Strawberry Jam (that’s a lie.)

this is a little post about a little canning experiment, my first canning experiment in fact. the first thing i canned even before learning from the master during my canning CSA.

the result? delicious strawberry jammy flavor, without the lovely jammy consistency. boo. i, in fact, canned strawberry topping. less for your toast, more for your ice cream.

“use more sugar!”,  you will say. i did. “use pectin!”,  you will say. i did.  i have attempted strawberry jam two different times, and strawberry topping is the result. guess i will try again next year.

step one: sterilize your tools and jars. DO NOT put in the lids with the rubber seal as show above. that is wrong, that is bullshit, don’t do it as you will damage the sealing rubber strip.

wash and cut berries.

crush strawberries. the recipe that i used found in the Ball Blue Book (or Blue Balls Book, if you’re me) gives the ratio of 2 quarts of berries to 6 cups sugar (that is a NO PECTIN recipe).

add sugar, a shiton’s worth. don’t worry, it’s gooood for you. and stir that bitch.

now bring it slowly to a boil, stirring the sugar until it dissolves. cook rapidly to gelling point, about 40 minutes.  this is the point that i suck at- it never gets to this magical “gelling point”. never.

how do you know if your shit is gellin’ ? there are several Gelling Tests recommended. first, you can dip a cool metal spoon into the boiling jelly then lift out a spoonful of the mixture and tip in on its side to let the jam run off. it it drips off, it is not ready. it if comes off in a sheet, then it is gellin’ babe.  OR, you can place a small amount of jam on a chilled plate then stick it in the freezer until it is cool. run your finger thru the jam and if that shit parts like Moses and the sea, you are gellin’!

after you are gellin’, remove from heat and skim the foam if you like. ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. add two piece cap and process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

VIOLA!

remember i told you that i tried this twice? well the second time around i added some orange flesh and cayenne pepper! and even though it still turned out to be sauce, it was REALLY, really good.

xo.

 

 

 

not your mom’s vodka.

weeeeel, maybe not *your* mom’s vodka, but my mom loved her vodka.

mmmmm. strawberry-infused vodka!

i got this idea from my new favie blog, Punk Domestics. they have all sorts of useful information for the contemporary domestic in all of us.

now, when i interned at Deepseeded Community Farm, Eddie gave me a wonderful parting gift…a shit ton of strawberries. so this, and the next post will be strawberrrrific. (sorry).

get some vodka, this is an entire bottle. cut up strawberries and fill ‘er up. store your jar in a dark, cool place. stir/turn everyday.

fish the strawberries out after 5-7 days. (taste vodka to determine when ready).

doesn’t this look yummy? don’t you want to reuse them for something? well DON’T!!! they are gross, and booze-soaked and not, not, not edible. isaiah thought that he would re-purpose these suckers. ohhh, it was so awesome to watch him try these babies.

see, this is a before and after. g-to-the-motha-effin’-ross.

punk domestics suggests that you strain the vodka thru a coffee filter. the liquid will be clear, beautiful red, rather than opaque.

i did not. see, opaque. but still delish.

enjoy yo!

pretty, simple things.

green hellebore and orchid.

wild fuchsia from outside.

golden and chioggia beets from Willow Creek Farms

can do.

dilly beans with lindsey byers!

i recently took another canning CSA class, and Dilly Beans were on the agenda.  Needed ingredients include: (makes 6 pints)
3 lbs green beans, trimmed
6 garlic cloves
6 tsp mustard seeds
6 fresh dill heads
3.5 cups water
3.5 cups white vinegar
2 tbls pickling salt

we were making waaaay more than 6 pints, so we needed waaaaay more green beans (and other ingredients). it took a while to wash, sort and trim the beans to fit into jars…BAM!!!

choppin’…

and choppin’…

and CHOPPIN’!!!

so, this recipe uses the raw pack method where you shove the ingredients in a jar, then fill with hot brine. (zucchini relish was a hot pack recipe. ) each pint jar receives a garlic clove, a fresh dill head, and a tsp of mustard seeds.

seriously, isn’t that so effing gorgeous?! blowin’ my mind people.

ok, so after all that schtuff is put in the jars, you have to find a  way to pack those puppies tightly with green beans. there were several different techniques employed. i prefer the method where you shove as many into your hand as possible, eyeball the jar and the length of the beans, now chop off one end of the bunch in your hand, and put the blunt end down into the jar. shooooooove!

the above picture reveals the various packing methods. lindsey suggested that we leave the untrimmed ends facing up, this way, we can pluck them out of the jar and snack on them with ease!

now fill with the hot liquid (water, vinegar, salt) 1/2 inch from the top of the jar.

now put lids on, set in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes (after water comes back to a boil) and take out to cool.

wait ’til the jars cool completely, then store for at least 3 weeks until eating! enjoy!

first fair isle

so, i totally messed up the color pattern, but i think it turned out OK!

a big thanks to the lovely Donica for picking up the yarn for me, and teaching me the Fair Isle technique. FANCY!!!

 

local eggs

Organic Matters (OM) Ranch, approximately six miles away, has the most beautiful eggs! and amazing broilers and holiday turkeys.

September is Local Food Month! Celebrate!

fava bean, are you still on my shit list?

hey ya’ll, remember when i tried to cook fava beans and it turned out really delish?! yeah, i don’t remember either. because they turned out muy terrible! and i VOWED to try again until i arrived at the fava bean truth.

so these little beauties are also called Broad Beans. i don’t know where they call them that. here in this house, we call them fava beans. and let me tell you, the jury is still out on if i friggin like these suckers or not. they seem like a lot of work for a funky flavor. BUT, i know that many would disagree and think that these beans are the cat’s meow. AND I WANT TO THINK THAT TOO! I WANT TO LOVE THEM!

these are fresh fava beans, not the dried version that i unsuccessfully dealt with earlier. and this is how they are prepared.

first, remove the beans from the pod. this is fairly fun and easy. pick out any odd looking beans and toss.

now you may think that you are done! ready to cook! and mash! or not! and eat! BUT YOU WOULD WRONG. you have to now remove the outer layer/shell thingie from the bean. this is harder to do, so parboil the bean to easily remove the skin. parboiling, or “the partial boiling of food as the first step in the cooking process”, barely cooks the bean and loosens the outer coating. now stick in ice-chilled water to stop the cooking process.

remove shells/coating/skin with your fingers. the following is a bkrhgbc picture, but you can see the skin pile in the foreground. (eww, “skin pile”)

take that skin pile and eat it. kidding. toss.

now, you can eat the beans how they currently are, or if you want them to be a little more tender, you can put them back in the water, and bring them to a boil for several more minutes. we ate them “as is”, tossed with olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. success! the Fava Saga ends.  (i think. )

enjoy!

the jarring truth.

hey ya’ll! i recently signed up for a canning CSA to learn how to preserve the harvest. seeing as my instructor/friend wrote a killer post about it, i will direct you there, instead of reinventing the wheel.

guess what? canning is no longer merely for your grammy, nor for “doomsday” folks that are trying to ensure that they will have food during nuclear war. i mean, that would be helpful and all, but having access to preserved food when it is no longer in season is a true joy.

enjoy!

spritz me.

spritzer (n) : a tall, chilled drink, usually made with white wine and seltzer or club soda.

but surprisingly (because it’s me), this is a non-alcoholic spritzer. more of a soda. a lavender soda! mmmmm.

this spritzer is very simple. i collected sugar from the pantry, water from the faucet and lavender from the yard.

beautiful lavender, so fragrant and useful for so many things. anyway, put water and sugar in a pot at a 1:1 ratio. heat the water until sugar is dissolved.

now add the lavender flowers and stir. remove from heat and allow to sit for about 1/2 hour.

after the mixture has rested for a bit and cooled, pour into a container and put in the fridge. this infused simple syrup should be used within a week, otherwise it really loses a lot of flavor.

so i dont know if i told ya’ll that i have a soda stream! a freakin’ club soda maker. you take tap water, fill the special bottle, insert into a simple device that has a CO2 cartridge, and carbonate the water! ta da! no more buying plastic bottles and throwing them out, no more La Croix/Klarbrum/Crystal Geyser delicious flavored soda water. you can make your own.

now take your homemade soda water and pour over the lavender infused simple syrup- SPRITZER!!

life’s a craft.

the sun came out, and so did the camera. as we live in a converted greenhouse, the living room and kitchen were illuminated!

so, life is a craft. i obviously like to fill the house with a random menagerie of crap. or crafts. one man’s crap, is another woman’s craft!

ah! i just noticed that our orange cat, Foster, is heading out the door. other things to notice in this pic? turquoise,  opened alasakan ale on the counter, United States puzzle from childhood, Nikki McClure framed graphic, aaaaand sunlight.

the following may be ideas/crafts that fit into your home. and since i’m poor, all of these ideas are well within your reach.

i found this sweet old turquoise suitcase at a secondhand store, and didnt know how to use it. so i set it on a shelf, screwed it to the wall and filled it with yarn. the suitcase shelf inspired me to make this area a craft center, so i located knitting needles, paint brushes, yard stick, crochet hooks, small yarn scraps, and Camilla (can you see her?) here.

the large jar on the left is filled with white lights and corks.

antique buttons, turquoise hemp string,  and a couple of old metal storage box thingies that i found at a church that was up for sale.

one of my most favorite finds! i tracked down this old printing shelf on craigslist; it used to contain 6 point, Divinne Condensed font metal letters to create newsletters, signage, etc. near the pull is a typed label, stating “In the heart of the Great Redwood Belt with its many Large Lumbering Mills, Fine Ranches.” love!

i found the cream samsonite suitcase at a secondhand store in Morrow Bay, the chicken was purchased for me by my girlfriends in Anderson Valley, and the owl (needing to be relocated) is from my gramma that passed away.

i really wanted to create a chalkboard in my kitchen, but seeing as i don’t actually own these cupboards, i found a piece of masonite, painted it with chalkboard paint and held it in place with the turquoise hemp. now honestly, i find it way easier to cook dinner when the meals are laid out ahead of time. i don’t have to put effort into thinking. so we use this chalkboard to meal plan. wahoo!!

spices! this rack is created from a couple spare pieces of wood i found when we moved into this place. i painted and mounted the wood. the old wooden level was purchased at our recycling center, it has a teeeeny but of water still in the glass tubes. drying herbs on a chain, old rug smacker, blue Mason jars, antique orange juice squeezer and NEON nail polish yo!!!

and finally, one of my favorite projects! a ladder pantry! i found this idea in a Real Simple magazine ages ago, purchased the ladder on craigslist and had the dude down at the lumber yard cut me shelves. the stacking baskets to the right are for glass and paper recycling, reusable paper and plastic bags, and shopping bags go on top. if you moved that broom on the far right, a massive pile of dirt and cat hair would say HI!! good cover.

anyway, thanks for reading. i realize that this post is more of a keepsake for me, and less cool for you.

peace.