The Business of Creating

Hello!

Greeting to you on this cold February day with warm thoughts (and pictures!) What? Fresh grapes in February? Well, sort of. I want to share with you a few pics from a photo shoot I did for Where Women Create Business. A fabulous, and I mean f  a  b  u  l  o  u  s magazine by none other than Jo Packham. It is such an honor to work with Jo and her staff. They truly put out great publications with great care and passion.

I had the honor and privilege to shoot Marsha Giambalvo and Melissa Mohr, owners of a very cool business called Backdoor Harvest, based here in St. Louis.  A very cool company that installs, maintains, harvests, runs a CSA (community supported agriculture), and even teaches about urban gardening. I so enjoyed my time with them, and thought I would share a few pics with you.

Here is Melissa and Marsha harvesting from one of their customers' gardens right downtown St. Louis. That cool building behind them is the alley - I love how they bring organic freshness right to the urban curbs.

How cool is it that they leave a basket of freshly harvested vegetables (either from your own garden or from others via CSA), right on your doorstep...I was tempted to nibble from this basket!

While shooting, guess who came to have a looksie? This adorable and really food-challenged caterpillar!(She's a chubby one, isn't she?) I would say she is only days away from flying away off to new adventures and new gardens.

Is this a beautiful eggplant, or what? Okay, the eggplant holder (Melissa)is pretty cute too... :-)

I was shown examples of how she plans out her clients' gardens and how they promote companion gardening. That is where certain plants benefit from being planted near others, be it attracting certain insects, scents, or nutrients that benefit the neighboring plants. 

And look at the very small sample of the many vegetables that their clients can choose to plant. There are 100's of choices but think how pretty the gardens must be right before harvest! To read more about Backdoor Harvest, their business process and their story, pick up the current issue of Where Women Create Business today. It is such a great issue with many talented women sharing their successes and what they would do differently if they could start again. Such a great resource for those who are contemplating going into business and turning their passions into profits!

I hope you enjoy this pre-spring time inspiration to start your own garden, or if not the gardening type, then join a local CSA and enjoy locally grown produce that is grown organically and by those who take pride in what they do. Who also work hard to provide a healthy food alternative to those vegetables that are either imported from other countries, or contaminated with fertilizers and pesticides. For more information regarding what you are truly putting into your body, take a moment to watch a couple of documentaries that you may or may not agree with, but should at least inspire most to seek out locally grown, organic small farmers:

Click here to watch: WATCH

Click here to watch: WATCH

I'm not suggesting these two documentaries as a means to spark debate, or talk politics. No, there are tons of great documentaries (on both sides of the fence) and I leave you to your own conclusions. I have watched probably 20-30 (or more) documentaries speaking out on food, agriculture, ranching, chickens, meat, fast food, chemicals and so on. Food and how it is processed, regulated, and distributed has been a long-time interest of mine that I don't talk about much on my blog. But I feel as time goes on, I need to speak out a little more about not so much the issues and problems (trust me, there are many!) but rather offer some solutions that is accessible to most. And CSA's, growing your own, and farmers' markets are simple solutions to these complex issues.

And before I forget...I am finally on Instagram! I have had such lovely friends tells me for YEARS to get on, and just now finally did it. I am totally addicted now to looking at all the great pics out there! Please stop by for a visit when you can - I have a badge on my right sidebar for you to access it.

I hope you find this week to be filled with joy and peace as you create the life you are meant to live.

from my house to your house

Canning: Fun, Simple, Tasty!

Canning Tomatoes...A Summer Tradition 

Hello my friends,

Before I begin, I would like to say that my comments are not working properly (for several posts now) and once in a while I find them in spam, but for the most part, when they do come in, and I click "publish" Blogger doesn't publish them. I am still trying to figure out the issue, but please feel free to comment, as once this is fixed, they will all be published. Thank you so much for visiting.

Now on to canning tomatoes.

As stated in my last post, my tomatoes have been coming in very sporadically this year, which makes it a pain. But, then the other day, just like that, about 30 or so pounds came "due" and I really wanted to harvest them fresh, and took the plunge. For those who have never canned, this post is for you. I will give you the basic steps, and a very general salsa recipe to get you started. If you never considered canning, or don't grow tomatoes, then your local farmer's market is a great place to start. It is so very nutrias and tasty in the cold, dark winter to have fresh salsa, tomato sauce, or even whole tomatoes for recipes. The flavor is so superior, that store-bought tomatoes will be a thing of the past for you.

There are many great websites that give very detailed information, that are easy to google. Here is my favorite: Fresh Preserving. I will provide only very basic information, mainly to show how easy this process really is.

Here are the basics you will need:

Canning jars (size depends on what you want to can, and how much)

Jar holder

canning funnel 

Lids (lids and rings)

Canning pot and rack that goes inside

Lemon juice

Tomatoes (I won't bother to can unless I have at least 20 lbs)

Wooden or plastic chopstick (or a long thin knife or long metal spoon handle for getting rid of air bubbles)

Wet cloth

Tongs

I will be canning by water bath. This type of canning is for highly acidic produce and a pressure canner (one I hope to get sometime in the future) is for anything that is not acidic enough for a water bath.

First - wash all your jars and lids. 

I have a tiny kitchen, so I get out my smaller canning pot and fill with hot water and soap and let them soak a bit. I put this on the counter, which frees up my sink for other duties. You may wash them in the dishwasher, and keep the dry heat on until you are ready to use. I prefer a soapy wash, then place the jars into the canning pot with very hot water, and lids in a small pan on low heat.

I am making three types of tomatoes today. I am making a seasoned tomatoes sauce, a salsa, and canning quartered tomatoes. 

First,  I will show you how I make my seasoned sauce. For the sauce, I used about 20lbs of fresh, washed tomatoes. One med white onion, four garlic cloves, fresh basil, and a little salt. 

I diced up the onion, and sauté it in olive oil on med heat until clear. 

While my onions are sautéing, I take my chopped garlic cloves and my fresh basil (about a handful - I like basil) and begin to mince it. I grow it fresh, and this purple basis has THE best taste ever. For 20 lbs of tomatoes (more or less), I would use at least 6-10 leaves. I probably used a bit more.

Mincing can be done with a number of kitchen gadgets, but I prefer to use my vintage mortar and pestle. A bit more work, but gives me complete control at the exact consistency I like. 

I cut my tomatoes (grew yellow this year, which was so pretty) and ended up with about 16 cups. You will read many recipes about removing the skins, seeds and so on - which I do for other times, but NOT for my sauce. I have an extra step with a new kitchen gadget that saves so much time, that leaving skins and seeds in tact is just fine. I grow mine organic, absolutely no chemicals, so I want all the nutrients that I can get - which the skins have. 

Once the onions are fairly clear, I add the basil and garlic mixture to the onions, and then I toss in the quartered tomatoes all into the same pan and cook on med heat for about 20 minutes, stirring it all together and coat everything with the onions, garlic and basil.

I then take take my tomatoes and mixture out of the pan and put it in my new Vitamix blender (love this new machine). I puree it on "10" for severe minutes - and presto! NO seeds or skin to be seen.

Because I want it to be extra sooth, I let it strain down for extra silky sauce. But the left over "pulp" that was left in the sieve was so minimal, this step could actually be skipped. 

Note: I pureed my tomatoes in batches - just easier that way. I love the pumpkiny color that came from mixing in the yellow tomatoes. I then put the sauce BACK IN THE PAN and cook on medium heat to reduce it down to almost half. This thickens it a bit, and makes it rich.

After the sauce is reduced, I add one tablespoon of lemon juice, then ladle the sauce into my very hot jars. I then take my plastic chopstick (or thin knife) and insert it and move it around carefully to release any air bubbles. I wipe down the edges with a damp cloth and then place on the lid and tighten the ring with gentle pressure. 

I place the jars in the water bath on the rack and lower into the water. (Use your jar holder for this! Don't drop down into the water.) The jars must be completely covered at least an inch to ensure proper sealing. Depending on your location, altitude and size of jar, will depend on how long to process. Just check your jar box, which should have guidelines. I then place processed jars on a dish towel, which is on a thick cutting board. As they cool, you will hear a "pop" from the lid - that means it is now sealed! After 24 hours, you should check all lids by gently pushing down on the center of the lid, and if properly sealed, then it will be firm and not move. If not sealed properly, it will "pop" as it flexes up and down. You may either reprocess, or just stick it in the fridge and eat it first. 

Now on to my salsa:

For me, salsa is so personal. Meaning, some like it hot, very hot, or very mild and everything between. I hate cilantro and so I don't add it (I know, I am from Texas, and actually hate its staple vegetable.) I make it mild, if I am to give the salsa away as gifts, and then let the receiver add as much spice to it as they wish. I personally add about three Serrano peppers, 4-6 garlic cloves, lime, onion (white, red, or both) and green bell pepper. 

I also use smokey red pepper spice, chili powder, salt and a little bit of sugar. I don't mean to aggravate you by not giving exact amounts, as I cook so often by look, tastes, and quantity.  But to give you an idea, for about 15 pounds of tomatoes, I used 2 med-large onions, juice of two limes, 5 cloves of garlic, about 1.5 tablespoons of salt (or more) and just enough sugar to cut down any bitterness from the flavors. Other spices such as chili powder and smokey red pepper is done to taste. 

I coarsely cut up my onion and pulse it in my processor/blender. I then let it drain while I prepare the other ingredients. I add a little bit of salt to help it drain. If you want your salsa really spicy, you can add this "onion juice" to your recipe, but I find it has too much of an onion taste with all that juice. 

While the onions are draining, I chop up my tomatoes and toss tomatoes (seeds and skin), garlic, and peppers into the processor and coarsely pulse.

I then, coarsely chop up more tomatoes and add to the mixture.

So while my tomato sauce was processing (on left) my salsa was cooking on the right. I cooked the salsa on med heat for about 15 minutes. The photo below sorta looks like a crazy woman cooks in there!  :-)

I add my tablespoon of lemon juice, then ladle in the salsa, remove the air bubbles with my chopstick, wipe down the edges of the rim, then place on the lid and tighten the rim with gentle pressure. I put into the bath and process according to my altitude. Please see your canning box (or look it up online) the exact processing time for your area. 

Now, with my left over tomatoes, I just want to can them with no seasonings. I plop the whole tomato into boiling water for a minute or two and then place them in ice water to remove the skins easily. Yes, I remove the skins when canning just plain, everyday tomatoes. It makes my cooking them later in recipes easier. Then skins will crack in the boiling water and you can see how they crack in the image below as they cooled a bit in the ice water.

Once I peel all the tomatoes, then I quarter them and core out the white center. I personally don't bother removing all the seeds. Most fall out on their own and those go down the drain, but some remain behind which is fine with me.

The procedure is simple: I put in my tablespoon of lemon juice in the jar, put in the tomatoes, pour in any water (or tomato juice) to fill the jar, remove air bubbles, wipe the edges down, add the lid and tighten the rim and process for the amount of time for your altitude. Easy peasy. 

Here are a few reminders and tips to show you just how easy this is:

Wash all tomatoes, remove any dark spots or bruises.

If pureeing, skins and seeds are fine - even nutritious. 

Lemon juice in every jar - don't forget!

Make sure jars are at least 1" below the water line when processing.

And once you have your product ready (be it a sauce, salsa, or plain tomatoes) the steps are all the same:

Lemon juice in jar

Fill jar (leave one inch space from top)

Wipe jar rim

Remove air bubbles

Put on lid and tighten rim

Process in water bath for correct amount of time

Like I said, Easy Peasy!

Salsas, sauces, yellow tomatoes, plain tomatoes, and even some apple spice topping and one jar of peach jam are in my cabinet. I am hoping I will process about 30 or 40 more pounds of tomatoes by the end of the month. Everything you see (except for the three apple and peach jars) were processes in one afternoon. It takes only a little practice and actually, the prep time takes more time than the actual processing. But so worth it all when in the dark winter days of February you can pull out zesty sauce and make a big batch of spaghetti and meatballs and let it simmer all afternoon...makes those cold days seems so inviting. 

I hope this helps a little. There are so many website and You Tube videos that explain it all so much better than I do. But I just wanted to show that it really isn't complicated and the rewards are so satisfying.  If you can produce or have a great recipe for canning, please feel free to share with me - would love to learn!

from my house to your house,

iPhone Foodies

iPhone Foodies!

Hello my lovely readers,

I hope August is starting out good for you. You know, I think if we were able to peek into someone's iPhone pics, we would see the usual friends' photos, children, grand babies, a few travel pics, and always gatherings. But, then again, I think we would also see another side of the iPhone's owner if all their pics were revealed. Well, that is what happened to me just last night. I got a notice on my phone telling me that my "iCloud" was full and I should delete data or buy more space. Not one to be ordered around by a phone, I decided to take a gander at what was taking up so much room. It seems to be photos...go figure. Yes, I had the usual travel pics, several future possible antique purchases, our kitties, and even a selfie of our seven-year anniversary on the very date we first met in the park (above). We are sitting on the very bench where we first exchanged our flirting, and where I was asked to be the barber's wife. BTW, I am digging the barber's beard...and it is even longer now. I think it is masculine and sexy. I tease him that he is just excited to be able to grow something above his neck after decades of being clean-shaven both on chin and head....hahaha.

As I scrolled through all my iPhone images, I started to see a pattern. A lot of darn food shots. I realize that just about all the food shots were taken in haste, so I could text it to my barber husband while he is at work.  You see, I believe we are what I call "iPhone Foodies." My shots were not taken for "beauty" but for "boost." My beloved is a real foodie - and I love that about him. He is on his feet all day long, cutting hair, shaving men, and being an ear to the customer who shares a tale or two. It is just exhausting work, as he comes home and needs to soak in the hot bath to soothe his aching back and feet. 

It's not a big secret that I truly enjoy cooking - especially from scratch. I never realized how many food images I take, and how many I have deleted in the past (100's!). I discovered that my beloved gets a boost when I quickly text him what I am doing in the kitchen - especially if I am making dinner. His reply text is almost always, "Mmmmm! Looks good!" His text always makes me smile, but I realize that a quick pic also makes him smile, hopefully takes his mind of his feet, and most importantly, will make him a happy husband who can't wait to get home (to me...not just dinner :-)

So last night, as I was about to delete even more food pics, I thought about you all. I thought it would be fun to show you a side of us - iPhone Foodies - that actually is a big part of who we are.  Not so pretty pics (some pretty darn blurry), but lots of love and work behind the-less-than-perfect shots. If quick pics make my beloved smile, then maybe they will bring a smile to you too.

Enjoy!

This was a bread making experiment day. I like to take a pic of the steps and text them so my barber husband can feel like a part of it, and like I said, to maybe distract him a bit from all his standing.

I was making artisan bread with a very "quick and easy" recipe. And actually, it was! The bread turned out to be delicious and just the perfect size for the two of us.

This was my first time to make cabbage rolls. They turned out great and I am happy to say that since then, I no longer need toothpicks to hold them together. I simmer them over sauerkraut and serve them with a red sauce and a dab of sour cream. Another hit according to my beloved. In fact, he was so impressed, he insisted on giving his Polish friend (cabbage roll expert) a bag full. I just recently got a report from said Polish friend, and he said they were wonderful.

It looks like I had to take a bite and then took a pic....actually, I seemed to have several photos of food with bites taken out of them. I get so busy in the kitchen, I almost forget to take a pic before I go on to the next step.

Sometimes, my foodie pics come straight from the garden. Below are some harvested greens and herbs that I snapped and text to my better half, "Look how much today!"

After harvesting the above herbs, I dry them, and then store them in vintage jars. The purple basil is by far, our favorite. I use it in my tomato basil soup - very creamy!!

Sometimes, I don't text any pics until it is all done...like this farm-raised hen and lots of vegetables (some from our garden).  I think it helps him get through the last hour of work - he knows I set it out to "rest" for quite a while to get the juices going. I have an antique graniteware roaster that has a tight lid and a little, tiny, steam flap that I barely open, letting only a little steam out.

I will share a sweet something about my sweetie. He loves a little nightcap. His "nightcap" is a bite of something sweet and some milk. I try to always make him something that is "healthy" and at the very least, not from a box with chemicals. Below is some "healthy" oatmeal cookies with some chocolate chunks. He LOVES them - he doesn't realize that I use a little almond extract to give it a little kick. My reasoning is I am using real eggs, real butter, good oats, and good milk. No chemicals, not a lot of sugar. But when I text him these cookies...I already know if I don't have milk in the fridge, he will stop on the way home to get some.

And speaking at stopping at the store for milk...I laughed when I came across this pic last night. I am guessing I took it to show him I went grocery shopping as it was most likely over due! How funny that he is such a foodie, that the food can still be in bags, and that makes him happy. How cute.

And another grocery shopping pic...there is  story here. About a week prior to taking this pic, my foodie and I were in the grocery store. I was all the way on the other side when I discovered I needed a small can of diced tomatoes. I sent him to go get a SMALL can of diced tomatoes, and I told him I would meet him at the counter. He shows up, and says there aren't any small cans of diced tomatoes only huge ones - and shows me the one he found. Exasperated, as he has a very well-earned reputation of not finding most things, I tell him that I KNOW there are small cans of it, as it is a store staple. He insists there isn't. I shake my head, and tell him again, I KNOW there is, he just didn't find it. He was adamant that I was wrong and betted me $5 that there are none. 

So I head for the aisle and tell him I am 100% sure they have diced tomatoes.  Well, you can guess how the story ends. There was NO small cans of diced tomatoes...and I stood there dumbfounded and whining, "How in the world can a store not have small cans of diced tomatoes??! That's like not having any loaves of bread!" I look up and his hand is out for payment, and a big grin on his face.  Determined not "to lose" I point to rows and rows of small cans of crushed tomatoes and point to them and say, "Well, see here, here are the small cans!" And he is very quick to correct me that the can says "CRUSHED not DICED." And I try to convince him (to no avail) that he should have known that crushed would work as well as diced...sigh...I can only imagine what the customers thought as they walked past our conversation.

Well, the story continues...only days later, I made a quick stop at the same store, and happened to go down the tomato aisle, and well, well, well, what do I see? CASES of diced tomatoes. So I snapped a quick pic (pretty blurry) and quickly texted him, "SEE...I TOLD you they have it...." to which he texted back, "Not the day you said they did though." Darn it. (I think I still owe him $5 - don't tell him.)

We had a bumper crop of spinach this year. So I found myself making lots of spinach and cheese quiche. So quick, so easy and so good! LOTS of spinach in it, and it refrigerates and keeps so well.

After a few quiches, I decided that we should probably not be eating so much crust, so I started to make crustless quiche. It was a big hit, and very simple as well. Plus, I think him getting a pic of a different type of quiche added to the excitement...hahaha.

I almost didn't include the pic of mushrooms below, as that is the only pic to the story. However, I thought it would be fun to show you that sometimes I even take a quick pic of just the ingredients to let him guess what I am making. But when he sees a pile of sliced mushrooms, he knows I am going to be making rich mushroom soup (one of his favorites).  I had to laugh at myself when I saw this pic...almost as bad as the bags of groceries!

This year we did pretty well with the potatoes. We estimated we got about 40 pounds or so. It was fun (but hard work) digging them up. I think once I get a pressure canner, I will make lots of potato soup and can it. I make the soup with homemade stock, bits of bacon, onion, and lots of potatoes and of course, some cream. It is so hardy and perfect for a snowy day.

It's hard to believe that such huge potatoes started out like this below:

But until I can get a good pressure canner, I am preserving my potatoes for winter in other ways. I don't have a root cellar, so I am freezing potatoes both in sticks and whole as well. Those little ones below in the bowl, will be frozen whole after I blanch them. 

I just blanched the sticks and now I am "flash freezing" them before I bag them up.

I made twice baked potatoes, as well as roasted potatoes with our own grown herbs. I see my foodie popping them in his mouth as if they were candy.  

We didn't get a lot of apples this year - I think the hard winter had a lot to do with it, as local orchards have small crops this year also. So with the few apples we did manage to harvest, I made an apple crumb cake just the other day. It turned out so delicious. 

I hope you enjoyed my little iPhone food tour. After looking at these, I realize I need to hold the phone more stable. Or, maybe get out my good camera and use that instead. But, when in the kitchen, and pans, bowls, and ingredients everywhere, I just don't think about getting out the Canon.  I think I will try to take a pic here and there of when I serve it...but then again, that may not go well for Mr. Foodie. When my dish is served to my beloved, it is meant to be eaten, and not serve as a model. :-)

I'm very lucky to have a better half that appreciates and compliments every meal (EVERY meal) and that makes spending time in the kitchen all the more enjoyable. That, and using fresh ingredients, homegrown produce, while supporting the local farms. I hope your meals, be it fast food, homemade, or out of a box, is eaten with gusto - and with a loved one -that is the secret recipe for a really grand dish!

from my house to your house