Palisade peach jam

 Palisade Peach Jam

Ingredients:

Fresh ripe peaches, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup honey
juice of 2 lemons
1 vanilla bean pod, scraped and added in

Instructions:

Add chopped peaches, honey and lemon juice and vanilla bean pod to a heavy bottomed pot and cook on low stirring occasionally for around 30 mins, or until it becomes a thick consistency.

Let cool and then spoon into mason jars.

Freeze or can according to canning instructions.

Pickling Vegetables

Pickling Vegetables

Makes 2-3 pints

Pickled vegetables have always been a favorite of mine, I love those hot mixes you can buy at the grocery store that contain things like cauliflower, carrots, onion, and peppers. Having so many of these ingredients available to me through either my garden or my parents massive garden, I really enjoy pickling these veggies for delicious healthy snacks all winter long. On a side note, these mixes are nearly calorie free and with such little salt added to my pickling liquid they are much better for you and much cheaper than the mixes you buy at the grocery store. 

My pickling liquid is the same whether I am pickling peppers or veggies, so you can really make versatile mixes to suit your own tastes. You could also pickle beets, zucchini, green beans, anything you desire!

For this mix I am making cauliflower, carrot and jalapenos.

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

2 carrots

2-3 Jalapenos, depending on size and desired heat levels

2 tablespoons pickling salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups of white distilled vinegar.

Chop and slice all of your vegetables, making sure they fit in the mouth of the jars you are using. I chose fairly small pieces, but was careful not to completely decimate my cauliflower so there are decent sized chunks. 

Place the vegetable mixes in the clear sterile jars and pack at tightly as possible.

Then bring your pickling liquid ingredients to a boil until all the salt and sugar has dissolved. Pour pickling liquid over the veggies, and remove any air bubbles.

Place in fridge for 2 weeks or process in water for 15 minutes for long term storage. Eat cold for ultimate crisp deliciousness. 

Garden Heirloom Tomato Jam

Tomato Jam

Makes 1 Cup

Looking for more things to do with the pounds of tomatoes my parents and I grew in our gardens this year, I wanted to experiment with more canning recipes. This recipe looked so delish on some canning websites I had looked at, but of course my tomatoes are yellow, so the color is definitely different, but it tastes amazing. It has a sweet, and acidic flavor, it is rich and light at the same time. I would smear this deliciousness on some bread and make a grilled cheese sandwich with it. You could also make bruschetta with this, or use it as an ingredient for a baked brie appetizer. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups or 1 pint of cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. Ground allspice 

1 garlic clove, minced

Over medium-high heat add oil and add the tomatoes and garlic cooking for 3-5 minutes. 

As the tomatoes start to break down, add brown sugar, honey, salt and red Chile flakes and spices. Cook for another 10 minutes pushing down the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to smash. 


The sauce will begin to thicken. Now add the balsamic vinegar and basil, stirring to incorporate. Continue to cook for another 30-40 minutes until the mixture is thick and sticky.

Transfer to sterilized glass jars and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks, or use a hot-water canning bath for 15 minutes for long-term storage.

Canning Garden Tomatoes

Canning Garden Tomatoes
Makes quarts or pints

Now is the time in the summer when you are overloaded with tomatoes from the garden, and it is also the best time to can your tomatoes so that you have fresh organic tomatoes all winter for soups, stews, marinaras, and salsas. I like to can as many tomatoes as possible so that I can limit the amount of canned tomatoes I have to purchase during the year. Canning your tomatoes in glass jars and using tomatoes at their peak ripeness will result in the best tasting tomato products you'll ever eat. You can use any variety of tomatoes, these are a "big boy" variety, but I can romas, heirlooms, grape or cherry tomatoes just as easily, you just need to remove the skins.

Packing tomatoes raw with no added liquid produces the most concentrated flavor. However, this method requires extended processing times to ensure the heat fully penetrates to the center of the jars.

Ingredients:

3 lb whole, halved or quartered tomatoes per quart jar
1 lemon's juice per quart jar, 1/2 a lemon per pint jar
Salt, optional
(32 oz) quart or (16 oz) pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside. 

Wash tomatoes. Dip in boiling water 30 to 60 seconds or until skins start to loosen and crack. Immediately dip in cold water. 

Peel off the skins. 

Remove cores and any bruised or discolored portions. Leave whole, halve or quarter. 

Add lemon juice to each hot quart jar. 

Pack raw tomatoes into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Press tomatoes into the jar until the spaces between them fill with juice leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart jar, 1/2 teaspoon to each pint jar, if desired. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding tomatoes. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight. 

Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 85 minutes for both pints and quarts, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed. If they do flex on the lid, place jars in fridge and use up within a month. 

Apple Butter

Apple Butter
Makes: 5 pint sized jars

A good friend of mine has two large apples trees in her backyard, and in an attempt to make use of these delicious sweet and crisp apples I decided to make an apple butter, which I've never made before. I have made apple sauce, but I'm never a fan of the consistency and mouth feel, so I figured a butter would solve that.

I find that the apple trees most people have in their yards often produce a starchy less sweet apple than you can buy, but these apples are great.

Ingredients:

1 grocery bag full of apples- peeled and diced fine- I would estimate I have about 30-40 apples completely filling my crock pot.

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon plus cinnamon stick
1 star anise seed
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 large pinch of salt
1/4 cup water

Mix everything well in the crock pot. Place on high for 1 hour, then switch to low for another 8-10 hours until the mixture has completely caramelized and the pieces of apple are so soft they are mushing when stirred.

Then take your immersion blender (or pour mixture into regular blender) and blend to the consistency you like.

To can, place apple butter in sterilized mason jars with 1/2 inch of head space, and process for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

Pickled Garden Peppers

Pickled Garden Jalapeños

Makes: 2 pints

Ingredients:

1 lb. Jalapeños, cherry peppers, etc...

2 Garlic Cloves, smashed and peeled

2 cups Distilled White Vinegar

1 tablespoon Sugar

2 tablespoons Pickling Salt

Directions:

Take your washed peppers, trim the stems and slice them into rings. If pickling cherry peppers, wash and remove any stem.

Place rings into bowl and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan combine the garlic, water, vinegar, sugar and salt.

Pack jars with peppers at tightly as possible.

Remove the pot off of the heat and pour pickling liquid into jars, removing air bubbles, and filling to a1/2 inch head space.

Place on lids and rings and process in boiling water for 15 minutes. 

Homemade Canned Restaurant Style Salsa

Homemade restaurant style salsa

I am a salsa addict, ill admit it, a good salsa and some tortilla chips, and I can really do some damage. Of course I find the majority of store bought salsas to be utterly disgusting, so that leads to me making my own salsas. 

I've got a few different salsa recipes, but I'm really loving this one right now, mostly because of how incredibly easy it is to make and can for later, and also because it really does taste like the salsa you get at a Mexican restaurant. 

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

2 10oz cans of Rotel, original 

1 clove of garlic, chopped

Juice of 2-3 limes

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp Cumin powder

1 diced jalapeño for extra heat, if desired

Instructions:

Using a food processor, chop up the onion.

Add the cilantro and garlic

Add in the Rotel tomatoes, salt, pepper and cumin

Blend well

Add the lime juice, one lime at a time until you like it, adjust salt if wanted.

Place in sterilized mason jars

Boil for 15 minutes, let cool, keep in a dark cool place. DELISH!

Crock Pot Homemade Chicken Broth

Crock Pot Homemade Chicken Broth

Chicken broth, especially the organic variety, can be quite expensive at anywhere between $2.00 to $4.00 a quart. I find this kind of amazing considering how watered down and weak the store bought varieties are, and how unbelievably easy it is to make. I usually put an entire raw chicken in a stockpot and cook on low with veggies for several hours, but recently found a crockpot version that uses bones and scraps instead, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Now, don't think I'm a freak or anything but I am a saver. When I make wings at home, I've always cut the tips off and kept them in a freezer bag in the freezer. 

I'm not crazy, I'm smart, and I don't think that wasting chicken bones is a smart thing to do. 

This recipe goes a step further, using the bones and carcass of a rotisserie chicken you get from the super market. This idea is fabulous because the chicken is already well seasoned and will add a lot of flavor and depth to your broth! You could even go a step further and keep all your chicken bones from your home cooking in the freezer until your ready to make broth.

Ingredients:

• a mixing bowl of chicken bones and cartilage (preferably from a pastured chicken)
• coarsely chopped carrots, celery and onion
• 3-4 whole garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves (optional)
• 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
• Filtered Water
• handful of whole peppercorns

Method:

• Add vegetables and bones to crockpot
• Add bay leaves if using
• Fill with filtered water
• Add 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Cook on low for at least 24 hours
• Add salt to taste
• Strain and store

Put the vegetables and bones in a crockpot.  Fill with filtered water.   I add a bay leaf or two and a handful of whole peppercorns.

Add a couple tablespoons of an acidic liquid (I use raw apple cider vinegar).  This helps draw the minerals out of the bones. 

Cover and cook on low for 24 hours.  Strain and you have delicious, nourishing chicken bone broth! You can store this broth in bags or jars in the freezer, or it will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

1 whole chicken carcass with a few wing tips made over 4 quarts of broth, which would normally cost between $15 and $20, but I would estimate I spent about $7!