Mango Salsa and Mango-Mint Preserves

When I was a young girl in Pennsylvania, every summer my mother would buy two crates of mangoes- one for the family and one just for me. I remember sitting in the yard with a knife and sticky bare-hands eating sweet, ripe mangoes until I couldn't stuff myself any more. They seemed to be the best thing I ate all year, and now that I live in Florida they are still my favorite food in this world.
But there is a limit to how many mangoes even I can consume everyday, and my father-in-law's tree is well exceeding that limit. He attacked us with a mango hit and run, left a grocery bag full on our doorknob, texted us to check our front door and then disappeared. I ate as many as I could, fed some to company, and then pulled out the canner.



Mango-Mint Preserves:
6 cups diced mango
2 cups water
2 Tbsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp salt
zest from 2 limes
1/2 cup lime juice
2 cups sugar
1 package pectin powder
1 Tbsp mint, chopped


Sterilize 8 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings and hold in a 200 degree oven. Combine mango, water, ginger, salt and zest in a pot and cook on low for 20 minutes. Add lime juice, sugar and pectin and bring to a heavy boil for at least one full minute. Remove from heat and test jam for set point on a frozen plate. If needed, cook longer until set point is reached. Stir in mint at the last minute. Ladle into jars, wipe rims, attach lids and rings and process for 10 minutes.



Joe's Mango Salsa:
1 diced green bell pepper
1 diced red bell pepper
2 minced jalapenos
1/2 diced Vidalia onion
4 minced cloves garlic
5 cups diced mango
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp pickling salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
dash each white, black and cayenne peppers
1 cup lime juice
1 cup rice vinegar

Sterilize 3 pint jars, lids and rings, hold in a 200 degree oven. In a small pot, sweat peppers, onion and garlic until onion is translucent. (I'm adding this step in hindsight, as we canned all of the ingredients fresh and ended up with a lot of air bubbles in the middle of the jar. I think cooking the vegetables will prevent this from happening.) Add all ingredients together and mix well. Ladle into jars- we had a little extra- wipe off rims, attach lids and rings and process 10 minutes.

Pregnancy Pickles

July was quite an exiting month, and I have to admit that even though I've been wanting to make pickles for a long time now, it really wasn't at the top of my list of things to do..



A family vacation took us to an old farmhouse so far out in the boonies of western Pa that our cell phones took a vacation, too. We made a trip to a bison farm and later that night had bison burgers with what I believe must have been the best tomatoes and sweet corn cultivated in the eastern United States.

Upon arrival back in Florida we anxiously awaited the ultrasound that would tell us if we are to have a precious baby boy or girl. Despite all the old housewives tales, and my own "woman's intuition"- I really was sure it was a boy- it's a girl!

I realize I've only been posting one recipe a month for a while now, and would like to start stepping it up. With a totally blank August calendar, fall produce appearing at market and my father-in-law's mango tree exploding to fruition I'm hoping to get a few more posts than usual, so keep checking in!

3 lbs. pickling cucumbers

Horseradish Pickles:
2 tsp. horseradish
2 tsp. black peppercorns
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. mustard seeds
2 dried chilis
1/2 onion
4 garlic cloves

Dill Pickles:
2 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. mustard seed
2 dried chilies
4 cloves garlic
1/2 onion

Brine:
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
4 Tbsp. canning salt
4 tsp. sugar

Wash and quarter cucumbers into spears. Bring brine to a boil to dissolve salt and sugar, cover and let stand. Sterilize 6 jars, lids and rings (we only yielded 5, but I always do one extra to be safe). Divide seasonings into jars, then stuff with cucumbers and top off with brine. Wipe rims, screw on lids and process 10 minutes.

Raspberry Mango Jam

Yes, my energy and appetite are finally back- with a vengeance! And just in time to enjoy the things in life that make me truly happy: summer thunderstorms, reading at the pool, long evenings listening to waves, grilling out with Joe, and ripe berries.

I took this month's opportunity to experiment with one of my very favorite summer fruits, the mango. With the aid of my Chef-husband (who has taken quite an interest in my canning adventures), and my new go-to book "The Flavor Bible", I came up with a ginger and pepper combo that was destined for greatness.
Like tiny gems, sweet bits of mango lie suspended in the tart, red raspberry jam. Fresh ginger and ground pepper give it an underlying bite of spice. Both fruity and tangy, this jam encapsulates summertime in Florida so well I can easily see it becoming a classic in my jamming repertoire. I've already had Christmas gift requests for it! I'm pretty sure I'm going to be making a bigger batch of Raspberry-Mango Jam in the future...

3 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
1 mango
3 Cups raspberries
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP fresh grated ginger root
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 package pectin


Sterilize jars and rings in boiling water, and lids in hot water. Peel and dice mango; wash and sort through the berries to remove mold, stems and bugs. In a medium sauce pan add mango, raspberries, lemon juice, ginger, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until raspberries are broken down and mango begins to soften. Add sugar and pectin and bring to a boil for one minute. Let cool for five minutes and pack into sterilized jars. Process five minutes.

Last-Minute Pickled Asparagus Spears

You know, they say time goes faster once you have kids, but what they don't tell you is that begins at the moment of conception. I swear, the first trimester has flown by so fast my head is spinning; or maybe it just feels like that from the morning sickness and fatigue this whole life-making business causes.
April ended with overtime at work for spring break. May began with us moving to a bigger place. After that came overtime for Mother's Day (how ironic?) and overtime for the shuttle launch. Then I caught a cold, which, when you can't take anything but Tylenol, just really sucks.
I'm not complaining, but when I would normally have spent one of my days off happily going to the market to obtain produce, researching and canning, now I lay in bed watching t.v., ordering pizza and looking at the sink piled high with dishes, the cat hair-laden carpet, and the full laundry basket of clothes.
Up until now, I have had my

projects planned, executed and a blog future-posted and ready to go on the first posting day. Now here I am, at the last minute, throwing asparagus and whatever in a jar, snapping some pics and calling it a post.
So anyways, my doctor says the fatigue goes away in the second trimester, which-Hallelujah!- starts tomorrow. I still hold high my dreams of throwing holiday parties (and a shower, too) in which my pickled vegetables and lovingly made condiments will take an honored place on the hor'dourve table.
A special thanks to all the other food and canning junkies who's blogs have given me something to read on those days in which I haven't been able to do better than a bowl of cereal with milk!

Last-Minute Pickled Asparagus Spears:
2 12 oz. canning jars, lids and rings
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups vinegar
1 TBSP canning salt
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed to jar length
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 onion, thinly sliced


Sterilize jars and rings by bringing to a boil in the hot water bath. To make brine bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Remove jars from boiling water, fill with asparagus, onion, garlic, and top off with brine. Place on lids and tighten rings. Process for five minutes.

Strawberry, Rhubarb and Lavender Jam

Okay, so major props go out to my husband, Joe, who pretty much did all the prep-work, dishes and cleanup for this recipe (and also these spicy beans). Only he knows how much being a part of this

means to me, and would basically make the whole batch, while I dictated from the couch, nauseated and exhausted.
I was amazed at how quickly we went through the first batch of strawberry jam; and because Floridian strawberries were shamefully rotting in fields due to a cheap influx of California strawberries, we decided to make more strawberry jam. We were careful to purchase local strawberries, though for the price I can't imagine the farmer made much profit. If only more people supported, or were even aware, of the locavore movement, such wasteful tragedies would not happen.
The rhubarb was thrown in just for fun, and lavender was the only herb from our herb garden that survived this Florida's winter.

5 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings, sterilized
2 # strawberries, hulled and halved
1 # rhubarb, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 TBSP lavender, minced

Add strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Cook down until syrupy, skimming off foam as it collects. Mine took about 40 minutes. At the last minute stir in lavender, ladle into jars and process 5 minutes.

The jam is classic, with a perfect "set". The lavender tricks your taste buds into thinking you may be eating honey. We had it on crackers with cheese and it was delicious. I could also well imagine it on pancakes or waffles. It is very sweet, though. If I made it again I might cut down the sugar and use pectin.

Joe & Elle's Spicy Green Beans

I made these with pretty much one intention for their destination: as swizzle sticks for Bloody- or virgin ;)- marys. Here it is:

4 pint jars, lids and rings- sterilized
2 1/4 cups white vinegar
2 1/4 cups water
2 TBSP pickling salt
1 1/2 # green beans
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 hot dried chili peppers
4 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp peppercorns

Trim beans; bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil. Divide beans, onion, garlic, chilis, mustard seeds and peppercorns among the jars. Fill with brine and process 5 minutes.

Pickled Jalapenos and Jalapeno Jam Fail

So, I'm getting pretty good at this pickling thing, and I love that I can use a basic 50/50 water to vinegar ratio and add whatever spices strike my fancy. I busted out these pickled jalapenos just like an old pro:

4 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings- sterilized
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
1 TBSP + 1 tsp canning salt
1 TBSP sugar
4 cloves garlic
12 peppercorns
12 jalapenos, sliced

Bring vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a boil. Cover and set aside. Divide garlic, peppercorns, and jalapenos into the jars. Fill jars with brine and process 5 minutes.

The jam, however, is a very different story. All I can surmise is that I did the "cold plate" test incorrectly. I dutifully put the plate in the freezer before I began the jam. When I thought it may have reached the proper consistency, I removed the plate and placed a drop on, then pushed my finger into it. No wrinkle. Cook some more. Again, no wrinkle. Several times I did the test, as the jam was becoming more and more thick. But still no wrinkle. Finally, the jam turned brown and I ended up with what was, essentially, jalapeno hard-rock candy.
Upon recollection, I should have placed the test jam BACK into the freezer for a minute, before performing the push-through. Other things could have gone wrong, as well, and if you have any suggestions please let me know! I really want to be able to do this!
I should have thrown it out then and there, but being a stubborn Capricorn I processed it anyways. The end result (only 2 small jars by the time I cooked it down that far) was so utterly disgusting and inedible that I really would have thrown it out- jars and all. My husband, though, would not let those two jars go to waste, and decided to clean them out. I wasn't around for it, but he tells me it took three minutes in the microwave just to get the substance malleable enough to put down the drain.
No big loss, and better luck next time!