I have a lovely square recipe that I was going to use as my birthday post.  Then I felt bad about taking things out of chronological order.  I have a little 'thing' about chronological order.  I have to read my books in the order that I purchase them.  I don't know why.  It doesn't even make sense.  I've never really taken it seriously because... well, I just didn't.  Maybe I thought it was one of my fun/quirky things.  Except now it seems that my 'quirkism' (my word - duh) is bleeding into other areas of my life.
So there I was with my great sweets recipe, thinking that it could make such a lovely birthday post because I'm not making a cake for myself and then it hit me BAM.  I couldn't do it.
Maybe it's a product of age.
This got me wondering what else is a product of age.  I wonder if
 - not caring about toilet seats and toothpaste lids
 - worrying more about a blog post than a clean floor
 - not going out on a weeknight 'cause I won't be home by ten.
 - caring more about champagne than birthday cake
 - caring more about seeing my friends (you know who you are you two) than getting presents (that's a new one for sure)
... if this is all a product of age.  If so I guess it's ok to be a year older.  If I start not caring about wearing dirty underwear and talking to myself on the subway then that's cause for concern.
For now I'm just going to roll with it.

Plums and sugar soaking up some sun...

Last week I thought I was ordering 5 plums.  Cool.  I ordered 5 pounds.  Not so cool.  Fortunately they were lovely local plums that I didn't feel guilty about but really... product of age I ask you.  Not one to fuss to much about these things and also not going to see them go to waste I got proactive.  When life gives you plums then you make... plum jam.
The ground cherries (also known as gooseberries) just looked interesting so I ordered them in the food box and they were lovely.
So a weird happy birthday to me.  I'm not going to tell you which one because I'm sure that you don't care, I sure as hell don't.  Let's just toast a slice of homemade pilgrims bread (recipe coming soon), butter it and slather it in plum and ground cherry jam... with a candle stuck in it of course.


Plum and ground cherry jam from Hitchhiking to Heaven

9 cups sliced plums
1 pint ground cherries (i had a little less so I mixed mine with the last of my wild blueberries)
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 oz (juice from about 1 1/2 medium lemons) lemon juice

4 500ml canning jars and lids

Prepare the plums: slice and combine with sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Cover the bowl tightly and set aside for about 24 hours (or 4 if you are like me and don't want to wait that long and decide that the process will go faster if they sit in the sun... p.s. it works).
Combine in a large pot with the ground cherries (and blueberries if you screwed up on that one too).  Boil down at med/low heat for about an hour or until the whole things starts to thicken up.  I cooked it for about an hour but it could easily have gone longer.
Sterilize the jars.  Place the jam into the hot sterilized jars.  Seal the lids until they are just sealed but not super tight.  Place in a boiling water bath for about 10 minutes.
Set on a clean towel and cover with another clean towel.  Lids should be sealed so that they didn't click or give when you push on them.
Let them rest under the towel for about 24 hours to set.
Place in a cool dry place.  They will keep for up to a year.

This has nothing to do with plum jam... it's just me and kid #2 on vacation.  I'm reminiscing.

I'm trying to churn out this blog post.  I'm sitting in front of my computer screen.  I'm even typing once in a while.  I get a paragraph down and then think 'that's so stupid.  Who cares'.  I delete the paragraph.  I write another few sentences.  I think 'what am I even thinking about here'.  I delete it.  And so on.  I realize that I've got nothing in my head.  What can I blame my complete empty brain on?  Even though it hasn't even been a month, it feels as though summer was an age ago... an era even.  This work thing is crazy.  How can we survive in our society without working?  And then flip the coin and wonder how we can survive working.
When I was reading this book (please don't start with me... I know, I know) the author talked a lot about working for money.  He thinks it immoral that we have to pay for food to sustain ourselves.  He also believes that working for a wage is yet another way to keep the masses down, occupied and compliant.  I kinda know what he means.  I have no idea though what life would look like without working for a wage.  I still have to exist in this 'world' that uses money for everything - absolutely everything.  I don't know what I would do without that paycheque and the benefits that come with it.  It terrifies me to think about it.  However, if it were ever a realistic option to survive without it believe me I'd be the first in line to try it out.  I can totally understand why we often define ourselves by what we do as opposed to what we are.  We spend so much time doing that work, so much energy there that it pushes out other things from our brains.  It starts to take over MY thoughts.  Sometimes my dreams.  I forget how to think without it.
I'm not going to quit my job anytime soon.  Maybe when I get to move to the country, live off grid, have my own chickens and root cellar and never cut my hair or shave again.  For now, I'm going to get up tomorrow morning and hustle my sorry ass off to work again.



All that to tell you that I made pickled beets this weekend.  Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be interested in making beet pickles.  Less than a year ago I confess that I had never even cooked a beet before.  Here we are though, making beet pickles.  What?
Out came the stupid blue canner again and it happened.  I didn't make a whole lot because no one else in my house is going to eat them.  To be honest, I don't even know when I'm going to eat them.  I'm going to share them with my Mom though because she eats them too.  I haven't tasted them yet because they're in these jars that I just don't want to open up yet.  When I do open them up though, if they suck then I'll let you all know.    


Pickled Beets adapted from 'Canadian Living'

5 lbs Beets
2 1/2 cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp pickling salt (or I used coarse sea salt because that's all I had)
clove
mustard seeds
coriander seeds


Wash the beets and boil them whole for about 30 minutes.  Remove from water and cool.  Slice them as you want them in the jars.
In the bottom of about 4 sterilized jars place a couple of whole cloves, about 4 mustard seeds and 2 coriander seeds.  Place the beets into the jars leaving at least a 1/2 inch of space at the top of each jar.
Combine the cider vinegar, water, sugar and salt together in a saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes or until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
Pour enough of the liquid mixture into each jar to just cover the beets.  Place the lids on firmly.  Boil in a water bath canner for about 30 minutes.
Remove and tighten the lids if necessary.  Place under a clean towel.  Make sure that the lids have sealed properly and then store in a cool, dry place.  Will keep for up to a year.

Can we just talk here for a minute?
I feel like my brain cannot work anymore.  It's like it get's stuck or something.  I wake up in the morning and everything's cool (aside from being ridiculously lazy at that early hour).  I'm focussed.  I'm alert(ish).  My mind is clear.  I bike or run to work... I'm still good.  I'm a fully brain functional human.  I work with boys ranging in age from 9 - 18 for 6 hours straight.
I'm off the rails.  I can't think.  I have trouble forming a sentence.  I can't remember my great ideas from earlier in the day.  I don't even know if I had any ideas.  All I can think about is what I did at work, the blur of boys that sang for me that day, the running from room to room that I did.  Then I get home.  I know that I said I was done with canning but then I got this huge bag of plums in the food box.  I don't even remember ordering them but they're gorgeous and local and I'm going to do something great with them.  I got some more tomatillo's because the salsa turned out so beautifully that I decided (in the lucid moments of the weekend) that I should make another couple of jars.  Then I saw the ground cherries (gooseberries) at the bottom of the food box and they need to be taken care of as well.   Oh yeah, and I almost forgot the beets.  So it's gonna be game on with the canner again this weekend.  And if anything, that's where my brain is.


So while I'm blurring through another whirlwind day with more boys than I can count and thinking about when I can get started with my new canning projects, I'm forgetting all about dinner... now.  We have nothing to eat... except beets, tomatillo's, ground cherries and plums.  You can't live on that.  However, my brain can't do much beyond dealing with a toaster at this rate.  Listen very little can go wrong with life when you roast vegetables before you use them.  So...
It was sheer necessity.
We needed it.
The fridge needed it.
The vegetables needed it.
So, I roasted two vegetables:  Eggplant and Red Pepper.  Nothing more.  I wouldn't have been able to function with more than that.    I boiled some pasta.  I made a quick sauce.  I tossed it all together.  I didn't think too hard.  I grated some parmesan on top.  I served it... and then my kids asked for mashed potatoes.  My head hurts.  I need help.


Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Pasta
serves 6

1.

3/4 of a medium eggplant, partially peeled cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 med red pepper, sliced
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Toss all of the ingredients together.  Place on a baking sheet (in a single layer if possible) and bake for 20 minutes (veg should be cooked through and golden) - my addled brain didn't even sprinkle with a little salt but you will totally remember to do that).  Remove from oven and set aside.

2.

2 cups uncooked pasta (I used penne noodles)
water

Add pasta to boiling, salted water.  Cook until al dente (check the package).  Drain and set aside (keep a little of the pasta water)

3.

1 cup goat cheese or cream cheese
1 1/2 cup ricotta or yogurt cheese (I used yogurt cheese and that's a whole other story)
1/2 cup (or so) reserved pasta water or cream
1 veggie bouillion cube
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup basil and parsley coarsely chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
dash pepper sauce and nutmeg

Heat the goat cheese, ricotta and pasta water or cream over low heat.  Stir until the sauce is well combined and thickening just a bit.  Add in the veggie bouillon cube and 1/2 cup parmesan.  Stir until the bouillion cube is mixed in.  Add the herbs, salt, honey, pepper sauce and nutmeg.
Cook together for about 7 minutes.  Check tastes and adjust if necessary.
Toss the pasta together with the sauce.
Pour into a big bowl.
Add in the roasted veg on top and toss gently (if you want).  Sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top.
Serve.

It feels to me like it all happened at the same time.  You know, we had this long weekend and then school started.  Everything fun stopped.  The weather changed.  People became just a little bit insane again.  I'm wearing jackets to run to work in the morning.  And it's Fall.  I haven't adjusted yet.
Just like that.
I'm not a fall hater or anything.  It's just that I'm a summer lover.  Now that I'm thinking about it, I would probably like fall well enough if I didn't know that it was the predecessor to winter.  I'm not a fan.
Admittedly, with my pantry more stocked than it's ever been in my entire life, I guess that I feel ready.  Do we ever feel truly ready for all the craziness of fall.  It's not the season it's the getting back to everything'ness' about it.  I wrote a post back in July or August or something about not getting a chance to eat lunch because... I was sitting outside reading all afternoon.  Yeah, crazy.  I wonder if I would get sick of doing that if I could just do it anytime.  It wouldn't be a novelty (this is me wondering still).  Nah.  That's dumb.  I bet it would still feel great 6 months, 2 years... hell, 5 years in.  I don't think that I would ever miss the hustle of the morning rush.
So, fall is apples right.  Partly.  Somewhat... at least.
Yeah, we have this on/off thing with apples goin' on here.  Right now we're in the off phase.  So, these perfectly beautiful Paula Reds were slowly shrinking into those funny heads that we used to see in the eighties.  You know, the ones with cloves for eyes and these weird mouth and nose things.  So, I decided to make some apple cake.



I saw this recipe in the Baked book and for some reason it just made sense to me.  I figured that if I left out the chocolate chips, added in some nutmeg and ginger, subbed out the cream cheese icing for apples slices and streusel that the whole thing would be amazing.  It never really occurred to me that I could just try for another recipe.  That seems weird to me now.  Here it is though, all made and with all those bizarre inclusions and exclusions.  I'm not missing the icing at all.  Mine burnt a little on the bottom FYI and on the sides too.  Voila... le proof.


I'm not all freaked about it, I just cut the crap off and moved on.  Black crunchy edges aside it came out quite nicely.


Apple Oatmeal Cake adapted from Baked Explorations
1 9x13 inch cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature and cubed
2 eggs slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 dashes each of nutmeg and ground ginger
3 med. apples (I used Paula Reds) cored and sliced thin
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp streusel

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter a 9x13 inch cake pan (glass or light metal)
Heat 1 1/4 cups water to boiling.
Combine the oats and butter together in a bowl and pour the boiling water over.   Mix well and set aside for about 25 - 30 minutes.
In another bowl whisk together the eggs, sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Mix well.
Add the cooled oatmeal mixture and mix well.
Fold in the flour and mix just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Place the apple slices on top of the batter in one layer.
Top with the streusel topping.
Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool for about 30 minutes before eating.

True Confessions:
1.  I don't make my bed but I expect my kids to do it.
2. During phone conversations I quite often don't know what to say.
3.  Right now I'm typing away on my keyboard instead of doing the mountain of laundry that I should be doing and I don't feel one ounce of guilt.
4.  I made this dish 16 days ago.

I meant to post this earlier.  I really did.
I just got canning again and then school started as well and you know, I just didn't get to it.
I made it up.  I totally made it right off the top of my head, right.  We had just gotten back from out little jaunt to Quebec City and a friend was coming over for dinner, kinda impromptu.  Our friend is a vegetarian so I needed to get it in gear with the veggies.  After running out to the farmers market that's just down the street from me (Thank God we were home on the day of the market) I came home with some beautiful heirloom tomatoes, gorgeously muddy zucchini, a big ass eggplant and some tempting locally produced smoked mozzarella.


Can we just talk for a second about how awesome it is to be able to walk down the street and find locally grown vegetables, to talk to the people who grew those veggies, to have them recognize you when they see you and then to bring home all of that awesomeness.  Did I mention that I can walk there.  I know, right.
So I guess from there the dish just kind of made itself because there really is nothing else in it.  You could throw in some herbs (which I probably did but I've forgotten by now about).  You should add a little salt.  You could throw in a little pepper sauce too.  Honestly though, once you grill these puppies taste is just kinda taken care of.


I also need to mention here that I'm not a big bbq person.  It just feels like a hassle.  In the spirit of True Confessions, I honestly feel too lazy to take all the crap outside, remove the cover, turn the thing on, cook the crap, haul it back into the kitchen... I won't continue.  I've got to get over it.  We might use the bbq 5 times in a whole year.  I'm not saying it's a good thing but it should give you some perspective on just how out of the ordinary a dish like this is for me.
This turned out beautifully.  It's easy and it's also meant to be tampered with.  Change it up - add grilled peppers, mushrooms, whatever.  Use a different cheese (something that melts nicely - raclette, goat cheese, experiment).  Keep it easy and keep it casual.
My last true confession of this post:  I served this with fried rice... totally weird and random.


Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole
serves 4

1 large eggplant
2 medium/large zucchini
oil of choice
1 1/2 cups smoked mozzarella, sliced
3 tomatoes sliced about 1/2 inch thick
20 - 25 basil leaves
salt (to sprinkle)
pepper sauce (optional)

Preheat bbq to about 500 degrees F
Slice the eggplant and the zucchini into about 3/4 inch thick slices.  Brush with oil of choice (I think I see safflower because it was in the cupboard but olive would work well here).
Place each slice on the grill, turning only once it's got some nice char marks on it (and it should be a little soft too).  Once each side is char-marked and easily bendable, remove from grill and turn off the bbq.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place a layer of eggplant on the bottom of an oval, tall sided baking dish.  Add a layer of tomato, then a layer of mozzarella.  Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and a layer of basil leaves on top of each layer of tomato.  Repeat each layer until everything is used up.  Use the mozzarella as the top layer.
Bake for between 25 and 30 minutes or until the sides are just a little golden, it's bubbling and the cheese is melted and browning.
Cut with a knife to serve.

I lied.
I said that it would be my last canning day yesterday.
It wasn't.
I canned today.  I'm sorry.
I'm not going to make any more promises because I know that I'm going to have a bunch of green tomatoes at the end of the growing season that will need to be made into some kind of salsa thingy.  So I'm not going to tell you that this is the last one.  Here's the kicker though.  I filled the jars too full so they didn't seal properly.  I had to redo them 3 times.  That was dumb... and frustrating... and...
I can tell you that it's tasty though.  Really tasty.  If you like salsa then you'll like this.  It's way better than anything I've ever bought.  Even though I had to stick it in my stupid canner more times than I want to even think about right now.
The corn landed in there because I had an ear in the fridge.  The cilantro almost didn't land in there at all because I bought flat parsley instead... duh.  I used a cilantro sauce that I had but fresh would be even better.  The tomatillo's could be swapped for green tomatoes (which is probably what I'll be doing in about 3 weeks or so anyway).  I guess you could swap out the hot peppers for bell peppers but... why?  Just for the record, this stuff tastes rad with tortilla chips.  Believe.  ( Saw this movie recently, if you haven't seen it then fix that really soon, ok?)


Otherwise, it's been a full week already.
This guy moved in on Sunday....


It's been cool hangin' with Spider Man.  He's shorter than he looks on screen though.

I'm getting ready to run this soon.  That's cool.

For those of you who've been reading my blog for a while you might remember that September is birthday month.  I'm proud of myself for not mentioning it before now.

Generally though 'life' is whatever I can squeeze into a weekend now that the summer is over.  That bites.

I'm still working my way through this book.  It's way long for me to be reading one book but it's lots to take in... and it's a little crazy which I kinda like.

My kids are almost ready to divorce me with all the canning I'm doing.  Steady meals have been just not happening and there's mutiny in the air.  So, it's taking a back seat.  This means that very soon I'll be baking again.  And cooking regular meals too.  Truth.


Tomatillo Salsa
makes 2 1/2 (remember the over-filling issue) 500ml jars

4 cups tomatillos small
1 small onion, diced small
2 small habanero peppers, diced small
1 small jalapeno pepper diced small
1 bunch cilantro (about 1 1/2 cups) chopped
juice from 1 1/2 limes
corn kernels from 1 medium ear of corn
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tbsp salt (more to taste)
2 1/2 tbsp sugar

combine all the ingredients in a bowl.  Let it sit for a little while (maybe 20 minutes).
Place the salsa into sterilized jars and seal properly with the lids.  Leave about and inch and a half (maybe even 2 inches!) at the top).
Place into a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Remove and cool under clean towels.  Check the seal on the jars (redo if needed... then give up and throw into freezer bags - wish I'd thought of that earlier).  Store for up to a year... but why?

Ok.  The honeymoon is over.  I'm so tired of canning, making lists of how much of everything I've canned and frozen, sterilizing jars and chopping veggies and/or fruit.  Tomorrow is my last day.   It will be the last time I see the canner for another 9 months.  We need a break from each other.  You know how it gets when you've been with each other just a little too long and the slightest thing can just set you off, right?  So, right now it's pissing me off that it's blue, that it takes 20 minutes to get to boiling and that it can't self regulate. Look, I know that it's just a pot.  I know that my expectations are way too high.  I know that it probably didn't choose it's colour.  But it's still pissing me off.

The Blue Canner

My food mill and I have had it with each other too.  I've got this small/normal hand crank food mill.  It works great for small jobs but when you are putting an entire bushel of tomatoes through that thing to make sauce... well, the food mill and I need a little break from each other too.  So after today it's going away for a little while.  We'll get a breather and it will be good.  These things happen all the time in relationships, it's normal.  I need a break from you for a little while and when I come back we'll be all the better for it 'cause I still love you no matter.
I think that it's important now, at the tail end of my canning adventure, that I submit to you all my insights on the experience:
1.  You have to be willing to put out money up front.  Jars are not cheap (you might get lucky though - garage sales, craigslist, that kind of thing - if you see 'em grab 'em).  The veggies and fruit aren't cheap either when you are buying them in bulk.  You just tell yourself that it's going to pay off down the road... fresher, fewer chems and you can eat that stuff in favour of buying something else at the store.
2.  Doing this really only makes sense if you are using local fruit and vegetables.  If I were buying strawberries in January from wherever and I was cool with that, then why would the hell would I ever put the money and/or time into canning and freezing local fruit in season.
3.  I totally understand why people do this in groups.  Understand, it's not difficult it's just... well, tedious AND LONG when you are doing it all by yourself.  It would be cool to have a few people doing it with me (that aren't 10 years old, but many thanks to Kid #1 for all her help) and maybe an extra person to keep us supplied with drinks and lunch.
4.  It is, despite my protestations above, very rewarding.  I feel proud of myself.  There it is.



So, since I've started making my own yogurt I've also decided that I need to have fruit stuff to have the yogurt with.  What a fantastic way to use up all the preserves and peaches and cherries and PEARS.  I've never done pears before (I've also never done most of the jams, cherries and tomatoes that I did this year either so this could all turn out to be a really really bad experiment) and I have to tell you that they smell beautiful when you are cooking them.  You should invite someone over just to enjoy the smell with you.  Seriously.  Also, if I were to make them again (and I think that I will - see, I'm not totally off doing it), I would booze them up a bit or at least some of them.  I would use a nice rum - you know, the stuff that has a lovely woody, vanilla scent - or a little bourbon.  Just sayin'.
I quartered my fruit 'cause I like it big and chunky but you could just as easily chop or slice the pears.
So quite honestly, what's keeping me going right now is the thought that we are really going to appreciate all of this in the dead of winter.  I'll keep you all posted on that one.


Canned Pears (I kinda got this from all over the place and just made it up when I actually got to doing it)
makes anywhere from 4 - 10 1litre jars but I got 11 jars out of the quantity below

70 - 75 bartlett pears, quartered, de-seeded and de-stemmed
6 cups sugar
3 cups brown sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
3 vanilla pods (used ones are fine here)
1/2 cup or so fresh lemon juice


1.  Divide the pears into 3 large pots (if you have one huge one then go for it in one pot) and add water just until the pears are covered.  Add both the sugars (2 cups sugar and 1 cup brown if divided into 3 pots), the cinnamon sticks and vanilla pods.
2.  Bring to a boil and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes.
3.  Turn off the heat and let the pears rest in the liquid 12 - 24 hours.
4.  Pack the pears (NOT the syrup) into 1 litre jars (Jars should be sterilized but to be honest I've been known to skip this step - huge gasp)
5.  Once the pears are packed then reheat the syrup until it's boiling.  If you wish you could boil it down a bit but I didn't do that.  Add in the lemon juice and add a little more sugar if needed.
6.  Pour the hot syrup into each jar of pears until the pears are just covered with the syrup.  Seal with a canning lid.  Place in a hot water bath for about 13 minutes.  Remove from the water bath and check the lids that might need tightening.  Place the hot jars on a clean cloth and cover completely with a clean towel.
7.  Let cool overnight, check that the lids are solid and have caved in just a bit (they shouldn't make a clicking sound when you push on them).  Store in a cool dry spot.  These will keep a good long time.
Serve with ice cream, use in cakes or pies, serve with homemade yogurt in January and think about all your hard work.