Eating Outside the Box - Take 2

 
Summer is being its usual, furtive self here in the Pacific Northwest.  While the rains shower, the chilly breezes blow, and clouds roll over us, we keep hearing that ever-so-hopeful saying:  "Summer starts on the 5th of July."  And it looks like that may be the case this year.  Again.  Sigh.

But.  Here and there we spy a few glimpses that summer is upon us, contrary to all atmospherical evidence.  Check these beauties out:

The loveliest of lovely summer fruits, in this gal's humble opinion, straight from our CSA box.  Almost too pretty to eat.  Almost, but not quite.

With the bounty of strawberries we received, I decided to make my first attempt at jam, a new move for me.  And I am so happy I did.  Now we'll be able to savor these gems for months to come.  (Provided I can stash away the jars, before they get devoured.)

I found a marvelous recipe on Food in Jars for a vanilla-infused strawberry jam, with just a little bit less sugar in it, than the standard recipes.  Don't worry, it's still shockingly sweet, you'd never know the jam is a couple of cups shy of the usual amount.  There is a delightful hint of vanilla in the background, as well as a wee tease of tartness, from fresh lemon juice.  And Oh.  My.  Word.  It's some damn fine jam.  Not wildly different from ordinary strawberry jam, which would possibly offend the Mister, as that's his favorite kind...but just different enough to make it perfect.

I did have a time getting it to the setting stage, it took way longer than the suggested amount of time in the recipe.  But then I went here, and learned some good things about getting jam to set properly.  The main key for me, was to bust out the thermometer, and wait until the temp read 220 deg F.  And Voila!  That was it.  Perfectly sweet, perfectly set, jam.

I'm feeling just a teensy bit proud, I must admit.  And ever-so-slightly hopeful that I can manage to successfully can a few other goodies this summer.

Go visit Food in Jars, and make this jam.  I'm telling you.  Damn fine jam.

Out of the Box, Take 7

I'm on a preserving mission over here, people.  It appears that something has taken hold of me, some ancestral spirit, driving me on..."Feed Your Family!" shouts my inner Laura Ingalls.  And I must say, once I began to get the hang of things, I've found that I'm really enjoying myself.  While it's undeniably easier to simply purchase tinned tomatoes, or sauce, or salsa, from the store, there's a huge burst of satisfaction that comes from knowing I made this.  For my people.  And it's kind of fun.  Plus, I get the best of both worlds:  Grounding myself in some solid traditions from the past (while wearing a pretty apron)...and rocking the modern conveniences we're so fortunate to have (dishwasher humming away, while I sing along to my current favorite Pandora station).  Good times, my fine friends.

So, today, it's not a tomato recipe I have for you (readers sigh in relief), but a tomatillo recipe.  A Roasted Tomatillo Salsa recipe, to be precise.  We've had an abundance of lovely, small tomatillos from our CSA box, these past several weeks, and heaps of cilantro, and I must say, I was having a struggle keeping up.  (In a good, no-suffering-involved-sort of way.)  Then, when I read that you can freeze salsa, the proverbial light bulb shone brightly, and away I went.

I loosely followed a Bon Appetit recipe that I found on Epicurious, adjusting the amounts to suit what I had going on.  You can do the same, salsa is something that is very easy to get right.  Especially when you roast it.  Ah...absolutely heavenly.  The tomatillos, once blended in the food processor, attain a nearly creamy consistency.  This salsa is perfect on shrimp or fish tacos, grilled veggies, and may I suggest going for it on your enchiladas?  Oh, yes.  It's pretty much a food to sigh over.  (I find I do that sighing-over-food thing rather often.)

Here you go:

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa - adapted from the Bon Appetit recipe, on Epicurious
- makes about 2 1/2 pints

2 to 2 1/2 lbs tomatillos
1 medium onion, halved, then cut into thirds
1 - 2 jalapenos, depending on your heat tolerance
6 cloves garlic, skins left on, but lightly bashed with knife, just enough to break the paper
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
olive oil
kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 deg F.

In a large baking dish, place tomatillos (left whole), onion, garlic cloves, and jalapenos (also left whole).  Drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. 

Roast until very soft.  The recipe I had recommended a 375 deg oven for large tomatillos, roasting for an hour.  I had small tomatillos, so I banged the heat up to 400, and they were lovely and soft in about 35 minutes.  Just check them from time to time.  Short of forgetting them completely, you really cannot mess this up.

Once roasting has finished, slice the stem end off the jalapeno(s), and slice in half, and throw into the food processor.  Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from their skins into the food processor bowl, and add the tomatillos and onions.  (You may need to do this in 2 batches, depending on the size of your processor/batch of salsa.)  Pulse for a bit, until roughly chopped, then add the cilantro, and pulse until the salsa is nearly, but not quite, puréed.  A little texture is a good thing.  Check, and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

I wouldn't recommend canning this recipe, because of the risks of botulism.  You can read a bit about that here, on Food in Jars.  Since I read that salsa freezes well (cross fingers), I'm giving it a go, and froze 1 1/2 pints.  I also learned that mason jars can be stuck in the freezer...did you know this?!  I had no idea.  So much nicer than using plastic, right?  But I was still a little scared, so I froze one plastic container, and one pint jar.  And I left quite a bit of room for expansion.  I'll let you know what happens.

So, that's today's Adventure in Preserving.  Stay tuned.  By the way, I bought another 20 pound box of tomatoes yesterday.

Sheepish Grin.

That's my Inner Laura for you.  Getting up to all sorts of crazy business.

While the Getting's Good

I don't mean to lambaste you with tomato recipes...but the way I figure it, it just wouldn't be fair not to share these goodies with you.  We've got to get them, while the getting's good.  And it is oh so good.

Today, I'm coming at you with a Kiwi recipe for Tomato Relish.  That's not kiwi, as in fruit, but rather Kiwi as in the wicked cool folks of New Zealand.  And specifically, my uber-cool mate, and former neighbor, Mim.  Also known as the Goddess of the Garden.  This gal has a way with veggies...and kids...and a serious way with words.  Every time I read one of her verbose and hilarious emails, I catch myself thinking, wistfully..."Oh, to be so witty!"  Check out her awesomeness on her blog, BabyGeek.

Back to the point...after enjoying a little frittata with some of her famous Tomato Relish, I timidly asked for Mim's recipe. Timidly, because it was so delicious I assumed it must be a top-secret family heirloom recipe.  Mim laughed, and said, "'Course, mate!  It's from Edmond's!"

Edmonds Family Cookbook is, to the best of my knowledge, as crucial to Kiwiana as Buzzy Bee, Pavlova, and the AllBlacks.  Or L&P.

I think it's actually required, by law, for every household to own or support all of the above.  (Kidding.  Mostly.)

So, I was generously handed that which, while not exactly a secret family recipe, may still be considered an age-old tradition in NZed:  The recipe to beat all recipes for Tomato Relish.  And it is good.  Made with robust, end of summer tomatoes, bursting with tartness and a bit of heat.  My favorite way to enjoy is simply served up with a chunk of good bread and some dry, sharp cheese.  (Did you know that there is a type of cheese made in NZ, called Tasty?  Not the brand, mind you.  The style.  We'd call it extra sharp cheddar, they call it Tasty.  Amazing, those guys.)  Also brilliant served up alongside a frittata, or with an antipasto plate.  On grilled cheese.  The Mister likes to dip his pizza in it.  (I think that's just wrong.)  Point being, it's damn versatile.  And damn tasty. (ha)

Mim's World Famous Tomato Relish - adapted from (Mim's) Edmonds Family Cookbook
- makes roughly 4 pints

Ingredients
1.5 kg/about 3 1/2 lbs tomatoes, blanched and peeled, then halved

4 medium onions, halved then cut into thirds

2 tablespoons salt

2 cups brown sugar

2 1/4 cups malt vinegar *

1 - 3 chillies (Mim calls for 3, I like about 2...take your pick)

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon curry powder (mild or hot, up to you)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup malt vinegar *

*Since malt vinegar can be hard to find in the US, I have managed to successfully substitute apple cider vinegar.  But if you can find it, it's well worth it.  True Kiwi flavor, you see.*

Place tomatoes and onions in non-reactive bowl, and sprinkle with salt.  Cover with a lid and leave for 12 hours.  This works best overnight, so you don't have that strong onion smell knocking you over the head while you go about your day.  The next morning, drain off the liquid.

Put veggies, sugar, first measure of vinegar, and chillies, into a large pot, or preserving pan.  This is going to be bubbling away for an hour and a half, and smelling very vinegar-y, so I like to start the boil on the stove, then move it out to the burner on the barbecue.  Or you can use a camping stove.  Or tough it up, and do it inside, but you may find yourself opening a few windows.

Boil gently (bit under a rolling bowl, definitely over a simmer, since you're reducing) for an hour and a half, stirring frequently, to avoid sticking.  While this is boiling, get your canning equipment set up and ready to go.

Once the hour and a half has passed, your relish ought to have reduced by 1/3 or more.  Mix together the mustard, flour, curry powder and second measure of vinegar, then add to the relish.  Boil for 5 minutes, then pack into sterilized jars, and follow your regular canning process.

It's well worth the effort to make this a double batch, so you get 8 pints, rather than 4 from a single batch.  We go through the tomato relish fairly quickly around here...so more is undeniably better!

Enjoy!

It isn't over yet

This week has been a real kick up the backside, as far as reality checks are concerned.  Those long awaited high temperatures have now dropped by at least twenty degrees.  The heat has been begrudgingly turned on.  The fire is lit in the evening.  But only if we see shivers and goosebumps.  (Put a sweater on, kiddo!  You think heat is free?)  Knitting has begun in earnest, because, after all, Christmas is only three months away.  (Oh, dirty words.)  I've been reluctantly packing up the summer clothes and sandals (sigh), and replacing them with sweaters and shoes.  And I so despise wearing shoes.  I realize this is rather unnatural in one of the oh, um, fairer sex (ha!), but I'd rather be barefoot any day. 

Even as we see all these shifts in our day to day, though, we're still enjoying the fruits of summer.  Because it isn't over yet, people.  Six more days of summer to go, and a whole bloody lot of tomatoes.

Twenty pounds of tomatoes, to be exact.

I do believe my Laura Ingalls complex has gotten entirely out of hand.  You know that thing I do...where I see that my 7 lbs of tomatoes I'm buying for tomato relish, costs nearly as much as a twenty pound box.  So, of course, being ever so economical,  I go for the big box.  

Then, on the drive home, several things hit me.  And I'm talking a serious walloping over the head, cartoon lady with the cast iron frying pan-style.  

Thing #1:  Twenty pounds of tomatoes is really quite a lot of freaking tomatoes.  Especially when I've never canned anything but tomato relish.  Oh balls.

Thing #2:  I've never canned anything but tomato relish.  Oh bollocks.

Thing #3:  I definitely do not have enough lids to can twenty pounds of tomatoes.  Oh crap.

Thing #4:  Not enough jars either.  Oh shit.

So, I said to myself:  Hey, lady, get your Laura on.  If the pioneers could do it with no electricity, or fancy gadgets, you can surely work this out.  And my Laura felt up to the challenge.  Mostly.  Inspired by this SouleMama post on tomatoes, I figured I'd knock out some passata and tomato soup, and use up all those gorgeous (cursed) tomatoes.  Easy-bloody-peasy, right?

Nope.

It started out so well, too.

 

Looks promising, doesn't it?

Turns out, trying to make passata without a food mill, is probably the stupidest move that can be made.  Pressing out all those roasted tomatoes through a fine sieve, let's face it, sucks.  It's the suckiest suck that ever sucked, really.  And it made exactly this much:

Three freaking cups.

Three cups of deliciousness.  But still.  When the Mister looked at the results of my heaving, groaning effort, he said:  "Well, that's a lot of work for not very much return."  No.  Freaking.  Kidding.

It looks like my Laura...that feisty, hard-working gem of a pioneer...well, my Laura...before tackling her daily chores, and canning, just so happened to down a crazy pill with a jug of Mr. Edwards' moonshine.  That's why she's acting all crazy...and making me all crazy, in turn.  Not my fault, you see.

So, because today's passata was a giant Cluster-****-Extraordinaire, I will not be punishing you with that recipe.  I will, however, throw an easy one your way, for celery salt.  I used it on my roasting tomatoes, but you can put it on anything.

Like a Bloody Mary.  Which is what I'm really wishing these tomatoes would turn into, right about now.

Celery Salt & Pepper

Ingredients

1 tsp celery seeds

3 tsp sea salt, large crystals

3/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Put everything into a mortar and bash it about with the pestle until it's all a fine, even consistency.

Well, at least we didn't screw that up.  I do believe Ma and Pa are ashamed of my Laura.  May never forgive her, in fact.

Unless...tomorrow's tomato relish may just change their minds about me.  Barring any unforeseen moonshine, that is.