Balsamic Pickled Asparagus

I know, this is rather late in the season for asparagus, but think of it as being prepared for next spring! I made these on the same day that I canned all my marmalades, but for some reason I never got around to posting about it.

Asparagus seems to be one of those "love it or hate it" veggies. For some people, its more of a "love it now, hate it later" veg. Don't ask why. It's awkward. Me, I'm a "love it now, pretend I don't mind later" gal. True to my current (but slightly less fervent, thanks to impatience) commitment to preserving foods in season, I decided to see if there was a way to preserve asparagus during the brief time that it enters the "reasonably affordable" stage. Asparagus out of season is crazy expensive!

Since asparagus is a low-acid food and I don't have a pressure canner, the only way I was going to be able to can them is by making pickles or jelly. Asparagus jelly doesn't sound particularly appealing. Pickles it is!

Whilst perusing the interwebz, I found this recipe from My Pantry Shelf. A pickled asparagus recipe that calls for lemons? How convenient! I just happened to be inundated with lemons! Plus, the jars looked gorgeous with the bright green asparagus and perky yellow lemons. This I gotta try!

Right about now, you might be wondering why my pictures look nothing like those for the original recipe. I'll tell ya why. I did a no-no. I changed a canning recipe. This is Cardinal Rule #1 in canning land. You're supposed to ONLY use USDA approved recipes, and NEVER alter them. Don't get me wrong, there is a real science to preserving food to make it safe, especially when using the water bath canning method. BUT, we're talking pickles right now. Pickles rely on large quantities of vinegar to acidify the recipe, making it impossible for botulism spores to grow.

The only change I made to the recipe was to sub some balsamic vinegar for the white vinegar. I did this because I'm not actually a big fan of pickles. Oh I like them every once in a while, but most homemade pickles have disinterested me. I decided that if I was going to go through the trouble of canning up asparagus, I needed to make it something I would actually eat (not to mention something worth using asparagus instead of cukes). Balsamic vinegar goes fabulously with asparagus. It also happens to be my favorite cooking vinegar, and you'll (hopefully) be seeing several other recipes on here that feature it.

Why do I feel the alteration was safe? Because Rule #1 in pickling is do NOT monkey with the acidity level. My white vinegar has a 5% acidity level. According to my bottle of balsamic, it has an acidity level of 6%. Instead of lowering the acidity, the switch would actually INCREASE it. So that's why I didn't feel bad about changing the recipe. I've eaten 2.5 of the jars (by myself, thankyouverymuch) in the two months since I made them, and so far there are no signs of spoilage or off-flavors.

The one down side, of course, is the dark balsamic ruins the beautiful lemon-asparagus look of the jars. I don't mind too much. I'd rather have ugly food that tastes amazing, than have a shelf full of pretty doorstops.

Ok, on to the recipe! Since my modification is so minor, I'm only going to give you my ingredient list and then send you back to the original post for canning instructions. That, and I'm too lazy to type it all up. I need to do something about that.

Balsamic Pickled Asparagus

3lbs asparagus
1 1/2c distilled white vinegar
1c balsamic vinegar (make sure it's at least 5% acidity)
2 1/2c water
2 1/2 tsp pickling salt (I used kosher sea salt)
3 tsp mustard seed
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 lemon, sliced

See My Pantry Shelf for canning instructions. I had plenty of extra pickling liquid after filling up the jars of spear tips, so for kicks I filled a jar with the trimmed asparagus ends. Not the woody parts, although I plan to try them out too, but the fresh bits that were sacrificed so the tips would fit. I have to say, they were every bit as good as the tips, if not as pretty. I'll definitely do that again, as wasting good asparagus is just plan wrong.

 I recommend letting these sit for at least two weeks to mellow. The first jar I opened was kick-your-rear strong in the vinegar department. Two months later they are nice and gently tangy. These would be great on a crudite tray, or wrapped in salami as an appetizer. Or, y'know, eaten straight from the jar, as I like 'em.

Spring Preserving, Part 2: Preserved Lemons

After canning the marmalades, I was still drowning in lemons and grapefruits. I realized I was going to have to get creative, and quick!

Other than marmalade, the only other recipe that I came across featuring lemons was called (drumroll please...) Preserved Lemons! I know, clever. It's essentially lemons preserved in gobs of salt, and is a mainstay of Moroccan cuisine. I danced around the idea for quite a while before giving it a try. After all, what do I do with salty lemons? I don't have any interest in Moroccan food. But, with a huge bowl of lemons calling to me, I figured what the heck.

There's no rocket science to this. Many recipes have you keep the lemons whole, but I sliced them into 6 sections. The rind is primarily used, so I figured I would be more likely to use it if it was easier to cut up, and in smaller portions. Once your lemons are all sliced, dump a lot of salt into a jar. Then add a layer of lemons. Then add another gob of salt. Then lemons, then salt, etc., ending with salt. When you get to the top of the jar, press down hard on the lemons until they start releasing their juice. You want to make sure the lemons are completely covered by the salty liquid. (Once again, you don't want to do this if you have any cuts on your hands. Unless you're a kitchen badass. Or just a masochist.) If your lemons don't release enough juice to cover them completely, add the juice of another lemon (or the bottled stuff, no shame in it) until you have enough. Now cap your jar and let it sit at room temperature for up to a week before moving it to the fridge.

When I made these, I followed the typically prescribed method of giving the jar a shake every now and again while it sat out. Thanks to my dependable forgetfulness, my jar sat out way longer than a week. After the first week, I tasted the rind and was surprised by how much I liked it! While it is a bit salty, the fresh lemon taste is completely preserved. I added a finely diced rind to a salad and loved the burst of flavor. I decided this was definitely a condiment I wanted chillin' in my fridge for spontaneous cooking experiments.

Unfortunately, after what was probably more than two weeks at room temp, my jar went from a bright lemon scent to... not so bright. Perhaps my lemons weren't well scrubbed before brining, or perhaps the fork I used to remove a rind was not clean enough, or some other variable I can't think of. Given the sheer quantity of salt I added, it's a miracle anything managed to grow in there!

[Um, Maria, if you look at your own picture, your lemons are CLEARLY not covered in lemon juice. Maybe THAT was your problem, Genius! And why the heck didn't you put them in the fridge after tasting them the FIRST time? You're not the brightest crayon in the box, are you?]

I hate when I yell at me, it's so degrading.

Either way, these went from yum to yuck and I had to dump the whole jar. Swallow sadness. I want to try this again, but next time make sure everything is sterile. Also, instead of shaking the jar regularly, which shouldn't be necessary if everything's well covered by juice, I may try adding a layer of olive oil to the top. That ought to seal out air pretty well. I'm trying to brine the lemons, not ferment them, after all! I read this tip on the blog mybissim.com and it's worth a try!

Six Dollar Succulents

My dear friend had her bridal shower on Cinco de Mayo, and in honor of all things enchilada, we were given these adorable succulents in tomato sauce cans. Aren't they CUTE?! My friend has a pretty clever sister. After the shower there were quite a few extra plants. I have no shame in admitting that I snagged as many of those bad boys as I could without looking too crazy. It's ok though, I gave the bride waffles.

After getting them home, I did a little research on succulents. God bless Google. How did our parents learn anything back in the Dark Ages before internet searches? It seems succulents are pretty laid back plants, so long as you cover a few basic needs.

1. The soil needs to be very light and drain easily, and the pot MUST have drainage holes. Wet roots for too long will kill the plant dead.
2. Let the soil dry out between waterings. Like, completely dry, if you want. Heh, this is how I've been watering my ivy plant for years. The fat leaves on succulents store water, so as long as the leaves feel firm it shouldn't need to be watered. (EDIT: This is LIES! Smaller leaved plants can't store as much water as the big boys, so if you mix sizes in a planting, you have to cater to the little guys. I learned this the hard way and lost two out of the four plants. Just water once a week or so and they'll be fine, but soft leaves are bad. Letting your one year old re-pot them while you're not looking is also bad. That's how I lost a third. I'm down to just the sturdy guy on the far left of the picture.)
3. Any plant that looks this awesome needs to be in an equally awesome pot. Yes, this is an official rule. That I made up. I have that kind of power.

Now, as much as I love the look of the tomato sauce cans, I didn't think I could leave the plants in there for very long.  The soil was regular potting soil, which hangs on to water like a sponge. I was also concerned about the can rusting on my window sill. Since I have various pots and whatnot all over my house, I decided to use something I already had on hand. No point in buying ONE MORE POT when I have at least a dozen empty pots floating around.

The first thing to catch my eye was this. Know what it is?

That's right! NOT a planter! All the pots I have, and I pounce on this thing. It's a clear plastic thingy that you're supposed to put over the square tissue boxes. Turn it upside down, and you have a clear planter with a ginormous drainage hole! I was given this at my bridal shower almost 4 years ago and never used it. Don't ask me why I kept it. I keep everything.

In order to make it into a planter for the succulents I was going to need to block up the hole enough that soil wouldn't wash out. I also needed an appropriate soil mix for the plants to grow in. I could have bought the "cactus mix" potting soil at my local wally world, but my Googling skillz informed me that it was pretty much regular, peat-based potting soil mixed with sand and perlite. I already have the potting soil and sand, so I decided to just buy a bag of perlite. Same price as the bag of cactus mix, but now I can make special soil mixes in the future. My soil mix was:

• 1 part potting soil
• 1 part perlite
• 1 part sand

A note on sand: I got my sand a while ago from Lowe's for $4. It was labeled 'leveling sand" and was way heavier than it looked. Don't be the chump that thinks they can pick up a bag of sand. Let the muscly guys do that for you and save your dignity. Make sure your bag doesn't contain anything other than sand (some may contain concrete. you'll regret that one quick). Also, watch out for sand that contains a lot of salt. Salt will burn the roots and kill the plant dead. DEAD, I tell ya.

How can you tell if the sand is salty? Take some salt in you hand, check to see if anyone is looking, and lick it. Do it. I double dog dare ya. Ok, ok, it's kinda gross, but I couldn't think of a better way to check. Unfortunately, I didn't think about salty sand until after I finished the project. I'm going to try flushing the pot well with plain water, and then again with water and a touch of vinegar, just to be on the safe side. (see THIS article for more detail)

Now that I have my soil, I need to prep my pot. Whilst perusing my beloved Dollar Tree, I found a roll of fiberglass mesh tape, the kind used to patch drywall. Genius! On the way out I also snagged a bag of decorative river rocks. Because I have no self control in this store. Everything is actually a DOLLAR, for crying out loud! I love this place! (I even worked there one holiday season, but that's a different story)  I used the mesh tape in strips, overlapping them and staggering them slightly to make the holes even smaller. We're trying to hold back sand, after all.

I covered the hole with probably a dozen strips, leaving plenty of hangover to help hold it in place. Because of the size and location of the hole, the tape is supporting quite a bit of weight. I could have used more tape than I did.

I used a little over half the river rock in the bottom of my new "pot." Then I filled it with soil and planted my little succulents into their new home. I sprinkled the remaining rocks around the top and stepped back to admire my awesomeness.

So that was $4 for the perlite, $1 for the rocks, and $1 for the mesh tape. I now have a trendy little succulent arraignment for $6! AND, I don't have to look at a stupid, useless tissue box thingy and wonder why I still have it! The happiness could kill me DEAD!

Spring Preserving, Part 1: Marmalade!

Way back in February I mentioned that citrus was in season and on sale. I also happened to mention that I was obsessed with the thought of preserving in-season foods. What I didn't mention was what I planned to do with it. That's because I had no clue what to do with it! Other than eating grapefruit for breakfast (and still being hungry) and juicing or zesting the lemons for cooking, I had very little experience with citrus fruits. See, that's the funny part about preserving foods. Unless you know how to use the stuff in your everyday meals, you could end up with entire basements of pretty jars that serve you no purpose. I try to come up with several ways to use a given end product before deciding to go through the effort and expense of making it, and even then I only make a small batch to see how I like it. I can always make a bigger batch next year, when I will be fully prepared for the season's bounty.

It was really tough to settle on a recipe for the citrus. The vast majority of preserves were in the form of marmalade, which I have never eaten and heard mixed opinions of. Marmalade is like a jam except that it is usually made with sour citrus and often contains the bits of zest and pulp. After an exhaustive search, I finally decided to throw caution to the wind and make two different kinds of marmalade. (I did end up making two other recipes with the citrus, which I'll talk about in Part 2!)

The first recipe I tried was Pink Grapefruit & Cranberry Marmalade from italianfoodforever.com (you can find the recipe HERE). During the holidays I had compulsively purchased a bag of fresh cranberries without a single idea on what to do with them. This recipe ended up being the perfect way to clean out the freezer! The recipe calls for 5 cups of fresh cranberries, but my little bag only contained about 3. I wish I had made notes, because I can't remember if I halved the recipe or not. I'm pretty sure I did. I do remember that it was WAY too tart for me, and I added an extra cup of sugar. After tasting the final product I wish I had added even more sugar. One of the benefits to this recipe is that it didn't require any pectin to set up into a firm jam consistency. Cranberries have oodles of natural pectin, and the long boiling puts nature to work for you. A tip on prepping the grapefruit: it's incredibly easy to zest them with a vegetable peeler and then dice the large strips into fine pieces. They don't break down while cooking, so the smaller/thinner the better! Be sure to dice the grapefruit flesh small because it also doesn't break down. I almost considered fishing out all the grapefruit chunks and dicing them smaller, but by then I was tired and ready to be done!

I had some extra marmalade that didn't fill a canning jar, so I poured it into an old jelly jar and popped it in the fridge. The final verdict? Not bad! It's still way too tart for me to enjoy it as a sweet condiment, but I could see myself using this as a filling in a chocolate layer cake or on pork. I have a much-loved recipe for Cranberry Mustard Pork Chops that I will have to try with the marmalade. All said, I'm not sure I'll make it again. It will all depend on how I use this batch through the year.

Also, when chopping up buckets of citrus, for the love of all that's good and holy, do NOT cut your finger or get a paper cut. Trust me. It's just bad.

Next up was Honey Lemon Marmalade, from foodinjars.com (you can find the recipe HERE). I followed the recipe exactly, except that I zested the lemons and removed most of the white pith, in the same way I did the grapefruit. I used Ball brand liquid pectin because it was significantly cheaper than Certo, but it caused about 48 hours of misery and worry because I thought it wasn't going to set up. After a few days though, it set up nice and firm. This stuff tastes AMAZING. I was most exited to try this recipe, and it did not disappoint! It would be incredible over a dessert, a morning scone, or even pancakes. Very bright and lemony, with the soft taste of honey in the background. When I make it again, I think I'm going to try straining a batch right before adding the pectin. I think this would be fabulous in a cup of tea, but the bits of rind and pulp would annoy me. A smooth jelly would be divine for tea!

This was also my first try at canning food. Everything went surprisingly well, but I have to admit to being absolutely terrified to open my jars and taste them. This is very weird for me. I am generally a laid back, germs-are-good-for-ya kinda gal, but the threat of botulism keeps scaring me away. I can't shake the nagging concern that I might have overlooked something. I have tasted my canned asparagus that I made the same day, but for some reason I'm afraid of my marmalade! Ah well, I still have plenty of both flavors in my fridge. Maybe by time those are gone I will have conquered my fear.

Stay tuned for Spring Preserving Part 2!

DID YOU SAY “HOMEMADE DEODORANT?”

No, but now that you mention it, I did make homemade deodorant!

Before I can get to that, there is a little matter that I need to address. I started this blog with grand intentions, but finding the time to write about my escapades has been harder than the projects themselves. While I have all sorts of fun stuff to share with you, I feel I owe you a bit more regarding my overly-hyped Personal Challenge 2011.

When I decided to do this challenge, I failed to take into account just how much (little) I clean. I would mix up a 2 cup batch of window cleaner, clean all the glass in my house, and then find myself with 1 ¾ cups of a cleaner I really didn’t care for. Fast forward about two (ok, four) weeks and I finally get around to cleaning the glass again. Clearly, I don’t go through a lot of cleaner! I considered dumping the inferior stuff down the drain and starting over, but I just can’t bring myself to do it! After all, my whole goal was to reduce waste and cost (and boredom)! I suppose I could just clean more often.

Oh man, I just laughed so hard…

So far I have experimented with 4 out of the 9 items on my original list. To be honest, I’ve yet to come across a cleaner that blew me away. Normally, when (if) I clean, I use little more than a damp/soapy washcloth, or Windex and a paper towel. That includes sticky, greasy messes in the kitchen. This method requires more elbow grease than commercial cleaners, but I‘ve become accustomed to it. With my homemade cleaners, it seemed that I still had to scrub as much as before.  I definitely have more experimenting ahead of me. I’m determined to formulate a good cleaner!

In the meantime, here are the results of one of my attempts:

Homemade Deodorant
6-8 Tbsp coconut oil
¼ cup baking soda
¼ cup cornstarch/arrowroot powder
3-5 drops Tea tree essential oil, or any other essential oil you like

Combine baking soda and cornstarch. Work in coconut oil by hand until it is roughly the same consistency as commercial deodorant. Mix in essential oils. You can pack this into an old deodorant container or use a shallow lidded container.

I found my recipe at Passionate Homemaking, and it really couldn’t be much simpler. I’ll tell ya what, this stuff works pretty dang well! The first week I wore this, I kept sniffin’ my pitts. For quality control purposes, of course (not). Not once did I smell bad! To be fair, I don’t do a lot of strenuous activity, but I do still tend to sweat and stink after a while. (sorry, TMI)

Apparently, many people can get a rash from this recipe, either from a corn allergy or from the baking soda. I have yet to get a rash myself though. I’m wondering if some of the people who reacted to the baking soda were actually reacting to the lack of acidity on the skin. The surface of the skin is naturally acidic, and baking soda is extremely alkaline. Remember the vinegar and baking soda volcanoes in grade school? That’s the acid and alkaline neutralizing each other.  With that in mind, I wonder if a cotton ball of (diluted?) vinegar at the end of the day would restore the skin’s balance. I’ll have to try this sometime.

What surprised me most with this experiment was how much more aware I was of what commercial deodorant did to my underarms. I’ve always hated the odd feel of my underarm skin, but didn’t think I could change it. Just a weird, plastic feel that seemed to repel water and didn’t let me get a close shave. A week of homemade deodorant changed that. I think the grit from the baking soda and the motion of my arm gradually scrubbed away the dead skin and the old deodorant residue. I kept finding bits of gunk that I thought were clumps of baking soda, but after two weeks I no longer see clumps and my skin is in incredible condition.

I had suspected that commercial deodorant was the cause of the plasticy feel, but when I went to clean out an old deodorant container I was convinced it was the culprit. I had NO IDEA it would be so difficult to clean out! I went through a TON of dish soap and the deodorant just laughed at it. Seriously, it didn’t affect it at all. Finally I boiled some water in my tea kettle and poured that in the container. I let it sit a minute, then dumped it (carefully!) and refilled it with the boiling water. HALLELUIA! Hot, hot, HOT water turned out to be the key. The heat softened the greasy deodorant enough that I was able to pour most of it down the drain (with my luck it’s still stuck to the pipes somewhere).  In the end, it took several hot water soaks and a final scrub with dish soap to get that baby squeaky clean.

Fill the base, chill it, then gradually pack in the rest. 

Wanna know the funny part? A few weeks later the container broke.

In retrospect, the container would have benefitted from a thin layer of the original deodorant. This would have allowed the solid mass to slide up and down more easily. I broke the container because the clicky base wasn't strong enough to push up the solid, refrigerated deodorant. When I remade this a few weeks ago, I completely forgot about this little tip. I just moved the container to the fridge for the summer, so we'll see if I run into the same problem.

A final note on homemade deodorant, be mindful of the room temperature. Coconut oil is liquid below 76 degrees F, so you may want to keep your mix in the fridge during the warmer months. Cold deodorant will definitely wake you up, but it’s also quite refreshing in the dead of summer. Or I’m just weird.

I have several other posts lined up, but I won't be able to get the pictures off my camera for a few more days. Stay tuned, there's some fun stuff in store for the next few weeks!

Gardening, Lemons, and This Year's Project

Like my cans? One's bigger than the other, but I still love 'em.

I have been in a gardening frame of mind for weeks now. This wimpy excuse for a winter has left me wet, dreary, and ready for summer. The only problem is, I have almost no space for a garden! The only part of my yard that gets decent sunlight is my small front yard, and I'm thinking our landlord would be less than appreciative if I dug the whole thing up. He mows our lawn. I'm staying on his good side.

Instead, for the last two summers, I have resigned myself to a few pots on my porch. It just doesn't cut the mustard. Potting soil is so irritatingly expensive that it isn't cost effective to have more than a few pots stuffed with just enough vegetables to satisfy my itch. This year, Mama's not satisfied. My measly container garden never fully calms my craving for dirty fingernails, the miracle of new life, and providing nourishment for my family. I'm in the process of convincing my mom (who wasn't too interested in a garden as of last month) to team up with me for a little (hehe) gardening. Unbeknownst to her, but very beknownst to me, I have a rather extensive scheme in mind... but we'll see how it goes.

My traditional way of dealing with something I really, really, really want to do, but can't, is to research the subject to death. I have been reading about everything and anything garden related, making notes and printing pages for things I want to do someday. If I can't do, then I can always learn! The only downside is, the more I read, the more I whip myself into a frenzy wanting to DO IT ALL RIGHT NOW! My mom in particular has become rather jaded to my fits of passion, and will usually just nod and smile until I finally give up or get distracted. This is making it rather difficult to get her on board with a garden (on her property, with her tools, and likely with her watering the majority of the time...), but gardening is something she has always loved in quieter years. I'm wearing her down, little by little!

The approximate number of books I've read on gardening and preserving. I rounded up.

Researching about gardening has naturally led me to researching on how to preserve the bountiful harvest I imagine in my mind. I was deep into reading about canning, drying, and fermenting, when I happened to look up and see that organic lemons are on sale this week. Now, I never used to be an organic produce kinda gal, but the more I have studied nutrition, the more I have started to lean away from the standard supermarket fare. Anything closer to natural is where I want to go! But how do I make the most of in-season, pesticide-free lemons? EUREKA! Here is my chance to practice my preserving skills!

The more I think about it, the more I love this idea. Here is an opportunity to develop my preserving skills with a small batch of in-season produce. I couldn't possibly stop at lemons though. There are so many more fruits and vegetables that will be coming into season soon, and so many different methods of preserving them all. I decided that one of my projects this year will be to learn how to preserve everything I can get my hands on, one season at a time.

I started a folder to hold all my collected recipes and tips, but I have no doubt I will eventually have to move it all to a three-ring binder. I'm thinking I will organize it by season or month, instead of by preserving method. After all, you start by deciding what to preserve, before deciding how!

I love making labels, and this is a nifty little label I made for my folder. I printed mine on a label sheet that I have lying around from another failed project. Feel free to right-click and steal this baby, she's free to a good home!

Stay tuned for my lemon preserving fiesta!

Chilly February Fun

After the complete lack of wintery weather this year, we finally got some decent snowfall yesterday. It snowed all day long, in those big, fluffly flakes. Just looking out the window brightened my day! Today, by some miracle, the weather stayed cool enough to keep most of the snow on the ground. In our part of the Ohio Valley, the temps typically bounce around so much that any snowfall either disappears or turns to mush within 24 hours. A winter wonderland is a rare treat some years.

If I was an awesome mama I would have bundled up the boys and taken them out for some sledding and snowman building. But I'm not an awesome mama. I'm a mama that hates to be cold. Instead of taking the boys outside, we had some fun with the snow that had piled up on the kitchen windowsill.

This little guy was made with toothpicks and a food marker. Why the food marker? Well because it was right next to the window when I got this silly idea. I think he turned out pretty cute, in fact he's still chillin' like a Batman villain on the windowsill. Maybe we'll make him a buddy tomorrow, once I figure out how to make a cape and cowl out of garlic cloves and parchment paper. Because that's what I have next to my kitchen window.