Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks

Roasting your own pumpkin for pie this Thanksgiving is not a difficult process. And you will be amazed at the difference in taste.

This week, in preparation for my pie baking marathon Thanksgiving week, I roasted up a Musquee de Provence pumpkin. This variety of pumpkin is huge – the small ones are over 15 pounds apiece! In two batches, I roasted pumpkin pieces, then pureed them in my food processor, strained them through a small-holed strainer, and packaged up for the freezer.

Step by Step Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Cut pumpkin in half, or quarters if very large. The pumpkin above was cut into 9 pieces
• Rub cut side of pumpkin with olive or canola oil. Place cut-side down on a cookie sheet. A Silpat lined cookie sheet makes cleanup easy
• Roast 45 – 90 minutes, until you can poke it with a fork and the rind is soft. Thick skinned pumpkins will take longer to roast
• Remove from oven and allow to cool
• Puree in a food processor
• If your pumpkin contains a good deal of liquid, strain through a small-holed sieve, or a colander lined with cheese cloth
• Freeze puree in 1-cup increments for easy pie making later in the season
• Use as you would canned pumpkin puree, satisfied in the knowledge that you are making a pumpkin pie truly from scratch!

Pumpkin Pie
adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

• 1 Pie Crust, unbaked
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• Pinch salt
• 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
• 2 cups half-and-half, light cream or whole milk (I use 1 cup skim milk + 1 cup heavy cream)

Prebake the pie crust, and start the filling while the crust is in the oven. When the crust is done, turn the oven to 375F.

Beat the eggs and sugar together; add spices and salt. Stir in pumpkin puree then the cream/milk. Warm this mixture in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is hot to the touch. Do not boil.

Put the prebaked pie crust in its pie plate on a baking sheet. Pour pumpkin mixture into still-hot crust and bake 30-40 minutes, until the pie shakes like Jell-O. Cool on a rack.

Note: When using my own pumpkin puree, I like to make sure the seasonings are correct, which sometimes means adding a little more spice than the recipe suggests. Be sure to test as you go to ensure the pie is properly flavorful.

Figs are starting to appear in the store and farmer’s markets, and this recipe seems a great way to preserve the figs for the cold winter. This pickle uses cinder vinegar, sugar, cloves and cinnamon, which gives a deep, hearty flavor to the fruit.

The recipe comes from my Grandmother’s neighbor, Mabel, and was originally written out in 1949.

Pickled Figs

• 15 pounds figs
• 7 pounds white sugar
• 1 quart cider vinegar
• 1 ounce stick cinnamon
• 1/2 ounce whole cloves

Boil figs for 10 minutes in 4 quarts of water and drain.

Prick on two sides and boil in syrup for 30 minutes, each day for 4 days. On 4th day, after boiling, put figs into hot, steralized jars, strain syrup and pour over. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Check out Joy of Desserts for more Vintage Thursday recipes!

For some reason, the pickling bug hit me hard this summer! Every fruit and vegetable that came through my kitchen was eligible for pickling, and most of that is because of my new pickling book, Joy of Pickling, by Linda Ziedrich.

The book starts out with a Pickle Primer, going over many of the basics that the home cook needs to know before embarking on pickle making, including information about salts, vinegars, herbs and spices, necessary tools (a canner, a jar lifter, kitchen tongs, a large mouth canning funnel, jars with two piece lids, and a long chopstick or rubber spatula to remove bubbles), and storage recommendations. Armed with this information, you read through the rest of the book and find the recipes that strike your fancy.

I embarked on an exploration of the variations of watermelon pickle, making both the Minty Watermelon Pickles and Dark Watermelon Pickles. Thinking ahead to Thanksgiving, I also made a batch of Cherry Relish, and when I am inundated with Zucchini, I plan to make Zucchini Bread & Butter Pickles and Zucchini Relish.

Ziedrich also taught me some tricks for pureeing tomatoes (use a stainless steel food mill with slightly cooked tomatoes) and suggested purchasing all-plastic mason jar caps to replace the metal rings once the jars are open.

The recipes are easy to follow, and in the case of Cherry Relish, because of how onerous pitting cherries is, Ziedrich made the recipe a manageable size. Some of the recipes are quite detailed (Watermelon Pickles and Sauerkraut with Juniper Berries both come to mind) but Ziedrich goes through the instructions carefully and clearly, which yields a good finished product. She also includes recipes from many cultures, and it is fascinating to compare pickles from Thailand, Vietnam and Japan.

If you are interested in learning more about pickling at home, I recommend this book easily. And then you can be like me, with a garage full of pickles jars in every shape and size!

A few weeks ago, we received the tastiest green beans ever from our Two Small Farms veggie box, but somehow I ended up with a double portion of the beans, and we were going to be gone, so I decided to preserve them for future use.

And as I cruised through my garden, I discovered that I had a little dill plant hidden under a tomato, so Dilly Beans were born. I am pleased to have this as my entry for Grow Your Own, hosted this time by Amy of Playing House.

I followed a recipe from my favorite preserving book, Freezing & Canning Cookbook, by the Food Editors of Farm Journal (published 1963). The biggest tip I have to share is to measure one bean to the right size for your pint jar, then use that as the ruler to cut the rest of the beans. I was not that precise with my measurements, but I think attention to this detail leads to a better final dilly bean.

Dilly Beans

• 2 pounds small tender green beans
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 large heads dill
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup pickling salt (very fine salt, without iodine)
• 1 pint vinegar (5% acidity)

Stem green beans and pack uniformly into hot, sterilized jars.

To each pint, ad 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, one clove garlic, and one head dill.

Heat together water, salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil, pour over beans. Seal at once with two piece lid. Process in boiling water bath 5 minutes. Makes 4 pints.

Sunday I hosted my first-ever jam making workshop for three friends who were interested in learning how to make jam at home, and who were willing to put up with me for 3 hours on a hot afternoon in July! Thank you to Cameron, Shannon and Kelly for being my test subjects, I think we all survived relatively unscathed.

Before they arrived, I started a batch of Peach-Plum Jam, from my Farm Journal Freezing & Canning Cookbook (see recipe below). I wanted to demonstrate a no-pectin, or long-cook jam. I also asked the three of them to bring 1 pound of stone fruit with them, and I demonstrated how to make jam with pectin. From that fruit, we made a peach-nectarine jam and two batches of apricot jam, using both liquid and dry pectin.

My preference is not to use pectin in jam making, because I enjoy the final product more. The fruit and the sugar cook together longer (about 45 minutes to an hour and half) and the texture and taste is much richer, in my opinion. Using pectin is much quicker, however, and with some of our jams, we were able to taste a crunch of the fruit and the color stayed much brighter.

I answered heaps of questions about canning including “what equipment do you need?” (answer: a canner, a jar lifter, kitchen tongs, a large mouth canning funnel, jars with two piece lids, fruit and patience), “why don’t you use pectin?” (answer: because I don’t have too), “why do you can?” (answer: because I like to have more control over my food and where it comes from) and “can I just sit here and eat warm jam on bread all afternoon” (answer: yes, you can Kelly).

Sharing one of my hobbies this way was such a joy, I now see why others do workshops and classes. Talking about a passion with interested friends inspired me and reignited my interest in preserving foods. Perhaps I will now be like Sean and can anything that doesn’t move (and some that do, I guess!).

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For those of you interested in embarking on the canning and preserving path, here are some recommended resources:

National Center for Food Preservation

This is the site that originally helped me get started. Yes, my grandmother and mother both canned, but somehow I missed out on the knowledge transfer, so about 10 years ago I decided to teach myself. This site is full of outstanding information on canning, and includes information for the beginner and expert alike. The NCFP has many resources for making jam without pectin, and I use their canned tomato recipe each year.

The Farm Journal Freezing & Canning Cookbook

My version was published in 1963, and many of the recipes stand true today. I held onto this cookbook after my Mom died, but it was not until after I started canning that I pulled it out again and realized what a great resource it is. The tone is conversational, but confident, and the recipes are good, easy and don’t require loads of complex ingredients. If you can find this book, or a newer version, I would recommend snapping it up.

Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving

This USDA book was recommended to me by the aforementioned Sean of Hedonia. It is very basic, but the information is easy to read and understand. The book covers many of the basics of canning, and includes all the USDA recommended guidelines. It is a little light on actual recipes, but if you are looking for a general guide to preserving foods, this would be a good addition to your library.

Fancy Pantry

Recommended to me by my college friend Devora, this book has loads of fun, creative recipes for preserving foods. Once you have mastered the basics, you will turn to this book for additional inspiration and ideas, including Fresh Herb Jellies, Tomato Jam with Ginger & Coriander, and Four Fruit Vinegar.

Online, I recommend Food In Jars, The Slow Cook, Bumblebee Blog, and Lelo in Nopo.

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Peach-Plum Jam

• 4 cups peaches (about 3 pounds)
• 5 cups red plums
• 8 cups sugar
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced

Peel and pit peaches. Pit plums. Cut fruits into small pieces of chip. Measure into large kettle.

Add sugar and lemon (very thinly sliced) and stir to mix well.

Boil rapidly, stirring constantly, until jellying point is reached, or until thick.

Remove from heat, skim and stir alternately for 5 minutes. Ladle into hot jars and seal with two piece lids. Makes 10-12 half pints.

Zucchinis will soon inundate my garden (probably because between my daughter and myself, we planted about 4 zucchini plants!). So, I must be prepared. And fortunately, I found a an old family recipe in my box for Zucchini Pickles, which use four (4!) pounds of zucchini.

That is like one big one.

They actually sound very similar to the bread and butter pickles I made last year, which is good, since I know I like those. See what you think:

Zucchini Pickles

• 4 pounds zucchini
• 1 pound onions
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 quart cider vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 Tablespoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons celery seed
• 1 Tablespoon dried mustard
• 2 teaspoons mustard seed

Cut zucchini into thin slices. Peel and slice onions thinly. Cover with water; add salt. Let stand 1 hour. Drain.

Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Pour over vegetables. Let stand 1 hour.

Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes. Pack into hot jars, seal with 2 piece lids and process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

For more Vintage Thursday recipes, check out Joy of Desserts!

In January, I started the process of making Hoshigaki, the Japanese dried persimmons that Sean and DPaul introduced me to in December. The process was fairly straight forward – next year, I am going to think ahead of time how to set up the drying racks, so that I can preserve more.

Step 1 – I washed the persimmons, then cut around the top of the crown.

Step 2 – Peeling the persimmon

Step 3 and 4 – Attach a rubber band into the cut around the crown. Connect rubber band to binder clip

Step 5 – Hang the persimmons on their binder clips from pretty ribbon strung between my kitchen cabinets. I am fairly certain this part of the process could be vastly improved, it was slightly odd having the persimmons hanging there all month (or 6 weeks in my case).

Step 6 – Slice and serve, or package between wax paper and save in airtight container. Interesting to note, my persimmons did not “bloom” which I wonder if that means I did something incorrectly. My friend Donia thinks it might be because of differing levels of sugar in the persimmon. Humm, no way to tell until I try it again next year.

Hedonia posted a winter salad using hoshigaki. And on Chowhound, there is a nice post about how to dry persimmons in 3 days in the oven.

Several weeks ago (oh, wow, I think it might have been October!) I wrote about our family visit to Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville. While there, I purchased a bushel of apples, two kinds, Pinova and Golden Delicious. And today I finally got around to making applesauce!

With my pressure cooker, it was pretty quick and easy. I decided to can my sauce, for future use, so that step took a little longer. It was also a great time to experiment, as I had loads of apples and so I tried out a couple different things – different amounts of liquid in the pressure cooker and different cooking times. I felt almost like one of the recipe testers at Cooks Illustrated.

The basic recipe was this:

Applesauce

• 20 apples, cored and cut into chunks (yes, I did use my apple corer/slicer for this!)
• 1/2 cup water (you could also use apple juice)

Apples and water went into the pressure cooker. I attached the lid and put it on the stove on medium-high heat. When the steam started to come out, I locked the cooker lid, and when it started to make that pressure cooker noise, I set the timer for 4 minutes.

After the time was up, I removed the pan to the sink and ran cold water over the top. When the pressure was released, I opened the lid and removed the apple sauce to the food mill into a clean pot. To the clean pot, I added:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

And I cooked this mixture another 15-20 minutes, on a low boil, until sauce started to thicken. And into the hot jars it went.

My kids are happy with the texture of this sauce, and while it is not as thick as my past versions, the consistency seems more in line with jarred sauce. It would be great as an accompaniment to pork chops, or as an afternoon snack. And with the pressure cooker, it was easy to pull this together in less than an hour.

I will admit, I have not spent that much time on Etsy, not like my friend Erika, aka Plain Jane Mom, who has a whole new blog devoted to Etsy-goodness, Try Handmade. However, the other day, while browsing around the web (not sure what I was looking for, that happens sometimes), I found a cool post on Kim Vallee’s site about personalized baking stickers and stamps. I have been looking for something to put on the jars of Limoncello I made this summer, and Kim had several Etsy suggestions.

In keeping with the food theme, I went over to Etsy to see what else I could find. SugarCake has beautiful, crocheted food toys, including a set of 4 fruits, a bowl with 6 vegetables and even chocolate covered strawberries! If my daughter was even remotely interested in a play house, I would buy these little treasures for her kitchen.

For more play food treasures, I looked to Just Felt Hungry, who creates adorable play food out of, you guessed it, felt! Her designs are creative and fresh, and just in time for Halloween, Sugar Skulls. And then I get side tracked looking at these nifty meal planners. And these neat magnets with vintage fruit box labels. Oh, and this cute cupcake notecard stationary.

But back to my original quest, stickers for my Limoncello bottles – I think I am leaning towards this. Or maybe this. Or even this. What do you think?

Picture courtesy of Rob Qld.

As I wrote about for Uptake this week, we stopped by Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville last weekend to pick up a bushel of apples for my annual apple sauce making project. Gizdich nicely provides a worksheet to help figure out which apples you need. Here is a brief summary:

Eating apples (not good for cooking)

• Honey Crisp
• Royal Gala
• Red Delicious
• Braeburn
• Fuji

Cooking apples (good for sauce or butter)

• Pinova
• Golden Delicious
• Newton Pippin
• Mutsu
• Granny Smith

Pie apples

• Golden Delicious
• Newton Pippin
• Mutsu
• Granny Smith

I came home with a 1/2 bushel each of Pinova and Golden Delicious. At the moment, the boxes are sitting in my garage, giving off the most wonderful aroma. Soon, very soon, I will begin the saucing and buttering process. Then my kids will once again be happy!