building your real food pantry: plan for a tomato workhorse you can count on

Posted on by
19

IMG_0284

Fresh from my garden tomatoes, onion and garlic ready for oven-roasting

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For a girl forever bawking about eating what’s in season, you might think what I’m about to share with you is a little out of whack.  Originally, like everyone else, I thought this would be a good topic for later in summer when tomatoes are front and center.

But recently, while writing this for A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa, it struck me that now actually is the perfect time to talk about putting up tomatoes.

What?

I’m not kidding. Now is the time to start planning what you’re going to grow in your garden and/or how much preserving you need to do to fill your pantry with the basics you’ll need for the following 12 months.

If I wait to talk about it until you’re drowning in tomatoes,  I’ll be too late to be much help.

IMG_0817IMG_0819

A staple in my kitchen – tomato passata. like puree, only better

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over the years, I’ve pared down my pantry needs to actual needs rather than whimsical wants.

I used to can cooked sauce, whole tomatoes and other more specific items like salsa or ketchup. Each pantry item involved a sweaty day in the kitchen and its own set of ingredients & procedures.

Now don’t get me wrong; I actually love that sweaty day spent in the kitchen. But today, I prefer one  multi-purpose workhorse item like this versatile recipe for tomato passata, rather than several specific items like different sauces & salsa.

What’s a workhorse recipe?

  • Seasoned as little as possible to let the flavor of the ingredient shine and for greatest kitchen versatility later.
  • Useful in a variety of ways and with little meal-time fussery. I still want to be able to cook super-fast from jars and cans – you know, the American way.  I just want my jars and cans to be ones I filled myself with ingredients I feel good about.
  • A flexible preserving process.  I often interrupt in the middle if necessary, break things up into 2 sessions and/or scale it up.  I need a recipe that’s not too persnickety.

IMG_0823IMG_0846P1000270

Home-made sauce in a jif, quickie childhood favorite cream of tomato soup with no processed ingredients and my very favorite ketchup

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tomato passata is a recipe from my tattered and stained favorite River Cottage Handbook #2; Preserves.  The author, Pam Corbin, makes  passata to use as a base for all sorts of soups, stews and curries. Check it out here. 

I admit I had no clue what passata was, but now I wonder how I ever lived without it.  This one simple to make item is all I need to make a few of my often served favorites:

The beauty of making my ketchup from passata is that I can do it later in the season when the kitchen’s not so hot and I don’t have so many other pressing projects competing for my time. Plus, I’ve already done half the work, so it hardly takes any time at all.

IMG_0354

Holy-wow do I like this ketchup…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Being the heirloom/heritage breed type, I grow my own, so it’s time to order your seeds to be sure to get the varieties you want and be sure to get the seeds started on time. How many plants will I need to make enough passata for the year?

I use about one quart of passata every two weeks, so I’ll need about 26 quarts. Each quart uses approximately 4 ½ pounds of fresh tomatoes, and a good heirloom variety tomato plant in Pennsylvania can yield approximately 9 pounds give or take. There will be some fudgery at first since everyone’s experience will vary, but this is a good place to start.

So, to keep me in passata for a year, here’s my tomato math:

26 (quarts of passata) x 4.5 (pounds of tomatoes needed for 1 quart) = 117 pounds of tomatoes.

117 (pounds of tomatoes) ÷ 9 (estimated pounds yielded per plant in my area) = 13 plants.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Now, calculate the same way for your canned whole tomato needs then round-up to be sure to have plenty of fresh eating tomatoes and for sharing with your non-gardening friends.

I like to have at least 20 plants minimum for my two person household, though I’ve been known to attempt as many as 40.

Now, maybe the growing part is not for you, and I’m not here to tell you any different, although I admit I wish you’d consider it. Farmer’s markets are full of farmers growing all sorts of heirlooms and organics. If you belong to a CSA you probably get swamped with tomatoes in the summer, or maybe you have a great grocery selling locally grown produce.

No? Well, you can fix that by finding a local grower here.

Okay, you have no excuse for not at least trying this once, even if  just to say you did. I’m pretty confident once you get spoiled with a home-made pantry, you won’t want to go back to store-bought ever again.

What’s your  favorite tomato workhorse? 

P1010894_2

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday. What’s that you ask? It’s an ambitious and enlightening collection of posts from bloggers all over about issues near and dear to my heart: real food and natural living. Check it out!

ten tips to turn fuzzy “eat better” resolutions into reality

Posted on by
4

food

Did you resolve to make this the year you started to eat more wholesome foods? Are you planning to learn to make bread, start a garden, can & preserve, purchase meat direct from farmers, tackle home dairy or fermenting projects?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I have a complicated love/hate relationship with New Year’s Resolutions.  It’s taken me a long time to realize that making a long list of bloated “shoulds” that truth-be-told I really don’t want to do is kind of a negative way to spend my time. 

I figure if I have to feel bad about myself, it should be about something that really means something to me, so I make sure that when I set a resolution, it’s not just chatter about things I think I’m supposed to want to do but know I never will.

Did you made a resolution to eat better in 2013?  

If so, I’m going against the grain and telling you this; don’t make it an official Capital-R Resolution unless you really, truly mean it.

And, if you do really, truly mean it, come on over to Spain in Iowa with me to start turning that fuzzy idea into a real plan of action. 

Come ON…

oh sad day…

Posted on by
15

P1010972

Sometimes I wonder if I’m creating a fiction here. A fairy tale written with extra helpings of happy, interesting and perky and stingy with the dark, melancholy and gritty.

If so, I don’t mean to.  It’s just that I’m eager to share things I like, and tend to pass on dwelling on the things that make me cry. I’m kind of normal that way…

Hannah Banana died this week. She gave no real warning, but it was looming. She is almost twenty and has been losing her bloom,  so I’ve been kind of bracing myself for the inevitable for a while.

Still, I wasn’t ready.

Ho, ho, ho.

As always, I find solace in a brisk walk outside, doing farm chores and reading the contemporary Thomas Moore.

In his book The Education of the Heart, he says this:

“No mysteries are more profound and confounding than loss, suffering, ending, illness, and death. The death of someone close reminds us of what is important and may give us back our soul, but still the cruelties of life seem senseless. They tarnish our optimism and challenge our faith, and yet, oddly, they retain the power to make us ever more human. They do so only when we give them attention and speak for, ritualize, and keep in memory events that hurt, confuse, and keep us in the dark.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He also shared this poem from Mary Oliver, “In Blackwater Woods”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To live in this world

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Speaks for me perfectly – I let go, though it’s not what I want to do.

Goodbye Mrs. B,  you’ll always be Head Cow to me…

P1010830 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You haven’t met Hannah? Click here to find out why we should all try to be a little more like her. 

 

in response to unspeakable tragedy…

Posted on by
5

Since we live in a society where commentary on every nuance of every single thing has become pretty exhausting, it’s inevitable that want to or not, we have seen hash after rehash of the horror of the shooting of  20 young students and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

In contrast, rather than throw in with another opinion, I think a moment of silent reflection would be a fitful response.

That, and this:

three days of love

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What’s this you ask?

It’s a pledge to commit to share words and actions of love on December 20, 21 & 22.  You can upload photos and videos, share with friends and vote for your favorite submissions. Your submissions will be shared on a live global broadcast.

Many of the spiritual leaders of our time – Marianne Williamson, Don Miguel Ruiz and  Deepak Chopra to name just a few are already participating – how about you?

Will you commit to make such a small personal effort with the potential to mean so much?

And, I suppose I lied about the moment of silence bit because guess what?  I have a couple of things to say:

1. Don’t forget the first responders in your thoughts & prayers because they will be scarred forever by the job they had to do.

2. In the wake of random acts of violence, let’s not forget to commit random acts of kindness.

3. Let’s not focus our attentions on the gunman, but instead on healing for the victims’ families and the acts of heroism and kindness.

A moment of blessed silence for all those darkened by this event…

brighten up your holiday cookie tray with naturally sweetened fruit swirls

Posted on by
Reply

fruit swirl cookies

I’m over at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa today with a recipe for my favorite fruit swirl cookies.

These cookies have no processed sugar, not that you’d ever know it – they’re rich and yummy and plenty sweet. Come on over and see:

DIY gifts – a savory real food alternative to holiday sweets

Posted on by
3

103_1462

CRUSTY, SALTY HOME MADE SOFT PRETZELS, HOT FROM THE OVEN.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The holidays are overwhelming in the sheer quantity of baked goods that need to be consumed or discarded right away.  So, I try to gift items that can be saved for a time when the pantry isn’t so stuffed and a quick, wholesome snack I don’t have to make myself really IS a helping hand.

And, while I am a cookie fan myself, many people prefer a savory option.  These pretzels frozen and unbaked make a great gift.  I mean, who doesn’t love a crusty, warm, soft pretzel especially with a dip in cheese sauce or mustard?

Plus, I can be sure the ingredients are of the quality and provenance I choose.

Soft pretzels are a perfect real food snack for a non-industrial pantry. For lots of reasons.  They’re baked, not fried.  They’re wholesome & filling. And pretty yummy if I do say so myself.

I love this recipe based on one in The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook. Love her or hate her, when it comes to real, good, timeless food, Martha delivers. Really, I don’t know why this book is handicapped with the holiday label – it’s a great reference for any special cooking occasion, all year-long.

This recipe has a secret: poaching the pretzels in water & baking soda for that critical chewy exterior just like the commercially baked ones. Click here for the printable recipe.

I’ll let Martha show you how to twist those pretzels: 

103_1558

103_1458

PRETZELS POACHED, SHAPED, BRUSHED WITH EGG WASH & SPRINKLED WITH SALT.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Stock the freezer with a double batch and you’re ready for anything…

I like to make this recipe all the way to just before baking, freeze the unbaked pretzels overnight in a single layer, then package the frozen pretzels two to a small freezer bag. Write the cooking instructions on the bag with a Sharpie and stash them in a safe spot in your freezer.

How easy is this? You bake them straight from the freezer in just 15 minutes for a warm, salty, crusty treat perfect with mustard or cheese sauce.

The simplest way to package these up is to stack a few bags of frozen pretzels and wrap in freezer paper, just like at the butcher shop.  A simple white package, decorated with a festive ribbon takes just a few minutes.  You can just pop the already-wrapped package into your freezer until it’s gifting time.

Make some extra for your own freezer and you’re ready too for those inevitable unexpected gifting situations and unexpected visitors.

You’d have to be the Grinch-iest Scrooge of all to not appreciate this gift of holiday cheer…   

What’s your favorite way to eat soft pretzels?

a simple, sweet holiday gift idea

Posted on by
13

IMG_0697

What’s this?  It’s Apple Gack!

Apple Gack?  You know, just another colonial culinary tradition tossed aside and forgotten for no good reason.  Old time New Englanders called it apple molasses, apple cider jelly, or apple cider syrup.

But Apple Gack isn’t just a quaint novelty – it can be an affordable culinary workhorse like honey and maple syrup. It’s a great solution when you want a more natural and affordable sweetener.  And, even sweeter, it’s one you can create easily in your own kitchen without stinging bees and maple sugaring.

Fortunately, the Slow Foods Ark of Taste has the good sense to included Boiled Cider & Cider Jelly on their list of endangered foods worth preserving. To learn more, visit their site for a brief and entertaining history and links to the few commercial producers still selling this bit of culinary history.

Here’s a little of what Slow Foods has to say:

“Boiled cider became an important homestead product in colonial New England (and elsewhere, as European settlers pushed west). During the American Revolution, it was one of the indigenous sweeteners, like maple syrup, which could readily be produced on the farm and that did not need to be imported, like brown sugar and molasses, which came via trade with British plantations in the West Indies and were thus associated with the African slave trade. Like maple sugar, it represented a local, seasonal, and economical option for many inland or “hill” farmers, many of whom did not live close to the main coastal or riverine trade routes.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The reason I’m more than a little excited about apple molasses is that in my quest to use ingredients from my own farm, one of the biggest stumbling blocks is sweeteners. They are either from exotic ingredients, unsustainable farming or corporate sources or require unattainable home kitchen procedures.

But guess what I have plenty of here in Western Pennsylvania?  Apples!  All shapes & sizes!

And guess what I’m completely capable of doing all by myself with equipment already in my kitchen? Boiling and spooning into jars.

IMG_0707

This is so simple, I can’t even truly call it a recipe. It’s somewhat adjustable depending on your personal preference and how you will actually end up using your molasses. I want to bake with it, so I wanted mine thick, like molasses.

If you prefer, you can leave it thinner and use it as a syrup, a concentrate for apple-y sparkling sodas and a secret weapon to boost your apple pies into legendary status.

The goal is to reduce your cider to 1/7 to 1/10 its original volume, depending on whether you want a liquid syrup or a more molasses-like consistency like mine.

IMG_0722

While I would have loved to have made this from apples harvested from my own trees, if you recall, this year, there were none.  And even if there were, my chance to beat my four-legged apple trolls is slim at best.

Bling in the Apples

So, I turned to my neighbors at Apple Castle for some of their yummy cider. I have a fairly large stainless stock pot, so I went for two gallons.  If your pot isn’t so large, I’d recommend sticking with one gallon, at least the first time.  The gack does have a way of foaming up and doubling in size, and boiling over would make a pretty nasty mess.

I took it slow, bringing my cider to a simmer and allowing it to boil for several hours. The more you try to do at once, the longer the process takes.  It doesn’t require much supervision, but you should be around to give it a stir and a skim regularly, and the end requires your full attention.

Your apple molasses will develop a deep caramelized flavor and beautiful, rich amber color. Mine took several hours, and from two gallons of cider yielded a quart of syrup.

I can’t wait to use it to sweeten a big pot of beans this weekend, I’ve enjoyed it as sweetener in my tea, and I’m baking cookies with it later today. Use it as you’d use honey, molasses or maple syrup.

P1020395

Package it up into holiday jars or bottles, and wa-la!  A useful, unique handmade holiday gift money can’t easily buy.

What would you make with apple molasses?