Green Salsa

I absolutely love freshly made green salsa made with tomatillos from my garden.  I can, and do, eat it straight from the spoon!  I always plant several tomatillo plants so I can preserve some to see me through the winter months.  Here is my favorite recipe for preserving this salsa (*ingredients listed below). It is so easy!

Place the tomatillos, jalapenos, green chilies, and onion and garlic (still in their skin) on a roasting tray. Roast in an oven at 450°F for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and rotate and stir, then place back into the oven for an additional 15 minutes.

Cut of the stem end of the jalapenos and remove the skin from the onions.  For the garlic, simply squeeze out the pulp.  Place everything into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached.  The tomatillos exude a lot of liquid, but don't waste it, pour it into the bowl with the pulp.  Once everything is chopped up, I will pour it all into a saucepan to keep it warm.  However, reserve about a cup of the sauce in the processor bowl and add the cilantro and pulse to chop it all up then pour it all into the pan and stir it in (simple way to chop it all).  Add the vinegar, salt and lime and heat through. Bottle as usual, leaving a 1/2 inch head space and process in a water bath for 15 minutes (For my altitude, 4800 ft, I process for 25 minutes).

Remember, the flavors will meld as it sits, so when you taste it before bottling don't be put off by the strength of the flavor.  It will mellow!  Give it at least a month.

Green Salsa
2 lbs. tomatillos, husked and washed
1 large onion
1 c. (or thereabout) green chili peppers or a combination of (I used Anaheim and jalapenos)
4 large cloves garlic
1/2 white vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. lime juice (2 limes)

Why I Love Baking Bread

The sound of the wheat as it flows into the grinder.

The crackle of my knees as I bend to pick up the oil jar from the pantry floor.

The honey as it so neatly slides from the pre-oiled measuring cup.

The scent of the yeast rushing from the canister as I open it.

The scale jumping up a tenth of an ounce as I continue fluffing flour into the bowl.

The dough as it climbs the hook.

The resistance of the bench scraper as it cuts the dough in half.

The grainy yet pillowy softness of the dough as it seems to self-form in my hands.

Viewing the gentle mounds rising beneath the soft cotton of the tea towel.

The oven telling me it’s ready to receive.

My nose telling me the bread is perfect regardless of what the timer indicates.

Turning the loaves out of the pans and sometimes having them stick.

Eating the pieces that stick to the side as the scent permeates the kitchen.

The warmth of the water on my hands as I wash the pans.

And, before reaching up to the top shelf to place the pans in their home, glancing over my shoulder to check the time, wondering if I have time today to do it all over again.

Oh, and it tastes pretty good, too.  

In A Jam

I do enjoy preserving the harvest this time of year.  While it does make for some tired feet, I find it gratifying and worth the effort.  Throughout the years I have discovered some tricks that help my sanity as I enjoy the bottling marathon.  

Jam recipes often call for the addition of whole spices but instruct tying them up in cheesecloth or a spice bag.  I find this messy and would often discover thready pieces in my jams, leaving me no other choice than to pluck individual cloves out of the pot.  While the scent was wonderful, it was time consuming.  

This is my solution:  A spring-loaded tea ball with a handle.  Yes, this one is old and stained by time and use, but I don't care.  

I use some kitchen twine to tie it to the pot and just let is swirl around at will.  After the jam is complete, I untie it and remove the spoon.  Simple!  

A vision, if I do say so myself. 

A Hot Topic

I do love the lunch hour on school days, the house is quiet I get to eat whatever I want. As I blissfully ate my nutty burger and sauteed onions I perused a cookbook.  I was looking for a soup recipe that would use of some of the garden bounty.

What was that, you think soup is too hot for summertime?  Bah!  How hot is the food you cook on the stove top or in the oven?  Just as hot, I say.  I'm not whipping up a salubrious bowl of piping hot chili; no, not winter fare, but a nice bowl of garden soup to be enjoyed with some fresh dill rolls.  Incidentally, why is it we always hear about how hot soup is in the summer but no one EVER turns away hot rolls?  Food for thought!

Garden Soup
1 onion, chopped
1 Japanese eggplant (that's what I grew this year), diced
1 zucchini, diced (a medium size, not one of those jumbo jobs you find hidden under the leaves)
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 Anaheim chilies, chopped (because I have oodles)
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 big tomatoes
A giant handful of fresh green beans (or purple, as the case may be today)
6 c. vegetable stock
2 Tbsp. tomato paste (I use the kind in a tube so this is easy)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Freshly chopped basil, oregano, parsley (about 2 Tbsp each, but I get crazy with herbs)
1/2 c. tiny pasta

In a large stockpot, heat some oil in the bottom then add the onion, eggplant, zucchini, pepper, garlic, and chilies and cook for about 10 minutes stirring often.  Add tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down, about 5 minutes.  Stir in vegetable stock, tomato paste, salt, pepper and herbs.  Cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.  Stir in pasta and beans and cook an additional 12-15 minutes or until pasta is tender.  If you want (I usually want) toss in some more fresh herbs for some kick.  I have some hot oregano this year and it's amazing!

Enjoy, because that's what all this food is for!

The Seriousness of Vanilla Beans

A long time ago, just as I was starting to branch out in the world of baking, I read the brilliant idea about saving used vanilla bean pieces in sugar.  Since I was just starting I didn't use vanilla beans so didn't care much.  Well, the idea came back with a vengeance the first time I paid for a vanilla bean (ouch).  I now buy vanilla beans in bulk, so I employ this trick to stretch my purchase (and flavor) as much as possible.

Vanilla is serious business to me.  Slitting the bean down the center and scraping out the microscopic seeds is absolute bliss for me, but not having a purpose for those spent pods, which contain so much flavor, would be detrimental.  When I am making jam or ice cream, or something similarly wet or sticky, I will just toss in the pod after scraping out the seeds to further infuse with the luscious flavor, discarding the pod once the cooking is complete.  However, when I am only using the seeds, such as when I am making baked goods, I save the spent pods in sugar.

Once the seeds are scraped out I cut up the pod into smaller chunks and toss them into a sterilized jar and measure some sugar into the jar.  Today, I only used half a vanilla bean, so I added it to the jar of vanilla sugar I already had and added about 1/2 c. sugar to the jar and shook it up to blend.  The sugar will absorb the flavor and scent of the vanilla bean.  The pod pieces will become dry and brittle, but no matter, just leave them in the jar until you're ready to use the sugar.

I placed a little piece of plastic wrap over the jar and screwed on a reusable lid (I use the same plastic time and time again) and I store it in the pantry where I can see it.  When you're ready to use the seriously flavorful sugar, just sift out the pod pieces and use the sugar as you normally would, but with some intense vanilla flavor!