We Did It Again; This Kitchen Is HOT

Amy and I spent last Sunday inside again on a cool, rainy afternoon, canning to our hearts' content.  The only problem with this canning scheme we have going on right now is, in fact, the weather.  While these days are good for huddling in the kitchen,  slaving over a steamy stove, they are not so good for growing things to use in said kitchen.

I suppose anyone in the New York area involved in a cooperative (as we are) or frequenting a farmers' market has noticed the scarcity of...everything.  Fruit is falling off of the vine.  Tender young vegetables are washing away in the flash floods, drowning in the downpours.   So far this year, the harvest is deplorable.  The stands only offer up a trickle of shell peas, radishes, turnips and greens.

We're supposed to be swimming in cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries ~ but the pickings are meager, and what does appear at the market has been spectacularly expensive (raspberries at $5 for a half-pint, anyone?  I didn't think so.)

 

I scraped up three pounds of blueberries for a basic jam.  A little sugar, some lemon juice and 20 minutes of brisk stirring...

 

...and we poured out six half-pints of dark and lovely jam. 

Our cherries we pitted and plopped into a pot with a bottle of wine, some sugar, cloves, orange juice and zest and simmered into a decadent sauce.

 

I plan to churn up some homemade buttermilk ice cream soon and spoon some of our preserved Cherries in Wine Sauce right over the top.

Our canning technique has improved; we only shattered one jar this time, and we've progressed from 2nd degree burns down to 1st degree.   Staining, however, peaked this week, with all of the purple splatters from the berries and cherries and cabernet.  Our "canning outfits" [black tank top, black biking shorts, hair flopped in a mop on top of our heads ~ sex-ay!] will be fully deployed for the next go around. 

 

One item the market did spew forth in abundance this past weekend was garlic scapes (although they still weren't turned out in the expected quantities, nor were they cheap). 

Our haul of about a pound and a half whipped right up into a giant batch of spicy, freezable pesto.  We added olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper, combined the mess in a food processor and after a lot of noise, we had cups and cups of thick green paste that we can tuck into a plate of hot pasta for a quick and easy dinner. 

Comments

[Jody]

Mmmmm ... that looks so yummy.