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Canning, Mexican, Pickles, Recipes, Veggies

Jalapeño Nacho Rings

June 7, 2014

We love jalapeños. They seem to thrive in the Maui heat. Apparently hot climates produce hot peppers! The red peppers are the fully mature stage of the jalapeño and add beautiful color mixed with the younger green jalapeños.

We now have 10 jalapeño plants in the garden. We make both pickled nacho rings and jalapeño hot sauce .

Pickled Jalapeños

Makes 4 pint jars

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh jalapeño peppers

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

2 1/2 cups water (distilled or filtered)

5 teaspoons pickling salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 1/4 teaspoons calcium chloride (Ball brand Pickle Crisp)

4 2-inch sprigs fresh Mexican oregano (optional)

Preparation

Wash jalapeños and slice into 1/4 to 1/3 inch rings. It’s a good idea to wear disposable gloves when cutting peppers. Divide sliced peppers into 4 equal portions.

Wash jars and place them in boiling-water canner. Fill the jars and canner with water to the top of the jars. Cover and bring water to a simmer over medium heat, do not boil. Prepare the two-piece closures. Wash lids and place in a small saucepan and cover with water. Heat to just a simmer but do not boil. Do not heat screw bands.

In a medium-sized saucepan add remaining ingredients except oregano sprigs. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.

Lift the canner jar rack and fix into place on the rim of the canner. Remove one jar at a time and empty hot water back into the canner. Place jar on a cutting board. Place a canning funnel in the jar. Add 1 oregano sprig to the jar, pack jar with portioned jalapeño rings. Ladle hot brine into jar leaving 1/2-inch head space. Remove air bubbles (with a chopstick or similar utensil) and adjust head space, if necessary, by adding more brine. Wipe jar rim. Using a magnetic utensil, lift hot lid from water, center it on the jar and place screw band on jar. Tighten screw band evenly and firmly just until resistance is met. Then increase to fingertip tight. Do not over tighten. Return jar to canner rack. Continue filling jars individually until all jars are filled, lower rack into canner and ensure that all jars are covered by 1 inch of water. Cover canner and bring water to a full boil over high heat. Process for 10 minutes, starting timer only when water reaches a full boil. Turn off the heat, let jars sit in pot for 5 minutes.

Remove jars from water, and let stand, undisturbed, at room temperature 24 hours. To check seals, remove the bands, and press down on the center of each lid. If the lid doesn’t move, the jar is sealed. If the lid depresses and pops up again, the jar is not sealed. In the event that a jar does not seal, simply refrigerate it. Store properly sealed jars in a cool, dark place up to 1 year (date your jars on the bottom with a Sharpie pen) Refrigerate after opening.

Lactose Free, Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes, Vegetarian, Veggies

Kale Salad with Quinoa, Hemp Seeds & Lemon-Honey Dressing

May 17, 2014

Tucked away at the top of the hill in Wailea you’ll find Matteo’s Osteria, a fine choice for lunch or dinner. Each time I visit Matteo’s I order their “Superfood Salad,” hearty and filling. I enjoy it so much I decided to experiment with a lemon-honey dressing in hopes of coming up with a tasty rendition that I could make at home any time. I am happy to say this lemon-honey dressing is quite sublime. I’m a big fan of zesty dressings and the bright flavor of fresh squeezed lemon juice is delicious and refreshing.

How convenient! I found this mix of kale, red cabbage, and carrots at our local market. John is not a fan of kale to say the least. Yet he devoured the salad and confessed that it was very good indeed.

I’m in love with hemp seeds. I found them in the bulk section at Mana Foods. They are tiny little seeds that taste somewhat like sunflower seeds and are delicious sprinkled on salads. They are very nutritious as well.

The dressing has just the right tartness with a hint of honey.

Adding a few tablespoons of quinoa to each individual bowl adds a nice texture to the salad and a hit of protein as well. Many recipes use quite a bit of water and the quinoa can turn out soggy. I find that using just 2/3 cup of water works well for 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa.

Kale Salad with Quinoa, Hemp Seeds & Lemon-Honey Dressing

Inspired by the Superfood Salad at Matteo’s Osteria

Serves 4

Dressing

1 1/2 tablespoons diced onion

5 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons light mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in the cup of an immersion blender and process until completely incorporated. If you do not have an immersion blender a regular blender will work fine.

Salad

8 ounces kale salad mix (kale, red cabbage and carrot)

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half

12 tablespoons cooked quinoa, white or tri-color (see cooking directions below)

4 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds (I toast the seeds on a piece of foil in my toaster oven, 300 degrees about 5 minutes. Watch closely so they don’t burn).

4 tablespoons hemp seeds

Prepare quinoa: Place quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly. Drain well. In a small saucepan heat 2/3 cups water with a dash of salt. Once the water comes to a boil, add quinoa, turn the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook for 15 minutes without lifting the cover. Remove from the heat and leave the pan undisturbed for 15 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork.

Wash kale salad mix, pat dry. Place in a large bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat the salad generously. Divide salad into 4 individual bowls.

Scatter tomatoes, quinoa, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds over each bowl. Drizzle extra lemon-honey vinaigrette over the salad and serve right away.

Japanese, Pickles, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Homemade Takuan

May 4, 2014

My friend Tomoe always has a treat to give me when I stop by now and then to deliver tomatoes or avocados from our garden. I never leave her home without a gift of her delicious mango bread, lilikoi jelly or in this case takuan. I have never thought of making takuan since I only eat it occasionally and it’s readily available in the markets here. After taking a jar of Tomoe’s homemade takuan home and tasting it, I decided it was about time to make my own. Her little yellow pickles were so tasty, crunchy, sweet and salty with just a hint of tartness (much superior to the commercial brands) and, oh so delicious with a bowl of steaming hot rice.

Daikon are not the most attractive vegetable. In fact, with their pale color and gangly shape, they are quite homely. However once you add a bit of seasoning to daikon, they transform into some of the best pickles you can imagine. A case in point is Vietnamese pickles (Do Chua). I adore these pickles piled high in a banh mi. Takuan pickles are delicious served as a side dish with rice and grilled fish, chicken or even tofu. In fact I enjoy just a bowl of hot rice and takuan.

After mixing the daikon with sugar, let it sit for an hour or two. You’ll end up with quite a bit of liquid in the bowl.

Though these pale radishes don’t need to be tinted a bright yellow, their color is actually part of their identity and what we grew up with. Tomoe goes to Japan every year and buys powdered coloring. I have no idea what the box says but it worked.

It takes about a week for the daikon to absorb the pretty yellow color and flavor of the brine. After 2 weeks the pickles are ready to eat.

Onigiri goes hand in hand with takuan pickles!

Homemade Takuan

Adapted from Tomoe’s recipe

Makes 2 quart jars

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds long daikon

2 cups + 1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup Hawaiian sea salt (kosher or other coarse salt if Hawaiian sea salt is not available)

1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

yellow food coloring

Preparation

Peel daikon and cut into 2 inch length pieces about 1/3 inch thick. Place in a large bowl and toss with sugar. Let stand for 1 – 2 hours, tossing occasionally. Do not discard liquid.

Add Hawaiian salt and rice vinegar to the bowl of daikon. Toss to coat well. Add yellow food coloring being very careful not to add too much. You can always add more if the color is not what you expected. Cover bowl well, and refrigerate for 2 weeks, tossing pickles every few days. The amount of liquid from the daikon will vary. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Transfer pickles to quart jars and cover tightly. Takuan pickles will last for months stored in the refrigerator.

Dinner, Pasta, Recipes, Side Dishes, Veggies

Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash & Bacon

April 27, 2014

Everyone I know loves mac & cheese. That’s a fact! I prefer to have a selection of recipes to choose from rather than always turning to one old standby. On occasion I will make Martha’s decadent, rich, mac & cheese or broccoli mac & cheese if I’m craving nutritional veggies in the mix. This rendition of mac & cheese is tops on my list. The sweet, roasted, butternut squash along with the smoky bacon makes this dish special. For the life of me I can’t remember where I found this recipe. If you search the internet there are many recipes for mac & cheese with butternut squash. Some puree the squash and combine it into the sauce, others mix the butternut squash with the pasta. I love this version where the roasted squash is scattered on top of the mac & cheese along with panko bread crumbs that produce a crispy topping.

Cut the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes. That may seem quite large but keep in mind they will shrink once roasted.

Turn the butternut squash with a spatula once during roasting so that you’ll have nicely browned pieces.

Bacon. Crispy, smoky, delicious.

Panko flakes are a handy item to have. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can be used as a topping for mac & cheese or other casseroles and even tempura. They are a wonderful substitute for bread crumbs.

Dinner is ready.

Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash & Bacon

Serves 8

Ingredients

8 pieces cooked, crumbled bacon

3 cups cubed butternut squash (1 inch cubes)

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

1 pound penne or elbow macaroni

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

2 small garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons butter, divided

5 tablespoons flour

5 cups milk

5 cups coarsely grated extra sharp cheddar (I used Cabot Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup panko

Preparation

Lightly butter a 9 x 12 inch baking dish and set aside.

Cook bacon, crumble into fairly large pieces and set aside (always make an extra piece to snack on).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss butternut squash with a bit of olive oil, rosemary, and kosher salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes, turning pieces once, until just tender and nicely browned. Set aside. Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees.

While the squash is roasting cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. I like to under cook my pasta by a minute or two since it will further cook as it bakes in the oven for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and set aside. In a large sauté pan (I use a 12-inch straight sided pan) over medium heat, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Add cayenne and garlic and sauté for another minute. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour and stir for a minute to combine with butter. Gradually add the milk and simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, fold in the cheddar cheese. Stir in salt and a few grinds of pepper then stir in the crumbled bacon. Add cooked pasta and toss to combine ingredients. Transfer to your buttered baking dish and top with butternut squash. Sprinkle panko evenly over the top and drizzle with the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until golden brown on top. Let mac & cheese rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Canning, Lactose Free, Pickles, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Homemade Dill Pickles

April 21, 2014

Pickles, pickles, pickles. I can’t live without them. Crunchy, tangy, salty, dilly, best chilled and served alongside a sandwich.

John’s grandmother, Ida, made terrific dill pickles. Unfortunately, her recipe was lost. With the memory of those pickles in mind, he has been determined to make his own dills ever since. He used to grow cucumbers specifically for pickle making. Unfortunately the garden pests were fond of them too. Most destructive are the pickle worms that burrow into the poor little cukes. It’s very frustrating to have spent so much time nurturing your plants only to have them destroyed. Now that our local Costco sells these Keiki Cukes, we’re in business again. These crunchy cucumbers are perfect for pickles.

Beautiful mini cucumbers with tender skin and few seeds.

It is best to have your mise en place ready. Divide up the cucumbers for each jar so that you can work quickly to get the jars into the water bath canner.

The pickling spice is optional but it does add a nice flavor to the brine. If you don’t have a tea ball you may use cheese cloth.

Homemade Dill Pickles

Makes 4 Quart Jars

Ingredients for pre-brine (optional)

3 quarts distilled or filtered water

5 tablespoons pickling salt

Ingredients for the brine

4 cups white vinegar

4 cups distilled or filtered water

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons pickling salt

2 teaspoons calcium chloride, AKA “Pickle Crisp” (optional)

3 tablespoons mixed pickling spice (in a tea ball or cheese cloth)

Ingredients for the jars

4 1/2 pounds Keiki Cukes or other pickling cucumbers (about 18 ounces per jar)

4 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

4 teaspoons black peppercorns

4 teaspoons dill seeds

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

4 garlic cloves, crushed

4 large sprigs of fresh dill

Preparation

Wash cucumbers. Trim ends for uniformity and slice in half lengthwise. At this point, one option is to pre-brine the sliced cucumbers overnight in 3 quarts distilled or filtered water mixed with 5 tablespoons pickling salt. This is recommended but not required. It does make for a crisper pickle. To portion the cucumbers for each jar, use an empty quart mason jar and snuggly pack with the cucumber slices. Remove slices and place in individual bowls and set aside.

Place brine ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Lift the canner jar rack and fix into place on the rim of the canner. Remove one jar at a time from canner and empty hot water back into the canner. Place jar on a cutting board. Place 1 teaspoon each of yellow mustard seeds, black peppercorn, dill seeds, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes as well as 1 crushed garlic clove and 1 large sprig of fresh dill. Pack cucumbers into jar to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar. Place a canning funnel in the jar. Ladle hot brine into jar leaving 1/2-inch head space. Remove air bubbles (with a chopstick or similar utensil) and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more brine. Wipe jar rim. Using a magnetic utensil, lift hot lid from water, center it on the jar and place screw band on jar. Tighten screw band evenly and firmly just until resistance is met. Then increase to fingertip tight. Do not over tighten. Return jar to canner rack. Continue filling jars individually until all jars are filled, lower rack into canner and ensure that all jars are covered by 1 inch of water. Cover canner and bring water to a full boil over high heat. Process for 15 minutes, starting timer only when water reaches a full boil.

Beans, Dinner, Fish, Lactose Free, Recipes, Salad, Veggies

White Bean & Tuna Salad with Radicchio & Parsley Vinaigrette

April 15, 2014

When I was young we made tuna sandwiches on soft, white, bread. If you gently pressed down on the bread it would flatten and would not spring back! Is that why it was Wonder bread? Back then our options of canned tuna were quite limited, as was our selection of bread. These days there is a multitude of really good canned tuna available and though I prefer tuna packed in nothing but its own juices for sandwiches, tuna packed in olive oil is mandatory for this salad.

When I travel to San Francisco I stock up on As Do Mar tuna from Portugal or Ortiz tuna from Spain. Wild Planet tuna in olive oil is also very good and is readily available at most markets such as Mana Foods on Maui. If you can’t find any of these tunas in your market, consider buying them on-line from Amazon.

This is a beautiful salad full of bright colors and a vibrant parsley vinaigrette.

The parsley vinaigrette is so simple to make. Throw all the ingredients in to a blender and shortly you’ll have this gorgeous dressing.

White Bean & Tuna Salad with Radicchio & Parsley Vinaigrette

Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

Serves 2

Parsley Vinaigrette

2 cups (packed) flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, crushed

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Pulse parsley, oil, lemon juice, vinegar and garlic in a blender. I used my immersion blender. I tried using my food processor the first time however it didn’t puree the ingredients as well as the blender did. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Salad

2 ounces radicchio, leaves torn (about 1/2 medium head of radicchio)

1 cup canned white beans, rinsed (S&W white beans are a good choice)

1 large celery stalk, sliced thinly on an extreme diagonal

1 jar (4.5 ounce) Wild Planet tuna in olive oil, drained and broken into large pieces (or other good-quality olive oil packed, canned tuna)

Preparation

Place radicchio in a medium bowl, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of parsley vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season radicchio to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter, spreading out in an even layer.

Combine 2 tablespoons parsley vinaigrette, white beans, and celery in the same bowl you used for the radicchio, toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange bean mixture on top of radicchio. Top salad with tuna and drizzle some vinaigrette over.

***Serve leftover vinaigrette over fish, grilled vegetables or double the salad ingredients to serve 4.

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Jalapeño Nacho Rings

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Kale Salad with Quinoa, Hemp Seeds & Lemon-Honey Dressing

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Homemade Takuan

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Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash & Bacon

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Homemade Dill Pickles

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White Bean & Tuna Salad with Radicchio & Parsley Vinaigrette

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