Who among us is not experimental when cooking at times?
Onward intrepid cooks...
I have leaned to make only 3 to 4 jars of anything I experiment with. This is not really a recipe as much as it is an idea you can change as needed.
I stir fried cut up chicken pieces, no bone or skin.... until lightly cooked.
I cut up corn tortillas into small squares.
I used green enchilada sauce and some whole beans I had canned, some onions, corn and
green chilis.
I put 1/8 cup enchilada sauce in a quart jar and added a few squares of corn torillas,
then added chicken, a bit more sauce, more corn tortilla squares, then onions and corn, more sauce
then more corn tortillas, then green chilies and beans. I layered this using a lot of sauce and then when through layering, filled the jar to the top fill line with sauce and used a wooden
spoon handle to get the bubbles out and added more sauce.
The verdict? I used way too many corn tortilla squares and it mushed up a lot.
I will do this again and use less tortillas. When I took this out of the canner it was full of liquid and bubbling, later it sort of congealed into this mushy mass that was delicious. I like it!
DH does not like the green enchilada sauce so next time I will make it with red sauce and with beef.
I used to make a casserole a bit like this when I had kids at home, I used stale corn tortilla chips instead of corn tortillas and think that flavor would be a bit better and easier to make. You would just smash the chips.
As I said above, this is my personal experiment. Can at your own risk.
View the Original article
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Pupusa Recipe
From Wikipedia:
A pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz, a maize flour dough used inLatin American cuisine) that is usually filled with a blend of the following: cheese (queso) (usually a soft cheese called Quesillo found in all Central America), cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency. Nixtamal is basically the same corn dough, but it has undergone a preparation process involving an alkaline solution before cooking, which contributes to peel the grains while preserving valuable nutrients. This process was developed in Mesoamerica around 1500 - 1200 BC. Early Mesoamericans used quicklime or slaked lime and ashes as the alkaline solution. Dried nixtamal is now commercially available.
This is not a canning recipe. I will be canning again soon. I ran out of ideas and now have a few.
This recipe is great. It's a leftovers recipe. Mine are not pretty like the pupusas' I Googled.
You could make a bunch and freeze, and even cover in enchilada sauce to serve.
...
View the Original article
A pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz, a maize flour dough used inLatin American cuisine) that is usually filled with a blend of the following: cheese (queso) (usually a soft cheese called Quesillo found in all Central America), cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency. Nixtamal is basically the same corn dough, but it has undergone a preparation process involving an alkaline solution before cooking, which contributes to peel the grains while preserving valuable nutrients. This process was developed in Mesoamerica around 1500 - 1200 BC. Early Mesoamericans used quicklime or slaked lime and ashes as the alkaline solution. Dried nixtamal is now commercially available.
This is not a canning recipe. I will be canning again soon. I ran out of ideas and now have a few.
This recipe is great. It's a leftovers recipe. Mine are not pretty like the pupusas' I Googled.
You could make a bunch and freeze, and even cover in enchilada sauce to serve.
...
View the Original article
How to Can Rose Hip Jelly
Rose hips are extremely high in vitamin C. In fact, since the British were cut off from their supply of citrus fruits during World War II, they used rose hip syrup to ensure their intake of vitamin C.
To make either rose hip syrup or jelly, you start out by making rose hip tea. I find that as little as 1 cup of rose hips makes a decent batch of jelly, but 2 cups will work better. I left the quantity vague to accommodate those who may not have a lot of rose bushes. Personally, I think that wild rose hips make a wonderful jelly.
...
View the Original article
To make either rose hip syrup or jelly, you start out by making rose hip tea. I find that as little as 1 cup of rose hips makes a decent batch of jelly, but 2 cups will work better. I left the quantity vague to accommodate those who may not have a lot of rose bushes. Personally, I think that wild rose hips make a wonderful jelly.
...
View the Original article
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Frozen Berries are Great in Recipes.
This is a great time of year to take advantage of berries - which truly are great in recipes even when frozen...
One of my Brothers is rather fond of Mulberry Jam so I was at his house this weekend making jam with the berries that he and his wife froze last summer. I mentioned before, that frozen fruit makes good jam, but I thought I would take a moment to mention some reasons why you might want to use frozen fruit.
This weekend was an example of being able to time the canning so it was convenient for me. I did not have to be at his home at the time that the berries were actually ripe. The timing was also nice because it was cold out and the heat from the stove was much more pleasant than it would have been in June or July.
Timing is also an issue if you want to use two fruits that don't become ripe at the same time. Just freeze one of the fruits and it is ready when the other fruit becomes ripe.
It is also handy if you want to use a fruit that you don't grow yourself. I don't grow blueberries, but that certainly doesn't stop me from making blueberry jam. Frozen blueberries work just as well as fresh ones.
...
View the Original article
One of my Brothers is rather fond of Mulberry Jam so I was at his house this weekend making jam with the berries that he and his wife froze last summer. I mentioned before, that frozen fruit makes good jam, but I thought I would take a moment to mention some reasons why you might want to use frozen fruit.
This weekend was an example of being able to time the canning so it was convenient for me. I did not have to be at his home at the time that the berries were actually ripe. The timing was also nice because it was cold out and the heat from the stove was much more pleasant than it would have been in June or July.
Timing is also an issue if you want to use two fruits that don't become ripe at the same time. Just freeze one of the fruits and it is ready when the other fruit becomes ripe.
It is also handy if you want to use a fruit that you don't grow yourself. I don't grow blueberries, but that certainly doesn't stop me from making blueberry jam. Frozen blueberries work just as well as fresh ones.
...
View the Original article
Old Time Corn Cob Jelly
The older the recipe, the more fun it is to make...
This old fashioned recipe recalls a time when people couldn't afford to be as wasteful as we often are today.
When I mention people often wrinkle their nose as if I must be talking about something poisonous. Some of the finickiness that our society has developed is unfortunate because, quite frankly, tastes good.
I always make it with the red cobs that come from dent corn (the type of corn that is fed to cattle and squirrels). As an Iowa girl, I have fields full of dent corn all around me. If you are not lucky enough to have a corn field outside your back door, you can get some corn that is sold for squirrels and shell it.
I have seen recipes that call for the cobs from sweet corn, but I have never tried it. I imagine that it would still have the hint of corn taste in it, but I am not sure what color it would be, since sweet corn has white cobs. Perhaps I should try it some time and see what it is like.
This is based on a recipe from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking.
(Yield is about 4 half-Pint Jars)
(Printable Recipe)
12 red corn cobs
6 cups water
3 cups sugar
1 package powdered pectin
Break cobs in half. Add water and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain in a damp Jelly Jelly Strainer. If necessary, add enough water to make 3 cups of liquid. Add sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Add pectin and return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Fill hot canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.
High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes
View the Original article
This old fashioned recipe recalls a time when people couldn't afford to be as wasteful as we often are today.
When I mention people often wrinkle their nose as if I must be talking about something poisonous. Some of the finickiness that our society has developed is unfortunate because, quite frankly, tastes good.
I always make it with the red cobs that come from dent corn (the type of corn that is fed to cattle and squirrels). As an Iowa girl, I have fields full of dent corn all around me. If you are not lucky enough to have a corn field outside your back door, you can get some corn that is sold for squirrels and shell it.
I have seen recipes that call for the cobs from sweet corn, but I have never tried it. I imagine that it would still have the hint of corn taste in it, but I am not sure what color it would be, since sweet corn has white cobs. Perhaps I should try it some time and see what it is like.
This is based on a recipe from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking.
(Yield is about 4 half-Pint Jars)
(Printable Recipe)
12 red corn cobs
6 cups water
3 cups sugar
1 package powdered pectin
Break cobs in half. Add water and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain in a damp Jelly Jelly Strainer. If necessary, add enough water to make 3 cups of liquid. Add sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Add pectin and return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Fill hot canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.
High altitude instructions
1,001 - 3,000 feet : increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet : increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001 - 8,000 feet : increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001 - 10,000 feet : increase processing time by 20 minutes
View the Original article
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Home Canned Chili
Having Canned Chili on hand is nice for those times when you want a quick meal. Make a big batch once and you have several meals that are just heat and eat.
Some jars of chili that can be heated in a small crock pot in a dorm room are also a nice gift for a college student who is missing Mom's cooking.
Although tomatoes are somewhat acidic, the overall PH of chili is high enough that it must be processed in a pressure canner.
Fill hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure. Process pints for 75 minutes or quarts for 90 minutes. For altitudes over 1000 feet use 15 pounds pressure.
View the Original article
Some jars of chili that can be heated in a small crock pot in a dorm room are also a nice gift for a college student who is missing Mom's cooking.
Although tomatoes are somewhat acidic, the overall PH of chili is high enough that it must be processed in a pressure canner.
Fill hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Add lids and process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure. Process pints for 75 minutes or quarts for 90 minutes. For altitudes over 1000 feet use 15 pounds pressure.
View the Original article
Monday, November 14, 2011
The Lovely Bones - Tiller Troubles
To all those who have a workhorse of an old tiller...
My faithful Troy-Bilt tiller, Spiny Norman, is having his engine rebuilt this week. While the Wheelhorse tractor, which rambled over a few too many stumps last season, has a cracked spindle on its mowing deck, and the greenhouse has three panes of storm splintered glass that need replacing. I seems I need to set up a triage on the farm. The thing about older machinery is that it’s worth fixing, worth rushing to the ER (Engine Repair?) for treatment. Like organic farming versus chemical farming, good tools presuppose a long-term relationship, not a one-night-stand with plastics and pot metal.
View the Original article
My faithful Troy-Bilt tiller, Spiny Norman, is having his engine rebuilt this week. While the Wheelhorse tractor, which rambled over a few too many stumps last season, has a cracked spindle on its mowing deck, and the greenhouse has three panes of storm splintered glass that need replacing. I seems I need to set up a triage on the farm. The thing about older machinery is that it’s worth fixing, worth rushing to the ER (Engine Repair?) for treatment. Like organic farming versus chemical farming, good tools presuppose a long-term relationship, not a one-night-stand with plastics and pot metal.
View the Original article
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)