Solid Gold Eats

Strawberry Salad with Homemade Croutons and Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

SolidGoldEats — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:15:16 +0000

MORE strawberry recipes? But of course! I cannot get enough of them right now, and luckily I cannot run out of ideas for them, either. While I do have an excuse (May is National Salad Month), I'm so in love with strawberries that I'll shout it to the world! Have you ever tried adding strawberries to your salad? It's like drinking a glass of fruit-flavored water when you bite into a strawberry with your savory salad. You think "is this dessert, or dinner?" and then you realize it's both and you think you've just figured out the secret to world peace or something. Driscoll's Berries are what I reach for at the grocery store. I'm always pleased with the quality and taste of the berries. I received some coupons in the mail and used them immediately. On strawberries, of course. For this salad I added blue cheese and bacon, two flavors that enhance each other when combined. If you're weary of blue cheese due to a previously bad blue cheese dressing experience, fear not - when you mix blue cheese with bacon, onion, citrus and strawberries, the blue cheese becomes complementary and not so pungent. Homemade croutons are a must, and they're too easy NOT to do. Pick up a french bread from the store on your way home, or use the white bread you use for sandwiches. And the vinaigrette? Citrus from the lemon and the tang of dijon add another layer of depth to this already flavorful salad. It's light enough that it won't overpower the flavor of the salad ingredients, but will tie them into a web of sweet, salt and tang that wakes up your tastebuds. A perfectly light spring or summer salad.

Strawberry Salad with Homemade Croutons and Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one small lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bunch spinach, stems removed
1/4 red onion or shallot, sliced thin
2 ounces blue cheese crumbles
1 package Driscoll's Strawberries
3 slices of white bread
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper together. Set aside in the refrigerator while you assemble the salad. Make the croutons: Preheat the oven to broil and line a baking sheet with foil. Slice the bread into 1 inch cubes and arrange them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Spray the bread with cooking spray, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Shake and turn the cubes over, repeating the process. Bake for 2-3 minutes, checking frequently to prevent them from burning. Assemble the salad: Wash the spinach and remove the leaves from the stems. Leave the leaves whole unless they're really big. Add the thin slices of onion, blue cheese, Driscoll Strawberries, crispy bacon pieces and croutons. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette on top.

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Quick Pickled Carrots for Springtime Sandwiches

SolidGoldEats — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:58:58 +0000

Carrots are just starting to appear at the farmer's market, and I'm grabbing them up as fast as I can! But carrots can be tough to use in sandwiches. They're rigid and crunchy, not necessarily the best things for sandwiches. Pickling them is key - it softens the carrot and leaves them tangy (and in this case, spicy) so they accompany your sandwiches nicely. I have a pickling recipe that would be great for any veggie you'd like to pickle! I prefer apple cider vinegar because it's a little sweeter and less harsh than distilled white vinegar. Here you'll notice that these carrots only have to sit in the pickling liquid for an hour before they are ready to be consumed. My recipe can be found on WWLP here, along with how I used them in these springtime chicken sandwiches!

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Pumpkin Bread

SolidGoldEats — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:27:01 +0000

I don't know what season it is anymore, because apparently it's OK to be 37 degrees when you wake up in the middle of MAY. MAY, Indiana, May. And what is this? It's going to go from 60 one day to 83 the next? SURE. Why not. Obviously I have a few issues with the weather right now. I'm so tired of waking up cold and then wondering why the heck I'm wearing a coat in the afternoon. It was pretty cool at the farmer's market on Saturday morning, and without the sun it was just dreary and yucky. Yes, yucky. Pumpkin is typically a fall flavor, where every food blog has pumpkin-everything for a month straight until you're so tired of it you want to bash your neighbors pumpkins up. I had a can of pumpkin left over from the fall, and I figured I'd use it to make pumpkin bread. WHY NOT, it's freaking 37 degrees in May so I can do what I want. This is one of my favorite bread recipes. I adapted it from Alexandra's Kitchen by adding light brown sugar, molasses, allspice and cloves. If you ever find yourself with a can of pumpkin, make this. It is SO moist. Seriously.

Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

1 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 15 oz can pumpkin
3/4 cup water
4 eggs
1 tbsp molasses
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves

Preheat the oven to 350. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a bowl with your hand mixer ready,) mix both sugars and oil together until well blended. Add eggs one at a time and mix on medium speed. Add the pumpkin puree, water and molasses and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, allspice, nutmeg and cloves together. Start to mix your dry ingredients into the wet about a 1/2 cup at a time until everything is incorporated. Spray your pans (I've been using a sunflower oil spray) and lightly dust them with flour. Pour the batter into the pans equally. Pans will be about half full, but I promise they will rise. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The bread will darken into a lovely brown. Let cool before you slice into them. Because you will want to eat this bread immediately. Just try not to eat BOTH loaves ;)

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Randall Beans Recipe: White Bean and Kale Burgers

SolidGoldEats — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:30:37 +0000

Kale, my favorite leafy green at the moment. It's great for your health and can be used in so many ways (hence me never telling you to make kale chips, because there's so much more out there people!). But kale, in burgers? BEAN burger? Yes, it can happen! These burgers are very filling and you don't feel bad after eating them. Not saying that I feel guilty for eating a beef burger, but sometimes my tummy likes to tell me that maybe a half pound burger in one sitting wasn't a good idea. Kale adds color and flavor to these delicious bean burgers. Enjoy them with cheese and a whole wheat bun like I did, or try something different. Interested in the recipe? Head over to Randall Beans to see how you can make these White Bean and Kale Burgers for tonight's dinner!

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Vintage Indiana Food & Wine Festival Ticket Giveaway

SolidGoldEats — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:42:15 +0000

You may remember me saying that 2013 was going to be my year to learn about wine. While I'm definitely a craft beer person, wine interests me a lot, and at the beginning of the year I decided I was going to know more than just saying "there's white, and red, right?" There's a festival approaching that promises to teach me more about wine, and I can't wait to get beyond the white and red conversation! The 14th annual Vintage Indiana Food & Wine Festival will take place on Saturday, June 1 from 11AM - 7PM at Military Park. Over 300 wines from 30 Indiana winers will be present with samples, giving you an opportunity to speak with the wineries and discuss why and how they're able to produce great products. Being the largest wine festival in Indianapolis with locally crafted wine, this is a festival any wine lover should have on their "must attend" list. And as someone who enjoys all things local, I really appreciate how this festival focuses on highlighting local Indiana wineries. Did you know? Indiana has 69 wineries that produce over 1.25 million gallons of wine a year. The 70th winery in Indiana will open up sometime in May! Wineries will be selling wine by the bottle and the case, so you can take home the actual wines that you sample during the festival. Live music, cooking and wine demonstrations, food trucks and and arts and crafts showcase will also be present so that you can take a break from your sampling and still be entertained by everything the festival has to offer. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $22 at Marsh Supermarkets or online at http://vintageindiana.com. You can also purchase them at the gate for $25. Designated driver tickets are $10 and include unlimited soft drinks and water. Kids ages 6-20 are $5, and kids 5 and under are free. Interested in attending the Vintage Indiana Food & Wine Festival? I've got two tickets to giveaway courtesy of Indiana Wines! Enter through the Rafflecopter below - giveaway ends Thursday, May 23 at midnight. The MANDATORY entry is to leave a blog post comment - don't forget to do that! You can also tweet about the giveaway daily for extra entries! a Rafflecopter giveaway Looking for more ways to win? Check out these great bloggers for links to their ticket giveaways:

Mom 4 Less

Gotcha Baby

Chaos Is Bliss

Just Like The Number

Basilmomma

Indy With Kids

Disclosure: I received two tickets from Indiana Wines so that I could attend the event as well as two tickets to giveaway to your awesome possum readers. I did not receive compensation for this post and all views are my own.

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Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive with Gleaners

SolidGoldEats — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:46:51 +0000

Saturday, May 11 was Stamp Out Hunger, a food drive coordinated by the National Association of Letter Carriers. You may have received a post card or a plastic bag in your mailbox asking you to leave a bag of non-perishable food items by your mailbox. It would be picked up by your letter carrier and taken back to the post office where it would get sorted and transfered to your local food bank. In Indianapolis, that's Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.

When I saw a post on Facebook about Stamp Out Hunger, I got motivated. I picked up some canned goods and boxed products to leave at my mailbox and I started to research if there were any volunteer opportunities related to the drive. Somebody has to organize all of this food, right? Volunteering for a food bank seemed like one way I could get involved in the community and feel a connection to what I was doing. I'd been looking for some food pantries or kitchens were I could cook, but I haven't taken that on yet. You also may have read my Food Bloggers Against Hunger post, where I shared a recipe for $4 pizza in an effort to educate my audience about how some families live off of $4 a day through the SNAP program. Could you imagine living off of $4 a day? IndyHub had a page on their website about the opportunities to sort food at the post offices. After reviewing what options were available (my neighborhood post office was not on the list), I chose Lawrence at 46226. Only 5 minutes away, Lawrence was a completely unknown neighborhood to me. I had hoped to volunteer in my community so that I could see the direct difference my neighbors made, but in the end, our station brought in so much food it didn't really matter where it came from anymore. From 3-8pm, I shuffled on a platform, sorting canned goods, boxes and bags, and glass containers into large, cardboard boxes set on skids for easy lifting by a forklift. For a while, it was pretty slow. We were alerted that the majority of the trucks would come in later, so us volunteers chatted about... well, volunteering, and killed time until the work drove in. In the mean time, one of the letter carriers named Frank brought up a charcoal grill and started preparing some hot dogs, complete with buns, ketchup, relish, mustard and sliced pickles. You never expect much as a volunteer, but this was a very nice gesture. While I had every intention of holding out until we were done so I could make dinner, you know I ate a good grilled hot dog with ketchup and relish. Or two. Frank also gave us cool "Stamp Out Hunger" pins.

Once the trucks showed up, we helped the letter carriers get it out of their truck and onto the platform for sorting. Each bag was a mystery of items, holding cans, boxes and glass, so we had to tear each bag open and sort the items into the cardboard boxes. Every bag was unique. Some had things I recognized and expected, while others were shockingly interesting and filled with food I would have never thought to share, like formula and baby food. Boxes and cans of coconut milk, sardines and whole bag of vegan cane sugar were some of the most interesting. Others were typical but I enjoyed seeing them pile up - peanut butter, V-8, apple sauce, canned green beans and corn, cereal, Kraft Mac N Cheese, and dry pasta, to name a few. And seriously, things piled up. When they say "every little bit counts," it really does. After the first hour we had to start a new box of canned goods because it was piling up and bulging. If you can imagine standing next to a large cardboard box that's about a yard or so tall, enough that you feel you may fall into it and get trapped under the mound of food.

So, how much impact was made during Stamp Out Hunger 2013 in Indianapolis?

The Lawrence station where I was at brought in 15,060 pounds of food, and an amazing 139,072 pounds was brought in to Gleaners overall!

How amazing is that! I was told that a few donations come in the following days, which makes sense - someone tweeted to me asking where to take their food because they forgot to leave it at the mailbox. If that happened to you, take it to Gleaners! I had a great time volunteering and would definitely do it again. I encourage you to take a few hours (yes, you can find a few hours if you try), and volunteer at something that's meaningful to you.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Vanilla Jam

SolidGoldEats — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:11:42 +0000

Last week totally got away from me. I'm sorry that I've been absent from my blog. With after work events and weekend outings, I've still been eating (duh) but I haven't had the time to compile the photos and words to share with you. So what's been going on? John has received a few Indianapolis Indians tickets through work, so we've been to two games now and the third will be on Tuesday. Victory Field is a great stadium, and if you go to a Monday game you can buy hot dogs, popcorn and Cracker Jack's for one dollar each! And with Indians tickets being $14 online, you can really afford to buy a hat or a t-shirt at the gift shop. Here's John and I (he's wearing his Washington Nationals hat - this was before he purchased an Indians one)

And of course, we had to have the Sun King Brewing beer made specifically for the Indians. It was delicious.

We went to the First Friday Food Truck Fest downtown, where we spent 30 minutes figuring out what truck we wanted to eat from. I ended up getting tacos from Tacos Without Borders, which I actually had earlier in the week because they decided to park outside of my work for lunch! For $3 a taco, you can't go wrong. The Thai flavors with heat and a crunchy slaw topping were hearty and filling.

Speaking of food trucks, I also had the most delicious fried food I've ever had. Tater tots, stuffed with jalapenos and wrapped in bacon. With a side of cheese to dip them in. Hoosier Fat Daddy Bus Cafe was also at work recently, and for $3 you could get five "bacon totties." Of course, I had to eat one before the photo to make sure they were worth photographing. And they were.

I've also been cooking and saving recipes for other places, like Randall Beans and LIN media, which I'll have on the blog after they're published. Super secret awesome recipes that I can't wait to share with you. That brings me to this jam. The Broad Ripple Farmer's Market opened two weeks ago, and I've been both times to scope out the produce and meat. Phelps Farms is a new vendor this year, and they have 93% lean ground beef. Normally I buy something closer to 90/10 or 80/20, but something told me to try this beef. I did, and for being that lean, this beef is so moist. You'd never know it was that lean. We made tacos with it and we couldn't stop ourselves from eating away until we had nothing left for the next day's lunch! It's time for rhubarb, but I only saw one vendor with rhubarb at the market. For $4 a bunch, I bought a few stalks to add to the pints of strawberries I had at home. I've never worked with rhubarb, but I know how tart and sour it is (just cut into it and take a whiff). Vanilla beans, many cups of sugar and strawberries made me realize I could turn this into jam. Plus, I got to do it all with my friend Yvonne who wanted to learn how to can. Thankfully I had dusted off all the canning equipment and inventoried my supplies so that I could write a summer canning planning post. A note about this Strawberry Rhubarb Vanilla Jam recipe - rhubarb is not a primary flavor. I think it adds tartness to the jam, but you may not be able to pick it out. Also, we made this with 2 quarts of strawberries and had almost 3 pints. There was about an inch and a half of headspace in the third pint so we didn't can that one. I altered the recipe to say that you should use 2 1/2 quarts to be safe. I don't see why any other part of the recipe should be altered. Always taste the jam to make sure it has enough sugar. Your berries may be slightly ripe or very ripe, and that will alter the sweetness.

Strawberry Rhubarb Vanilla Jam

Makes 3 pints

Ingredients:

2 1/2 quarts strawberries, cleaned, tops removed and halved
1 bunch rhubarb, about 5 stalks - cleaned and diced
2 vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped
5 cups sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 packages of 3-oz liquid pectin (I used CERTO)

In a large dutch oven or stock pot, add the strawberries, rhubarb, vanilla bean pods and the seeds, and 1 cup of sugar. Stir to incorporate and let it macerate for at least 30 minutes. Put a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. (No I'm not joking, you really need to do this). After the fruit has softened, add the remaining 4 cups of sugar and lemon juice and stir. Heat the fruit over high heat until it comes to a boil.

While you're waiting on the jam to boil, prepare your canning pot with water and your pot rack* and bring to a boil. Grab your pint jars and lids and sterilize them in the boiling water for 10 minutes.

The jam will start to boil rapidly, so stir frequently and let boil for 15 minutes. If you time it right, you will start sterilizing your jars about halfway into your jam boiling. (Don't freak out about this, the more you can the better you'll get at this process). After the jam has boiled for 15 minutes you can remove the vanilla beans and remove the pot from the heat. Use an immersion blender or a potato masher and mash the fruit until you get the consistency you want. I like jam with a few big pieces of fruit it in. An immersion blender will only take 15-20 seconds to mash like this. Add the two pouches of pectin and stir. Put the pot back on the heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Now you'll want to watch your jam to see when it gets to the right consistency. It can take just a few minutes to firm up. To test it, remove the cold plate from your refrigerator and add a dollop of jam to the plate. If the jam stays in place and doesn't leak all over the plate, it's ready to be canned. Using a funnel, scoop the jam into your hot, sterilized pint jars. Wipe the rims clean and add the lid, then the band, and screw on just until it is fingertip tight. Set the pint jars in the boiling water on top of the wire rack and process for 10 minutes. Remove the jars and let cool. Check that they sealed and label accordingly.

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Creamy Polenta and Chorizo with Roasted Green Beans

SolidGoldEats — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:33:55 +0000

Polenta. Yeah, I said it. The first time I cooked it, I failed. I used the instant roll of polenta and simply cut and grilled it. I'm sure some people would enjoy polenta like that, but without any seasoning, it really failed. It's been a long time since I considered bringing polenta back, and I knew I'd have to step it up a notch to make it better for myself and John. But how would I use it? I've seen recipes where there's a plate of creamy polenta topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions, and that looked appealing, as if the polenta were mashed potatoes. Clearly they are not, but there is definitely potential for them to be a great replacement. To get the instant roll of polenta to become creamy, I add butter and milk (ha, ha, yeah, adding butter makes everything taste good, but it's important here). Since I used a roll of instant polenta, all I needed to do was heat it up so I could break down the tough, compressed roll and get a creamy texture. If you want to use cornmeal and make your own polenta, you certainly can, but start on it early because it may take 30-45 minutes. Using the instant polenta meant that I spent about 20 minutes on dinner instead of an hour. THAT is awesome. Chorizo is still new to us, but after eating this dish I can see it becoming a frequent find on the dinner table. Chorizo has a lot of flavor, but adding the crushed tomatoes gives the meat more depth. If I didn't want to add the tomatoes and seasonings, I would have left the chorizo in their link form and grill them so they can be sliced and placed on top of the polenta. Either way works. We've had ambitions to grill now that the weather has warmed up, but grilling in the rain is no fun. Whether you have fresh or frozen green beans, roasting them is different than just putting them in a saucepan with butter. The oven will brown them a bit, leaving a crunchy, seasoned taste that adds to the flavor of the dish. If you've been weary about trying polenta, this is your test dish. You won't be disappointed!

Creamy Polenta and Chorizo with Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients:

3/4 pound chorizo
Splash of olive oil
1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 roll of pre-cooked polenta
2 tbsp butter, divided
1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk, maybe more
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Grab a medium-sized skillet and heat it to medium high with a splash of olive oil to coat the pan. Add the chorizo and begin to brown the meat, stirring and breaking it up into smaller pieces as it cooks. When the meat is browned, drain off any grease and then return the meat back to the pan. Add the crushed tomatoes over low heat and stir. Meanwhile, mix 1/3 cup whole milk with the garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Put the polenta, 1 tablespoon butter and the seasoned milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium high, stirring frequently to break up the polenta. It will seem odd, like you are breaking up geometrical chunks of stuff, but be patient. The heat will help. When the mixture gets sticky and the polenta starts to break up more, add a little milk and the other 1 tablespoon of butter. Continue stirring and adding milk until you reach the desired creamy texture and the lumps are gone. Plate the polenta first, then add the browned chorizo on top and the roasted green beans on the side.

Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients:

2 handfulls fresh or frozen green beans (I used frozen)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper

Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 425. Add the green beans and drizzle them with olive oil. Sprinkle the salt, garlic powder and black pepper onto the beans and then mix everything together with your hands. Put the sheet on the bottom rack and roast for 8 minutes. Stir the beans, then roast for 3-5 more minutes, watching them so they don't burn. My green beans were really thin, so if yours are thick they may take longer to cook.

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Dear Body,

SolidGoldEats — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:50:16 +0000

Dear Body, You're 25 years old. Wow, has the time passed by. I remember when we were riding bikes on Dogwood Street, skinning our knees on gravel and riding as if the road never ended. Playing in the creek at the bottom of the hill in the backyard. Running far away from the boys that chased us on the playground. Remember when we grew, and grew, and grew, and we made Mom buy new jeans every summer? Now we're a solid 5'9", and we feel comfortable being the ones who get things on top shelves for other people. Not only were we tall, we were thin. Despite being able to eat anything with minimal (VERY minimal) exercise, we were thin. Hey, it's not that we aren't thin now, don't get me wrong. We certainly aren't overweight by any means, but I'm not as comfortable in you as I used to be. Signs of binges and blogging are starting to show, and I'm worried about what I'm doing to you. You told that adult who remembered me as a child to say "Looks like you finally put on a few pounds," didn't you. DIDN'T YOU. You told my jeans to be uncomfortable, and my dress pants to make me feel every minute of the 9 to 5. If I could ask a few questions, please tell me why you decided that now would be a perfect time to slow down our metabolism and make me aware of every ache, pop, and crack? Explain why our spine is a giant S curve that hurts when we sit for extended periods of time. Why don't you appreciate craft beer and bacon as much as our tastebuds do? Why do you backfire with bloat, pain and general discomfort? Sincerely, your one and only, Sara. It's been an interesting 2013. I vowed to cut out soda and eat better, but surprisingly I feel as though I've gained more weight than I've lost. Two doctors have told me that I'm not overweight but extremely out of shape. Awesome! Four weeks ago I started practicing yoga, and I've already noticed a difference in how my body feels. The first class showed me just how weak my body really is. Wobbly, unstable, barely able to do some of the most beginning poses. But that's okay, because every body has to start somewhere. Yoga has brought me more of an awareness of my body. I sit up straight and remind myself not to cross my legs at my desk. I get up and walk around when I need a break. Simple movements remind me of my muscles and how I need to keep them active to keep myself in tip top shape. I purchased Yoga Zone DVD's and started doing yoga for 40 minutes after work on Monday's with my coworkers. We find a laptop and plug it into the conference room and zone out for a while. It feels good. For a more rigorous session, I attend Tuesday, Wednesday and the occasional Saturday morning classes at Santosha School, thanks to my friend Yvonne and her recommendation. It's a very comfortable yet challenging class. And, I ran/shuffled/walked a marathon relay race with 5 other amazing bloggers. Seriously. 4.4 miles. Don't believe me? Here's proof:

I've also started thinking about food in new ways. Don't get me wrong, this girl LOVES her mac and cheese and fried chicken, but I'm learning that those foods need to be in moderation. Weekly is not moderation. Maybe it's monthly. Maybe it's less, I'm not exactly sure. That's one reason why I signed up for US VegWeek, to challenge myself to create veggie foods that my tastebuds will enjoy. The frustrating thing is that.... uh, I LOVE FOOD. LOVE IT. How can I possibly be a food blogger and eat... healthy? Healthy is so not my style. I like to try all sorts of recipes in the kitchen. I don't want to just blog about the healthy stuff, and I'm not going to. Don't worry, readers, I haven't left you yet. But, could I? Could I become a vegetarian? Yes, I probably could. Do I want to? No. Absolutely not. I just don't think I'm ready for that, and there's too many projects on the horizon that I still want to do (make my own salami, pastrami, cured meats, etc). So how do I settle this? My goal is to continue practicing yoga and to enjoy my favorite food and drink options in moderation. I enjoy my craft beer and bacon too much to leave it behind, and so exercise and moderation will allow me to enjoy those things I'm passionate about. This is just one step in the realization of how my body is changing and how I need to mentally change with it. I'm already writing a blog about my food philosophy, so look for that soon. In the mean time, I hope my self-reflection is helpful to you.

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Summer canning planning

SolidGoldEats — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:25:14 +0000

I have canning fever, for real. The Broad Ripple Farmers Market opens on Saturday, and I couldn't be more excited! It was my main source of produce for my canning projects last year. As I start to realize that the season is approaching again, I decided to put together an inventory list, and then I realized that I could offer great tips to newbie canners. So, here it is!

1. Inventory

Canning Equipment Luckily I have stockpots and canning equipment (a Ball Home Canning Discovery Kit that's still in good shape), so I don't have any huge expenses there. Those items need to be washed and cleaned thoroughly before using them again. I do not have a pressure canner, so I only water-bath can. If you don't know the difference, read this quick article about water bath canning vs pressure canning. Assess what canning jars you have left from the prior year by checking for cracks in the jar, especially around the mouth. Discard any cracked jars. I know that I could easily use 2 cases each of half-pint and wide mouth pint jars, so I'll start out the season with that many on hand and purchase more from there. Purchase additional lids and bands for last year's jars. I find that it's nice to have these on hand. Vinegars I have a few gallons of distilled vinegar in my basement, but I'm out of white wine vinegar and red wine vinegar. I'll be experimenting with champagne vinegar and brown rice vinegar this year, so I need to snatch up some of that, too. Distilled vinegar is the easiest to find, and I usually pick it up at Rural King, a tractor supply-type place in Terre Haute that offers everything from cowboy boots to home improvement to canning equipment, evidently. It costs $2 for a gallon of vinegar and I'm totally OK with that. It helps to research pickling recipes you'd like to try to know what vinegar you need. Each vinegar has a different color and taste, and The Kitchn has a great drill-down to help you find the one you want. Pickling Spices If you plan to pickle veggies, you'll need pickling spices. As always, I head to Penzey's, where I can get them in bulk. One 4 oz bag of each was enough for what I made last summer and surely is a good start. These spices will keep for quite some time. I go with...

Mustard seeds (yellow are mild, brown are spicy - I default to yellow)
Bay leaves
Peppercorns
Corriander seeds
Dill seed
Fennel seed
Cloves
Allspice
Kosher salt - lots of it

Sugar Last year I only used white granulated sugar. Raw sugar has started to intrigue me, so I may be trying some jams and jellies with it soon. Raw sugar is usually not as sweet as white granulated sugar, so you may need to add more raw sugar to your recipe. Taste as you go and adjust accordingly.

2. Plan it out

By the season The best advice I can offer is to find a growing season calendar for your region and keep a copy on your refrigerator. This not only lets you prepare for each trip to the farmer's market, you'll know WHEN to can WHAT. In Indiana, I can expect to see rhubarb only at the very beginning of the market season, and while I didn't pursue the elusive pink stalks last year, you can bet that I will be making rhubarb jam this year. It may be helpful for you to organize canning projects by the season. Now, I certainly have my own list, but I ain't sharing that just yet. Gotta keep some secrets! However, I can elude that spring will bring pickled radishes, rhubarb jam and some pickled garlic. Summer will allow me to can tomato jam, ketchup, dill pickles and other relishes. Towards the end of the market I'll be pickling sweet corn and making apple butter. I also bought a lot of frozen fruit and produce from the grocery store when it wasn't available at the farmer's market. I don't see anything wrong with that! While it's not the reason why people can, experiment with what's available to you. I had planned on canning the tomatoes from my garden, but the drought and heat left me with 10 tomatoes by the end of the summer, which was not enough to can hardly anything. Time Remember that canning can easily eat up a Saturday or Sunday. If you think you're going to can every weekend, think again. Things come up, plans get made, sickness happens - don't devote your whole summer to canning unless you're an experienced canner with a garden to preserve. Can for the future Also, think about your summer canning as gifts for the holiday season. John's dad loves the tomato jam that I make, but he got the last jar and I'll need to make more soon. Inspiration Don't know where to start? Pick up a copy of Food In Jars, a great book with a variety of water-bath canning options. Tart and Sweet is a bit more adventures with recipes, and I love how it is categorized by the season. And of course, you can't go wrong with the Ball Blue Book, the canning bible for many!

3. Use what you make and have fun!

Canning is much more fun when you can with friends. I've enjoyed learning how to can from my friends, and in turn, teaching new friends how to can. Canning what you like and you know you'll eat is also important. While I experimented with dilly beans last year, they weren't my favorite to eat so I ended up giving them away. Plan a party to open up the jars and try jams with your friend's homemade biscuits. Swap your pickled jalapenos for someone else's lemon curd. I hope this list isn't too overwhelming, and that you really do get out there and can this summer!

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