Sharing

Recently, we had a few good friends over; we were playing a rousing card game, and somehow ended up a with this spread of food on the table. Even I was a little surprised at the variety of things we pulled out of our fridge for the tasting. And I was reminded (once again) how much I love to share food with others. Here are some things on the table: home-made granola; sauerkraut; white bean (Great Northern) hummus; coarse grain beer mustard; mini mincemeat pies and mini cranberry relish pies; pickled Spanish radishes; peaches in light syrup; samples from two different batches of kimchi. Hiding behind the metal bowl is a small jar of roasted pepper hot sauce that we made. The only thing we didn't make that is in the picture is the beer, chips, and the two different kinds of hot sauce (made from fermented peppers).

And of course, we are now in the process of fermenting peppers for our own hot sauce. I can't help but feel a sense of awe and pride at how much I've learned since last year. Humbly, I will proceed to learn more, to mark progress as I go.

For Winter

As the seasons change, and the weather is finally getting cool, the produce at the farmers' markets is shifting from tomatoes and okra to squash and greens. With this change of seasons, I've found myself canning less; don't get me wrong, I've still been canning about once a week, but it's not the daily frenzy of summer canning. This summer had a few very memorable weeks, with the bushel and a half of tomatoes, half bushel of okra, and then bushel and a half of apples. But now, things are moving at a more leisurely pace. I'm trying new things, for example, I'm making granola for the first time, and finding it quite satisfying. For the first time, too, I'm freezing things for the winter. I'm not one to take revelatory pictures of our fridge or freezer, but I felt particularly proud of it at this point. On the bottom shelf, as you see, there is ice, ice cream, and ice packs; but in the larger compartment, there are a few real gems. There are containers of pesto, jars (and bags) of okra, a bag of butternut squash, jars of pureed pumpkin, and a loaf of rustic rye bread. I hope to get a few more pumpkins over the course of next month, and preserve them in various forms in the freezer; they will be incredibly appreciated in soups, casseroles, bread, granola, and pies. If I plan things out correctly, I won't need to buy canned pumpkin, ever (unless our use of it greatly exceeds my estimations).

I was surprised today by how much better this pureed pumpkin tastes than the store-bought kind. I read about a few methods of preserving it, and decided against boiling or steaming it--or, horror of horrors, microwaving it. Instead, I roasted slices of pumpkin on a large sheet pan until the skin began blistering and browning. Once the pumpkin cooled, I peeled it and pureed, tasting it all the way. I highly recommend this method; yes, it takes longer, but none of the flavor or nutrients are lost to the water or the evil microwaves. I encourage you to try preserving pumpkin in this way, especially now that pumpkins are starting to appear everywhere. And like the woman at the farm-stand said: it's called a "pie pumpkin" because it's perfect for one pie!

Canning

Last week, Matt and I canned a few jars of dilly beans, cauliflower, and one jar of pickles. I used the recipe from my canning workshop: mustard seeds, peppercorns, dill seeds and garlic. There were a couple notable things about this canning experience. It was my first time re-using jars that I did not get specifically for canning; we'd gotten some pasta sauce a few months ago, and I realized that the jars it came in were Mason jars! The large jar on the left with the dilly beans is the reused jar. This was also my first time using the large Weck jars. We'd preserved some strawberry syrup in a tall Weck juice jar a few weeks ago, but somehow, the large jars seemed to behave differently--they took longer to seal. And of course, because I was impatient to test the seals, I ended up unsealing the two Weck jars, and had to re-process them the next morning. The re-processing worked out just fine, and the jars sealed. I learned a valuable lesson: the heavy glass lids and thick rubber seals of the Weck jars take longer than thin metal lids to seal.

If any of you are wondering, I bought the beautiful Weck jars at the co-op. I've been coveting them online for a good few months, when I unexpectedly ran into them in the bulk isle of the co-op. When I was buying a couple jars for my mom, the cashier commented that she'd never used an "alternative" method of canning. I was quick to correct her that this method of canning--with the rubber gasket and glass lid--predates the metal lids that we are so used to now. The Weck jars, although more expensive, are much more aesthetically appealing than the Mason/Ball jars; the lids are also reusable, and I would imagine it would take a good few canning sessions to wear out one of the rubber gaskets. I think that as long as the co-op is carrying the jars, I will continue to add to my collection; I look forward to more canning with them, too!