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Tigress’ Can Jam | CherryMeyerGingerLade (Dec)

i’m so glad we had this time together…

Wow.  This is, well, it.  The last Tigress Can Jam post.

I think it’s kind of fitting that I’ve had random conversations with people offline about canning this month.  From the woman I met at the airport who just saw another grandchild born to the woman on the train who was thinking about another way to make homemade gifts for friends and family to the co-worker who talked about how his parents canned throughout his childhood. These interactions not only shared a bit of history and camaraderie, but, also, looked to the future.

Having grown in this space of TCJ, I feel challenged to do much more.  I’m so happy that canning can be another way to hold dear a bit of family that could easily be forgotten or missed in the passing of generations.  It’s time to really dig in to the stories and the history of my family and food and canning.  Before it’s too late, I want to find out as much as I can about how roots in the South and Midwest played a role in how we ate and what we eat.  And I need to get that recipe for Cha-Cha* and, um, make it.

So.  For the last month of Tigress’ Can Jam,  I’m starting kinda where I began, with a marmalade.  We’ll see how it turns out this time.

CherryMeyerGingerAde
Framework adapted from Ashley English’s Cherry and Lemon Thyme Marmalade

1 lb meyer lemons
1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
2 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon, fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice

yield: approx 2 1/2 pints or 2 .25L weck jars

Prep your canner and sterilize your jars and lids.  Put a couple of saucers in the freezer.  Wash lemons well.  Quarter and remove seeds and pith.  Chop lemons and cherries into small pieces.

Add lemons, cherries, and lemon juice into non-reactive pot/saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add sugar and ginger.  Bring to a boil over medium-ish high heat for 25 minutes.  Watch and stir.  Lots.

Time to test for a set.  You are good to go when the jam reaches 220° f or you can do the wrinkle test.  Put a teaspoon of jam onto a chilled saucer and let it cool off for a sec.  Push it.  If it wrinkles a bit, it’s set.  If not, boil for 5 more minutes and try the wrinkle test again.

When ready, fill jars.  Leave a 1/4 inch of headspace. Use knife or other bubble releaser to make sure there are no air pockets.  Wipe rim clean with a damp cloth or paper towel.

Process for 15 minutes in the hot water bath.
NikkiBits: I♥Meyer Lemons.  I♥Cherries.  I♥Ginger, hardcore.  Every month has been filled with love.  Well, except, for July, but that was just a lot all around.  This here marmalade is GOOD.  Cooking at night with no flash.  Not so much.  I’ll shoot more in the am.

What’sNext: Where are my tangelos?  Seriously, it’s all about some marmalade.

So,  what else can I say about this amazing year of canning?  Not sure.  Now that it’s over, I want to take a minute to reflect on it.  I’ll either update this post or give Tigress’ Can Jam its own gratitude post.

Nikki♥

*Some folks call it Chow-Chow.  We’ve always called it Cha-Cha.  It’s that cabbage, tomato, hot pepper relish.  I’ll make it for you.  Soon-ish.

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TCJ | Lazybones Spiced Apple Butter (Nov)

my apple butter has a theme song…


I knew when it was announced that I could play in the apple orchard for this month’s can jam that I’d want something deep and heady.  Because this is such a crazy month full of reflection and obligation, I just had to return to the ease and simplicity that Marisa introduced me to last year in her Apple Sauce/Fruit Butters posts.

With the framework in place, I wondered how I could make that inner voice of mine, aka “Can’tLeaveWellEnoughAlone,” happy. What could I do to give it something extra? Oh, Cardamom, is that you calling my name? I could see Cumin and Coconut dancing in the corner of my eye. Ginger cried, “me, too.”

I went to the Farmers’ Market and found apples, apples and more apples.  Then, I stopped off to pick up a few things at TJs.  I had all kinds of plans and ideas. Yeah. Trader Joe’s said, “Change ‘Em!”

Um, couldn’t find plain apple cider.  And when given a choice between plain old apple juice and spiced cider, well, duh.  And OMG, was it full of spice, deep dark tones and even a little heat.  Everything I wanted and more.  There were citrus notes, too.

So, yeah.  Lazybones.  I wasn’t going to have to do a lot of tinkering to spice up my apple butter.

Lazybones Spiced Apple Butter
(Loads of Gratitude and Heaps of Thx to Marisa of Food In Jars)

4lbs of apples
1 c trader joe’s spiced apple cider
1 ½ – 2 c brown sugar
Lemon juice
Cinnamon
Ginger
Cumin Seeds
Creamed Coconut *

Peel, core and quarter apples.
In a heavy bottomed pan, add apples and juice.
With flames quite low, let apples fall apart into an apple sauce. The different varieties will break down differently and release varying amounts of liquid. Let it do what it does.
While there’s still some texture, aka still a little lumpy, I like to add sugar and a tablespoon or so of lemon juice just to see how the flavors are coming together. Add chunk of creamed coconut that is approximately equal to a teaspoon.  Sprinkle in a few whole cumin seeds. Say 10. Add a shake or two of cinnamon and a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.  Remember the apple cider was seriously spiced with warming goodness.  And it’s all about how you want it to taste.  I tend toward the heavy hand.
Keeping the flame low as possible, let it cook down for another hour or so. Stir, occasionally.
(This is when I get a bit tired or my mind starts to wander.)
Take it off the stove. Let it cool down. Fridge it for a day or more.
(I could say that I wanted the flavors to blend and to mellow, but, well, no.)
Whenever you decide to ummm… get back to it.
Pull out your bowl of sauce/almost butter. Allow to warm to room temperature.
Blend apples in batches until smooth.
Taste and adjust.
Put it back on the stove on lowest temp. Cook down until thick and spreadable.  Be mindful not to burn.

Wash and sterilize jars. Pack and water-bath process for 15 minutes.

Yield varies: I got 3 .25L jars of Lazybones Spiced Apple Butter from around 4 lbs of apples.

TheNikkiBits: I used a combination of apples: Arkansas Black, Fuji and Gala. The coconut and cumin add to the depth of flavor, but don’t scream out.  And who knows, I may have thrown a few habanero bits in there as well.  You know the problem with CLWEA is that I don’t always remember everything I throw in there. That is one of the great things about this recipe is that you can really do what works for you as you figure out flavors that make your belly sing.

What’sNext: I can’t wait to have this with the chicken and dressing for the holiday or maybe for leftovers.

So grateful for what this year of canning continues to bring.  Hope the season starts off well for you.

Nikki

*this isn’t the brand that I use.  Check your local South Asian or Caribbean grocery to see if they stock it.  I buy mine for $2 a bar at the Bangladeshi spot around the corner.

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Tigress’ Can Jam | Habanero Berry Bliss (Oct)

my tongue is burning… in a good way

I’m in LA.  We still have locally grown strawberries.  Alas, we won’t have them for long.

Every trip to the farmers’ market since Kaela announced what we were canning with this month, I kept trying to stay away from the berries.  I have bell peppers that won’t get jellied and lots of hot peppers that will probably have to go it alone in a jar of vinegar.  For some reason though, the strawberries kept begging for the fire.

Oh, and since I’ve got a tendency to nibble while shooting my market haul, this is one of those tinybatches.

Habanero Berry Bliss

(nod to Bryant Terry’s Strawberry & Slightly Hot Pepper Jam and Eugenia Boone’s Strawberry Balsamic Jam)

2 cups hulled and halved strawberries
2 cups of sugar
½ Habanero pepper, minced (I kept the one seed)
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

makes 1 pint/.5L

clean and sterilize your jar, lid and band.

add minced pepper, lemon juice and vinegar to non-reactive pot.  heat on low for a minute or two.  add strawberries and sugar.  turn heat up to medium-high.  stir until all sugar has dissolved.  turn heat down to a low-medium flame and leave it be.  only stir to make sure all the sugar is incorporated and has dissolved.  let it cook  for about 30 minutes.   don’t touch it.  just watch it.  oh, and skim off all that foam.  when the cooking time has finished, take your pot off the flame.  pack your jar, remove any air bubbles and wipe the rim of the jar with a damp cloth.  process for 10 minutes in your hot water bath canner.  remove your jar from the canner and place it on a dishtowel to cool off and rest.  I usually leave it overnight cause, well, I cook at night.

The NikkiBits: Um, proud of myself.  While Bryant and Eugenia gave me ideas, it really was the 2006 ed of the Joy of Cooking that made me feel comfy making it happen on my own.  It’s chock full of info for those of use who’ve strapped on the canning recipe training wheels.  I love being able to quickly find out what is full or bereft of pectin or acid.  It’s also great to be able to work out how much sugar or added lemon juice I need for my tinybatches instead of doing the math.  Seriously, quartering a recipe isn’t cute.

Now about that heat.  This is perfect for me.  It’s not outrageous, but I FEEL it.  I tend to squirt sriracha on my hand and lick it off, just cause.  So, maybe, if you’re going to do a tinybatch and you’re not sure about how much heat you can handle, you might want to use a quarter of the pepper.

What’sNext: More.  More.  More!  I just had some of the left over syrup on pancakes.  My tongue isn’t on fire, but it’s def HEATED in that sexy way.  I feel like this could be a good drink syrup as well.  I used to get strawberry balsamic martinis at Sheebeen in NYC.  The best part was that the balsamic was the kicker.  I don’t really get that from strawberry balsamic jam.  It’s just mellow.  This, though, the habanero is the tingly kicker.  Makes me feel alive.

And, now, I want ice cream.  I want to spoon my Habanero Berry Bliss over ice cream.

Kaela & Tigress, THANK YOU!

Nikki♥

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Tigress’ Can Jam | Ohhh, Peaches (Sept)

summer summer fruit… it wouldn’t be summer without ’em*

Have you ever had a conversation that really would be thought of as inappropriate if overheard?  Man, these peaches could’ve gotten me into lots of trouble.

September’s TCJ produce: Stone Fruit.  I picked peaches and lost my mind fairly quickly.  Umm, yeah.  Sorry, I only put up a super tiny batch because I couldn’t stop eating them.

Seriously, I went to the farmers’ market near work twice.  I went to two different grocery stores.  All had good local peaches.  All got EATEN.

They were these big, beautiful, ripe and juicy things that wanted to be spoken of in lush, seductive terms.  Smelling so light and sweet.  All that peachy-ness dancing on air, tempting me.  My guilty hands covered in nectar.

See what i mean?  They were the best kind of trouble.  So. Damn. Good.

At the office, they were so enticing that I wasn’t surprised only a few made it home.  When I tried to explain to a co-worker how amazing they were, he started looking around for HR.

They really were the perfect example of why eating seasonally and locally is so important, at least where taste is concerned.  I decided the few peaches I had left should get the simplest treatment possible.

Gently Gingered Peaches
Adapted from the basic peach recipe in Linda J Amendt’s  Blue Ribbon Preserves

Makes 2 Pints or 1 quart

2-3 lbs of firm, ripe, unblemished peaches
2 cups of water
¾ cup of sugar
4 cups of cold water
1 tablespoon of antioxidant crystals or ascorbic acid crystals (hey there fruit fresh)
Fresh ginger coin slice (1/8th in thick) (if using pints cut in half)

Rinse peaches in cool water.

Sterilize jars and lids.

In a 4 quart pan, combine the 2 cups of water and ginger with the sugar.  Stir until sugar is dissolved over med-high heat.  Once dissolved, turn the heat up and bring it to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, cover and keep syrup hot until needed.

In a large bowl, combine the 4 cups of cold water and antioxidant crystals.  Stir until the crystals are completely dissolved.

Peeling that peach: fill a pan about half full of water and bring it to a simmer.  Fill another large bowl with ice water.  Carefully lower the peaches a few at a time into the water for about 30 seconds.  Remove the peaches and get them into the ice bath for a minute or two.  Repeat the whole thing with the rest of your peaches.

Using a sharp paring knife, carefully skin them peaches.  Cut each peach in half and remove the pit.   Using a spoon, carefully remove the red stuff  from the center of the peaches.  Umm, this might take practice or a pitting spoon.  Mine didn’t look super pretty, more gutted.  But, whatever.

Place the halved fruit in the antioxidant solution.  Don’t leave longer than 20 minutes.  Remove the peaches from their “please-don’t-turn-mangy-colors” bath.  Rinse thoroughly and drain well.

Add peaches to the hot syrup.  Over medium heat, let the peaches cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Add ¼ cup of hot syrup into each jar.  Pack the peaches, cut side down,  into the jars, leaving a ½ inch headspace.

So, ummm, I, apparently, stopped here thinking that was, you know, it. I covered the peaches and added the ginger to the jar.  Checked for air bubbles and processed in the hot water bath.

Well, that wasn’t it.  Here are the rest of Linda’s directions.  I’m about to eat my peaches that I put up and start over.

Place a sieve over a medium saucepan and line the sieve with 3-4 layers of clean, damp cheesecloth.  Strain the syrup through the cheesecloth.  Over med-high heat, quickly bring the syrup to a boil.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Ladle the hot syrup in to the jars, covering the peaches and leaving ½ inch headspace.  Using a bubble freer or a plastic knife, remove any trapped air bubbles.  Hold the jar up and check from the bottom for any air bubbles trapped under the fruit.  If necessary, add more syrup to maintain headspace.  Wipe the jar rims and triads with a clean, damp cloth.  Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings.  Process pint jars in water bath for 20 minutes, quart jars for 25 minutes.

I think the last step will stick now that I’ve typed it for you.  Woo-hoo.

TheNikkiBits: Well, you saw the reading comprehension part isn’t really my strong suit when it comes to recipes.  I kinda just want to finish.  Looks like I know what I’m having for brekkie in the am.  Wait, why did I just envision a bit of good vanilla ice cream volunteering to be the bed for that peach dream?  Oh, and I’ve already sipped a little of the syrup that was left over.  I can’t wait to get a little licka to go with it.  I might even try to rock a ginger peach soju cocktail this evening.  Mmmm…. Yeahh…

What’sNext: Back to the Farmers’ Market on Sunday to see if there are more yellow beauties to behold and be canned.

Nikki♥

*does anyone remember that commercial?

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Tigress’ Can Jam | My First Tomato (August)

oh, i like this…


I’m canning on the road this month.  I packed up some *new* jars, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving from LAPL, a small bottle of commercial lemon juice and headed to West Hollywood.

I was really excited that this month’s produce coincided with my trip across town to Chez P+K.  It’s the first time I’ve gotten a chance to put up something homegrown from the backyard.  The backyard on the other side of the kitchen window.  Pam’s plants were producing aplenty.  I was all giddy knowing that she was setting aside some freshly plucked off the vine for me.  And my goodness, they were beautiful .

Oh, yeah.  I have new jars.  Non-Weck jars.  Surprise.  I knew that I wanted to can some of Pam’s tomatoes and leave them as a gift.  So, just to be super safe, I thought it might be a good move on my part to expand my jar-i-sphere.

I’d been looking through lots of canning books for recipes.  Simple, easy, SIMPLE recipes.  I really got into the Ball section on tomatoes.  I appreciated that the hefty section had the recipes separated by process, water-bath and pressure canner.  Thoughtfully explaining the use of commercial lemon juice to ensure proper acidity for water-bath canning, as well as, talking about all that separation anxiety.  It made me feel really confident and comfortable about what has probably been my easiest canning experience to date.

By now, you should know my middle name is “Can’t-Leave-Well-Enough-Alone.”  I did go off-book adding a fresh herb instead of the dried used in the Herbed Tomato recipes a few pages later.

Tomatoes Packed in Water

Umm, from the Ball Book…

Tomatoes
Commercial Lemon Juice
Kosher Salt

Prep your canner and sterilize your jars.
Wash those pretty tomatoes.
Set a pot of water to boil.  Set up a bowl of ice water.
Working in small batches, make a small X in the bottom of the tomatoes.  Put them in the boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until the skin starts to crack.
Place the tomatoes in the ice bath and peel off the skin.
Core the tomatoes.  You can leave them whole, halve or quarter them.
In a non-reactive pot/saucepan, add a layer of tomatoes.  Just cover with water.
Bring to a boil over medium-ish high heat.
When it begins to boil, lower temperature and cook for 5 minutes.
In the quart jars, place 2 tablespoons of commercial lemon juice. 1 teaspoon of salt.
In pint jars, add 1 tablespoon of commercial lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Fill jars.  Use cooking water to top off tomatoes.  Leave a ½ inch of headspace.
Process 40 minutes for pints, 45 for quarts.

TheNikkiBits: So, yeah.  CLWEA added fresh basil and crushed red pepper to one quart of the tomatoes with the lemon juice and salt.  The other quart got ½ teaspoon of both ground cumin and coriander.  From a bottle.  Not my first choice, but hey I wasn’t at home and I was feeling inspired.  I threw in a few black peppercorns, as well.  I had some left over cooking water.  By itself, it was AMAzing.  Fragrant, with a surprising depth.  Used it to fill out my go-to tomato and goat cheese pasta sauce.

What’sNext: Okay.  I really want it to be winter.  But, wait.  I need put up lots more jars of tomatoes, first.  I can’t wait to get home and put cumin seeds in the mortar and pestle.  I want to make chili and curries and MMMmmm…  Wow. I’m hungry and excited.  First, though, I’m going to put up a couple of quarts of tomatoes for Pam.  Simple and Plain.  CLWEA is going to be locked in a room somewhere.

While everything else we’ve done, during Tigress’ Can Jam this year, has been a fun and tasty learning experience, this really has been the month that makes better something I already do as opposed to hipping me to something new.  Ummm, Tinned Tomatoes.  See Ya!

My birthday is quickly approaching.  I think I need a food mill.  Hmmmm.  Mommy!

Nikki♥

LAPL – Los Angeles Public Library… I ♥ that place, hardcore.

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Tigress’ Can Jam | Linda’s Gingery Watermelon Pickles (July)

yeah… this has been a weird one…


As always, I was soooo excited to do this month’s canning.  When I first read that we were entering the cucurbit world, I got all goofy about it.  It wasn’t even hot enough in LA to fully enjoy the refreshing goodness of watermelons, but I was buying and eating.  And the canning of the rind was what I wanted to do.

I liked both Linda Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling and Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen recipes for the rind, but couldn’t decide between them.  Then, things got complicated.  Well, the discussion of race in the country and under my window took over.

I started avoiding my rind and avoiding this post.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever shied away from eating watermelon in diverse company, but I wasn’t finding the nuanced, fun way to talk about watermelon, race and my canning of the lovely rind.  The week started getting heavier than I expected.  Then, it just got away from me.

I’ll come back and update over the weekend with more.  I think I’ll be on the other side of this.

Gingery Watermelon Pickles
adapted from Linda Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling

1/8 cup pickling salt
2 cups of water
3 cups of rind

syrup
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger sliced
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
1 cup of sugar

Hellllllo! Eat your watermelon down to the rind.  Pink, be gone.  Removed the green skin.  I used a veg peeler.  Cut up your rind into bite size pieces.  In a bowl, dissolve the salt in 2cups of water.  Add the rind and let it soak for 6 to 12 hours.  I let it soak overnight.

Drain and rinse the rind a few times.  Then, in a non-reactive pot, cover the rind with cold water.  Bring the water to a boil, then let it simmer for 5 min.  Drain the rind and set it aside.

Make a goody pouch from cheesecloth.  Tie up the spices, ginger and lemon.  Add it, along with the water, vinegar and sugar to the pot.  Bring it to a boil, then lower the temp to let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes.  Now, don’t forget to stir, stir, stir.  When the syrup is ready, take it off the heat and add the rind.  Let it sit in the syrup for 12 to 24 hours at room temp.

Prep and sterilize 3 .25L or 1/2 pint jars.  Bring the rind and syrup to a boil.  Then, turn down the heat and simmer until the rind is translucent.  Remove the goody pouch.  Fill jars and water bath process for 10 minutes.

NikkiBits: Linda’s recipe calls for a whole lot more watermelon than I’ve got space for or will carry.  So I’ve tweaked it with my old math skills, but kept it a little heavy on the lemon.

What’s Next: I’m in love. That’s good, right?  Okay, I’m always in love, but whatever.  Next, I need to make Bryant’s Citrus & Spice Pickled Watermelon Rind.

So.  Right.  This weekend.  Let’s maybe revisit this thing.

Nikki♥

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Tigress’ Can Jam | Whole Churry Preserves (June)

ummm, that’s the way it’s supposed to be spelled.

Okay.  So I’ve been missing the Mid-Atlantic States a bit lately.  With Pressure Cooker out on dvd  and the new season of Top Chef in DC,  I was thinking about what makes the whole area from VA to PA feel like home.

In many ways, it’s just hearing people speak.  It amazes me how happy I get when I hear people with the super regional accents or the ones where the smallest thing will give them away.  I kind of even watch old episodes of Homicide and The Wire just to get a little taste of a place not far from where I grew up.

One of the mainstays of Go-Go, Little Benny, passed away recently.  Along with hip-hop, it was the music I heard in the halls and lunch rooms during school.  My eyes may have rolled a bit growing up, now it just makes me smile.

Watching old interviews and a Go-Go doc from the 80s made me cringe and wistful at the same time.  All these really super specific DC things come to the fore.  There is a way of saying words that end in -ry that is SOoooo home to me.  Really, it’s r and vowels, but whatever.   It’s like very becomes vuurry like in snow flurry, with a heavy emphasis on the urr.

So in honor of the DC Metro area (urrreeeuhhh), I made Whole Churry Preserves.

Whole Churry Preserves

Adapted  from Georgeanne Brennan’s The Glass Pantry

2 lbs of ripe sweet cherries

3/12 c of sugar

2 c water

Clean cherries.  Remove stems.  Pit by gently squeezing each cherry until the pit pops out.  {My fingers were stained such a lovely color last night.  Ahhh, but the red tint was all gone by morning.}  Add the sugar and water to a heavy bottomed non-reactive pot.   Stir occasionally for 5 or so minutes to allow sugar to dissolve.

Add cherries and bring to a boil.  Then, reduce to low heat and let simmer for 1 ¾ hours.  After 1 ½ hours, raise the temp to med-low.

Since cherries are low low low on the natural pectin totem pole, Georgeanne suggests a long slow cooking time to get them to the jell point.  She suggests starting to test after 45minutes.

Wash and sterilize jars.  When cherries are ready, remove from heat.  Skim and discard any foamy bits from the surface.  Ladle into jar.  Process for 10 minutes.

The NikkiBits: The recipe yields 4 pints.  I got ummm 2.  But that probably has more to do with my nibbling tendencies.  Mmmm, churries.  If I had any of that Amarretto from last month left, I’d have used a little of that, too.

What’sNext: You know I’ve been avoiding the pectin purchase.  That’s going to have to stop.  Hello.  What were my preserves like this morning?  Can you say loosey-goosey still sloshy?  Seriously, I’m heading to the store and we’ll tighten things up tonight.

It’s interesting to see my appreciation for fresh fruits and vegetables develop even more as our canning challenge continues.   It also makes me think more about growing up on the east coast and the obvious nature of eating seasonally.  I’ve got a fridge full of berries that I want to enjoy fresh and that I want to enjoy in different ways come fall.

Nikki♥

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Tigress’ Can Jam | Ashley’s Outstanding Rhubarb Chutney (May)

april & may tcj are fighting for my heart

What can I say, but thank you.  Ashley, thank you.  Loving this recipe.  Loving my Rhubarb & Amaretto Chutney.  I didn’t even do anything to it. (♥:Do I know you????)

I get all giddy when I learn a thing or five.  This month in canning has been really cool.  Hello, this is so not a late Friday night post.  Again.  Yay!  I planned, experimented and didn’t rush.  I might have to apply that to the rest of my…

Okay.  So, I still haven’t found a locally grown source for the barb.  I kinda stopped looking for it after I found it at the downtown Ralphs.  *Bad Nikki Shrug*  I’m keeping an eye out, though.

I wanted to try something different from last week’s tasty jam.  Since most of the other canning titles on the shelf went sweet, I was excitedly hoping that Canning & Preserving with Ashley English would surprise me with something I couldn’t pass up.  HELLOOOOOO, Rhubarb and Amaretto Chutney.  I mean, really.  HELLOOOO.

As I looked over the ingredients, I saw a long overdue trip in the making.  Coriander and cumin were already on my list to get from the South Asian grocery in the neighborhood.  I’d scouted out the place before, but hadn’t put the card on the counter to pay.

It’s like spice nirvana in there.  Freakish price and quantity difference from conventional stores.  I picked up a few other things that just might find their way into a new take on Market.Watch.

Can we talk about the big bottle of amaretto I’ve got in the cabinet now?  See, that’s what I get for not reading the entire recipe.  I was way too excited to grab the straw shopping basket Mom got me and go all euro with my multiple stops that I didn’t see that I could have just replaced the alcohol with orange juice.

It’s not that I don’t drink.  A bottle of wine usually won’t make it ’til morning.  I just don’t know what to do with the makings of a little bar.  Cute, I guess.  But it means I’ll need to get some friends to hang out with the soju and amaretto.  Right?

Rhubarb and Amaretto Chutney
barely, yet adoringly adapted from Canning & Preserving with Ashley English

cheesecloth or a muslin tea bag
3 cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon whole yellow mustard seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 1/2 c rhubarb, chopped
2 c brown sugar
1 1/4 c sweet onions, chopped
1/2 c seedless raisins
2 cloves garlic, mince
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, minced
1 1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c amaretto
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
3/4 teaspoon pickling or kosher salt

Make a spice pouch from a small the cheesecloth or muslin square.  Add the cardamom pods, whole cumin, coriander, cloves, mustard seeds, black peppercorns and cinnamon to the cheesecloth.  Secure the bundle with kitchen twine.

Add the spices, brown sugar, rhubarb, onions, raisins, garlic, ginger, and vinegar to sauce pan.  Bring to a gentle boil.  Cook over medium heat, uncovered for 30 min.  Add amaretto, lemon zest, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, mustard seeds and salt.  Simmer for 30 more minutes.  Stir, stir, stir.  Ashley suggests adding a bit more water to the chutney if it begins to stick to the pot.  1/8 cup to start.

Prep and sterilize jars and lids.  Fill jars and water bath process for 10 minutes.

NikkiBits: While this is pretty much halved, where it isn’t I chose over in the over/under debate in my head.  This yields 2 .25L or 1/2 pint jars with some extra for the fridge.   I had a bit with some fish and cous cous I threw together with a bit of curry, broccoli, coconut milk and Matouk’s.  OMFrigginG.

What’s Next: Awww, man.  I can’t wait to get more/better priced rhubarb.  This really kicks.  I so want to make it to give to friends and my fave librarian. (♥:Save LAPL!)

I think I might be glad that I didn’t really like the rhubarb pie I had that summer in Canada forever ago.  I wonder if I’d appreciate the journey to the savory and sweet.
Nikki♥

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TCJ | Oh, My! It’s May

getting back into the swing of things. putting spoon to mouth.

I’ve been last minuting things a lot lately.  I didn’t want to do it for May’s edition of Tigress’ Can Jam.  I wanted to be able to take my time.  Experiment a little.  You know, breathe.

Glad I did.  The Barb was all I could see when I read Sarah’s post announcing May’s special guest star(s). Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Asparagus and Rhubarb.

I thought this would be the best opportunity to rewrite a childhood memory.  It was summer.  Montréal.  Someone offered/forced Rhubarb pie.  I didn’t understand.  It looked like red celery.  Celery + Pie = Nah, not really.  It never had the chance to be good, let alone great.

Off I went on my red stalk adventure.  Why did it take a week and numerous attempts to get my hands on freaking Rhubarb?!!!!?  See, I don’t even know how local it is.  I got it from Ralphs.  The Ralphs that kinda wants to be a Whole Foods.

Yes, it’s early.  I’m still not sure which is going to star in the R&C: TCJ Show next week.  I do know that I like the barb in my berry barb jam.  Really, I like it lots.

This was just one of those throw it in the pot things.  Based loosely on Anne V. Nelson, again.  Strawberry Rhubarb Jam with a bit of my new obsession to Nikki-fy it. (♥:Nothing compares to you, Blackberries.)

Back to work.  What should I do now, more barb or a bit of the gus?  Have you decided which will get your full attention?  Will you be ambitious and do both?

Nikki♥

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Tigress’ Can Jam | Mighty BerryMinty Jelly (April)

yummm… i think i’ve fallen in love again.

You know I’ve been kind of freakish for months over tangelos.  That really hasn’t changed, but blackberries have come a little tardy to the party and taken over. (♥: Did you just say tardy for the party? *sigh*) I love that they’re tart and dark and just IT!

Ummm, hello.  This is about TCJ.  Okay, right.  Sorry.  So this month is all about Herbs for Tigress’ Can Jam.  My herbs of choice seem to be cilantro, mint and tarragon.  Mint was the first thing to pop into my head.  Well, after tarragon, but I used tarragon last month in my, now gone, Pretty Pickled Pearls.  (♥:They were GOOD!)

Initially, I was going to do something with mint, ginger and lemon.  That whole herbs = no pectin thing kinda shut that down.  I’m wary of using commercial pectin right now because I want to learn as much as I can about natural occurring pectin.  Like which fruits are high and which are low.  This wasn’t the week to experiment with a recipe and making my own apple pectin.  Especially, since I seem to be stuck in last day post mode.

I happened upon some lonely blackberries that had just been saving themselves for yesterday in the back of the freezer.  Lightbulbs and stars started flickering in my head.  Hello, Mighty BerryMinty Jelly.

I didn’t really adapt the recipe from anywhere, but Anne V. Nelson’s The New Preserves and the 2006 edition of Irma Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking get “chock full of info” honorable mentions.

Mighty BerryMinty Jelly

2 c blackberries
1 c mint
1 c water
1 1/2 c – 2 c of sugar
1 tablespoon commercial lemon juice

Wash/clean blackberries and mint.  Steep mint in one cup of boiling water overnight.  Strain mint and discard solids.  Add blackberries and minty water to saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cook for 5-10 minutes smashing berries to get all that juice.  Strain berryminty juice using jelly bag/lined colander.  For clearer jelly, don’t force the straining.  Just give it time.  Lots of time.

When done, measure liquid.  Add lemon juice.  For every cup of liquid add 3/4 cups of sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Stir.  Stir.  Stir.  When it reaches the jell point, add to 2 sterilized .25L or 1/2 pint jars.  Process for 5 minutes.

The NikkiBits: This is minty.  Not overly so, for me, but minty nonetheless.  It’s the most beautiful purple.  I’m in love.  Seriously.  Marmalade, see you next year.  Strawberry Jam, eh.  It’s BerryMinty Jelly For Ever.  If I had an ice cream maker, all would be lost.

What’s Next: I’m making this again.  Like tonight.  I picked up more berries at the farmers’ market and I’m off to the get mint.  The batch above was a little loose, I’m going to steep with less water.  The Joy adds no water at all.  Anne adds less water for many more berries.  We’ll see.  I love that Carter made a simple syrup with her mint.  I might try that, too.

I just realized my TCJ selections seem to be color coordinated with my apt.  January, Blood Orange Marm.  Feb, Baby Carrots.  March, Pearl Onions.  April, Blackberry Mint.  Really, the colors in my apt are red, orange, purple, green, and white.  Add blue, pink and yellow/gold and it’s officially matchy-matchy.

Gotta go.  Must buy mint.

Nikki