Canning Roasted Tomato & Garlic Sauce

Death lies on her like an untimely frost, Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. – William Shakespeare

2L of delicious, garden-y goodness. At my beck and call for winter!

There’s no denying it now. Autumn has arrived on the calendar. I can’t say I’m pleased, but I guess one has to go with the flow.

One of those “flow” things is the lowering temperatures – especially overnight. If you have a garden, either plot or container, it becomes a major concern. You have to watch overnight temperatures and pick your remaining produce before it gets hit by frost.

We seemed to have had one of the untimely frosts of which Shakespeare wrote last week. (Illustration directly below...)

This is what our tomatoes looked like after last week's early "killing" frost.

I came back after a couple days away on business to blackened leaves on almost all our tomato plants. They were dead. I was left with no choice but to pick everything – red and green. 

So after my untimely harvest I had a large dilemma. One plastic grocery bag of ripe tomatoes and – harder to deal with – two bags of green.

Some of the green tomatoes will ripen indoors on the counter. You don’t have to do anything special to them. If they have reached the “breaking point” they will ripen quite nicely. That point is when tomatoes start turning from hard green to yellowish/pinkish. 

Make sure the cut faces of the tomatoes are facing up.

Unfortunately the taste isn’t quite as good as vine-ripened, but any tomato you grow at home will taste better than one shipped from who knows where that you purchase in a store.

There’s two of us in our family. We could never go through 30+ ripe tomatoes before they go bad. The thing to do was to preserve them for use through the cold months. So I made sauce. Roasted tomato sauce.

This roasted sauce is really tasty, if I do say so myself. It’s actually not any more involved than cooking tomatoes down on the stove. The difference is that the roasting of the vegetables removes some of the moisture, concentrating the flavour and adding a bit of charred, smoky depth.

If you find yourself in the same position as I was, try this recipe. It will soon turn into a seasonal fall back (pardon the pun) every time you have too many tomatoes. If you’re looking for a sauce recipe that doesn’t have a lot of “hands on” time, this is the one.

Don’t be afraid of canning your own tomato sauce. It’s actually very easy. This recipe made four full 500 ml jars, plus about 3/4 cup. That was just enough for me to “test” the sauce on some pasta. The trials I go through for you...

Now I have to turn my attention to the 50-60 green tomatoes on my counter. Hmmm.

Roasted Tomato & Garlic Sauce

Prep: 10 min  |  Time: about 3 hours  |  Yield 2 L

30 plum tomatoes, halved

2 medium yellow onions, cut into eighths

3 heads garlic, peeled but left whole

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp each, salt and pepper

1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 cup white wine

1 tsp citric acid, or juice of 1 large lemon

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Halve the tomatoes along their long dimension. Quarter the onions and then halve so they are in eighths. Peel the garlic.

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss well with your hands to coat. Divide the vegetables between two rimmed cookie sheets. Make sure the cut faces of the tomatoes are facing up.

Place the tomatoes in the oven and roast for 1 hour 15 minutes, switching the sheets on the racks in the oven halfway through (top sheet on bottom, bottom on top). Let cool slightly, then put all the vegetables in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot with a lid.

You could easily make a cream sauce by adding heavy cream
to the sauce when using it. Don't try to can the sauce with cream
already added. Do it as you use it. Vodka would also be good.

Add the wine and herbs to the pot and then crush the vegetables slightly. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Let the mixture simmer for an hour.

Once the sauce has simmered, let cool slightly and then purée either with a stick emulsion blender or a regular blender. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust. If the sauce is too thin, you can continue to cook.

Now add the citric acid or lemon juice. The acid is important because tomatoes are borderline acidic (4.5 pH) for preserving. The acid lowers the pH of the sauce, making it safer during canning.

Bring the sauce back to a boil and then promptly remove from the heat. While the sauce heats, sterilize four 500 ml jars. Fill the jars, leaving 1/2” air space at the top of each jar. Make sure not to get sauce on the rim. Place the tops on the jars “finger tight.”

Process the jars in a hot water bath that covers the tops of the jars by about 1”. Let them boil in the water for 12-14 minutes. Remove the jars from the water and let cool on the counter. In a short time you will hear the seals “pop” on top of the jars. Tighten the rings on the jars, let cool completely and then store. They will keep for a year in a cool place.

If a top doesn’t pop down, that jar is not sealed. Either try to process again, or keep refrigerated and use within one week.

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Gifting Boozy Clementines

When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out – because that's what's inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside. – Wayne Dyer

On the fourth post of Christmas, my true love gave to me...boozy clementines! Why not? 'Tis the season for them to be in the grocery stores.

It’s a bonus they’re usually “on sale” now. You probably have noticed this yourself – they’re placed inside the front door of most groceries. If they aren’t on sale they soon will be. Of course, "on sale" is a relative term...

Photo: Romaryka, Flickr CCL

Oranges (and clementines) have been a special Christmas treat for decades in rural Nova Scotia. Although they’re available all year round that wasn’t always the case. 

During the time my parents were children (1920-30s) they were a rarity. I remember my mother telling me how excited people used to get when they arrived at the village dry goods store. They were special. 

Even when I was young (many decades later – I’m not that old) my sister and I always received an orange in the toe of our Christmas stockings.

Clementines are a variety of mandarin orange that are small, smooth skinned and very easy to peel. They are almost always seedless, which makes them ideal for this recipe.

The origin of the clementine is a little murky. One story says the clementine was the result of a hybrid discovered by Father Clément Rodier in the garden of his orphanage in Algeria. Some studies state that the clementine is possibly a variant of the Canton mandarin that grows in China.

Clementines are front and centre in grocery stores from November through January. Because of shipping and storage they are usually picked before their prime and allowed to “ripen” off the tree. When you buy them give them a sniff. They should smell very citrusy. Those are the good ones. Flavour won't mysteriously appear if it's not there to start.

I suggest the 250 ml jars because I’m notorious for opening a can of fruit and then never finishing it. The smaller jars yield two small servings. Of course larger jars can be used. Just increase quantities accordingly.

More detailed directions for canning foods than I outline below can be found at: http://food.unl.edu/web/preservation/canning

Boozy Clementines

Time: about 1/2 hour

6 x 250 ml jars (or 3 x 500 ml)

18 clementines (approximately)

2 tbsp Grand Marnier® per jar (or other orange liqueur*)

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups water

Wash the jars, lids and rings in very hot water, and let dry. There is no need to sterilize the jars. The processing time raises the temperature enough to kill any bacteria that may be present.

Peel the clementines and remove as much of the white membrane as you can from the segments. Pack the jars with the fruit segments. Depending on the size of the clementines you’ll average about 2.5 fruits per 250 ml jar.

Bring the sugar and water to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Add two tablespoons of liqueur to each of the jars (for 250 ml) and cover the segments with the boiling syrup. Place the covers and rings on each jar and tighten.

Place the jars in a large pot of water with enough water to cover the jar tops to one inch above. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes.

Remove and let cool until the tops pop down. Check the tightness of your jar rings.

Note: If the centres of the tops don't pop down as the jars cool they are NOT sealed. Re-process for a further 10 minutes and try again. I had two that didn't seal the first time. Second processing did the trick.

Well sealed canned clementines will last unopened on your shelf for at least 12 months.

* Triple Sec®, Cointreau® or my homemade Grand Orange liqueur can be substituted. For my liqueur recipe, click here.

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Flowering Quince Jam!

The important thing is that men should have a purpose in life. It should be something useful, something good. – Dalai Lama 

Not too sweet, and "floral." No other way to describe it.

This is a re-post from last year but bears repeating. It’s the perfect time to go out foraging the flowering quince. Yes, they are useful, and make something quite delicious.

Photo: fyrefiend, Flickr ccl

Flowering quince can be a bit of a test of your tenacity. We have one under a front window that was planted far too close. There is no way we have been able to kill it, and the root is too large to move. Currently it is buried under a hill of dirt. That will probably only make it angry.

I would love to have one in a more practical spot, especially now that I know a “secret.” You can use the fruit to make jam.

Everyone knows the bush I’m talking about. It’s actually quite breathtaking in bloom – literally covered with hot-pink flowers. This bush's botanical name is Chaenomeles speciosa.

Quince in the store are Cydonia oblonga. Cydonia are not winter hardy in Nova Scotia.

Any recipe that uses those quince can use flowering quince fruit. The flowering quince fruit is smaller, so if a recipe calls for a specific number of fruit be aware that you’ll need more. Cydonia quinces can be the size of apples.

Remove seeds and obvious blemishes.

You can "forage" your flowering quince from your own, or your neighbour's bush. They probably won't have a use for them and will look at you strangely when you ask to pick.

Because of our growing season don’t expect the quince to be ripe as you would expect an apple to be ripe. They will be as hard as rocks – and almost as difficult to deal with. They also will be somewhat green/yellow outside. If you can, pick ones that have started to yellow.

It’s also best to wait until the frost hits them once or twice. This helps develop the internal sugars. But don’t try to bite into one. It will either break your teeth, or suck all the saliva out of your mouth. They are unbelievably astringent. Smell the quince – it should have an pleasant, unusual, floral aroma. This translates into your jam.

I’m actually quite amazed that such a nice jam can be made from something so unpromising. When you're making the jam it does a magic trick close to the end of cooking time. It turns from yellow to quite a lovely orangey red º– almost the same colour as the flowers!

Quince makes a very old-fashioned and unusual jam. It has a bright flavour that is unlike anything else. It also is not overly sweet which makes it very different than other jams and jellies.

This is what it looks like at the start.

Quince are high in natural pectin so all you need is the fruit, sugar and water. They also contain more Vitamin C than lemons.

Flowering Quince Jam

Prep: 45 min  |  Cook: 45 min to 1 hour  |  Yield: 3+ cups 

Adapted from Simply Recipes

4 cups finely chopped flowering quince (between 5-7 fruit)

3-1/2 cups water

juice of one orange

zest of one orange 

3 1/2 cups sugar

*1/4 cup Grand Marnier (optional)

Unless you are used to making jelly, use a candy thermometer for this.

And then, miraculously, it turns this colour!

To prepare the quinces first wash the fruit well and remove any obvious blemishes. The ones I picked had some dark spots on the skin, which I didn’t remove. Bruises were removed.

Quarter the quince and cut out the cores. This may take some doing. They are very hard. 

Chop the quince in a food processor – or a chef’s knife – into small pieces. Measure out 4 packed cups of fruit.

Place the quince, water, orange zest and juice in a stock pot. Simmer for 10 minutes to soften the flesh. then add the sugar, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low.

Cook the quince until a thermometer reads 220°F. This is the jelly stage. It may take 45 minutes; it may take an hour; it may take longer. 

Stir occasionally to ensure the jam doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Skim off any "scum" that forms on the surface.

Once ready, prepare your canning jars by sterilizing the glass, rings and lids in very hot water. Fill the jars leaving a little head room. Place the tops on and tighten the rings on top.

Turn upside down and let sit on the counter for 1/2 hour. Flip over and let cool completely. The lid should be dimpled down to show that the jars are vacuum sealed. If they aren’t, refrigerate. Better safe than sorry.

I used Dollarstore cage-top jars. Since there was no way I could know if they were sealed, I refrigerated mine.

* If adding the Grand Marnier, stir it in after the jam has reached 220°F and is off the heat. The extra liquid will make a slightly softer jam but I wouldn't worry. It certainly won't make it runny.

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Old Fashioned Pickled Beans

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions. – Dalai Lama

Photo: norwichnuts, Flickr ccl

Vicissitudes will beset even the most happy person. But how we feel is entirely how we react to them. It's our response to what is happening that determines how happy we are. There's a saying that we all walk around with problems that are invisible to those we meet. I believe it's true. 

So don't think you have it all that bad. Everyone is dealing with their own trials that you don't know about. If you keep that in mind, and that problems don't last, it's easier to keep your equilibrium. 

The delicious Caesar cocktail.
Photo: Thomas Hawk, Flickr ccl

This week I get a new door, furnace, liner and am busy with work. Last week this time I felt the world was falling in.

I've been noticing a trend on my page views lately. It seems many folks are coming looking for recipes on how to preserve nature's bounty. Unless you planted your garden very late you probably don't have beans right now. But you can buy from a store and they're just as good. And they don't break the bank. 

So here’s an old, old recipe from the South Shore of Nova Scotia. They're one of my more favourite ways to have beans during winter. Just add some baked pork and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and you're set.

Many may be familiar with spicy pickled beans often served in a Caesar cocktail. Although that's one good way to eat them, it's not really a meal, unless you're a lush.

This pickled bean recipe is not the spicy variety, but with a few simple additions can be changed into those. To use the beans all you need to do is rinse, soak if desired, and then boil them until done. They can also be baked on top of sauerkraut with sausages and white wine in the oven. Mmmmmm.....

The taste is difficult to describe. If you like them, you love them. They’re very difficult to find now in any stores. Only a few places I know of still offer them for sale, and they’re all on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. It probably has something to do with the German influence in that area of the province. 

We always used to have a few jars in the basement when I was growing up for use during the winter. They're pretty easy to do. Easier than tomato sauce!

It’s actually quite easy to turn this recipe into the spicy variety if you wish. They’re the twin sister of the old time recipe, with "additions." As opposed to a dinner vegetable, they are consumed as a salty snack, or in a Caesar or Bloody Mary.

The ingredients listed as optional in the recipe will do the trick for you.

Photo: paige_eliz, Flickr ccl

Old Fashioned Pickled Beans

Makes 4 pints

2 lbs  green or yellow beans

1/4 cup pickling salt

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

1 tsp whole black pepper

4 dill fronds (optional)

4 whole dried red chilies (optional)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and whole (optional)

Preparation

It is important to get the best looking beans you can find. Ugly raw beans will make ugly pickled beans. Usually fresh imported beans show up in our local grocery stores from the USA in Spring. You can also wait for our local beans to come into season, but that is much later (but cheaper).

Ensure that your jars and canning pot are well washed. The jars themselves should be sterilized. To do so, place the jars, rings and lids in the canning pot with enough water to cover and boil for a few minutes. Remove with tongs and place on a clean surface.

Wash the beans well and allow to dry. Snap or cut the stem ends off the beans and pack into the jars. You can put beans in whole or cut in two. I prefer the long beans for presentation value. Just make sure you have 1/2 inch of head room in your jars. If not, trim the beans.

If using the optional ingredients for spicy beans, place them in the jars with the beans.

Heat the salt, vinegar and water just to boiling. Take the hot sauce and pour into the jars. Ensure to leave some space between the liquid level and the top of the jar (between 1/2 and 1/4 inch) — enough to cover the beans.

Put the sterile lids and rings on the jars and tighten “finger tight”. This means enough to ensure there is no leakage, but don’t force the rings on too tight. 

Processing the beans

Stand the jars of beans upright in the pot. Ensure that the water level is up over the jar tops. It’s best to put a rack or some kind of elevation between the jars and the pot bottom. It’s not entirely necessary and I have processed beans without a rack many times. Bring to a boil and process for the recommended time for your altitude.

0-1000 ft. – 5 minutes

1001-6000 ft. – 10 minutes

Above 6000 ft. – 15 minutes

Remove from the hot water bath and allow to cool on the counter overnight. You will hear the characteristic “pop” of the lids as they vacuum closed as they cool. Once cooled, you can tighten the rings again to ensure a tight fit.

Let sit for 14 days before using. Store in a cool, dry place.

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Herb Roasted Tomato Halves

Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you. – Mahatma Gandhi

Beautiful quote, but Gandhi was assassinated... Doubt very much that was a request. But the sentiment remains, even if the great man himself did not.

I seem to be dealing with my own version of "endlessly bountiful" in the form of (you guessed it) our Roma tomatoes. The gift that keeps on giving, and giving and giving... I must sound like a one-note Johnny lately. But it's what's going on.

I do have to say I see the end in sight – just in time for the heirloom tomatoes to start to ripen. Sigh...

At least I have found a new trick in how to deal with them. I could make more sauce, but this night I opted for something a bit different. Roasting and freezing them.

I have to admit that I haven’t tried any yet but there’s no reason they won’t be delicious. You should have smelled these cooking. The kitchen and then the whole house was infused with the scent of garlic and herbs. Wow.

I plan on making some interesting things with these over the fall and winter. They’re like little flavour bombs. As they roast the flavours concentrate.

Just let them cool, put them in one layer in a large zip lock bag and freeze. If you put them in a jumble they will be hell to get apart.

Of course you could use them immediately. Let your imagination run wild. I bet they would be amazing nestled in pizza dough with mozzarella and basil, or smooshed onto toast triangles and sprinkled with some balsamic vinegar.

See what I mean? Those two were just off the top of my head. I bet you’ll find your own favourite way to enjoy these treasures – because treasures they most certainly are.

Herb Roasted Tomato Halves

Prep: 5 min  |  Roast 1.5 to 2 hours

18 Roma or 12 beefsteak tomatoes

5 stalks fresh rosemary

5 stalks fresh oregano

5 stalks fresh thyme

4 lg garlic cloves, chopped large

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Spread the olive oil on the bottom of a rimmed cookie sheet. 

Halve all the tomatoes on the short dimension (so they’re tall, not flat). Arrange on the sheet, turning to coat with the oil. Leave cut side down. Stick the herbs and garlic among the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then roast for between 1.5 to 2 hours. Check at the shorter time. The tomatoes must be beginning to collapse. Continue roasting if they have not.

Let the halves cool on the sheet. Then remove the herbs. If desired, slip off the skins, but it's not necessary.

Use immediately as you wish, or can be kept in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.

If desired, freeze the tomatoes for up to 6 months.

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Canning Mushroom Eggplant Pasta Sauce

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. – Wayne Dyer

I had a change of plans yesterday. I found eggplants and mushrooms on sale for half price at a local grocery.

We tried growing eggplant in our garden this year to miserable failure. If the weather holds through October we might – might – have a couple measly, scrawny examples before frost.

But I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

The sauce after simmering 1/2 hour.

I went to the grocery store looking for deals. This Sunday shopping has put a bit of a wrinkle on on-sale meats and such. Before 7-day shopping, groceries used to put meat on sale Saturday night that the “best by” date wouldn’t last through until Monday.

I thought since today is a holiday the same would hold true. Nope. Perhaps we were early. But I did find eggplant and some excellent mushrooms bagged and at 50% off.

That’s where the change came in. I was going to make tomato sauce anyway, so it changed to eggplant/mushroom.

It may have been fortuitous because this sauce is almost hearty enough to just be served on pasta as it is, no additions. Of course feel free to add what you would like. Chicken or sausage would be good.

So when life gives you lemons (or eggplants) it’s best to carpe diem. 

Hope you like. I’m starting to get a bit of a shelf full of canned goods from the garden. It’s quite a rewarding feeling.

Mushroom Eggplant Pasta Sauce

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 1 hour  |  Yield 3 x 500 ml + a little

Leave chunks when you purée. It makes for a far more
interesting and satisfying end result.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

500 g mushrooms, chopped

1.5 lb eggplant, cubed

8 plum tomatoes, cubed

1/2 cup red wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

3 tbsp capers, drained

2 tbsp fresh basil (2 tsp dried)

1 tbsp fresh oregano (1 tsp dried)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

In a large Dutch oven pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for a half hour, stirring occasionally.

While the sauce is simmering sterilize four 500 ml canning jars.

Once the sauce is cooked, either mash – or purée with a stick blender – about half of the sauce, leaving chunks.

Pour into the sterile jars, wipe the rims and seal. Place the jars in a large pot with enough water to cover the tops about 1".

Process in boiling hot water bath for 35 minutes, then remove and let cool on the counter. As they cool the lids will "pop" down. Once cool, retighten the lids.

Store in a cool, dry place until ready to use. Refrigerate any jars that the lids don’t snap down on. They aren’t vacuum sealed.

Do not process the small amount leftover. Refrigerate it. That little bit of sauce can be used within 1 week.

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Canning Herbed Tomato Sauce

My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give thee, the more I have, For both are infinite. – William Shakespeare

Sauce for the winter. Guess I'm an ant rather than a grasshopper. (Aesop's fable)

I can’t believe that August is gone. I hope my directions are clear today. It’s 6am and I haven’t had my coffee yet.

The time of bounty has come in the garden. The tomatoes are ripening. Since we can’t keep ahead of them some have to be made into sauce. It takes a while, but it’s quite satisfying.

If you’re making sauce – which does take some effort – I suggest making more than I did. Twice as much actually. Same effort, twice the yield. But this was our first real “run” of tomatoes, so I only had 5 pounds.

This sauce is a combination of cherry and Roma tomatoes. If you're buying, go for all Roma. They have more "meat."

I “put up” in 500 ml jars. The jars you buy in the store are larger, but I always find I don’t need a full jar. The remainder sits in the refrigerator only to be thrown out weeks later. Yuck. So 500 ml it is for us.

This is a pretty basic sauce using a handful of fresh picked herbs. There’s plenty more combinations for sauce that you can do, which I probably will, like spicy or olive or mushroom. It’s essentially up to you what flavours you end up with.

The thickness is up to you as well. Don't make it too watery. I ended up with two and almost a full third jar. Better a little thick than a little thin.

The most important thing to remember is to process them in hot water afterwards if you want the sauce to keep on the shelf.

The lids HAVE to snap down when cooled to be sealed. If they don’t it only means those jars have to be refrigerated. But if you start with clean, sterile jars it shouldn’t be a problem.

I have written in the directions to place something in the bottom of the canning pot to keep the jars from direct contact. It can be anything. You don’t have to buy a canning set and lifter. I used a collapsible silicone colander.

Leave adjusting the salt to the very end. Since the sauce cooks down in volume, what is salty enough halfway through cooking can very well turn out to be too salty when reduced down.

There will be more tomato sauce in my future. And pickles for any leftover green ones. But that is a different post.

Herbed Tomato Sauce

Time: at least 3 hours  |  Yield: 1.5 L (approx.)

2 tbsp olive oil

5 lbs Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 large sweet onion

6 garlic cloves

1/4 cup red wine

1 cup chopped basil, with some rosemary and oregano

salt to taste (1 tsp first, then adjust at end)

Place all the ingredients in a large pot with a heavy bottom. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and place cover on the pot slightly ajar.

Let the mixture cook for 2 hours. At the end of the 2 hours, purée with a stick emulsion blender until smooth. 

Then allow to cook until the sauce is thickened to your liking. Stir often during this step so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pot. Taste for salt and adjust.

Sterilize three or four 500 ml canning jars (always best to have too many ready than not enough) and place the piping hot sauce in the jars. If you end up with a jar not completely full that's OK. You can always use that one within a week.

Wipe the rims to make sure they're clean. Screw the lids on the jars “finger tight.”

Place the jars in a large enough pot to hold them with 1” of water covering the tops. Put a trivet (or something else) in the pot bottom to keep the jars slightly lifted off.

Bring to a boil and cook for 35 minutes. Remove the jars and let cool. You will hear the bump on the lids lids “snap” down as they cool. (This may take 1/2 hour or more.) Retighten the lids.

Any lids that don’t snap down must be refrigerated and used within a week because they didn’t seal properly. Others can be stored on a shelf through the winter.

Don't forget to label the jars so you know what it contains (herb, mushroom, etc...).

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Homemade Raspberry Wine Vinegar

Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike. – J. K. Rowling

The vinegar after infusing, but before straining out the solids.

We used to have a beautiful straight row of ever-bearing raspberries in our backyard. “Used to” are the operative words. My neglect certainly has done them no good service. It's difficult to maintain everything in a yard when you're only there 2 days out of every 2 weeks. That's no longer the case.

Pretty sad looking... Hopeful for next year.

Over the years my beautiful raspberries were taken over by wild rose and goldenrod. I couldn’t have done them any more harm if I had been working actively against them. But I do like them. Quite a lot actually.

So early this summer we cleaned out the patch, now “spotty” and about four times as wide as it was, to give them room to come back. I have my fingers crossed. There's also logan berries hiding in there somewhere...

If you have a small place in your yard I highly recommend purchasing raspberries. They come in an “ever bearing” variety. So if you have enough canes you can have a steady supply for quite some time. 

Raspberries fruit on second year wood. That means the new green stalks this year will give you fruit the next. After fruiting you can cut out the old, dry brown stalks. They won't fruit again.

Unfortunately for me – this year – I’ll have to rely on the grocery store. either fresh or frozen. Frozen are available year-round and are more than acceptable for making fruit vinegar, but they can be a little sour. 

Image: Wiki CC

If buying fresh berries be a little careful, especially if they’re on sale. When raspberries go on sale it means one of two things: either the raspberries are tasteless, or they’re about to go mouldy. In my experience it’s usually the latter. Check the bottom of the package.

“On sale” means you should get them either into you, or into a preservative or jelly within 24-48 hours. Infused vinegar is a great way to extend your enjoyment of  these delicious summer berry.

Raspberry vinegar can be drizzled over a salad “as is” or mixed into vinaigrette. You can also add it to sparkling water for a deliciously different summer refresher. Sprinkle it over melon or other berries, or use in marinades for pork, poultry or fish.

The only concern in making fruit vinegar is the overall acidity of the finished product. It has to be acidic enough to preserve whatever natural flavourings you have introduced. Raspberries have a pH about 3.2 to 3.6. The other ingredients affect the final pH as well.

The closer you get to 7 pH (neutral) the faster your vinegar needs to be used. For example, fruit may potentially lower the pH a little because juice is introduced; herb vinegars probably do not.

There’s a useful online guide that shows the pH of many common foods. Look here if you want to try other fruits in vinegars. You can find it at

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/food-ph-d_403.html

Natural raspberry flavours fortified with white wine and white wine vinegar makes this a delight both in the mouth and under the nose.

Homemade fruit vinegar also makes a really nice gift. I use small bottles available at any wine-making store. They’re 375 ml and very affordable. This recipe filled two bottles with enough for me to try it out. If you want to enjoy this outstanding vinegar more than a few times, or gift it, you may want to make a double batch.

Raspberry Wine Vinegar

Yield: 2 x 375ml + a little extra

1 cup white wine, dry or sweet (about 4% acidity)

2 cups white wine vinegar (6% acidity)

1/4-1/3 cup sugar, depending on berry sweetness

2 cups fresh (or frozen) raspberries

Bring all the ingredients just to a boil in a saucepan. Place in a sterilized 1 L Mason jar and let sit for 7 days.

After it sits, strain out the solids through a sieve lined with cloth or a jelly bag. I extracted a lot of vinegar by gently squeezing the cloth. Too much will force pulp through the cloth and cloud the vinegar a little.

Bottle and keep in a cool place out of direct sunlight. This vinegar will last at least 6 months.

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Pickled Roasted Lemon Beets

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. – Oscar Wilde 

Beets swelling in the ground. Those greens look pretty tasty, too.

There will soon be “putting up” to be done from the results of our gardening. In less than a month we will have more beets than we will know what to do with.

Luckily, I do know what to do with them.

One of the "secret ingredients" in this recipe: cardamom.

Now before you stop reading because “beets taste like dirt,” let me explain why you may think that.

Beets do have an “earthy” flavour, but it’s because of a compound called geosmin. It gives off a smell like a field after a rainstorm. We are very sensitive to the smell of it, and while some people love it, others do hate it. There’s three other kitchen culprits that are high in geosmin: spinach, lettuce and mushrooms. Are any of those on your hate list too?

You probably eat beets – or beet products – without knowing it. Nearly half of the world’s sugar is derived from beets. The red pigment found in beets is also used to naturally colour many foods, including ice cream and yogurt.

That red pigment has been scientifically linked to good immune system function and the ability to fight cancer, as it is a powerful antioxidant. Beets are also disgustingly high in iron and are often suggested for people suffering from anemia.

So there’s plenty of reasons to eat beets, in spite of the dirt-like taste.

I find another attractive feature is that they’re a “double” vegetable. You can eat the greens as well as the root. Turnips are the same way. We should have planted turnips as well. Next year...

Beets are a very versatile vegetable and can be used in a myriad of ways, if you don't like them pickled. One of my other favourite way is in risotto with walnuts and gorgonzola. The recipe is here. It’s amazing.

They're coming along quite nicely.

My all-time favourite is still pickled, though. It reminds me of growing up. We always had jars of them in the basement, ready to be brought up onto the table.

I do find that roasting (as opposed to boiling) brings out more of the natural sugars in the beets. It gives them a deep, sweet taste that complements the pickling liquid and spice even more.

I imagine in a few weeks I’ll be busily “putting up” jars in anticipation of the cold, blowing winter weather that will most definitely come. I kind of am reminded of Aesop's fable of the ant and the grasshopper. It's charming, if cautionary. If you don't remember it, a link is here.

This recipe is a variation on the classic that I posted about a month ago. I find beets are at their best with a little added interest. In this one I use lemon peel and cardamom.

My beets came from the grocery store as ours aren't quite ready to harvest. But I couldn't pass them up. They were beautiful.

I will have to deal with a lot of cucumbers, among other things, or so it appears. They seem to be taking off with a vengeance as well. Trials and tribulations!

Making your own pickled beets is actually very easy.

Pickled Roasted Lemon Beets

Time: 1 hr 30 min  |  Yield 1 L or 2 x 500 ml

1 L Mason jar or 2 x 500 ml Mason jars

6-8 fresh beets (from 2 bunches)

sweet pickling liquid:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

rind of 1lemon

6-7 whole cardamom pods

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash, and then trim the tops and root ends from the beets. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil.

Roast the beets for 1 hour. Remove and then let cool until able to be handled.

Slip the skins off the beets and slice into serving pieces. Tightly pack the two jars, or 1 jar, with the slices, leaving 1/2" head room.

Bring the pickling ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then pour the liquid over the beets while still very hot.

If you need more liquid to cover the slices simply make more and add to the jars. Beets do vary in size.

Tightly cover the jars and let cool on the counter. Then refrigerate. If the tops pop down and seal they can also be stored in a cool, dark place, like a basement.

Allow 2 weeks for the flavours to permeate the beets.

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.