Pom-Apple "Sauce"

As a chef, I'm always striving to improve my culinary abilities. While I think I have the flavor component of jam and preserve-making down, I've got a lot to learn in the "set" department. Practice makes perfect, thus I endeavored to create a preserve which would stand in for they typical cranberry jello that adorns many a Thanksgiving table; a "sauce" in the old-fashioned sense of the word, one recognizable as a traditional dinner accompaniment, but that people want to eat.

I do enjoy a chunky cranberry sauce, and wanted to include apples- this month's ingredient- to add to the texture of the jam. Originally intending to make my jam cranberry-based, I changed my mind when searching for an appropriate juice, I couldn't find a single one that didn't contain extra sugar or additives. And then I saw it: 100% pomegranate juice. It seemed to be exactly the tart flavor base I was looking for- original, yet basic enough to dress up the way I liked. For a third flavor and floral scent I threw an orange into the mix, and then laid it down with traditional holiday spices.


5 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
24 oz. 100% pomegranate juice
3 green apples, peeled and diced
1 orange, juice and zest
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 stick cinnamon
1/4 star anise
1 clove
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 box ball powdered pectin

Tie cinnamon, anise and clove in a small sachet. Combine juice, apples, orange, ginger and spices in a medium pot. Bring to a low simmer, cover and cook until apples have poached and are dark pink in color, about 15 minutes. Add sugar and pectin, turn up the heat to a medium simmer and cook until "set", about another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the jam rest for 5 minutes. This step will ensure the apple will be evenly dispersed in the jam, instead of floating on the top of the jar. Remove sachet, ladle into 1/2 pint jars, attach lids and rings and process 10 minutes.


I am extremely happy with this jam! The balance of sweet-tartness, and the flavors of orange and traditional spices are perfect. The jars are a beautiful garnet color, with gems of apple suspended within. The set is lovely, and I'm already imagining spoonfuls of pom-apple "sauce" on turkey, stuffing and biscuits. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thai Curry Pickled Pears

The mission here was simple- a deconstructed Thai red curry paste cleverly disguised as a brine for pickled pears. While most of the ingredients in a curry paste are transferable to this sort of application, some (namely, shrimp paste) simply would not work very well. The main components are lemongrass,ginger, dried Thai bird chilies,shallots,garlic,coriander root,lime juice/zest and/or kaffir lime leaves and shrimp paste. There may be subtle differences from kitchen to kitchen but for argument sake, we picked the elements that work the best with this recipe. The fully frontal citrus notes from the ginger,lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves give these pickles an otherworldly goodness. These assertive flavors stand up well to the heat of the Thai birds and the sweetness of the brine. The aroma is fresh and the flavors are irresistible. This recipe is adapted from pickled pears in the Joy of Pickling which calls for a syrupy sort of brine so keep that in mind when building a flavor profile. The addition of coconut water is designed to compliment the red curry as it is usually paired with coconut milk in curry bowls in Thailand. If you're looking for a heavier essence of coconut, I would suggest coconut extract as it is a clear liquid like coconut water and won't make the brine cloudy. We've already munched through a jar of these addictive pickles!





6 pint jars, lids and rings
2 red anjou pears
2 green anjou pears
2 bartlett pears
2 bosc pears
1 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups coconut water
1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp canning salt

6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp ginger, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp lemongrass, sliced
12 Thai bird chilies
12 kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp cracked coriander seeds
1 tbsp cracked peppercorns


Cut pears into 6 slices each, remove seeds and hold in water acidulated with lemon juice. Bring water, coconut water, rice vinegar, white vinegar, sugar and canning salt to a boil, cover and hold. Divide garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chilies, lime leaves, coriander seeds and peppercorns among 6 jars. Stuff jars with pears alternating colors with the skin side out and top with brine. Attach lids and rings and process for 15 minutes.

Pa Sportman's Club Sweet-Hot Wax Peppers

When I was a very young child, living in a small coal-mining town in Western Pa, my mother helped the family scrape-by serving at the local sportsman's club. I can barely remember the place, only the lake out front which hosted local fishing contests and giant bullfrogs. But she remembers a pepper relish that was served at every table with white bread and butter, and has been asking me to make it for months now. Well, peppers are in season and the subject of this month's , so I gave it a shot, and gosh-darn is it good!

5 pint jars, lids and rings, sterilized
1 1/2# hungarian wax peppers
1/2# baby sweet peppers (added for color)
1/2 sweet onion, julienne
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp canning salt


Slice peppers into rings, removing seed pods. Mix with garlic and onion. Bring vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil. Tightly pack pepper mix into sterilized jars, fill with brine, and attach lids and rings. Process for ten minutes. Here, I'm having mine on wheat bread with cream cheese.

Kashmir Chile Pepper Chutney

Once again, I'm amazed at how different my husband and I can be. While I cooked up twelve half-pints of apple butter and 5 pints of hot pepper rings (both very simple recipes from my childhood), Joe lovingly labored over two half-pints of pepper jam, grinding his own Garam Masala in a mortar and pestle, tasting and re-tasting until perfection was achieved. And I must say, it was worth it. This chutney is incredibly well balanced in sourness, sweetness and heat, and set quite beautifully, as well. We could build an Indian feast around this jam, and probably soon will.


2 1/2 pints, lids and rings, sterilized
1# mixed peppers, including Red Bell, Poblano, Cubanelle, Serrano, Finger Hot, Jalapeno and Habanero
1/2 sweet onion
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 Tbsp garam masala spice mix (see note*)
2/3 cup rice vinegar
juice of 2 limes
1 cup sugar


Small dice peppers and onions, removing the seeds and membranes (or not for a much hotter version) from all but the fingerhot and serrano peppers. We sliced these two into thin rings. Heat oil in a small pot and sweat vegetables on medium-low heat, about ten minutes. Add garlic and ginger paste and cook another five minutes. Add spice mix, lime juice, vinegar and sugar and reduce until the chutney is thickened, about ten more minutes. Ladle into jars, attach lids and rings and process for ten minutes.



Note* Garam Masala is a warm (not hot) spice mix typical of the northwest region of India, including Kashmir and Punjab. You could buy it in an Indian market, but blending your own spices gives you a much more fresh and intense flavor, and you may also alter it according to your own tastes. Ours included, in order of mass, largest to smallest: cardamom, allspice, anise seed, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, fennel, and cloves.

Old Fashioned Apple Butter

Okay, I've got something to fess up to: I miss autumn. I miss the leaves changing colors, and that crisp feeling in the air. I miss pulling out a cozy sweater to visit the nearest pumpkin patch and drinking fresh apple cider at Reeger's Farm fall festival. But since winter and snow inevitably must follow, I will stay here in perpetual summer and honor the season the best way I can- with food.
I will make chili and roast chicken, bake pumpkin pies and zucchini bread and slather it with apple butter just like the Amish make at Smicksburg. Of course, no one here sells good old fashioned homemade apple butter, so I had to make it myself. Here's how-


12 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings, sterilized
10# sweet apples (I used NY Honey Crisp)
2 cups water
1-2 Cups brown sugar (depending on the sweetness of your apples)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground clove

Wash and cut apples into one inch chunks. I removed the core, but left the skin on. In a large pot, cook apples with two cups water on medium-high heat until very soft. Pass apples through a Foley food mill into a medium size pot. At this point you could add the sugar and spices and process as apple sauce. For butter, cook apple puree on very low, just barely a simmer, stirring every fifteen minutes, until reduced by half. Mine took about three hours to reach this point. Make sure to partially cover it as you cook, as it tends to splatter quite a bit, but also needs an opening for steam to escape.
As it reaches the appropriate thickness add the sugar and spices. Begin with one cup sugar, adding more to taste. For the last step, to make it more apple buttery, I used a hand-held immersion blender to smooth it out. You could also use a blender. This is an important step so do not skip it. Otherwise, your apple butter will just look like very thick apple sauce. Ladle into sterilized jars and process ten minutes.
Because this is so time consuming, and creates a lot of dishes to wash, I do not recommend making any less than ten pounds at a time. You could even double it, provided you have pots large enough to cook that many apples. And given your family is all going to want a jar, that would probably be a good idea.

September Stonefruits

There's something about stone fruits that reminds me of the far-east, spices, tea and whimsical settings.



When I took on canning, I had in my mind images of my parents canning shelves, filled with spaghetti sauce- enough for a year- and my grandma's basement pantry bursting with peaches in syrup, pickled peppers and enough applesauce for the entire family to take some home when we visited.
And though I still hold these lofty goals of putting up an entire year's worth of, well, anything, every month my projects seem to morph into more of a creative experiment than a canning project.
Here I would like to insert some intelligent, Taoist Lao-Tzu quote, but instead I keep thinking of one of my former Chef's favorite sayings, which just seems to say it best- "It is what is is."


Imperial Stone Fruit Preserves
6 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings, sterilized
6 pounds mixed stone fruits
(I used 3 peaches, 2 nectarines, and an assortment of 6 plums)
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp 5-spice powder
1/2 tsp ginger sea salt (substitute 1/8 tsp ginger powder and 1/2 tsp sea salt)
3 green tea teabags
1 cup sugar

Blanch fruit in boiling water for 30 seconds to one minute, move to ice water bath and remove skins. Cut fruits into thin slices. In a medium pot, bring fruits, zest, juice, and spices to a low simmer. In a small pot bring 1 cup water to a boil, add tea bags and let steep four minutes. Remove teabags and reduce tea to 1/2 cup. Add tea and sugar to fruit and let simmer until syrupy and passes a set-test, about 40 minutes. Ladle into jars, wipe rims and attach rings and process 10 minutes.


This one is Joe's creation- dark, rich and mysterious in flavor, this confiture would pair with sweets as well as a glass of Cabernet and a thick slice of manchego cheese.

Cherry Cacao Confiture
1 1/2 pint jar and 1 1/4 pint jar, lids and rings, sterilized
1 3/4 pounds dark cherries (1 1/2 pounds pitted)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cloves, ground
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
dash sea salt
1/2 cup sugar

Wash and pit cherries. In a small pot combine cherries, balsamic vinegar, clove, cinnamon, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt and bring to a low simmer. Let simmer until confiture begins to thicken. Add sugar and stir often, until it reaches a syrupy consistency, about 25 minutes. Ladle into jars, wipe rims, attach lids and rings and process for 10 minutes.

And just in case you wanted to know how to make the scones- here's the extremely easy recipe for those, too.

Whole Wheat Almond Scones
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup sliced almonds, plus 2 Tbsp
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
3/4 cup milk, plus 2 Tbsp

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flours, baking powder and salt together. Cut in cold butter. Incorporate almonds and 1/3 cup sugar, then stir in 3/4 cup milk. Bring together dough on a floured surface and form into a large disk. Cut into eight pieces, brush the top with 2 Tbsp milk, sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp almonds. Move pieces to a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Remove and serve with an assortment of jams and whipped cream.

Joe's Giardiniera

With two chefs in our kitchen, there are always two ways of doing everything. As a married couple, you would think that the spirit of compromise would lead us to something of a hybrid recipe for the dishes we create, but somehow it never works out that way. Normally, one of us will come up with an idea and bring it to life, with the other tweaking it and offering insight along the way. While I really like to be the "chef", it is also interesting to be the "sous-chef", and see what comes out of the mind of another person when left to their own artistry.
Here, for example, is Joe's Giardiniera (compare to my version several months ago). It is miraculous to imagine these two very distinct recipes came from the same basic ingredients.

8 pint jars, lids and rings
1 bunch celery, sliced
1 head cauliflower, cut to florets
2 large hungarian wax peppers, sliced (with seeds for hot, no seeds for mild)
4 small onions, quartered
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 lb. carrots, sliced
1/2 lb. green beans
1 Tbsp. oregano
1 bulb garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp. peppercorns
5 Cups water
5 Cups vinegar
2 Tbsp. canning salt
2 Tbsp. sugar

Mix all vegetables except garlic in a bowl with oregano. Bring water, vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil to dissolve salt and sugar; cover and hold. Sterilize jars, lids and rings. Divide garlic and peppercorns among jars. Pack vegetables into jars and top with brine. Attach lids and rings and process for ten minutes.