Pickled Beets & Canned Beets

I processed six 250 ml jars of pickled beets and six pints of plain canned beets last Friday. Beets are messy to process but the rewards are worth it. There a few essetials when processing beets. The first of these is an incentive so I cracked open the last jar of pickled beets. There's nothing like the taste of these to provide ample incentive. Next I put on old clothes and pulled out latex gloves. I prefer the latex gloves as they fit better. I find a stiff brush is a must for cleaning the beets. A few cloths to wipe up spashes and drops as I worked were added to the counter top. This will help minimize beet stains and is the trick to not having to do a big clean-up after canning. This was important on Friday as this was the start of our Thanksgiving weekend and I knew we would be having a housefull as early as dinner time that night. Another trick I use is during food prep, I leave the dishwasher open to load as I use each item. Next I set up my mis en place. I find this type of organization streamlines the canning process.

Mis en place means having all your ingredients prepared and ready to go before starting to cook. Translated it means "to put in place". I use this method whenever I cook. While no special bowls are necessary, I like using little glass bowls and custard cups for ingredients like spices and liquids under 4 oz. Larger bowls are necessary for ingredients in high quantity. There are a few reasons I think mis en place is important. This is a sure fire way of knowing you have all the ingredients and not at the last moment realize you are out of something while the dish has already started cooking. My kitchen work surface is small so having a lot of jars and larger containers on the counter is not practical. The most important reason is to streamline the cooking process so it goes smoothly and efficently.

Pickled Beets, Canned Beets

Beets are washed then cooked before processing. When cooking the beets for processing, a nice deep purplish red juice is produced. Do not discard this juice. Either pressure can or freeze for use as a natural dye. Be sure to label well I processed plain beets in 500 ml jars in a pressure canner for 30 minutes. This is necessary because beets are a low acid food.

Pickled beets are a must have in our home. I make a double batch of Jean Pare's recipe, a simple but tried and true recipe. The pickled beets look beautiful in the jars but then I might be a little biased. Please be sure to read My Notes after the recipe as the original recipe does not have the processing times.

BEET PICKLES

There are no spices added to this pickle. They have a nice tang.

3 lbs Beets with 1 inch (2.5 em) tops intact Water to cover
Water to cover

BRINE
2 c White vinegar
2 c Water
1 c Granulated sugar
1 tsp Table salt

Cook beetsin water in large pot until tender. Cool in cooking water until you can put your hands in comfortably. Slide off beet skins. Leave tiny beets whole. Cut larger beets into chunks. Pack into hot sterilized jars to wlthin 1 inch (2.5 cm) of top.

Brine:While cooking water is cooling, combine vinegar, wager, sugar and salt in saucepan. Heat on medium and stir often until it reaches a boil. Pour over beets in jars to within 1/4 inch (6mm) of top. Seal.
Makes 3 pints.

source: Jean Pare, Preserves, 1994. Pp. 91

My notes: These pickled beets are simply delightful and so easy to make! No processing time was given in the original recipe. I process in a boiling water bath 30 minutes for pints or quarts and 20 minutes for half pints.

Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Potato Experiment

We've been married long enough that coming up with a new family favourite is rather difficult sometimes. I was watching the food channel the other night and Michael Smith showed a bacon wrapped potato dish. My immediate thought was I could do that and I could take it beyond what he did. His dish was only bacon and potatoes. So I set about experimenting and this is what I came up with. Make sure you read my notes as I do think this can still be improved on.

Lined Pie Pan

I honestly had a lot of problems with this step even though Michael Smith made it look so easy. The bacon just would not co-operate! Once I got the bacon somewhat in a radiated fashion I decided to squish the centre as it seemed too thick. So I really just used my fist and pounded the centre a little to flatten. Then I used my fingers to kind of mush the flatten bacon out a bit towards the edges. This is kind of messy as the bacon strips drape over the outside of the pan but that is for a reason as explained later.

Potatoes with Spices

The potatoes were cut with a mandolin to ensure even slices. This worked very nicely. However, on Michael Smith's segment he showed only bacon and potatoes. Now, we just couldn't have only bacon and potatoes! So I sprinkled on a little Old Bay Seasoning then got the idea to add extra sharp cheddar cheese as a layer. I used three layers of cut potatoes for the filling.

Wrapped

Once the potato and cheese filling was in place it was time to draw the draped over pices of bacon strips to seal the top. Again I had a few problems with this so resorted to brute force. I again used my fist to pound the centre part of the bacon and fingers to mush the bacon towards the sides. This created a top bacon crust for the dish. The dish was baked at 350 degrees farenheit until the top bacon was slightly crispy.


Baked

The result at first was a lot of bacon grease so I used a couple of large egg flippers to remove the finished dish from the baking pan to drain. I think this was a necessity even though I did not see Michael Smith do this. He likely did because if you see the amount of grease that is your first instinct. I let the baked dish drain for about five minutes then it was ready for cutting.

Cut

I cut the dish into wedge pie like shapes. The resulting wedges were served along with other vegetables for the main course. This dish still needs a little tweaking. My husband commented that it was almost too much bacon. I noticed that the Old Bay Seasoning and even cheese flavours were not noticeable. Not that you want a distinct seasoning or cheese flavour for this type of dish but there wasn't even a hint of either.

I think peppering the bacon would help with the overall flavour. I also think that this dish would lend itself well to adding spinach as one of the layers. So this will be a dish I play around with a few more times. I'm thinking instead of using a round pie pan to use a square baking dish and half the bacon. That would solve the problem of radiating the bacon. But I have a few other ideas where I would like to take this dish so will post more later. I think this dish will freeze well so froze a wedge as a test. Sure enough, no problems.

I'm still developing this recipe so am making notes in my kitchen journal. It is a good way to keep track of what you did to a recipe or how you create a recipe. A kitchen jounal can be a valuable asset later when trying to recreate a modified recipe or a new one and only just created recipe.

Enjoy!

Salsa & Green Tomato Ketchup

Yesterday I canned tomatoes. I normally have a schedule planned for canning during the heavy season and by the time I get to salsa, I know the long canning days are drawing to an end. Salsa is definitely more work than some home canned goods. Despite the work involved with the salsa, I also decided to make another batch of bruschetta in a jar (recipe in earlier entry). I'm now at the point where a batch of red tomato ketchup and tomato paste should end the tomato canning season.

Some of the Salsa Ingredients

To me, the variety of the vegables used is the secret to excellent salsa and I am very picky as to what I will put into my salsa. That is the trick to excellent salsa. I either grow or buy the varieties I insist on and if they are not available, the salsa just doesn't get made. The produce must be very fresh preferrably picked that day. Any purchased produce is through a well trusted farmer's market that knows how picky I can be. They always treat me well! I start with a hamper of tomatoes of a specific variety and very fresh peppers both sweet and varying degrees of heat. This photo shows only a few of the ingredients. From there, the salsa is assembled, cooked, then canned.

Salsa

While I will not reveal the recipe as my family thinks this salsa is good enough to market, I will share my method. Maybe so, but they may be just a little biased and besides I have other things on the go right now but it might be a possibility. I make salsa in three strengths: hot, medium and mild. Three strengths are necessary depending on how the salsa will later be used. Some goes to relatives and friends who prefer one strength over another so that is always taken into consideration. All are full bodied, chunky salsas I average 48 - 60 jars of salsa each year. The batch I made yesterday was hot.

After the ingredients were combined, the salsa was cooked for 15 minutes. Then the remaining ingredients were added and the salsa was cooked for another 10 minutes. After that, it was time for taste testing followed by adjustments then onto the canning process.

Bottled Salsa

The salsa was ladled into hot, sterilized pint jars. I use pint jars because I find that is just a perfect size to not leave a lot of left-overs. Lids and bands were placed on the jars then the jars were processed using a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. The yield was 13 - 500 ml jars.

The salsa always looks wonderful in the jars, tantalizing the taste buds before the jar is even opened. I've been making salsa long enough that labelling really isn't necessary as one look at the jar, I can tell you the strength. For those getting the salsa as gifts or my family members, I do label only because I feel all home canned foods should be labeled with the contents and date made.

Shown in the photo along with the salsa are seven half pint jars of Bruschetta in a Jar. The recipe is in a previous entry. I added this to the canning goodies gift basket last year and it got rave reviews. Two tricks to this recipe are be sure to use high quality white wine vinegar. I like using an aged white wine vinegar imported from Italy. It costs more but is well worth the price! Never use a wine that you would not drink. Just because the recipe says to use a dry white wine, if you don't like dry white wine, use a white wine you do like. A tip for those who may want to make the recipe without wine, I would suggest organic apple juice. The flavour will differ but the results should be fine. Again, make sure you use "quality" ingredients.

Green Tomato Ketchup

When frost threatens, I pick all the green tomatoes. Some are processed into salsa verde or green ketchup. The salsa verde recipe is in an earlier blog entry. When using green tomatoes for processing, choose tomatoes that are pale green. Dark green tomatoes have higher levels of solanine, which can be toxic in large amounts.

I make two versions of green ketchup. The one pictured is the Southern Cuisine recipe from about.com. The second is a Quebec Style green ketchup. Both are good ketchups and a nice change from red tomato ketchup. We use more of the Quebec style than the Southern style. Please be sure to read my notes for each recipe as I have made changes to both and only use specific ingredients. I prefer to can in either pint or half pint jars.

Green Tomato Ketchup
Source: Diana Rattray,Your Guide to Southern U.S. Cuisine, http://southernfood.about.com/od/greentomatoes/r/bl30322v.htm

A green tomato ketchup recipe. More green tomato recipes below.
INGREDIENTS:

* 6 pounds green tomatoes
* 3 pounds onions
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon mustard
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 4 cups vinegar
* 1 cup honey

PREPARATION:
Slice green tomatoes and onions; place in a large pot with pepper, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour vinegar over all and cook for 4 hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Carefully puree mixture in a blender; strain through a mesh strainer. Return to pot and bring to boil; add honey. Immediately fill 6 sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe the jar tops and threads clean with clean damp towels. Place hot sealing lids on the jars and apply the screw on rings loosely. Process in boiling water bath in a deep canning pot for 5 minutes. Remove the jars and cool completely. Tighten the jar screw rings to complete the sealing process. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, it is not sealed and must be refrigerated. Let jars of green tomato ketchup stand at room temperature 24 hours. Store unopened product in a cool dry place up to one year. Refrigerate green tomato ketchup after opening.
Makes 6 pints of green tomato ketchup.

My Notes: This is a nice change from red tomato ketchup and a great way to use up green tomatoes. I followed the processing time of 15 minutes for ketchup as per Bernardin's Tomatoes, Canning & Specialty Recipes, 2000. Pp. 43. Once opened, refrigerate.



Ketchup Vert (Green Tomato Ketchup)--Quebec Style
source: A Taste of Quebec, Julian Armstrong, 1990.

24 Medium green Tomatoes (6 Lbs Or 2.5 Kg), chopped
15 Medium Onions (3 Lbs Or 1.5 Kg), chopped
1/2 cup coarse Salt (125 Ml)
3 cups white vinegar (750 Ml)
2 cups granulated sugar (500 Ml)
6 tbsps mixed pickling spices, tied in cheesecloth

In a large bowl, alternative layers of tomatoes and onions, sprinkling each layer with salt. Let stand for at least 8 hours or overnight. Rinse and drain well. Combine tomatoes and onions with vinegar, sugar and spice bag.

In a large saucepan or stock pot, bring mixture to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, for about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring frequently until slightly thickened. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.
Yield: Approximately 12 cups ( 3 L)

My Notes: This must be processed. I use the processing time of 15 minutes boiling water bath for ketchup from Bernardin's Tomatoes, Canning & Specialty Recipes, 2000. Pp. 43. Once opened, refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Road Trip & Tomato Juice

We took a spur of the moment road trip on the weekend and ended up at a lovely Chinese restaurant as the meeting spot for our kids. The dinner was amazing! A fun time was had by all.

Barbeque Pig

I always have my camera with me whenever we eat out and quite often take pictures of some of the more interesting foods. I've never had restaurant staff tell me not to take pictures. At best, they are elated and most ask about it. At worst, we seriously look like tourists!

When I saw this barbequed pig, I just had to have a picture. The food at this restaurant was excellent. As a group we spent a few hours there enjoying not only the food but family bonding, something very important to my husband and myself. My husband said we likely waddled away from there but every one was happy and we had a wonderful time with lots of pictures.


Tomato Juice

On Thursday we decided to start winterizing the garden which meant clearing out the raised beds. used the excess ripe tomatoes to make tomato juice. Now I know tomato juice is cheap in the stores. To me, they always taste tinny. Home made tomato juice does not have this taste and you can eliminate the salt if you want. What I like about recipes/methods like this is you can use up as many tomatoes as you need to. Tomato juice is easy to prepare as there is little more to do than wash the tomatoes then follow the guidelines.

Method: This year I decided to can the tomato juice in 500 ml jars simply because we are a two member household most days. What I did was follow the guidelines at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_juice.html so my size jars I used 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 tsp Kosher salt as opposed to 1/2 tsp salt. Then I followed the guidelines in Bernardin's Tomatoes, Canning & Speciality Recipes to prevent separation during storage. Essentially what you have to do is bring part of the cut tomatoes to a boil to destroy the enzyme Pectase then continually add fresh cut tomatoes while keeping the pot at a full boil. Once all the tomatoes have been boiled, they are passed through a food strainer to remove skins and seeds. The juice is returned to boil for 5 minutes then bottled. Processing for 500 ml is 35 minutes boiling water bath.

Enjoy,