Canning Heirloom Tomato Ketchup

Heirloom Tomato Ketchup

This is the first year I think I actually got my head on straight with the heirloom tomatoes. I kept sticking them up in the freezer until I had time to get back to them. Most of the really yummy tomato recipes for canning involve peppers and now the peppers are really coming on. So I pulled some of my tomatoes down from the freezer to make some ketchup.

This is a healthier version of homemade ketchup using some of the delicious chemical free and local honey my dear garden friend Ruth traded me for one of my watermelon jams. Great Trade I think!! So no sugar and non of the other nasty stuff they put in the ketchup sold at the market. 

For those of you who are sold on the tremendous flavors that heirloom tomatoes give us, you will also appreciate those flavors in this recipe. It's like what real ketchup use to taste like many years ago.

 Roman Stripe Paste Heirlooms

I must be a tomato rebel, because I simply have never found any reason to remove the skins or the seeds in my tomatoes. It's all good and I don't want to waste an ounce of any of them. When you blend the tomatoes for this ketchup there are no seeds to be seen or found. It's rich and creamy and thick!!

I also love the flavor of my heirloom sweet Italian peppers after they've turned nice and red. But you could use a red sweet bell pepper or any other of your favorite sweet peppers. Actually you can make it spicy and use mildly hot peppers here as well as really hot ones. It's all up to your personal tastes, so be creative and make it suit you and your family!

Ingredients

Makes 4 Pints

15 cups heirloom tomatoes, chopped (The best are Roma and Paste)

1 large sweet onion, chopped

1 or 2 large garlic cloves, minced
10 to 12 red sweet Italian Peppers (1 red bell, or sweet peppers of your choice)
1 1/2  cup 5% white vinegar (apple cider vinegar may be used)
2 tsp. fresh celery seeds
2 tsp. whole mustard seeds
2 to 3 fresh cinnamon sticks
1/2  to 3/4 cup honey 

1 tbsp. Sea Salt

Directions

Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers and vinegar to a large non reactive pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Next, remove your pot from the heat and place your mixture in the food processor or blender a little at a time until well pureed. Add it all back into your pot and add the honey and salt. 

You will need to make a spice bag out of cheese cloth to hold all your spices. Just tie a knot at both ends of the clothe and place it in your sauce. 

Bring back to a gentle boil. Again, reduce heat and simmer for another 30 minutes. This time stir it often until it reaches the desired consistency.

Pour your ketchup into hot sterilized jars. Wipe rims with clean cloth and place on lids and bands. Boil in water bath caner for 30 minutes.

Remove and put on counter out of any draft. Let set until cooled and store in pantry.

Happy Gardening and Happy Canning!

Pammy

Canning Amish Hot Pepper Mustard

Amish Hot Pepper Mustard

Hot but Sweet!!! Our good garden friend Anna Gayle shared this recipe that had been given to her by her Amish friend. The best recipes are always the ones that are passed down!

I had never thought about canning mustard before until I read the recipe. I knew right away it was going to be one of those things well worth putting up. What a wonderful way to use those really hot peppers too! 

For mine, I used some Jalapenos, Serrano's and some heirloom Italians called Friariello Di Napoli. The Italians are a sweet pepper, but I was a little nervous about getting it so hot I wouldn't be able to eat it. Especially since the Serrano's had already turned red and are dangerously hot. 

After the final taste test, I saw that I had made a wise decision by adding the Italians.It turned out so delicious! You could probably accomplish the same thing by substituting a sweet bell pepper or sweet banana peppers. Keep in mind that I didn't remove any of the seeds from the hot peppers and if you had a mind to do that it would turn the heat down a bit. 

Anny Gayle warned me to try and reduce the flour from the original recipe because she thought it made it to thick. Great advice and well taken by me. Her recipe also calls for using a 32 oz. jar of mustard for the base, but I could only find it in a 28 oz. jar at my market, I scaled the recipe to fit the 28 oz. jar size as well as lowering the flour content. 

Jalapenos, Serrano's and Heirloom Italians

The recipe yielded me 4 pint jars to put in the pantry and enough extra to fill the original mustard jar about 3 quarters of the way full to stick up in the fridge for immediate use. That really turned out perfect, because I don't think between Mr. Garden and myself we would eat more than that in a years time. But, I do want to make more while the peppers are coming on and can into half pint jars for gifts this Christmas.

This is really the perfect mustard to serve with a snack tray of hard salami and cheese with crackers. It also comes well recommended with meats like ham and pork. I think it will be great used to baste a fish on the grill too.  I can't wait to try some in a pasta salad dish or even adding a pinch to my deviled eggs. 

Since I had scaled the recipe down for using a 28 oz. jar of mustard, I put what I used in RED for you. I also made a special note under the directions for those of you that might want to use a food processor.

Ingredients

3 Dozen Pepper for 32 oz. jar mustard (30 Hot and 6 Very Hot) (26 peppers for 28 oz.)
Leave seeds in very Hot Peppers (I left all the seeds in)
32oz. Vinegar (I used 28 oz.)
32oz. Mustard (I used 28 oz.)
5 Cups Sugar ( I used 3 3/4 cup)
1 T. Salt (just a pinch less)
2 Cups Tap Water (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1 Cup Flour (I used 1 cup and it made it too thick so next time I am using less flour)

(I used 1/2 cup flour) 

Directions

Chop Peppers finely. Add Vinegar, Salt, Mustard, Sugar. Stir well~! Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Mix water and flour in a bowl or measuring cup. Turn off heat~! Add flour mixture. Put into jars. Process for 20 minutes

NOTE

I used my food processor to prepare the peppers.

 I first poured out the mustard into the pot I would be cooking in. 

I then filled the mustard jar with my vinegar, placed the lid on it and shook it up to capture all the mustard left in the jar. 

I then cut the stems from the peppers and quickly cut them into chunks. I placed all the chunks into the food processor and added the vinegar from the mustard jar a little at a time until it was all well blended. It left the peppers in very tiny pieces, almost as specs which is what I was looking for. 

Next I poured it all in the pot with the mustard, sugar and salt and began bringing it to a boil as recommended. 

While the mustard was cooking, I mixed my water and flour together to have it ready.

A special Thanks to a wonderful garden friend Anna Gayle!

Happy Gardening and Happy Canning!

Pammy

Putting Up The Sweets Canning Watermelon Jam

Watermelon Jam

My goodness this is so Good!! I'd been searching for ways to save and preserve for quite awhile as I've watched our watermelon patch go crazy this year. Watermelons are everywhere out there and my mind was racing with thoughts of making this a valuable food source during those winter months. 

Of course many of you have already heard about my Popsicle craze. Let me tell you tho...my Granddaughter absolutely loves them! I got even more creative and blended dewberries in them that I had put up in the freezer from some earlier spring pickings. Then I blended some Plain Whole Greek God Yogurt in them with a little squirt of Agave Nectar. 

Now I need to buy more molds! I know I could make my own, but the Grands love the sippy straws and frankly so do I because of the melt drips. What a easy fun way to preserve summers delights. 

Sweet Jubilee 

So I decided to go a step further with canning up the watermelon jam. I found a whole bunch of recipes for making it several places, but the most trustworthy one I found at Food In Jars. After reading how they made it and all of the comments that fans had posted I felt sure I could do this.

I did not find the need to alter it in anyway what so ever. Although I kind of chuckled when I read comments from people who wasn't looking for the Watermelon Jolly Rancher Candy flavor. All I could think was if I could actually achieve that candy flavor in a jar my family would be extremely happy. Who doesn't love Watermelon Jolly Rancher Candy in the South? 

I'm going to go ahead and give you the run down on the basic recipe, but I did do a couple of things to try to guarantee a decent good set for this jam. 

First, make sure you have a candy thermometer or even a meat thermometer will work as long as the temperature goes up to 220 degrees. That is the peek of perfection for the jam.

I still put two saucers in the freezer. The reason for this is to test the jam before you remove it from the heat. 

Once the jam reaches the 220 degree mark, grab a saucer out of the freezer and put a spoonful in the middle of the dish. Watch what it does, if it is really runny let the jam boil a little longer. Then test it again with your second saucer. If it begins to jell up it is done.

 This was also my opportunity to taste it while I stuck my finger in it on the saucer. YUM!!

Have some fun with varieties of heirloom colored flesh too!

The Basic Recipe

Makes 5 to 6 Half pint jars

6 cups pureed watermelon (remove any seeds prior to pureeing)
5 cups white sugar
6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1 packet powdered pectin

Be sure to use the powdered pectin. After all the research I did, I had seen many caners having problems trying to use liquid pectin.

You really don't want to cut back on the sugar here. That is what helps it thicken and preserve it. I made mine in 1/2 pint jars because this jam is going to be considered a treat for special occasions. I can see it making an awesome dipping sauce combined with some other ingredients to use for dipping homemade egg rolls. 

Directions

Prepare your canning jars and lids. Canning jars should be boiled and bands and lids in hot water, just to before it reaches boil.

Crack open that watermelon and start in the middle section where there are less seeds. Cut out chunks and put them in a large bowl to get ready to blend it up in either a food processor or blender. 

Make sure you take out all of the seeds as you get nearer the rind where they are usually plentiful. After it is all blended measure out the 6 cups needed into your non reactive pot.

Note: Do not double this recipe and actually the wider your stainless steel pot is the better it will cook. 

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and the pectin. Add this to your pot along with the lemon juice. 

Bring to a good rolling boil. It took mine almost 30 minutes to reach 220 degrees. It seemed as though it wanted to stay at around 117 degrees for quite awhile, but you can see the difference in the reaction of the boil when it reached the mark.Next time I probably won't need to use the thermometer after seeing what it does.

Do your frozen saucer test before you remove it from the heat. Do two saucer tests if need be. Once it has jelled on the saucer it is done. Fill your jars. Make sure you wipe the rims clean with a paper towel and then put on the lids and screw bands. 

Place the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Give this a chance to fully set. Sometimes it can take up to one or two weeks before it is fully set. So patients are needed while waiting.

Happy Gardening and Happy Preserving!!

Pammy

Rustic Cream Cheese Apple Tarts

Rustic Cream Cheese Apple Tarts

This is a delicious pastry that can easily be made with your favorite in- season fruits. I just happened to have some fantastic organic granny smith apples from the market. I've been watching as many of our gardening friends from around the countryside are sharing such wonderful pictures of their baskets full of fresh harvested apples as of late. These were the first of the season apples that inspired my tart making with the pure sweet essence of a real apple scent. I couldn't resist the fragrance as well as the need to curb my sweet tooth.

The rustic tarts are fun and easy to make. Each one will have its own unique artisan personality, but all will share the same wonderful taste. The crust is what brings in the cream cheese goodness and makes the dough quite easy to work with. The filling is really a matter of your own personal preference to flavors and depend on what fruits you are using. Some of this recipe has no exact measurements, but for you at home bakers, I'm sure you understand.

Crust

If you happened to try my heirloom tomato quiche recipe, then you will already be familiar with my favorite pie crust recipe.

1 cup organic unbleached flour

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed

3 oz. cold organic cream cheese

Pinch of Kosher or Sea Salt

 Whisk the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter and cream cheese until coarse, fine and crumbly. Squeeze and work it into a nice dough ball. Divide the dough into 4 pieces for rustic tart shells. Roll into a ball and pat out into a round disk. Roll out as thin as possible.Where dough splits on outer circles, mold with your fingers making a fairly nice edge as you would do for a regular pie crust. Fill the centers with your fruit mixture. Pull up a section of the crust over the filling, reaching almost to the center. Bring up another section with a bit of a fold. Continue your way all the way around, leaving some filling to show in the center. It does not need to be perfectly shaped, that is part of the artisan fun. But you want to be sure there are no holes in the bottom of the crust or at least 3/4 of the way up so that your filling does not leak out while baking.

Apple Filling

6 Granny Smith Apples

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Handful of Raisins (I used Chilean)

Couple dashes of ground cinnamon

A dash of Allspice

A squirt of lemon juice

2 Tbsp. Organic Coconut Palm Sugar

Walnut halves

Slice and peel the apples. Coat the apples with the lemon juice and the spices and sugar..Place in medium size saucepan with butter and raisins.Slowly cook on medium heat. Once the filling is beginning to warm and the butter has melted put on a lid and turn on low. Stir occasionally until it is nice and tender and still has juice. Keep it moist and juicy by not over cooking it.

 Brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle a little Coconut Palm Sugar on top before baking. Also I placed a walnut halve on the top of each tart.

Bake your tarts on 400 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on them to not over bake. They will have a nice brown top. The pastry is nice and flaky. Enjoy!

 We've just begun harvesting our first little New England Pie Pumpkins and can't wait to start baking with them! Coming Soon!!

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Texas Walermelon Season With Homemade Popsicles

Fresh Juiced Watermelon Popsicles

We are very fortunate to live in a historical part of the country well know for the Best Watermelons grown in Texas. In1858 the Houston and Texas Central Railway was extended to Hempstead in Waller County, causing the community to become a distribution center between the Gulf Coast and the interior of Texas  Hempstead is famous for its watermelon crop, and until the 1940s the town was the top shipper of watermelons in the United States

Thyme Square Gardens "Crimson Sweet"

Coming up soon!  23rd Annual Watermelon Festival
on Saturday, July 21, 2012!

 There will be a full day of family fun for the whole family starting with a parade at 9 a.m. followed by a Queens Cornation, BBQ Cook-Off, Vendors, Great Food, Games, Watermelon Auction, Quilt show, Car & Tractor Show and Carnival. We will end the evening with a street dance at 8:30 p.m. with National Guard Member and Country Music Star Darby Ledbetter with opening performance with the Josh Ward Band. Be sure to check out the rules for the Homegrown Watermelon Contest! There is even a prize for the Youngest Melon Grower! This is a great way to help support our local community and have a family day of fun and entertainment.

 Watermelon Popsicles Ready for the Freezer

There are a Jillion ways to make Watermelon Popsicles! Anything from easy smeezy to fancy smansy are possible. Of course it all starts with a fresh, crispy, ripe and sweet organic goodness like the ones we've been blessed with straight from our garden. And nothing really tastes more refreshing on a Hot Texas July Day than icy cold Watermelon!

Processing the Watermelon can be achieved in a couple different ways. I simply ran watermelon chunks right through the juicer, seeds and all. The juicer spits the seeds on in with any little bit of pulp. If you don't have a juicer, don't worry! You just need to take the seeds out or grow a seedless watermelon. Then all that needs done is to whip it up in your food processor or blender. An electric mixer could even do a great job and if all else fails, grab your potato masher! Its as simple as that! 

If you don't have popsicle molds they can be made in paper cups or snow cone cups with a stick placed in them. My Grandchildren love the molds with the sippy straws so they can catch any melted juice.

One of the healthiest and simplest is just straight up frozen juice. I like adding a tad of lemon lime soda and a spoon of organic coconut palm sugar just to spice it up a bit. For a creamier popsicle just blend in some plain whole Greek yogurt! 

Make a whole bunch!! Put them up in your freezer and enjoy Watermelon all year!

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Hugelkultur With A Willow Tree

 

Fallen Dead Willow Tree and Stump

What is Hugelkulfur you might ask? I'm not sure if I'm even pronouncing it correctly! But it turns out this is another really cool method of natural gardening using a form of permaculture. The word itself is actually German for "mound Culture." Let me explain further.

Here we were with a fallen dead Willow Tree, pretty much right at our back door, stump and all. It is also right smack dab in the lawn part of the yard. This might sound crazy to some, but I really hate the lawn and we've been working towards killing it as fast as nature will allow. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to do just that.

I started out by taking pictures of the mess, looking for some inspiration. I decided to post one of the photos on our Thyme Square Gardens FB page and see what kind of inspiration some of our fans might find with this Willow Tree. Everyone that posted had the same suggestion. Hugelkultur!! HA!! This is why we love all of our readers!! We just want to thank you for all of your support!!

My Mr. Garden and his artistic vision seen the curve of the tree as the perfect spot for nestling the stock tank. We use our stock tank as a swimming hole for the grand kids as well as a rain water collector. 

We decided to create another natural habitat area by simply planting up around most of the trunk with Canna Lilies that will help improve the soil, a nice Castor bean tree that will make shade and will yield us more organic matter and a bunch of 4 O'clock plants for a slash of color. 

We left the one end open where the kids are using it as a place to sit with their towels to dry off. By adding a couple of flat rocks in front it makes it easier for them to climb up into the tank.

So this isn't exactly burying the tree trunk in compost and soil. But then, we are not exactly the digging kind of folks. Especially in our hard clay soil. It will gradually decompose, but we can have fun with it while nature does its thing. The whole concept of permaculture is to work with nature instead of against it, right?

As for the tree stump, it is now a rock garden filled with moss rose. 

I have to admit it is really becoming quite a jungle out here!! But think about all that organic matter we will have to put back into the earth! We are transforming our land that was once a piney wood forest, stripped of all its trees by ranchers and farmers years ago, back into the oasis it once was. 

It takes nature time to heal, but by working with it instead of against it we can win in the end.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy