Tag Archives: canning

Summer is Over – Fall Means Canning in My House

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I can’t believe it is already September! Where has 2016 gone? Shit! I sound like an old woman, railing against the passage of time! Fall means I need to start canning and here in the desert heat I end up doing it late at night.

We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day

This summer was such a whirlwind of activity and travel that I have barely had a chance to catch my breath. As a child, summer was a time to rest, rejuvenate and enjoy. We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day, so we made the most of summer. We took advantage of every sweet bite before fall and back-to-school sunk their claws into us. Trips to Lake Taghkanic (pronounced tuh-CON-ik ) were the norm, but so was weeding the garden. Going to Gram’s house on Long Island was a forgone conclusion with visits to Jones Beach. We’d go early in the morning and grab fresh bagels on the way as the icing on that particular cake. (Moment of Truth – I rarely go to the beach without wanting a salt bagel with lox cream cheese now.) If we were lucky we got to go to Lake George and to Storytown (now Six Flags Great Escape). I know my mom worked her ass off all summer so we COULD go and do those things. In fact, one glorious summer she was the concession manager at Lake Taghkanic and we went with her most days. [I honestly don’t have a lot of great memories of my childhood, but that summer was epic in my now adult mind. I learned how to do crossword puzzles, run a cotton candy machine, make popcorn in a movie theater style popper and had swim lessons with cute lifeguards whose names I still remember.]

There she was, over a cinderblock fire pit canning everything and anything as if we were preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead

And I remember Mom canning in late summer and early fall. If you know my mom at all, you know how hilarious this sounds. She HATES to cook. Loves to bake, hates to cook. Late summer and early fall were always the worst for Mom because of her allergies. Yet, there she was, over a cinderblock fire pit – no, I am not kidding – wasps flying around, canning everything and anything as if preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead (Moment of Truth #2 – I am completely addicted to that show and can’t wait for the season premiere). I know I have shared this thought before and I wish I had a picture, because my 51 year old brain still can’t make sense of it, even though I witnessed it.

I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past

So now, in my middle age, I find myself prepping for the zombie apocalypse. I am not sure if it is an imperative of generations of farm to table living, needing to prepare for the known cold winter coming through my DNA. Maybe it’s that what once was old school is now fashionable again, or just simple nostalgia. I am canning, preserving and baking. In recent weeks I have made and canned tomato sauce, meatballs, chicken stock and peeled and canned fresh tomatoes. I’ve dried herbs and gotten them into storage. And I am weeding the garden that I allowed to go fallow this summer. I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past because I rarely want to revisit that. You know, Hakuna Matata and all that. But here I am, acting like some country housewife of days gone by.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

Make no mistake, I live in a CITY (where I personally belong), not in the country any more. I am surrounded by concrete and desert landscaping, just the way I like it for most of the year. The siren song of water – lakes, beaches and rivers – holds no sway over me as it did in my childhood, although I do love a good thunderstorm. Vegas could never be called the cradle of the Farm to Table movement. It could never be called the Breadbasket of America. But just for now, in my little corner of the city, what constitutes fall in the desert feels like a modernized version of my past.

The Best Damn Bloody Mary Mix? Make It At Home!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Happy New Year! All through the blogosphere, writers are sharing how to be a better you and ideas for New Year’s Resolutions. Quit Smoking. Clean Eating. Exercising. Learning something new. Being a better homemaker. Eating less. Drinking less…Yeah. Okay. That’s fine for THEM, but my readers expect something else, so…here is a little something to whet your appetite for the New Year. Drink more Bloody Marys! They have vegetables; that means they are healthy! The recipe for the best damn Bloody Mary mix you can make at home is at the end. There are some incredibly over the top versions out there with bacon, sliders and shrimp cocktail attached to the rim of the glass in addition to, or in place of, the traditional garnish of celery. I actually like pickled veggies with mine. Olives, asparagus, okra, string beans, caper berries and cornichons all have made appearances on my cocktail skewer. As Friend Danielle says, “It’s like a salad in a glass!” I’m healthy that way. Friend Lynn says she doesn’t need “the salad” and opts for just a cornichon or olives.

The Bloody Mary, the hangover cure of choice and brunch staple started out simple enough but has changed and morphed into so much more. The first time I saw a Bloody Mary bar I giggled with glee. They are quite common here in Vegas, but sadly the best one has disappeared with the closing of Kerry Simon’s joint at The Palms. If you have never been to a brunch Bloody Mary bar, here is the gist of it: the house pours your vodka on ice and you saunter up to a buffet of ingredients to make your Mary the way YOU like it. Think hot sauces, horseradish, lemons, limes, veggies and tomato, V8™ and Clamato™ juices. At Simon it was a “bottomless” add-on to your brunch, but most places it is priced per drink.

This is easy to do at home for a get together. Recently Friend Lillian and I hosted a baby shower for fellow blogger Apryl and had a Mary & Mimosa bar. In our house we love pint glasses for everyday use because they are sturdy and we “borrow” logoed ones from bars (See the photo above? It’s a Modelo glass). The bonus is that each one has a different logo, so the glass itself acts like a “wine charm” so you know which glass is yours if you set it down someplace.

For the holidays I have discovered that I like to gift folks with something made by me if they are local (shipping is not my forte and I often send digital gift cards to out of towners so I don’t have to deal with the Post Office or other shippers). This year my Posse received Bloody Mary Gift bags, complete with handmade gift tags, a bottle of vodka, cocktail napkins, homemade Bloody Mary mix and house pickled veggies. All were canned by me (except the vodka…duh!) including the Bloody Mary mix (recipe follows with instructions for canning).

Everything was made by me except the Vodka - DUH! (L - R - Pickled Padron Peppers, Mary Mix, Pickled Curried Cauliflower)

Everything was made by me except the Vodka – DUH! (L – R – Pickled Padron Peppers, Mary Mix, Pickled Curried Cauliflower)

The original recipe was created by Chef Michael O’Donnell of T.W. Garner, the makers of Texas Pete™. He designed it to be used for Bloody Marias where you replace the vodka with Tequila. I have tweaked it a smidge to MY liking. FYI – it tastes great on its own too.

Tips:

  • When using the Mary mix, you can choose vodka, gin or tequila as your booze of choice and it will taste great no matter what.
  • The recipe doubles and triples easily and if you are canning it, you really want to double or triple it because the main recipe makes about 6 cups.
  • When choosing your salsa, go for medium, you can always add more hot sauce to your glass. Whatever salsa you choose will slightly change the flavor of the final product (DUH!). For my gifts this year, I used Texas Pete™ commercial salsa (no, you can’t buy it in stores, so yours will not taste EXACTLY like mine).
  • I love horseradish in mine, but I wasn’t sure how it would work out in the canning process so I add it at time of service.
  • For your vegetarian friends, they do make anchovy free Worcestershire sauce. Most “store brands” are vegan, just read the label. No need to pay a ton for vegan sauce.

 

The Best Damn Bloody Mary Mix 

Basic ingredients for the Mary Mix

Basic ingredients for the Mary Mix

Serves 6 – about 6 C

Your favorite salsa                                                      2 cups or a 16 oz jar

Vegetable juice cocktail (like V8™)                        4 cups

Worcestershire sauce                                                 2 Tbsp

Lemon juice, freshly squeezed                                  2 lemons

Lime juice, freshly squeezed                                     2 limes

Celery salt                                                                     2 tsp

Texas Pete™ Garlic Hot Sauce                                 2 Tbsp

Put everything except the vegetable juice in the canister of a high powered blender. I use a Blendtec®. Process until smooth. If using the Blendtec® choose “Whole Juice” option. You can also do this with a hand blender.

Combine vegetable juice with the mixture from the blender. Chill and serve or proceed with canning.

To Can: follow the basic “hot water bath” canning instructions HERE. Process for 30 minutes. NORMALLY you process tomatoes for 45 minutes, however since all of the products have been canned before AND there is high acid thanks to the citrus, you can safely process for a shorter time.

Chilled mix keeps about 5 days in the fridge and canned will last 6 months in a cool dark place. Shake or mix well before serving.

 

 

Farm to Table

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I have been a slacker and I am sorry. As August is “Month of Happiness”, there is MUCH to be happy about as we near harvest season in many parts of the country. Here are some thoughts…

Back in the dark ages (haha) farming was a way to feed one’s own family. You ate what you could fresh and then you preserved what you could and if you couldn’t preserve it, you THEN sold or bartered whatever was left for other goods for your house. The same was true for hunting and animal husbandry. “Farm to Table” was a way of LIFE not a catchy menu phrase or marketing option.

Growing up in upstate NY on the Hudson River there were farms and farm stands galore. My family owned one. We grew what was easy to grow and sold it, just like everyone else and I can promise you that I ate more than my fair share of zucchini (Moment of Truth – there are some members of my family that STILL won’t eat squash). We did “farm to table” because it was cheap and relatively easy. Did we always LIKE what we ate?  No, but we were brought up to eat what was put in front of us (Moment of Truth – I despise those parents who cook 3 meals every night NOT due to food allergies, but “because this kid won’t eat this, and that kid won’t eat that”…they’d starve in my house).

What was a way of life, and continues to be a way of life for many in the world, has become a catch phrase for trendy seasonal dining.  Because everyone is so focused on fresh produce, people frequently forget that part of the “farm to table” model includes preserving food for later use. My Mom canned, pickled, and made jelly and jam. I find it mildly shocking to type that, because her favorite thing to make for dinner these days is reservations. I am forever ruined for grape jelly because all of them taste too sweet to me after Mom’s version using concord grapes that were grown on our property. I remember her canning on an open fire – yes, really – in a concrete block fire pit because that was the only place large enough to hold the canning pot. I have learned to preserve food beyond the freezer and I take great pride in knowing that I can my own food.  I love the little “plink” sound when the jars seal. As I write, I am eagerly anticipating tomorrow’s Bountiful Basket Co-op delivery.  I have a case of Hatch green chiles and a case of corn coming.  I am thinking corn relish, canned corn, charred chiles frozen for later use, pickled peppers and of course eating a bunch fresh!

Learn a new skill this year and try canning. Yes, I know it sounds corny (see what I did there?), but it is really satisfying to say, “Yes, I did that!” and hear all the little plinking sounds when the jars seal themselves.

To see what I am eating, follow me on Instagram – all of my food porn shows up there as well as pics of my produce and canning in the next few days. And if you want to know more about the town I grew up near, read this piece, although I can promise you it wasn’t this cool when I lived there.