fig jam

Fig Jam Recipe:

Equipment: food mill or sieve (optional), large canning pot or stainless stock pot with pasta insert, small canning jars (sterilized), jar lifter, canning funnel (sanitized), large saucepan, spoon, glass of ice water


Ingredients: 

• 1 pound black mission figs
• rind from about 1/2 lemon, I just cut small strips as I run this through a food mill later.
• cores of 3 apples (I use cores of apples I've cut from school lunches or snacks and keep them refrigerated in a bag with some lemon juice), for pectin
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cloves

Directions: 

• Cut figs in half and place in saucepan with lemon rind on low/medium heat, add sugar, lemon juice, cloves, salt and apple cores.
• Bring stock pot or canning pot full of water to a full boil. Boil canning jars or sanitize in dishwasher, remove with jar lifter and use while still hot.
• Let saucepan simmer until figs break down and sauce begins to gel -To test for gelling, put a spoon in some ice water, then pick up a small spoonful of jam with it. Look for a non-runny, sticky consistency as the jam cools on the spoon.
• Once gelled, run through a food mill or sieve if you have one, then stir your bulk back into the gelled liquid, removing the lemon rinds and apple cores. If you don't have one, use a potato masher or fork to mash up bits.
• Put jam into jars using funnel leaving 1/2 in. head room. Wipe rims clean with paper towel. Screw tops on and bring to a boil on rack in canning pot or pasta insert in stock pot with water covering lids by at least an inch for 15 minutes. 
• Remove using jar lifter and let sit undisturbed. 
• Done!

-I spread a little of this on some homemade wheat bread with a little goat cheese for lunch yesterday. Delish!

XO, Debbie

Preserved lemons

Preserved lemons... dancing with dates in a tagine, thrown in a salsa, spicing up some quinoa... these little gems have so many uses.

Preserved Lemons:

Equipment: Sterilized jar, quart-size, sharp knife

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Meyer lemons or other thin-skinned lemons to preserve
• 6-8 lemons for juice
• other optional spices: cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cloves
• kosher salt, plenty of it.

Directions:

• cut your lemons lengthwise into quarters but not all the way through, leave about 1/2 inch at bottom in tact.
• salt the exposed portion of your lemons generously
• pour about 2 Tbsp. salt into bottom of jar
• Press some lemons in, be a little rough with them, you want their juices to come out
• add more salt and any spices you wish and continue to layer them this way, cramming in as many lemons as you can fit, you want a tight fit.
• cover with the lemon juice.
• seal jar. No need for a hot bath here, the lemon juice and salt do the work of preserving.
• leave for at least 30 days, unrefrigerated and unopened, shaking about once daily.

XO, Debbie

canning cherries

Summer is quickly coming to a close and I'm feeling all soft and sentimental about summer fruits. While I aim to pretty much eat what's local and in season, come around December, I know I'll get a hankering for something... inaccessible. Which is where canning comes in.

Canned Cherries:

Equipment: canning pot with jar rack or large stock pot with pasta insert, canning funnel, sterilized, sterilized canning jars, jar lifter, cherry pitter (optional), large saucepan for heating cherries in sugar syrup


Ingredients:

• cherries
• sugar (3/4 c. per half pound cherries)
• water

For pre-soak, salt-vinegar solution (optional; done to retain color. Mostly unnecessary, especially for unpitted cherries):

• 2 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 gallon water

Directions:

• Pit and stem cherries, optional
• Soak cherries in the salt vinegar solution, optional
• Put cherries in saucepan with enough water to cover. Add 3/4 cup sugar for each half pound cherries. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, Bring your large pot or canning pot of water to a boil. Place jars in using jar lifter to heat them up (there are other options, I wash and sanitize mine in the dishwasher and take them out for this step while still piping hot.)
• Pour cherries into jars using canning funnel, leaving 1/2 in. head space and wipe rims clean
• Seal jars with lids
• Place in the boiling water using jar rack or pasta insert until covered by at least 1/2 in. water. Add more water if necessary to cover.
• Boil 15-20 minutes, remove with jar lifter and place on towel where they will not be disturbed to cool. 
• Check for a proper seal 12-24 hours later by lightly pressing on center of lid. It should be concave and have no give. Label with contents and date.

                                                   

Enjoy!

XO, Debbie