Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks

Now that you have brought together all your supplies and have your fruit, it is time to make some jam. Best to set aside at least 3-4 hours, so we aren’t rushing anything. Here we go!

Peach Ginger Jam (makes 3-4 pints, or 6-7 1/2 pints)

5 1/2 – 6 cups of peaches, peeled and sliced
5 – 6 cups sugar (depending on how sweet the peaches are, use more or less sugar)
2 TBS lemon juice
6 coins of fresh ginger (peel ginger, and slice into coins)

Prepare the peaches: if the peaches are difficult to peel, drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into ice water and peel. Otherwise, peel and pit, then slice the peaches, measuring as you go. Add lemon juice.

Prepare the sugar: it is easiest to measure the sugar in advance into a separate bowl.

Into your big pot, pour the peaches and lemon juice, and then add the sugar and ginger. Turn the heat on medium-low, and allow the fruit and sugar to heat up. As the sugar dissolves, stir the fruit and attach your thermometer. Cook the jam, stirring occasionally, maintaining a low boil, until the temperature reaches 220F (if you are cooking at any altitude over 1000ft, check this chart for correct temperatures). Total cook time is about 1 hour 30 minutes – watch closely and stir often in the last 30 minutes so you don’t scald your jam.

In the meantime, while your jam is cooking, wash the jars and rings with hot, soapy water. Fill your canning pot with water and bring to a boil. Sterilize your jars for at least 5 minutes. I usually bring the water to a boil, add my clean jars, turn the heat down, and allow them to sit there until I am ready to fill with jam.

Take your lids (the flat portion with the rubber ring) and place them in a small pot or bowl. Pour boiling hot water over the top and set aside until ready to use.

Gather your other supplies, including towels and set up your work surface, which should be close to your canning pot. Set up a place to bring the pot with jam, and next to that, put a folded towel with your ladle. Nearby, put your wide-mouthed funnel on a plate (to catch the drips). Have your lids and rings close by, along with another towel laid out on the work surface – this is for the finished products.

Ok, you are now ready to go – bring your jam over to your work surface. Working quickly, but not in a rushed way, use your jar lifter and tongs to remove a hot jar from the water bath. Turn it over on the towel to remove extra water. Flip back and put the wide-mouthed funnel on top. Using the ladle, scoop a small amount of jam and pour into the jar. Fill the jar almost to the top, leaving a 1/4 inch gap at the top. Remove the funnel, and if any jam has accidentally ended up on the rim of the jar, use a towel dipped in hot water to wipe clean.

Using your tongs, grab one of the lids and put atop the jar; seal with a ring. Tighten, but not too much, and flip the jar over onto the clean towel. Repeat with remaining jars and jam, working quickly but not in a rushed way. As you get to the end, if you have any leftover jam that won’t fill a jar completely, pour into a bowl and store in the fridge for immediate use.

When all the jars have been filled, using your jar lifter, return the jars to the canning pot. Make sure that the water is 2 inches above the lids, and boil for 5 minutes (again, if you are making jam at altitude, check this chart for processing times). Remove to clean towel to cool. As the jars cool, you will hear little pops as the vacuum seal is created.

After the jars have cooled, label and store in a cool, dark place. And think about your next canning project!

Today I am making jam. I like canning – it is like baking, requiring a certain amount of attention to detail, but like cooking, allows for a bit of experimentation.

I started canning and preserving foods about 8 years ago, when my son was born, in an effort to relive some of the memories from my childhood. The first year, I made one batch of Ollalieberry Jam, from berries picked in Watsonville. Each year, I add something new to my repertoire – now I am up to Peach, Nectarine and Plum jams, canned tomatoes, apple sauce and apple butter, and bread & butter pickles. Mostly, I give these away to friends as hostess or thank you gifts, and my kids eat a great deal.

Just recently, I began preserving as a way to lengthen the season for some of our favorite fruits and vegetables. Our CSA offered tomatoes last year, perhaps I will capture green beans and corn as well. There is really nothing better than pulling a jar of summer tomatoes out of the garage in the middle of winter for a sauce!

Friends have asked how to get started in canning, so I thought I would put together a series of posts about preserving food. Together, we will make Peach Ginger Jam, and I hope that this guide will help you every step of the way!

Step 1: Equipment

Before you get going, you need to make sure you have the right equipment on hand. Here is my recommended list:

• Canning jars (1/2 pint or pint jars) with two piece lids
• Water bath canning pot and jar rack (this usually comes as a set)
• Large pot (you will actually make the jam in this)
• Jar lifter
• Tongs (the OXO tong with grips are my favorite)
• Wide-mouth funnel
• Ladle
• Food thermometer
• 8-cup glass measuring cup
• Slotted spoon
• Several clean kitchen towels

Most of these items can be purchased at your local hardware or kitchen store. Keep in mind, you can reuse canning jars and the outer rings, but you need to use new lids every time. Also, while most of my friends and family will tell you I am not the best housekeeper, I do start with a fairly clean kitchen. Keeping unwanted visitors out of the newly preserved foods is a good thing, as Martha would say.

Step 2: Recipe

Once you have the above equipment in hand, you will need to decide what to make. I started by making straight-forward jams, using recipes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. I have also found great recipes using the Food Blog Search, including one from Warda of 64 sq ft kitchen and another from Delicious Days. Whatever you decide to make, you will need to find fresh, ripe fruit for the project. Ideally, that would come from a tree in your backyard, but don’t be afraid to ask neighbors or colleagues for extra fruit. Some farms offer a pick-your-own option, and I also visit a local farmer’s market for fresh summer stone fruits. The average recipe needs 5-6 cups of chopped fruit, about 10-12 medium or 3-4 pounds.

OK, now you have the equipment, the recipe and the fruit. Tomorrow, we will talk about the mechanics of making jam!

Today I entered my plum jam and bread & butter pickles in the local county fair. I did this mostly because the bee guild that I belong too needs the parking passes, but it is also fun to enter these local events. In 2005, I entered jam in the state fair, and received a second place award (no, that is not 2nd place, as in 1st and 2nd, all jams that are between 80-89 points receive a 2nd place ribbon). Not bad for my first time. However, not sure I have done much better this time!

On Monday, I will be making more jam, probably peach, and will post the recipe and photos. Making jam and canning is time consuming, but it is not rocket science, and I look forward to sharing more information about how anyone can do this project.

Food and I have a close relationship – I love talking food, cooking and sharing recipes, and searching out the best local offerings. All this has been influenced by several great cooks and cookbooks. Some have been inspiring me for years, others are fairly new to the game. And for this Thursday Thirteen, 4th edition, I offer you these thirteen cooks who have influenced and shaped my cooking:

1. my Mom
2. my Aunt Pat
3. Good Housekeeping (this was my first cookbook)
4. Alice Medrich
5. Julia Child
6. Marcella Hazan
7. Martha Stewart
8. Alice Waters
9. American Heart Association
10. Junior League of San Francisco
11. Mark Bittman
12. Steven Poses, Frog Commissary
13. Cooks Illustrated

One of the frames from my hive, covered with yummy honey!

July 2008

Tonight was a swim meet for the kids, and since the host team did not have a snack bar, I knew I would need to pack our dinner to go. My two swim hard and eat lots, so I packed a nice healthy (well, sort of!) picnic dinner.

I cooked Annie’s Shells&Cheese (check out the free loot on their website) and put those into two wide-mouth thermoses. Into their Laptop Lunchboxes, I put carrots, blueberries and grapes, Back to Nature Classic Round crackers and Bear Naked Organic Trail Mix. At the meet, I purchased Gatorade for both. And, I am pleased to say, everyone seemed well fed and happy. Double bonus, both placed very well in their events!

When traveling, we often use our Laptop Lunchboxes, but this was the first time we pulled them out for a dinner picnic. They worked great, fit into the cooler well, and each kid had their own.

Do you use Laptop Lunchboxes? If so, what is your favorite non-lunch use?

Photo courtesy of Laptop Lunches 

Tonight, as DH came in the door, I handed him a Pomegranate Martini. Here is the recipe he developed and I followed:

2 parts Pomegranate Vodka
1 part Triple Sec
1 part Pomegranate Juice
1/2 part lemon or lime juice

For me, this worked out to be 1/2 cup of Vodka, 1/4 cup each of Triple Sec and Pomegranate Juice and 1/8 of cup (or a couple tablespoons) lemon juice. Into a shaker with ice it went, and then served straight up in martini glasses.

Today, I was fortunate enough to join a group of food bloggers from BlogHer, along with other Northern California food bloggers for a meet-up at the Hotel Vitale in San Francisco. While enjoying the Sunday brunch menu at the in-hotel Americano restaurant, I had the chance to hob-nob with very interesting local and out-of-state food bloggers. Naturally, I took the opportunity to ask about their favorite kitchen gadgets!

Chuck of Sunday Nite Dinners (check out his recent post about Chocolate Blackout Cake!) and Jen of Life Begins at Thirty, both like Microplaners, although Jen did not want to duplicate Chuck, so she also threw in a Burr Grinder. Kristin of Off Beat Eating likes her Mini Offset Spatula, claiming it is her favorite for decorating cupcakes. Ed from Is It EDible? is a fan of the Potato Ricer, which I can fully agree with. Makes the fluffiest mashed potatoes…

Claire of Cook Think was excited about her Nested Biscuit Cutters, a set of ten stainless steel circular cutters. Simona from Briciole says her favorite is her Hand-held Cheese Grater, but explains that guests to her home love her Ice Cream Maker. One of her frequent guests and fellow food blogger Christine of Christine Cooks loves her Garlic Slicer. Sam of Becks & Posh chooses her Salton Electronic Scale, and she posted a great roundup of food blogger favorites in the Ultimate Shopping List for Discerning Home Cooks (the money-is-no-object list!)

Biggie of Lunch in a Box swears by Rubberized Shelf Liners which she uses under her cutting boards to keep them from slipping while preparing speedy lunch bentos. Staying with the Japanese theme, Sean from Hedonia says his favorite kitchen gadget is a Benrinner, an inexpensive Japanese mandoline. And on the slicing theme, Susan of Food Blogga loves her Oxo Julienne Peeler, and Gutenberg & Chubby of Bunrabs choose a sharp Chef’s Knife as their favorite.

Lynda of Taste Food and Anna of Cookie Madness snuck away before I could ask them about their favorites – hope I can catch up with them soon. I end my tour of kitchen gadget favorites with those of the two organizers of today’s food blogger gathering – Kayln of Kayln’s Kitchen loves her Food Saver, and Amy of Cooking With Amy is so excited by her new Zojirushi 1-lb Bread Maker (”Makes the bread, ever!”), while her all time favorite kitchen gadget has to be a hand-held Immersion Blender.

Good thing I ate dinner before posting this roundup – all this food talk (and blog surfing) is making me hungry. I look forward to exploring all of these food bloggers in further detail, finding new recipes and gleaning tips and techniques from their expertise. Great to meet you all!

This morning, I played a little hooky from the BlogHer conference to zip on down to the Ferry Building for breakfast. In fact, I was thinking about this on the way down there – if someone asked me for a breakfast spot recommendation, I would ask them what day they were planning to visit. Monday through Friday and Sunday, I would say, whatever, go to the restaurant in your hotel. IF, however, they planned a Saturday visit, I would suggest, nay, compel them to visit Primavera at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. The picture below, I think, should illustrate exactly why.

River Dog Farm German Butter Ball Crispy Potato Tacos, served with Early Girl Salsa Ranchera, sour cream and escabeche. The other option I seriously considered was House Made Chorizo with organic, local, scrambled eggs, served with refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa fresca, served over stone ground organic tortillas. I was basically set up to succeed. Awesome, awesome yumminess, started my day in the the absolutely best way.

After inhaling these well-named tacos, I cruised on over to the Healdsburg Bakery booth and absconded with a morning bun and jam pocket. Those were for snacking on later. And, I could not forget a little jaunt through Sur La Table (Kitchen Gadget Girl heaven!), before stopping at Boriana’s for a custard bombolini. That I ate on the way back to the conference….

In addition to great sessions and learning all sorts of useful tips, going to BlogHer 2008 has also meant the opportunity to socialize like an adult, at a bar, with cocktails. So, rather than tell you about what we ate at BlogHer (actually, the food was pretty good for a conference at a hotel), I am going to share what some of my new bloggy friends were drinking (or wanted to be drinking) during the social hour…

Susan from Working Moms Against Guilt prefers a nice Cabernet, while Amy in Ohio would love a Maker’s and Ginger Ale. When I saw her, she was drinking a Cosmopoliton, but I think that was only a substitute. A Mom Two Boys, in addition to having her photo taken with Guy Kawasaki, is a Margarita Rocks with Salt kinda gal. I knew we could be good friends. Two other folks around the table I cannot forget are Mommy Bits, who likes Absolute Citron and 7-up, and Headless Mom, who is currently drinking a Sangiovese from Italy (or, at least, she would like to be!)

My partner in crime this weekend, Pat, tells me that she prefers a Gin Martini, up, with two olives. And the first two people I met at BlogHer, after picking up my badge, were Lara from Life: The Ongoing Education (Vodka Cranberry) and Erica of Crummy Cupcake (Sidecar). You ladies rescued me and helped me over the initial social hump. Thank you.

Cheers to my new friends, look forward to raising a glass again with you soon!