As an avid canner and teacher of home canning, I read a lot of canning books, a lot.  I get every book I can get my hands on through my rather extensive library system (Montana’s interlibrary loan system is truly awesome).  Recently, I borrowed Tart and Sweet: 101 Canning and Pickling Recipes for the Modern Kitchen by Kelly Geary and Jessie Knadler.  I can’t sing the praises of this book enough and have to say that it’s one that I’m purchasing to keep in my book collection.

If you’re a novice canner this is a great book to add to your collection because it contains all the basic information you need to know about filling jars, removing air bubbles, and practicing safe canning procedures.  It also contains a section for trouble shooting when you have problems with seal failures, soft pickles, jams that don’t set and much more.

If you’re an experienced canner, there’s still plenty of yummy and interesting recipe ideas like: Horseradish Lemon Pepper Sunchokes, Ginger Cardamom Nectarine Jam, Basil Chili Eggplant, Blueberry Lemongrass Syrup, and much, much more.  Lots of fun things to try and advice for presenting home canned gifts, throwing can jam parties, and ways to use your canned items in recipes for meals.

The recipes in Tart & Sweet are interesting in flavors but superbly written making them easy to follow no matter your experience level.  I did give the Banana Vanilla Rum Butter a go and it quickly became a favorite of both Jeff & I. We’ve been having a bit each day with our breakfast this past week and I think it would be truly awesome as a filling in between homemade peanut butter cookies or spread between layers of a peanut butter cake.

If you’re looking for some new canning ideas or even looking to start canning in general I think Tart & Sweet might just be the kick in the pants you need.

Have you read any fun, new, or interesting canning books lately?

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This idea has been ruminating in my brain for a few weeks and so, on Sunday I decided to give it a whirl.  I must say it’s pretty darn yummy.

 Clementine Rum Marmalade

• 1 1/2 Pounds of Clementines, well scrubbed
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 6 1/2 Cups Hot Water
• 5 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Rum

Place a dampened cheesecloth on the inside of strainer on top of bowl.  Cut the clementines in half cross-wise.  Squeeze juice into the cheesecloth.  When finished squeezing juice, pull the pulp off the rind and place on the cheesecloth.  Tie the edges of the cheesecloth, making a large spice bag.  Place the juice from the bowl, lemon juice, and bag of pulp in a jam pot.

Cut the peel into thin strips and place all of that into the jam pot with the hot water.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat but keep boiling, stirring occasionally until reduced by half and peel is tender.  This takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Place the cheesecloth bag into a wire mesh strainer and press with a spoon to squeeze out juice.  Measure out 4 1/2 Cups of juice, peel mixture.  Put that in a pot with 5 1/2 cups sugar.  Boil until gel stage is reached – this took me about 20 minutes.  Add the rum and boil for another two minutes.

Pour into sterilized jars.  Process in a water bath for 15 minutes.  Makes about 6 half pints.

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My kitchen and cooking habits are more seasonal than even I realize sometimes.  It’s not always about what’s being prepared, though there is that too, I’m not cooking any asparagus this time of year for example.  My routines are seasonal too.   We eat more soups in fall and winter, salads in spring and summer.  More things are coming out of glass jars during this season whereas in late summer tons of goodness is being put into jars and shelved for these days right now.

There are some fresh meals but not as many as in the garden flush days of summer.  Still most everything is slow cooked over a period of a day and again lots of soups made with homemade bone broths.

In fact homemade bone broths are the only thing going into jars and canners these days.  They don’t stick around for long, jars seem to empty almost as quickly as they were filled.  Still, it’s all so very satisfying – the cooking of the broth, the watching of the pressure gauge, the ping of jars sealing, the whoosh of air as the jar comes unsealed, and of course the devouring of rich, healthy broth is never a bad thing.

What’s happening in your kitchen these days?

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Ever since I read Coming Home to Eatby Gary Paul Nabhan about 6 years ago, I’ve wanted to create a network of local food and folks involved in harvesting, growing, and creating that local food.  It’s been a very gradual and slow process but when I look at my pantry and see the meals gracing our table, I see just how very far we’ve come in making this dream of a local food network a reality.

One of the biggest things for me has been finding a steady source of local, raw goat milk.  I started out with one truly wonderful goat farmer, who had some issues with her supply (breeding issues) and turned me onto another equally wonderful goat farmer, so I now have two sources and get a regular supply delivered to me every single Wednesday.  Yes, delivered.

On Wednesday mornings, my goat farmer brings me a half gallon of fresh milk.  Sometimes it’s so fresh it’s still warm from the morning milking.  I give her back the empty jars from the previous week, pay her and go about my business.  Oh we talk too about things like GMOs, gardening, canning, cooking, and more.  It’s a wonderful connection and I feel so blessed by both of my goat farmers in their kindness, dedication to their product and animals, and their all around amazingness.

I met my goat farmer through my massage therapist who also happens to own an orchard.  It starts small, this food community.  You make one connection that leads to another that leads to another and so on.  I talk about local food to everyone who will listen and in doing so I meet other kindred souls and grow my local food network even more.  It’s a never-ending spiral of simplicity and local food.  Something I’m honestly so very honored to be a part of and something I truly hope I contribute to as much as take.  There are many fringe benefits to being a part of the community, things like getting the juiciest, sweetest peaches God ever created, elk summer sausage, and yes fresh chevre.

I share all this not to brag but rather to encourage.  It can be a slow process, this building of a local food community, but it is well worth it.  Stick with it today and in a few years you’ll be amazed at how much local food graces your pantry.

What kind of food community have you been building or looking for in your corner of the world?

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I’ve been a yogurt eater and lover my entire life.  I remember particularly loving the fruit-on-the-bottm types when I was kid.  As an adult I started making my own and even now that I’m allergic to cow dairy I continue to make yogurt from local, raw goat’s milk.  I go through a quart a week.

I have a Salton Yogurt Maker and I love it.  However, there are numerous ways to make yogurt without a maker including the use of dehydrator or an electric heating pad.  Truly you can leave it sit near the wood-stove to incubate as well, just a consistent temperature for 4 to 7 hours is all you need.

When making yogurt you need to have some yogurt starter on hand.  You can use store-bought yogurt the first time and save a bit from each batch moving forward.  If like me, you’re allerigic to cow’s milk and can’t find a goat yogurt in your local store, you can use a store-bought starter.  I use and have had great success with Yogourmet Freeze Dried Yogurt Starter(you can use it for cow’s milk yogurt too).

Once you have your homemade yogurt you can dress it up in a number of ways.  Currently, I like mine with sliced almonds and homemade brandied cranberry sauce.  Fresh berries in the spring and summer is another favorite.  When the garden is producing ample cucumbers a salad of yogurt, cukes, and mint is refreshing and filling.  And don’t forget about making yogurt cheese – it’s mighty yummy in sweet and savory applications.

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There’s been a lot of soup making and lotion making and other stuff going on in the kitchen lately and it all makes the house feel and smell warm and inviting.  Despite all that good stuff, what’s really making me smile in the kitchen these days is this new runner I made for the table.

The bird fabric was in a stash of fabric a friend gave to me recently.  A bag of stuff she no longer wanted has benefited me more greatly than she could have possibly imagined.  There was just this one piece of the bird fabric just the fabric size for a runner for our table.  The back and binding are simple white with a piece of cotton quilt batting (also from the bag from my friend) in between.  I randomly machine quilted it and placed it on the table in less than an hour.

It’s a bright spot on these dark days.  Jeff says, “It really livens up the table.”  I suppose that’s as good as a compliment as I can receive.

What’s happening in your kitchen these days?

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I like cranberry sauce quite a bit.  I especially like a few tablespoons in my homemade goat yogurt.  I bought several bags of cranberries when they were on sale around Thanksgiving and froze them.  Over the weekend I got around to making and canning up some sauce.  And not just any cranberry sauce – a brandied version.

 Brandied Cranberry Sauce

• 36 ounces Cranberries
• 5 Cups Sugar
• 4 Cups Water
• 20 Whole Allspice
• 15 Whole Cloves
• 5 Whole Cinnamon Sticks (each about 3″ long)
• 2 Cups Apple Brandy or Apple Liqueur (I used a homemade version but store-bought will work)

Put the allspice & cloves into a spice ball or make a spice bag out of muslin for them.  Combine water, cranberries, and sugar in a heavy pot.   Toss in the spice ball/bag and cinnamon sticks.  Bring the mixture to boil, stirring occasionally.  As the cranberries begin popping, scrape off any foam just like you would in making jam.  After the majority of the cranberries pop, about 10 minutes into the boiling process, add the brandy and return to a boil.  Remove the cinnamon sticks and spice ball.

Pour the hot mixture into hot sterilized jars.  Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

Makes 12 half-pint jars. 

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Years ago I saw a recipe for homemade marshmallows and even watched an episode of Good Eats about making them.  It seemed difficult and more work than I wanted to do.  I’ve never been a big fan of marshmallows either, so the desire to actually make them wasn’t there to overcome the perceived work.  Recently though I decided to give it a try.  I have to say it is way easier than I expected, actually marshmallows are easier than some pieces of cake.  Homemade marshmallows are yummier than store bought, too – not that I’m surprised.

I’ve been playing with different flavors and have a few more combinations in mind, but for now I made a bunch a mint ones for Christmas Care Packages.

Want to try your hand at marshmallow making?  Here are a few resources:

• Honey-Orange Marshmallows
• Alton Brown’s Recipe
• Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows (this recipe uses egg whites)
• Chocolate Marshmallows

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The holiday baking season is upon us and while I don’t feel like doing tons this year, there will be some.  I started playing with some mint cookies and these are gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free for those folks on your gift-giving list.

Chocolate Dipped Mint Cookies

• 1/2 Cup Almond Meal
• 1/3 Cup Sorghum Flour
• 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
• 1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Flax Meal
• 2 teaspoons Mint Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Almond Milk (or soy, coconut, rice, etc.)
• 4 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• Mint Sprinkles / Crushed Peppermint Candies (Optional)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the almond meal, sorghum flour, cornstarch, powdered sugar, and salt.  Set Aside

Whisk together the olive oil, flax meal, mint extract, and almond milk.

Stir together the liquid and dry ingredients until well combined.  Drop by Tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets.  Press each cookie slightly to flatten.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler.  When cookies are cool dip in the chocolate and place on wax paper to harden.  Sprinkle the tops of the still soft chocolate with peppermint sprinkles or crushed peppermint candies if desired.

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Jeff has five grandchildren which kind of makes me a grandma.  I refer to the kids as my grand kids when I’m talking about them to other folks, but the kids do not call me grandma.  While nontraditional, they are my family and I adore them as such.  Jeff’s daughter, son-in-law, and youngest granddaughter, Bevvie,  came to visit us over the weekend.  We had a great time, it was so very fun to have them here.

While they were here we made my grandma’s sugar cookies.  I was excited for the excuse to do it and was so glad that Bevvie wanted to help.

The cookies are full of everything I’m allergic to, but were a big hit with everyone else.  I hear they were as yummy as they were beautiful.

I feel incredibly blessed to be able to pass this tradition on.  We made these cookies every holiday season with my grandma and being able to do it with Jeff’s grand kids just made my heart glad.  What traditions are you passing on these days that make your heart glad?

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