Kathleen
Cupcake
Lately, I've been all kinds of homesick for things that do not exist anymore (breaking beans with grandma b/c grandma is gone), etc. Also, I'm taking more thought in the foods I eat, trying to consider the environment, and preparing for when the zombies come. (Okay, I just added zombies for Frank, who often looks at me like I need a group when I give him life-changing ideas.)
To prepare for summer's bounty, which will likely be obtained from my local farmer's markets, I bought two cookbooks on small batch preserving. Both were enjoyable reads and neither made me run screaming in fear that canning was something I should skip for this summer. In fact, both inspired.
The first book is titled The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. The book has a very nice list of preserving terminology and has some fine definitions. It goes over the differences between various processing styles and has over 300 recipes to make throughout the year.
The book is divided into Sweet Spreads, Condiments, and "Extras" which include flavored oils and vinegars, and a few freezer foods. Last of all, it has a section on some recipes to use with some of the things you can make from the book. In reading over the recipes, I felt that this book gives solid basics that a person new to canning can follow with a high probability of success. The recipes sound like what grandma used to make. Plus the book gives enough background that I feel I can safely branch off in my own direction. It was a nice read and, when I finished reading it over, I impressed Frank by telling him what the difference is between jam and preserves. (Preserves have bigger chunks of fruit.)
The second book is titled Well Preserved: recipes and techniques for putting up small batches of seasonal foods by Eugenia Bone. This book was not my grandma's cookbook and has recipes with more personal appeal to me. Like the first book, it has a nice overview of cooking styles, terminology, equipment, and encouragement. It goes over preserving fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, fungi, meats, poultry, and fish. That's right! If someone hands me a fresh tuna, I can figure out what to do with it now!
What I especially enjoyed about Ms. Bone's book is that she gives some unusual parings for canning, and then gives several suggestions as to how to use the canned recipe. For example, strawberry balsamic jam sounds delicious to me. However, I'm not a daily breakfast person, so making a bunch of jam, while appealing, would likely sit on a shelf. The recipes that followed the Strawberry Balsamic Jam recipe are: Strawberry Balsamic Panna Cotta, Rice Pudding with Strawberry Balsamic Jam, and Strawberry Balsamic Poached Pears (YUM). Also, Ms. Bone's cookbook has a lot of pictures to help firm up the vision.
Small batch canning appeals to me because we are a household of two...plus two cats. Traditional canning reminds me of a joke: Q. What is eternity? A. A ham and two people. I want to enjoy planning for zombies...or nursing my homesickness. But I don't want to have shelves of items of which we would grow weary of eating.
Just thought I would share my new inspiration sources. Will post more once I start to can some things...and strawberry season looms.
~Kathleen
To prepare for summer's bounty, which will likely be obtained from my local farmer's markets, I bought two cookbooks on small batch preserving. Both were enjoyable reads and neither made me run screaming in fear that canning was something I should skip for this summer. In fact, both inspired.
The first book is titled The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. The book has a very nice list of preserving terminology and has some fine definitions. It goes over the differences between various processing styles and has over 300 recipes to make throughout the year.
The book is divided into Sweet Spreads, Condiments, and "Extras" which include flavored oils and vinegars, and a few freezer foods. Last of all, it has a section on some recipes to use with some of the things you can make from the book. In reading over the recipes, I felt that this book gives solid basics that a person new to canning can follow with a high probability of success. The recipes sound like what grandma used to make. Plus the book gives enough background that I feel I can safely branch off in my own direction. It was a nice read and, when I finished reading it over, I impressed Frank by telling him what the difference is between jam and preserves. (Preserves have bigger chunks of fruit.)
The second book is titled Well Preserved: recipes and techniques for putting up small batches of seasonal foods by Eugenia Bone. This book was not my grandma's cookbook and has recipes with more personal appeal to me. Like the first book, it has a nice overview of cooking styles, terminology, equipment, and encouragement. It goes over preserving fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, fungi, meats, poultry, and fish. That's right! If someone hands me a fresh tuna, I can figure out what to do with it now!
What I especially enjoyed about Ms. Bone's book is that she gives some unusual parings for canning, and then gives several suggestions as to how to use the canned recipe. For example, strawberry balsamic jam sounds delicious to me. However, I'm not a daily breakfast person, so making a bunch of jam, while appealing, would likely sit on a shelf. The recipes that followed the Strawberry Balsamic Jam recipe are: Strawberry Balsamic Panna Cotta, Rice Pudding with Strawberry Balsamic Jam, and Strawberry Balsamic Poached Pears (YUM). Also, Ms. Bone's cookbook has a lot of pictures to help firm up the vision.
Small batch canning appeals to me because we are a household of two...plus two cats. Traditional canning reminds me of a joke: Q. What is eternity? A. A ham and two people. I want to enjoy planning for zombies...or nursing my homesickness. But I don't want to have shelves of items of which we would grow weary of eating.
Just thought I would share my new inspiration sources. Will post more once I start to can some things...and strawberry season looms.
~Kathleen
