Marisa McClellan's Blog, page 124

Maple Walnut Granola

I woke up yesterday craving granola. Specifically, the maple granola that I used to eat with yogurt for lunch every day when I was in the 5th grade. It was my favorite and could be bought only from the bulk bins at People’s Food Co-op in SE Portland. We didn’t live anywhere nearby, but my mom often made the trip to stock up so that I could have a lunch that made me happy (5th grade was a particularly hard year for me).

I’ve been out of granola for a couple of weeks (I finished the peanut butter banana batch right around Halloween). It hasn’t been a great hardship, as there were still bowls of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, or slices of peanut butter toast to be had in the morning. But there was a space on the shelf were a jar of granola could go, and with that craving still whispering in my ear, I decided to make a batch.

I did not reinvent the wheel with this granola. Instead, reached for my cookbook and opened it to the recipe for Maple Pecan Granola (I’m a little bit embarrassed by how often I reach for the book I wrote to refresh my memory of certain recipes. You’d think I’d know them all by heart but I most certainly do not).

That recipe uses melted butter, pecans and dried blueberries for a super rich granola that tastes much like a good, crispy oatmeal cookie. I didn’t want something quite so rich and I didn’t have any pecans in the freezer (the best place in the world for nut storage) and so opted to use olive oil in place of the butter, swapped in walnuts, and skipped the blueberries entirely.

As this batch of granola baked (I did this one at very low heat for a long while – a tip I’ve gleaned from Megan Gordon and the writing she’s done about her granola company, Marge), the apartment filled with the most glorious smell of toasting nuts and warm maple syrup. It was the aromatic embodiment of cozy productivity.

One of the things I’ve still not quite gotten used to about my job as a blogger, teacher and author is the fact that I have a very distinct busy season. Things pick up for me around April and they don’t slow down much until the beginning of November. By the time we hit this time of year, I need a break but it always takes me a couple of weeks to remember how to relax and slow down (transitions have never come easily to me). Making this granola helped remind me that it’s okay slow down a little and just enjoy the scent.

So now I have a lovely jar of granola, and finally am feeling a little more at ease with myself and the slightly slower days. Who knew that following a morning urge to bake granola could be so helpful!

Oh, and one more thing. You’ll notice that I’m not storing the granola in a mason jar (I know, it’s blasphemy) and instead stashed it in one of OXO’s flip lock glass canisters. I got a couple of these jars last June at Eat, Write, Retreat and they are one of my favorite things for foods that get accessed a lot. Instead of twisting off, you flip up the lever on the jar and it releases the seal. Take out the granola that you need, pop the lid back on and press the lever back down to seal the jar again. I like them a whole heck of a lot, but they were (disclosure!) free from the swag table, so I thought you should know.

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Maple Walnut Granola

Ingredients

3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
Spread the mix out on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the granola is fragrant and golden brown.
Remove pan from oven and let granola cool undisturbed for at least half an hour.
When granola is just barely warm, use a spatula to scrape it off the pan, taking care not to break up the clusters.
Funnel into an airtight container to store.
It will keep for at least a couple weeks. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://foodinjars.com/2013/11/maple-walnut-granola/


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Giveaway: Duralex Picardie Tumblers from Mightynest

We all know that canning jars are good for so much more than canning. You can store dry goods in them, use them to tote leftovers to work for lunch, and even drink out of them. They make it easy to transition from plastic food storage to glass because they’re relatively inexpensive and readily available. I’ve certainly used my mason jars for nearly everything under the sun and value them beyond measure for their wide utility and food safe qualities.

Thing is, in recent years I’ve learned that it can be hard on canning jars to constantly employ them for everyday use and then turn around and can in them. That’s because when you eat out of jars and bang them around, it can weaken them and eventually lead to breakage in the canning pot.

I’ve actually started to save my jars for canning and (gasp!) use food storage containers and drinking glasses for their intended purposes (though I do have a selection of jars that are designated for drinking and leftover storage only).

However, for those of us canners who prize mason jars for their sturdiness as drinkware, where do you go when you want glassware that’s just as hardy? For me, the answer is Duralex. I became obsessed with the iconic Duralex Picardie glass about five years ago and since then have built up a sizable collection of tumblers in graduating sizes.

For a brief period, they went out of production and I became something of a Duralex stockpiler. Happily, they’re available again and I couldn’t be more pleased. Made of tempered glass, they can be used to serve both hot and cold drinks and they’re nearly impossible to break (an excellent feature for when my nephew is visiting. The smaller tumblers are also just the right size for his little hands). Truth be told, I love them nearly as much as my canning jars.

The nice people over at Mightynest heard about my crazy devotion to these Duralex Picardie tumblers and suggested we team up on a giveaway. And so today I’m delighted to be giving away a collection of Picardie tumblers to one lucky Food in Jars reader. The winner will receive six 5.75 ounce glasses, six 10.5 ounce glasses, and six 17 ounce glasses.

This giveaway is open to US residents only (glass is pricy to ship) and entries can only be accepted via the Rafflecopter form below.

Local Kitchen, Autumn Makes and Does, The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking, and Tasty Yummies are hosting Duralex giveaways this week thanks to Mighty Next. Enter them all!

For more ideas on how to add more glass to your kitchen, check out Mightynest’s Pinterest board featuring glass pitchers, glassware, and food storage products.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



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My Imaginary Menu: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is approaching and Scott and I are attending two celebrations this year. We’ll will be spending the actual holiday with his mom down in Virginia and then on Saturday, we’ll gather with my family back up here in Philadelphia.

Because I’m not hosting either meal, I don’t get to have much of a say in the menu beyond bringing my assigned potluck items (pie and potatoes). And so, to satisfy my urge to sift through cookbooks and choose a selection of harvest-y dishes, I bring you my imaginary menu, Thanksgiving style (you last saw me do this last spring in anticipation of Passover).

To start out, I’d make a batch of the Lentil Pate from Kim O’Donnel’s fabulous book, The Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations. I made it last year for a story on Table Matters and it was seriously amazing. For dipping, I’d bake up a batch of the Semolina Cracker Sheets from Ivy Manning’s Crackers & Dips. I’d put out a few jars of pickles and preserves, along with a log of chevre and call the appetizers done.

Before we get any further, I must make it clear that the turkey is assumed. I haven’t selected a recipe for it because I’ve spent many a year roasting turkeys with my dad and so it’s one of those dishes that is ingrained in my muscle memory.

With the turkey taken care of, I’d bake off a batch of the Pumpkin Cozy Rolls from Tara Matazara Desmond’s fantastic new book, Choosing Sides. A great number of my recipe selections are from this book, so prepare yourself to see it a lot in this post.

No turkey centered meal is complete without some kind of stuffing. I love it when it’s cooked inside the bird, but know that it’s a method that gives food safety folks the shakes. Whether cooked inside or out, I think this Caramelized Onion and Roasted Garlic Herb Stuffing sounds like a winner.

I’m a big believer in having lots of lighter vegetables on the Thanksgiving table and so some sort of salad is a must. I’m something of a fool for arugula and so think that Arugula with Sugar Cranberries and Pancetta from Choosing Sides sounds like just the thing. If was cooking for my Jewish family, I’d skip the pancetta and sub in some toasted nuts instead.

Buttered green beans topped with slivered almonds are a Thanksgiving requirement in my family, but if they allowed me to tweak things ever so slightly, I’d do so by making these Green Beans with Smoky Pistachio Dush from Cheryl Sternman Rule’s Ripe instead.

For my husband, I’d do a batch of these Browned Brussels with Maple Butter from Choosing Sides. He cannot abide the green bean but loves sprouts, maple syrup, and butter. The combination would make him thankful indeed.

If the table could handle just one more dish, I’d add a batch of the Roasted Butternut and Spuds from Choosing Sides. I have a casserole of mashed potatoes, winter squash and a mountain of cheese that I dearly love, but it is HEAVY. This version sounds lighter but still delicious.

For dessert, I’m turning to Nigel Slater’s newest work, Notes from the Larder. He has such a nice way with seasonal desserts. This recipe for Pear and Chocolate Oat Crumble looks both restrained and decadent. I bet it’s perfect with a little bit of vanilla ice cream and a post-dinner mug of tea.

That wraps up my fantasy menu for the coming holiday. Now your turn. What dish do you long to make for Thanksgiving this year?

Disclosure: All the cookbooks mentioned here were promotional copies, sent to me for review. However, all opinions expressed here are mine alone. 
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November Sponsors: Cuppow, Fillmore Container, Eat Boutique, Preserving Now, and The Clay Studio

It’s the beginning of practically the middle of November and that means it’s time to mention and thank the current Food in Jars sponsors. These are the companies make it possible for me to spent time testing recipes, writing tutorials, and answering canning questions.

In the top spot is Cuppow. They are the maker of the original mason jar travel mug topper and, more recently, of the BNTO. Have you seen their new multi-colored BNTOS? They are awesome!

Next up is 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. If you’re looking for unusual jars for your holiday gifts, give them a call!

New to the sponsorship round-up is Eat Boutique, an online magazine and market that discovers and celebrates the best small batch foods by boutique makers. They sell specialty gift boxes and regularly host tastings and pop-up markets. We recently collaborated on a box that features a few of my favorite preserve flavors, along with a signed copy of my book. It’s the perfect gift for the preserver in your life!

I’m happy to welcome Preserving Now back for another month! 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!

Back for another month is The Clay Studio. This Philadelphia-based non-profit was founded in 1974 and is dedicated to affirming the importance of the ceramic arts. They work to make clay an accessible medium to a broad range of people. They sell a number of pieces in their shop that are both lovely to look at and to hold.

I am always delighted to welcome new sponsors to the site. Ads start at $75 a month. More information can be found here.

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Links: Apples, Cranberries with Hibiscus, and Winners

We are smack dab in the middle of one of my favorite times of the year. I love this pocket of late fall days, when the weather is crisp, but not bone-chilling and the farmers markets are full of hearty greens and heads of cabbage. I appreciate the changing light and the earlier evenings. And I thrilled to be able to bring my basket of scarves back into rotation.

This last week was one of recovery for me. After four weeks straight of weekend classes and travel, I finally got to hunker down a little and commune with my couch. I didn’t get a whole lot accomplished, but I’m okay with that (not every week can be about forward momentum. Sometimes you need to stand still for a bit). Happily, I’m now ready to tackle the to-do list and slay the email dragon. Now, links!

Janet from A Raisin and  Porpoise has been on an apple roll lately. First, she talks applesauce, apple barbecue sauce, and pulled chicken as a vehicle for said sauce and then she goes and shares her technique for apple butter (which sounds positively genius).
Over on Local Kitchen, Kaela has made a batch of jam and almond crumb bars that use an entire half pint of jam. I know what I’m taking to my next potluck.
Honey sweetened hardy kiwi jam. What a great color they have during cooking!
Give your cranberry sauce extra zinginess with hibiscus.
These fave dolci cookies are made with a dimple in the center. I can’t help but imagine dressing them up with a little droplet of jam.
If you have a stash of rhubarb tucked into your freezer, pull some out and make this grapefruit and rhubarb marmalade.
I have a tiny bag of elderberries in my freezer that have been waiting for ages for a suitable application. I think I may take a cue from Julia and steep them in apple cider vinegar for a simple tonic.
More tips on how to tell if you have some of Ball’s new BPA-free lids.
Rebecca from Cakewalk reflects on this year’s preserving.
And best for last, a link to a story about me and why I put food into jars.

Now for the fun stuff! Winners in the Hamilton Beach SaladXpress giveaway. Here are the eight lucky folks who are going to get one of these handy food processors to use in their own kitchens!

#42 – Tina
#132 – Rosemeri
#397 – Brandon
#432 – Sandy Hines
#510 – Laurel Nguyen
#549 – Missy
#628 – Tim
#775 – Savanarola

Congratulations to all the winners! Stay tuned, this week’s giveaway will be appearing on Wednesday instead of Monday.

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Books: Bless This Food

When I was growing up, my family didn’t say grace before meals. Instead, when everyone was seated for dinner, we’d hold hands for a moment and get quiet. There’d be a couple deep breaths, an occasional giggle from my sister or me, and finally a quick squeeze of hands to signal that we were done.

The only time of year we did take a few extra minutes to share words of appreciation before eating was on Thanksgiving. Some years, my mom would pick out a poem to read. Others, there would be music and a harmonized rendition of Amazing Grace. After that, we’d go around the table and each person would get a chance to offer gratitude for something. After that, the feasting would begin.

Recently, a book landed in my mailbox that has me thinking about Thanksgiving and those moments before everyone tucks into the meal. Called Bless This Food, it is a collection of poems, prayers, and devotions from across a multitude of traditions and era. It includes everything from traditional prayers originating from the dominant world religions, to very old blessings in Middle English, to statements of gratitude from Native American cultures.

Towards the back, there’s even a pair of prayers show in American Sign Language (when I was little, I would have totally taken on the challenge of learning those). If you’re looking for some new words to share at your Thanksgiving table this holiday season, it might be just the book for you.

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Jam Demonstration at Occasionette for Second Saturday

Friends! My events calendar is finally starting to quiet down, but I do have something fun in store this weekend. I’ll be at Occasionette on E. Passyunk Saturday (that’s tomorrow!), November 9 from 5 to 7 pm for Second Saturday. I’ll be demonstrating a small batch of pear vanilla jam, and will bring a few other jams and chutneys to pair with cheeses. Please come down, check out all the lovely things they have at Occasionette, and chat jam making with me!

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Maple Sweetened Banana Oat Cake

I have been struggling with banana management lately. All summer long, Scott and I moved through bananas at a good clip and so they became a fixture on the grocery list. Then fall arrived and without conscious intention, we stopped eating them in an expedient manner. And so, every week or ten days, I was looking at the fruit basket and realizing that there are three or four bananas that had gone unpleasantly brown and needed to be salvaged in some way (this granola was one of my attempts to handle the overripeness).

While I’m currently abstaining from any banana purchases in attempt to stem the tide, a couple weeks back I was the semi-proud owner of three wilted bananas. My sister and her touring partner Rebecca were staying with us at the time, so I thought a slightly sweet, homemade treat for my sweet houseguests would be a good way to use up that sad fruit.

Both Raina and Becca are gluten-free eaters, so my normal banana bread would not do. And so, in a wave of pure genius, I adapted my mom’s old applesauce oat cake to work (as long as you use gluten-free oats, it’s safe for the gluten-avoiders). I cut the recipe in half, swapped mashed bananas for the applesauce, and left off any frosting (in an attempt to keep things not too sweet).

Friends, we ripped through that cake. Between Raina, Becca, and I, we demolished it in just under 24 hours (Scott didn’t get so much as a crumb). It gets sweetness from bananas, raisins, and just a drizzle of real maple syrup (please do use the real stuff). It’s both sturdy and wonderfully buttery tasting. And I will be making it again.

Print

Maple Sweetened Banana Oat Cake

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup real maple syrup
2 beaten eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1 cup oat flour*
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup golden raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8 x 8 cake pan.
Cream butter and maple syrup together. Add eggs and mashed banana and beat until well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, thoroughly combining after each addition.
Fold in raisins and pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://foodinjars.com/2013/11/maple-sweetened-banana-oat-cake/

*Oat flour is easily made by grinding rolled oats in your blender or food processor. If you make too much, save it and stir it into your next baking project or batch of oatmeal.

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Ball FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System

Sometime yesterday, Jarden Home Brands added a new Ball branded appliance to the Fresh Preserving online store. Called the Ball FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System, this device takes the place of a traditional water bath in the processing of jars for shelf stability. A couple weeks ago, I went up to New York for a media event at which the FreshTECH Automatic Canner was demonstrated and was intrigued by its potential (though just to be clear, I also have a number of reservations about it. We’ll get to those later).

Instead of submerging the jars in a pot of water, it works with just a few inches of water. The device uses that water to create steam and a small amount of pressure to ensure safely processed and sterilized jars. For those of you who are made nervous by the talk of pressure, know that this canner doesn’t get anywhere near the amount of pressure that your average pressure cooker or canner reaches. It goes to just 3 psi, in order to get the temperature to between 215 and 218 degrees F.

The capacity of this canner is three quart jars, four pint jars, or six regular mouth half pints. They don’t recommend stacking jars inside the canner, so if you were to use wide mouth half pints, it would only be able to hold four.

The way it works is that you put your full, closed jars of product in the canner and punch in a code that corresponds with the recipe you’ve used. It will slowly heat and build pressure. Once it has reached the appropriate temperature and pressure setting, it sings a little tune and the processing period begins. When the time is up, the canner then cools and depressurizes. The period the jars are in the canner are often longer overall than in a traditional canning, because of the necessary heating and cooling. However, it’s all hands-off time. You don’t have to tend a canning pot or check to ensure that it’s maintaining the proper boil.

Southern chef Hugh Acheson demonstrated the FreshTECH canner at the media event. I was amused by the fact that he cracked some of the same canning jokes that I typically make in my classes. Canning geeks, unite!

I haven’t had my hands one of these FreshTECH Canners yet, but am expecting a review unit in the next week or so (I’ll follow up with first-hand thoughts after I’ve had a chance to use it). But from observation, here are some of my initial thoughts.

It could be a great device to get nervous beginners acclimated to canning. It may also be a boon for people who want to can but have small kids or work responsibilities that makes it hard to tend a canning pot. You put the jars in, set the machine and it processes them without another thought. You just have to stay close enough to open it and remove the jars once the time is up.

One thing that gives me major pause is the fact that the manufacturers currently recommend that you only use this device with their recipes and they have no plans to offer instruction as to how you can adapt it for use with your favorite recipes. I can understand that they don’t want to be responsible for preserving projects gone awry, but to my mind, if a recipe is safe for boiling water bath canning, it should be safe for use in the FreshTECH Canner. The fact that it seems like they’re trying to create a closed system of recipes and products makes me hesitant.

The other thing that concerns me is what the FreshTECH communicates to the canning uncertain. I spend a goodly portion of my life calming the fears of beginning preservers and so am well acquainted with the level of anxiety that canning carries. Because this device uses a small amount of pressure to elevate the temperature a few degrees over the boiling point, I worry that some will interpret that to mean that the boiling water bath (the gold standard of high acid canning) is no longer good enough and that an elevated temperature is necessary for all products.

All that said, I am still curious about it and am looking forward to seeing first-hand how it works. My best case scenario is that it becomes a useful appliance in a home canner’s toolbox (though at $299.95, it will be a pricy tool).

What do you all think? Is this something you’d use?

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Giveaway: Hamilton Beach SaladXpress

Over the years, one of the things I’ve learned about myself is that I am not a kitchen minimalist. I like useful tools, sturdy knives that hold their edge, and gadgets that make cooking and preserving projects faster. If it works well and serves a role in my regular culinary life, I will make room for it in my overstuffed (but well-stocked) kitchen.

This is why assortment of kitchen gear includes a specialized yogurt strainer (for homemade Greek yogurt), a sweet little pan designed specifically for making caramel sauce, and Hamilton Beach’s SaladXpress. The SaladXpress is the newest tool to enter my kitchen and I’ve found that even though I’m outfitted with a food processor and a number of slicers, peelers, and graters, I’m happy to make room for it.

What I like about it is that it has a smaller footprint than a traditional food processor, dispenses right into your mixing bowl or saute pan, and cleans up more quickly than any food processor I’ve ever used. I’m totally smitten by the crinkle cut blade, because it means that I can give my pickles a classic wavy edge.

Thanks to a spur of the moment apple chip making project at my canning workshop last weekend (one of the class participants just happened to have a dehydrator in her car), I am currently on something of dehydrating kick. When I got home from the workshop, I pulled out the SaladXpress and my trusty Nesco and got down to work. I like to toss the sliced apples with a little cinnamon, lemon juice, and freshly grated ginger before laying them out on the trays.

Another thing that the SaladXpress does very well is the shredding of potatoes and other root vegetables for latkes and fritters. I find that it creates a flat, wide shred that feels closer to the one you get when you hand grate. I prefer it to the thicker, narrower piece that food processors typically produce (though I know that there are multiple schools of thought one the best way to prep potatoes for latkes).

Thanks to the incredibly generous folks at Hamilton Beach, I have eight of these SaladXpress devices to give away. Here’s how to enter.

Leave a comment on this post and tell me about a gadget or tool that you make room for in your kitchen. Whether it’s the spaetzle maker that you use twice a year or the ableskiver pan that you know you’ll make good use of someday, I want to hear about it.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Saturday, November 9, 2013. Winners will be chosen at random (using random.org) and will be posted on Sunday, November 10, 2013.
Giveaway is open to US residents.
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left on the blog, I cannot accept submissions via email or social media.

Disclosure: Hamilton Beach gave me a SaladXpress for review and photography purposes and is providing the eight units for giveaway. They did not compensate me to host this giveaway beyond the use of that single review unit. All opinions expressed in this post remain my own.
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