FEEL THE RHYTHM OF THE BEET

The beets were bulging out of the ground, and so it was time to pickle.  I've discovered that it only really makes sense to can and preserve when you grow your own produce.  Luckily our beets really didn't mind the cool and wet temperatures of our coastal garden.  I really wish I could say the same for our tomatoes.  I am on the lookout for a good source of organic (or just not poisoned ones, I'm not really that picky) tomatoes for canning this year, and am in the process of negotiating a good deal.  Who knew preserving was such a hustle?  A strawberry farmer in the valley who apparently grows nice unsprayed strawberries wouldn't even let me come for a little u-pick this summer.  She has preferred clientele and basically told me not to bother driving out.  Wow.  I really need some fertile farmland so I can grow all of my own goods.  Geesh.  Anyway, so far our freezer is stocked with leafy greens and rhubarb, and now I have 5 jars of pickled beets.  It's going to be a lean winter.  

PICKLED BEETS

Makes about 6 x 500 ml jars.

10 cups (about 16 large) organic beets, prepared

2 1/2 cups  local organic apple cider vinegar

3 cups  water

¾ cups local honey

Method:  Prepare beets:  Scrub beets, leaving root and 5 cm of stem intact to prevent bleeding. Place beets in a large saucepan; cover with water; bring to a boil; cover and simmer 20 to 40 minutes until beets test tender with fork.  Be sure not to over cook.

Place 6 clean 500 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside; heat SNAP LID sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and lids sealing discs hot until ready to use.

Combine the vinegar, water and honey in a stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat, keeping solution hot.

Drain beets; rinse with cold water to cool; slip off the skins removing tap root and stems. Quarter beets to yield 14 cups.

If necessary, return pickling liquid to a boil. Pack beets into a hot jar to within 2 cm of top of jar. Add hot pickling liquid to cover beets to within 1 cm of top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more beets and hot brine. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining beets and hot brine.

When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least 2.5 cm of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 30 minutes.

When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.

After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

(PHALLIC) FUDGESICLES

Oh my.  The long anticipated purchase of the plastic free stainless steel popsicle moulds has morphed into a purchase gone bad.  Don't get me wrong, they are all that they promised to be in terms of providing a good alternative to plastic kitchen gadgets - well except for the fact that they come wrapped in plastic!  The thing is the design and shape of these popsicle molds are kind of odd, they look like, well, um, very phallic.  I feel so strange feeding these things to my son (and neighbourhood kids for that matter).  I ate one of them today for the first time, and I even felt weird sucking on the thing.  There is good news though - I have developed a recipe for healthier fudgesicles that taste awesome good.  I suppose I could always bring some to the next stagette I attend.....

FUDGESICLES

1/2 an organic avocado

1/2 can organic coconut milk

1 organic banana

1/4-1/2 cup local honey

1/4 cup organic cocoa powder

1/2 cup organic yogurt 

milk, kefir, or almond milk

additives: 2 Tbsp goji berries, 2 tsp bee pollen

Method:  Combine all ingredients a blender and puree until smooth.  Add as much milk as you need to keep the blade moving and to allow you to pour it out of the blender.  You want the blend to be thick, but thin enough to get it out!  Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for at least 6 hours.

PUTTING IT UP

  One look in my garden today and I knew it was definitely time to start preserving some of this harvest before it was too late.  Like all of us, I have list a mile long of all the things I'd like to do, but some things just can't wait.  So during Jude's third and final nap of the day I headed into the garden and began to harvest chard, spinach and rhubarb.  I gave them all a little rinse and then set a huge pot of water on to boil.  Meanwhile, I chopped up the rhubarb and filled up a Mason jar with it and stuck it in the freezer.  I can't speak highly enough of Mason jars.  We use them for storing all of our food and beverages. 

  The spinach and chard are going to taste great in the dead of winter when not a leafy green is to be found (well except for some kale perhaps).  Into the boiling water went the chopped chard for just a little bit, enough to blanch it, and then bam! (Emeril style) I dunk it into ice water to shock it and help keep it's vibrant green colour.  This too went in the freezer in a Mason jar.  

I cook the spinach in a smaller pot with just a wee bit of water until it is wilted and then plop that into ice water.

 

 So, now I just have to keep this up until all the greens are safely put away for the long, cold winter.....

RAINY DAY WELSH CAKES

What better way to spend a rainy day than baking with my kids?  I propped up the wee babe on the counter in his chair (which I know you're not supposed to do, but it seems safe) and the kid on the step ladder and we began to bake.  Actually I started off with Jude in the Mei Tai on my back but he wasn't happy there for very long, so onto the counter he went.  He happily gurgled at us as we began to measure and stir. 

 Every time I bake bread or make cookies, Faegan eats more raw dough than cooked.  

Anyway, today's treat was one of my favorites, Welsh Cakes.  They aren't the prettiest cookie, but they are delicious.  Most recipes call for sprinkling them with sugar before you cook them, but you should all know by now that I don't do that.  I like the subtle sweetness of them so leave out the extra sugar.  The original recipe calls for white sugar, but of course, I tried it once with coconut sugar and was really happy with the results so now I always use it instead.  I even tried making them with honey once but they were a little too moist.  But what exactly are Welsh Cakes?  Well let's see what Wikipedia has to say about that....

Welsh cakes (Welsh: picau ar y maen, pice bach, cacen gri or teisen radell) are traditional Welsh snacks.

The cakes are also known as bakestones within Wales because they are traditionally cooked on a bakestone (Welsh: maen), a cast iron griddle about 1.5 cm or more thick which is placed on the fire or cooker; on rare ocassions, people may refer to them as griddle scones.

Welsh cakes are made from flour, sultanas, raisins, and/or currants, and may also include such spices as cinnamon and nutmeg. They are roughly circular, a couple of inches (4–6 cm) in diameter and about half an inch (1–1.5 cm) thick.

Welsh cakes are served hot or cold dusted with caster sugar. Unlike scones, they are not usually eaten with an accompaniment, though they are sometimes sold ready split and spread with jam, and they are sometimes buttered. They are often eaten accompanied by a pot of tea.

WELSH CAKES

100 g organic unbleached flour

125 g organic whole wheat flour

75 organic coconut sugar

1/2 tsp aluminum and GMO free baking powder 

pinch sea salt

pinch of organic nutmeg and cinnamon

125 organic unsalted butter

75 g organic currants or raisins

1 organic egg, beaten slightly

about 3 oz organic milk

Method:  Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium low heat.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.  Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal.  Add the raisins and stir.  Combine the egg and milk in a bowl and stir it into the flour until it forms a ball.  If the dough is too wet, add more flour until it is dry enough to roll out on the counter.  Lightly flour the counter and roll the dough out until it is about 1" thick.  Using a circular biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place in the skillet.  Cook until lightly golden on each side.

After we gorged on Welsh Cakes, I excitedly brushed my teeth with my new plastic free toothbrush that arrived in the mail today.  This is my second attempt at an alternative toothbrush, and I've got to say, I like this one way better than the bone and boar bristle one I have, and the recycled plastic jobbie that makes me gag every time I put it in my mouth.  The whole family got new brushes today!  How exciting.

FIRST HARVEST

 I quietly celebrated Lughnasad today by harvesting garlic, and some of our potatoes and beets for the first time.  Lughnasad is the first of three ancient Celtic harvest celebrations.  In Irish Gaelic, the word for August is lunasa named after the God Lugh who is associated with grain in Celtic mythology.

After an unusually rainy spring, we are relieved to discover the crops are surviving and are nourishing us despite the challenges they have faced.  Digging up potatoes is always such fun because you never know what lies beneath.  Scott managed to grow some very fine potatoes this year.  One plant gave us 9 spuds!  The technique of mounding the soil up the stem of the plant throughout the growing season really does increase the plant's production.    I harvested some nice bulbs of garlic as well, but we also managed to grow some duds as well.  A quarter of the bed was shaded by a tall spruce tree which we neglected to prune.  

The beets and peas are as fine as any I've ever bought at the Farmer's Market, which is a huge relief because I missed the market this Saturday.  It is strange to realize that I don't need to buy much there at this time of year because we have so much growing right in our backyard.  We have been eating salad pretty much every night and hardly even make a dent in the crop.  The chard was desperately calling out to be eaten so I made a chard and mushroom lasagna last night.  It truly was a homegrown meal.  The lasagna was made with a white sauce that I prepared with our very own goat milk.  Luckily we had lots of milk gathering in the fridge from our morning milkings because I also had to make fresh ricotta cheese.  What an easy cheese to make!  I remembered reading about the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for ricotta cheese on Gwynth Paltrow's blog GOOP so I googled it up (recipe here)and had it made in no time - which is good because I don't have much of that these days.......

The braised chard, drained, finely chopped and mixed in with homemade goat cheese ricotta.

BAREFOOT AND FANCY FREE

One of my favorite summertime pleasures is walking barefoot in the dewy grass to harvest fresh herbs for my herbal tea in the morning.  The earth is so fresh and promising when the sun rises.  Tip toeing back into the kitchen, I enjoy the sight of the flowers floating in my cup as I breathe in the lovely fragrance that comes steaming up.  Today's tea was a gentle blend of fresh lemon balm leaves, chamomile, and lavender blossoms.  I recently discovered the awesomeness of Anise Hyssop leaves, but only harvest from that plant once a week because it isn't a very big plant yet and I don't want to wipe it out.  Anise Hyssop has a lovely black licorice taste which I enhance with just a drop of honey.  

I am still really enjoying Karen Solomon's Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It book.  So much so that I took out her other book  Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It from the library.  Today was a double header day in the kitchen as I tackled two recipes from these books for our supper tonight.  After purchasing awesomely huge grass fed beef burgers from the Farmer's Market this weekend, I decided now was a good time to make some homemade ketchup and burger buns.  Avoiding plastic packaging has meant that I've been buying conventional Heinz Ketchup that is bottled in glass in lieu of our usual organic varieties that come in plastic.  This hasn't really felt right to me, and I am getting kind of tired of eating sicky sweet ketchup from poisoned tomatoes.  Let me just say I AM NEVER BUYING KETCHUP AGAIN!  Homemade ketchup is so amazing, I was licking the spoon and dipping each bite of my burger in it (which you would never find me doing with Heinz - oh yeah baby, there are other kinds).  I am really hoping that I score some bulk organic tomatoes this year for canning and preserving because then I can make vats of ketchup to gorge on all winter.

The homemade burger buns were very awesome too.  I've kind of avoided making burgers and hot dogs because most buns come in plastic bags, and I wasn't really satisfied with any of my earlier attempts at making them.  Luckily I made two batches of these suckers so I don't have to worry about those for the rest of the summer.  Now, I have adapted both recipes.  Karen's method for making the buns was kind of odd because she adds the yeast right into the flour without letting it foam in liquid first.  I tried her method for the first batch, and was disappointed to find yeast granules flecked throughout the dough!  They turned out okay anyway, but I tried a second batch the way I usually work with bread dough and was much happier with the the way they rose so have listed my way in the recipe posted here.  For the ketchup I used apple cider vinegar instead of the suggested champagne vinegar, and coconut sugar instead of brown.  I also didn't have any cheesecloth so just threw the spices right into the pot and just fished out the cloves and cinnamon before refrigerating.....no biggie.

KICK ASS KETCHUP

(adapted from Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon)

1 organic cinnamon stick

1 organic bay leaf

5 whole organic cloves

5 organic cardamom pods

10 organic black peppercorns

1 28-oz can organic whole tomatoes

1 large organic yellow onion, quartered

2 Tbsp organic sunflower or safflower oil

2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup organic coconut sugar or 1/4 cup local honey

1/2 cup organic local apple cider vinegar

1 tsp organic Hungarian paprika

freshly ground organic black pepper

Method:  Using a piece of cheesecloth, tie the cinnamon, bay, cloves, cardamom, and peppercorns into a bundle.  Set aside.

Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a food processor or blender (I recommend a blender which I didn't use, but will next time).  Puree until totally smooth, and set aside all but about 1/4 cup.  To the remainder, add the onion and puree.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion puree and the salt and stir well.  Cook for 8 minutes, letting the puree reduce.  Add the tomato, sugar, and vinegar, turn the heat to a low simmer, and reduce for about 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.  Add the spice bundle and reduce for 10 minutes more.  When it is done reducing, it should be a little thinner than commercial ketchup.  Stir in the paprika, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.  Let the ketchup cool and remove the spice bundle.  Pour into a jar and chill for at least 6 hours.

HAMBURGER (OR HOT DOG) BUNS

(adapted from Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It  by Karen Solomon)

5 cups (1 pound 11 oz) organic flour ( I used whole wheat and unbleached)

5 tsp active dry yeast

2 Tbsp local honey

1 Tbsp sea salt

2 Tbsp organic butter

1 cup organic whole milk

1 cup water

Method:  Pour the water and milk into a saucepan over the stove and warm until you can stick your finger into it without burning it.  Then pour it into a large, warmed bowl.  Stir in the honey and yeast.  Let stand 10 minutes until the yeast is completely dissolved and foamy.  Stir in the salt and butter.  When butter has melted,  add the flour, a few cups at a time, stirring until all the flour is absorbed 

Knead the dough by hand: Scrape the dough onto a well floured surface, sprinkle it with flour and knead it. Gather the dough together in your hands and push it away from you with your palms. Fold it in half towards you, then turn and turn and repeat pushing, folding, and turning, sprinkling a little flour if necessary on the dough to keep it from sticking. Keep kneading for several minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

After kneading, put the dough in a large oiled bowl, and flip to coat both sides with oil.  Cover the bowl with a round plate, and place in a warm place (near a woodstove or in a gas oven that has a pilot light).  Let it rise for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled. Punch the dough down to remove air bubbles, then roll the dough into a ball.  Stick your finger directly in the centre to make a small hole.  Use your fingers to widen the hole and work the dough, hand over hand as if you're pulling on a rope, into a large O-shape about 2 inches thick.  Cut the rope in half, then cut each half in half again, you will have 4 equal parts.  Cut each piece into thirds, resulting in 12 pieces total.  

     Keep the dough pieces covered in the bowl while you work.  One at a time, roll each piece into a ball.  For burger buns, press down on the dough ball to flatten its bottom.  For hot dog buns, pinch, stretch, and shape the dough into 7" long rolls.  Transfer the buns to greased baking sheets as your form them.  Let the dough rest on the sheets for 30 minutes, ensuring you cover them with floured dish towels.

     Preheat the oven to 400*.  Brush the tops of the buns with milk, place both sheets in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate each baking sheet 90* and switch racks (so that the top sheet moves to the lower rack and vice versa).  Bake for 10 minutes more, or until the tops are golden brown.  Let cool before serving.

SUMMER DAYS

After a very wet spring, I've been savouring each and every day of sunshine that has come our way.  The apple trees have blossomed, and now we watch and wait for the apples to grow.  The vegetable garden is full of greens in various stages of growth.  Scott has staggered the planting of salad greens and it is a delight to harvest fresh leaves each afternoon for our supper.  I pick from the larger plants, and watch the younger plants grow bigger each day.  As always, the arugula grew quickly and in abundance, and is now going to seed.  No wonder it's other name is rocket, that stuff shoots out of the ground and reproduces in a very short time.  

     Thank goodness our garlic plants have sprouted their scapes, because locally grown garlic is very hard to come by these days, and I can't live without garlic in my food.  They tasted very delicious in the garlic butter I drizzled on baby new potatoes at supper tonight. 

     As I was gathering fresh oregano for our chicken marinade, I harvested an extra bouquet of it for drying.  I can't believe how tall the oregano plants are this year!  To my surprise, I also discovered that my chamomile plants from last year must have self seeded, because my herb garden is full of lovely chamomile blossoms.  I am harvesting some of those for drying as well.  The bunches of herbs look so charming hanging in the most unexpected places in our kitchen.

I kept thinking I would wait until we had some guests over to use the nasturtium blossoms in a salad, but then I realized tonight was as a good at time as any.  They are in radiant full bloom in the garden.  The bees and butterflies are in abundance right now as well, dancing amongst the flowers.  The herb garden is so beautiful, a symphony of healing goodness.  I can't wait to get in there and do some serious weeding.  I'm not sure why, but the clover really seems to like the soil in the herb garden and are becoming a bit of an herbal threat. 

 

     I've also been having a lot of fun making frozen summertime treats for Faegan (oh let's be honest, I eat just as many of them as he does!)  I came across a really delicious recipe for Banana Cream Pops in a cookbook I took out of the library called Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon.  I adapted it a bit to omit the refined sugar and cumin!, (which I replaced with coconut sugar and cardamom) and we've been eating them non-stop all week.  I had to make an emergency trip to the supermarket to pick up some more bananas for another batch.  I am currently using some Baby Cubes with wooden popsicle sticks for molds, but certainly intend to invest in some stainless steel popsicle molds in the very near future.  I am also experimenting with Fudgsicles, which I have yet to perfect, but am enjoying nonetheless.  I will wait until they are awesome to share the results with you.  I hear that freezing pudding makes tasty treats, so I am going to try that next....

BANANA CREAM POPS

4 very ripe organic bananas

1 cup organic plain yogurt ( I was so excited to use our very own raw organic goat milk yogurt!)

1/2 tsp organic ground cardamom

1 tsp organic ground cinnamon

1 tsp pure organic vanilla extract

1/4 cup local honey

1/2 cup organic coconut sugar

pinch of sea salt

Method:  Combine all ingredients in a blender then pour into molds.  Freeze for at least 6 hours before serving.