Party Snacks- Fiesta Taco Dip

I had my first taco dip at an office food day, so it seems fitting that for food day at work today I would bring taco dip. Why not- it's easy, many ingredients I already have on hand, and almost everyone loves it. It's definitely not fancy but it's good home cooking and sometimes that really hits the spot.

So my first taco dip- for a number of years I worked for an abstract company in Des Moines. I didn't work in the main office though, instead I was in an office deep in the courthouse basement. Not by myself though, I shared the office with five other women. Pam, who worked for the same company as I did, Chris and Sheila who worked for one of the other two abstract companies, and Janet and Shari, who worked for the third company. We were like a little world of our own down there. Even though our employers were competitors the six of us were more like co-workers. We helped each other out if we had trouble figuring out some verbiage in a court file or if we couldn't find something on microfilm. We worked together and had a lot of fun doing it.

Likewise, the people who actually worked for the county and the Clerk of Court also regarded us as an extension of their staff. They included us in every activity from the Christmas Name Draw to office food days. It was one of these food days that Janet brought her famous taco dip, and life as I knew it would never be the same.

I used my own heirloom tomatoes so there are pops of color
like crazy just from the tomatoes- purple, red, yellow,
orange- just gorgeous!! Plus three colors of bell pepper.

You may recognize the name Janet from some other posts. She is my good friend and canning/gardening buddy/enabler and we spend loads of time chatting online or visiting in person, talking canning, cookbooks, travel, politics, gardening, cats and of course, the good old days in the courthouse basement. She visited the Smithsonian recently and shared pictures of Julia Child's kitchen with us. As Janet is a master at gardening she always has the most amazing variety of fresh vegetables every summer. Her garden is HUGE and she generously shares with friends and neighbors every season. I'm always bringing something home- we trade canning jars, jars of food, zucchini, tomatoes, you name it. Anyway, Janet's taco dip is legendary. Taco dip itself is a pretty common recipe- beans, sour cream, seasoning of some sort, and toppings. Janet's garden always yielded the best tomatoes, the most beautiful peppers, fabulous onions and fresh cilantro, and those made her taco dip THE absolute best of all. 

This recipe is not Janet's famous recipe, but my family's favorite version of taco dip. It's a regular all during football season and at family get-togethers like holidays and picnics. Even the youngest members of our family munch up the fresh vegetables like crazy. The best part is, it's easily changed to meet your family's likes and dislikes, or food allergies. Add what you love, and leave off what you don't. Use fat free refried beans and fat free sour cream or yogurt if you are watching fat and calories, or go with dairy-free versions if you need to avoid dairy. For me the veggies are the best part, so I really load up on peppers, tomatoes, sometimes lettuce, and don't forget the salsa!

Fiesta Taco Dip

1 can refried beans

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 package taco seasoning mix

8 oz bag shredded cheese

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

small bunch scallions, sliced

handful cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup sliced ripe olives

1/4 cup chopped bell peppers

salsa

additional toppings as desired

In a medium bowl combine the sour cream and taco seasoning. Mix well. 

Spread the refried beans onto a large plate. Something with a rim works great. For parties at home I have a great big glass platter, and for a snack to take along I use a Tupperware cupcake keeper I have had for years. Top with the sour cream mixture and spread that out.

Layer on the cheese and then the toppings. I spoon a few spoonfuls of salsa on top and serve the rest on the side.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Additional toppings are totally up to you. We like spicy foods so I always add some sliced jalapeno, and use hot hot hot salsa. Sometimes I sneak a little teeny bit of finely minced super hot pepper- like ghost pepper in the sour cream making sure it's well distributed. WARN any guests if you use a super hot. I love avocados and if I'm making this to serve right away I'll add cubed avocado to the toppings, or spread some guacamole under the sour cream layer. Sometimes I'll scatter a handful of lime wedges on top too. Lime is a flavor that goes so well with Mexican and Tex Mex foods. Some other ideas include roasted corn, crumbled queso fresco, sliced or chopped hot banana peppers, sliced radishes, shredded lettuce- pretty much anything you might put on a taco.

Summertime and Farmers Markets

It's been such a crummy summer for our garden. The cool wet spring gave way to tomato blight, slow growth, and lots of mildew problems. Weeks of rain and cloudy skies didn't give our plants the sunshine they needed. We had a pretty decent first couple crops of radishes but that quickly ended when we had a couple weeks of blistering heat. In typical Iowa fashion, that was followed by more cold, wet, rainy weather. I had planted a few heirloom tomatoes- all cherry type, most of which were started from seed. This was another year for growing super hot peppers to stock up the shelves again. However......by the time July ended, the tomatoes were pretty much a lost cause and the hornworms turned the pepper plants into a salad bar. 

Homemade treats for sale in Stuart

It's a good thing we have wonderful farmer's markets all over Iowa! My garden might be a flop this year but plenty of other folks are having success in theirs and sharing their goods at the numerous small town farmers markets in the towns surrounding the lake. 

Springtime freshness in Panora

Dexter, the closest town, has two farmers markets every Tuesday. One is in the city park, and the other is an indoor market in the historic Roundhouse. Every week the local residents set up tables in the markets and offer fresh garden produce, homemade baked goods, homemade jams, and even hand-picked walnuts. Just up the road is Stuart, where we get to do it all over again every Wednesday. The Stuart market also features farm-raised beef, eggs, bakery goods and a wide variety of produce from Early Morning Harvest, an aquaponics farm. It's just a short drive to Panora where their market is held on Friday evenings and Guthrie Center on Saturday morning. Each market has something a little different, like handmade jewelry and craft items. Yard decorations, garden plants, quilts and even a food truck sometimes appear at the farmers markets. 

Freshly baked quick breads in Panora

Since I primarily garden in containers, some vegetables just don't grow as well- like winter squash and zucchini. I never try to grow them anymore and rely on the farmers markets for all my zucchini and cucumbers for making pickles. In Stuart I can get great deals on pickling cucumbers and always get plenty to last through the winter. 

Live music in Guthrie Center

Some years we grow green beans at the Little Lake House and other years we don't. We have a pretty cool deck with some latticework that is perfect for climbing plants like Kentucky Wonder pole beans, which is one of our favorites. Letting the plants grow up the deck looks really pretty too- the blossoms look so cute and we get lots of butterflies and bees buzzing around. Most years we don't actually, because so many local growers have them. Green beans and wax beans are probably my favorite summer vegetable to can so I buy lots of them. Sometimes I get extra lucky and get a decent score of peas too. Of course every farmers market offers at least one if not more vendors selling Iowa sweet corn. It wouldn't be summer without it. Peaches and cream corn is pretty readily available but the last couple summers I have seen some different varieties as well. A blogger friend of mine even found pink sweet corn- so I'm on the lookout!

Guthrie Center's market

Summer in Iowa is all about the tomatoes. At the markets you can find any kind of tomato you could possibly want- grape and cherry tomatoes, all kinds of heirlooms, great big giant Beefsteaks, and every size in between. Since I do a lot of home canning, I often buy tomatoes in bulk, either at the pick your own farm or from the farmers market vendors. I don't have to worry about planting dozens of plants and I can get great prices! I just have to load the box in the car and head home.

Each Stuart vendor has a great variety

It's not just vegetables at the farmers market, there are plenty of fruits available too. Vendors offer spring berries like strawberries and raspberries and one guy at the Stuart market even offers gooseberries. I hadn't seen fresh gooseberries since I was a kid. These are wild gooseberries he forages for in the woods surrounding the lake. I'll gladly pay him to go tromping through the woods! Later in the season we see apples, plums, peaches, cherries, pears and more. While I have always wanted fruit trees in my yard I know I can get plenty of fresh fruit right at the farmers market.

Early Morning Harvest sells aquaponics
and much more

Of course when I want a more big and bustling market experience I can head to Des Moines every Saturday morning for the Downtown Farmers Market. It's a HUGE deal, covering several city blocks, at least three different streets, dozens and dozens of vendors, live entertainment, sidewalk brunches and all kinds of food- fresh vegetables, Indian food, breakfast burritos, cocktails, Asian foods, pizza- anything you could possibly want. It's an experience everyone should check out at least once.

For me though, nothing beats our small town farmers markets.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Salad For Lunch

Every Wednesday is Summer Lunch Day in our office. What a great idea- each week a couple different people sign up to bring a lunch dish to share with the team. Doesn't have to be fancy. Most weeks we have a couple salads or a salad and a dessert of some kind. It's a great way to socialize with the team, enjoy some home cooking, and try new dishes. 

Personally I really enjoy potluck meals like that. So many of the dishes remind me of foods my mom and grandmother used to make. Casseroles, for example, might be a Midwestern thing but they make a potluck meal really special. Our office has a cubicle we all call The Food Cube. It's set up for potluck meals- power strips for crockpots, containers of plastic forks and spoons, stacks of paper plates and bowls. Packets of condiments, all ready to go at a moment's notice. We even have a team crockpot that stays in The Food Cube in case someone brings food that needs to be heated- no need to lug your own heavy crockpot around.

Pasta salads are always a hit at our lunches. Fresh veggies, fun pasta shapes, sometimes a little shredded or cubed cheese make a filling dish that just about every loves. When it was my turn to bring a dish pasta salad was a natural choice, especially in this house where pasts reigns supreme. With this salad I decided to go with a Greek twist, using the veggies commonly used in a Greek salad, like tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, olives and herbs. Tossed with pasta in a vinaigrette dressing, with Mediterranean herbs and cheese it was a refreshing change from the mayo type dressing.

I prefer orzo in this dish but this time I as unable to get it- our little grocery store didn't have any! I was stuck using pasta rings. Also, feta or goat cheese are lovely crumbled into the salad if you like.

Greek Style Pasta Salad

1 pound small pasta such as orzo

1 small cucumber

2-3 Roma tomatoes

6 scallions

1 cup ripe olives

1 small bell pepper

3 cloves garlic

2/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

squeeze of lemon juice

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

couple handfuls fresh baby spinach

Heat the olive oil til warm but not sizzling. Lightly crush the garlic cloves and place in the oil. Set aside and allow to steep at least an hour. 

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Cook to al dente- do not overcook! Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

Chop the cucumber into small pieces and add to the bowl with the pasta. Cut up the tomatoes and chop into similar sized pieces, removing the seeds if you like. Add to the bowl. Chop the bell pepper and scallions (including the green tops) and into the bowl they go. Slice the olives and add those too. Add the herbs, salt and pepper.

Fish out and discard the garlic cloves. Combine the olive oil and vinegar in a jar. Cap the jar and shake to combine. Pour over the pasta and vegetables, toss well. Add the Parmesan and spinach, squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over and toss again. Cover and chill until serving time.

This salad makes a great lunch entree and as always, you can add grilled chopped chicken, shrimp or any other meat or seafood you like. You might want to keep a little extra vinegar and oil handy in case you need a little extra for serving. I like to be able to taste the punch of the vinegar in my Greek salads. 

Canning Cookbook- Kicked Up Veggie Pickles

Ohhhhhh pickles!!!

When I was first getting into home canning in a big way, pickles were among the first foods I learned to make. Spicy dills, bread and butter pickles- my favorite, pickled carrots, pickled onions, quick asparagus pickles, relishes of all kinds. Dills. So many dills. Chunks, slices, whole, spears. Blue ribbon winning pickles. 

There are two types of pickles- brined pickles and fermented pickles. Fermented pickles, like sauerkraut, get their sour flavor from being fermented in a crock in a salty water mixture. I prefer to make brined pickles- pickles that get their sour flavor from a vinegar brine. It's quicker and since I have fur kids, I don't want to have crocks of fermenting foods sitting around. I prefer my pickles with no fur.

Adding spices to the brine changes the flavor of the pickles. Dill, of course, gives a tremendously green and fresh flavor to pickles, and garlic, mustard seed, black peppercorns and even hot peppers bring varying levels of heat and spiciness to the brine. I got the bright idea to add ghost peppers to jars of pickles one time- wow!! Talk about spicy!! 

Pickling is also a great way to preserve those beautiful summer veggies and a great addition to your relish tray for parties and holidays. I will pickle pretty much everything. It's easy to whip up a quick brine, add some herbs and aromatics and pour over a colorful mix of veggies. You don't even have to "can" the pickles- fridge pickles, also known as quick pickles, go right in the fridge and last for weeks. 

If you have a crinkle cutter you can make gorgeous slices of
bright carrots. You can also purchase crinkle cut "chips"

What kind of veggies should you pickle? Whatever you like! That's the great thing about pickles- the brine adds the necessary acidity to make your vegetables safe for canning at home, and using a colorful combo makes the jars beautiful and interesting. 

Isn't this gorgeous? I just couldn't say no

Strolling through the produce section at the big grocery store in the city I had so many choices to make. I found gorgeous little shishito peppers back on the shelf so I had to grab a couple handfuls to use in this pickle recipe. There was a fabulous display of cauliflower and broccoli set up including the most beautiful purple cauliflower. Naturally I chose one of those. I considered baby carrots but instead went with "carrot chips"- slices of large carrots cut with a wavy blade. Those are going to look great in the jars. Fresh green beans and red onion round out the veggies for this batch.

Shishito peppers are sweet with an occasional odd spicy one

Kicked Up Veggie Pickles

1 head cauliflower

1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed

1 lb baby carrots (or regular carrots, peeled and sliced)

2 ears fresh corn

2 onions
3 bell peppers or other peppers of your choice*

3 cups apple cider vinegar

3 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

yellow mustard seeds

garlic cloves

peppercorns

dried cayenne peppers*

*Instead of bell peppers I bought a couple handfuls of shishito peppers and used them whole. If you use a spicier pepper you can omit the cayenne pepper. I used dried Serrano chilies instead of the cayenne since I have so many.

Cut the cauliflower into good sized florets. You need about 3 cups. Cut the bell peppers into strips. I used whole shishito peppers so I just cut slits in them to allow the brine to get inside the peppers. Clean the corn with a veggie brush to remove all the silk, then cut it into one inch chunks, then cut into halves. Cut the onions into wedges. 

Fresh corn on the cob makes an interesting addition

Bring a stockpot of water to boil. Add the veggies and boil for one minute. Remove from water and into a large bowl. DO NOT use an ice bath!!

Bright veggies make beautiful jars of pickles

Meanwhile, in another pot, combine the water, vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the salt (or you can add a teaspoon of salt to each jar). 

Pack the hot vegetables into hot canning jars. Add a teaspoon of mustard seed, several peppercorns and 2-4 cloves of garlic (smash them a little to release the flavor) and a cayenne pepper (or half) to each jar. Pour the hot brine over to 1/2 inch headspace. Fix the lids and rings, place in boiling water bath canner. Process for 10 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 pints.

Make it easy on yourself- use the wide mouth pints for this pickle recipe. The brine is great for all different kinds of pickles so use your imagination. The brine acts as a preservative and the heat of processing in the boiling water bath seals the jars. Remember, you can also make the pickles and just pop them in the fridge instead of processing in the canner. I chose to make them a quick pickles this time because of the vibrant color of the cauliflower- I wanted to preserve that stunning purple as much as possible.

NOTE: This recipe has not been tested by the NCHFP. If you are not comfortable canning untested recipes, please do not use this one.

Sherri Williams' Avocado Ranch Dressing

Nobody cooks like Sherri!!!  With her incredible resume of culinary victories and visits to the World Food Championships and now television, she has become a force to reckon with in the food world for sure. 

Last summer Sherri kicked some culinary butt on the Travel Channel show American Grilled. On the episode titled Pensacola Beach Brawl, Sherri beat out her three competitors to take home the win. I think the whole country was cheering her on, as she has friends literally everywhere and a very supporting family!

photo from The Travel Channel

Sherri shared this recipe with her friends on Facebook for Valentine's Day with her beautiful Pan Seared Sirloin, Butter Poached Lobster and Mixed Green Salad with Pork Chop Croutons and Avocado Ranch Dressing. That expertly seared steak would have been plenty to make this girl happy, but Sherri brings the flavor big time with the butter poached lobster and that salad.

photo by Sherri Williams

Yes, yes I did say Pork Chop Croutons. How did she make them? Cubes of leftover breaded and fried pork chop rind, recrisped in a little olive oil. Amazing!!! How does she think of this stuff? 

The salad dressing though, really really sounded delicious. I have never been a fan of store bought salad dressings. I don't like foods that have ingredients with half the alphabet in their names. Sherri's dressing started with a perfectly ripe Hass avocado and creamy mayo, sour cream, herbs and spices. Nothing chemical or artificial, just fresh, handmade and delicious. Not sure what a Hass avocado is? It's the typical dark green bumpy-skinned avocado most often seen in the grocery stores.

Here is what you need for Sherri Williams' Avocado Ranch Dressing:

1 Hass avocado

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

juice and zest of a lemon

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 teaspoon granulated onion

1/8 teaspoon dill

salt and pepper

Combine everything in a food processor- pulse/process until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. Sherri mashed the avocado first so I did as well- makes it quicker to get that great smoothness.

Use on beautiful salad greens and if you have a leftover chop- make Sherri's Pork Chop Croutons too!

Sherri's domination of the cooking scene is still going strong. As a competitor on Food Network's new show, All Star Academy, the lucky duck gets to meet and work with some true giants in the food world- Alex Guarnaschelli, Michael Symon, Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone and Ted Allen along with several other very talented home cooks! I'm still star struck just thinking about Alex Guarnaschelli!

photo by Sherri Williams

Anyway, All Star Academy starts on Sunday, March 1 at 9/8 central time on Food Network. Set your DVRs people! #TEAMSHERRI !!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Canning Cookbook- Who planted 10 zucchini anyway?

Ahhhhh zucchini, that wondrous crazy vegetable that goes from blossom to BLIMP in 24 hours. We all at one point in our lives, as a cook or gardener, have had a love/hate relationship with it. We love the tender baby zucs we can halve or quarter and throw on the grill, and we love the big monster zucs that we shred and make delicious baked goods from, while at the same time we absolutely loathe dealing with those big monsters, and zucchini overload when the office master gardener shows up with yet another big bag full to share. This just might be ME this summer, since I got the wise idea to plant ten, yes ten, zucchini in the garden- and it's just The Chef and I at home. We do, after all, love fresh zucchini, and we hate to waste perfectly good food.

By the time summer is nearing the end, even though those plants are STILL producing, most of us are pretty tired of trying to use the crazy things in dinner night after night. Zucchini bread and cakes and muffins fill the freezer. What else can you do? Make relish!!

When it comes to canning recipes, everything BUT pickle relish is something I want to make. I already make pickles, I don't want to do pickle relish too. I like trying different vegetables in relishes though, like radish relish, corn relish, and a carrot relish I'm trying to figure out. It's just natural to me that zucchini should fit the bill in relish recipes. It has a mild flavor on it's own, much like cucumbers do, and should meld well with relish flavors. Almost every canning cookbook has a zucchini relish of some kind. Do a little research and reading and you will find one with the right blend of flavors for you. I tend to like "peppery" and hot spicy foods and make relishes and sauces that reflect that. This time, however, I think I'll go with a dill relish and see how that turns out. So let's get busy with Summer Zucchini Relish.

You will need:

12 cups finely chopped UNPEELED zucchini

4 cups finely chopped onion

2 finely chopped bell peppers, one green, the other red or orange

4 tb canning or kosher salt

Combine all vegetables in large mixing bowl, sprinkle with salt, toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, rinse and drain thoroughly.

In a large stock pot combine:

• 2 1/2 cups vinegar (I prefer apple cider but white is ok- 5% acidity)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp celery seed
• 2 tb mustard seed (I use one each of yellow and brown)
• 2 tb dill seed
• 2 tb dried dill weed or 4-5 tb fresh
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Bring ingredients to boil. Add vegetables and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Pack hot mixture into prepared pint or half-pint jars with 1/2" headspace. Adjust lids and rings. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and allow jars to cool, check seals.

Because this is a pickled product, you will want to let it mellow and let the flavors meld. You can also switch out yellow summer squash for some or all of the zucchini if that's what you have an abundance of. 

Recipes like this always look so pretty in the jars, and I can't wait to enter them in the county fairs. Sometimes that unusual relish combination gives you an edge over the same old relish recipes that have been entered for decades. I hope you will give this recipe a try- I'm sure you will love it.

City Girl's Wine Journal- Nobilo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Let's just say I was having one of those nights. My day didn't start out very well and it wasn't improving much as the evening progressed. Maybe it was the weather- the oppressive heat and humidity. Maybe just a passing phase. Mopey, anxious, worried- about what I'm not sure, but I knew I needed a glass of wine. Stat.

That's where Nobilo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 comes in. The Nobilo winery was founded back in the 1930s when the family, fearing the impending war, fled Croatia for New Zealand. The Nobilo family had been making wine for nearly 300 years in their native country, but uprooted and took that expertise to a new land and began again. At first they struggled getting New Zealanders to embrace wine the way Europeans did, but in the end, that drive to succeed paid off, and today the Nobilo wines are enjoyed worldwide.

Which is how I got to experience the Sauvignon Blanc here in the middle of Iowa. This pale yellow wine was very fruity and not too sweet. The usual grassy and herbaceous notes typical of a Sauvignon Blanc were present, the slightest bit of minerality that I find very common in New Zealand wines, and believe it or not- maybe it was the age of the bottle, but a slight banana edge to it. Maybe it was the lush mouthfeel and creamy texture. Reading the winery's tasting notes they describe a "cut tomato plant" essence and I agree- the herby aroma has that faint familiarity.

I loved reading about this wine also. They harvest these grapes at night, which is something I had never thought of- does the time of day affect the finished product? Yes! Nighttime harvests protect the fruit's flavors and pressing them immediately and getting the skins out of the way very early keep the tannins very low and ups the "sipping quality" of this beauty of a wine.

Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with spicier foods, curries, and seafood. It can help tame the richness of roast poultry dishes as well. It's a great buy for the money, usually in the $15 range, and obviously, ages pretty well. My bottle was a 2008 that has been cellared since then. 12.5% alcohol gives it some potency and a nice bite, with a fair amount of acidity. I highly recommend this wine and will be looking for a new vintage to try in comparison (and to stash away for a few years).

Canning Cookbook- What to do with all these blueberries?

So blueberries were on sale. Seriously on sale- 99 cents a pint. That never happens. So I bought some. Well.... a lot actually. I already had plans for some of them but now I have so many- I don't want to keep the freezer space filled with fruit so it's got to be made into jam. Soon.

I also have one single fresh pineapple leftover from the 4th of July weekend cooking (tacos al pastor- oh my goodness YUM) so I need to do something about this beautiful tropical fruit. I love making fruit combo jams, as you know, so it just naturally occurred to me- Blueberry Pineapple Jam. A quick peek at the measurements in the pectin pouch and some basic math skills and I am in business. 

First on the agenda- tackle the assorted bags and boxes and messy stacks of empty jars that need to be sorted before I start canning. Our storage room, affectionately known as The Room of Doom is where I store all my canning supplies. Usually neatly, but by the time spring rolls around and we've used up a bunch of jars over the winter I have jars of all sized piled on the table and sitting in bags and boxes on the floor. I'll spend a half day sorting the different jar sizes into their appropriate Rubbermaid tub (I have a system with a rolling cart to easily move canning items in and out of the kitchen) and check my inventory of lids and jars. Once I've made sure I have enough jars and lids, I'm good to go.

We are making Blueberry Pineapple Jam, so we will need:

• 10 cups blueberries
• 1 medium pineapple, cleaned and diced fine
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 package powdered pectin
• 6 cups sugar

Start by cleaning the pineapple and cut up into small dice, or pulse chunks in a food processor to break it down. Place pineapple in large stockpot. 

Add lemon juice, heat to boiling, cover, set aside until cool. Once the pineapple has cooled, add the berries and crush them with a potato masher (or pulse in food processor). Stir in the pectin until completely dissolved. 

Bring mixture to boil over medium high heat stirring constantly until it's reached a full rolling boil. Add all the sugar at once. Continue stirring and return to boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat. Ladle into jars, fix lids and rings, and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. 

Super easy,right? And so delicious. This is going to be delicious warmed up and melted to use on pancakes too. I can't wait to try it!

The Kohlrabi Results

So did anyone wonder how the kohlrabi turned out? I decided to go with a slaw to serve with a dish prepared and share over on Rockin' the Kitchen (our sister blog) but I might as well share the recipe here as well!

Since the kohlrabi I had was so huge, and every recipe I had said to use small ones, I was very nervous about texture, so I grabbed a jicama at the store- just in case I had a woody ball of yuck- and began to butcher the beast. Turns out it was perfectly fine, much easier to peel than other people said, and not woody at all. Since I had the jicama I decided to use it as well and ended up saving half the kohlrabi to try something different later.

Anyway, here is the slaw recipe, and then we will talk about where it fit in the menu.

Jicama, Kohlrabi and Carrot Slaw

• 2 cups jicama, cut into matchsticks
• 2 cups raw kohlrabi, cut into matchsticks
• 1 cup carrot, shredded or cut into matchsticks
• 3 or 4 scallions, sliced, including green tops
• salt and pepper
• 2 limes
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 tb honey
• 1 cup cilantro leaves (or Italian parsley)

Combine the vegetables in a large bowl. Zest the limes and add to vegetables. Season well with salt and pepper. Juice the limes into small bowl. Stir in honey till dissolved. Whisk in oil. Pour over vegetables and toss well. Add cilantro right before serving and toss again.

I must say, I immediately fell in love with this weird looking veggie and I'm so mad I wasted all these years to "I don't like it" whining. It was delicious. Crispy and fresh, plus the lime added just a lovely kick of acid, while the honey tamed it all down nicely. I made tacos al pastor and used the slaw to top the tacos instead of the Americanized cheese, sauce and lettuce, tomato, etc. Tacos al pastor are made with thinly sliced roasted pork that has been seasoned with a chili pepper mixture and basted with pineapple. So delicious- you should check out Rockin' the Kitchen and try it. I came up with a MUCH easier version that the normal spit-roasted kind. I had to keep the heat a little tam for our guests but you can pepper it as little or as much as you like.

Now.........what to do with that other half of the kohlrabi.............. 

About me: Why do I can?

This is a question I am asked quite often. "Why do you can?"  Well, why not? 

Canning has been part of "me" for years. Once part of every homemaker's routine, modern convenience, dual income families and busy schedules pushed canning to the back burner. It began "something Grandma did" and over time became a lost food art. But there is something special and rewarding about seeing the shelves lined with those beautiful jars of colorful food. The hours of hard work, time spent over a steaming kettle of water, waiting for the weighted gauge to jiggle, and listening to the musical ping of sealing jars makes it all worth it. Throw in the various social media groups of other canners and I have become good friends with loads of people all over the world, all with a common passion- canning.

As I have gotten older I no longer have the really big garden like I once did, and I don't have the variety of vegetables and fruits as before. These days I love spending an afternoon at the pick-your-own farm loading up a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and take my bounty home to spend a couple days making salsa, pickles and canned tomatoes of all kinds. I stock up on berries when they are in season or on sale and freeze them for jams and jellies later. Generous friends with way too much rhubarb or a yard full of apple trees always offer all the freebies we can pick. As the garden season comes to an end, the pick-your-own farm has a free pick day and friends with an abundance of green tomatoes give them away by the box full. Any given day you can stop by my house and find piles of beautiful produce waiting to be transformed.

I have very generous friends, with lots of apple trees!

Another benefit of home-canning is having control over what goes in our food. I carefully examine the vegetables for bad spots and spoilage- something a factory assembly line cannot guarantee. Nothing chemical or artificial goes into my home canned foods. The glass jars don't leave that metallic taste some commercially canned foods have and the jars are reusable. Chemical-free and recyclable containers- that's a pretty good couple of reasons right there! Don't get me wrong, we aren't health nuts or anti-GMO protesters or chemical-free advocates at all, but it's nice to know we're eating fresh, wholesome food.

Creativity comes into play as well. I can make fruit combinations for jams that you would never find in a store. Pickled vegetable combinations are up to me. I can turn up the heat in salsa by adding different, hotter peppers to get just the right melt-your-face-off heat that we love so much. Keep in mind, when you start to play with and alter tested recipes you may be venturing off into uncharted waters. I am willing to take this risk for myself because I feel like I make SAFE choices and don't change things that make foods unsafe for canning at home. You should know, however, that if you ONLY want to use tested and approved recipes, many of these are not. I stick very very close to the tested versions though, for safety's sake, and never sell any of my home canned foods. 

Nothing boosts a person's self esteem more than winning, and entering jars of home canned foods in the county fair is a great way for me to get that little pat on the back I sometimes need. Everything from humble green beans to elaborate relishes and conserves get loaded into boxes and displayed on shelves in the Guthrie County Fair's Arts Building. I entered for the first time in 2013 and was surprised to win several ribbons! I've already planned my entries for 2014 and am looking forward to seeing what my results are this year.

Just a few of the entries for the 2014 Guthrie County Fair

So what is on my canning agenda for the summer season of 2014? Lots of fun things. I have been searching high and low for gooseberries for a very special recipe I have been working on for two years. As always, loads and loads of tomatoes. Last year I ended up with a few odd zucchini and tomatoes at the end of the summer and I canned them together with garlic- NOW, heated up and tossed with some pasta I have a delicious, meat-free meal in the time it takes to cook the pasta, so this year I will be making that on purpose! I am hoping to make some jams with foraged fruits and berries too, now that I have the wild plums pinned down (and the trees are BRIMMING with unripe plums right now) and loads of mulberry trees and wild blackberry brambles everywhere. I might even get lucky and find some wild grapes this year too.

So.......why do YOU can?

Gardening at the Little Lake House

Well, I'm more than a month in and things are really starting to take off! I have baby plants and larger plants, have been picking lettuce and kale already, and a few herbs. Garden season is off to a nice start in 2014. We have been getting plenty of rain- which is a huge help. And sunshine, loads and loads of warm, sunny days, humidity, warm breezes. Let's take a look at what is growing. Almost every summer I try something new and this year it is almost exclusively container gardening. With a very large wraparound deck, I have plenty of space for plenty of containers and I love growing my own food.

Cherry tomatoes and peppers are thriving in the sunshine.

Tomatoes- They are doing fantastic so far. The cherry tomato plants have been in the soil the longest and are the biggest plants right now. They are looking great! I see baby tomatoes in there too! So exciting! My four San Marzano plants are off to a good start, have settled into the soil well, they love the rain, and are loving the sunshine. Still a little on the small side so I haven't caged them yet, but that will happen soon. A growth spurt is coming, I can feel it. The Mr. Stripey single plant I got it is doing so/so. It's a little "stemmy" having suffered some leaf loss. The other two that I thought for sure were goners have had a sudden resurgence so I'll probably plop them in the flower bed and call it good!

Mixed baby kale plants

Peppers- The serrano chilies are growing like crazy as well. They loved the hot days we had recently. Little flower buds are starting to form and it won't be long til I have baby peppers! The habanero peppers are also doing ok- they are not quite as big as the serrano plants but I'm sure they will catch up. Their leaves look glossy and shiny and very healthy. A few more weeks of sunshine and they will be standing tall.

A couple weeks ago the plants were noticeably smaller

Sweet corn- Yes, I know I said I'd never grow sweet corn but I heard of people growing it in containers and I have to try everything at least once. It's doing great! I did have to add tomato cages to their containers because the wind was beating them up a little but now they are doing great. Leaves are nice and bright green, strong stalks, getting close to a foot tall.

The tomatoes have overcome the slight frost damage from early May

Lettuce and kale- I've been picking! They are growing beautifully. I have Black Seeded Simpson lettuce and mixed organic kale and both are doing awesome. Lots of salad and nibbling has been going on! It won't be long and the lettuce will bolt, but having never grown kale before I'm not really sure if I can grow it all summer- I'll find out!

Today these corn plants are nearly a foot tall and supported by cages!

Herbs- This year I am limiting the herbs that I am growing. I haven't had a very good basil crop for a couple summers so I have tons of basil planted, lots of pots of thyme, and my old chives that come back very year. Also new this year is a Japanese herb called red shiso. I've never tried it but I've done my research and it's going to be a great addition to salads, Asian dishes and sushi. It will be interesting to see how it grows. 

I keep picking that lettuce and it keeps filling out

Zucchini- Boy oh boy did I plant zucchini! Ten plants to be exact. I might live to regret that....... but I have some relish recipes to try (maybe some winners at the fair?) and I can always throw some zucchini bread in the oven. Last summer I found myself with leftover tomatoes and a couple zucchini, so I cubed everything and tossed with a little garlic and canned and it turned out delicious. I've used it for pasta sauces and smothered steak recipes.

I love chive blossoms. This particular plant is over 30 years
old and has been transplanted in gardens at several houses.
It came from my mother's garden years ago.

Other vegetables- I have a large shallow Rubbermaid-type container filled with soil for growing things in shallow soil. I'm trying a crop of Parisian Market carrots- they are small, round carrots, maybe the size of a big radish. These are also a new vegetable to me so we will see. Mexican Gherkins are also something new I have planted- these cucumbers grow on small vines and produce cucumbers that look like  teeny tiny watermelons. I think they will be wonderful pickles and hopefully a blue ribbon winner at the fair!

Not the best backdrop but a little fire in the chiminea is so nice

Flowers- I don't normally plant a lot of flowers, but I do have a few. Marigolds and zinnia, started from seed, are growing nicely in pots that will fill the bakers rack and nestle among the vegetable plants. And since we all know a gardener is never truly done......I just might find a few more interesting things to plant. But for now, it's time to kick back and relax by the fire.......