Jordan! (via The True Random Number Generator) Who didn't leave an address, and I can't seem to link to his page! I really want Jordan to have this! Jordan, would you please leave me an e-mail to reach you at? Thank you!
And I want to thank everyone who participated in this little giveaway. All of your comments are amazing! From breads to fruit butters, pickles to pears, there were a lot of foodstuffs that you people are spending time on. And I think it's wonderful. Blanching is very time consuming, as is peeling. It takes forever, but then you have that little jar of summer waiting for you in February, and how nice is that? And what can compare to a fresh, hot loaf of bread you made yourself? (Or that someone else made for you!) Or how about some tomato confit (slow roasted tomatoes) or making your own alcohol? Fermenting, home-made pasta, marmalade, olives, bacon, watermelon peeling and tomato paste. Whew! It all sounds amazing.
FYI, to Keira who asked about freezing and canning later: just freeze it and use it later! This is in reference to fruit, I'm not sure about tomatoes. However, tomatoes freeze beautifully, and you may want to consider doing that if you have the freezer space. The Joy of Cooking or the Ball books have detailed freezing instructions, as do many online resources like the National Center for Home Preservation.
My most laborious and inconvenient task this summer was processing 100 pounds of fruit in a few days. Just the other day I bought 75 pounds of peaches, plums and nectarines. Plus the pears I picked with Local Kitchen the other day were on the verge of exploding. I needed to move on these fruits! So, I hustled and froze a LOT of it, because I can make jam another day when it's nice and cold, as I've noted. And I juiced a lot, because most of the fruit was super small (hence the good deal I got on it). I made pear and apple sauce which will become butters. What's great about juicing is that after draining off the juice, you often have pulp leftover, which can be puree, sauce or butter, depending on how you want to roll.
Next week I will elaborate on a few of these recipes, but for now I'm heading to the beach for two days before the cold sets in! Congrats to Jordan, and congrats to people who are cooking real food!
Enjoy the beach!
ReplyDeleteI am Jordan! (I am also a girl :) Thank you so much, and my email is jordanparis@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteHave fun at the beach, enjoy your end of summer.
ReplyDeleteThanks, you guys!
ReplyDeleteCongrats again, Jordan, thanks for coming back!
Oh that's where apple butters come from! What do you use to do the juicing? A cider press-type thing or a more modern style juicer?
ReplyDeleteHey Yowza! Thanks for commenting! I just chop up the fruit coarsely and add a little bit of water (maybe a cup per pound of fruit) and toss it all in a heavy pot, bring it to a boil and simmer until the fruit is soft. Mush it a little with a potato masher, or something similar, and the juices will release. Strain through a fine mesh. Let it go slowly, don't press it too much. That's it! There are other techniques, or tools, you can use, but this one works for me.
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