave it his patented “This is horrible. Don’t even try it; I’ll suffer and eat it […]

Categories: canning, jellies, melon, mint, preserving, summer • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes