Yes, I Can!

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

Canning is in again. The combination of the economy and the desire for quality food has brought canning back. Not that it ever left in my kitchen. My Mom canned, my Grandmas canned, and so I can.

Canning is easy! All you need are some canning jars, lids and jar rings, a jar lifter, a big pot and some fresh veggies.

So far this week, I've canned:

Dilled Green Tomatoes--3 1/3 c each of vinegar and water, 1/4 c salt brought to a simmer. In hot jars (about 10 minutes simmering in the canner), I added a garlic clove, head of dill, dash of hot paprika and then packed in green tomatoes. I covered them with the hot liquid, wiped off the rim of the jars, topped with a hot lid and rim (brought to a simmer in a pan of water), put the jars in the canning pot and boiled for 10 minutes. A friend gave me a jar of these last summer so this year, I had to do my own. Very tasty.This makes 6 pints.

Green Tomato Chutney--I brought to a simmer about 6 large green tomatoes (about 5 lbs), 1 lb. of green apples, 2 large onions--all chopped--with 1 lb of sugar, 1 1/2 c vinegar, 1/4 c each of yellow raisins and dried cranberries, 1 T cinnamon, 2 t mustard seeds, and 2 t pepper corns.  I simmered until thick, about 1 hour, then put in hot pint jars and boiled/canned for 20 minutes. This makes 4 pint jars.

Zucchini Relish--This stuff is great served with kielbasa, pork or hot dogs or as a side dish.  Combine 2 c chopped zucchini, 1 c chopped onion, 1/2 c chopped green pepper, 1/4 c red pepper with 2 T salt and cover with cold water and let stand for several hours. Drain, rinse, drain, rinse. Combine 1 1/2 c sugar, 2 teaspoons celery seed, 1 t mustard seed and 1 c cider vinegar and bring to a simmer. Then add the drained veggies and simmer 10 minutes. Pack into hot jars and can for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. This makes about 5-6 1/2 pints.

Tomatoes--The garden is producing lots of tomatoes from the 90 plants I have in the garden. We are canning tomatoes every 2-3 nights. Tonight I canned 5 quarts which makes 26 total quarts so far. These are so easy and with tomatoes in season right now, everyone should be canning! Last fall, we canned 65 quarts. We use them all year in soups, stews, sauces, and more. It has been years since I bought a can of tomatoes in the grocery store.

Bring a pot of water to boil to blanch the tomatoes. At the same time, bring the canner pot to a boil with quart jars in it to sterilize them. Wash the tomatoes and drop in the boiling water until the skin breaks, 2-3 minutes, then drop into cold water. Remove the skin and pack the tomatoes into the hot jars. Run a knife around the inside of the jar several times to remove any air. Top with 1 t salt and 2 T lemon juice. Add the lids and rims and can for 45 minutes in a hot water bath.

The best sound for a canner is the sound of the lids sealing when you are finished. Success. Next up for me this weekend are bread and butter pickles and pickled beets. It's canning season!

Zucchini and Tomatoes--a winter dish

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner


It really is not much fun to come up with exciting vegetable dishes in January compared to July when I can walk outside and plan my dinner around what is ready to pick. Sigh. But January it is and creativity still needs to take place.

I had two zucchini in the fridge from a recent market visit. So I came up with a dish that is a bit like a Creole vegetable dish only I used Italian herbs. It turned out great!

I used what I had, my mantra. A couple of fresh zucchini, onion, garlic, green pepper with a quart of canned tomatoes (mine, of course) and fresh basil and dried oregano. I simmered it until it was thick. There are leftovers which would be great on pizza, pasta or rice.

2 med zucchini, sliced in 1/2" slices
1 med onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 T olive oil
32 oz canned tomatoes
2 T fresh basil (from my AeroGarden)
1 t oregano
salt and pepper

Saute the onion in olive oil until they begin to shimmer with color. Add the green pepper, garlic, and zucchini and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

Add the tomatoes, undrained, and spices. Bring to a slow boil then turn to low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes until the mixture is thick. Enjoy!

Ratatouille

By Kathryn Washburn Breighner

I wonder how many people when hearing of the recent cartoon Disney movie "Ratatouille" wondered what the movie title word meant. We serve ratatouille often in the summer and take it for potluck dinners and many people have never heard the word or of the dish. They are missing something special.

I first fixed a ratatouille dish nearly 30 years ago when we had an abundance of eggplant and zucchini in our garden and used a recipe of Julia Child's printed in a Sunday newspaper magazine--in the days before you could Google eggplant and zucchini when looking for a way to use them. Consequently, we often call this Ratatouilla Julia.

We have eggplants, zucchini, peppers, basil and onions in the garden now but still do not have fresh tomatoes. So I used the fresh veggies and added a quart of my tomatoes that I canned last summer (I never buy canned tomatoes any more!). It was so spectacular that canned tomatoes might be what I use from now on. The added juice in the canned tomatoes really brought this dish together.

This is an amazing blend of eggplants, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, onions and basil that is cooked slowly to a thick stew-like consistency. Just before serving, Parmesan cheese is folded in. This dish can be reheated or served cold. It is also great on pizza. Serve it with a thick, crusty bread and call it a meal.

And better yet, double the ingredients and when cooled, freeze 1/2 of the ratatouille in quart size freezer bags and when you serve it in January, you will thank me! It will be a taste of summer in cold January.

Saute for 10-15 min over medium heat:

1 medium zucchini, cut into 1" cubes
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1" cubes
1 large green pepper, cut into 1" cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1" cubes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 T Olive oil

Add and continue cooking over medium heat for 25-30 minutes or until the eggplant can be easily pierced but is not soft:

1/2 c fresh, chopped basil
1 qt canned tomatoes
salt
pepper
cayenne to taste (we like a bit of heat in this dish)

Just before serving, add 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese. You won't wonder again what the word "ratatouille" means because you'll know it is delicious.