- Author: L. Watts
There is still time to enter the National Orange Show Citrus Fair this year!
Go here: NOS Citrus Fair http://www.nosevents.com/nos-citrus-fair/ then click on "Get Involved" then click on "Enter the NOS Citrus Fair Baking Contest"-- and you will be able to download a copy of the Citrus Fair's entry brochure for Baked goods AND Jams.
All you need is a jam or soft spread that incorporates citrus into the recipe.Of course if it was a nice recipe that used citrus as a main ingredient, well, you might have a winner there . . .
They only have one entry as of today in the Jams Category, so go for it! Entering can help to keep the competition going and lively.
- Author: L. Watts
Here I am again--just remembered one of the things I dried last year. I finally used my dried, ground green
These are two of the several types of peppers (both chile and bell) I grew last year. I had tons of them. Some I roasted and froze. As last year I made a super score on a barely-used Excalibur dryer, I decided to dry some of those green chiles. Chiles are very easy to dry as they require no blanching in preparation.
The chiles were washed and dried off. Then all the Caballeros' stems were cut off, seeds and membranes left in, and they were sliced in 1/8 inch rings. I spread them on the drying trays grouped together so I would know what they were. The same things were done for the Sahuaros and they were grouped by themselves as well.
Into the dryer went the trays and then it was set to the recommended temperature. The dehydrator recommends 125º F for peppers but says to dry them to leathery consistency. Powder is what I wanted so I continued after leathery and dried them to crispy. The were allowed to rest in a bowl in my pilot-lit oven to even out moisture and keep them very dry until I ground them up. When I ground them a day or two later in my big super-duper blender the processed wonderfully to a fine consistency. (Do NOT smell the chiles until they dust has settled. . . just a little word of advice. Please do as I say, not as I did!)
Both types of green chile powder went into separate, appropriately labeled jars and then were left to hibernate in my spice cupboard. I almost forgot about them until I got an e-mail from a seller of New Mexico Chiles which reminded me . . .
Suddenly I was hit by a longing for chicken enchiladas in green chile sauce. Out came the chile powder. But I needed a recipe for green chile enchilada sauce from powder, so this is what I searched for on the web: "powdered green chile enchilada sauce recipe" . Thank you Diaz Farms for the good base recipe I used: How to Make Green Chile Sauce from Powder.
Now of course I wanted it my way, so below I will give you my modifications to Diaz Farms' recipe. I loved it and the enchiladas were great, especially since they were made with my own home-canned chicken thighs. My added bonus was this recipe was a double score: home-made green chile powder in the sauce and home-canned chicken in the enchiladas.
My amendments to the recipe are in (bold parentheses).
Green Chile Sauce From Green Chile Powder
NOTE: The flavor of this sauce is immensely improved if you can make it the day before; plan ahead, you will be pleased.Adapted from How to Make Green Chile Sauce From Powder from Diaz Farms
Ingredients
2 teaspoons bacon drippings, butter or oil (omitted as I had some fat at the top of my jars of chicken)
1 large onion, diced (1 teaspoon onion powder)
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 teaspoon granulated garlic)
1 1/2 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon flour (2 tblsp flour, about)
2 tablespoon green chile powder (4 tablespoons green chile powder; can use to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground toasted cumin seed OR 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (omitted)
2 cups chicken stock (about 1 cup juice from canned chicken, thinned with 2 more scant cups of water)
1 teaspoon fresh Mexican oregano OR 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (omitted)
1/4 teaspoon salt (salt or to taste, to balance bitterness)
Instructions
In a skillet or wide sauce pan, heat the drippings or oil over medium low heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic and sweat for 5 minutes or until soft. (skipped this step; no sauteing to do. Placed a large stainless steel frying pan on the stove)
*For use with cumin seed: In another small skillet, toast about 1 tsp. cumin seed until the seeds start to darken and become aromatic. Transfer to a mortar and grind into a powder. (skipped; no cumin used)
To the onion and garlic add 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 1/2 - 1 tablespoon flour depending on desired thickness and green chile powder. Stir to coat the onion. (skipped)
Slowly add the stock, stirring constantly to keep the flour and powders from lumping. Once all of the stock has been added, increase the heat to medium. Add the oregano and salt. (I added all the chicken juice and water to the sauce pan, then stirred in the onion and garlic powders. Then I whisked in the flour until it was incorporated and not lumpy)
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. (done just like this; the sauce should be thicker, but soupy, more liquid than a gravy but thick enough to coat the tortillas)
Use immediately or refrigerate and use within 3 days.
(Hint: Dried chiles have a natural component of bitterness, which can be modified by the use of fat and salt, so my best advice is to NOT try to make this sauce without fat or salt; it will just taste bitter. Or at least it tastes bitter to me without fat/oil or salt.)
To make Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce:
Bring green chile sauce to boiling then reduce heat to keep it warm.
De-boned, de-fat and cut two 16 oz jars of home canned chicken into even sized chunks. Season to taste with salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp granulated garlic (garlic powder is ok). Divide chicken into 16 portions.
Then, one at a time, heat 16 corn tortillas in the hot sauce, fill them with a portion of the chicken, roll them as tightly and place them into a smaller-sized rectangular cooking pan. Arrange any way in the pan that works for you. Pour as much of the the leftover sauce over all to keep moist. Top the enchiladas evenly with about 12 oz grated medium Cheddar (you can use whatever cheese you like; I prefer a melty white cheese like Muenster or Monterey Jack, but the medium cheddar is what I had).
Cover the pan with aluminum foil to keep it moist while heating cook in a 350ºF oven for about 1-1/2 hours, or until completely hot (cooking time will be shorter if your oven is pre-heated; my oven was cold when I put the pan in). Cook until the enchiladas are piping hot and bubbly in the middle.
A couple of more notes: the sauce can be made with vegetarian broth or meat broth, but in any case I feel it will need fat of some sort (chicken, butter or oil) AND salt balance out the bitterness of the chiles.
I have also made these vegetarian-style. The sauce worked out just fine, the enchiladas were very delicious; the filling was made of mushrooms and muenster cheese, a match made in heaven. . .
I hope you are able to try this some time.
- Author: Darrell Fluman
- Editor: L. Watts
As your gardens come into full production, some of you may be wanting to buy a Pressure Canner to preserve those items that cannot be safely processed in a Water Bath Canner
Please join the UCCE San Bernardino County Master Food Preservers for a head start on doing it safely. Upcoming classes are posted here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Bernardino-County-Master-Food-Preserver-Program/151357558269364
In my Internet travels I ran across a website that sells canning supplies and has assembled the most complete comparison chart for currently available Pressure Canners.
You can save the chart by pulling down the edit tab, choose SELECT ALL, pull down the FILE tab, choose SAVE AS, change the SAVE AS TYPE line to save as a text file press SAVE. Done.
This chart includes capacities for 4 oz., 12 oz., 24 oz., Half Gallons as well the usual suspects, wide mouth and regular pints and quarts. The number of layers needed is also shown, as are canner dimensions.
The dimensions can be important if you have cabinets over your stove top as the taller as larger capacity canners may not fit. Don't forget to allow room to maneuver the top and lock down screws if your canner is so equipped.
I have not done business with this company, so I cannot provide any recommendation. They do have an extensive selection of canners, tools, supplies, and parts.
Red Hill General Store
http://www.pressurecooker-outlet.com/Pressure-Canner-Comparison-Chart.htm
I hope some of you find this useful. This information is hard to find even from the manufacturers websites.
Darrell Fluman
MFP, UCCE San Bernardino County
https://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Bernardino-County-Master-Food-Preserver-Program/151357558269364
- Author: L. Watts
Betty Botter bought some butter,
"But, " she said, "This butter's bitter.
"If I buy a bit of better butter, it will make my bitter butter better!"
So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter and made her bitter butter better.
Anyone remember this tongue twister? Anyone. . . Any one?
Well, that Betty could have avoided the bitter butter and made a batch of MUCH better butter if she had only purchased some heavy cream and made her own, un-bitter butter.
How do I know this? I just made a pound of absolutely delicious butter all by my lonesome last week. What does butter making have to do with food preservation? Lots, because if you use fermented cream to make butter, you make it slightly more acidic, which helps to preserve it in the fridge and it improves the flavor!
Butter from the store can vary in taste, from salty and heavy to sweet and light, from simple milk flavors to rather complex, deep buttery flavors. Sad to say though, most butter I have experienced from a grocery store is just plain old butter--and sometimes it is hap-hazardly made, too salty or greasy. I have tasted "European" or "fermented" butters (butters make with fermented, "ripened" cream) and love the flavors, but I can only get these in my local stores by paying a premium price, if I can find it at all. The most common example of fermented in my area is Plugra, which I like and can find, sometimes, at not-too-outrageous price.
Now I have been thinking about making butter for quite some time. I researched the internet, saved recipes, read instructions. Finally I got inspired and decided to make butter. The best yield for butter was supposed to be from heavy whipping cream, so off I went to find some. Sadly, brand after brand of heavy whipping contained cream (like duh!) AND a thickener/stabilizer of some sort, like carageenan or some sort of gum. What?
Finally I found organic heavy whipping cream at Trader Joe's: ingredients--nothing but cream. I had found my cream for my butter. It soon resided in my fridge, two pints of it. It continued to reside in my fridge, because I kept forgetting to make butter. Cultured buttermilk was purchased to use to make my cream ferment--and I still kept forgetting the butter making.
After using some of the buttermilk, I finally remembered to set my cream in a bowl in the evening, add some buttermilk, cover it and let it ripen. I followed the recipe at the link below and oh my goodness, gloriosky and pass the -- BREAD!! I made delicious, fresh, tasty butter from that ripened cream.
The procedure is so easy, you must give it a try at least once. The hardest thing about making this recipe was washing the butter, and then squeezing all the excess clean water out of the butter. These actions will give you some real arm fatigue, for sure, but every effort and minute I spent was well worth it. It has a depth of flavor that makes me just want to eat it all in slabs on good bread. (This reminds me, I MUST freeze what butter is left; I have eaten waaaaaay too much on bread alone this past week!)
Make a bit of better butter and FORGET that store-bought "bitter" butter!
Many thanks to The Kitchn! at: http://www.thekitchn.com/
How to Make Butter and Cultured Butter
Ingredients
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream, preferably organic and not ultra-pasturized
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (optional)(DO NOT use this if you wish "plain" style "sweet" butter; "sweet" means unfermented butter--L. Watts)
Scant 1/4 teaspoon of salt (optional) (and this amount is enough, though a little more would be ok--L. Watts)
2 or 3 cups of ice water, for washing the butter
Equipment
--Optional culturing equipment:
Bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Whisk
Clean kitchen cloth
--To make the butter:
Sturdy sieve
Cheesecloth or clean napkin
Bowl for catching buttermilk
Stand mixer, hand mixer, food processor, or canning jar (or other covered container)
Plastic wrap or kitchen cloth
Spatula or wooden spoon
Clean containers for butter and buttermilk
Waxed paper or parchment paper (optional)
Culture the cream (optional): The day before you would like to make your butter, pour the cream into a bowl (I like to use the bowl of my stand mixer) and add the yogurt. Whisk briefly to combine and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Set in a slightly warm place (about 70°F - 75°F) to culture. Check after 8 to 12 hours. The cream is ready when it has thickened slightly and is a little foamy. It will smell slightly sour and tangy. This can possibly take an additional 12 to 24 (see Recipe Notes). Once it has cultured, place it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to chill. → If you did not culture your butter, let it warm on the counter for about an hour (to about 60°F) before churning.
Prepare the sieve and mixer: Place a sturdy sieve over a bowl and line with a few layers of cheesecloth or a clean napkin. You can use a stand mixer, a hand mixer, a food processor, or a canning jar to churn your cream. (See Recipe Notes below if you want use a canning jar.)
Prepare the cream and mixer for churning: Place the cream in the bowl of your mixer or processor. Cover the top with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel to prevent splattering.
Churn the cream: Turn on the mixer to medium-high. The cream will first whip into peaks (at around 2 minutes) and then become grainy (around 3 minutes). Keep whipping until the solid mass (butter) and liquid (buttermilk) are separated (about 5 minutes total). The mixture will splatter heavily in the final stages of churning, so be sure the plastic wrap is secure. The process may take a little longer, up to 8 to 10 minutes, although it usually takes me less than 5 minutes.
Strain off the buttermilk: Pour the buttermilk through the cheesecloth and strainer, holding the butter solid back. Allow the buttermilk to strain through, then plop in the butter. Gather the cloth around the butter and press it hard with your fist. Do this several times to get as much buttermilk out of the butter as possible. Pour the buttermilk into a container, label and refrigerate.
Wash the butter: Rinse out the bowl used for buttermilk. Remove the butter from the cloth and place it in the bowl. Add 1/2 cup of ice water to the bowl, and using a spatula, press the butter into the ice water. It will quickly become cloudy with buttermilk. Pour off the cloudy water, add another 1/2 cup of ice water to the bowl, and keep pressing. Repeat until the water is clear. This may take up to 6 washings. The butter will firm up towards the end, so you may find it easier to use your hands.
Salt the butter (optional): Sprinkle the salt over the butter and knead in. Again, your hands may be the best tool here.
Store the butter. Pack the butter into a jar with a cover, or roll it into a log using waxed paper or parchment paper. The butter will keep in the refrigerator for about three weeks or can be frozen for several months.
Recipe Notes
Notes on culturing: Many factors will influence how long the cream takes to culture: ambient room temperature, how your cream was processed and pasteurized, how your yogurt was processed and pasteurized, etc. If the cream cultures too quickly and you're not ready to make the butter yet, simply put it into the refrigerator until you are ready. Just be sure you remove it about an hour before churning so that it can warm up a bit. Cultured cream will be thickened and slightly foamy, and it will have a somewhat tangy, almost yogurt-like smell. Trust your senses! If you feel it is too strong and has gone bad, just throw it away. But remember that the yogurt is introducing beneficial cultures that help prevent spoilage, so the likelihood of this happening is small.
Unplugged butter: You can skip the electric mixer/processor and simply shake your cream in a covered canning jar or well-sealed container until it forms into the butter mass. This can take a while, up to 20 minutes or more, so be prepared for a work-out or solicit some help.
Recipe can easily be doubled.
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- Author: L. Watts
Prepare for the Fair is proudly presented by the San Bernardino County Master Food Preservers:
What: Prepare for the Fair--learn about entering fair competitions.
When: Wednesday Feb. 10. (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
Where: County Demonstration Kitchen in the San Bernardino County General Services Building at 777 E. Rialto Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0730.
Just think about it: Have you visited a fair, looked at the Jams and Jellies and wondered how to enter? Do you want to compete with a pickle or relish but don't know what it takes to be a contender? Baked a great bread, and you want it to show?
You can find help at Prepare for the Fair, coming up this Saturday and next Wednesday. Two dates give double the opportunity (Please see above). Information about fair competitions in canned goods AND baked goods will be covered. Learn where to enter, how to enter, how to compete.
Prepare for the Fair can help explain entering and answer your questions about fair competitions. Entering the fair need not by a mystery any more.
We will go over categories of preserver foods and baked goods, differences between jams and jellies, marmalade and conserves, compare/contrast yeast breads and quick breads, talk about head space, cleanliness, rings, recipe selection for canned and baked goods, USDA process requirements, fair requirements, choosing recipes and other things.
Learn how it is done--and who knows, maybe this year you might just win!
Hope to see you there!