Marisa McClellan's Blog, page 134

Cookbooks – Smoke & Pickles

Back in the late winter and early spring, when I was still in the drafting stage of my new book, I had a hard time reading anyone else’s food writing. I’d occasionally flip through review copies and look at the recipe headings, but I couldn’t make myself focus on the words. For a girl who often reads cookbooks like novels, it was a strange time.

One of the books that arrived during this period of distraction was Edward Lee’s Smoke and Pickles. I knew it was going to be exactly the kind of thing I would love and so didn’t even so much as crack the spine until I had untangled my brain enough to give it the attention it deserved.

About a month ago, I finally pulled it off my towering stack of books and spent some time reading through the book. I was so glad I’d waited, because it turned out to be just as good and evocative as I’d hoped.

I marked a bunch of recipes to try (focusing heavily on the section devoted to pickles) and moved it to the much smaller pile of books near the kitchen that are actually destined to be cooked from (my cookbook sorting system is the kind that looks like utter disorganization to anyone but me).

I particularly liked the few pages devoted to the four seasons of kimchi. Though Lee admits that his first instinct is to associate kimchi with cabbage, he also states that over the years, he’s trained himself to think of kimchi as a verb. Just about anything can be kimchi-ed and he proves it with recipes for red cabbage bacon, green tomato, white pear, and spicy napa kimchis.

 

I was also taken by the recipe for pickled rosemary cherries. I’ve pickled cherries many times in the past, but have never thought to pop a stem of rosemary into the jar with the fruit. I thought it was brilliant and so took the recipe out for a spin. It wasn’t written for preserving and so I tweaked a few things to make it shelf stable (because this time of year, my fridge is positively bursting).

 

The result is a pickled cherry that is herbaceous and tangy. It’s just the sort of thing that goes well with cheese and fatty cured meats. Get my adapted recipe after the jump!

Print

Pickled Rosemary Cherries

Ingredients

2 pounds sweet cherries
3 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 cups rice vinegar
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns

Instructions

Prepare a small water bath canner and three pint jars. Place lids in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer.
Wash cherries, pick over for any with moldy bits. Remove stems. I don't pit the cherries before pickling, as I find they keep their shape better that way. However, if you prefer, you can pit them before pickling.
Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, sea salt, and black peppercorns in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When the brine reaches a boil, tumble the cherries into the pan. Bring it back to a boil and remove it from the heat.
Tuck rosemary sprigs into the prepared jars and then funnel in the cherries. Cover the fruit with brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Tap jars to remove air bubbles and add more liquid, if necessary.
Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from canner and let them cool on a folded kitchen towel.
When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and check seals. Wash jars to remove any sticky spilled brine.
Let cherries rest for at least two weeks before serving. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://www.foodinjars.com/2013/06/cookbooks-smoke-pickles/


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Free Canning Demo at Williams-Sonoma at the Bellevue

Hey Philadelphia area folks! This Saturday, June 29, I’m going to be doing a apricot jam demonstration and book signing at the Williams-Sonoma at the Bellvue (the entrance to the store is on Walnut Street, half a block west of Broad Street).

The demo starts at 1 pm and last about 45 minutes. When the jam is finished cooking, I’ll have tastes of it available, as well as books to sell and sign. I’m also planning on bringing a couple other jars of goodies from my pantry, so there will be plenty to sample and get you excited about canning up your own summer produce.

This event is totally free and I’d love to see some of you there! If you can’t come, make sure to follow the Williams-Sonoma Philly Twitter account, as they’ll be posting photos from the event.

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Free Canning Demo at Williams-Sonoma at the Bellvue

Hey Philadelphia area folks! This Saturday, June 29, I’m going to be doing a apricot jam demonstration and book signing at the Williams-Sonoma at the Bellvue (the entrance to the store is on Walnut Street, half a block west of Broad Street).

The demo starts at 1 pm and last about 45 minutes. When the jam is finished cooking, I’ll have tastes of it available, as well as books to sell and sign. I’m also planning on bringing a couple other jars of goodies from my pantry, so there will be plenty to sample and get you excited about canning up your own summer produce.

This event is totally free and I’d love to see some of you there! If you can’t come, make sure to follow the Williams-Sonoma Philly Twitter account, as they’ll be posting photos from the event.

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Canning 101: Tall Jars for Asparagus, Green Beans, and More

Whenever I’m about to start a canning project, I spent a few moments thinking about what I’m making, to ensure that I grab the best jars to do the job. This means that when I can jams, jellies, and fruit butters, I reach for the half pint (or smaller!) jars, aware that it will take me awhile to move through a sweet preserve.

When I pickle vegetables or can whole fruit that have a tendency to float, I use a regular mouth jar, knowing that the jar’s shoulders will help keep the veg positioned under the level of the brine. I do  tomatoes in quart jars, since I’ve found that’s the most useful size in my day-to-day cooking. And I frequently reach for a pint & a half jar when making pasta sauce, as a pint is never quite enough and a quart is always too much.

And when it comes to pickling tall, skinny things like asparagus, green beans, and garlic scapes, I reach for lanky jars that will give me plenty of real estate for the vegetable’s full length. I’ve found that there are three readily available versions of the long, tall jar and so thought I’d do a little show and tell post, to make everyone aware of their options.

First is the Ball Pint and Half Jars. They are sold in boxes of nine, hold 24 ounces and are 6 3/4 inches tall. Like all traditional mason jars, the jars and rings are reusable, while the lids need to be replaced with each batch.

Depending on where you buy them, the price on these jars starts at around $9.99 for a box and tops out around $20. The best deal I’ve found online is through True Value. The jars cost $11.99 a box and if you select their free “ship to store” option, you don’t pay any shipping fees. The only hitch there is that you need to have a True Value store nearby.

The next option is 1/2 liter cylindrical jar from Weck. It holds a little more than a traditional pint jar, but instead of having that space in a short, squat jar, it’s been stretched out so that you get about 8 1/4 inches of canning real estate.

These jars are beautiful, feel substantial, and are endlessly reusable. According to the US directions, the seals need to be replaced each time they are used. However, European instructions say they can be reused until they start to crack or show signs of age.

The price for a box of six of these jars ranges from $18.25 (from weckjars.com) to $29.95 (that’s the regular Williams-Sonoma price. However, these jars are currently selling for $23.96, because they’ve got their canning stuff on sale). Shipping varies for jars bought through Weck Jars. Right now, shipping is including on Williams-Somona, but I don’t how long that will last.

Finally, we have the dark horse jar. It’s a 16 ounce Paragon jar. It is 6 3/4 inches tall and seals with a one-piece lug lid (make sure to get one with a button, so you easily tell that it has sealed).

Made in the US and sold through jar distributors like Fillmore Container, this is the style jar that commercial producers are using for their tall, skinny preserves. Home canners can reuse these jars, but do need to replace the lids with each new batch.

They cost $5.61 a dozen. However, the lids are sold individually and cost $.25 a piece, which adds $3 to the total. The shipping can also add up, particularly if you’re buying just a single box. In the end, a dozen of these jars with lids would cost around $22 to get to me in Philadelphia. If this is the style you want to go for, see if you have friends who’d like to go in on an order with you, as it can save you cash in the end.

There you have it! A round-up of tall, skinny jars! Which one will you choose for your next tall project?

Disclosure: Fillmore Container gave me a box of the Paragon jars for review purposes. They didn’t pay me to write this post and my thoughts and opinions remain entirely my own.
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Giveaway: New Cuppow Colors

There is fun news from our friends at Cuppow. Earlier today, they announced that they’ve added two new colors to their line-up. This means, in addition to being to choose from clear, blue and orange, you can now also get your Cuppow in mint (wide-mouth) or bright pink (regular-mouth).

What’s more, the original wide-mouth Cuppow is now available with the Straw-Tek opening, making it increasingly useful for the iced drinks we’re all so fond of this time of year. As you can see, I tried my hand at the whole “write on the image” thing that’s so popular these days, to call out the differences.

As always, the colors are each associated with a charity, which receives 5% of the profits from that particular lid. When you buy the mint lid, Cradles to Crayons benefits. A portion of the profits from the shocking pink version go to Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

Thanks to Cuppow creators Joshua and Aaron, I have five prize packs to give away. Each winner will receive one regular-mouth pink lid, one wide-mouth mint lid, and one Team Cuppow cycling cap.

If you want a chance to win, here’s what you do.

Leave a comment on this post, telling me what you’re drinking to cool down this summer. Water with herbs? Home-brewed kombucha? Iced coffee? Gin and tonic? Whatever your drink du jour is, I want to hear about it.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Saturday, June 29, 2013. Winners will be chosen at random (using random.org) and will be posted to the blog on Sunday, June 30, 2013.
Giveaway is open to all.
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left on the blog, I cannot accept submissions via email.

Disclosure: Cuppow gave me review units of the new Cuppows to try and are also providing the goods for this giveaway. However, my opinions remain, as always, entirely my own. 
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Giveaway: Fisk & Fern Pickle Tea Towel

A Very Large Bowl of Pickles for a Potluck

Last Saturday, I taught a class about cucumber pickles. We made quick pickles, we made preserved pickles, and spent the afternoon filling a church social hall with the arresting scent of boiling vinegar. Everyone went home happy and with jars of pickles clutched in their hands. I went home exhausted (my standard state after a class) and with a 12 cup measuring cup filled with the leftover cucumbers.

When I got home, I made turkey sandwiches for Scott and me, and contemplated those cucumbers. I considered a batch of preserved pickles (the canning pot was already on the stove, so it wouldn’t have been too much of a hassle), or cooking up a salt brine for a round of kosher dills. Eventually though, my brain skipped ahead to the next afternoon. I was invited to a cookout at a friend’s house and needed something to bring. A bowl of quick pickles seemed like just the thing.

In my years of canning, one of the things I’ve learned is that while people appreciate it when you bring jars of preserved pickles and condiments, there’s really nothing that thrills a pickle-loving crowd more than when you show up holding a very large bowl filled with crunchy, slightly sweet, gently spicy, tangy pickles.

I was introduced to the idea of the very large bowl of pickles many years ago. I was the potluck host that time, and my friend Wendy brought a full-to-the-brim bowl of homemade pickles to the party. At the end of the evening, the bowl thoroughly emptied of every cucumber spear and their deliciousness was all anyone could talk about.

In addition to keeping the leftover brine that night (Wendy okay-ed it), I have long since adopted the practice of making and bringing massive batches of quick pickles to parties. I know how to spot a good idea when I see it.

 

On Saturday, the concept of a very large bowl of pickles also had the added benefit of using up some lingering ingredients. I had green onions, cilantro (both also leftover from the class) and a bundle of mint. None of it was going to weather more than a day or two more and so needed to be used.

Now, let it be said right now that if you’re not a fan of cilantro or you can’t stand mint, they can be omitted or swapped for some other tasty green herb. Because this is a quick pickle, nearly every component of the dish can be altered, traded or left out completely.

I pulled out a large bowl that happened to have a tight-fitting lid (to control the inevitable pickle brine slosh). Into the bottom, I heaped green onion segments, slivered garlic, chopped cilantro, torn mint leaves and a generous palmful of red chili flakes (had I had a fresh hot pepper, I would have used that instead).

I cut up 10 or 12 large Kirby cucumbers and crammed as many as I could on top of the green onions, mint, cilantro, garlic, and red chili flakes.

Then came the brine. I used 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 2 cups water, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and a generous pinch of salt. I will also confess that instead of preparing the brine on the stovetop, I combined all the ingredients in the measuring cup you see there and microwaved it until the sugar was dissolved (since it wasn’t being preserved, there was no real reason to bring it to a full boil).

Once the brine was in (magically, I had the exact right amount), I jiggled the bowl a little and squeezed in a few more cucumber slices. Then, the lid went on and the bowl went into the fridge for an overnight rest. Just to give you an idea of the time commitment these pickles require, once I had all the ingredients in place, it took less than ten minutes from start to finish (and that included pauses to take these photos).

 

On Sunday afternoon, I wrapped the bowl in a towel (just in case of leakage) and toted them out to West Philly for the party. Happily, the pickles were very well-received. More than once, I heard people commenting on their crunchy, sweet, spicy, pucker. Later that evening, I also got a quick follow-up text from the host that simply said, “Your pickles were amazing!”

The very large bowl of pickles wins again!

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Links: Kimchi, Cherries, and Winners

The last week has been an intensely frenzied one. Lots of classes, lots too many deadlines, and an inability to stop buying fruit has left me dashing from one project to the next. Still, I managed to collect a handful of links to share with you.

Cucumber kimchi bites. Sounds like just the thing for this kimchi lover. 
I’ve made chutney with nearly every kind of fruit, but somehow never thought to do it with cherries! This cherry chutney will definitely be the next batch to come out of my kitchen.
Strawberry, rhubarb, and ginger cordial. Sounds so nice!
I liked reading Allison Carol Duffy’s five tips for home canners. She’s the author of the newly published Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin cookbook (I’ll have more about it in the next few weeks!) and she blogs at Canning Craft.
Homemade strawberry jam cooked over an open fire. Just like they used to do it.
A fabulous tip from Food 52 on how to extend the lifespan of your berries.
Peperonata. It’s a sludgy, savory stew of tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Not safe for boiling water bath canning, but just the thing to have a few jars of in the freezer.
Lacto-fermented asparagus. Grab a couple bundles before it’s out of season entirely!
Soaked and slow roasted almonds. I’ve been meaning to do this for many months now.
Finally, beautiful pictures of strawberry preserves.

 

Now, on to the Fisk & Fern tea towel winners. I was so pleased that so many people entered this one and shared their feelings about the recent rise in the popularity of canning. Our three winners are:

#144, Becky
#184, Kira
#250, Denise8

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Strawberry Picking at Rowand Farms

In an effort to switch things up a little, today I have a post of pictures and no (or at least, not very many) words. These are from a recent trip to pick strawberries at Rowand’s Farm in Glassboro, NJ. The strawberries and sweet cherries are now done for the season, but if you’re in the area, I hear they’ll have sour cherries through the weekend.

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Small Batch Strawberry Fig Jam

A couple weeks back, I went to a dinner hosted by California Figs. At the end of the dinner, when I was absolutely full to the bursting point, the nice folks who had organized the dinner handed me a little colander of fresh figs to take home. Though I couldn’t quite imagine ever eating again, I said yes to the figs and walked home with them perched carefully in my purse.

It was a busy weekend and so the figs languished in the fridge for two whole days. It wasn’t until Sunday night (the dinner had been on Thursday) that I was able to take stock and determine what was on the verge of going bad.

There was a bundle of basil that became walnut pesto. A bundle of kale was chopped and toasted into chips. At last, I was down to figs and a scant quart of rapidly softening strawberries from our Saturday CSA pick-up.

Though I’d never had strawberry fig jam, I was fairly certain it could be done (and a quick internet search showed that I was not nearly the first to combine these two). And so I chopped the fruit, weighed it and added half as much sugar. It all went into a jar and then into the fridge for an overnight rest.

Two days later, I circled back around to the jar. What I found was glorious. The strawberries and figs had mellowed and married. I scraped the contents of the jar into a skillet, added a little lemon juice and cooked it, stirring all the while, until I could draw a path through the jam with my spatula.

I ended up with just enough to fill three half pint jars, which I processed in my 4th burner pot. I sent one jar to my dad for Father’s Day, gave another to a friend as a thank you and am saving the final jar for late fall, when both fresh strawberries and figs are just a memory.

A note: Do remember that figs are among that group of fruits that are a bit low on acid for safe boiling water bath preserving. Any time you work with them, it’s important to either combine them with higher acid fruits or to add some lemon juice in order to boost the acid levels. As you can see, I’ve done both here to ensure a perfectly safe product.

Print

Small Batch Strawberry Fig Jam

Ingredients

1 pound strawberries, chopped
1 pound fresh figs, chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced

Instructions

Combine chopped strawberries, figs, and sugar. If you're not going to make the jam right away, funnel them into a sealable container and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
When you're ready to make the jam, prepare a small boiling water bath canner and three half pint jars. Place lids in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer.
Scrape macerated fruit, juices and any undissolved sugar out into a 12-inch skillet. Place over high heat and cook, stirring very regularly, for 8-12 minutes.
Jam is finished when the volume has reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. Another way to test for doneness is to drag your spoon or spatula through the jam. If the space you've created doesn't fill in immediately with jam, it is done.
Funnel jam into prepared jars, wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from canner and place them on a folded kitchen towel to cool.
When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals by gripping the edges of the lid and raising the jar up about an inch holding only onto the lid. A well-sealed jar should hold fast.
Sealed jars are ready for pantry storage, where they'll keep for up to one year if left unopened. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://www.foodinjars.com/2013/06/small-batch-strawberry-fig-jam/


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Giveaway: Fisk & Fern Pickle Tea Towel

When I was a kid, one of my big life disappointments was that it was nearly impossible to get a keychain or pencil with my name on it without placing a special order (because when you’re six, nothing is more important than having something with your name on it).

When I hit my teens, suddenly my name went through a round of explosive popularity growth and I started seeing it everywhere. By then, I wasn’t nearly as excited about a miniature plastic license plate that said Marisa.

I went through something similar when I first started canning. Back in those early days, mason jars weren’t all the rage that they currently are and so there wasn’t much in the way of towels, prints, or tee-shirts featuring jams, pickles and other preserves.

Then suddenly, canning was hot and a world of kitchen linens, jar chandeliers, decorative mason mugs and jar-related art appeared out of the ether. I was delighted by it and am forever keeping my eyes open for particularly good representations of this canning art.

To my mind, the pickle tea towel from Fisk & Fern is most decidedly in the good canning art category. All of Fisk & Fern’s towels, cards, and aprons are designed, drawn, and handprinted by owner Laura Fisk in her Austin, Texas studio.

Thanks to Laura, I have three of these charming pickle towels to give away today to three lucky winners. Here’s how to enter.

Leave a comment on this post and share a thought about the recent popularity of canning.
Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, June 21, 2013. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday.
Giveaway open to everyone.
One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.

Disclosure: Fern & Fisk provided me with four pickle tea towels. One for photography purposes and three to give away. No money changed hands and my opinions remain forever my own. 
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