Sourdough Popovers

Another WIN from the sourdough starter! Today's discard from feeding the starter had enough for another batch of crackers (this time with herbs) AND a batch of Popovers. 

Oh. My. Goodness.

I have always been afraid to make popovers because they seem so scary and fragile...

These were SO EASY. And SO DELICIOUS!!

Yep, you guessed it. This was another winning recipe from King Arthur Flour. Have you checked out their site yet? 

Ingredients

1 cup milk

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sourdough starter

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

Instructions

Put a muffin or popover pan in the oven while it preheats to 450 degrees.

Heat the milk until just warm to the touch. (I did 30 seconds in microwave, stir, 30 seconds)

Mix milk, eggs, starter, and salt. 

Add flour and mix until JUST combined (lumps ok)

Carefully remove pan from oven and spray with oil (or brush with oil or butter)

Fill the cups (to the top if a muffin tin), leaving empty cups among them so they can expand

Bake for 15 minutes at 450

Turn down heat to 375 and bake for 15 more minutes

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

I ate mine with just a touch of butter and salt, but they would be amazing with honey, jam, or anything else you can think of!

Sourdough "Starter Discard" Crackers

If you remember from my Sourdough Starter post, you have to discard some of it every time you feed it. Well.... I do NOT like to waste food! 

So, each time I feed my starter.... I bake! The King Arthur Flour site has lots of great recipes that you can use with this "discard" sourdough starter!

The first recipe I tried was Sourdough Crackers. You can add all kinds of things, like herbs, to the dough to make it different flavors, but we did it plain... in hopes that my picky eater would like them. (Spoiler alert... she didn't. But the rest of us SURE DID!! SO YUMMY!)

This recipe is based on King Arthur, but the following instructions are tweaked to be exactly what I did.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sourdough starter (discard/unfed)
2 Tbsp butter, room temperature

Olive Oil for brushing
Coarse Sea Salt for sprinkling

Instructions:

-Mix together the flour, salt, sourdough starter, and butter to make a smooth dough
-Shape into a rectangular slab and wrap with plastic
-Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours) until dough is firm

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Lightly flour a piece of parchment, your rolling pin, and the top of the dough
-Roll the dough to about 1/16" thick
-Brush oil over entire sheet of dough
-Use pizza cutter to cut sheet into small squares (about 1-1 1/2 inch)
-Sprinkle with course salt
-Transfer dough (with the parchment) to a baking sheet
-Prick each square with the tines of a fork
-Bake 20-25 minutes, turning sheet around halfway through
-Remove from oven and transfer parchment to a cooling rack
-Store airtight up to a week

It really is super EASY! I can't wait to try it with some rosemary or thyme from the garden!

                                                  

Sourdough Starter

Well, since we are all quarantined for the next month or so, I figured "hey, I'll go back to that blog that I forgot about ages ago!" (Yeah, sorry about disappearing for about 7 years.... life got... busy).

With all of the extra time I have from NOT running kids to and from school, music lessons, social activities, theater, etc. right now, I have been spending a LOT of time in the kitchen. Plus, by making things from scratch (like I used to), I can avoid the germ filled store AND teach my kids some much needed life skills. (Not that I didn't teach them useful things before.... we just have WAY MORE time to spend doing it now).

Where to start...

Thanks to my love of baking, I always have flour on hand, so the HOARDING that people are doing didn't affect me in that sense. (I AM running dangerously low on TP, though, so hopefully the stores get stocked up soon.... or I will be writing a VERY different blog entry in a few weeks).

Back to baking...

We have been baking banana bread like CRAZY, as well as my famous Cinnamon Swirl Bread (I will write those posts separately for you later). We have also been baking my Everyday Bread and my favorite 5 Minute Bread often. I have ALWAYS wanted to make my own Sourdough Starter from scratch, but it's kind of intimidating! Having to feed it daily, or more, and keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get contaminated. My schedule has been a little to crazy to commit to such a project. 

Not Any More! Time to give it a go!

I did a bit of research, since there are many opinions on the RIGHT way to make a starter. After comparing about a dozen blogs, recipes, and websites, I narrowed it down to the advice from King Arthur Flour. I mean, they do MAKE flour and all, so they probably know what they are talking about. Also, their website was much easier to follow than many others. I suggest you go there and check it out! They also have recipes for using the starter once you get that far! (AND they have recipes for using the discarded starter.... you will know what I am talking about soon.)

Here's the basic gist of how to make your own sourdough starter!

Day 1: Mix 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup lukewarm water. 

            Cover and let sit for 24 hours at 70 degrees.

-Whole wheat flour is more likely to have natural yeast in it.

-You can use tap water as long as you can't smell any chemicals. Otherwise, use filtered water.

-You can cover it with a tea towel or loose plastic. I used one of those elastic plastic covers (like a shower cap). See picture below.

-The BEST place to keep your starter is in the oven with the LIGHT on. JUST THE LIT BULB makes it nice and warm and helps the yeast become active. Don't turn the oven on... you will cook your yeast.

Day 2: Remove 1/2 cup of starter and discard it 

           (or use in one of the "discard" recipes on the King Arthur Flour website... I made crackers).

           Add 1 cup ALL PURPOSE flour and 1/2 cup lukewarm water.

           Cover and let sit for 24 hours at 70 degrees.

           This is my starter after Day 2 feeding and resting in the oven for 12 hours...

Day 3: Keep ONLY 4 oz (1/2 cup) of starter and remove/discard the rest (or make something with it!)

            Add 1 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup water.

            Cover and let sit 12 hours.

            Keep 4 oz and remove the rest, and add another 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water.

            As you can see, you feed TWICE a day for day 3, 4, and 5!

Day 4: REPEAT Day 3 (feed twice, 12 hours apart)

Day 5: REPEAT Day 4 (feed twice, 12 hours apart)

After Day 5, if your starter is nice and bubbly, it is ready! 

(if it is not bubbly yet, continue for a few more days. Cold weather can take longer)

To USE your starter, first feed it and let it sit for 6-8 hours (yes, you discard all but 4 oz again)

Remove what you need for the recipe (no more than 1 cup) and feed remaining 4 oz starter again, letting it rest at room temperature for a few hours to activate. After it rests this time, keep this remaining starter in a jar or other covered container in the fridge (loosely covered), feeding it once a week and using as needed.

     

Good Luck! 

Pumpkin Puppy Treats

Hurray for fall! I love the changing colors of the trees and the cool, crisp mornings. But most of all, I love baking with PUMPKIN! (And drinking pumpkin spice lattes, of course). There is just something about pumpkin flavor that makes it feel like fall. 

I came across a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodles on Pinterest that looked delicious, so I had to give them a try. (I forgot to take pictures). They were SOOOOO good. I will be making them again. Check out the recipe I used HERE.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), I only had a giant can of pumpkin in my pantry and was left with extra after making the cookies. I couldn't just throw it away, of course, so I had to think of another use.

I had read somewhere that pumpkin was good for dogs, and since we recently got a puppy,

I decided to whip up some yummy treats for him too. Isn't he adorable?

I found a recipe for Pumpkin Dog Treats on THIS blog that sounded pretty easy. And I had all of the ingredients in my pantry already, which was a huge bonus. 

15 oz pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1/2 cup oats

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbls peanut butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix it up, roll it out to 1/2 inch thick, cut out the "cookies," and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. 

A half hour later........ Voila!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Puppy Treats!

I couldn't find my bone shaped cookie cutter, so we made diamonds instead. I don't think Benson (the dog) minded at all. He gobbled them up like crazy! I think he might like pumpkin flavor as much as I do. Good dog!

Blackberry Milkshakes

Blackberry bushes are a real pain. Literally! 

Every time I try to cut them back I am left with scrapes and scratches all over my arms and legs. Ouch!

Living where we do, we've got berry bushes popping up EVERYWHERE. It's a full time job just to keep them from taking over. This year, I noticed a ton of flowers on one set of bushes, so I decided to let them go for the summer before cutting them back. Boy was I rewarded! Every week my kids and I have been able to pick a large tub of big, sweet, juicy berries. For free! (Actually, I've decided that they are probably being watered by the leak in our pool, so I'm really paying to water them...... but it feels like free. Haha!)

 You can't really tell from this picture, but this is more than 5 cups of berries! This would cost about 20 bucks at the store!

We've been eating some of the berries straight off the vine, but I've been freezing most of them to use over the winter. I've also made peach blackberry crisp (SO YUMMY) and blackberry bran muffins (they were a little too dense so I need to tweak the recipe a little). And last night, we made blackberry milkshakes! Wow, were they delicious!

Aren't they a beautiful shade of purple? You'd think I added food coloring to get this color!

They were super easy to make, too. Put a few scoops of vanilla ice cream in your blender. Add a few handfuls of berries and some milk (a little at a time until you get a good consistency). That's it! I don't really like fruity ice cream, so I was surprised at how delicious they were. I will be making these again before blackberry season is over!

So Many Plums!

I don't have any fruit trees..... yet. But I know people that do. And I've always heard that one tree can produce so much fruit that you can't possibly eat it all. And they are all ripe at the same time, forcing you to either give them away to friends and family, or can them. I was one of those lucky recipients this year. My mom gave me more than 20 pounds of plums. What am I going to do with 20 POUNDS of plums!?! 

Here are some of the things I made.

Plum Chipotle Jam 
If I'm going to eat jam, it's not going to be your average sweet sticky stuff. And my hubby is addicted to spice, so this recipe pleased him too. You can adjust the amount of chipotle to your taste. I got the basic plum jam recipe here and just added chipotle. They give you great instructions if you are not familiar with canning jam, so check it out. Here's my recipe:

3 pounds plums: washed, pitted, and quartered (leave the skins on for great flavor)
3 cups sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 chipotle peppers: diced
2-3 Tbsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers

Put all of the ingredients in a stock over high heat and mash gently. Bring to a boil, skimming off the "scum" as needed. (Prepare you canning jars in boiling water).

Stir frequently until bubbles slow down and the mixture sticks to the spoon in clumps (The recipe says about 10-15 minutes, but it always take me more than 40 minutes).

You can remove the skins at this point if you want to, but I prefer to leave them in. They are so tender at this point that you almost don't notice them. Turn off the heat and divide jam among your hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rims and finger tighten lids. Process jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes (for 1/2 pint size jars). 

Spiced Plum Chutney
We used this chutney with pork and also at Thanksgiving with turkey. It was a hit! I found the recipe here, but I added more garlic and used dried cherries instead of currants (because that is what I had on hand). The process is pretty much the same as for the jam above, but it needs to cook longer to reduce the added liquids. Here is my recipe:

3+ lbs of plums (8 cups chopped): washed, pitted, and chopped
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup cider vinegar
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper chili flakes

Makes about 4 pints (or 8 half pints)

1. Prepare jars.
2. Put all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a  
    steady simmer, and cook (stirring occasionally) until the mixture is reduced by a third 
    (30-40 minutes or longer).
3. Put chutney in jars and seal with lids. Process jars in hot water canner for 10 minutes. 
    Store for at least 6 weeks before serving for best flavor. Refrigerate after opening.

Plum fruit leather
This was a fantastic way to use the plums. Even my picky eater (who wouldn't touch a plum with a ten foot pole) gobbled it down. I'll be making them again, despite the long cooking time, because it may be the only way I get her to eat fruit! I found the basic instructions for fruit leather here. I used plums and peaches together and it was DELICIOUS!

This recipe is easily doubled, and I would suggest it because they are devoured in seconds!
All you need is fruit, water, sugar, lemon juice, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

4 cups chopped fruit (I did 2 cups plums and 2 cups peaches) 
1/2 cup water

Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, until fruit is cooked through.
Taste mixture to determine sugar needed. Depending on the ripeness of the fruit, you will need to add more or less sugar. Add sugar 1 Tbsp at a time. I didn't add much because I like my leather to be a little on the tart side.  Add 1 tsp lemon juice to enhance the fruit flavor and add tartness. Add a few pinches of spices. I added cinnamon and nutmeg.

Continue cooking until thickened (10-15 minutes or more). Puree the mixture to make it smooth. I used a stick blender to do this. Adjust sugar and spices if necessary. 

Pour puree onto a lined baking sheet (using microwave safe plastic wrap or parchment). Make sure the lining hangs over the edge, but does not fold back over the puree. The mixture should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 140 degree Fahrenheit (or the lowest setting on your oven) for 8-10 hours. (Mine took much longer, but I think it was because my pan was warped that there was a spot that was too thick). The fruit leather is ready when the surface is smooth and no longer sticky. It will peel off the plastic quite easily.

To store fruit leather (if you have any left over after the kids and husband devour it), wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator.

Caraway Pork and Peppery Beef

I'm not a bad cook, but if I don't have a recipe, I'm totally lost!

My husband, on the other hand, is one of those people who can throw a bunch of ingredients together without using any recipe. And everything he cooks makes you think "Oh wow! This is the best thing I've ever tasted!" (My only complaint is that he makes a huge mess in the kitchen that I have to clean up, LOL!)

Unfortunately, my hubby has to work a gazillion hours and the job of daily cooking has fallen to my shoulders. Luckily I can call him up and he can tell me what to put together over the phone. He is especially talented at thinking up seasoning mixes and marinades. 

Here are a couple that we've made recently...... (sorry, I forgot to take pictures!)

Caraway Pork Loin
2 Tbsp caraway seeds, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Mix the ingredients and then liberally coat a 1 1/2 lb pork loin (it really doesn't matter what size loin you use..... if your is bigger, just increase the amounts of the ingredients to make slightly more rub). 

I use a pan that I can use on the stove and then put directly in the oven (but you can transfer from pan to oven safe dish if you need to).

Over medium/high heat, seer the pork loin on all sides (about 3-4 minutes per side). There is already oil on the pork, so you don't need oil in your pan. Transfer to a 325 degree oven for about 25 minutes (I can't really tell you how long it will be because it will depend on how thick your loin is. Use a meat thermometer and remove the pork when the thermometer in the thickest part reaches about 170 degrees). Remove the pork from the oven, cover with foil, and let rest 5-10 minutes. 

We enjoy this pork with rice, quinoa, or a green salad.


Peppery Beef Tri-tip
5 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 Tbsp rosemary, chopped
2 Tbsp thyme
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 C olive oil

I used this amount for a fairly large Tri-tip. It's alway better to have extra marinade, so if you think your Tri-tip is extra big, you can increase the amounts listed. 

Combine ingredients and rub liberally over all sides of the Tri-tip. Seal in a ziplock bag and let sit in the refrigerator up to 2 days (the longer the better!) 

This beef is best on the B-B-Q, so I called in my husband (a.k.a. "master griller") to do the job. Cook to just UNDER your preferred doneness. Remove from grill, cover with foil, and let rest 10 minutes. It will continue to cook after you remove it. (You should ALWAYS let meat rest before you cut into it or you will lose all of the yummy juices!)

Slice up the meat and enjoy with rice and sautéed (or barbecued) veggies. Yum!!

Please comment and let me know if you try either of these recipes. I would love to hear how you liked it!

Spice-Rubbed Pork With Quinoa

I just wanted to share this delicious recipe I cooked this week. Based on a recipe I found on the Food Network a few years ago....

Ingredients:
2 tsp paprika 
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 lb pork tenderloins, halved crosswise
1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
pinch of kosher salt

1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 medium onion, sliced
fresh ground pepper

1 jar of salsa verde (I usually don't use canned salsa, but we had it, so I used it)
1 avocado

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine first 5 spices above in a shallow dish. Rub the pork with the olive oil. (I forgot to do this and it still turned out great. So you can omit the oil if you want). Roll the pork in the spice mixture to coat. Transfer pork to a baking dish and roast covered in the oven until thermometer interred into the thickest part of the meat registers 145 degrees F. About 25 minutes, but will depend on the thickness of your tenderloin. Remove roasted pork from oven and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, put the water with a pinch of salt and the quinoa into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is transparent. Drain any excess water and fluff with a fork. Let it cool for 10 minutes and then toss it with the corn, black beans, onion, and fresh pepper.

Slice the pork. Serve with quinoa and sliced avocado. Pour salsa verde over pork and quinoa (the quinoa salad is a little boring without the salsa....). ENJOY!!

Canned Tomato Fail

Argh! I get so frustrated when something doesn't work out. 

I've been getting tons of tomatoes off my plants. Yay! This is just two days worth:

Then, to prepare them for canning, I spend hours blanching and peeling them:

I've canned a thousand tomatoes without any problems. Today? I wasted 3 hours of peeling, coring, chopping, and boiling. And it wasn't just time that got wasted......I wasted 20 POUNDS of tomatoes!! I don't know what I did wrong, but ALL eight of my pint jars leaked when I took them out of the canner. And that means that ALL eight jars are not sealed properly and have to be tossed. What a waste!

See the red on the towel under the jars? That shouldn't be there. As soon as I pulled the jars out of the canner, they bubbled out through the seals. That means that there is food between the lid and the jar which can spoil and ruin the seal.

And not only that, the juice/water is on the bottom and all of the tomatoes floated to the top. Now they are not submerged under liquid like they are supposed to be.

What did I do wrong? Did I over or under tighten the lids? Did I boil them too short or too long? I'll never know. I thought I did everything the same as the last time (when all the jars sealed with no problems).

I'm glad that summer is coming to an end. I love the warm weather, but I'm ready for crisp fall air and sweaters. And most of all, I'm ready for NO MORE TOMATOES to can. I think I'm "canned out" for the year. I know I shouldn't focus on this one failure, but I hate wasting my time. Grrr!


**UPDATE**
It turns out I didn't have to waste my tomatoes. All of the jars sealed, though with tomato juice in between the lid and jar. So, as long as I used them quickly (before the juice in the seal broke down), I didn't have to toss the tomatoes. (I hate to waste food). I made salsa, tomato sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and fed tomato based meals to my family all week. I don't feel so bad about my Tomato Fail anymore. :-)

The Curse of the Zucchini

I love gardening. Especially when the time comes to harvest the veggies. This year, my peppers didn't produce ANYTHING, but my tomatoes did well enough for me to can a few batches of sauce, salsa, and just plain chopped tomatoes.

And then there was the zucchini plant.

The first few harvests made me so happy. Sauteed zucchini for dinner and zucchini bread for breakfast. Yum!

And then they kept coming. And coming. And coming!

And no matter how fast I picked them, they just kept getting bigger and bigger! I would see one the size of my finger and think to myself, "Oh, good, it will be the perfect size for picking tomorrow." And then tomorrow comes and WOW! It's the size of my foot! How the heck did it grow that much in ONE NIGHT?!?!

For the last month I have had a bowl of zucchini on the counter that never gets empty. I even have to throw some away because they start to go bad! I tried keeping them in my fridge, but they started to take over (like no more room for milk or eggs), and some of them were just too big to fit at all.

Needless to say, I just CAN'T eat any more sautéed zucchini. And you can only have so much shredded zucchini and zucchini bread in the freezer.

I needed a few new things to make with the overload of zucchini we were picking. (Note to self: DEFINITELY never plant more than one zucchini plant. I don't know what we would do if we had even MORE zucchini.)

Here are some of the ideas I found, and the recipes to go with them.

Fried Zucchini Cakes I found the recipe here. Basically, you shred up some zucchini and toss it with seasonings and breadcrumbs (and an egg to hold it together). Form it into little round "cakes" and fry it in a pan until brown (I like to finish them in the oven). Great as a main course with some dipping sauce, or as a side dish.

Zucchini Bread with Pineapple I have made many different versions of zucchini bread (using milk, orange juice, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.), but never with pineapple chunks. I had to leave out the raisins and nuts so my kids will eat it, but other than that I followed the recipe found here.

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini Cook quinoa according to directions, but use chicken broth instead of plain water. Cube zucchini and sauté it quickly (just enough to make it not raw). Blanch some corn and peas (fresh or frozen). Slice a red onion. Dice tomatoes (fresh or sun dried). After the quinoa is cooked and cooled some, mix in the veggies that you prepped (whatever ratio you like, but having more quinoa than veggies for best results). Mix in chopped fresh herbs of your choice (I like oregano, thyme, and mint). Toss with you favorite vinaigrette. Add goat cheese on top of each serving. YUM!

Curried Zucchini Soup This is a really quick and easy soup to make. We ate it as a mail course with some fresh baked bread. I think I like it better warm than cold, but you can eat it either way. See the recipe here.

Zucchini Chips I didn't actually try these, because I am seriously zucchini'd out this year. But I plan to try these next year. They seem pretty easy, and maybe my kids would eat them. (Ha! Yeah right!) Slice zucchini and spread out evenly over sheet pan. Spray with oil, season with salt and pepper (and in my house we would use cajun or mexican seasoning too), and bake at 225 degrees for 45 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 30-35 more minutes until browned.

Zucchini Chocolate Brownies I was pretty skeptical about this recipe. I mean, zucchini brownies? Sounds gross. But I was desperate to find new ways to use my over abundance of zucchini, so I tried it. At first I thought we would eat it without the frosting, as a way to make it more healthy. Ew. It tasted like zucchini dipped in chocolate. And it wasn't even CLOSE to having brownie texture. Bleh. So I went ahead and made the frosting, hoping it would at least make them edible enough that I didn't have to waste them. Oh. My. Gosh. Add a little homemade whipped cream? YUM! Seriously good! Not just "good enough." But actually good! Chocolatey and gooey (and sort of healthy, I guess). I made another batch and froze it for future "chocolate emergencies."

(I'm sorry, I forget where I got the recipe. Luckily I had it printed out so I can give it to you here.)

Ingredients:
   2 cups chopped raw zucchini
  1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
  1/2 cup low fat yogurt (I used greek, but regular would work too)
  1 1/4 cup sugar
  1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used all purpose white flour)
  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  1 tsp salt (not iodized)

Frosting ingredients:
  1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
  1/4 cup canned evaporated milk
  2 Tbsp butter
  1/2 tsp vanilla
  1 cup powdered sugar
  1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I didn't use nuts)

Directions:
  Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 inch pan. In blender, puree zucchini, oil, yogurt, sugar, and vanilla. Set aside. In a large bowl, disk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add puree to dry ingredients and stir until moist throughout. Pour into greased pan, spread evenly, and bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean (do not overcook!). Remove and place on cooling rack.

Frosting directions:
  Combine chocolate chips, evaporated milk, butter and vanilla in a microwave proof bowl. Microwave on flu 30-40 seconds. Remove and whisk until melted and smooth (return to microwave for a few seconds if necessary). Add powdered sugar and continue to whisk until smooth. Spread evenly over brownies. Sprinkle with nuts if desired. (You can also melt the chocolate mixture over a double boiler if desired).

*****I had extra frosting left over. I put it on some plastic spoons and then put the spoons in the freezer. Perfect for adding a little chocolate to your coffee or just to eat when you need a quick chocolate fix! My kids LOVE them. Ok, so do I.*****

Zucchini Pickles (refrigerated and hot water bath canned)

     Refrigerator Pickles: These pickles are nice and crisp. A little sweet for my taste, but delicious anyway. You can get the full recipe here.

To prepare for pickling, you need to toss the zucchini (or cucumber, or whatever) with salt to draw out some of the moisture. Add ice and let it sit for a few hours. You can put the veggies in a colander in a bowl to separate out the water, or just drain them when they are done. The veggies will then be able to absorb the flavors in the vinegar better.

**Although I put these pickles in canning jars, they must be refrigerated. I did not process them in a canner, so they are not shelf stable.**

     Hot Water Bath Canned Pickles: I got this recipe from my local Master Preservers class.

          Ingredients:
            5 lbs medium zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slices
            2 lbs mild white onion, thinly sliced
            1/4 cup salt (NOT IODIZED)
            ice water

            4 cups cider vinegar
            2 cups sugar
            2 Tbsp mustard seed
            1 Tbsp each celery seed AND ground turmeric
            2 tsp ground ginger
            3 cloves garlic, minced

          Directions:
            Place zucchini, onions, and salt in a large bowl and cover with ice water. Let stand for 1-2 hours. Drain, rinse, and drain again. In a large kettle mix vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric, ginger, and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir to dissolve sugar. Boil for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in zucchini mixture, return to a boil and boil for 2 more minutes. Pack hot mixture into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and places lids on jars. Process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Makes 8 pints.

Homemade Sauerkraut

I LOVE sauerkraut. 

When I found out that I could make it at home, I was SO excited!! And SO scared! What do you mean I put cabbage in salt water and let it sit for 3 weeks? Really? You just let it sit there at room temperature? I was overwhelmed and too chicken to try it.

Lucky for me, though, my mom made me aware of some free classes nearby that were all about canning. In particular, there was a class on making pickles and sauerkraut! I attended the class given by the Master Food Preservers, and got to see just how easy it is to make sauerkraut. I've got my first batch going, and now, so can you!

You will need 6 lbs of shredded cabbage, 3 1/2 Tbsp salt (with no additives), water, and a large jar or crock for fermenting.

Step 1: Shred the cabbage.

Step 2: Put cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle salt on top. 

Step 3: Using your hands, gently toss the cabbage and salt until the cabbage becomes limp and wet like the picture below (this is the same amount of cabbage as the above picture, so you can see how much it shrinks).

Step 4: Wash and dry a large jar or crock. I used a jar from pickled jalapeños (about a gallon size).

Step 5: Begin putting the cabbage in the jar (crock) a handful at a time. Each time, pack it down with your fist to release more liquid from the cabbage.

Step 6: On top of all of the shredded cabbage, place a few whole cabbage leaves to prevent the little pieces from floating up.

Step 7: In a saucepan, mix 1 quart water and 1 1/2 Tbsp salt. Bring to a boil. Cool completely. Use this mixture to add brine to your cabbage if the moisture from packing it down is not enough to completely cover the cabbage leaves. You do not want any cabbage exposed to the air.

Step 8: Fill a ziplock bag with brine to act as a weight to help keep the cabbage down. Place the bag on top of the cabbage. Cover the jar loosely with plastic wrap (you want the gases from fermentation to be able to escape).

Place the entire jar into a bucket or other large container to catch any spillage or fermentation overflow.
Put the bucket into a basement or other area that maintains a constant temperature of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 

That's it! Leave it for 3 weeks, then refrigerate, can, or enjoy! Be sure to check the kraut daily to make sure that there is enough liquid in it. If the liquid is low, just add more brine mixture. And remove any scum or mold that forms.

I have my batch going and it will be ready in a few days. I will post an update with pictures of the finished product!

**UPDATE  8/21/2012**

I just processed my first batch of sauerkraut! 

To can the finished kraut, you put it in a pan in it's own juices and heat it to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Put it into clean hot jars, and process in hot water canner for 15 minutes.

**UPDATE 7/20/2013**

We ate our sauerkraut this past winter and shared some with friends and family. My favorite was on New Year's Day when we cooked a pork loin in it. YUM! (It is amazing with my Caraway Pork Rub). I have been told over and over by my family that my sauerkraut is the BEST they've ever had (and I don't think they are just being nice. Haha!) I just finished a batch, but this year I'll be making two or three so we don't run out of it like we did last year. This is SO EASY and SO GOOD! I hope you try it!