Canning Like Crazy! The End

I have been trying out a lot of recipes from Tasty Kitchen lately. Tasty Kitchen is an offshoot of Pioneer Woman, also created by Ree. It is a place where you can sign up and share recipes. I think I currently have 153 recipes in my box. That's a lot of testing to do! One of the more interesting ones I have tried is Corn Cob Jelly. I have tried it and it is pretty good.

Warning: Removing corn from 12 cobs is messy.

Corn Cob Jelly (posted by kristenofchaos on Tasty Kitchen)

• 4 cups water
• 1 box pectin crystals (I used Certo)
• 4 cups sugar
• 12 cobs of corn, raw and corn removed

Using 12 corn cobs from which sweet corn has been cut (raw) add 4 cups of water to a large pot.

Bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes then strain through a cloth for 3 cups of liquid. (I used cheesecloth. You can buy jelly bags.)

Add more water if needed to make the total. (I had to add water, so I think next time, I would add more from the get go)

In a fruit pan, add 1 box of pectin and bring to a rolling boil.Add 4 cups of sugar (all at once) and bring to a boil once again. (I removed the cobs from the pot and added it back and used the same pot. I skimmed the foam off too.)

Food coloring may be added at this time. (I added 3-4 drops of yellow colouring)

Strain and put into jars and seal. (I didn't strain it a second time.)

Quite tasty. Doesn't taste like corn. Has a light, delicate honey like flavor.

Canning Like Crazy! Part III

It's been a busy week! Lee and I ventured to CrossIron Mills yesterday. It is the new super mall just north of Calgary. To say it was busy would be an understatement. It is an OK mall I guess. It has Bass Pro Shop so you can drop your hubby there and do your thing. Bass Pro Shop has a food section though that I recommend checking out. I bought some hot teriyaki sauce there and it is quite good. I also got some cornbread mix and spicy fish breading which I haven't yet tried.

In addition to dill pickles I also made bread and butter pickles. I reviewed many recipes for bread and butter, but decided to go with one I found on the Taste of Home website, simply because it seemed easiest. Being a beginner at this, easy recipes was high on the priority list.

Bread and Butter Pickles (from Karen Owen on Taste of Home website)

• 4 lbs pickling cucumbers, sliced
• 8 small onions, sliced (I used 3 medium onions, got them fresh from the Mennonites)
• 1/2 cup pickling salt
• 5 cups sugar
• 4 cups vinegar
• 2 tbs mustard seed
• 2 tsp celery seed
• 1 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

In a large container, combine the cucumbers, onions and salt. Cover with crushed ice and mix well. Let stand for 3 hours. drain; rinse and drain again. (My ice maker only makes ice cubes, and I couldn't be bothered to run it in the blender. Worked OK I think)

In a Dutch oven, combine the sugar, vinegar and seasonings; bring to a boil. Add cucumber mixture; return to a boil. Remove from the heat.

Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Word to the wise, wear old clothes, use an old ladle. This stuff will stain.

Yield: 7 pints.

Canning like Crazy! Part Deux

My first venture into the canning world (other than freezer jam) were these.

Dill Beans

I can't try them till September 22nd, but they sure look good. The beans, like the dill pickles are fresh packed. Pack the jars with fresh veggies and seasonings, pour pickling liquid over top, seal and process. Simple. Other recipes may require brining, fermenting, or a complete cooking of the veggies.

I got the recipe from Tasty Kitchen which was posted by missy. I made two pints with the crushed chilis and two without. Not every one likes spicy like we do.


Dill Beans (missy's recipe from Tasty Kitchen)

• 2 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 pieces dried Thai chili (I didn't use because I forgot to stop at the asian grocery)
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4 sprigs fresh dill
• 2 cups water
• 1 pint white vinegar
• 1/4 cup pickling salt

Into 4 sterile pint jars, put 1/2 t red pepper flakes, 1 Thai chili, 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig of dill. Pack beans tightly into pint jars.

In saucepan, bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Pour into jars covering beans and leaving 1/4 inch head space. Seal immediately with sterile lids and process for 10 minutes in a boiling bath. Adjust process time to your altitude if needed. Ready to eat in one month.

Canning like Crazy! Part One

The past couple weekends I have been making pickles and jelly. I have never made pickles and only made jelly once before. The previous jelly experience was not a pleasant one. So over the next few days, I will chronicle my bounty.

I don't have my own garden so I bought most of my produce and dill from the Hutterites and Mennonites. The farmers market is always a busy spot on Thursdays. I had to outfit myself with a few new tools. I needed a jar lifter, so I just bought a kit that included a magnet for lids, a headspace/air bubble tool, jar lifter, and wide mouth funnel.

These are the dill pickles I made. I borrowed a few canning and preserving books from the library and found Speedy Dill Pickles in the Canning & Preserving for Dummies book.

Speedy Dill Pickles adapted from Canning and Preserving for Dummies

• 4 pounds pickling cucumbers
• 6 tbs kosher or pickling salt
• 3 cups picking vinegar
• 3 cups water
• 1 tbs pickling spices
• 18 black peppercorns
• 3 tbs dill seed
• fresh dill sprigs (optional)

Wash cucumbers. Slice in halves or quarters.

Prepare canning jars and lids. I put my clean jars in the sink and fill with boiling water until ready to use. I put the lids (not the rings) in a small saucepan till ready to use. When I am almost ready for the lids, I pour boiling water over them.

Combine salt, water, and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the salt. Keep liquid hot.

Snuggly pack the cucumbers in the prepared jars. I use my silicone oven mitt I bought forever ago and never used for this. I dumped the boiling water out of my jars and stuffed them, holding the jar with my silicone oven mitted hand. Glad I kept that, cause Lee wanted to get rid of it.

If using quart (1L) jars, to each jar, add 1 tsp pickling spice, 6 peppercorns, 1 tbs of dill seed. Optional: 2 peeled, halved cloves of garlic

If using pint (500mL) jars, to each jar, add 1/2 tsp pickling spice, 3 peppercorns, 1 1/2 tsp dill seed. Optional: 1 peeled, halved clove of garlic

If you are adding fresh dill, add a sprig or two to each jar between the inside edge of the jar and the cucumbers.

Ladle the hot liquid into your filled jars, leaving a headspace of 1/2 inch in quart jars and 1/4 inch in pint jars. Completely submerge cucumbers in the liquid. If they protrude, adjust till you have proper headspace. Release any air bubbles. That wide mouth funnel was a godsend. The headspace tool was great too because my 1/4 inch and a real 1/4 inch are two different things.

Wipe the jar rims clean. Seal with the lid and add the band till finger tight. Finger tight isn't very tight. Just when you start to meet resistance, stop. Magnet tool, which is basically a magnet on a stick is another great tool. Makes sealing go so much faster.

Process your sealed jars in a water bath. Jars should be covered in 2-3 inches of water. 15 minutes for quart jars, 10 minutes for pint jars. Start the timer when the pot comes to a rolling boil after adding the jars. Adjust your process time based on altitude. I have to add an additional 5 minutes to my time. You can find this by googling it.

When the process time is up, remove the jars and place them on a clean towel or cooling rack. Thank you jar lifter! Lids will seal (pop) as they cool. If any don't seal, refrigerate and use within 2 months.

East Coast Delicacy

Donairs!

Donairs are a variation of the Turkish doner kebab. They are said to have originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the 1970's. King Of Donair claims to be the originator. Wherever it originated from, I am thankful. The spiced meat is formed into large loaves and put on a spit. It turns as it cooks and is shaved off to serve. They are usually so large, so stuffed full of meat, they are a two handed eating expedition.

They are popular all over Eastern Canada, and you can find them in many other parts too. They can be served in a rolled pita, on flat pita, in a sub or burger or on a pizza. In the east, the generally accepted toppings are diced fresh tomatoes and onions. In the west, they try to turn it into a salad. Personally, I am just a meat and sauce kind of girl. The sauce is sweet and tangy white sauce, also good for dipping those garlic fingers in. I lived on Recardo's donairs and garlic fingers in high school. I stopped in there on my trip home and indulged till I thought I would explode. Same folks still work there that worked there in my high school years.

When I first moved to small town Alberta, I asked where I might be able to get a donair and garlic fingers (another popular item in East Coast pizza joints). The cowboys and girls looked at me like I had bull horns growing from my head. Oh, they didn't know what they were missing!

You can find good ones in the city, not so much otherwise. The best donair I have ever had in Alberta is in Red Deer at Cleopatra's. They grill them on a panini press for crisp the pita. So good!

I usually make my own at home. I got this recipe from my Uncle Mark. I don't have a spit, so I form it into a loaf and bake.

I make my own sweet sauce too. Most recipes I have seen call for evaporated milk. I find this is too runny, regardless of how long I beat it for. I use a sweetened condensed milk in mine. Thank goodness for the stand mixer because it has to be mixed for quite some time.

When the loaf is cooked, I slice into thin slices. I run my pita bread quickly under the tap to moisten, and put in hot frying pan. Brown on both sides and top with some sweet sauce. Add the meat and drizzle more sweet sauce. Top with veggies if you like and enjoy.

Still can't get the large pita in small town Alberta, so I just eat mine flat like a pizza.

Enjoy!

Donair Meat

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 tsp flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (or to taste)

Mix thoroughly in large mixing bowl. I knead mine for at least 5 minutes. Form into a flattened loaf and place on cooling rack onto a foil lined baking sheet. This will allow the grease to run off. Bake for 45 minutes on 350 degrees or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. It should be cooked through.

For leftover meat, I fry them in the frying pan. I like the meat crispy.

Donair Sauce

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can sugar
• 1/2 can vinegar
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Empty can of milk into a mixing or stand mixer bowl. Fill milk can with sugar and add to bowl. Fill milk can half full of vinegar and add to bowl. Add garlic powder. Mix for at least 10 minutes. If it is not mixed enough, sauce will be gritty from the sugar. Must be refrigerated at least overnight before serving. It will thicken after refrigerating.