Canning, preserving, recipes, etc

Culture
102

Peach chutney would probably make the grade. Never been a chutneyfan myself, and I wanted to make something I would like, especially since there are six jars and it seems like one batch of anything makes about four jars, which means half a batch is going to wind up in my fridge.

Apparently everyone else is on Facebook, and they’ve got a forum going. My friend mentions when it’s an active discussion, but I’m not on Facebook myself (and not going back, nope nope nope).

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103

We eat a lot of curry, so I can a couple of batches of chutney a year. And I’m totally with you on Facebook. Not sure how to use that service without wasting time, incurring mental damage

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104

The last time I was on FB was for a conference – you were supposed to join the group, introduce yourself etc. before the event.

I had my account completely locked down, only interacted with the conference group, and it was still a UI/UX nightmare.

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105

I prefer walnut (and some other variants) as pignoli nuts give me a headache!

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106

Yeah, this is a classic example of a likely beautifully caramel-brown tray of cinnamon rolls done in by a printer who didn’t bother to tweak the proof and went with too much blue instead of red, so the yellows in the rolls ended up greenish. Early CMYK printing was rough!

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107

Oh maaaaannnn. I want every part of this and will remember it for a future time when I can cook things with bacon, cheese, cream, and pasta in them again. For the foreseeable future I am cooking all Weight Watchers type things for housemates – high in veggies and lean meats, low in fat, dairy, sugar and carbs.

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108

sounds like it wasn’t necessary to put them in the freezer. if the lids stay down, even if you didn’t hear them ping, they are fine. (although that pinging sound is one of the most satisfying things about canning to me, haha)

canning is a lot of work, definitely a labor of love. i wouldn’t share my canned stuff with anyone who didn’t appreciate it either.

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109

We don’t seal ours - fill the jar, wax disc & cellophane lid and into the cupboard and don’t really have a problem with it (although the chutney has a tendency to dry out).

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110

that sounds… super unsafe to me… :open_mouth:

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111

I’m not sure why - high sugar content, low water content as well as the acidity of the fruit. There’s a reason they call it preserve.

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112

i’ve read too many canning safety things, i guess. there’s a reason why it’s recommended.

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113

It may well depend on what you’re canning. We’re currently eating 3 year old marmalade.

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114

I’m currently cooking a lot of Weight Watchers type food, and two things in particular have been a part of my routine more and more:

  • spiralized vegetables, especially squash and zucchini, which stay fairly firm when cooked and aren’t a bad noodle substitute. Fun to make, too.
  • cauliflower “rice” – basically just grated/riced cauliflower that’s spent a few minutes in a hot skillet or oven to dry it out a bit. I dismissed this as a sad-sounding anti-gluten recipe but it turns out to make a very tasty rice substitute that my housemates actually prefer to real rice. Terrific with curries.
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115

What kind of machine are you using to spiralize? I have a little hourglass shaped contraption that is pretty much worthless, but I wasn’t keen on buying a $30 thing if it was also crummy.

116

Have you tried making marsagna? Take a marrow, peel, de-seed and cut the flesh into thin strips and salt them overnight to firm them up. Rinse them off and use them instead of pasta sheets in a lasagne.

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117

I’ve got this little handheld doodad from OXO Good Grips. It was highly rated by The Sweethome. It’s more work than the crank models but it fits in a drawer and is pretty cheap, and the blades are super sharp, so it’s not much effort. If I end up using it enough, I’ll get the countertop model my mom has that’s super easy to use.

Not yet, but I will!

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118

I made this the other night. It could almost pass for chicken fried chicken with sawmill gravy, but the sour cream gives it a distinctly Eastern European flavor. Great comfort food:

1 chicken, cut into sections
1 stick butter
1 egg, whisked
2 T warm water
2 oz sifted white flour
3 oz fine breadcrumbs
2 cups sour cream
4 cups milk

  1. Mix egg and water together to form an egg wash
  2. In a separate bowl, mix flour and breadcrumbs evenly
  3. Melt 3/4 of the stick of butter in a large frying pan.
  4. Preheat oven on 400F (200C)
  5. Dip each chicken piece into the egg wash, dredge in flour mixture, and add to frying pan. Fry a few minutes until both sides of the breading are browned and crispy.
  6. Put chicken in oven for a half hour.
  7. Make gravy by adding milk to the frying pan, enough flour mixture to thicken, and additional butter if needed.
  8. Warm sour cream in saucepan, enough to liquefy but not enough to reduce.
  9. After 1/2 hour in the oven, baste the chicken with warm sour cream. Return to the oven for another hour, basting with warm sour cream every 15 minutes.
  10. Add remainder of sour cream to the gravy and serve
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119

Sounds like winter on a plate, yum! You could add mushrooms and paprika to the gravy to change up the flavour a little. Or leeks and garlic.

120

anyone have a kitchenaid spirilizer attachment?

121

That would be deer terrine, which I need to make… in winter.

This doesn’t really have a season so much. It’s just baked breaded chicken with white gravy.

It would go great with a mushroom risotto.

Some people like a little kick with gravy like that. Paprika would certainly work, and I think it would go well… but I don’t think it’s necessary to add paprika.

The weird part is, there were no herbs or spices in that recipe. Literally none. The chicken isn’t seasoned, the breadcrumbs aren’t seasoned, the gravy isn’t seasoned. No herbs, no spices, not even salt and/or pepper. Yet it works surprisingly well, and to me is comfort food, like chicken fried chicken but baked and Eastern European. I’m usually big on the spices, probably even to the point of overuse, but not this time. I think it’s important to be able to understand spices and flavor profiles, but with the proper technique, the food will stand on its own merits without needing anything to flavor it.

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