Jul
6
Grilled Peaches
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A recipe for grilled peaches from Salon.com.
I hear local peaches are coming into season. I’ll have to take a look this week and try this on the grill. Yum.
Jul
5
Canning Red Beets
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[Updated: August 10, 2009: This red beet recipe comes out entirely too sweet and syrupy. See this entry for more information on what I am doing for subsequent cannings.]
For the last three weeks we’ve been receiving red beets in our weekly CSA share. I am indifferent about cooked beets, but one of my favorite foods is pickled beets. I can eat an entire pint jar myself. Since we had received three bunches so far, I had a total of about 22 beets on hand, about equal parts dark red and paler red beets. I am almost certain the darker beets are the Detroit Dark Red variety, and I think the lighter red ones are Chicago Red Hybrid.
I decided to figure out how to can them this evening. If I’d known canning was this easy — I only burnt one of my fingers — I’d have started doing it years ago.
I started by trimming the beets, leaving about an inch and a half of the stalks in place to prevent color bleeding. I put them in our large stock pot and set them to boil, setting a timer for twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes later, the beets were tender to the touch. I removed them from the pot and allowed them to cool for a few minutes.
Peeling beets is simple: just pull off the stems and squeeze the beet from the small end. The rough, outer skin will slip right off. I then chopped the beets into my preferred size: 3/4″ pieces.
The original plan was to can them all in one pint Mason jar, but we had more beets than would fit into one jar, so I separated them into the two varieties.
I then prepared the syrup solution, following a recipe from an old Pennsylvania State Grange cookbook, bringing it to a boil on the stove. (I halved the amounts; it was originally for 1½ peck.)
[Don't use this recipe. See this entry for what went wrong.]
Pickled Beets (syrup)
4 c. sugar
3 c. water
1½ c. vinegar
Next, I added the light-colored beets to the pan and returned it to a boil. I gave it a minute or so to reheat the beets.
The rest was an exercise in speed and precision (and is when I burnt my finger with hot syrup). I removed a jar from the large pot with a pair of tongs, carefully drained the water and sat it on the range. I then picked up a slotted spoon and carefully spooned the beets into the jar. Using a ladle, I covered the beets with syrup, filling the jar to the base of the neck, making sure to cover all of the beets. I then used the tongs again to retrieve a seal and a ring lid from the small saucepan. Using hand towels, I carefully twisted it tight and sat the jar on the counter to cool.
I repeated the above process with the darker beets. It was only when I tried to clean up some of the spilled syrup that I coated my right index finger in the hot, sticky stuff, and now have a blister that hurts like mad.
The finished product: one jar of each variety of beets.
I found it to be easiest to work with three pots: First, the large stock pot (cleaned since the beets were in it and filled with fresh water) for boiling the jars. Second, the medium saucepan for the syrup (recipe above). Finally, the small saucepan, filled with clean water, for the lids and seals for the jars.
Jun
27
Way Fruit Farm, Fruit Smoothies, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
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Today we stopped by Way Fruit Farm, a local grower famous most recently for a campaign stop by Republican Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin. The Way family have been farming here since 1826. Throughout the season, they’ll have all sorts of fruits including strawberries, blueberries, cherries, apples, and pumpkins. Unfortunately for us, the only fruit available today were strawberries and cherries.
The strawberries are compact and darkly colored. The flavor is perfect: both tangy and sweet.
For dessert tonight, we’re making a strawberry-rhubarb pie. We’re using the rhubarb we froze from the first CSA share a month ago. I’ll write more about it later.
We’ve been making fresh fruit smoothies (recipe below) every night for the past week and were anxious to get some fresh, local fruit for next week.
Fruit Smoothie
1/2 c. strawberries, sliced (about five decent-sized berries)
1/3 c. blueberries
1/3 c. red raspberries
1/3 c. blackberries
1-2 tbsp. sugar, to taste
8-10 fresh ice cubes
Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Pulse until thoroughly blended. Add ice or water to thicken or thin as needed. Serve and drink immediately.
Makes approximately 16-18 oz. of smoothie.
You can substitute whatever berries you have on hand or are in season for you.
We’ve also added a small amount of V-8 Splash to the mix for added flavor.
Jun
23
Pesto Chicken with Pasta
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We have been getting so many vegetables from the CSA, and I haven’t been sharing what we’re doing with them. Last night’s dinner was one I must share.
We began by knowing we wanted to make a pesto sauce with the fresh basil and fresh garlic scapes we received in Friday’s share. The obvious use was on pasta. And then we needed some protein. Chicken was the obvious choice as well.
Onward to the recipes!
Pesto Chicken with Pasta
1 box pasta shells, or other pasta of choice
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1″ cubes
salt
pepper
Pesto sauce (recipe below)
Cook pasta according to directions on the package. Drain and place in large serving bowl.
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Heat to medium-high heat. Sautee the chicken cubes. Once they are thoroughly cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
Combine pasta, sautéed chicken cubes, and pesto sauce in a large serving bowl. Toss to coat the pasta and chicken with the pesto sauce. Serve with a simple side salad.
Pesto sauce
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped
1/2 c. fresh garlic scapes, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/3 c. pine nuts
salt & pepper to taste
Combine the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until fully combined. Adjust the ingredients to taste.
We served it with a chilled bottle of Caves Aliança 2008 Vinho Verde, a fruity, slightly bubbly white wine from Portugal.
(Once again, I forgot to take pictures.)
