Canning Archives

Putting Italy in a Jar

September 20, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 12 Comments

My dining room table has this tendency to become an extra surface for things that I just want out of my way and I don’t have a specific place for yet. Anyone else have a place like this in their house? Or am I alone in my own very disorganized world?

I justify it because we use the dining room maybe ten times a year so the table is actually a good place for unwrapped Christmas gifts (although this will have to change once there are children…), frames that need to be hung, and, most recently, completed canning jars.

I snapped this picture of the cans on the table with my phone last week and posted it to my personal Facebook page.

The comments that it produced included words like “painful,” “yikes” and “work.” I was even told that I deserved a cocktail.

I won’t sugar coat anything; Canning is quite a bit of work.

And, I am not going to lie, I was kind of dreading getting started this year.

When canning, my kitchen is a mess, which tends to have a spiral effect on the rest of the house. Maybe it’s because canning also is a pretty good free-time suck as there is just a little time window when enough tomatoes are ripe so I feel like I “gotta get it done!”

But, about two weeks ago, I just did it. And, in that first batch, I remembered why I love it.

Canning makes me feel proud and accomplished. Canning makes me look forward to winter knowing that I will have my preserved summer tomatoes. And, even though canning is quite a bit of work, it also is pretty fun.

What may have helped fuel my excitement was that I started this years canning season with my favorite recipe: Marinara Sauce.

This marinara sauce is everything that is good in this world. Ripe tomatoes. Fresh herbs. Garlic. Red wine.

Seriously, the flavors together are like Italy in a jar. It’s so good. And, not to mention, really easy. I have this recipe memorized and often make double batches.

This marinara is great for pasta, lasagna, chicken parmesan, pizza, and you can even make it into a meat sauce with sausage or ground beef.

Marinara Sauce

2014-09-20 12:32:11

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Ingredients

6 pounds whole plum tomatoes
2 TBS. Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2/3 cups dry red wine
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

To blanch and prep the tomatoes

Clean tomatoes. Place tomatoes about 5-6 at a time in a pot of boiling water just until their skin splits. Immediately place in bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Remove the tomatoes skin, core the tomatoes and roughly chop. Place chopped tomatoes, including juices, into a large bowl.

To make the marinara sauce

In a large stock pot heat olive oil.
Add olive oil and pepper flakes and cook until just fragrant.
Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices into the pot. Then add all remaining ingredients to the pot stirring until combined.
Bring sauce to a boil and then simmer for about an hour, uncovered.

To process in a water bath

Ladle the sauce into hot and sterilized canning jars.
Leave 1/2 inch headspace.
Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes if using pint jars, 40 if using quarts.

Notes

This sauce will be chunky, but if you would like a smoother texture you can run an immersion blender through it.
The sauce can also be frozen if you prefer not to can.

Bloom. https://www.theblogbloom.com/

In addition to the marinara sauce, I have also made lots of salsa, chili base, pizza sauce and two different types of tomato soup!

Strawberry Fields Forever

June 17, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 7 Comments

Last summer my little brother, Danny, got a guitar for his high school graduation.

He had never played, but has an amazing ear for music. He can can hear a song and start strumming around until he has the notes. Give him an afternoon and he will have the gist of the song without any sheet music.

He can rock out to all the college favorites like “Wonderwall” (… he adds, “The girls love it!” Duh. Tell me something I don’t know. I was one of those freshman girls *not too* long ago.) and “Wagon Wheel.”

He is also pretty good at Mumford and Sons.

But, some of his favorites to play are older bands like Bob Dylan and The Beatles.

This summer he is living with Adam and I and brought his guitar along. So, we get the benefit and enjoyment of our own personal guitarist while relaxing in the evening after work.

I have learned to love having Danny softly playing “Black Bird” or my favorite, “Here Comes the Sun” in the background while I am in the kitchen. Sure beats the arguments on Real Housewives…

There is something so much sweeter about these great songs when they are from a single acoustic guitar.

And, speaking of sweet… Have you seen the strawberries that are coming out of my garden?!

Oh. My. Gosh.

They are seriously amazing.

We planted a bed of strawberries last summer and knew we couldn’t expect much the first year. And I thought there was a chance the second year might be kind of light too.

I was wrong.

Strawberry Garden Bed

We have so many, huge, juicy strawberries.

So, while Danny was jammin’ out in the guitar, I got to jamming in the kitchen.

Literally.

Strawberry Jam is a great way to use a lot of strawberries and canning the jam allows us to enjoy our spectacular strawberries all year long.

Strawberry Jam

2014-06-17 19:50:48

Yields 7

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Prep Time

35 min

Cook Time

5 min

Prep Time

35 min

Cook Time

5 min

Ingredients

3 Quarts Fresh Strawberries, hulled
1 1 3/4 ounce package of regular powdered fruit pectin
1/2 teaspoon of butter
7 cups sugar

Instructions

Crush Berries in a medium pot, one cup at at time until you have 5 cups of crushed berries.
Stir in pectin and butter.
Heat on high stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
Add sugar.
Return to boil and boil for one minute while constantly stirring.
Remove from heat and skim off foam.

To Process

Ladle into hot and sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Wipe the jars rims and add lids.
Process in boiling water bath for five minutes. (Start time when water bath returns to boil.)
Remove jars and set on cooling rack until cool and jars have sealed.

Bloom. https://www.theblogbloom.com/

Yes, You Can Can!

September 19, 2013 by theblogbloom.com 1 Comment

Can we talk about how it is almost October?

Where has September gone!?

My September, so far, can be summed up pretty quickly: Work and canning.

I recently told a few women at work that I needed to get some canning done over the weekend. They stared at me with blank faces.

“Claire, don’t take this the wrong way,” one of the ladies started, “You just don’t…hmm? How should I say this? You don’t seem like the kind of girl who would be into canning.”

Another chimmed in, “Yeah. I would never think you raised chickens or had a garden.”

The first lady continued, “You’re just really domestic. It’s just you don’t look like a girl who would do that. You are young and… pretty.”

Embarrassment burned in my cheeks and with a little laugh, I quickly changed the subject.

I got back to my office and began to question everything.

… Do I come off as a young and dainty ditz who only cares about my appearance?

What does someone with chickens look like?

… Okay, stereo-typically speaking, probably not like me in my business casual attire. Sure.

What does someone who cans look like?

That’s when it hit me.

Those women were imagining their grandmothers.

Those middle age women may have never canned because they didn’t have to. Their grandmothers, before food processing reached its prevalence, had to.

While canning today is not mandatory, it sure is rewarding. Not to mention, fun!

I recently purchased Linana Krissoff’s, Canning for a New Generation. The tips, recipes and photos all looked great. Plus, it just seemed appropriate… 😉

It’s a great resource for newbie canners.

There are also tons of other great resources all over the internet, but be cautious in your searches. Anyone can write a blog (… this can be a positive thing too. I am living proof!) and canning incorrectly can potentially be dangerous as botulism can live and grow in improperly processed cans. Eek!

That being said, don’t be too scared to can at home. Just do your homework and study up.

I had never canned anything before this summer and would suggest checking out Ball Jar’s website or the USDA’s recommendations found here: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html

Here are a few other good things I picked up from my rookie canning adventures:

Make sure you have all the tools you need. I have a canning kit that has a jar lifter, a funnel, a magnetic lid lifter, and a jar wrench. These kits are sold at any kitchen or home improvement stores. This time of year is a great time to get a canning kit on sale. I got ours a year ago at an end of season sale at a major discount.

The funnel is great for keeping products in the jar and off the rims.

The magnet helps place the lids onto the jars without using your fingers.

Tongs are key when canning. It helps in placing jars into the water bath and removing them at the end of processing.

I also use water bath, which is a huge pot. It can take some time to bring to a boil, so plan accordingly.

Be sure you are working with clean jars. I always inspect the jars before sterilizing them in the water bath for chips that could prevent the lids from sealing.

Jars and rings can be reused, lids cannot. Ball sell’s lids individually so you don’t have to invest in new jars every year.

There are a lot of seasoning packets that make creating different flavors of pickles, salsas, and sauces easy. They also include cooking times for the product you are creating so it takes out a lot of the guess work. I used these often, but did manage to create a handful of batches from scratch.

Once canning is complete, let jars sit. I leave ours alone on a cooling rack for twelve hours just to ensure they seal correctly.

Finally, be certain to do a victory dance for every “Pop!” you hear indicating the jar has sealed…!

Bonus Tip from Adam: Be prepared for a lot of dishes.

… I laughed when he told me to add this. It’s funny and true. We did it 100% without a dishwasher because our house is new and we don’t have power in our island yet. If we can do it, you can do it. (Although, I am sure a dishwasher helps.)

Even with the many rounds of dishes, canning is so gratifying.

I look at our dining room table, covered in Ball jars and smile.

The sauces and salsa’s made from our garden ingredients will be welcome in the winter when a fresh, flavorful tomato is hard to come by. I also can’t help but wonder if this will help keep our grocery bills down.

Don’t be scared or intimated.

Break down the stereotype.

You can can!

… And can in Charlotte York style!

Sunday Funday.

September 8, 2013 by theblogbloom.com 5 Comments

Happy First Football Sunday!

… Or Merry Christmas, if you are speaking with my husband.

Adam looks forward to this day all year long.

With harvest picking up, Sunday’s are his only day to relax and not worry (…too much) about work.

Adam and I have established a little bit of a tradition for early Sunday afternoon football games that date back to my first apartment in Indianapolis. It’s fabulous. We take our time waking up, make brunch, throw something in the crock pot for an early dinner after the game, all while drinking Bloody Mary’s.

Adam has spent the last few years trying to perfect the Bloody Mary.

And he really has done some research. He has befriended bartenders and expert tailgaters at football games and NASCAR races. (AKA all the professionals in this field.)

Ingredients have included everything from Pepper and Bacon vodka, pickle juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, pickled okra, bacon and many others.

PS- it’s been a really hard job being the taste tester for all these cocktails…

Adam’s grandmother recently shared her recipe for tomato juice with me after seeing how tomatoes were taking over my counter tops. While reading through the ingredients, I thought how it would make a great Bloody Mary base.

When I shared this with Adam, his passion for the perfect Bloody Mary came to life and he instantly got to work canning his own Bloody Mary mix.

Here is what he did:

Ingredients:

Approximately 20 Tomatoes (Adam used a few different kinds, including Roma and Beefsteak)
Two cloves garlic, minced
Two yellow onions, minced
Three ribs celery, chopped
1 Bell pepper, chopped
1 Poblano pepper, chopped (Any spicy pepper, like a jalapeno, would work)
1/3 cup prepared horseradish (Not horseradish sauce)
1 ½ teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Tobasco (Any red pepper sauce could work)
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
½ tablespoon salt
½ tablespoon celery salt

Heat tomatoes in boiling water for about three minutes. Place immediately into ice water bath. Core, skin and cut tomatoes into wedges.

Add all ingredients, including blanched tomatoes, to a large stock pot. Cook over medium heat. Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Vegetables should cook down and turn to juice.

Strain (we used a mesh strainer), pushing out as much juice as possible. After straining, return juice to the pot and bring strained tomato juice to a boil.

Put juice into 1-quart jars. (Make sure jars are clean and sanitized before processing begins. Ensure all lids are clean and unused.)
Process in boiling water bath with a half inch of water over the top of the sealed jar for forty minutes.

Remove from water bath and place on cooling rack for at least four hours. Make sure each jar seals. If jar does not seal, consume the mix in the next three days.

Today we tried to Bloody Mary mix for the first time. We mixed in about a shot glass of vodka and a splash of spicy pickle juice.

Perfectionist Adam said he liked them, but he still needed to work on it as he dug through the fridge for more Tobasco.

… annoying photographer. I know…

I, however, thought they were great. I loved the fresh flavor. It didn’t taste watered down or too salty. The pickle juice was perfect. There was enough spice to keep it interesting. Perfect.

And the Colts won! So, who knows?! Maybe this Bloody also has a splash of luck.

I got a Pickle…!

July 15, 2013 by theblogbloom.com 1 Comment

Last night we hosted a baby shower for a wife of one of Adam’s fraternity brothers. With the help of three of the other wives, it was a great party. It was our first time doing an actual, full meal for thirty people. And FOUR children.

Yep, we are there… I learned that I need to invest in some coloring books and maybe even a little table.

Yeah. So, two milestones this weekend: Big Dinner Party and Entertaining Kids. Thirty really is getting closer and closer.

This morning the dust settled and everyone, including Adam, was gone. He had to run up to Michigan. I had to get dishes done and things to pick up, so I flipped on the TV hoping for a good Real Housewives marathon to serve as background noise.

Turns out it was, apparently, amazing childhood movies of the nineties day. I “watched” a little bit of Home Alone 2, Liar Liar, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Little Rascals.

Man. I love, love, loved Little Rascals as a kid. I HAD to have the pink, Princess Jasmine style PJ’s that the Olsen twins wore in the girl’s sleepover scene. My sister and I wore them proud. At the same time, of course. I even remember a family friend comparing me to Darla. Maybe? A little? Not so sure.

And even at seven, I thought Porky and Buckwheat were so adorable. I mean, come on. They are precious.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJp5dCrRmb0]

It was funny timing because I actually had that “I Got a Pickle” song stuck in my head this week. I took my first stab at canning, with the help of my Mother-In-Law and Sister-In-Law, and started with pickles.

We planted pickling cucumbers in the spring and had been picking them for a couple weeks. Pickling cucumbers are similar to regular cucumbers. They grow on a vine, but are much shorter, a bit fatter and a much lighter shade of green.

We finally had about thirty so we were ready for pickles.

I have never canned before so it was a slight investment to get started. I bought pint sized mason jars, a water bath pot, and a canning kit (… I actually got this at Crate and Barrel on MAJOR sale last Fall) that includes things like a funnel, tongs and a jar lifter. I also picked up pickle canning seasoning packets because a few family friends recommend them and I was trying to make life easy for my first time canning. I chose a dill mix and bread and butter mix.

Nancy, my mother-in-law, and Amanda, my sister-in-law came over after work last Thursday and we got busy. After slicing all the pickles on the mandolin, (Which, I, of course, did not escape without injury. I sliced my thumb. So, be sure to use that safety thing if you use one…) we had to wash the jars then heat them up with boiling water. You can do this two different ways. You can heat them in the water bath pot or you can pour in boiling water and then pour it out. We poured in boiling water.

When I do this again, I will heat up the jars in the water bath so there are not as many things on the stove, I don’t have another thing to wash, and you have to get the water bath boiling for a later step anyways.

Then we stuffed the jars with the sliced cucumbers and filled them with the seasoning that we mixed and heated up with vinegar for the dills and sugar for the bread and butter pickles. We filled the jars until they had a half inch left until the top. We were sure to wipe the rims and make sure there were not any air pockets in the jars before we put on the heated lids and screw bands.

The BIG water bath pot.

The full jars then went into the water bath. Both recipes called for the jars to be submerged in the boiling water for five minutes. When they were done we put them on a cooling rack so they could cool down and seal. We read that you should leave the jars alone for twelve hours.

This was the fun part.

When the jars seal, they make a “pop.” Every pop, the three of us cheered as if we just found out the shoes we loved were on sale.

Dill pickles cooling.

A “Little Victory” as Amanda called it each time we heard a pop.

Later that night, I found we had a BIG Victory. Every single one of our jars sealed.

Bread and Butter Pickles

I finally gave a jar of dill pickles a try tonight. Dinner for me was a smorgasbord of left overs, so pickles fit in really well with the random things that made up my meal. I will admit; I was a little hesitant. I really didn’t know what to expect, so I smelled the open jar before I tasted them. They smelled just like dill pickles. I grabbed a couple slices and, sure enough, they tasted just like dill pickles!

The one difference was that they didn’t have that crispy, crunchy texture that pickles from the store have. I love that about pickles, so I reached out and read a few blogs. Sounds like I let my cucumbers get to ripe. A lot of what I read said you need to start with very freshly picked pickles. I had mine saved up so I could do one big canning day.

Lesson learned. Next time I will do the pickles in smaller batches and try to get that crispy, crunch.

Do you have any tips or tricks to get crunchy canned pickles?