Posts Tagged ‘Preserves’

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

applebutter

Apple Butter Festivals reign supreme throughout the USA from September through the end of October.  Washington state to Virginia, everyone is getting in the swing for mouth-watering comfort apple-butter. Maybe your great-great-grandma made apple-butter in a copper kettle over an outdoor fire or your great grandma made it in the oven and the whole house was apple fragrant for a week.  We can now adays pretty much achieve the same quality and flavor cooking a batch of this smooth and creamy apple preserve in a crock pot.  Its so simple.  Once the apples are peeled, cored and chopped the crock pot does all the work.  Sterilize jars and heat lids to preserve your finished product or fill freezer-safe containers.  Nothing is as welcomed as a basket of homemade preserves for the holidays.  If you are fortunate to have apple trees in your yard, make several batches and have a fundraiser for school or church.  Your good neighbors will snap up every jar that you make.  Note:  use windfallen apples and be sure to compost the peels and cores.

Apple butter is perfect on toast, muffins, corn bread, crepes and makes a fabulous glaze for pork or ham roasts.

Ingredients for 5 quart Crock Pot:

  • 3 quarts of apples, peeled cored and chopped
  • 2 Tbsp of ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp sea salt or canning salt

Method:

  1. Place all ingredients in crock pot.  Turn to high and cook until bubbly.
  2. Turn temperature to low and cook until thick and creamy smooth, about 10 hours.
  3. Taste from time to time for more cinnamon or sugar.
  4. Fill sterilized jars within 1/4-inch of rim and seal.
  •  

Donate to My Coffee Kitty and help a senior pay for cataract surgery. 70% of seniors are afficted with cataracts. It's a simple surgery to remove cataracts but very expensive...about $3000 per eye. If you're not old enough to qualify for medicare, and you're uninsured, can't find a job, can't get a driver's license, or read a good book because of cataracts, your world is impoverished. Help save someone's sight!

Sweet & Sour Dried Figs

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Sweet & Sour Dried Figs
Sweet & Sour Dried Figs

Many years ago I lived in a small cottage overlooking Puget Sound in West Seattle.  Outside my backdoor was a green fig tree which literally dripped with sweet syrup when the figs were ripe.  The harvest of these jewels yielded many jars of fig butter with walnuts, dried figs, preserved figs for gifts, and a splendid salad with feta cheese, prosciutto and baby greens.  Serve this condiment with sausages, pate’, chicken, curries, or other Middle Eastern dishes.  Pickled figs wrapped in prosciutto with arugula also makes a tasty hors d’oeuvre.

Figs have a fair amount of potassium, magnesium and calcium plus fiber.  Be sure to buy organic dried figs, especially if you’re sensitive to sulfur dioxide.

1 lb dried figs*

1-1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp sugar

8 whole cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cook vinegar, sugar, cloves and cinnamon in sauce pan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Add figs and simmer for 10 minutes.  Pack figs in sterile jars, pour hot syrup up to 1/2 inch from tops of jars.  Seal and process in water bath for 10 minutes.   Cool.

* May substitute dried apricots, prunes or pears

Donate to My Coffee Kitty and help a senior pay for cataract surgery. 70% of seniors are afficted with cataracts. It's a simple surgery to remove cataracts but very expensive...about $3000 per eye. If you're not old enough to qualify for medicare, and you're uninsured, can't find a job, can't get a driver's license, or read a good book because of cataracts, your world is impoverished. Help save someone's sight!

Sweet and Sour Dried Figs

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Sweet & Sour Dried Figs
Sweet & Sour Dried Figs

Many years ago I lived in a small cottage overlooking Puget Sound in West Seattle.  Outside my backdoor was a green fig tree which literally dripped with sweet syrup when the figs were ripe.  The harvest of these jewels yielded many jars of fig butter with walnuts, dried figs, preserved figs for gifts, and a splendid salad with feta cheese, prosciutto and baby greens.  Serve this condiment with sausages, pate’, chicken, curries, or other Middle Eastern dishes.  Pickled figs wrapped in prosciutto with arugula also makes a tasty hors d’oeuvre.

Figs have a fair amount of potassium, magnesium and calcium plus fiber.  Be sure to buy organic dried figs, especially if you’re sensitive to sulfur dioxide.

1 lb dried figs*

1-1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp sugar

8 whole cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cook vinegar, sugar, cloves and cinnamon in sauce pan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Add figs and simmer for 10 minutes.  Pack figs in sterile jars, pour hot syrup up to 1/2 inch from tops of jars.  Seal and process in water bath for 10 minutes.   Cool.

* May substitute dried apricots, prunes or pears

Donate to My Coffee Kitty and help a senior pay for cataract surgery. 70% of seniors are afficted with cataracts. It's a simple surgery to remove cataracts but very expensive...about $3000 per eye. If you're not old enough to qualify for medicare, and you're uninsured, can't find a job, can't get a driver's license, or read a good book because of cataracts, your world is impoverished. Help save someone's sight!

Plum Pickles

Monday, March 9th, 2009
Pickled Plums and Pork Roast

Pickled Plums and Pork Roast

Grandpa stewed dried prunes every morning before going out to milk the cows.  He claimed they “kept him regular.”  Prunes are simply dried small plums and they do aid the digestive tract.   Preserved as a pickle they make a gourmet gift for any “foodie” and can be made anytime of the year.   Cover the tops of jars with pretty callico and a ribbon.  Add a gift card with this quick recipe. 

1 lb. dried prunes

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar

1 cup brown sugar – firmly packed

1/2 tsp. whole cloves

4 sticks of cinnamon – broken into pieces

Cover prunes with boiling water for 1 hour.  Drain and reserve liquid.  Combine sugar, vinegar and 1/2 cup of reserved liquid with spices and simmer for 12 minutes.  Remove cloves and cinnamon sticks, pack prunes in sterile jars and pour hot syrup to 1/2 inch from top of jar.  Seal and water bath in boiling water for 15 minutes.  Remove and cool.  Serve with your favorite pork, chicken or lamb dish.

Donate to My Coffee Kitty and help a senior pay for cataract surgery. 70% of seniors are afficted with cataracts. It's a simple surgery to remove cataracts but very expensive...about $3000 per eye. If you're not old enough to qualify for medicare, and you're uninsured, can't find a job, can't get a driver's license, or read a good book because of cataracts, your world is impoverished. Help save someone's sight!