Marisa McClellan's Blog, page 114

May Sponsors: Cuppow, Fillmore Container, Mrs. Wages, and Preserving Now

May has arrived (my birthday month)! It’s time to welcome local strawberries and say thanks to the companies that help make it possible for me to do what I do. Please shower them with your love (and business)!

First up is perennial Food in Jars favorite, jar accessory maker Cuppow! They are the creator of the original mason jar travel mug topper and, more recently, of the BNTO, a cup that fits into a wide mouth mason jar and transforms it into a lunch box.

Next comes our friends at Fillmore Container. They sell all manner of canning jars and lids, as well as a handful of books and jar accessories. They’re a family-owned business based in Lancaster, PA and they happily work with home canners and commercial producers alike. Visit their blog for lots of good canning tricks and tips.

New to the sponsorship rolls is Mrs. Wages. I’ve written for them for the last three summers and this year, we’re teaming up for an official partnership. They make all sorts of pectins and canning mixes. Make sure to sign up for their newsletter for monthly installments of canning goodness.

Last, but certainly not least is Preserving Now! Operated by Lyn Deardorff, Preserving Now is both a website and school dedicated to helping people expand their canning and preserving skills. If you’re in the Atlanta area, make sure to check out her schedule of upcoming classes and events! Lyn helped set up all my Atlanta book tour events and she is just the best ever!

If you’d like to be a sponsor, there are lots of spots available, starting at just $75 a month.

Please visit my sponsorship page for more details! 
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Home Again, Salsa, and Upcoming Book Events

I landed in Philadelphia right around 12 noon on Tuesday afternoon. It was almost exactly two weeks to the minute since I’d left and while the book tour was gloriously fun, returning home is always the best thing of all.

I’ve spent the last day and a half reacquainting myself with home, unpacking bags and folding laundry. I also have done quite a lot of cooking in the last 48 hours. I made a goodly amount of jam and pickles while on the road and helped assemble a meal or two in the company of friends, but there was little true cooking and I missed it.

And so, I’ve made several rounds of breakfast eggs. I roasted every sad bit of vegetable in the fridge and made soup for dinner last night. I prepped a batch of whole wheat chocolate chip cookie dough for the freezer (we bake them a couple at a time in the toaster oven as an after dinner treat). And I peeled two wrinkly tomatoes that I’d left to ripen several weeks ago and made a little batch of salsa.

For lunch today, I toasted a couple of corn tortillas and folded into them black beans, cheese, avocado, sour cream, and generous scoops of the salsa. If a batch of spring salsa sounds good to you (Cinco de Mayo is Monday, after all), the batch I made is essentially the same as this one, only with shallots in place of the onions, and some red chili flakes instead of jalapeño (we didn’t have any). Remember, homemade salsa always tastes better if you make it at least an hour or two before you plan on serving it.

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Just because I’m home doesn’t mean that the book tour is over. Truly, things are only just picking up. Here’s where I’ll be over the course of the week and a half!

May 3 – Philadelphia: Demo and book signing at Fante’s Kitchen Shop, 1-3 pm.
May 4 – Philadelphia: Tasting and book signing at Headhouse Square Farmers Market, 10 am – 2 pm.
May 6 – Broomall, PA: Demo and book signing at the Marple Township Library, 7:30-9 pm.
May 10 – Philadelphia: Demo and book signing at Greensgrow, 10 am – 1 pm. Demo and book signing at Occasionette, 5-8 pm.
May 13 – Manhattan: Strawberry jam class at The Brooklyn Kitchen’s Manhattan location. 6:30-8:30 pm. $65.

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MightyNest Book Event in Evanston, IL on Monday, April 28
Book Tour Events: Birmingham! Memphis! Chicago!
Book Tour Notes + Remaining Atlanta Events

MightyNest Book Event in Evanston, IL on Monday, April 28

Friends! I’m currently in the Chicago suburbs, getting ready for a full weekend of events (you can find all the details here) and wanted to drop in with more details about Monday’s canning party in Evanston with MightyNest.

We’ll be at Now We’re Cookin’ (1601 Payne St, Evanston, IL) from 7-8:30 pm on Monday. General admission to the event is $5. There’s also “Mighty Pass” that you can buy for $25 that will get you entrance to the event, a signed copy of the book, and 3 mini Weck tulip jars. Both options can be purchased through Eventbrite.

I’m going to be demo-ing how to make the honey sweetened strawberry jam with thyme from the new book and will happily answer any and all canning questions. I hope to see some of you there!

Related Posts:

Taking Preserving by the Pint to Chicago!
Book Tour Events: Birmingham! Memphis! Chicago!
Tonight at The Happy Cook in Charlottesville!

Ten Ways to Use and Preserve Spring Rhubarb

I have a confession to make. As much as I’m enjoying this book tour (and truly, every step of it has been a total delight), I am ready to go home, see my husband, and cook in my little kitchen again.

To tide me over until Tuesday, when I’ll be home for a longer stretch than 12 hours, I’ve been digging back through the archives, to remind myself of what I like to cook this time of year. The thing that’s popping out at me most? Rhubarb! Here are nine ways that I’ve preserved and loved rhubarb in the past.

My first ever rhubarb preserve is still one of my favorites. It’s just rhubarb, vanilla and a little bit of earl grey tea for extra flavor.

Another oldie but goodie is this recipe for rhubarb chutney. It was my first-ever chutney and is still one that I come back to about every other year.

For summertime cocktails and vinaigrettes, cook yourself up a little bottle of rhubarb syrup. Next time I make it, I’m going to plunk a little bit of ginger in for extra zing.

If you want less sugar, I find that a fruit butter is always the ticket. I’ve got both Rhubarb Butter with Orange and Strawberry Rhubarb Butter to choose from.

For something slightly more herbaceous, there’s always Rosemary Rhubarb Jam.

If you can bear to turn on your oven, how about some Roasted Rhubarb Compote (this link will take you to the Mrs. Wages site, but I promise, the recipe is still all mine).

And finally, the small batches! Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. With roseflower water.

And if you’re not up for preserving at all, but want something tasty, may I suggest this rhubarb cake? It uses up the last of a jar of preserves you’ve got laying around, along with runny yogurt and whole wheat pastry flour. It’s one of my favorites for spring brunches.

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Good Things to Can in Autumn
Links: Rhubarb, Granola, Pickles, and a Kootsac Winner
Small Batch Strawberry Rhubarb Jam with Rose Flower Water

Book Tour Events: Birmingham! Memphis! Chicago!

Just a quick note to say that the book tour is still trucking! Tonight I’ll be at Birmingham Bake & Cook. The class is sold out, but you can call the shop to get on the waiting list. And if you’re in Birmingham and just want a book, leave a comment and we’ll figure something out.

On Wednesday, I’ll be at The Booksellers at Laurelwood from 6-7 pm doing a demo and signing books. And then on Friday, Chicago!

Hope to see some of you there!

Related Posts:

Tonight at The Happy Cook in Charlottesville!
Taking Preserving by the Pint to Chicago!
A Southern Swing for Preserving by the Pint

Links: Book Tour Notes, Pickles, and Birmingham

The book tour goodness continues! We had rain for most of Saturday in Atlanta, but that didn’t stop people from coming out to the Carter Center and Piedmont Park (including Whit from the Locurean and Jacin from Lovely Little Details/Salt Gatherings). I can’t thank Lyn from Preserving Now for putting together so many terrific events for me.

Today I drove to Birmingham and spent several hours sitting in my hotel room, trying to whittle down the contents of my inbox.I also had dinner with Kim from A Tiny Forest, which was such a treat. She makes all padded tote bags designed to hold and protect mason jars and I love my two-jar bag.

Tomorrow night, I’m teaching a sold out class at Birmingham Bake & Cook and Wednesday, I’ll be at The Booksellers at Laurelwood from 6-7 pm doing a demo and signing books. And then on Friday, Chicago! Now, links!

There’s been loads of tasty-looking pickles over at Putting Up With Erin lately, including these Old Bay beans and pickled edamame.
Lime marmalade.
Citrus saltines.
Gluten-free flours, all lined up in mason jars.
Making salad dressing in a nearly empty jam jar (it’s one of my favorite tricks).

About the book…

Rebecca from Cakewalk has made a couple recipes from Preserving by the Pint so far, and has nice things to say about both!
Over at She Eats, Kristy is giving away a copy!
And Becky came to the demo on Tuesday, took a bunch of pictures, and wrote up a post.

 

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Sponsored Post: Perfect Pizza at Home with Craftsy

This post is the next installment in my sponsored content partnership with Craftsy. This time, I took Peter Reinhart’s Perfect Pizza at Home course. It was amazing and changed my relationship with homemade pizza forever. Read on for more!

I’ve long been of the belief that even bad pizza can be good, if the circumstances are right. For instance, free pizza that appears in your workplace around lunchtime. It doesn’t have to be particularly excellent pizza in order for the ravaging hordes to descent and empty those boxes in record time.

Also in this category is pizza eaten at the airport during a layover, pizza obtained in the late night hours after one too many drinks, and pizza provided by friends after you’ve helped them move.

And, until last week, this category included my own homemade pizza.

Years ago, I got myself a pizza stone and tried to up my homemade pizza game. However, every attempt yielded gummy, tough crusts and toppings that slide right off the slice with the first bite. I kept making it, because of my belief that even bad pizza could be good. In my heart, I knew it could be better, but I never took the time to make it so.

Happily, it has all changed thanks to Peter Reinhart’s free Perfect Pizza at Home course. This is a class offered by Craftsy and it has totally changed my homemade pizza ways.

The class is broken up into five sections. After a quick introduction, Peter goes into a primer on dough. I was interested to learn that you get far better dough incorporation if you use your mixer’s paddle rather than the kneading hook for the dough. I had always assumed that the hook was best.

I appreciated the variety of dough options that were offered in that section (hooray for the part whole wheat crust). I was also taken by instructions to pull and fold the dough every five minutes. It didn’t take any major kneading to create a light, perfectly chewy dough and I’ll be doing it this way from here on out.

Next up was the segment on sauces and cheese. I’ll confess that I already have a favorite pizza sauce (the recipe is in Preserving by the Pint), but it was liberating to be told that a bit of cheddar cheese tossed with your mozzarella is perfectly acceptable.

I think I learned the most from the making and baking segment. There are so many good tips about shaping your dough into the pizza shape (make sure to let the dough rest in between stretching attempts, or it will keep bouncing back) and getting the pizza stone good and hot (crank the oven as high as it will go and heat the stone for much longer than you’d think).

I was also encouraged by the gluten-free pizza unit. My sister can’t handle the gluten and I love the idea that I can still make her delicious, satisfying pizza.

If you want to take the Perfect Pizza at Home class, click here to register!

For more on my year-long partnership with Craftsy, head over to the first post in the series, all about my experience taking their free Knife Skills course.

Official disclosure statement: This post was sponsored by Craftsy. I was compensated for my time. However, all opinions remain entirely my own.

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Dark Days: Local Bits, Pieces and Pizza

Book Tour Notes + Remaining Atlanta Events

It might be early to make this declaration being as I’m only four days in, but this book tour is proving to be one of the better experiences of my life. It has been such a joy to meet so many of you and to share the new book. So far, I’ve been to Charlottesville, Asheville, and Atlanta.

The event at The Happy Cook in Charlottesville was such fun and I loved meeting folks like Becky and Melissa (she even let me stay in her guest room).

From there I drove to Asheville, where I did a jam making demo at Villagers (the best store ever for people who are into home-steady things. The wall of Weck jars [that's what's pictured above] will motivate many a jar enthusiast to head over there) and hung out with Ashley, Glenn, and Huxley. It was such a joy to meet them, especially because we’ve been online friends for about half a decade.

On Thursday, I found myself in Atlanta, giving a talk about canning to a large hall filled with canning enthused people (truly, there were over 150 people there. It was a thrilling!) and signing a whole mess of books at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

That brings us to today. I’m still here in Atlanta and will be doing a full day’s worth of events tomorrow. From 9 to 10:30, I’ll be at the farmers market at the Carter Center. From there, I’ll head to Piedmont Park where I’ll be demoing honey sweetened strawberry jam from 11 am to 1 pm. At 2 pm, I’m teaching a canning class. And after all that, I’ll go have dinner with Lyn from Preserving Now (and her very nice husband).

A very full and very good week, indeed!

Related Posts:

Tonight at The Happy Cook in Charlottesville!
Taking Preserving by the Pint to Chicago!
A Southern Swing for Preserving by the Pint

Tonight at The Happy Cook in Charlottesville!

My Southern book tour starts today! In just a couple of hours, I’m climbing into my car and heading to Charlottesville, VA. I’ll be at The Happy Cook tonight, doing a canning demo and book signing. It’s a free event, but they are asking people to register in advance to ensure that they have enough chairs, so please do call them to sign up at 434-977-2665.

From there, I go to Asheville, and then to Atlanta (please come to my talk at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I’m a little bit nervous that I’m going to be talking to an empty room). Next week, I’ll be in Birmingham and Memphis. Here are the exact times and places.

April 16 – Asheville, NC: Free demo and signing at Villagers. 7-8:30 pm.
April 17 – Atlanta: Lecture and book signing at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. 7 pm.Details here.
April 19 – Atlanta:

9-10:30 am - Signing at the Freedom Farmers Market at the Carter Center.

11 am – 1:30 pm: Demo and signing at the Piedmont Park Farmers Market.

2-4 pm - Canning class at Piedmont Park. Click here for details and to sign up.
April 21 – Birmingham: Canning class and book signing at Birmingham Bake & Cook, 6:30 – 9 pm.
April 23 – Memphis: Demo and signing at The Booksellers at Laurelwood, 6-9 pm.

See so many of you soon! I can’t wait!

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Taking Preserving by the Pint to Chicago!
A Southern Swing for Preserving by the Pint
Upcoming Classes: Temple University! The Brooklyn Kitchen! And More!

Links: Turnip Stems, Book Giveaways, and Winners

It’s been quite a scramble around here getting ready to leave on this southern book tour of mine and so these links are now a full day late (so sorry to keep you guys waiting for the winners in the Cutco giveaway). I head out tomorrow morning and have come to the point where I’ve done all I can do before I hit the road. I will try to catch up with the rest later.

Oh! And thanks to everyone who came and picked up a book yesterday at the Philly Farm & Food Fest. It was such a treat to meet so many of you! Now, links!

Pickled turnip stems! So clever!
Has there ever been anything more beautiful than this lentil salad with quick pickled vegetables? I think not.
With Passover here and Easter on its way, there’s no better time in the world than now for pickled red beet eggs.
Pretty water in jars flavored with strawberries, cucumber, lime, and mint. Such a good way to keep yourself hydrated!
Mango coconut macadamia conserve. Amazing.
Philadelphians longing to learn more about tea should take this class with Alexis from Teaspoon & Petals!
Ever Growing Farm is hosting the Local Bite Challenge this summer. Details here!
Strawberry balsamic black pepper sauce.
A perfectly timed reminder that now is a good time to take inventory of what you have left in the pantry and make plans for this coming preserving season.
Finally, get excited for strawberry season with Fillmore Container!

And so many cookbook links!

Thanks to Dad Cooks Dinner for including Preserving by the Pint in his spring cookbook round-up!
Autumn Makes and Cooks shared my rosemary apple jam recipe. It’s a favorite of mine.
Winnie at Healthy Green Kitchen featured the orange cardamom curd. It’s just the thing to bridge the gap between winter and spring.
Over on Sassy Radish, Olga made her take on my pickled carrots in her gorgeous new kitchen.
Laura picked up a copy of the new book at Reading Terminal Market a few weeks back and said a few nice words!
Janet from A Raisin and A Porpoise (she who hooked me up with the best fried chicken ever) made my herb salt and dusts it over popcorn. An amazing use.
Oh Well Preserved. You guys are the best. Thank you for the rave!
Finally, Kate from Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking offered a peek inside the book and is giving away a copy! Head over to her site to enter!

 

Thanks to all of you who took the time to enter the Cutco giveaway last week! Here are the winners.

#82/Allison Shayne
#257/Dianne
#623/Maggie Fredricks
#716/Jo
#745/Wendy

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Links: Author Copies, June Taylor, and Winners