And so it Begins

It's time. The cherries are ripe. All of the time spent wishing and waiting has paid off. The cherries are here. Our friend, Pam, gave us some of the most gorgeous Rainer cherries from Congdon Orchards. Aren't they beautiful?

We dusted off the old cherry pitter and set off to work, pitting every single cherry. At first it seems a little monotonous, but soon everyone got into the groove. It was definitely a team effort. Kaya had us covered with the de-stemming and rinsing, I pitted away, and Kale made sure the pits were out and transferred them to the bowl.

Soon we were done. There they are, our cherries ready to be processed into our Berry Cherry Jam, Spiced Cherries (I know they are Rainer cherries, but hey - why not?) and of course the freezer.

Canning is a feat in itself. Sanitizing and making sure everything is ready to go takes some practice. After lining up the sanitized jars, making sure there are enough brand new lids, and of course cooking the jam or cherries, don't forget the pectin!

I have been wanting to make this Berry Cherry Jam for a while now and figured this as good a time as any to do it. I had some left over strawberries frozen from last year and because we will be getting a new crop in soon, I thought we would just use those suckers up. The recipe I used was a low-sugar version, and it turned out just as sweet as could be. I don't think we will miss the sugar at all.

I also did spiced cherries. My kids really love these and they will eat entire jarfuls at a time. They are super easy to make, and you can put them over ice cream, pancakes, anything really. We tasted everything and it all turned out pretty good, phew!

When you have spent a day (really, 2 because of all of that pitting) canning, it is music to your ears to hear the sweet little "pops" of the vacuum seal doing its work. Thank goodness, all of our canning was worthwhile and we heard every single jar's "pop". Except for one.

There was just one mishap. When I was transferring this slippery fella from the waterbath to towel to cool, it slipped out of my hand and fell to the ground. Splashing its molten liquid all over my legs. Yowza!

After it was all said and done, we had 6 (well 5, plus the fallen) jars of Berry Cherry Jam and 9 jars of spiced cherries. Very good, I am happy with that.

Erika's Spiced Cherries

1 quart pitted Rainer Cherries from Congdon Orchards

3 cups of water (should cover most of cherries)

1 cup of sugar to taste

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 tsp cinnamon

3 or 4 drops of red food coloring

Mix all ingredients in a large pot. Bring water to a boil, stirring until the cherries are soft. Line up clean pint jars. Pour cherries into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Clean off the tops of the jars and adjust the 2 piece caps. Process in the waterbath for 15 minutes. Let cool. Listen for those sweet little "pop's". When you hear them, you know you're in business.

Well, Hello...

Summer.  Ooh.  I like the sound of that.  Summer.  The way it slips off your tongue.  Summer.  Outside, grilling, swimming, reading, swinging: Summer.  Stay up late - Summer...
and boy, are we ready for it!

Kale Swinging

Kaya

It seems like we woke up one day (today) and BAM! summer.  There was no gentle warning. It was simply a lifetime away, then it was here.  I'm not complaining.  Summer is my favorite.  I love the heat, the energy (or lack there of).  Maybe it's because of my job - summer is always, well SUMMER (!!).  School's out, it's time to play.  To me, summer is all about just that.  Up here (in the Great Pacific Northwest, that is) days are long. I mean, really long.  The sun peeks its little head out before anyone should, I am talking before 5, and sets around 9. That's a long day. Plenty of time to pack the fun in.  There is plenty to do, right in our own back yard.  My general feeling is, the more time we spend outside, the better.  Get dirty, jump in the pool, play, repeat - no problem because it's SUMMER.

Kale with our Chickie

Kaya and Kale

Kaya with our Chickie

Swimming.  Summer is about swimming.  Swimming for fun.  Outside.  Something happens when you jump into that freezing water with your kids.  It takes you back in time - splashing and squealing. Summer is about the kids.  Really, what did I do with my summers before kids, anyway?  Nothing this fun.

Kaya and Kale: Super Summer Swimmers

What about those lazy days of summer?  With all of that activity, relaxation is in order.  Summer means sitting outside on the porch with a tall glass of iced tea reading or just sitting.  What to eat? We decided to give these Lemon-Lime Basil Shortbread Cookies a try. (I have a serious sweet tooth.)  After spending all day outside, we showered up, popped in a movie, made dinner (meatball subs) and some new cookies.  It sounded like a great idea, right? We have basil growing in our very own garden. What an interesting new recipe to try.

We started off, like the good little bakers that we are, by lining up ingredients, taking out mixing bowls and the big food processor.  Kaya put the ingredients into the processor methodically, not missing a beat. I mean, really, we are old pro's at cookie making - it should be smooth sailing.

Everything is loaded up ready to go, so it's Kale's turn to pulse it to mix our dough.  Kale pushes the button .. nothing.  We push again...nothing.  We move to another plug...nothing.  Is my trusty food processor really pooped out?

Well, now we have to move to plan B.  We will just mix it together by hand.

This works, too.  It's the old fashioned way, the farm girl way.  Mixing by hand.  No problem.

I was expecting the food processor so the basil pieces are a little bigger than ideal but still we are on track, I think.

We balled up the little guys, sprinkled the heck out of them with powdered sugar and mashed them with a cup. Ta da: ready for the oven.  Then, I called my mom (this was not a good choice).  I started talking to her about the food processor and my school work and blah blah blah...Then I realized...the cookies!  I ran inside (because I was outside, it being summer and all) and took our sweet little citrus basil cookies out of the oven.  They were a little (a lot) brown around the edges.  But still, I think it was a success.  We persevered until the end.  They are actually really good, very mild. Kale loved them and before I knew it three (or maybe four) were missing. I would recommend them with or without a food processor but definitely with a watchful eye on the oven.

Lemon-Lime Basil Shortbread Cookies 
 from the Bon Appetit July 2011 magazine

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar plus more for pressing cookies
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 cubes
2 tbs sliced basil leaves
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest plus 1tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. finely grated lime zest
1/4 tsp kosher salt
sanding sugar (optional - I didn't use)

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Mix all ingredients except sanding sugar in food processor (or by hand).  Measure level tablespoons of dough, roll into balls.  Dust with powdered sugar, press a measuring cup onto them to flatten.  Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar, if using. Bake until edges are brown, about 20 minutes.  Let cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Give them a try and let me know how it turns out with the food processor!
E

Adventures in Sausage Making

Some ladies may spend their birthday or Christmas money on a nice handbag or some new clothes, but me, I bought myself a meat grinder and sausage stuffer this year. Call it dorky if you must, but I am very excited. Every time I think about buying sausage at the grocery store, I turn the package over, look at the nutrition info/ingredient list, and put the package back. I have such a hard time ingesting all the sodium and chemical ingredients that come in ready made, processed foods. Hence, the strong desire to make sausage at home from scratch. My first mission with my new toys was to make breakfast sausage because, lets face it, there is nothing better in the morning than some fresh breakfast sausage and eggs. My goal was to make the sausage using a recipe from the book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing, and then use a tip I picked up from the Mother Earth News Fair to pipe out the ground meat into links and freeze the links, thus eliminating the need for casings which typically hold the sausage in place. I bought this book last year and salivate every time I read the recipes in it.

Below I will tell my tale of a first attempt at making homemade breakfast sausage. I always set the bar extremely low the first time I try a new recipe or technique. This past weekend, it was a good thing the bar was set at ground level. The food ended up tasting pretty darn good, but the journey from chunk of meat to  final product was a long and treacherous one. If you try this at home, the only equipment you will absolutely need is some sort of meat grinder. I have a KitchenAid stand mixer, so I bought the meat grinder attachment (KitchenAid FGA Food Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixers) to go on it. As a side note, I cut this recipe in half and it made plenty of breakfast sausage for a first-timer.

Adaptation of Breakfast Sausage with Fresh Ginger and Sage 
from the book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

 

5  pounds boneless pork shoulder butt, diced

1.5  ounces kosher salt (about 3 tablespoons)

5  tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

5  tablespoons tightly packed finely chopped fresh sage

1  tablespoon minced garlic

2  teaspoons ground black or white pepper

1  cup ice water

1. Combine all ingredients except the water and toss to distribute the seasonings. Chill until ready to grind. 

Pork with Fresh Sage, Ginger, and Garlic

~ The book recommends letting the mixture sit over night to let the flavors really meld together. It also recommends removing all the silver skin from the pork before you dice it. If I would have done that, it wouldn't have gunked up my grinder so bad.

2. Grind the mixture through the small die into a bowl set in ice.

~ Setting the bowl in a larger bowl of ice really did come in handy. I honestly thought the grinding would be a quick process, but between a fussy baby and a constantly gunked-up grinder attachment, the meat stayed out longer than I wanted it to. The book also recommends keeping your meat as cold as possible through the entire process.  "Sausage that gets too warm can   "break ," meaning the fat and the protein will separate from each other when cooked, resulting in a dry, crumbly texture rather than a smooth, firm, juicy bite. "

3. Add the water to the meat mixture and mix with the paddle attachment (or a sturdy spoon) until the liquid is incorporated and the mixture has developed a uniform, sticky appearance, about 1 minute on medium speed.

~ This mixing action develops the proteins in the meat (as the same action develops the protein in bread dough) which ensures the meat sticks together and doesn't break apart when cooking.

 

4. Saute a portion of the sausage, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

5. Spoon sausage into pastry bag with large, round tip (the size you want your sausage diameter to be) OR spoon into a gallon-size ziploc bag and cut one corner to the diameter you want your sausage to be.

6. Pipe out sausage onto cookie sheets in the link length you prefer.

7. Freeze cookie sheets for one hour.

8. Remove sheets from freezer. Remove links and package for the long stay in the freezer. 

~ I piped the sausage straight onto the cookie sheets, but it was very hard to remove the frozen links. Next time I will try either lightly spraying the cookie sheets with a cooking spray or lining the sheets with wax paper before piping out the meat.

9. Cook links to an internal temperature of 150 degrees.

~ I am still learning the proper method for packaging meat for freezer life. I thought it would be a great idea to use my vacuum sealer to package portion sizes of the frozen sausage links. When I opened one package the next day, I had a giant lump of meat instead of cute little individual sausages. I had to use a small knife to whittle out the links.

One Frozen Block of Sausage

 I cooked the links in the oven since I was busy in the kitchen and that seemed to work fine.  

They Ain't Pretty, But They Eat Just The Same

My husband and I both agreed that the sausage links were missing a certain flavor that is found in traditional breakfast sausage, but Im not sure yet what the missing flavor is. Next time I will try adding fennel seeds, or maybe some dry mustard.  If you have a great recipe or tips, let me know!

~NM

This is it

Yes, this is it.  The last and most lonesome jar of blueberry jam.  This is my breakfast of choice almost every day and it is coming to an abrupt end.  Because of our crazy, cold, windy, unpredictable spring, our berries are still growing and promise to be ready to cook up for jam soon. So this year, I will be sure to pick and can just a few more so that I will not have this sad, sad story to report, again.

All is not lost, though. It means that now I can really plan out my canning.  I believe this year I will start with  the same: blueberry and strawberry but maybe even add some to my list.  You should see my book (Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving)  it shows signs of its history.  The pages have millions of sticky notes protruding from every side, complete with notes and wish lists.  Pages are 'doggie eared' and loved while the binding is well worn.  The sad thing is, this book isn't that old.

This one is new, mine is well worn...

I am thinking cherries.  Last year I canned some spiced cherries and the kids loved them, I did not make close to enough.  I was definitely thinking of that again but also some Berry-Cherry Jam.  So...here's to patience in Yakima (it seems to be the underlying theme of spring) and the thought of cherries.

Berry-Cherry Jam
Adapted from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving 

1 quart of strawberries
1 pint sweet cherries
1 cup of water
1 package, no sugar needed pectin

Wash the fruit, pit the cherries and crush them.  Combine all ingredients into a large pot.  Stir to dissolve the pectin. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly (don't be shy about this). Add the sweetener according to the package directions.  Ladle into sanitized jam jars, leaving 1/4 in. head space. Remove air bubbles, adjust the two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Now we just patiently wait for these cherries to ripen up...




E

Summer Hops

As I was driving my daily commute to nowhere (it seems), through orchards, vineyards, fields of mint, and hops it occurred to me that to begin my summer a little dose of hops is in order: beer.  Mmm.. Have you ever seen hops? 

Hops

They are magical vines that (through the aid of a huge trellis) reach up to the sky.  It reminds me of being under water and swimming through a huge forest of seaweed.  It’s pretty amazing.  Moving to the Yakima Valley gave me a better appreciation of hops. Before I moved here I really had no idea what hops even looked like.  

Hops

Hops

I have always appreciated a good beer.  In fact, I am fairly particular about my beer.  Certain seasons require certain beers.  Summer, now: the beginning of summer, calls for an IPA.  (That is almost always my beer of choice.)  We have a few breweries around us.  There is Yakima Craft Brewery in town and it even has a tasting room.  Recently we tested out Snipes Mountain Brewery   in Sunnyside, WA.  It was amazing and had good food to boot.  I had the Sunnyside Pale Ale and it was great. Another superb place to get local delicious beer is The Beer Shoppe.

In fact, we have even made our own beer.  Using this great book: “How to Brew” we mixed, fermented, and bottled several batches of our own brew. It is a great project but does take quite a bit of time.  You do need some materials and lots of bottles.  But with loads of patience, in the end you have your own beer, made by you.  So worth it. 

Tracy's Home Brew

Tracy's Home Brew

Tracy's Home Brew

So the real question here is: what to eat with beer? I know, I know: everything.  But what is your favorite thing to munch on while enjoying a good beer?  The answer for us is nachos.  Not just any nachos: High Desert nachos.  These legendary nachos are served on pizza platters and  come in extra small through extra large (if memory serves me correctly).  When you order a medium, the waiter/waitress says: Are you sure?  These nachos are huge!  Of course High Desert is a brewery in Las Cruces, New Mexico and we are in Yakima, Washington.

High Desert Nachos  - To Go

Then it’s time to make our own version of these famous little guys.

Salsa

High Desert Nachos - Yakima Style
16 oz, pepper jack cheese
Queso you could make it, we bought Tostitos brand 15 oz jar
1 9 oz bag of white corn chips
1 9oz bag of blue corn chips
Salsa of your choice
1 can of black beans, drained
Sour cream (optional)
Diced tomatoes (optional)
Jalapeños, sliced (optional)
Growler of Moxee Pale Ale (optional)

Preheat the broiler.  The key to these nachos is in the layers.  Arrange chips (half of white and half of the blue) on a cookie sheet.  Cover with half of the queso, cheese, salsa and beans.  Put another layer of chips on top, repeat with queso, cheese, salsa, and beans. Bake until melty, oozy, and delicious (keep an eye on it - it goes fast!).  Top with diced tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream and jalapeños.  Serve beer with nachos, or visa versa. 

So, this is how I start my summer.  It is going to be a good one!

E