The Charmed Kitchen

Sauce glazed chicken thighs

I have been making this barbecue sauce for a long time now. It is a favorite of mine and when the tomatoes are plentiful I am sure to make a couple of batches. I know a lot of you have extra tomatoes so maybe with the holiday coming up and many a cook out planned I thought I would share the recipe with you now. It can be canned or frozen. Use plum or paste-type tomatoes if you can to reduce cooking time. They are meatier. Also, don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. I promise it is worth it.

Favorite Barbecue Sauce

16 lb. tomatoes, peeled and cut up

1/2c. pickling spice

2 sticks cinnamon

2 t. whole allspice

1 t. mustard seed

1 t. whole peppercorns

1/2 t. whole cloves

8 c. cider vinegar

5 c. sugar

2 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c. lemon or lime juice

2 large onions, minced

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 T non-iodized salt

2 T. red pepper flakes

2 T. chili powder

1 T. paprika

Cook tomatoes over medium heat until soft, stirring often. Run tomatoes through a food mill or food strainer to remove seeds and crush tomatoes. Return this tomato sauce to kettle. Place pickling spice, cinnamon, allspice, mustard seed, peppercorns and cloves together in a piece of food-safe cheesecloth and tie securely. Place in kettle with tomato sauce and all remaining ingredients. Cook over high heat, stirring as sauce thickens until sauce reaches desired thickness. Remember you put in 8 cups of vinegar, this is going to take a while. Of course, it’s so thin in the beginning, at least you won’t have to stir it very often. My experience has been that the whole process takes 2-3 hours, but it could take less if you keep stirring and keep the burner on high. The sauce will cook down to about 6-7 pints, give or take a little.  Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes or freeze.

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I love kale, even when not crunchy. But I must admit there is something about kale chips that is special. Green and crunchy and good for you. One of nature’s perfect foods. I promised a class last week that I would post my recipe for kale chips so here it is.  If you have never had them or have never made your own they are super tasty and super easy to make.

Tuscan Kale Crisps

These make a different and fun appetizer when served upright in a tumbler or vase.

12 large Tuscan kale leaves, rinsed, dried and split lengthwise with the ribs removed

1 T. olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl toss kale leaves with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange leaves in a single layer on 2 large baking sheets. Bake until crisp- about 30 minutes for flatter leaves and 33 minutes for more crinkly leaves. Makes 24.

Heart and Flowers Pickles

I had a request for the pickled turnip recipe earlier today. I wanted to do something different with the turnips and beets so Jonathan suggested I cut the turnips into shapes. I eventually decided to slice the turnips and beets and cut them out with little cookie cutters to make Hearts and Flowers pickles. Heart-shaped beets and little flower turnips. Added carrot flowers to round it out. Just peeled the carrots and ran a knife tip along them lengthwise. When sliced the carrots looked like flowers, too. Of course, you can just cut up or slices the veggies without the cookie cutters. Will taste just as good.

Pickled Turnips

2 1/2 pounds turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick wedges or sticks (about 8 cups) or cut into slices

6  beets, peeled and sliced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 cups distilled white vinegar or cider vinegar

3 cups water

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons canning  salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 T. pickling spice

Combine turnips with the rest of the ingredients and bring mixture to a boil. Simmer 3 minutes. Place vegetables in pint or half pint jars and cover with the hot brine. Fill to within 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe rims and seal jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 6 pint jars or 12 half-pints.

I am going to be doing a Food Preservation class at Whole Foods. Here are the details for registration. Seating is limited so reserve your place quickly.

Monday, Sept. 10  6:30-8:00 p.m.

Learn how to preserve the fruits and vegetables of summer at a preserving/canning class with Judi Strauss. Beginners welcome! Bring your canning questions and find out how easy it is to get started!

RSVP for this class at Whole Foods Cedar Center Customer Service or by calling 216-932-3918. 20 spots available. Cost $10. Payable to instructor the night of the class. Includes a light salad dinner courtesy of Whole Foods Market.

Lambsquarters

We had such a wonderful time at Community greenhouse Partners. Thanks to Timothy Smith for hosting it and for all the members of the NEO foodies group for bringing their food and their children. I did a cooking class with the kids and we made pizzas. One of the ingredients was lambsquarters a common “weed” that is actually a super nutritious plant that tastes like spinach when cooked but is  even better for you. I promised a few of my friends to post a picture and recipes for this versatile veggie. Yes, I said veggie. It is a plant many pull up and discard without a second thought but it is one of my favorite crops every year.

Lambsquarters Fritters

2 cups young lambsquarters leaves
1 egg
bread crumbs (Italian seasoned preferred)
2 Tbsp grated cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil greens until tender. Press out as much water as possible, then chop them finely. Mix in the
egg, salt and pepper and grated cheese. Divide the mixture into portions and roll them in the
bread crumbs. Pan fry them in olive oil.

Creamed Weeds

 2 lbs. fresh lambsquarters, washed and stemmed

1 T. butter or margarine

1 c. milk

2-3 T. flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 t. dill weed

Cook lambsquarters in a small amount of water and drain when heated through or wilted.  Return to pot and add butter or margarine. Place milk and flour in jar with tight fitting lid and shake until well mixed. Add to lambsquarters and cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Season to taste and serve. Serves 6.

I have heard that question several times in the last few weeks. We all “know” that yellow tomatoes are lower in acid so are they still safe to can? Not true!!!

Yellow and orange tomatoes have just as much acid as red tomatoes.

Well, for the most part at least. In terms of acidity or Ph, yellow tomatoes are about average. Some cultivars have more some less.  Bottom line is that all tomatoes are safe to can- as long as you acidify them.

Acidity and Tomatoes

Tomatoes must be acidified before canning.  When canning either whole, crushed or juiced tomatoes you must add either 2 T. bottled lemon juice per quart or 1/2 t. citric acid . For pint use 1 T. lemon juice or 1/4 t. citric acid. You can also use 4 T. (5%) vinegar per quart, but it will alter the flavor and is not recommended. You can add a little sugar to offset the flavor, if you like.

Canning Tomatoes

 Certainly one of the most popular products to can each year here are a couple of recipes to start you off.

Crushed Tomatoes

Peel and core tomatoes , trim off any bad spots and quarter. Place about 1/4 of your prepared tomatoes in the kettle and cook, stirring constantly over high heat. Use a potato masher to crush tomatoes and extract juices. Once they are boiling add remaining tomatoes, stirring constantly. You don’t need to crush these tomatoes. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. In clean, hot jars add needed acidity (see page 10).  You can also add 1 teaspoon of canning salt per quart if desired. Ladle in hot tomatoes, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims clean and adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath.  Pints 35 minutes, quarts, 45 minutes. 1,000-3000 ft over sea level add 5 minutes. Twenty-two pounds of tomatoes will yield about 7 quarts of tomatoes.

Whole Tomatoes in Juice

Use any extra tomatoes to make juice. I use tomatoes that are too big to can whole, or those that have blemishes that need to be trimmed. Cut up clean, unpeeled tomatoes in a kettle and cook, stirring often until tomatoes are mushy. Strain mixture, pressing on solids or run through a food mill or tomato juice extractor. Set aside,. Place peeled, whole tomatoes in kettle and add enough tomato juice to cover them. Heat to a simmer and simmer gently 5 minutes.  Add lemon juice or citric acid to jars, using guide on page 10. Add salt, if desired. Add tomatoes and cover with hot juice, leaving 1/2 -inch headspace. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process both pints and quarts 85 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Cream of Tomato Soup

I made this soup for a dinner with friends on Friday night.It was a big hit. Hands down this is my favorite recipe for tomato soup. It is fast and freezes well, too. I picked about 5 gallons of tomatoes today so I will be making lots of soup!!!

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

Pinch of sugar, optional

pinch of cloves

1 small bay leaf

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1 t. salt

3 c. milk

Peel and chop tomatoes. Place tomatoes in saucepan with onion, celery, sugar (if adding), cloves and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and cover, simmering 15 minutes. Melt butter in a large saucepan then stir in flour and salt. Cook mixture until bubbly. Add milk and cook until thickened stirring constantly. Puree tomato mixture through strainer, food mill or in a blender or processor. Add to milk mixture and heat through. Serves 6.

Note: You can add other stuff to the soup. I have added shrimp in the past- lobster was suggested at dinner on Friday. Have fun with it.

Note: To peel tomatoes place whole tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or two. Then place tomatoes in cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Cut out the cores and the peels will slip right off.

Blanching tomatoes

Cooling down in ice water

I posted this recipe last year. It is a recipe Amy picked up when in Greece. Thought it was worth re-posting as it is wonderful. Here it is as I posted it then:

My dear friend, Amy McWilliam, sent me this recipe yesterday. It is for Greek-style stuffed zucchini. Now I have been talking a lot lately about the abundance of summer squash this time of year. If you are tired of zucchini bread, zucchini pancakes, zucchini ice cream and whatever other dishes you have tried using zucchini and other summer squash you might want to give this one a try.The recipe uses quite a few medium sized zucchini.

I have been gifted with some rather large zucchini. You know the ones I am talking about. The kind that family member/neighbor/ friend leaves by the door without saying a word. The kind of zucchini that could probably be a weapon if you needed it to be, not that I am advocating violence.  They are trickier to use. Generally speaking the seed cavity is mature and has to be scooped out and discarded. The skin my also be to tough to use. If you can’t pierce the skin of a summer squash easily with your fingernail you should peel it. These might just work for Amy’s recipe- with some adjustments. I am going to split the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. I’ll leave the skin on to provide support although not eat the skin. I’ll prepare the dish with the zucchini used more like boats with the stuffing piled on top rather than stuffed inside. Hopefully the guests at dinner tonight will like them. For now- it’s off to prep the zucchini. Here is the recipe Amy sent me. I hope you enjoy it. Oh and before you ask I am not sure what Syrian Spice is exactly. I may use my Ethiopian Seasoning or some of the spices Tyler brought back from Oman. If you aren’t sure what to use- you can’t go wrong with paprika in this one- smoked if you have it.

Greek Stuffed Zucchini (Kolokithakia Yemista)

24 medium sized green zucchini

1 large onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 lbs ground beef lamb

1/3 cup white basmati rice

1 tablespoon tomato paste

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint ( don’t omit, you may use dry mint if fresh is not available)

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon Syrian spice

fresh ground black pepper

salt

2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

2 eggs, separated ( does not work with egg replacer)

juice of one lemon

Wash zucchini and cut off stems and reserve them.   Scoop out centers of zucchini with a small spoon or zucchini corer. (I use the opposite end of a spoon which may work better depending on the shape of your cutlery).   Make corks from the reserved ends by trimming each.   Rinse and set zucchini aside. Gently fry the onion in 1 tbs olive oil until soft.   Mix onion into the meat with the rice, tomato paste, 2 tbs parsley, mint and cinnamon, and Syrian spice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fill each zucchini with the meat mixture and cork closed. Place in layers in a pot, add chicken stock, the other 1 tbs olive oil and salt to taste.  Invert a heavy plate on top of zucchini and cover tightly.  Simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours.  When cooked drain off stock carefully into a small pan.  Reserve stock. Reduce stock to 1 1/2 cups over heat and thicken with flour mixed to a paste with a little cold water.  Let it boil for 1 minute. Beat egg whites in a bowl until stiff, add yolks and beat thoroughly, gradually beat in lemon juice, then boiling stock.

Return sauce to the small pan and place over low heat stirring constantly until egg is cooked *** DO NOT BOIL ***.

Arrange zucchini on warm serving dishes and spoon some sauce over them.   Garnish with chopped remaining parsley and serve the rest of sauce in a jug.  Serve this with a fresh Greek salad and potatoes (mashed or lemon roasted) or rice (seasoned with Syrian spice).

Thanks Amy!!!!!

I’ll be at the First Baptist Church this Wednesday for their farm market . The market runs from 4-7 pm. The church is located at 3630 Fairmount Blvd.  I’ll be there this week with my cookbooks, herb seasoning  packets and an ever expanding assortment of jams, relishes, pickles and more. New this year are Hearts and Flowers Pickles ( really cute) and Spicy Bread and Butter Pickles. There will be food for tasting.  Stop by and say hello.

Green Tomato Relish

I got requests for this recipe after the pickling classes last week. So here it is. I realize we are all enjoying red tomatoes right now but at the end of the season when we are looking for a way to use green tomatoes this is a yummy way to save them.

Green Tomato Relish

6 pounds green tomatoes, about 22 medium

2-3 medium onions

2 medium sweet red peppers

1 sweet green pepper

1 large rib celery

1 3/4 c. white vinegar

1 2/3 c. sugar

3 T. canning salt

1 1/2 t. celery seeds

1/2 t. each cinnamon, cloves, allspice and turmeric

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Wash trim and quarter vegetables. Put vegetables through food grinder using medium blade or pulse in food processor to chop finely. Drain, discarding liquid. Wash jars in hot, soapy water. Rinse and set aside. Combine vinegar with remaining ingredients in large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add vegetables and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Continue simmering while packing hot jars, one at a time. Fill to within 1/2 -inch from top of jar. Wipe rims and place on lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Makes 5-6 pint jars.