Pickled Mushrooms and Cruet Caps

I wonder sometimes how much food preserving I'll be able to do when the baby comes in May, so I've been coaxing some canning projects from food that's available in late winter.

Most recently, canned pickled mushrooms from Preserving by the Pint. The mushrooms called for in the recipe were oyster mushrooms, but a pound would have cost me $16, so I emailed Marisa and asked her if I could sub in other mushrooms.  She said yes, so I used a pound of local, organic criminis for $4. I've asked Marisa several canning questions over the years, and she has always been very prompt and helpful.  I love that.

I was curious about the flavor of the pickled mushrooms, so we opened a jar after a week. We ate them next to a farmer supper Rebecca told me about:  roasted (or fried) potatoes with baked beans, hard-boiled eggs, and vinegar on top.  So delicious and simple.  I added a green salad, too.

And after months of shopping for oil and vinegar cruets in thrift stores, Etsy, eBay and the like, I remembered our local restaurant supply store and found a classic set with a handy holder for $7.

 I was planning to cover the pouring holes with a plastic bag and rubber band because I was worried that the constant exposure to air would degrade the oil and vinegar.  Pretty ugly, I know, but I couldn't figure out how else to do it.

Then my husband watched me knitting (and boy, do I need to write a knitting post!) and suddenly asked why we couldn't pop those little silicone point-protectors on top of the cruets?

 Genius!  So I took a coupon and went to AC Moore and look at the funny little lids on my cruets!  Four dollars with a coupon, the largest size they had.  I'm very pleased with my functional, nice-looking cruets and my pickled mushrooms.

More canning projects to come - I'm still hibernating inside due to the weather and the baby is still inside due to her age.  Let the work fly!

Simplest Homemade Mustard

Of all the condiments I make at home, this mustard is the absolute drop-dead simplest. I buy the mustard seeds in bulk (and I wish I had kept track of the math at the time, but the organic seeds I bought in bulk were cheaper than non-organic at the store).  The mustard seeds keep indefinitely at room temperature in glass jars - very handy in the spice cupboard, I must say.

 The end result is like a stone-ground, grainy mustard with my cheap stick blender; I got a more powerful stick blender for Christmas, so I'm curious to see if the texture is more uniform on the next batch of mustard. But rustic mustard as pictured here is great, too! I also still buy cheap yellow mustard because I think it does have its place in some recipes.

Homemade Mustard

Soak overnight (I do this in the glass jar I'm planning to keep the mustard in):
1 cup mustard seeds, yellow and/or brown
3 cups water

In the morning, drain off water.
Add:
pinch pepper
5 tsp. salt
1 cup vinegar (I use white wine vinegar usually)

Blend with immersion blender or stand blender.  Presto:  mustard!!  Keeps indefinitely in fridge as long nobody double dips with a dirty spoon.

Uncle John David's Dessert

Aunt Maggie came up from the South bearing beautiful produce from her and Uncle John David's farm.  Ben was in heaven with a huge watermelon and a midget cantaloupe.  That boy loves melons.  Aunt Maggie rolled her eyes:  they had meant to plant full-size cantaloupes, but then, Uncle JD would split the midgets in half, scoop out the seeds, and fill the bowl with vanilla ice cream.

Then Ben's face just lit up.  So, yes, I put cream on my shopping list and made vanilla ice cream, and yes, the boy and his daddy had their cantaloupe bowls filled with vanilla ice cream.

A Gazpacho Discovery

We came back from vacation to a forgotten tomato and cucumber salad in the fridge.  I make variations on the theme all summer long:  sliced cucumbers, sweet onion, tomatoes, dressed with a little vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and usually a few snippets of basil.  Sometimes I use lemon instead of vinegar.  Sometimes I add bell pepper or subtract another vegetable.  Whatever.  The only problem with this salad is that it is best eaten fresh; leftovers can get mushy.

In this case, I had a sudden idea at 6 am : what if I stuck my immersion blender in the leftover salad and called the result gazpacho?  It looked reasonable when it was done, so I packed it into my honey's lunchbox.  That evening, I asked him how he liked his gazpacho and he was quite enthusiastic.  Score!  Hooray for a salad that morphs into a summer soup!

Best Method for Hard-Cooked Eggs

I tried pricking a hole in fresh eggs and putting baking soda in the water to make fresh eggs easy to peel after hard-boiling.  But Rebecca came across the best, simplest method:  steam the eggs.

my grandmother's steamer, curled up in its nest of bowls

 Just put the eggs over cold water in a metal basket or other steamer, cover, and bring a boil.  Boil for 15 minutes.  Place eggs in cold water until cool enough to peel.

The shells practically slide off and the yolk is a gorgeous yellow with no olive-green ring (a sign of overcooking). I love that this method also uses less water.  

Lots of eggs in the fridge right now from generous farmer friends! I'm thinking of mustard eggs or dill eggs.  Or just simply adding them to any summer vegetable meal.

Angel Biscuits

I love recipes that give me some time between the start and the finish - somehow it feels like a luxury to have this beautiful food appear at the end with minimal fuss!  The work is not really less, of course, just spaced out.  I started finding these recipes and shortcuts when I had babies and could never depend on a chunk of time in the kitchen.

My new favorite recipe, courtesy of Rebecca, is angel biscuits.  They remind me more of rolls than biscuits, but the texture is delicate and melting.

I like to bake them for a breakfast bread, or serve them as dinner rolls with jam. You can't beat the freshly-baked bread scent or warm bread in your hand!

Angel Biscuits

Combine in a measure that can hold at least 2 1/2 cups and set aside:
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water

In a large bowl that has a lid, combine:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour (I bet you could increase this proportionately)
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Cut in:
3/4 cup shortening (could probably use butter or part lard)

Add to yeast mixture:
2 cups buttermilk, sour milk, kefir, or whey

Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until a soft dough forms.  Clap the lid on the bowl and refrigerate.  Keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge.  When you want some biscuits, take a hunk of sticky dough, put it on a floured surface, sprinkle lightly with flour, and roll gently to 3/4" thickness.  Cut into rounds or cut the whole thing in a grid for square biscuits with no re-rolling.  Space apart on baking sheet. Bake at 400 F for 11-12 minutes until nicely browned and also springy to the touch.

Violets in the Kitchen

We picked violets and brought them into the kitchen, instead of the vase. We have never put a chemical on our yard because we're not manicured-grass kind of people; the side benefit is organic edibles!

photo by Genevieve

dandelion, violet, and water "soup"

I pressed some violets into spicy sugar cookies, sprinkled them with coarse sugar, and baked them.  Pretty!  Next time I would cut the cookies even smaller or else use several violets per cookie.

Then I boiled up some water and let it cool down.  According to a tip on Pinterest, boiled water makes clear ice cubes.  I froze a tray of ice cubes with violets in them.  I don't have a plan in mind, but it will be nice to pull the pretty ice cubes out for a party or a simple glass of lemonade.

Homemade Tomato Soup That Doesn't Curdle

I have made a lot of cream of tomato soup to get to this recipe:

4 cups hot tomato soup base
poured into
1 cup hot white sauce

These are some versions that I tried:

- hot, thickened tomatoes poured into cold milk (curdled)
- hot thickened tomatoes poured into hot milk (curdled)
- cold milk added to hot, thickened tomatoes (no note written down, but I bet it curdled)

Then, my friend Jan told me that the acid (tomato) and base (milk) must be similar amounts, and the acid must be added to the base.

However, I was not fond of the pale pink tomato soup that resulted from so much milk added.  Rebecca started messing around in her lab (kitchen) and reporting results.  I started independent testing to verify her results in my lab (kitchen), with the results verified by a consumer panel (family).

Look, if tomato soup curdles, it's still tasty.  It's just that the milk turns into sticky little curds and the soup looks freckled, not creamy.  I've never actually thrown out a test batches, just grumbled my way through it.

Last summer, following Rebecca's method, I made and canned tomato soup base.  It's tomatoes cooked with onions, celery, and salt, and then pureed. (Right, Rebecca?  I can't find anything I wrote down anywhere, so I'm going on my paltry memory)

To make tomato soup, I simply heat a quart jar of this tomato soup base while I'm making a white sauce in a saucepan. 1-2 Tbsp. butter, melted (maybe a little mushroom or onion in here if you like), with 1-2 Tbsp. flour whisked in and then cooked together until bubbly.  1 cup warm milk whisked in and whisk whisk whisk over medium-low heat until it steams and thickens.

I usually prefer straightforward cream of tomato soup, but you can add some basil or other herbs, a little cooked rice, or, as mentioned above, something like mushrooms, onions, garlic, or celery in the white sauce.

Serve with crackers, grilled cheese sandwiches, or cheese quesadillas.

Just to muddy the research, how do you make homemade cream of tomato soup?

Low-Key Sourdough and Its Resulting Crackers

My sourdough starter has to be very hearty to survive my treatment.  It lives in the fridge and I make bread about every other week. Ideally, sourdough likes to be at room temperature and fed with fresh flour and water daily.  That is too needy for my kitchen! 

My sourdough starter is almost 4 years old and it has a very strong, rustic taste (locals, I'm always happy to share - just email me from the link in my sidebar).

But after my sourdough got so weak and weary from neglect that it could hardly raise the roof on bread loaves, I have been careful to feed it at least weekly. Instead of throwing away the starter from the feeding, I make crackers.  I tweaked this cracker recipe from Gina, who has some other great ideas for using the discarded sourdough.

I am pleased to have such easy crackers on hand for snacks and packed lunches.  They're cheap and healthy, and I don't have to go to a store and throw away subsequent packaging to have them on hand.

Sourdough Crackers
1 cup "discarded" sourdough starter
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine sourdough starter and butter in mixing bowl.  Add flour and salt and knead until smooth.  Depending on the weather and the thickness of your starter, add more or less flour.  Dough should be stiff.  Cover dough tightly with a lid or enclose mixing bowl in a bag.  Allow to sit at room temperature for 7-10 hours. Break dough into pieces and spread evenly on parchment or Silpat on a large baking sheet.  Roll out to a 1/4" thickness or less, using a sheet of waxed paper between the rolling pin and dough.  Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into cracker shapes (I cut small squares).  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Remove any crackers that are hard when you press on them.  Hard crackers should break away from their partners easily.  Turn oven down to 300. Return soft crackers to the oven for 10 minutes.  Repeat pressing test, again removing hard crackers and returning soft crackers to oven.  Repeat in 10 minute intervals until all crackers are hard.  Cool all crackers and store in airtight container at room temperature.

Play with flavoring the crackers:  sprinkle with an herb, more salt, or freshly ground pepper. Press it lightly into the rolled crackers.  Once, I used part rye flour and added caraway seeds to the dough.  I bet cheese or sesame seeds could be added. 

Batch Cooking For the 6pm Days

My schedule changed overnight (okay, one week from job offer to start date).  Suddenly, two days a week, we all screeched home at 6pm, supperless.  And typically, we start the bedtime drag at 7pm, with the schoolkids in bed by 8pm.  So, it didn't make sense to start dinner preparations at 6pm. We needed something to - poof - appear on the table at 6pm, ready to eat.

So what I do is cook double the amount of food I normally cook on the days I'm home.  Some of it hangs out in the fridge for the 6pm days, to be reheated in the microwave, and the rest is packaged into the freezer to be defrosted for other 6pm days.

I've read where some people do an enormous batch cook on one day a month and make their meals for the rest of the month.  That alternately overwhelms me and bores me.

Here, I am making a double batch of BBQ (as it's called around here - the rest of the world calls it sloppy joe).  I subbed in cooked lentils for the fourth pound of ground beef.  I also experimented with putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker, not pre-cooking or frying anything first, and cooking it on high for about 5 hours.  The texture was very soft and soupy.  Not terrible, but I now know I prefer the stovetop method.

Mennonite Community Cookbook

I split it into four portions, and we had one for supper. The other three went in the freezer.

All the schedule pieces that flew up into the air in August are slowly settling into place.  We are happy.  We generally have homemade, hot suppers that almost appear on the table at 6pm.  There is generally clean laundry. The house generally gets vacuumed. I get time at home alone while the rest of the family is out in the world learning and working (bonus:  with everyone away more, the house is less dirty!).

But I'll take any 6pm supper tips you want to offer. . .

Hot Pepper "Jam"

It didn't "jam" (gel).  I was annoyed, but I knew how to fix it from Marisa's instructions.  Last year, I had a batch of blackberry jam that didn't gel, and I successfully fixed it with Marisa's method.

But this jam did not respond to the treatment.

Plus, it is fiery due to some unholy hot peppers friends gave us. These peppers have burned my lungs and mouth badly, but I refuse to compost them.  I stuffed their butts in a jar with brine and I'm fermenting them in the basement to see if I can make a useable (read: not lethal) hot sauce.

 

(Change the topic for a minute to contemplate the tarnished silver tray of pumpkins we currently have on our table; charming, until I recall that this is the total grand harvest of our backyard vines.  Pfft.)

I have other projects on the go, so I simply stuffed the spicy, runny jam (the recipe is here) in my canning storage and moved on.  Perhaps you have some ideas of what I can do with it. . .

The Other Half-Bushel of Tomatoes

Rebecca found a great recipe for homemade ketchup in The Homemade Pantry and she also talked so convincingly about her tomato soup that I bought another half-bushel of tomatoes.

I made a double batch of ketchup (12 lbs. of tomatoes), and the rest of the tomatoes went into tomato soup.

I am afraid that neither ketchup nor soup is as thick as Rebecca's, so my idea is to open up a jar in winter as I need it and let it cook down on the stove as I putter around the kitchen.  I do really love a warm kitchen full of good smells.  I look forward to that aspect of my winter kitchen.

the ketchup

The tomatoes that I bought were definitely what is called "canning tomatoes" around here, or "seconds" elsewhere.  They had some rotten spots.  I cut away anything obviously black or seeping, and then I sniffed the tomato to see if I'd gotten all the smelly, bad flesh. I've found that tomatoes can be very tricky to see where the good leaves off from the bad, so I depend on my nose to sniff out the difference.  My mom taught me to do this.

the bad spots (ewwww)

I've been slowed down this week by a bad cold and fever, but I'm on my feet again and tomorrow is pimento-canning day!

left to right:  tile saw with box, kids' paper detritus, cooling jars of tomato soup,
a few jars of pickled peppers, canning notebook, and pressure canner;
busy place around here