Red Peppers

So, as a child, I absolutely hated green peppers.  Don't put them on my pizza, or in my fajita, or anywhere near my salad.  I still feel this way, but discovered about a year ago that I don't feel the same way about red, yellow or orange peppers.  This started a mild obsession and I have since put them in everything imaginable (pasta, kabobs, sandwiches, pizza, etc.).  I still don't care for them raw, mind you, but sautee or grill them and I'm a happy girl. 

So, with my overachieving in the canning department the weekend before, I didn't get a chance to use up the three bags of red peppers I'd purhased from Costco.  I love Costco.  So many options, so many yummy, yummy, options. 

So, last Saturday, the task was canning roasted red pepper spread.  The recipe sounded amazing and I was up early and ready to go with plans to clean the house, make some jewelry and use the 16 red peppers that were waiting for me.  Well,  let me tell you, there are a lot of steps to making roasted red pepper spread.  First you have to roast the peppers, then you roast the tomatoes and onions and garlic.  Then you have to peel and chop all of the roasted items.  Then mash them up in the Kitchenaid, since I don't yet have a food processor.  Then everything gets thrown into a pot with a few other ingredients and simmered to reach the right consistency.  Only then do you actually get to put it in jars and can it. 

Needless to say, since this was my first time trying this out, I was not efficient and it took me forever since I was making two batches.  I learned a lot and if I ever attempt this again I'll be updating MY recipe to make things run a little smoother and quicker.  However, the house smelled amazing and the results look yummy.  Even Eric was suggesting possible uses for our freshly roasted, peeled, smushed, cooked and canned red pepper spread. 

I love the cute new Home and Garden canning jars.  The shape is short and fat and the patterned lid makes everything look more professional.

My kitchen helper, apparently, got tired of the whole process and decided his time would be better spent relaxing on OUR BED in the sunshine.  Silly, and bad, dog. 

WE NEED FREEZER ROOM!

So, in anticipation of Eric filling his Washington deer tag I was trying to figure out ways to make more room in the freezer.  Keep in mind, we already have two freezers that are at maximum capacity.  It's hard to keep up with a hubby that participates in every season imaginable (elk, bear, deer, turkey, game birds, fishing, crabbing, the list goes on and on...).

The first items attempted were venison chili and venison stew.  When you're ready to eat the chili you just add a can of kidney beans and heat.  Eric tried it out when I had tonsilitis and said it was good.  The stew just needs to have some corn starch added to thicken it up when it's being heated.  Eric tried that last night when I was at my dance class.  He didn't thicken it, but said he liked it just as it was.  So, I guess those are both passing as a success and an option to clear out the freezer.  And he hasn't gotten sick yet, so I guess I'm using the pressure cooker correctly. 

Then, for fun I tried orange jelly, bruschetta and pears.

Haven't tried the orange jelly yet, but I'm thinking it will be great on scones.  Or to be used in thumbprint cookies.  I've never made them, but I hear they're pretty easy.  Maybe they'll need to be my new adventure into holiday baking.



 

I love bruschetta, but never seem to make it at home.  I haven't tried this one yet either, but the fresh basil in it smelled amazing while it was cooking. 

 

Fresh cinnamon pears in no sugar apple juice just sounded like a yummy recipe that I had to try.  Plus, I thought the cinnamon sticks made it look kinda pretty. 

All in all, a successful day canning.  I might have overachieved with my planning and was exhausted by the time I was done.  I think I need to figure out how to do things in moderation.

And, I was right, the hubby got his Washington deer this weekend and it's currently residing in our refridgerator waiting for processing.  With Idaho deer season looming on the horizon,  I see ANOTHER freezer in our near future. 

Another Good One!

And really quickly I have another great recipe recommendation from my friend Marci.

Cayenne Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

I baked the chicken instead of frying and carmelized the red onions because I'm not a huge raw onion fan.  It was totally awesome and worth sharing.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cayenne-rubbed-chicken-with-avocado-salsa

Busy, busy, busy.......

So, as usual, the month of September and the beginning of October have been ridiculously busy at work.  But, then again, when isn't it busy and stressful?  I've been very remiss in posting to the blog even though I've been cooking/canning up a storm.  Below are some of the highlights and I'm going to try to be more diligent about posting sooner so I don't have a ridiculous amount of items all mashed together.

Here goes.....

The end of September and increased stress caused a flurry of mind numbing canning to calm my frazzled nerves.  I absolutely hate the copious amounts of sugar that normal jam calls for in most recipes.  So, I attempted a few no sugar/low sugar creations.

The first is a pineapple, raspberry apricot jam that's got a pretty pink hue, but I've been a little apprehensive to try.  I'm imagining it's going to be quite tart so am trying to think of some yummy recipe to try it in instead of just straight on toast. 

The second is honey peach jam which is pretty good and has a little bit of a bite to it.  Eric has also discovered that it's quite good as a topping on vanilla ice cream when the only other item I have in the house is sugar free chocolate syrup.

I was able to get a bunch of peaches for a great price and decided to can them in super light syrup.  We haven't tried them yet, but they look really pretty in the jars.  It almost seems like a shame to eat them and ruin all my beautiful work. 

The next adventure was dilly beans.  Not one of my favorites, but Eric absolutely loves them (as long as they're spicy).  So, I found a recipe and added extra cayenne pepper.  Hopefully they're hot enough for him, cause I won't be eating them. 

Overall, very busy weekend....

So, since the previous canning was such a success I decided to try the extremely formidable pressure cooker.  I made up a recipe several months ago for spaghetti sauce in the crock pot.  It's a huge hit and everyone loves it.  Eric has become spoiled and refuses to eat anything out of the jar for a quick meal.  So, I figured I could just can my special sauce and I'd be able to create a quick meal when needed instead of in the slow cooker for 8 hours.  Once again, it looks good, but we just haven't tried it yet.  If it tastes as good as it looks I think I'll be making it in bulk. 

Once I was able to get the pressure correct and keep it there, and figured out I wasn't going to explode myself or the house, the pressure cooker wasn't quite so intimidating. 

And since "the seasons" have officially begun, hunting seasons that is, the freezer space is rapidly filling.  With a bear and an elk processed and in the freezer, so far, it's time to make some room.  So, Eric asked me to try canning salmon.  I tried one plain version and one with garlic.  I mixed some with carmelized onion and cream cheese to make tea sandwiches this weekend and they were a huge hit.  Success with the pressure cooker once again!

And, since our freezer is full and holding the last loaf of bread hostage and I had 100 minutes for the salmon to process I decided to make a loaf of bread from scratch.  It turned out super yummy and makes me want to try some more bread recipes.  I think a rustic bread cooking class or cookbook may be in my near future.

*Note - I actually made one more jar of canned salmon that's not pictured.  Our very good dog Franklin decided that he'd like to see what was inside the jar while I was distracted.  He managed to carry it to his bed in the living room and put a puncture hole in the lid before I was able to rescue it.  So, into the fridge went that jar and outside went his fishy smelling bed. 
  
The hubby even had to purchase and assemble a new heavy duty shelving unit in the pump house for all of my new canning creations.

Super Easy Weeknight Meal

So, I have another recommendation from my, never to be questioned, friend Marci.  She sent me the link to Carribean Pork Loin with Pineapple Avocado Salsa and I knew it was a must try.  The link is listed below.  Gotta love Martha Stewart and Everyday Food magazine!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/caribbean-pork-with-avocado-pineapple-salsa

It was super quick to make and tasted amazing.  The combination of slightly sweet brown sugar and sharp cinnamon and cumin really gave it a unique flavor.  It was incredibly moist and the pinapple avocado salsa was the perfect addition.  I'm trying to figure out what else I can put it on.  I think the answer is everything.  I definitely want to try a modified baked chicken version of this sometime soon. 

I served it with baked sweet potato fries sprinkled with Garlic Honey Lime seasoning from the Garlic Gourmay (http://www.garlicgourmay.com/).  These people are local and their spices are amazing.  Kenna and I picked up a few of their mixes at Shrimpfest this year and I use them constantly.  Eric has a mild obsession with spices, even though he rarely cooks, so I stocked up.  Seriously, they're a must try.  

Bacon Hickory Rub - Excellent on eggs and apparently turkey burgers (per Kenna)

Garlic Jalepeno Rub - Perfect for grilling and kabobs

Honey Lime Rub - The only thing you need on halibut

Killer Cajun - Steaks love this.  I definitely need to go back to New Orleans and take some cooking classes

Zesty Garlic Seasoning - This goes on anything and everything.  Not kidding, pasta, chicken, popcorn, veggies.  You name it, it'll make it yummy.

On a side note....is it odd that I dreamed about finding Clear Jel (a canning product that I have yet to locate) and was super excited about it?  Hmmm, obsess much? 

No Rest for the Weary

So, yesterday was the day after the Quilcene Fair and I was thinking it would be great to take it easy and spend a nice quiet day at home.  Well, I did spend the day at home and it was nice, but it wasn't really quiet. 

I woke up at 6:30am with that feeling that I was being watched.  Well, that's because there was a weimaraner sitting beside the bed with his head gently resting on the edge sending telepathic "wake up, I'm hungry" messages my way.

This started a whirlwind of house cleaning as the house was a bit of a disaster after me prepping for the fair and my hubby coming home from hunting.  We had family coming over for a quick visit and I didn't want to be totally disgraced by the state of my house.  I'm not sure who thought it would be a great idea to build such a large house, but I think whoever it was must have thought she'd have a little army of elves to try to keep everything clean.  So, house clean, laundry washing, dishwasher running......

Then I realized that I had some blackberries in the fridge that needed to be used so I canned 5 pints of blackberry jam and made a blackberry cobbler.  I've made both of these items before so it was quick and painless and made the house smell amazing.

Then I realize I have a huge bag of apples from my friend, Adam, that need to be used.  So, I can 9 half pints of apple butter and 9 half pints of apple spice butter.  Now, this is a new endeavor for me.  I've never made apple butter before even though it's probably my favorite thing to put on toast.  Usually I mooch these kinds of things from my mother as she always seems to have a jar or two in her cupboard from the year's leftover apples.  But, now that I'm turning 30 (gasp) in a few months and have my own very large house and orchard I need to start learning how to do these things on my own. 

A few things I learned while making these items.

• I hate peeling apples.  This is why I never make apple pie or apple crisp or apple cobbler.  I'm not good at peeling, I always feel like I'm going to cut a finger off, it's sticky and messy and takes forever.  I made this process a bit more tolerable by watching SATC season 2 while I was coring, quartering and peeling the 8 pounds of apples.
• Make sure you have all the ingedients you need before you start.  Don't assume that you have enough cinnamon just because you never use it and don't particularly like it.  So, I ended up getting creative with the second batch and it has my own little personalized blend of spices.  Hopefully it tastes ok.  
• I'm a food processor kind of girl.  I borrowed a food mill from my mom to "smush" the apples after they were cooked the first time.  This is a long, messy and frustrating process (at least for me).  And I think I'm more of a "push the button" kind of girl.  This just means I'll need to add a food processor to my wish list of cooking gadgets.
• Smushed apples will continue to boil even if you have them on the lowest setting on the stove.  And by boil I mean continue to throw scalding hot bits of apple goop out of the pot at the person attempting to stir it.  

So, with house clean, the blackberry cobbler out of the oven, the blackberry jam and apple butters cooling I decide to marinate venison for homemade fajitas.  A little bit of this spice....a little bit of that spice....onions, yellow peppers, homemade corn and avocado salsa.....MMMMmmmmmmm.

When I finally take a moment to rest and snuggle on the couch with my sweetie I realize that I haven't really rested all day.  But, you know what?  I am extremely happy, content and relaxed.  This really is a testament to how much I love cooking and it really is a great source of entertainment and joy for me.

Happy cooking everyone!

  

Enjoy a Day in Paradise

That was the theme for the Quilcene Fair this year.  We were a bit skeptical as the weather channel continued to predict rain and gloom for fair day.  As I lay in bed the night before with a deluge of water pounding down on the roof I began to mentally inventory all of my waterproof clothing in preparation for fair day.

But, surprisingly, the morning dawned with just a bare sprinkling of rain.  This was, of course, after I was jolted awake by the ringing of my cell phone at 5:50am with a work related call.  Nothing like a good shot of adrenaline to get you up and ready for the day. 

So, we travelled to the fair site with our two vehicles full of items we planned to peddle and set up our booth.  We were ready for business by 9:00 am and by 10:00 am had 3 jars of honey remaining.  Not a bad start to the day.  Overall, I'd say the day was a success.  Kenna and I both sold some of our items, we got to enjoy the sunny (shocking) day outside, and spend time with friends and family.

Kenna's Amazing Jam, Marmalade and Birdhouses

Claud's Jewelry

  Claud's Scarves and Photography

Whew!  I'm exhausted!

Sweet Stuff!

We'll have a very limited amount of Foolish Boy's Honey for sale at the Quilcene Fair this weekend. 

Made locally, in Quilcene, by our very own Foolish Boy.  :)

Hope to see you all this weekend!

New Twist on an Old Favorite

So, I'm somewhat obsessed with updating recipes to make them a bit healthier without losing the yumminess.  As many of my test subjects can tell you the results usually come out tasting pretty great.  Brownies with whole pumpkin, veggie turkey chili and lemon cake with diet sprite (don't judge) are a few of my favorites. 

One of my other addictions, thanks to my good friend Marci, is the Everyday Food magazine.  She got me my first subscription a couple of years ago and I've been hooked ever since.  It comes in a cute little booklet with bright colors and fun recipe ideas.  I recommend it to anyone that likes to cook and wants yummy new ideas every month.

 
Anyway, she suggested I try a recipe from the October 2007 edition, Healthier Chicken Pot Pie.  Now, I always trust Marci's suggestions because she likes to cook, probably as much as I do.  However, pot pie is one of those things that is loved for its rich, creamy, fattening sauce and crust.  But, trusting soul that I am, I start last night armed with all the ingredients to give it a try......

 
Bottom Line.....IT WAS AMAZING!  Way better than any other cream and butter laden version I've ever made.  The sauce was creamy, lemony goodness and the phyllo dough was a super light and flaky crust.  I modified mine a bit to add some extra veggies (corn, yellow peppers and green onions). 

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lighter-chicken-potpie

This is definitely a recipe that's going in my permanent recipe box and everyone should try it!  This teaches me that when Marci recommends a recipe, I need to immediately go out and buy the ingredients to test it out.

Thanks, Marci!!

Farmer Monroe

Old Monroe....no wait.....Still in her 20s Monroe had a farm.....EEE-IIII-EEE-IIII-OOOOO.....

So, I'm not sure how I got roped into this...oh, wait...yes I am....I have an overly enthusiastic husband and friend.  Anyway, it seems as though we are slowly turning our 9 acres into a farm of sorts. 

Trees
This started with my husband's desire to plant fruit trees.  As many of you know, my hubby doesn't do anything half way.  When he decides to plant fruit trees he goes all out.  This means, intense study of which trees to plant, how to plant them and how to care for them.  And of course, we don't start with one or two trees.  We plant nearly 20 trees.  So, as you saw in my previous post, I'm learning to can in an attempt to prepare myself for the "harvest" next year.  It's actually pretty fun and I'm hoping to make apple butter this weekend. 

Bees
The next venture that the hubby and my friend Kenna decide is a great idea is to raise bees for honey.  Even though she's deathly allergic she's extremely supportive and before you know it we've got a hive in our yard and bees on order.  Keep in mind I don't like honey, but Eric is a honey fanatic and eats it by the spoonful.  So, after a night of excitement when the bees swarmed (with Kenna watching, epi pen in hand) we now have two hives with bees buzzing around pollinating the fruit trees, blackberry bushes and clover.  I have to admit that it's pretty cool to watch them do their thing.

Chickens
And last, but not least, we have the chickens.  As many of you know, I'm not a huge chicken fan.  They're weird, make annoying sounds, and our neighbors flock used to wake me up at dawn in our rental house by standing under our bedroom window and doing their chicken thing. 

So, once again, Eric thinks that getting chickens is a great idea and Kenna immediately jumps onboard.  I'm skeptical, but as usual, cave in to their pressure of "it's going to be fun".  So, Kenna gets an incubator and eggs for Eric for his birthday and we anxiously wait for them to hatch.  I won't go into the messy details, but one hatched, I got too attached, it got sick, and bottom line is we now only have the four hens we purchased as chicks to keep our chick "LB" company. 

After that incident I swore I wasn't getting involved with the chickens anymore.  But, I can't resist and every day after I get home from work I wander out to the chicken pen to say hi to Dalai, Dotty, Laverne and Shirley.  They still make there annoying chicken sounds but they have been a constant source of amusement.  Between their inability to figure out what the roost is for, their insistance on continuing to sleep in a pile o' chicken, their continued facination with chasing the raindrops from the roof, and my excitement over the first egg laid it's been an interesting adventure. 

* Our nephew Jonah likes to help.

So, as the quite reluctant farmer, I've come to realize I'm pretty lucky to have an overly enthusiastic husband and friend because they make me realize that, surprisingly, I am enjoying all of these new experiences.

Canning

So, I've been dabbling in canning lately.  I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm attempting to prepare myself for the onslaught of fruit I expect next year when our 14 fruit trees start producing.   

I'm lucky to have some amazing people in my life that have a lot of canning experience and are more than willing to answer my, sometimes ridiculous, questions. 

Sofar I've attempted blackberry jam on my own (picture below) and it looks good, so I have high hopes that it will taste good as well.  Eric's a blackberry jam fanatic, so we go through it quite rapidly.

 

I got a chance to visit my amazing friend Marci at the end of last week and we attempted no sugar strawberry jam.  Once again, looks right, hoping that it tastes right as well. 

Yesterday, I did some canning with the master (Kenna).  We made blueberry lime jelly and it smelled amazing.  I have no doubt that it will taste amazing as well as she has lots of experience and creates beautiful and delicious concoctions on a regular basis.  See below for her jewel colored raspberry preserves. 

 

Come visit us at the Quilcene Fair where we will be selling her blueberry lime jelly, strawberry rhubarb jam, strawberry lemon marmalade, raspberry preserves and many other delicious combinations. 

Jewelry

Some of the items for sale at the Quilcene Fair this year.....

Bracelets

Necklaces

Earrings

Quilcene Fair

Quilcene Fair and Parade
18 September 2010

http://www.quilcenefair.com/

Come visit our booth at the Quilcene Fair.  We'll be featuring locally produced jam, jelly and honey, jewelry, photography, and other handmade items.  We'll be next to our friends "The Picket Fence" which will have lots of fun stuff as well.  http://www.the-picketfence.net/

While you're in town enjoy the parade, car show, carnival, antler show and other great local products.