Home Preserving

This weekend at the farmer's market I bought several pounds of green beans and wax beans. Probably around 15 to 20 pounds. Then I spent all morning and part of the afternoon driving around Topeka looking for canning supplies. Several stores later I am the proud owner of a water bath canner and rack, a pressure steam canner, canning tools, 36 mason jars, lids, and bands of various sizes, canning labels, and two books on canning (Balls Blue Book Guide to Preserving and Balls Complete Book of Home Preserving).

The steam pressure canner took the longest to find. I also wanted a particular type of gauge. In case you don't know, there are two types of gauges available for pressure cookers or canners. The more recent are the weight gauges (these have a little dial on them that shows the pressure). The older style is the toggle gauge (this has a small piece that rocks back and forth based on the pressure). I really wanted the toggle gauge because there is less of a chance of an accident from the gauge flying off and I didn't have to watch it all the time. The weight gauge must be watched for the entire time it is being used and cannot be left for a second. The toggle gauge can be left as long as you can hear the rocking motion.

The steam pressure canner was necessary for this weekend's canning because I was canning low acid vegetables. Perhaps next weekend I can try using the water bath canner; which is for high-acid fruits, vegetables, pickles, and relishes.
Anyway, I spent several hours (in the middle of the night) canning the green beans and a few hours (during the day) canning the wax beans. Both use the same method because they are the same type of beans. I used a raw pack method instead of a heat pack method because I don't own a blancher and I was being lazy (having already spent 2 hours preparing the beans for canning).

Other things I want to can before the season is over includes:
Applesauce
cherry pie filling (if I can find cherries)
apple pie filling
salsa
diced tomatoes
jellies/jams
corn
vegetable soup

(sorry about the poor quality of the pictures. They are from my phone, maybe I will post some pictures from my camera later)

Love Feast

For the past few weeks, I have been attending a discussion group at the Fellowship called Simple, Sustainable Gifts. The group explores ways to make simple choices about food while sustaining our bodies, our spirits, and our planets. We had several books on the subject that we were encouraged to read, including:
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
What to Eat by Marion Nestle


Tonight was the last meeting and each person was asked to bring a finger food that represented something that we learned in the class. Then we had a Love Feast. I had never participated in a love feast but it was interesting. In a Love Feast you are not allowed to talk but you can gesture. Also, you are not allowed to feed yourself; any food that reaches your mouth must be put there by someone else. It was a great way to just focus on the foods and how they made you feel without being influenced by others.

Also, one of the participants brought produce from her organic garden for us to take home. It was fantastic and so gorgeous.

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-fry

Today I made a recipe from Real Simple magazine. I did make some alterations to the recipe as I didn't have all the exact ingredients and I made it for two people instead of four. The unaltered Real Simple recipe is available here.

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 bunches baby bok choy, cut into 2 to 3 inch sections
1/8 cup water
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup homemade barbecue sauce
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the bok choy and water to skillet. Cover and cook until bok choy is just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine homemade barbecue sauce, soy sauce, and scallions. Add to skillet and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook, while tossing, until heated through, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Serves 2This recipe was interesting. It has a sweet, yet tangy taste. I enjoyed it right after I made it but when I took the leftovers for lunch the next day it was not very good. It was like it had too much tangy flavor. I love soy sauce but it seemed overpowering when it had the chance to sit on the chicken overnight. I would recommend this recipe if you plan on eating all of it when first served.

As for the recipe itself, it was really easy to make. The steps are easy and it just takes a little attention. It cooks up fast, from start to finish in less than 20 minutes. Prep time time was about 7 to 8 minutes of that time. The parts that took the longest were cutting the the chicken and bok choy. It didn't take long to make the barbecue sauce, turns out that is really easy too. I had to use homemade barbecue sauce because I don't really eat barbecue sauce and I don't keep it in the house. But with a little ketchup, some brown sugar, nutmeg, and Dijon mustard you are in luck. If you are like me and you don't really eat Dijon mustard and thus don't keep it in your house you can use this tip. When I get fast food or food is delivered, I get extra packets of condiments that I don't normally use. In this case, when lunch was served at school from a sub sandwich place I took home all the extra Dijon mustard packets and whenever a recipe calls for some Dijon mustard I just use one of the packets. I also do this for mayonnaise and sometimes sour cream.

If you make this recipe let me know how it works out for you.