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Sweeeet  as HONEY

6/28/2016

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#Themmelonstho #AmIright? #blessedwiththischest

I love summer because there is a bounty of fresh produce that I want to preserve for the colder winder months. I was on a crazy canning bonanza this weekend. I managed to can up 4 different kinds of jam in a little over 24hrs. When I'm prepping fruit and veggies my mind wanders, I have conversations in my mind with people who aren't even there, daydream about my future life, plan out my next meal/snack/cocktail,  etc. Stuff normal people do, right? I find I also do the same thing when I'm driving on long road trips. As I was chopping away at some massive cantaloupe I was reminiscing about Grandmom. She's chilling upstairs at the all inclusive Pearly Gates Resort but I still have a lot of fun memories from visits down to Maryland. The majority of my childhood visits were during summer vacation where I got to experience real HOT & HUMID weather. Grandmom would spoil us girls with unlimited V8, trips to the mall, duck pin bowling and visits to all the local cemeteries to look at old tombstones. I wonder if I was a dark child. Us growing girls needed to eat and Senior Citizens love a good deal so we ate at a lot of buffets. No matter where we went Grandmom would make a small plate with some melon. She'd sprinkle salt on it and if it was good she's exclaim  "MMMMM! Sweeeeet as honey" We say it from time to time at home and laugh, crazy Grandmom. Home girl had some spunk. Flash back to present moment. I had a ton of cantaloupe on my hands and a cantaloupe jam recipe from Marissa McClellan that I was dying to try. It's suppose to taste like creamsicle and made 2 small jars. The perfect amount to trying out something new.

:: Cantaloupe & Vanilla Bean Jam
From Wholesome Mommy
5 cups of peeled and finely chopped ripened cantaloupe
3 cups of sugar
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
2 tsp lemon juice
6 oz of liquid fruit pectin (2 foil pouches)
Prepare you boiling water canner and jars. Place lids in a small saucepan, cover them with hot water.
In a big pot combine the cantaloupe, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds and pod. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 7 to 10 minutes {or until the thermometer reads 220° F}. Add the lemon juice, stir in the liquid pectin, and return to a vigorous boil. Cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly.
Remove the pot from the heat, discard the vanilla bean pod, and ladle the hot jam into the jars. Wipe the rims; apply the lids and screw bands.
Process in the boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner and cool.

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Devil Jelly

6/28/2016

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 I should really title this post " I don't think you're ready for this jelly" or "Beyonce Rules my life". Whatever, I've made the commitment and I'm sticking with it.

​This past weekend started out looking gloomy and cold but soon morphed into sunshine and heat. One of the perks of living in Morganton is I can walk where I want to go. My Romeo walked with me to the Saturday morning Farmer's Market where we snagged some good looking pork belly, beets and eggs. Since it was overcast Nathan and I decided to spend some time doing one of our favorite shared interests, THRIFTING! I love looking through junk shops for vintage kitchen treats. Nathan is usually more into old records and Spanish books. I scored some major finds, Pyrex and Fireking dishes and a whole box of mason jars for $5!!! When we were thrifted out we decided to pick some strawberries. SO MUCH FUN and pretty cheap.  I imagined us picking strawberries and hiding out at the house all weekend cooking and cleaning while decked out in my most fashionable sweatpants drinking beer. I've spent the last 3 weekends away from home and was looking forward to some low key apartment time. I was determined to make some plain jane strawberry jam. I don't even like strawberry jam. I find it to be a little gross with the chunks of fruit in it but it was vital that our cupboards housed some of this red magic goo. I make all sorts of tasty jelly jar treats that you couldn't find in a supermarket but alas my boyfriend likes strawberry jam. If we don't have any in the house he will bring Smuckers Jam and let it live in our fridge. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!  High Fructose Corn Syrup goop laced with strawberries lives next to my artisanal homemade jams? I guess you can't put kumquat chili spiked jam on a PB&J but c'mon! So I made 3 different kinds of strawberry jam in one afternoon (I was motivated). They passed the Nathan taste test so we are hopefully on our last jar of Smuckers. I did try a new jam method and I think I will never make go back to my traditional methods. I love jam but you literally use more sugar than fruit in order to get a successful gel. There is an Italian kind of pectin that uses significantly less sugar to that provides ample gel called Pomora's Pectin. You don't need as much sugar AND you don't need to cook it as long so your jam retains a brighter, jewel like hue. It's my current obsession and I don't know if I'll ever go back to full sugar recipes.



Low Sugar Strawberry Vanilla Jam
From Food in Jars blog

Ingredients
  • 9 to 10 cups strawberry pulp
  • 2 1/2 cups cane sugar, divided
  • 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
  • 2 small lemons, juiced
  • 1 tablespoon calcium water
  • 1 tablespoon Pomona's Pectin
Instructions
  1. Prepare a boiling water bath canner and enough jars to hold 4 1/2 pints.
  2. In a low, wide, non-reactive pot, combine the berry pulp, 2 cups sugar, vanilla bean seeds and pods, lemon juice, and calcium water.
  3. Set pot over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook at a vigorous boil for 20 to 25 minutes, until the volume has reduced by approximately half and the foaming has subsided.
  4. Stir pectin into the remaining sugar and stream it into the cooking jar, using a whisk to stir to help prevent clumps.
  5. Return the contents of the pot to an active boil and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
  6. Funnel the jam into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.


Strawberry Basil Freezer Jam
From Let's Dish 

Ingredients
  1. 3 1/3 cups mashed strawberries
  2. 1 1/3 cups white sugar
  3. 4 tablespoons instant pectin
  4. 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Instructions
  1. Place mashed strawberries in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar and pectin.
  2. Add sugar/pectin mixture to strawberries and stir for 2-3 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.
  3. Stir in basil.
  4. Ladle jam into clean, freezer-safe containers. Let stand 30 minutes to set before freezing or refrigerating.

Notes
  1. Makes four 8 ounce jars.







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I'm practically an Eskimo, is that PC?

2/26/2016

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I know what you're saying... "Girl, you're whiter than a marshmallow!" I'm not trying to say that I look like an Eskimo or that I have the heartiness to withstand freezing temps . I did escape the brutal cold of Vermont to escape to the much warmer North Carolina (I LOVE IT!) I was referencing my resourcefulness. I went to NYC for a fun girls weekend and Mom and Dad surprised us with a goodie basket. Lots of fruit, crackers, cheese, chocolates etc.  Speaking of chocolate...

Side story: On our first night we were exhausted and got sucked into watching a Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta marathon on TLC. Mind you none of us have cable television (Emma doesn't even have a TV!) So hotel television is a treat and we all LOVE reality junk TV (we also caught up on Mob Wives, Emma does a killer Long Island accent which went well with Melissa's new smoker/raspy voice) We were too tired to venture out for dinner, Mom and Dad must have known/they know what we get like when we're Hangry and were trying to prevent a meltdown during the trip.  While we were tearing up the cheese twists, queso and the biggest grapes we'd ever seen in our lives, Heather cracked open the box'o chocolate. It didn't have a map and nobody wants to bite into a molasses chew or anything with mint. EWWW! We studied the chocolates intensely before making our choices. Eventually that became too much work. Thank goodness for Heather aka Official Chocolate taster. She literally took small nibbles of mystery chocolates and informed us of the contents. Why didn't we start doing this sooner? How does she stay so thin? Maybe it has to do with chocolate.... I'm stalking up on it just in case it's the new diet trend. Yet again I digress...

Back to being an Eskimo. In the massive fruit basket were grapefruit. MY FAVORITE! The girls didn't seem too interested. I think I"m the only one who likes them. I love grapefruit but I hate how much work they are to eat. It takes longer to prep them than  eating them. I wasn't going to let me go to waste so I packed them into my carry-on. It made for an extra heavy carry on but I didn't care... They're practically citrus gold. Once home I got home I dove into citrus prep. I zested the grapefruit along with some other citrus I had (oranges & meyer lemons) I then mixed all the zest with salt for a Citrus Salt recipe I saw on my favorite blog FoodinJars. Can't wait to sprinkle this stuff on everything. I then used my veggie peeler to zest the rest of the grapefruit and mixed it with some sprigs of mint for fun water (I'm trying to drink more water and less beer, it's been a challenge) and then finally segmented the fruit and juiced it for my breakfasts this week. 

I know you're still not getting the Eskimo reference. I used practically every bit I could out of those grapefruits because I love them, much like Eskimos use the whole animal, every little part can be used for something. I was feeling resourceful. I think sometimes as a society we are too wasteful. We are throwing away perfectly good things!

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Asian Delights

8/21/2015

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  • I love ethnic cuisine. One of the nice things about being home is sampling some of Mom's new recipes.  This week we had a dinner where we both made something delightful and let Dad eat all the goodies. We like to have themes for meals and this one was DELISH!

    I am slowly introducing my family to Kimchee. To be honest I'm not sure what authentic Kimchee is suppose to taste like but I devour whatever it is that I'm making and calling Kimchee. It's essentially Asian sauerkraut. I started making it last summer and am addicted to it.  I soon discovered my co-workers did not care for the pungent scent that came from my Asian delight as I ate it during morning safety huddle at work. Everyone that walked in the room thought the garbage needed to be taken out and then they saw me eating and were like "ohhh...." Even though it smells a little stinky, it tastes good. I don't really have a good recipe that I follow. I just kinda eyeball things. It is really good but I will warn you this is a potent concoction of probiotics. This stuff will clean you OUT! I seemed to forget that when I'm shoveling this stuff down my pie hole until a couple of hours later I feel the unwelcome grumbling in my GI tract and I break out in a cold sweat (It's probably due to the fact I was out at a restaurant with my boyfriend and that's the worst time to feel like you have "to go..") I still gobble this stuff down without abandon. Love it.

    I have fond memories of Mom making feasts of food for special occasions when we randomly had company over. One time there was an Asian theme and Mom made little tasty Shrimp Puffs. MMMMmmm. I love appetizers but they take so much time to make and prep and 2 seconds to eat. Mom and gotten smarter with age and has taken the shrimp puff recipe and made it into Shrimp Patties. Genius!

    Tofu-TOFUN!
    When I met Nate his culinary tastes were different than mine. He was a bit picky and preferred basic food. (He's SO BASIC! J/K) A lot of things I cooked he would politely say "Umm, I'll try it later" or "No Thanks". That was the case with my Sesame Tofu Steaks. He flat out refused to eat them. More for me I thought. Then one day I nagged him enough and he sampled some of my culinary delights. Since then all he wants me to make for dinner is Tofu Steaks. We eat it probably once a week, he loves it! It's the only way he will eat tofu but I'm not complaining. My Dad on the other hand loves tofu (see previous Tofu Scramble post) so he loved this recipe (although he wished there was crushed pepper incorporated into these steaks somehow) Gramps even ate these when I came home to visit. Everyone has sampled them except Mom (I cry myself to sleep thinking about this. I'm never good enough for her... j/k!) Love you mom :)

    Kimchee
    Inspired by Marisa McClellan's recipe on Food in Jars



    • 1 head napa cabbage, cored and sliced
    • 1 medium daikon radish, grated
    • 1 large carrot, grated
    • 8-10 red radishes, grated or julienned
    • 5-6 green onions, chopped
    • 4-5 garlic cloves, pressed
    • 2 tablespoons grated ginger
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons grey sea salt
    • 1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean red chili powder)
    Instructions

    I put everything through the food processor grating blade but you can finely chop all the veggies.  Massage the veggies with salt and pepper flakes until they start looking limp and you have some veggie juice squeezed out. Pack in a clean jar, pressing down until you have an inch of fluid hovering above the top. I stick a weight in (jelly jar, beer bottle) to keep the fluid level above the kimchee. Let sit on the countertop for a week and then enjoy! Then stick in the fridge and chow down!

    Mom's Shrimp Patties

    1 pound peeled shrimp
    1 Tbsp cornstarch
    1 can water chestnuts
    1 egg beaten

    Pulse everything in the food processor. Eat 1 inch of oil in a skillet. Drop mounds of into hot oil and cook for 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and enjoy!


    Nathan's Favorite Tofu Steaks
    From Eating Well

  • 1/3 cup sesame seeds, preferably a mixture of white and black
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 14-ounce package extra-firm water-packed tofu, drained
  • 4 Tbsp. Canola Oil

    1. Mix sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and salt in a shallow dish. Cut the block of tofu lengthwise into 8 thin “steaks.” Pat dry with a paper towel, and press both sides into the sesame-seed mixture.
    2. Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm






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    The spread
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    Before taking a dip in the hot tub
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    After getting fried
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    Kimchee cleanse
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    Shrimp puffs
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    Everything but the kitchen sink

    8/17/2015

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    Protein is suppose to be good when you're slimming down, right? It's better than scarfing down bagels and cream cheese :) I was meal prepping and since Mom's got gobs of it, I've been eating my fair share of Tuna. I like to eat it but every time I do I feel like I'm one of those gym junkies who is bulking up on my whey powder shake, living at the gym, lifting weights to the extreme and setting my alarm for 2 am just so I can eat a can of tuna for protein. I don't know where I got this mental image from but it's mainly what I think about every time I crack open a can of albacore. Maybe it's wishful thinking that eating tuna will give me muscles. I like to eat it with more than just mayo. I like to incorporate a lot of crunchy bits. I pretty much clean out the veggie bin and chop it up real fine. Another healthy "trick" is I like to put half mayo and half Greek yogurt into my tuna. Tangy and healthy (even more protein for muscle growth!)

    Everything Tuna Salad

    2 cans of tuna packed in water
    2 scallions
    3 radishes
    4 baby carrots
    2 stalks celery
    4 dill baby pickles
    Capers to taste
    1 heaping Tbsp. of each: Mayo and Greek Yogurt
    * I prefer Duke's Mayo but use whatever you like. I brought up my own stash of mayo from NC due to the unavailability of it above the Mason Dixon Line.*

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    Ninja chopping skills
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    Love dukes
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    Hippie Treats

    8/16/2015

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    I like to eat healthy and try making healthy alternatives to goodies I crave. That would be the case with these Hippie treats. They are a different version of Rice Crispie Treats. I have been really diving into some of the recipes I have pinned on Pinterest and surprised by what a good cook I am... and modest too! Sometimes the pictures look better on Pinterest than what really comes out or it doesn't taste the way it looks or I imagine it will be. That would be the case with my Hippie Treats. I think it was a good idea and I will still eat them. I might even make them again but I was hoping for a crispier snack. I got the recipe from a blog where the author likes to use Puffed/Toasted Quinoa. She buys it at Whole Foods in the bulk bin section. Let me tell you lady, you must be shopping in some magical land because I have checked MULTIPLE Whole Foods and other health food stores in multiple cities/states and it is impossible to find. I even looked on Amazon where I found it for $20 a box (OUTRAGEOUS!) I finally found a tiny box of puffed quinoa at Healthy Living (aka Wealthy Living) up here in S. Burlington but it was $5 and only 2 cups of grains. I NEEDED 6! I found a bag of puffed millet for only 1.99 and it looked like puffed quinoa. I'll just substitute it. I also decided to stray from the recipe a bit and I used real marshmallows instead of the vegan ones the author recommends. I was afraid of what they would taste like. I have a pretty open mind and like to try new things but I had a feeling they would ruin this recipe. So far Dad has sampled them but Mom is wary of trying them... Maybe we can get the kids to try them. They like sweets, right?!? Who are we kidding. Henry will eat anything that doesn't move or try to eat him first.


    Hippie Treats

    6 C. Puffed Quinoa (if you can find it) or millet
    6 oz. Marshmallows
    4 Tbsp. Butter
    1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
    1 Tbsp. Sesame seeds
    1 Tbsp. Flax seeds


    Melt the butter, marshmallows and syrup over medium heat. Then add dry ingredients until combined. Dump into a glass baking dish and squish down to fill out pan. Voila! 
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    Can't drop a pound to save my life

    8/15/2015

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    I love being home but one of the downfalls is that I am surrounded by tasty treats at Mom and Dad's that I don't usually purchase on my weekly grocery store trips. Plus I have a real problem when it comes to carbs. I could eat my weight in bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, BEER, taters etc.  Plus now that I am in my 30's I've realized it takes a little bit more effort to slim down. It's not my college days anymore. I can't just eat a couple of salads and magically drop 5 lbs. I have to like, really work for lose half a pound.  And that's living off of rabbit food. On top of my #carbaddict status and enjoying the perks of travel nursing I am considering buying stock in elastic anything.  I refuse to miss out on regional food treats,  As Heather would say "I'm living life in the moment" and just getting used to my new curvaceous curves.  

    I never knew how much I loved biscuits until I lived in the south.  When Dad came to visit NC this past spring we went out for lunch to Tupelo Honey ( It was AMAZING) and he bought Mom the restaurant cookbook. I've had a hankering for some southern delights when I cracked open the cookbook and decided to make something new. 

    I have also started working some scattered night shifts for the first time in my life.  It's been a little boring. So I kill time by looking at food blogs and hunting down even more recipes to try. This is where my inspiration came to make Mom and Southern breakfast based on some recipes I found.


    Tupelo Honey Red Eye Gravy

    1/4 c. Chopped Country Ham
    1/4 c. Chopped Virginia Ham
    2 Slices chopped bacon
    1/2 c. Chopped onion
    1 Tbsp Flour
    1 c. Chicken Stock
    1/2 c. Coffee
    1/2 c. Heavy Cream
    Pepper

    Throw the chopped meats and onion in a pan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the meats are crispy and the onions are translucent.  At flour and stir to form a roux. Cook 3 minutes. Add stock and coffee and crank up the heat to boil then reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Stir in cream and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Pour this magical concoction over biscuits. MMMMmmmmm!


    Southern at Heart
    Damarius Phillip's 
    Collard Green and Grits Casserole.


    Ingredients
    1 cup uncooked yellow grits (not instant)
    4 cups vegetable stock
    Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
    2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
    2 shallots, small diced (1/2 cup)
    One 10-ounce package frozen collards, thawed and squeezed dry
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1/2 cup heavy cream
    1 cup ricotta
    1 cup grated aged Gouda
    2 large eggs, beaten


    Directions
    Add the grits, vegetable stock, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to a 12-cup slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until tender, 5 to 6 hours. Now that the grits are done you can build the bake!

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

    Heat the coconut oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the collards and the garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute to remove excess water, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

    Add the heavy cream, collards, ricotta and half of the Gouda to the cooked grits, stirring to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Stir in the eggs and pour it all back into the skillet. Top with the remaining Gouda and bake until the center is just set and the top is golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve hot or warm.


    *** I can tell I am not in the south anymore because it was impossible to find country ham and frozen collard greens. If you living above the Mason Dixon Line you can substitute pancetta for country ham and I just cooked  fresh collard greens for 15 minutes in boiling water to soften them up for this recipe.


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    Roasted weenies and bikinis

    7/19/2015

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    Nurse Ashley and I decided to hit up the sandbar with M. So and her minions. Living the life of luxury and nursing a killer hangover from rocking out with Mr. S last night.

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    Nurse Ashley the mermaid
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    Getting some action. Sometimes being cute and little gets you places...
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    I'll be cleaning sand out of my buns for weeks
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    IM NOT TIRED!!!! (Screaming ten minutes ago)
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    Peach bonanza part 2

    11/4/2014

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    On a recent trip to Philly I stopped into Produce Junction and couldn't resist grabbing some more summer bounty for a ridiculous price. I grabbed MORE peaches along with some jalapeños, tomatoes and cukes for another post.  I wanted to attempt peach salsa. It seems pretty similar to the items I throw into my peach soup with the exception that I dunk it into a hot water bath to kill off potential botulism spores. In the end it ended up a little bit spicier than I expected but I LOVE IT! It only made 3 jars so I need to hunt down more peaches which shouldn't be an issue around here.  

    Since I had a few extra peaches I tried a new recipes that is apparently a big hit in the south. Pickled Peaches. I know it sounds kinda gross but I love pickles and I love peaches. Why not put the 2 together. Pickled fruit was a popular treat 75 years ago, hanging out in people's pantries. Marisa McClellan from Food in Jars did a little article about the history of pickled fruit and offers a recipe for pickled nectarines (next on my list to make) 
    I strayed a little from the recipe. I have learned that there are some things you can tweak in canning recipes without killing yourself, friends or family. You can add/omit whatever dried spices you want. You can also add more acid and in some cases cut back on sugar. Most of the recipes I saw spiced their peaches with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc. Gross. I cut all of that out and added red pepper flakes. I also cut back a little bit on the sugar and increased my vinegar. I wanted more of a pucker and less of sugary syrup. I did have a little bit of fruit float but these bad boys are going to taste so good on top of salad, pork chops, ice cream and so much more. I only got 2 jars out of this recipe. I need to start growing my own peach orchard to supply myself with all the goodies I want to make. 

    Pickled Peaches
    PICKLED NECTARINES
    RecipeYIELD:3 pint jars
    ACTIVE TIME:45 minutes
    TOTAL TIME:48 hoursS
    PECIAL EQUIPMENT:3 pint sized mason jars, canning pot (optional)
    THIS RECIPE APPEARS IN:In a Pickle: Pickled Nectarine Slices
    Ingredients
    • 6 nectarines (approximately 2 1/2 pounds) I swapped peaches in for nectarines
    • 2 cups white vinegar
    • 3/4 granulated sugar
    • 2 teaspoons pickling salt
    • 3 star anise (I left out)
    • 1 cinnamon stick, broken into thirds (I left out)
    • 1 bay leaf, broken into thirds (I left out)
    • 3/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, divided
    • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided

    Procedures
    If using, prepare a boiling water bath canner and place three lids in a small saucepan at a bare simmer.
    1. Prepare three regular mouth jars.

    2. 3 Wash nectarines and slice into 12 wedges per piece of fruit.

    3. Combine 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups water, 3/4 cup granulated white sugar and 2 teaspoons pickling salt.
    4. As the brine comes to a boil, divide the spices evenly between the three jars.
      Once brine is boiling, add fruit to the pot.
    5. Stir to help settle the fruit into the brine.
    6. Once the fruit has relaxed into the brine and the brine is boiling, remove pot from heat.
    7. Carefully ladle the fruit into the jars, using a wooden chopstick to help the nectarine slices settle into place.
    8. Pour brine over fruit to cover.
    9. Tap jars gently to help dislodge any air bubbles that may be trapped between the nectarine slices. Use your wooden chopstick to finish the job.
    10. Wipe rims and apply lids and rings.
    11. If processing for shelf stability, carefully lower jars into boiling water bath and process for 10 minutes.
    12. When time is up, remove jars from canner and let cool.
    13. Once processed jars are cool, remove rings, check seals and wash jars to remove any stickiness.
    14. Unprocessed jars should also be washed once cool and then stored in the refrigerator.
    15. Pickled nectarines can be eaten as soon as cooled, though for best flavor, allow them to sit in their brine for at least 48 hours before eating.






    Peach Salsa
    From Canning Granny


    ½ cup white vinegar

    6 cups chopped pitted and peeled peaches

    1-1/4 cups chopped onion

    4 jalapeño peppers, seeded (if desired) and chopped

    1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

    ½ cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro

    2 Tbsp. liquid honey (I left this out)

    1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I added 4 cloves garlic)

    1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin

    ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
    ** I also had a lime lying around and added that to the mix**



    In a large, stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar and peaches. Add onion, jalapeño peppers, red pepper, cilantro, honey, garlic, cumin, and cayenne. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

    Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving a half inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more salsa. Wip rim. Tighten hot lids onto jars to fingertip tightness.

    Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

    Cool and let seal.


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    Sunday Funday

    11/2/2014

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    I've never really cared for traditional breakfast food until recently. I was always more interested eating real food for breakfast. Cold pizza, sandwiches, leftovers. Essentially anything that was savory. I don't have much of a sweet tooth (probably because I'm so naturally sweet...lol) As I was looking for inspiration for breakfast this morning I was still thinking of the PBS series Mind of a Chef  that I have been binge watching on Netflix. The first season follows Chef David Chang of the popular restaurant Momofuku. I didn't even know who this guy was before I started watching the series and now I'm obsessed with him. Common thread in my life. I also was binge watching New Girl and hope to emulate Jessica Day/Zoe Dechannel (spelling?) in any way I can. Well, the whole series covers a variety of food topics and recipes that look mouth watering. I now can't wait to go to Japan and eat my weight in Ramen. Until I can afford that massive trip I might have to settle for NYC where I can go to David Chang's Noodle Bar. They base a whole episode on eggs. I mean how may ways can you make an egg? Scrambled, fried, poached, boiled... done right? NO WAY! There are crazy chefs out there doing some sort of science/voodoo magic on these eggs. I would highly recommend watching the show, or better yet the whole season. 

    Back to my breakfast inspiration. On a lot of the dishes that David Chang makes at the noodle bar he tops them with a soft cooked egg. I have on occasion accidentally made soft cooked eggs in an attempt to make hard boiled eggs. You would think that hard boiled eggs were the easiest thing to make especially for a beginning cook. Not for me. I have a handwritten note in my recipe file from Mom on how to hard boil eggs. I thought I was the only one but then discovered my best friend Kat tried her first attempt at making hardboiled eggs this summer. I told her how easy it was and gave her really loose directions (she doesn't really care to cook) 45 mins later she still had raw eggs in the pan. I was like "What the heck did you do?" I think we discovered she kept the water on low the whole time instead of bringing it to a boil first.  Hahahahaha. Lesson learned. 

    Well I decided to make some soft cooked eggs David Chang style (In fact they have been around forever but he inspired me to take a stab at it.) I happen to be one of those people who is GAGA for goopy eggs. It's liquid gold. These eggs were wicked easy to make and I put them on top of a "Breakfast Salad" that I made this morning. It's becoming my new favorite breakfast. Veggies, protein, hot sauce. What's not to love? You don't need to eat salad at only lunch and dinner. Don't people eat breakfast for dinner? BREAK OUT OF THE MOLD! Don't be a sheep. BAAAA. LoL.



    Soft Cooked Eggs

    I only make 2 at a time. You could try doing it in a big batch, may not turn out though. 

    Bring a pot of water to a simmer.
    Add you eggs to water (still in shell)
    Set the timer for 6 minutes
    Remove egg and submerge in cold water (I just run it under the faucet)
    ENJOY!!!!
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      I am an aquarius who likes long walks on the beach and the flicker of candle light.  If you haven't noticed yet, Just kidding! I'm a Vermonter who has left my beautiful home state in search of adventure. This blog contains all of my favorite things, mostly food so that my family back home can keep tabs on me. Mom & Dad I'm still alive!!!! Side note: I am terrible at spelling and grammar. There are bound to be typos all over this blog. It's like Where's Waldo. If you look hard enough you will find an error. 

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