MILLIONS OF CUCUMBERS…PICKLES FOR ME

Okay, okay, okay…I might be a few hundred thousand short of a million cucumbers, but I did have over 21 pounds of them!

A woman I know was selling 20+ pound bags of cucumbers for…wait for it…$5! Yep, you read that correct. 20 pounds of cucumbers for only FIVE DOLLARS.

How could I turn that down?!

As soon as she contacted me about the cucumbers, I knew pickle making was in my (very) near future.

Now, I haven’t met a pickle I didn’t like. I love the tangy/sour ones that hurt the inside of your cheek. I love the cold, crisp, crunchy ones. I like sweet. I like little, I like chips and spears and dill and spicy ones. I just like pickles.

However, Fat Daddy and Little Man prefer the Bread & Butter style. I called up my mom, got her trusty recipe and began creating.

I made 12 pints of bread & butter style pickles and three of them I added a serrano pepper to make them have a little kick!

I also made 5 quarts and 2 pints of kosher dill. And I decided to try something a little new with the dill variety: I added carrot chips. I’ve had pickled carrots before so I’m anxious to see how they turn out!

I had all my pickles made (brine made, jars sanitized and jars processed) before 10am yesterday. I was tired but in the end the result is so incredibly worth it.

 

 

Now if only I could find a way to earn a living by canning.

Have a great day!

 

FAT MOMMA CREATES: Mustard

I’ve been canning food for about 3o years (gasp). I’ve made ketchup, jams, jellies, pickles, icky canned meats, fruits, salsa, and a plethora of other goodies (and some not so good). However, I have never made homemade mustard.

Until now.

In my canning bible (aka Ball’s Canning Blue Book) I found the section on homemade mustards quite interesting. The recipe that stood out like none other was the Oktoberfest Beer mustard (umm, beer you say???). I was immediately ready to create.

The ingredients were simple:

Mustard seeds, beer, sugar, water, vinegar, onion and garlic powders. Easy peasy. Or so I thought. Finding the mustard seeds was a bit cumbersome. I called and searched and was just about to order from Amazon when I called one of the health food stores (or as Fat Daddy calls it, the Hippy Store) and low and behold, they had my seeds.

Let the creating adventure begin!

The process wasn’t hard but it was time consuming. You need to let the seeds sit in the delicious beer for about 2ish hours. I got the seeds soaking then ran an errand and did some laundry -who said Fat Momma can’t multitask?

 

After soaking blend the seeds and add to a large sauce pan and cook away with the other ingredients. I tasted along the way and decided to add a bit of salt to bring out the flavors a bit more.

After my creation was done I canned in a normal water bath for 15 minutes.

The mustard is a bit pungent with a hint of spicy undertones. I’m sure its because I used Guinness. I already have plans to use a berry weiss and a cherry wheat. I think maybe using a sweeter beer would be more useful. I’ve had my mustard on a good ol’ Wisconsin bratwurst and on a turkey Sammy and it was delicious (disclaimer: I love mustard. Yellow, Dijon, horseradish, deli, etc etc. But this batch does take a special liking. I honestly do like it but using Guinness may not be for everyone).

How I wish I could find a cash tree and just can and create kitchen goodies for my full-time job. It’s so rewarding and relaxing for me. I love giving my homemade goodies away; makes me so damn happy to see people enjoying my creations.

Have a great weekend everyone – I’m off to buy more beer for research. Yeah, research!

Tomatoes: Glorious, delicious and juicy tomatoes.

Their smell was intoxicating. Their taste was extraordinary. I was in love. In love with these beautifully imperfect tomatoes.

I was so excited to pick up my flat of heirloom tomatoes the other day but when I got to the pickup site and saw these beauties, I couldn’t believe my eyes. They were the most amazing tomatoes that I had ever seen.

My brain immediately went into “canning” mode to decide what I could make. I wanted to showcase these specialty tomatoes. Their taste, texture and color were something I didn’t want to hide in a pasta sauce. I had made a couple different tomato jams in the past and knew I needed a special recipe to showcase these guys.

I bugged my mom for a few days and obtained a copy of her sweet tomato jam. The one I remember as a kiddo. Eating it on a cold, snowy, blustery day immediately transported you to summer and hot, muggy days and fireflies and soft grass beneath your feet.

I also found an heirloom tomato salsa that used minimal ingredients to highlight the tomato themselves. And last but not least, from my science pal at Food Network, I printed off Alton Brown’s tomato infused vodka (If I could have found a recipe for tomato beer, I sure would have done that)!

I gathered all my ingredients and began creating. My kitchen was a mess. My clothes were spotted with tomatoes. My hands smelled of Earth. My stove and canner got a workout but the end results were impressive if I do say so myself.

I had about 28 pounds of tomatoes. I got 6 pints of salsa, 3 jars of sweet tomato jam and a 750ml bottle of vodka steeping. I even had enough to eat (and because I’m such a nice person – share). I foresee many caprese salads, BLT’s and tomato slices in my lunching future.

If anyone is interested in any of the recipes, shoot me a line. I’d be happy to share!

I’M SO EXCITED…

And I just can’t hide it… (ear worm, I know lol)

I ordered 20 pounds of heirloom tomatoes to can!!

I can see some of you rolling your eyes and even showing a little bit of a smirk – But I don’t care! FAT MOMMA LOVES CANNING!

I’ve never worked solely with heirloom tomatoes but have eaten them and fell in love at first bite. The price per pound can be exorbitant so getting 20 pounds for $20 is a steal.

I have so much I want to do with them: Salsa, tomato jam, tomato infused vodka. A beautiful tomato, basil and mozzarella salad. YUMMY!

I pick these beauties up tomorrow evening and I want to call into work so I can stay in my kitchen and create my delicious masterpieces. And then eat them!

I already have a couple other blog ideas in the works from my canning adventures with these amazing tomatoes.

Hope you find something that makes you uber excited that you just can’t hide it.

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

Dr. Seuss

Fat Momma Cans: BACON BOURBON JAM

Oh yes, you read that right. I made a bacon bourbon jam. If you want a low carb recipe, move along. If you want a festival of flavors for your tongue, read on!

I love canning. Making pickles, salsas, pasta sauce. You name it, I love doing it. I’d like to be able to can for a living. Go to farmers markets and flea markets and sell my goods. Crazy dream I know, but I’d so love being able to do that.

Nonetheless, I was looking for an onion jam (which I will be making soon) and while reading some of those recipes wondered why I couldn’t make a bacon bourbon jam.

I like bourbon

I LOVE bacon

I enjoy jams

What’s not to love?

One thing I so enjoy doing when cooking (not baking mind you) is being adventurous and adding my own spin on things. Taking a leap. Rolling the dice (wish I felt that comfortable doing that in real life!).

So I gathered my ingredients:

Bacon – thick delicious cut bacon

Bourbon – a good high quality kind. The one I used is made right here in good ol’ AZ

Maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, sweet onion, cumin, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, garlic and salt.

Then I let the magic happen.

All the ingredients produced two 4 ounce jars. It was a lot of work for a small amount of finished product but it is SOO incredibly delicious.

After cooking the jam, I did process in a water canner and have kept it in the fridge. To keep long term, you would need to use a pressure canner – which I do not have.

I’ve used one jar thus far and served it with a crusty baguette. I think it would also be amazing poured on softened cream cheese with crackers, on chicken or straight from the jar!

I’m going to be putting out the last jar at a party I’m throwing next weekend. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

My next “canning” adventure: Pickled Eggs!