Apricot Vanilla Bean Jam ~ Mes Confitures

You asked for it, so here it is! This is my favorite jam. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to find organic apricots for only 50 cents a pound, so what to do? Buy 10 lbs and make apricot vanilla bean jam, of course!

The inspiration for this jam comes from Christine Ferber's jam making Bible, Mes Confitures. This book is incredible. It has so many amazing jam recipes - black cherry with Pinot noir, raspberry with white peach, apple with caramel. Is your mouth watering yet? She's called the fairy godmother of jams and jellies, and she deserves it.

Alright, recipe time!


Apricot Vanilla Bean Jam
adapted from Christine Ferber's Mes Confitures

2 + 1/2 lbs ripe apricots
3 + 3/4 cups granulated sugar
7 oz water (a little less than a cup)
juice of one small lemon
2 Vanilla Beans, or 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

1. Rinse and pit the apricots. Place the apricots, the sugar, water, lemon juice, and vanilla bean split lengthwise (or vanilla bean paste) in a large heavy bottomed pot, and mash with a potato masher. (Ferber has you do some macerating and over night stuff, and then you peel off the skins, but that is way too fussy for me!)

2. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cook on high heat, until the jam reaches 221 degrees. Or be lazy like me and forget the thermometer - boil until the jam sets (you can check the sit by dripping some onto a cold plate. It it sets instead of runs, it's done!)

3. Put the jam immediately into canning jars and seal.

Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa!

This salsa makes me angry. It makes me angry because I have been paying $4 for little jars of salsa for year and years, and now I find out that making your own big jar of salsa is not only delicious and easy, but it's also dirt cheap! Do you have access to some tomatoes, garlic, onions, and jalapeno peppers? Then you have the making of some great salsa on your hands.

This being me, I am also excited to have more control over the ingredients, and I can keep out nasty villains like corn syrup, excessive sodium, and preservatives, and risky chemicals like BPA or whatever else they use to line cans and jar lids. But that's just me and my ever lasting quest to get more healthy food into my family!

I have only made this one way, but I like to think that this is a good base recipe for making different flavors of sauce. Here are some suggestions for flavors:

Three Pepper: Add 3 cored bell peppers to roasting pan, in red, orange, and yellow
Garlic Chipotle: Replace jalapeno with 1 - 2 canned Chipotle peppers (depending on how spicy you want it) and 1 tsp adobo sauce. Increase garlic to 5-6 cloves
Pineapple: Add 2 thick slices cored fresh pineapple, or 1/2 a cup drained canned pineapple
Spicy Smoky Peach: Add 1 fresh peach, slices in half and pit removed, and replace jalapeno with 1/2 a chipotle pepper + adobo (or more if you like it hot!)
Double Chipotle: Add 1 - 2 canned chipotle peppers + adobo sauce, and 1 teaspoon smoke chipotle chili powder

Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa Recipe
adapted from Everyday Food, June 2011

Ingredients
4-5 ripe tomatoes, sliced in half, and seeds removed
2-4 jalapeno peppers, tops cut off, and seeds removed (use your discretion here - if you like your salsa mild, use one pepper with the seeds removed. It you like it really spicy, do 4 peppers with the seeds still in, since that's the spiciest part.
2 cloves garlic, skin on
1 large white onion, peeled and cut in half
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1 cup loosely packed)
lime juice
sea salt
cracked black pepper
additional pepper if desired, such as cayenne or chipotle

1. Turn on oven broiler. A gas stove is best, since you will get that awesome flame kissed flavor, but an electric stove will work too. Place tomatoes and onion cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet, along with garlic and jalapenos. broil 5-10 minutes, until tomatoes and onions are softened and charred (if garlic begins to burn, remove it early). Remove from boiler, and let cool to handle.

2. Roughly chop tomatoes, onion, and jalapenos, and peel garlic. Place in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add chopped cilantro, the juice of 1 lime (about 1.5 tablespoons), sea salt, pepper, and chili (if using), and pulse until incorporated. Taste, and correct seasoning. Serve immediately, or transfer to a container, and refridgerate up to 4 days (or, you could can it and stock your pantry!) enjoy!

Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes

See these tomatoes? These are tomatoes I did NOT grow in my garden. Even though I have 21 tomato plants growing in my back yard, I haven't harvested a single tomato all summer. NOT ONE. This has officially been the coldest, grayest, most gloomy summer ever, and I have hardly a thing ripe in my garden, other than pickles, even though it's nearly mid-August.

If you happen to hail from somewhere other than the promise land, then you may not know that in Southern California, and particularly in the beach cities, we usually experience what we call "June Gloom" during the first few weeks of the summer. It's overcast and cool, and on particularly heavy days in can even sprinkle a little bit of rain. It usually clears up by July 4th and everyone spends the rest of the summer lying around scantily clad and eating gelato, riding beach cruisers, and getting enviably tan. This summer, we have all been bundling up in parkas and wondering if the sun will ever shine again.





So I didn't grow these tomatoes. The weather? She is not so cooperative this summer. I am only a tiny little bit cranky about this.

I don't know about you, but I have of sort of devotion to fire roasted diced tomatoes. I love them with the burning love of a thousand suns. Whenever a recipe calls for canned tomatoes, my heart leaps just a little bit because I am just so! in! Love! with that smokey, caramelized yumminess. Lately, though, we have been forgoing many recipes calling for canned anything, because a new study has shown that bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical in the plastics used to line the interior of food cans, leaches into food. BPA is an estrogen mimicker and an endocrine disruptor, and can be especially harmful for babies and young children. It is associated with cancers, early puberty, low sperm count, infertility, heart disease, obesity, and developmental problems such as ADD. It has been banned from baby and toddler bottles in 5 states, and legislation for a similar ban is working its way through California's political machine even as I type this. If you or your children consume canned and packed foods on a regular basis, you are likely exposing yourself and your children to BPA, and in amounts that are high enough to affect your family's health. Scary, right?




Canned food? We don't really eat it anymore. And yes, I could buy the fancy organic canned tomatoes in the enamel lined can from the health store, and I do buy then when I need some canned tomatoes in a pinch. But the health food store is on the other side of town, and making the extra trip can be a bit of a hassle, and OMG it almost gives me a heart attack to pay $5 for a can of tomatoes. Plus, how cool is it to make your own?? Super cool.

You could can these the traditional way (I give directions below), freeze them, or just make small batches, store them in the fridge, and eat them as a summer treat. They are fantabulous on top of salmon. Whatever you decide to do, there couldn't be a easier, cheaper, or healthier way to make your own fire roasted, diced tomatoes. BPA-free and all :)






Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes

Ingredients
tomatoes
lemon juice (optional)


Preheat grill or broiler. Halve tomatoes or slice into thick wedges. Scrape seeds out with a spoon or the tip of your finger (I forgot to do this for this batch, so there are lots of seeds in the photos).


Grill or broil tomatoes, until they are softened and slightly charred. Remove from heat, and let cool. Remove skins - they should just peel right off, easy.


Pack into sterilized canning jar, and add 1 TBS of lemon juice for every cup of tomatoes (this is to make sure the ph level of the jars is correct, given the offchance there are some botulism spores in your jars. If you are freezing your tomatoes or planning on consuming them right away, you can skip this step).


Add a little water so the jars are full up. Screw the lids on the jars, and process in a water bath (boil in a pot with water 1" over the tops of the jars) for 40 minutes. Remove jars from water, and let cool. If the jars have sealed properly, the jar lids will dimple down, and they can be stored in your pantry all winter long, up until next summer, when you get to make some more with next tomato crop. Enjoy!

Crisper than a Klausen's! Crisp Refreshing Homemade Fermented Kosher Dill "Half Sour" Pickles

Last summer I totally fell in love with the idea of making my own pickles. Full of optimism, I bought 5 pounds of the most gorgeous Persian cucumbers, and spent hours slicing cukes, simmering vinegar, perfecting seasonings, canning and processing. And oh my, those pickles were gorgeous: they looked like jewels in their shining glass jars. We waited in anticipation for the jars to cool, the pickles to pickle, the spices to infuse, and when we opened the first jar, pulled out the first emerald spears, we closed our eyes, took a bite and...

mush.

Absolute mush.




So soft and mushy that the pickles disintegrated in their pretty jars until they looked like jars of sad pea green soup. We threw them all away.

It was such a bitter and total epic FAIL, that I couldn't even blog about it. That's how disappointed I was (according to my husband, I do not deal well with disappointment or frustration. Go figure.) In typical fashion, I vowed that one day, I would indeed conquer the pickle, once and for all!




That day is today. It turns out I did a few things wrong last year. First, I used the wrong kind of cucumbers. Slicing cucumbers, the sort of cukes usually found in big chain grocery stores, tend to be soft and watery, perfect for salads and cucumber sandwiches, but far too soft for pickles. Those Persian cucumbers were so soft and bendy I was doomed from the start. What you want are pickling cucumbers, which are crisp enough to stay crunchy for the long haul. Second, the brine/hot pack waterbath process also had me doomed, because the heat that sterilizes the brine also cooks the cucumbers, making them that much softer.

The secret to getting really crisp, really deliciously cool pickles is to skip the "quick-pickle" method and do it the old fashioned way: fermentation. This is the way pickles have traditionally been made throughout history, and they are incredibly delicious. And not only do they taste better than their shelf-stable vinegared cousins, but they are better for you. Fermented pickles are "pickled" by friendly lactic acid bacteria. This fermentation renders foods easier to digest, introduces "good" probiotic bacteria into the gut (much like yogurt or kefir), and lastly, offers an alkaline balance to acidic foods, like meat. Also, they taste better. What's not to love?





"Half Sour" Kosher Dill Pickles
probably the hardest thing about this recipe is finding the right kind of cucumbers to pickle. This summer, I grew my own organic pickling cucumbers in my back yard, but you can also also find pickling cucumbers at farmer's markets and specialty stores. I think you can probably use Persian or kirby cucumbers in this recipe, but I can't guarantee how crisp the results will be.

It is VERY important that the brine is made exactly as the recipe indicates, with the exact same ratio of water to salt. Fermentation pickling works by allowing the lactic bacteria, naturally present on the surface of all vegetables, to flourish and ferment the cucumbers. The salt brine inhibits the growth of other bacteria, so it's important to be at the right strength. Too little salt, and bad bacteria may grow in your pickles. Too much salt, and the pickles are too salty to eat without soaking first.

This recipe is for "half sours," or pickles that are half-fermented and finished off with a splash of vinegar. They take about 2 days to ferment, give or take depending on the weather. You can flavor your pickles with whatever spices and herbs you like, through fresh dill and mustard seeds are traditional and a good place to start. Or you can get creative, adding minced fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, olives, red peppers, etc.

Ingredients
small firm cucumbers, such as pickling, kirby, or persian cucumbers
pure filtered water
kosher salt or sea salt (no iodine)
fresh dill
mustard seeds
optional: red pepper flakes, minced garlic, black pepper, etc.

1. Scrub cucumbers well, and cut of flower end, as it contains enzymes which can soften the cucumber. If desired, slice cucumbers into spears or slices. Rinse any herbs you will be using as well.

2. Pack cucumbers into a large food-grade crock or jar, leaving at least 1" of head space at the top. I have been making mine in large French style mason jars, but you can make them in almost anything. Pack cracks with sprigs of fresh dill and sprinkle with mustard seeds or other spices.

3. Make brine: mix together salt and water, with 1/4 cup salt to every 4 cups water. Mix together thoroughly, until brine is clear. Pour over packed cucumbers.

4. Cover pickles with a lid or cheesecloth, and let ferment. Depending on how warm or cool your home is, this process can take anywhere from 2 - 7 days. When small bubbles begin to form on the surface of the pickles and dill, you pickles are done. You can continue to let them ferment as long as you wish: they will not go bad, they will simply continue to intensify in acidic flavor. When your pickles are at the desired sourness, pour off the 1" of brine head space, and add a splash of vinegar. Store in the fridge, which will slow fermentation. Enjoy!

Homemade Fresh Strawberry Jam

C

Internet, I am tired. Really, really tired. Wait, just a second - my grumpy 5 week old baby who has been fussing for 2 hours seems to have spit his pacifier out again. Be right back.

...

ok. So? Where were we? Oh, right. I'm so tired. ... Wait. OMG. He spit it out again. Be right back.

...

So. Babies? SO MUCH WORK. I think that if I can make my own strawberry jam in the middle of all this, you surely can too.




This week we finally made it to the farmer's market in our town. We had previously gone in January (hahah! Because there is SO much produce in season cum January) and were less than impressed. But THIS week! This glorious week! The booths were overflowing with the freshest, ripest, most beautiful strawberries I have ever seen. Strawberries that were just picked, this morning. If you have been buying strawberries at the grocery store, STOP. Just stop. Because the strawberries at the farmers market were sweeter, riper, softer, AND cheaper. They literally melted in our mouths. I paid 2$ a pint for freshly picked, local, certified organic strawberries, the best strawberries I have ever had. The grocery store charges $2.75 a pint for hard, sour, unripe, pesticide coated strawberries that have been shipped half-way across the country. You do the math on this one, but I think the farmer's market strawberries are going to come out ahead. Plus, more of my $ went into the farmer's pockets and back into my community to support MY neighbors, instead of going to support the huge agribusinesses.


Nate and I made strawberry jam for the first time last September. I had bought a flat of late summer berries at a discount, and they had to be used RIGHT AWAY. Jam was really the only thing I could think of that would require so many berries, so, we made some.

OMG.

Once you have had homemade jam, there is NO going back. It is just SO much better than grocery store jam. And you know what? It's really, ridiculously easy. You don't even need to can it (which, I understand, can be scary and intimidating). You can freeze it, or you can make a small batch and stick it right into your fridge. I mean, if I can do it while caring for my grumpy, feed-me, hold-me, burp-me, change-me, comfort-me newborn baby, I think you can too.






Homemade, Fresh Strawberry Jam

One of the great things about strawberry jam is that you don't need much more than strawberries and a few things you have around the house. Do you have white sugar? Do you have lemons? Do you have some strawberries? Then you are good to go! You don't even need anything fancy like canning jars or pectin.

This recipe is really just a formula - for 1 pint strawberries / 3/4 cup sugar / half a lemon. It's that simple. For the rest of this post, I am going to just tell you what I made, but if you have more or less strawberries, just adjust your recipe accordingly.





Start with 4 pints strawberries. Make sure they are fresh, ripe, and luscious. They should be ripe all the way up, with no white at the tops. It's ok if they are a little bruised here and there (strawberries are so delicate), but cut out any rotten bits, and definitely throw away any that have mold.




Wash, hull, and halve berries. Place them in a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan.




Add 3 cups white sugar.




Then add the juice of 2 lemons.




Mash it all up with a potato masher over high heat.




Bring it to a boil. If it gets foamy on top... You have FAILED. No, no, JUST KIDDING! Foaming is normal. Keep at a low boil for 20-40 minutes. You know it's done when the jam gels up on a cold surface. Put a droplet on a pint of icecream. Does it gel? It's done! (What? I don't exactly keep a cold plate in my freezer at all times).




Let jam cool. The foam will dissolve, and you can stir it in.




You can jar it, tupperware it, freeze it, you eat it right out of the pot. Whatever you do with it, I promise it will be delicious.