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Use It or Lose It! Jam & Almond Crumb Bars

5 November 2013 by local kitchen

A few weeks ago, in the midst of birthday and anniversary celebrations, rock climbing, hiking and mountain biking excursions, and all around amazing-Fall-weather craziness, Tai & I went to a house party hosted by one of his colleagues and fellow rock climbing guides up in the Gunks. It was sort of a potluck, with friends requested to bring either a dessert or a side dish; Tai brags about my cooking to these guys all the time, so of course I […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, dessert, jams, nuts, snack, Use it or Lose it!, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, jam, local, quick & easy, recipes

Black Currant Jam

11 July 2013 by local kitchen

Last summer at about this time, I drove up to Rhinbeck to hang out with Julia and help her out with a jam demo she was hosting at the weekend farmer’s market. She made a simple black currant jam that day. Simple, in that it consisted of only two ingredients and took about 10 minutes to make; but the flavor? The flavor was anything but. I dream about that jam: rich, complex, layered; sweet, savory, tart, spicy; almost umami in […]

Categories: canning, currants, jams, preserving, summer • Tags: canning, cooking, food, jam, local, preserving, recipes, summer

Wild Blueberry Jam with Mint

27 August 2011 by local kitchen

I know what you’re thinking: blueberries are long gone from these parts, right? Well, I’ll be willing to bet that there are still some out there (although they may well be completely done after this weekend’s Big Blow). And it is still wild blueberry season in Maine (in fact, I’m also willing to bet that there are enterprising Mainers out in the fields right now, raking for all they’re worth, in advance of the storm). The blueberries I used in […]

Categories: berries, canning, foraging, jams, mint, preserving, summer, wild foods • Tags: berries, blueberry, canning, cooking, food, jam, local, preserving, recipes

Rhubarb & Black Currant Jam

30 May 2011 by local kitchen

I feel like some tout in a seedy doorway, at once bored and alert, tossing out my banter with practiced skill, repetitious yet intriguing, tacky yet titillating. Except, instead of GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!, the neon sign over my head blinks RHUBARB! RHUBARB! RHUBARB! “Come on and get your rhubarb heAH, just one taste my lovlies, just one taste, it’s sweet, it’s sour, it’s tangy and tingly, step right up now, step right up!” Maybe I should just throw in the towel on […]

Categories: canning, currants, jams, preserving, rhubarb, spring, summer • Tags: canning, cooking, currants, food, jam, local, preserving, quince, recipes, rhubarb

Strawberry Pinot Noir Preserves

16 May 2011 by local kitchen

The Great Freezer Clean-Out 2011 continues: this time with a Ferber-esque strawberry preserve, made with Pennsylvania pinot noir from Sand Castle Winery. I unearthed a giant bag full of strawberries from last June in my freezer assessment of last week. Half the bag went to one of my favorite strawberry recipes, strawberry rhubarb & caramelized onion jam; for the remaining 2 pounds, I wanted to do something new. I poked through Mes Confitures to see what she may have in […]

Categories: berries, canning, preserves, preserving, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: canning, cooking, dessert, food, jam, local, preserving, recipes, spring, strawberries

Use It or Lose It! December/January Round-Up

28 January 2011 by local kitchen

It’s been nearly two months since my last Use It or Lose It! post: where has the time gone? Certainly I’ve been opening jars and using ’em up; it’s just that, if it’s not a new recipe, I don’t think about keeping track, or mentioning it on the blog. So I thought I would do a round-up of what I did with my bounty over the food- and fun-filled holiday season. When people ask me how I can stand to eat locally […]

Categories: Use it or Lose it! • Tags: cooking, dessert, food, jam, local, preserves, 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

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

Red, White & Black

8 July 2009 by local kitchen

One last recipe for the last days of strawberry season here in the Northeast. This strawberry, white balsamic vinegar and black pepper jam has a fantastic flavor profile; almost savory, with the balsamic vinegar kick, yet sweet enough to enjoy on a muffin or scone. Lovely flecks of crushed black pepper give it added zing and visual appeal. The set was very loose, almost a thick sauce more than a jam, likely due to my overly ripe strawberries and limited sugar. But even […]

Categories: berries, canning, condiments, jams, preserving, spring, summer • Tags: balsamic, canning, cooking, food, jam, local, preserving, recipes, savory, strawberries

Tai’s Rhubarb Ginger Jam

26 May 2009 by local kitchen

As we’ve discussed before, Tai, although a pastry chef by training, almost never cooks. We have an agreement that he will cook dinner once a week, which, at this time of year is usually sausages on the grill, with some grilled asparagus or kale, and he is an awesome sous chef, especially when I am preserving the harvest. He stirs, chops, lifts, pours and does dishes with the best of them, but as for pulling out a cookbook and actually combining […]

Categories: jams, preserving, rhubarb, spring • Tags: canning, cooking, food, ginger, jam, local, preserving, rhubarb