Posts Tagged ‘ home preservation ’

Citrus Season: Tangerine Triple Sec

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Citrus Season: Tangerine Triple Sec

I’ve mentioned already that we’ve got an abundance (and then some) of tangerines at our disposal. I’ve made Tangerine-Ginger Jam. I’ve made Tangerine Syrup. Now I’m even getting boozy on you. When I spotted this recipe for homemade triple sec made from Cara Cara oranges, I had to try my hand at a slightly different version featuring our ever-plentiful tangerines.   Tangerine Triple Sec makes 5 pints 2 cups tangerine juice (about 15 tangerines) 4 cups sugar 1 cup water 750 ml bottle of vodka Peel and juice tangerines, reserving the peels from four tangerines. Use a spoon to scrape the white pith from the inside of the tangerine peel; discard. Slice the remaining peel into 1/8″ strips and divide between five pint sized jars. In a large saucepan, combine sugar and water; heat until sugar is dissolved. Stir in tangerine juice. Simmer for five minutes and then allow to cool to room temperature. Pour in entire bottle of vodka, then divide liquid between the jars. Screw on caps, set the jars in a cool dark place, and forget about them for a month. Once your month of waiting is up, strain out the tangerine peels and you’re ready to...

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Save Those Green Tomatoes – Make A Batch of Chow Chow

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Save Those Green Tomatoes – Make A Batch of Chow Chow

Circa 1970s: The old metal grinder is firmly mounted to my mom’s kitchen table, the abundance of our summer garden stacked in bowls and baskets around us. As often as I could, I’d take a turn at the grinder, cranking the handle despite my stinging, watering eyes.  I watched as onions, bell peppers, and green tomatoes were pulled into the turning screw, a crunching sound coming to my ears over the noise of the squeaky handle turning. Mom hovered, sure that with every turn of the handle one of my tender young fingers might join the mix in the pot that was catching the crushed green vegetables. Clear juices, tinted green, dripped from every point of the old grinder, running down to my elbow and then to the floor where a large towel was ready to catch the overflow. The bright green pulp from the unripe remains of a bountiful harvest would be transformed into a relish with the funny name, “chow chow.” Circa twenty-first century: As times have changed, so too have my methods.  Nowadays, an electric food processor makes quick work of the unripe tomatoes, peppers, and onions. But while I am feeling nostalgic about the days...

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Food Preservation: A Day of Home Canning

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Food Preservation: A Day of Home Canning

I recently shared my tomato chutney recipe, but I didn’t mention that on the same day I also made marinara sauce. For those of you who have yet to tackle home preservation, I thought it might be interesting for you to see what a day of canning looks like. I started with 40 pounds of tomatoes – not a lot by my usual standards – and processed most of them in a little more than five hours. In the end, I added 8-1/2 pints of chutney and 7 quarts of marinara sauce to my pantry – not bad for half a day’s work. 1:00 start making chutney 1:15 chutney ingredients in pot, ready for 2 hour boil 1:15 move chutney to back burner so I can begin with the marinara sauce 1:16 begin chopping ingredients for marinara sauce 1:35 discover that I turned on the wrong burner for chutney; remedy the situation 1:40 turn heat on under marinara; start cooking onions, peppers, and garlic 2:45 finish chopping ingredients for marinara. 3:00 put water bath canner on to heat 3:10 wash jars 3:15 put lids and rings on to sterilize 3:25 put chutney in jars and set to boil 3:30...

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Recipe: Tomato Chutney

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Recipe: Tomato Chutney

My friend Claudette is a personal chef. She cooks professionally for people who can afford such things, and sometimes for people like me who scoff at the idea of hiring a personal chef while on vacation. When Claudette cooks, people pay attention. My kids love to have dinner at her house because it is guaranteed to be a noteworthy meal.  She makes these amazing sausage rolls and serves them with a tomato chutney that is to die for. I enjoy the sausage rolls, but I have to admit, I’m fully prepared to forgo the rolls and resort to a spoon for the chutney. Seriously. That good. Claudette is not one of those high-falutin’ chefs that keeps her recipes secret, though. So when I raved (over and over again) about the chutney, she shared her recipe with me. Claudette makes hers in small batches, but if I’m chopping and cooking, I’d just as soon make a pot full, so I increased the recipe substantially. I’m happy to report that it’s just as good as Claudette’s. Tomato Chutney Makes 8-1/2 pints Mix the following ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. 2-1/2 cups red wine vinegar 3-3/4...

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Watermelon Rind Relish

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Watermelon Rind Relish

A couple of years ago I made a fabulous relish with my surplus zucchini. It was a sweet relish, very much like the Del Monte hamburger relish I grew up with. I’d been having a hard time finding hamburger relish in stores, so I decided to try making it at home. It was a hit. We used it on hamburgers (of course) but also in egg salad and potato salad to really add a nice flavor. Unfortunately, my squash crop hasn’t done very well this year, and I’ve been so sad to not have zucchini to make more of this delicious relish. Yesterday, my son brought home a watermelon, and as I was cutting it I thought about making watermelon rind pickles. I’ve never even had watermelon rind pickles, but it seemed like a great way to eliminate waste, so I cut the rind into pieces. As I set them aside I had a wicked crazy wonderful idea: watermelon rinds might make a great substitute for zucchini in my beloved relish. Following our family credo of “What would happen if…?” I decided to go for it. And oh my. I am so excited about how this turned out. And...

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Anatomy of a Canning Jar

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Anatomy of a Canning Jar

If you’ve never preserved your garden abundance by canning, the system can be a little confusing. A friend of mine – one who’s never canned before – was asking about canning and I was reminded that although I grew up understanding how a canning jar works, many people just don’t. The jars The jars most commonly used for home preservation these days come from Ball and Kerr. They are glass and come in a variety of sizes, from small four-ounce containers to half-gallon sized. All of these jars are approved for home canning use except for the half-gallon size. The small sizes are good for jams and jellies, especially those that you plan to give as gifts. (Even with a relatively small family of four, I wouldn’t dream of canning anything in a four-ounce jar unless it was for a gift basket; we’d finish a jar of that size in a day!) Pint and quart sized jars come in both a standard or wide mouth, referring to the size of the jar’s opening. Wide mouth jars are useful for preserving larger items like peach halves or for pickles that need the be placed in the jar by hand. Glass...

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Welcome

It’s one thing to think, “Hey, I’d love to be more self-sufficient!” and quite another to implement a lifestyle change that might require learning some new skills.

Attainable Sustainable is about bridging the gap between wanting change and making it happen without becoming overwhelmed. Nobody’s saying you have to go get a tractor and a cow. Attainable Sustainable is about discovering – one step at a time – how to make changes in your life to support a sustainable lifestyle.

The Author

Kris Bordessa has been gardening for most of her life. She's been authoring books and writing features for the past ten years or so. It's about time she combined the two, don't you think? [More about the author]