Homegrown Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce

I have never been a big fan of summer, but growing and preserving food has given me a new perspective on the season.  An in-season fresh tomato does not compare to a store bought tomato, bred for transport, harvested green and ripened with ethylene gas.  I love putting in time over the summer to capture that freshness to enjoy later in the year.

This was my most successful garden attempt in Georgia, which is fitting since it is my last garden attempt in Georgia (we will be moving this autumn).  I started most everything from seed, transplanted the seedlings and direct sowed the rest.  I picked off pests by hand and fertilized with composted chicken manure and Neptune's Harvest.

Tomato Hornworm that got away from me 

Bigger than Colin!

The tomatoes, squash and green beans produced nicely, the cucumbers did alright and the peppers lagged behind, producing a few fruits.

Beauties

The tomatoes are my favorite part and I am so glad they did and are doing so well.  We have many tomato centered dinners these days or just have them on the side.  When it starts to seem that there are too many tomatoes, I know it's time to make sauce.  I keep this one simple with fresh herbs and garlic.  This batch was destined for lasagna, but it would go equally well on pasta or pizza.

Homegrown Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce
Yield 1 Quart

5 pounds Plum or Paste* Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 small Red Onion, 2 ounces, diced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 sprig Rosemary
2 sprigs of Thyme
1 teaspoon Honey
12 fresh Basil Leaves, cut or sliced into thin strips
1/4 teaspoon Salt or more to taste
Pepper to taste

1. Wash, core and crush the tomatoes into a dutch oven or large stock pot set over medium heat.

2. Once all the tomatoes are in the pot, increase the heat to high and bring the tomatoes to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer the tomatoes for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Ready to puree

3. Run the tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins or process in a food processor and press through a fine mesh strainer.  Collect the puree in a large measuring cup or bowl.

Ready to get saucy

4. Heat the oil in your now empty pot over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the diced onion and cook until translucent and starting to brown, about 7 minutes.  Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add the vinegar to loosen up any brown bits, scrape those up with your spoon or spatula.  Return the tomato puree to the pot along with the rosemary and thyme.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low.

Cooking down

6. After 30 minutes, remove the rosemary.  Continue to cook until sauce is thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Remove any thyme twigs left in the sauce, add the honey, basil, salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Enjoy!

Fresh sauce for lasagna

*If you want to make this recipe but you only have slicing tomatoes, go for it!  The yield may be less but the sauce will still be delicious.

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Eating Inside the Box.

Blackberry Beet Smoothie

Sometimes you buy beets for the nice big roots to shred, roast or pickle.  Sometimes you buy beets primarily for their nice leafy greens and are left with teeny tiny baby beets, too small to bother peeling or using for most of your usual beet applications.  When I have these teeny tiny baby beets, I like to steam them whole, cool, peel and blend into smoothies.  They make for a hot pink smoothie that is hard to turn down.  You can steam your beets ahead of time and refrigerate, unpeeled until you are ready to use them.  This recipe makes one serving.  Feel free to double, triple or quadruple to serve a crowd.

Blackberry Beet Smoothie

Any amount of baby beets, greens removed and roots scrubbed well
1 large Bananna
1/4 cup Frozen Blackberries
1/2 cup plain yogurt

1. Set up a steamer basket in a medium pot.  Fill with water until the level reaches right below the basket.  Cover and bring water to a boil over high heat. 
2. Remove lid and add scrubbed beets to steamer.  Steam over high heat for about 45 minutes, adding additional water as necessary to keep the pot from boiling dry.  The beets should be fork tender.  Remove from heat and chill.

In the steamer

3.  Once beets are cool, you can slip the skins right off.  

Skin on

Skin off

4.  To make the smoothie, combine one or two peeled baby beets with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  

One hot pink smoothie!

Not-So-Sweet Blueberry Lemon Jam

To me, fruit and berry picking is a big part of summertime.  It's something my father did with my sisters and I when we were children and I am happy to keep the tradition with my child.  I was thrilled the other morning when I asked my daughter if she thought we should go blueberry picking that day and she replied, "Yeah!" without hesitation.  When we got home, I made her a blue monkey smoothie, which includes blueberry, banana and yogurt.  She didn't like it.  But thankfully, instead of throwing it on the floor, she gave it back to me.

What did I do with the other pounds of berries?  I froze a bunch for future smoothies that she may or may not like, made some jam and of course enjoyed many fresh berries on their own because that is my favorite.

This is another less sugar recipe with a lemony twist.  The added salt does not make the jam taste salty, it just enhances the flavor.

Not-So-Sweet Blueberry Lemon Jam
Makes about 9 cups to fill 9-8 ounce jars

4 1/4 pounds Blueberries, 8 cups mashed
1/2 cup bottled Lemon Juice
Zest from one Lemon that has been thoroughly scrubbed
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt, optional
4 teaspoons Calcium Water*
1 1/2 cups Sugar
4 teaspoons Pectin

*To make the calcium water, combine 1/2 teaspoon of the calcium powder included in the box of Pomona's Pectin with 1/2 cup water.  Mix very well.  The mixed calcium water can be stored in the refrigerator.

Prepare for Boiling Water Bath Canning

1. Fill water bath canner or large stock pot with tap water and place over high heat.

2. Wash and sterilize 9 8 ounce mason jars.  You can sterilize the jars by placing them in the canner while the water heats up, boiling for a minimum of 15 minutes.

3. Wash 9 regular mouth dome lids and place in a heat proof bowl.  Once the jam is cooked, you will cover the lids with warm water before placing on jars to seal.  Have 9 regular mouth bands handy.

4. Once the water is at a rolling boil, you are ready to can.

Prepare the Fruit

1. Wash, drain and remove any stems from the berries.

2. Lightly mash the berries as you measure your 8 cups.

Not exactly beautiful, but a good picture to judge the mashed fruit consistency.

3. Transfer the fruit to a large dutch oven or stockpot along with the calcium water, lemon juice and zest and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

4. Meanwhile, combine the pectin with the sugar in a medium bowl and stir until well combined.

5. Once the fruit mixture reaches a boil, slowly add the sugar and pectin mixture, stirring constantly to avoid clumps.

6. Stir until well combined and return mixture to a boil.  Remove from heat.

7. Skim any foam that has risen to the top of the jam, if desired.  This foam is nothing more than air bubbles moving through a viscous solution, it is fine to eat but you can skim it if you want a clearer jam.

Get Ready to Can

1. Take the lids you washed previously and ladle some of the hot water from your canning pot to cover.

2. Ladle fruit into prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, the space between the surface of the fruit and the top of the jar.

3. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel, center lid on each jar and tighten band around each lid.

4. Using tongs, pick up each jar individually, keeping it as straight (perpendicular) as possible and place in water bath canner.  Repeat until all of the jars are in the water.

5. Place the lid on the canner and process for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.  Allow jars to sit in the hot water for an additional five minutes.

6. Remove each jar individually, once again keeping the jar as straight as possible, to a cloth towel or napkin lined counter.

7. Allow the jars to rest undisturbed for 24 hours.  Check the seals, the dome should be sucked into the jar, clean the jars and label.  Enjoy!

Because jars of jam look pretty in a cloth lined basket.

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop.

Oat, Pea, Bean and Barley Veggie Patties

Oats, peas, beans and barley grow

Oats, peas, beans and barley grow

Do you or I or anyone know

How oats, peas, beans and barley grow

Funny how all those kids' songs get stuck in your head and refuse to leave.  I'd love to be like one of those parents who say, "Oh, my child doesn't listen to kids' music", but we do, especially in the car.  If I try to listen to "grown up music" my daughter complains until I put on something she likes.  Thankfully, when we're home, we can listen to anything without protest.

This song was stuck in my head while I pondered new dinner items.  Wouldn't it be fun to make an Oat, Pea, Bean and Barley Veggie Patty?

Pictured with a slice of swiss and some salad greens.

This veggie patty is one with recognizable ingredients, you can still see the ingredients in the finished patty rather than a big mush of stuff.  If you prefer a big mush of stuff, I bet blending the ingredients would work fine.

This make a big batch, perfect for serving a large crowd or stocking up your freezer for quick lunches.  The recipe can be halved easily if you prefer to skip the extra leftovers.

Oat, Pea, Bean and Barley Veggie Patties
Makes 16 patties

1 medium Onion, 8 ounces
2 Tablespoons Refined Coconut Oil
1 large Carrot, 3-4 ounces
1 small Fennel bulb or stalk of Celery, 2 ounces
1 cup Rolled Oats
2 cups cooked Barley
1 cup Peas, fresh or frozen*
1 cup Beans of choice, cooked or canned (Technically, I used purple hull peas, but Oat, Pea, Pea and Barley Veggie Patties does not sound very appetizing)
2 teaspoons Magic Mushroom Powder from Nom Nom Paleo (you won't regret having this spice blend in your pantry) or seasoning blend of choice
3 large Eggs

*If frozen, rinse under hot water before adding to the ingredients to remove any ice crystals.

Preheat oven to 400 and move racks to upper middle and lower middle positions.

1. Peel the onion and shred using a food processor or the large holes of a box grater.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven.  Add the onion and cook until translucent and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Shred the carrot and fennel using your food processor or box grater.  Add to the dutch oven and continue to cook until tender, 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the uncooked oats and simmer for a few minutes (3-4) to let the oats soak up the veggie juice.

Veggies and Oats

5. Add the cooked barley, peas and beans and stir to combine.  Add your spices, taste and adjust seasoning as you prefer.

Everything mixed in.

6. Remove from heat and add your eggs, stir to combine well.
7. Line two baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper.  Use a 1/4 cup measure to dish out the patties leaving about two inches between each patty.  Use your hands to form into nice patty shape.  Continue with remaining batter.

Ready for the oven.

8. Bake for 20 minutes, flip patties, rotate trays and continue to bake for 10 minutes more, until patties are light golden brown.
Serve on buns or with a green salad.  Freeze extra on a baking sheet in a single layer, transfer to a freezer bag once frozen.  To cook straight from the freezer, preheat a skillet over medium low heat, add a bit of oil and pan fry patty for about 5 minutes on each side.  Enjoy!

Topped with pickled green tomatoes, swiss, green and spicy mustard.

On a hand-knotted whole wheat kaiser roll!  With dilly beans.

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop.

Bulgar and Red Lentil Pilaf with Kale

May has been a busy month.  I've spent every spare minute in the garden, moving beds, transplanting seedlings, weeding, staking and watering.  Once the weather warms up, I find that I'd much rather spend time in the garden then in the kitchen.

Little Garden in the Big Woods

Cukes and squash

Looking forward to sharing many tomato centered recipes.

So much growth in only ten days!  

Since we still have to eat, I just turn to quick, simple meals for summer. This pilaf is a one pot dinner that comes together quickly.  It also happens to be something healthy that my daughter will actually eat, even the kale!

Ingredients

This recipe comes from The Complete Vegan Cookbook by
Susann Geiskopf-Hadler & Mindy Toomay.  This is a great, comprehensive cookbook for anyone looking to move to a more plant based diet. I adapted the recipe slightly to suite our tastes.

Bulgar and Red Lentil Pilaf with Kale
Make 4 main servings or 6 side dish servings

1/2 cup Dried Red Lentils
2 Tablespoons Refined Coconut Oil or Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, diced fine
1 teaspoon Whole Cumin Seed
1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard Seed
1 teaspoon Coriander Seed
2 cloves Garlic, peeled
1 cup Bulgar Wheat
3 ounces Kale, stemmed and torn or chopped into small pieces
2 cups Vegetable Stock
1/2 teaspoon Salt

1. Sort and rinse lentils well, drain.
2. Place whole spices in a spice grinder.  Mill until finely ground. Add the peeled garlic cloves and continue to process until minced.  Set spices aside.
3. Heat the oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottoned saucepan over medium heat.   Add onion and sautee until translucent and lightly browned.
4. Add garlic and spices and sautee until fragrant, about 1 more minute.
5. Add bulgar and lentils and cook for about a 2-3 minutes until lightly toasted
6. Add stock, salt and kale.  Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
7. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to very low.  Cook for 25 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow pilaf to rest for another 15 minutes with the lid on.
8. Fluff with fork, and serve with a fresh lemon wedge.  Enjoy!

Looks a bit boring, but tastes delicious.

Shared at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Corn Fritters

I have wanted to try cooking with refined coconut oil for quite some time.  I have used unrefined, but was interested to try refined since it is supposed to be flavorless and have a higher smoke point than virgin oil.  I usually use olive oil to pan fry, which I realize is kind of a waste of olive oil.  It also ends in a very smokey situation, so we have to leave the doors and windows open with ceiling fans running, not the best thing in the middle of winter.  I finally ordered some expeller pressed coconut oil and decided to make up a batch of corn fritters for dinner to see how it compared to my usual olive oil.

From the freezer since I didn't take a picture before freezing

These fritters are kind of a cross between a hushpuppy and a pancake.  It makes a bunch, which is convenient because they freeze really well.

Makes 30-35 fritters

Corn Fritters

1 cup Masa Harina Corn Flour or Corn Meal, 4 ¾ ounces

½ cup White Whole Wheat Flour, 2 ¾ ounces

1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder

½ tsp Smoked Paprika

½ tsp Taco Seasoning

1 cup Milk

½ cup Yogurt

2 Eggs

2 cups Corn, frozen or fresh, thawed if previously frozen

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Refined coconut oil or other for pan frying.

Preheat oven to 200℉

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder and spices. 

2. Lightly beat the eggs and combine with the milk and yogurt.  Add the eggs and yogurt to the dry ingredients and mix just to combine. 

3. Fold in the corn and cheese until well incorporated.  The batter will be somewhat thick, thicker than pancake batter, thinner than cookie dough.  

Pretty Thick Batter

4. Heat about a half inch of the oil over medium low heat in a large skillet until shimmering.

5. Scoop heaping tablespoons of the batter and drop into pan.  Use the back of the spoon or a spatula to flatten the top so you have a ½-¾ inch thick patty that is 2-3 inches in diameter.  If the patty is too thick, the outside will burn before the interior is fully cooked.   

Frying

7. Fry for 1-2 minutes until patty is golden brown, flip and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until the second side is also golden brown.   

And the other side

8. Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain some of the oil.  Move to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet after about 2 minutes and transfer to warm oven while you finish cooking up the rest of the batter.

We did a salsa dressing for this one

We had these as a salad topper, but they would also be good as an appetizer with some salsa or just eat as is!

To freeze, let the fritters come to room temperature.  Place on a baking sheet in a single layer and transfer to the freezer.  Once the fritters are frozen solid, you can transfer to a freezer bag.  Reheat at 400℉ until warm.  

I'm happy to report that the coconut oil worked really well for frying.  The fritters came out crispier than they normally do and we didn't have to evacuate our kitchen for too much smoke!  If you've been considering making the switch, go for it!

If you try this recipe, please comment below to let me know how you liked it.

Shared at April's Homemaking Meal Planning Monday

Not-So-Sweet Strawberry Jam

Hello spring!  After a surprisingly chilly southern winter (nothing compared to what the north experienced), it's nice to see green leaves on trees, flowers blooming and new life everywhere.  It's also nice to see those wonderful "Fresh Strawberries" signs at the local farms!

On Monday, I took the youngin on a road to trip to pick some wonderful fresh, naturally grown strawberries with some friends.  Even though she didn't do much picking, she loved it.  Sometimes she just prefers to supervise.  She had fun playing in the dirt and making Pete the Cat dance alongside the strawberries.  Strawberries don't keep for a long time so I like to work quickly to preserve them.  When we got home I went right to work sorting, washing and stemming the berries.  Some went straight to the freezer while some were destined to become jam. The next day, we had a jam session at our house!  Good company makes the work much more enjoyable and much faster.  Plus, I got to share my jamming knowledge.

This is my tried and true recipe for less sweet jam.  I use Pomona's Universal Pectin so that the jam will gel without using a ton of sugar.  In fact, I only used 1.5 cups of sugar to sweeten 8 cups of mashed berries!  You can really taste the berries in the finished product instead of just tasting sugar.

This recipe yields about 9 cups, enough for 9 8 ounce jelly jars and will last for one year if kept in a cool dark pantry.  Once you open the jar, it's best to eat within 1 month.  This recipe may be halved for a smaller batch, but if you want to double, it's best to cook two separate batches.

Not-So-Sweet Strawberry Jam

5 pounds of Strawberries
4 teaspoons Calcium Water*
1/4 cup Bottled Lemon Juice
1.5 cups Sugar
4 teaspoons Pectin

*To make the calcium water, combine 1/2 teaspoon of the calcium powder included in the box of Pomona's Pectin with 1/2 cup water.  Mix very well.  The mixed calcium water can be stored in the refrigerator.

Prepare for Boiling Water Bath Canning

1. Fill water bath canner or large stock pot with tap water and place over high heat.
2. Wash and sterilize 9 8 ounce mason jars.  You can sterilize the jars by placing them in the canner while the water heats up, boiling for a minimum of 15 minutes.
3. Wash 9 regular mouth dome lids and place in a heat proof bowl.  Once the jam is cooked, you will cover the lids with warm water before placing on jars to seal.  Have 9 regular mouth bands handy.
4. Once the water is at a rolling boil, you are ready to can.

Prepare Fruit

Five beautiful pounds of berries

1. Remove the stem and hull of the berries.  Using a paring knife, pierce the fruit right on the outer diameter of the stem.  Twist the berry around the point of the knife until you have completely circled the stem.  Remove the hull.
2. Mash the berries either vigorously or gently depending on the consistency you prefer for your jam.  You should have 8 cups of mashed fruit.

Eight cups gently mashed for a chunky jam

3. Transfer the fruit to a large dutch oven or stockpot along with the calcium water and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
4. Meanwhile, combine the pectin with the sugar in a medium bowl and stir until well combined.

Sugar mixed with pectin

5. Once the fruit mixture reaches a boil, add the sugar and pectin mixture, stirring constantly to avoid clumps.
6. Stir until well combined and return mixture to a boil.

All cooked and ready to go into jars

7. Skim any foam that has risen to the top of the jam if desired.  This foam is nothing more than air bubbles moving through a viscous solution, it is fine to eat but you can skim it if you want a clearer jam.

Get Ready to Can

1. Take the lids you washed previously and ladle some of the hot water from your canning pot to cover.
2. Ladle fruit into prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, the space between the surface of the fruit and the top of the jar.
3. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel, center lid on each jar and tighten band around each lid.

Wiping the rim ensures a good seal

4. Using tongs, pick up each jar individually, keeping it as straight (perpendicular) as possible and place in water bath canner.  Repeat until all of the jars are in the water.
5. Place the lid on the canner and process for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.  Allow jars to sit in the hot water for an additional five minutes.

Rolling Boil

6. Remove each jar individually, once again keeping the jar as straight as possible, to a cloth towel or napkin lined counter.

Keep jars nice and straight to maintain the seal.

7. Allow the jars to rest undisturbed for 24 hours.  Check the seals, the dome should be sucked into the jar, clean the jars and label.  Enjoy!

Jam and bread

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Eating Inside the Box.