It's hard to beat a simple dish of fresh pasta topped with homemade marinara sauce. The key is using quality products and when you have those these simplest of dishes come to life. The Italians have relied on the best of the best tomatoes for centuries: Sun-kissed San … Continue reading →
Honey Peach Cardamom Sauce
Peaches are in season here in Washington State and I picked up a bulk load of 75 pounds of them last week! I've been busy chopping and freezing them for smoothies, canning them, making fruit leather, peach cobbler and peach crisp, and thought I'd try something new - this … Continue reading →
Homemade Blackberry Syrup
This year saw the best crop of blackberries we've seen yet with the largest, juiciest, sweetest blackberries I've ever tasted. I think it must somehow be connected with the all-time, record-breaking long, cold, wet Spring we had this year. It was miserable to live in, but … Continue reading →
Best Homemade Giardiniera (Hot or Mild)
Giardiniera, pronounced "jar-din-air-ah", is one condiment you don't want to be without. And once you've tried it you'll understand why. Originating in Italy, these pickled vegetables were introduced to Chicago in the late 19th century by Italian immigrants and took … Continue reading →
Dill Pickled Green Beans (Dilly Beans)
If you've never tried Dilly Beans you don't know what you've been missing! These have been a beloved classic for generations. They're perfect for snacking and the delightfully crunchy texture of dill pickled green beans also provides the perfect contrast and pairing for … Continue reading →
How To Can Diced Tomatoes
There are several reasons it's a great idea to can your own tomatoes. The first reason is this: BPA's. Nearly everyone's heard of this chemical because of the health risks associated with it. Sadly it continues to be used in so many of our food products. In the case of … Continue reading →
Cherry Barbecue Sauce
What would you do with 75 pounds of cherries? That's what I picked up this past weekend: Three 25 lb boxes of plump, luscious bing cherries. I've been busy pitting and canning cherries in light syrup, making jam, making cherry dessert sauce, cherry crisp, fruit leather, and … Continue reading →
Pickled Asparagus
Asparagus is something I look forward to every year. Steamed and served with a Hollandaise sauce, sauteed with butter, added to stir-fries, made into a creamy soup, roasted or grilled and added to a Mediterranean salad...I love asparagus every which way. And that includes … Continue reading →
How To Smoke Neck Bones & Ham Hocks
At the heart of Southern home cooking, smoked neck bones and ham hocks are commonly enjoyed with things like beans, potatoes, rice, cabbage as well as in soups and stews where they're slow-cooked until their smoky, fork-tender meat falls right off. Most of you have … Continue reading →
Caramel Pear Butter
If you're an apple butter fan you've got to try this with pears. A fuss-free recipe utilizing the slow cooker, simply dump in the ingredients and let the slow cooker work its magic. The result is a wonderfully deep, caramelized flavor that comes from slow cooking the pears … Continue reading →
How To Make Fruit Leather
Making a wholesome, no added sugar treat for yourself and your family couldn't be easier! Too many food items you find in the store are full of ingredients that belong in a toxic waste depository rather than in a food item that's consumed by kids or grownups. Fruit … Continue reading →
Plum Butter (Pflaumenmus)
Plum Butter brings back memories of the time I spent with my Oma and Opa growing up in southern Germany. There it's called Pflaumenmus and you can readily find it in any grocery store next to the jams and marmalades. My Oma used to make Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes) … Continue reading →
How To Can Peaches (Without Sugar, With Syrup or Honey)
Canning is such a great way of preserving food to enjoy over the long haul. Buy your produce locally when it's in season, can it and then you can enjoy it all the year round. Canned peaches are an especially wonderful treat, whether you're enjoying them straight out of the … Continue reading →
Pickled Turnips
Pickling is a method of preservation that dates back to Neolithic times around 7000 BC. During this anaerobic fermentation process strange and wonderful things happen that transform the original product into something quite different. And very healthy with all those … Continue reading →
How To Can Cherries, Dehydrate Them & Use The Pits
It's cherry season! And that means bounteous harvests of gorgeous, plump, juicy globes of sweetness. We picked up two bulk loads of Washington cherries, a combination of Rainier and Bing, 80 pounds total! I've been preparing them several ways: Canning, dehydrating, … Continue reading →
How To Make Homemade Canned Boston Baked Beans or Pork and Beans
Here's the thing, if I'm going to make the effort to can I like to make a huge batch to make my efforts worth it, because it doesn't take any longer to do so. But it does save me the time of making a second batch later. But, you need a really large stock pot. The best … Continue reading →
Easy Homemade Dill Pickle Relish
It's relish like this that makes eating a sandwich or hot dog just that much better. It also adds a wonderful dimension to your pasta and potato salads. Last Summer I posted my recipe for Sweet Pickle Relish and here is the more savory version with a more pronounced dill … Continue reading →
