In the age-old tradition of "make it up as you go along and see if it works," I present to you my made-up tortilla soup. I read through numerous sopa recipes, looking for one that would fit our tastes and not take 3 days to make. Not finding quite what I was looking for and being constitutionally unable to just follow a savory recipe with exactitude, I borrowed a bit here, a piece there and added a lot of my own ideas.
This should feed about four people but it's easy to increase the servings without increasing the meat. Just add tomatoes, beans and seasoning until you have the approximate amount you need and a flavor you like.
4 dried New Mexico chilis, stems and some seeds removed.
Roast the chilis until their aroma is released. Remove them from heat immediately and submerge in cold water in a small bowl. Let steep until skins have softened. Chop finely.
2 cups yellow corn, fresh, canned (drained) or frozen (thawed)
Heat the oven to 400F. Place a shallow pan on the oven bottom. When preheated, dump the corn into the pan. Stir every couple of minutes until you see color, turn off oven and remove pan. Set aside.
1 large white onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 tsp oregano (Mexican or Greek, doesn't matter)
1 tsp chili powder
1 T ground cumin (if you can grind your own seeds it's a lot better)
1 1/2 quarts home canned tomatoes or equivalent commercial (fresh tomatoes? use about 7)
2 cups black beans, cooked and drained.
8 cups chicken stock
In a large stockpot, place all the above ingredients, including the chilis and the corn. Stir well. Bring to boil, place pot on heat diffuser over medium-high heat and let it simmer until you like the taste and consistency.
8 6" corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
2 T vegetable oil or manteca
While the soup is simmering, heat the fat in a heavy cast iron pan. Add the cut tortillas in batches, sauteeing for 2-3 minutes per batch until strips are crisp. Be careful not to burn them!
4 cups cooked chicken, diced
Add chicken to soup pot, stir well. Return to simmer until chicken is heated through.
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Just before serving, stir in the cilantro and half of the tortilla strips.
1 cup grated jack cheese or equivalent mild white cheese
1 c grated sharp cheddar
sour cream
Cubed avocado (optional)
remaining tortilla strips
Set out serving bowls. Add cheeses to each bowl, ladle soup over. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, avocado cubes and the remaining tortilla strips.
How many people this will serve depends on how hungry they are and what else you serve.
Curmudgeon's note: I have seen sopa de tortilla made with everything from canned salsa to roasted squash. Sometimes it's been thickened with some starchy stuff and more resembles a weird pinkish gelatinous mass than soup. To that I say, "YUCK!" I don't worry about the black hunks of the roasted chilis in the soup, it's just one of those things and the chilis add real depth of flavor to the soup. My personal preference is for roasted corn, too. If you don't like that, use plain corn. You could, if you're feeling ambitious, roast the onion, garlic and, if using fresh tomatoes, the tomatoes. Or, alternatively, use half roasted tomatillas and half roasted tomatoes. Lime juice makes a nice addition and adds a freshness to the soup. Epizote can also be used with the other spices if you can find it. For a vegetarian? Leave out the chicken stock and chicken and use vegetable stock instead. It's all good. I've probably forgotten something, I usually do.
Make it up as you go along and see what kind of wonderful variations you can come up with.
After all, it's your palate you are pleasing!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Swiss Steak or something
We usually find ourselves with a surplus of round steak after butchering so we need to figure ways to work with it. Can't let a nice piece of meat go to waste, after all. This is one of the ways we enjoy the stuff:
Swiss Steak Sort Of
2 pounds beef round steak, trimmed and cut into 6 portions
1/2 cup flour
2 T black pepper
1 T salt
1 T garlic powder
1 T Indian curry, the brown kind (I make my own, will find the recipe around here somewhere) for curry lovers, use more
1/8 cup oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, cleaned and sliced
1 green bell pepper, cleaned and sliced
1 quart canned tomatoes with juice (home canned is best, if you don't have any use a 28 ounce can of diced)
1/2 cup beef broth
Mix the flour, pepper, salt, garlic and curry. Place in a soup dish for dredging.
Pound the beef portions very thin, dipping them in the flour mixture as needed.
After the beef is prepared, dredge the portions one more time in the flour and allow them to dry.
Preheat oven to 300F.
In a large braising pan on medium high, heat the oil until it swims. (If you want, use clarified butter, which won't smoke.)
Lightly brown the portions in batches. Set aside in a bowl. Don't do them so they are done at all, just a little brown on the outside. (Make sure there is no burning as you will have to dump out the fats and wash the pan, then start over with fresh fat.)
Reduce heat to medium low.
Put all the portions back in the braising pan in layers as stated below, if needed. Add juice from bowl.
Layer sliced onions, peppers and tomatoes on beef. Slowly bring to a boil.
Cover and place in preheated oven. Braise for 4 hours.
Remove cover, testing to make sure the contents of the pan are not drying out. If they do, add the broth.
Bake for another hour. Remove from oven, cover loosely and let set for 15 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable of your choice.
Swiss Steak Sort Of
2 pounds beef round steak, trimmed and cut into 6 portions
1/2 cup flour
2 T black pepper
1 T salt
1 T garlic powder
1 T Indian curry, the brown kind (I make my own, will find the recipe around here somewhere) for curry lovers, use more
1/8 cup oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, cleaned and sliced
1 green bell pepper, cleaned and sliced
1 quart canned tomatoes with juice (home canned is best, if you don't have any use a 28 ounce can of diced)
1/2 cup beef broth
Mix the flour, pepper, salt, garlic and curry. Place in a soup dish for dredging.
Pound the beef portions very thin, dipping them in the flour mixture as needed.
After the beef is prepared, dredge the portions one more time in the flour and allow them to dry.
Preheat oven to 300F.
In a large braising pan on medium high, heat the oil until it swims. (If you want, use clarified butter, which won't smoke.)
Lightly brown the portions in batches. Set aside in a bowl. Don't do them so they are done at all, just a little brown on the outside. (Make sure there is no burning as you will have to dump out the fats and wash the pan, then start over with fresh fat.)
Reduce heat to medium low.
Put all the portions back in the braising pan in layers as stated below, if needed. Add juice from bowl.
Layer sliced onions, peppers and tomatoes on beef. Slowly bring to a boil.
Cover and place in preheated oven. Braise for 4 hours.
Remove cover, testing to make sure the contents of the pan are not drying out. If they do, add the broth.
Bake for another hour. Remove from oven, cover loosely and let set for 15 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable of your choice.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Time for cannolis
I am now the proud mistress of 8 stainless steel cannoli forms. Early next week I plan on putting together my first batch of the classic Italian treat. After consultations with 2 great cooks (thanks, Jamie and Mick) I have decided to use 1/2 whole milk ricotta, 1/4 mascarpone and 1/4 whipped cream for the filling. Not sure whether chocolate cannolis or plain cannolis or white chocolate ones or amaretto or... well, the possibilities are seemingly endless.
Therein is the rub. Do I keep it really simple for my first foray or do I really do it up in style? Due to my total inability to deep fry anything, it will be up to Himself to do that part of the recipe. Maybe I should leave the flavor decision up to him as a sort of recompense for the really messy stuff?
I shall try to take some photos while making the dough and all but making no promises. I usually get so involved in the whole process of cooking that I totally forget those "process" photos.
Will report back on fillings and how the whole thing goes.
Therein is the rub. Do I keep it really simple for my first foray or do I really do it up in style? Due to my total inability to deep fry anything, it will be up to Himself to do that part of the recipe. Maybe I should leave the flavor decision up to him as a sort of recompense for the really messy stuff?
I shall try to take some photos while making the dough and all but making no promises. I usually get so involved in the whole process of cooking that I totally forget those "process" photos.
Will report back on fillings and how the whole thing goes.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Off and running
Getting rolling on another holiday feast for tomorrow. Our menu features a gorgeous 9+ pound prime rib, oven-roasted potatoes, some kind of vegetable, crusty bread for jus sopping, the crew's favorite holiday salad, pumpkin, cherry and apple pies...
This is a simple process, really. Get as much done before hand as possible. No problem. Especially since this isn't nearly as complex as the holiday dinners we have had in the past. Coordinating turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, side dishes, rolls, pies and more in this little dinky kitchen of mine is getting to be more of a pain as I get older. I have decided that, next holiday season, I am passing the baton to DIL, DS1 and DD.
They are all excellent cooks, DS1 and DD do mains, entrees, sides... DIL does the baking. Since the son and his wife have a monstrous huge Victorian mansion with a monstrous huge kitchen, an actual dining room and places for everyone to sit? Perfect. Give the Old Lady a glass of dry red vin and she'll put her feet up and enjoy not coordinating every last detail.
My ability to keep going and going and going like that battery bunny was steamrolled in October of 2007. After exposure to black corn (aspergillum, to which I am fatally allergic) I became extremely ill and came way too close to that last curtain. After bed rest and weeks of steroids, I managed to do one last huge Thanksgiving day feast. After over 30 years of planning, shopping, cooking, cooking and cooking some more? I found I couldn't do it without collapsing from exhaustion the day after. I miss that stamina but it may be my body is finally rebelling after all these years.
So. I am learning to listen when my back aches, I get short of breath, dizzy... Asking others for help is not in my nature but I must learn to do just that. I don't fuss about the house being spotless, the windows clean, all laundry done. I may not even scrub the bathroom today.
And there is nothing wrong with that at all.
This is a simple process, really. Get as much done before hand as possible. No problem. Especially since this isn't nearly as complex as the holiday dinners we have had in the past. Coordinating turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, side dishes, rolls, pies and more in this little dinky kitchen of mine is getting to be more of a pain as I get older. I have decided that, next holiday season, I am passing the baton to DIL, DS1 and DD.
They are all excellent cooks, DS1 and DD do mains, entrees, sides... DIL does the baking. Since the son and his wife have a monstrous huge Victorian mansion with a monstrous huge kitchen, an actual dining room and places for everyone to sit? Perfect. Give the Old Lady a glass of dry red vin and she'll put her feet up and enjoy not coordinating every last detail.
My ability to keep going and going and going like that battery bunny was steamrolled in October of 2007. After exposure to black corn (aspergillum, to which I am fatally allergic) I became extremely ill and came way too close to that last curtain. After bed rest and weeks of steroids, I managed to do one last huge Thanksgiving day feast. After over 30 years of planning, shopping, cooking, cooking and cooking some more? I found I couldn't do it without collapsing from exhaustion the day after. I miss that stamina but it may be my body is finally rebelling after all these years.
So. I am learning to listen when my back aches, I get short of breath, dizzy... Asking others for help is not in my nature but I must learn to do just that. I don't fuss about the house being spotless, the windows clean, all laundry done. I may not even scrub the bathroom today.
And there is nothing wrong with that at all.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
So much to say, so little time....
Have been cooking less and learning more. That might sound mutually exclusive but it really isn't.
We have had a chance to do a small bit of travelling and have found some awesomely awesome places to eat on our jaunts...
One is Buddy's Ranch House & Cafe on North Washington in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. I don't know that it is still called "ranch house" but I can tell you that the breakfast we had there on a rainy December morning was great. We had planned on going to Crater of Diamonds State Park and find a HUGE diamond. Or two. It turned cold and rainy so we took a walk around the visitor center at the park and then decided to get back to the interstate to go further south. As usually happens when we are touring around, Himself is talking about a place he saw where we could eat before we left. Also true to form, I thought he was goofy but, as I was riding and had promised to keep my mouth shut, agreed to go wherever he wanted. Turns out it was Buddy's. We had "traditional" breakfasts, his eggs, griddle cakes, sausages... mine a huge omelette. Wonderful. If you find yourself in Murfreesboro, AR, go to Buddy's. You won't regret it.
Then there was another rainy and chilly night in Livingston, TX, just north of Houston. All I wanted to do was put my jammies on and go to bed but Himself insisted that we needed to get something to eat. He left the choice up to me and I thought Cajun sounded good so off we went to Shrimp Boat Manny's. Ok, ohhhhhkay! Wow. That's about the best I can express how I found the food. Etouffee is one of my favorite foods in the whole world but it's hard to find one that hasn't turned into a gelatinous mess. Manny's was made with a blonde roux, unlike the dark roux I am accustomed to. The mudbugs were done perfectly, the spices were balanced, the whole dish was just out of this world. I would have been happy to sit there for another 2 hours and just keep eating etoufee. Highly, highly recommended!
Banda's on South Port in Corpus Christi has some of the best fried seafood you will ever taste. We had checked in earlier at a local motel and told the desk clerk that we needed something for supper but seafood would sure be nice. She grew up in the neighborhood and told us that if she was craving seafood she went to Banda's. That dear girl was right about the food. Banda's is a little tiny place on the west side of Port that is almost impossible to find. No big signs, no advertisments, no parking lot to speak of... Walk in, the offerings are on a dry marker board to your left. Peruse those, mouth watering, while trying to decide if you would rather have a 3, 4 or 5 piece fish dinner, or oysters, or shrimp or all of the above. Once you figure out what you want, mosey up to the ordering window and tell the little lady there. She will give you a number and, in pretty short order, you hear your number called and it's time to chow down. We had fish and shrimp and onion rings, so much of all of them that we overate before we knew it. The food is not greasy, not boring, just absolutely wonderful. Banda's isn't a fancy-schmancy place, offering expensive entrees at sky-high prices. There are no starters, no salads, no broiled vegetables... It's a neighborhood joint, frequented by the denizens of the area. It is, also, proof of a truism I heard years ago from a friend, "If you want to really know what the food is like locally, find out from a local where they eat and go there."
Ahhhh, Mamacita's. Little Mama, whoever you are, I love you. Across the bridge, over there a couple of blocks away from the Lexington in your purple building... funky paintings done by a local artist. Open for breakfast at 7 a.m., lunch after 11. They offer a variety of northern Mexican dishes that simply are amazing. Try the salsa. Fire-roasted chilis, tomatoes, tomatillas... how can you top that? You might want to try authentic barbacoa for lunch? Just looking at the offerings on the menus made me drool. So much food, so little time. I hope we can get back to C.C., if for no other reason than to go to Mamacita's and eat.
Then there is that huge surprise in Buda, Texas: Nonna Gina's. On Main Street across from the municipal parking lot is Gina's. Everything made fresh, mostly from local ingredients. It was yet again a dark, rainy and foggy night. We had visited one of the SanAn missions but didn't have time to see the others. Were not in the least impressed by the Alamo and figured it would be a good thing to get as far as we could that evening. Stuck in rush hour traffic, long drive in crummy conditions? When we got just past Kyle we really figured it would be a good thing to get off the highway, get a motel and crash. Then it occurred to us that we were really, really hungry. Well, let's see... there's a Burger Sling and that truck stop over on the other side of the highway. Nah, let's try something else. My turn to drive so we ventured up a very dark road into Buda. There was that Italian place on the south side of town but that didn't look appealing... I totally missed seeing Nonna's but Himself had the Hungry-radar going and noticed it. We parked in the municipal lot and wandered in. Mismatched furniture, no fancy decorations at all but the most marvelous aromas... FOOD! Real, honest to goodness food. For about 20 bucks or so we both had more than enough to eat. Himself had a fresh-made pizza which could easily have changed my opinion on pizza forever. I had a Greek salad, bruschetta a formaggio and pasta with fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic. Then? Great coffee with a house-made biscotti. Across the table? Cannolis! This is a new place and it deserves to have a long, fruitful life. If you live around Austin, TX, hie yourself over to Buda and eat at Nonna Gina's. You will have a truly great meal and, if you get a chance, ask for Patrick.
We have had a chance to do a small bit of travelling and have found some awesomely awesome places to eat on our jaunts...
One is Buddy's Ranch House & Cafe on North Washington in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. I don't know that it is still called "ranch house" but I can tell you that the breakfast we had there on a rainy December morning was great. We had planned on going to Crater of Diamonds State Park and find a HUGE diamond. Or two. It turned cold and rainy so we took a walk around the visitor center at the park and then decided to get back to the interstate to go further south. As usually happens when we are touring around, Himself is talking about a place he saw where we could eat before we left. Also true to form, I thought he was goofy but, as I was riding and had promised to keep my mouth shut, agreed to go wherever he wanted. Turns out it was Buddy's. We had "traditional" breakfasts, his eggs, griddle cakes, sausages... mine a huge omelette. Wonderful. If you find yourself in Murfreesboro, AR, go to Buddy's. You won't regret it.
Then there was another rainy and chilly night in Livingston, TX, just north of Houston. All I wanted to do was put my jammies on and go to bed but Himself insisted that we needed to get something to eat. He left the choice up to me and I thought Cajun sounded good so off we went to Shrimp Boat Manny's. Ok, ohhhhhkay! Wow. That's about the best I can express how I found the food. Etouffee is one of my favorite foods in the whole world but it's hard to find one that hasn't turned into a gelatinous mess. Manny's was made with a blonde roux, unlike the dark roux I am accustomed to. The mudbugs were done perfectly, the spices were balanced, the whole dish was just out of this world. I would have been happy to sit there for another 2 hours and just keep eating etoufee. Highly, highly recommended!
Banda's on South Port in Corpus Christi has some of the best fried seafood you will ever taste. We had checked in earlier at a local motel and told the desk clerk that we needed something for supper but seafood would sure be nice. She grew up in the neighborhood and told us that if she was craving seafood she went to Banda's. That dear girl was right about the food. Banda's is a little tiny place on the west side of Port that is almost impossible to find. No big signs, no advertisments, no parking lot to speak of... Walk in, the offerings are on a dry marker board to your left. Peruse those, mouth watering, while trying to decide if you would rather have a 3, 4 or 5 piece fish dinner, or oysters, or shrimp or all of the above. Once you figure out what you want, mosey up to the ordering window and tell the little lady there. She will give you a number and, in pretty short order, you hear your number called and it's time to chow down. We had fish and shrimp and onion rings, so much of all of them that we overate before we knew it. The food is not greasy, not boring, just absolutely wonderful. Banda's isn't a fancy-schmancy place, offering expensive entrees at sky-high prices. There are no starters, no salads, no broiled vegetables... It's a neighborhood joint, frequented by the denizens of the area. It is, also, proof of a truism I heard years ago from a friend, "If you want to really know what the food is like locally, find out from a local where they eat and go there."
Ahhhh, Mamacita's. Little Mama, whoever you are, I love you. Across the bridge, over there a couple of blocks away from the Lexington in your purple building... funky paintings done by a local artist. Open for breakfast at 7 a.m., lunch after 11. They offer a variety of northern Mexican dishes that simply are amazing. Try the salsa. Fire-roasted chilis, tomatoes, tomatillas... how can you top that? You might want to try authentic barbacoa for lunch? Just looking at the offerings on the menus made me drool. So much food, so little time. I hope we can get back to C.C., if for no other reason than to go to Mamacita's and eat.
Then there is that huge surprise in Buda, Texas: Nonna Gina's. On Main Street across from the municipal parking lot is Gina's. Everything made fresh, mostly from local ingredients. It was yet again a dark, rainy and foggy night. We had visited one of the SanAn missions but didn't have time to see the others. Were not in the least impressed by the Alamo and figured it would be a good thing to get as far as we could that evening. Stuck in rush hour traffic, long drive in crummy conditions? When we got just past Kyle we really figured it would be a good thing to get off the highway, get a motel and crash. Then it occurred to us that we were really, really hungry. Well, let's see... there's a Burger Sling and that truck stop over on the other side of the highway. Nah, let's try something else. My turn to drive so we ventured up a very dark road into Buda. There was that Italian place on the south side of town but that didn't look appealing... I totally missed seeing Nonna's but Himself had the Hungry-radar going and noticed it. We parked in the municipal lot and wandered in. Mismatched furniture, no fancy decorations at all but the most marvelous aromas... FOOD! Real, honest to goodness food. For about 20 bucks or so we both had more than enough to eat. Himself had a fresh-made pizza which could easily have changed my opinion on pizza forever. I had a Greek salad, bruschetta a formaggio and pasta with fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic. Then? Great coffee with a house-made biscotti. Across the table? Cannolis! This is a new place and it deserves to have a long, fruitful life. If you live around Austin, TX, hie yourself over to Buda and eat at Nonna Gina's. You will have a truly great meal and, if you get a chance, ask for Patrick.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Chicken with red wine and mushrooms
This is a sneaker recipe. Goes together in a flash, no messing while it cooks, and the results are great. For those who don't like red-wine tinted chicken, use white wine... Don't put oil in the pan and don't grease it. It isn't necessary and will just make your sauce greasy.
1 whole chicken, 3 - 4 pounds, cleaned well.
1 large onion, sliced very thin.
1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced.
4 garlic cloves, mashed.
3 tablespoon crushed dry oregano
1 cup dry red wine
Preheat oven to 375.
In a heavy dutch oven with lid, layer the onions, then the mushrooms, scatter on the garlic and oregano. Place chicken, breast side up, on top and pour the wine over all.
Put the d.o. on the cooktop on low to start heating the contents up. After 15 to 30 minutes, turn chicken over. Cover.
When oven is ready, place covered d.o. on middle rack. Don't remove the cover for 90 minutes then check chicken for doneness. If necessary, recover and return pot to oven.
When chicken is done remove it, placing on serving dish. Cover and let rest.
Return the pan to the cooktop, simmer remaining sauce down to desired consistency. Skim any fat. Serve beside the chicken.
1 whole chicken, 3 - 4 pounds, cleaned well.
1 large onion, sliced very thin.
1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced.
4 garlic cloves, mashed.
3 tablespoon crushed dry oregano
1 cup dry red wine
Preheat oven to 375.
In a heavy dutch oven with lid, layer the onions, then the mushrooms, scatter on the garlic and oregano. Place chicken, breast side up, on top and pour the wine over all.
Put the d.o. on the cooktop on low to start heating the contents up. After 15 to 30 minutes, turn chicken over. Cover.
When oven is ready, place covered d.o. on middle rack. Don't remove the cover for 90 minutes then check chicken for doneness. If necessary, recover and return pot to oven.
When chicken is done remove it, placing on serving dish. Cover and let rest.
Return the pan to the cooktop, simmer remaining sauce down to desired consistency. Skim any fat. Serve beside the chicken.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Autumn is here
It's noticeably cooler, leaves are cascading, spreading color across the grass. Geese practicing their precision formation, crying in the wind. Winter is coming.
This time of year is also canning time. For the next 10 days, it's tomato heaven around here. Am doing 12 quarts at a time in the water bath. It takes a while for them to cook down so it's possible to stage the process and be able to accomplish other things while they cook.
Here are some photos:
The tomatoes seem to be an heirloom variety called Oxheart. They are almost solid meat and cook up beautifully.
These are almost ready to go. The foam is changing color, turning darker, and they have thickened considerably.
The finished product. The fruit kept its color with no added ingredients, salt or anything else.
I have the last 30 pounds of maters on the stove, cooking. The first two batches were around 25 pounds and the extra 5 was just enough that I had to get a second stock pot for the excess. I am "guesstimating" that I might get as many as 16 quarts from this batch. Have another 2 bushel coming this week so will continue with this. She offered another 4 bushel in the weeks to come and I may take her up on it. (We need around 124 quarts of tomatoes to get us through winter as we use a LOT of them.) 100 pounds of tomatoes for $40 is one hell of a deal and well worth the money.
Have spoken to a number of people over the last week who can't imagine doing anything like canning tomatoes. "Why don't you just buy them? It's a lot easier." Well, yeah, I suppose it is but I get something from doing this. Not just wonderful, fresh-tasting produce in the depths of winter but some kind of personal satisfaction. Like many home canners, I take pride in the fact that I can do this, do it well, and do it quickly. (I also take just pride in the fact that over the 30+ years I have been doing this I have had only about 5 jars that didn't seal and only one that broke in the pressure canner.)
I started quite young, learning the process, in my mother's kitchen. Back then, if you didn't grow it and put it up yourself you were likely to get darned hungry by the end of winter. We did tomatoes, beans, beets, froze corn, made jelly... all that kind of old-timey stuff. Mom didn't really enjoy the process, though. It was a matter of survival and it had to be done. Dad liked it better than Mom and he ended up being drafted on weekends.
Have finished the pickling, too. We don't use a lot of pickles and, since nobody but me eats sauerkraut, I don't bother with that. We don't use a lot of jams or jellies so I don't bother with that, either. It's as cost efficient to just buy the stuff at Aldi's.
This time of year is also canning time. For the next 10 days, it's tomato heaven around here. Am doing 12 quarts at a time in the water bath. It takes a while for them to cook down so it's possible to stage the process and be able to accomplish other things while they cook.
Here are some photos:
The tomatoes seem to be an heirloom variety called Oxheart. They are almost solid meat and cook up beautifully.
These are almost ready to go. The foam is changing color, turning darker, and they have thickened considerably.
The finished product. The fruit kept its color with no added ingredients, salt or anything else.
I have the last 30 pounds of maters on the stove, cooking. The first two batches were around 25 pounds and the extra 5 was just enough that I had to get a second stock pot for the excess. I am "guesstimating" that I might get as many as 16 quarts from this batch. Have another 2 bushel coming this week so will continue with this. She offered another 4 bushel in the weeks to come and I may take her up on it. (We need around 124 quarts of tomatoes to get us through winter as we use a LOT of them.) 100 pounds of tomatoes for $40 is one hell of a deal and well worth the money.
Have spoken to a number of people over the last week who can't imagine doing anything like canning tomatoes. "Why don't you just buy them? It's a lot easier." Well, yeah, I suppose it is but I get something from doing this. Not just wonderful, fresh-tasting produce in the depths of winter but some kind of personal satisfaction. Like many home canners, I take pride in the fact that I can do this, do it well, and do it quickly. (I also take just pride in the fact that over the 30+ years I have been doing this I have had only about 5 jars that didn't seal and only one that broke in the pressure canner.)
I started quite young, learning the process, in my mother's kitchen. Back then, if you didn't grow it and put it up yourself you were likely to get darned hungry by the end of winter. We did tomatoes, beans, beets, froze corn, made jelly... all that kind of old-timey stuff. Mom didn't really enjoy the process, though. It was a matter of survival and it had to be done. Dad liked it better than Mom and he ended up being drafted on weekends.
Have finished the pickling, too. We don't use a lot of pickles and, since nobody but me eats sauerkraut, I don't bother with that. We don't use a lot of jams or jellies so I don't bother with that, either. It's as cost efficient to just buy the stuff at Aldi's.
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