TOMATOES! Sunday, September 19

Roy and Jayne Toma have offered their spacious kitchen, just a couple hundred yards from Catherine Store, for canning tomatoes on a Sunday afternoon when we can get the ripe tomatoes.  David Bedford and I have inquired about availability of ripe organic tomatoes from Paonia/Hotchkiss, and found that we can get as many pounds of ripe tomos as we want, around Thursday, September 16.  If you're wondering what you can preserve with tomatoes beside spaghetti sauce, check out the chutney, salsa, soups, even catsup recipes at: http://www.canning-recipes.com/  Please calculate how many pounds of tomatoes you'll want, so we can order them all at once.  We'll need to know your quantities by Monday evening, September 13, so we can give our farmer time to harvest them for delivery to Basalt on Thursday.  I calculate that 2-pounds of tomatoes will fill a 1-quart jar, whole, diced or pureed.  Making sauce with lots of other ingredients, you may end up with as little as 1.5 pounds of tomatoes per finished quart.

We will receive the tomatoes in Basalt on Thursday, September 16.  We'll ask everyone to make their tomato sauce or other recipe, or pre-peel their tomatoes to be canned whole before Sunday, and arrive at the canning workshop with a pot full of your recipe, and the jars and lids you'll need for canning it.  There will be a gas stove in the kitchen where you can re-heat your recipe, and a large pot of boiling water on the patio outside, for sterilizing your jars and curing them after filling and sealing.

We'll begin the canning operations at 1:00 pm, and plan to finish by 5:00.

I just opened a jar of tomatoes I pureed and canned in the Autumn of 2009, and blended the contents with a bit of lemon and salt to make a delicious tomato juice.  Makes me anxious to can the new crop for next year!

MT

Cucumber Pickles - August 8, 2010

Workshop Pickles:

After obtaining two bushels (50.lb) of organic pickling cucumbers from a farmer in Paonia CO, we set about to collect our spices.  In addition to the usual garlic and dill, we filled bowls with chopped onions, preserved lemon*, lemon thyme, tarragon, jalapeno peppers, ginger, caraway seed, peppercorns, rosemary and basil;

We washed all the cucumbers and laid them out on a large towel on our work table;

We brought a large stewpot of brine (9 quarts water, 3 quarts vinegar and 2 cups salt) to a boil;

We sterilized our canning jars and lids in boiling water for ten minutes;

We loaded the sterilized jars with herbs and spices, and packed them full of cucumbers, then we poured the hot brine into each jar to within 1/4" of the jar rim, wiped the rim clean and secured a sterile lid on it with a retainer ring;

Finally, we stacked the finished jars into the large boil pot, and boiled them for 10 - 15 minutes, then pulled them out and let them cool.

Each jar has a unique combination and density of herbs and spices.  We will each decide upon our favorite flavor combinations, for next year's harvest.

Bon Apetit'!

(click on "read more" link to see photos of the canning workshop):

Roasted Chili Peppers - July 25, 2010

Roasted Chili Peppers:
First, determine the blend of mild and hot chilis you would like to preserve, according to how spicy you want your result;
Second, remove stems, skin and seeds from chilis, and dice the chili flesh as desired and place in a saucepan on medium heat;
Third, for every cup (8.oz) of diced chilis, blend in 1 tsp of olive oil;
Fourth, for every pint (16.oz) of diced chilis, blend in 1/8 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp of lemon juice (or 1/4 tsp of preserved lemon*);
Bring mixture to a slow simmer, covered, while you sterilize your canning jars and lids in boiling water;
Fill jars to within 1/4" of jar rim and place lids and rings on jars and set aside until all are filled;
Place jars into pressure cooker with boiling water covering all the jars, clamp lid on pressure cooker and bring up to pressure;
Cook for 10 - 15 minutes, then cool pressure cooker under warm running water in the sink.  When pressure is completely released, open lid and remove finished jars, set aside to cool.  Repeat pressure cooker operation until all your jars of chilis have been pressure-cured and set aside to cool;
Jar lids should "snap" inward upon cooling, which will seal jar contents.  Test by removing the ring and lifting each jar by the sealing lid.  If lid comes off, that jar has not sealed in the pressure cooker, and must be refrigerated and eaten soon.  All jars that achieved a proper seal may be safely stored at room temperature for several years.

Bon Apetit'!

*Preserved Lemon:  Find a nice covered jar to keep in the refrigerator, and fill it with finely chopped lemons, including everything but the seeds, and for each lemon, 1 tsp of salt.  Mix well, and use in any savory recipe, to supplement or replace salt.  I use it in salad dressings, sauces, stews, soups, stir-fry, marinades, etc.

Local Food Movement - Preserving the Harvest

Why are we running canning workshops?  Farmers in the North Fork Valley (Paonia, Hotchkiss) still have more fresh, organic local produce in season than the public is buying through farmers markets, so we're training people to be successful canning.  This will slowly expand the demand for fresh local produce, especially in bushel quantities, thus absorbing more of our local harvest and valuing our local farmers a little more.
We hope this practice will lead to canning clubs, church groups and families seeking out fresh food, even being inspired to plant their own gardens, and taking their local food practice into complete circles.  The education we all gain from this will be incredible, and the community culture it creates will make it really fun and beneficial for everyone.
Michael Thompson and David Bedford