The Relic

Plain Old Tomato Paste (YAWN)

The item pictured to your immediate right no longer serves any useful purpose. It is covered with dust. It sits in a kitchen cupboard accomplishing nothing at all other than blocking our path from other useful food items. It is as useful as that old television set gathering dust in your garage. If this was the "Utlimate Computer" episode from original Star Trek series fame, the name of this can would be "Captain Dunsel."

It short, it is the "most uninteresting can in the world."

So why keep it around then? That's a good question! Perhaps it serves as a reminder of a different time in our lives.  Perhaps we might need this in a pinch one day in the near future, however I doubt that very much. It has as much use now as that old jar of Herdez brand salsa, which has since been washed out and now contains syrup for pancakes (recycling! It works!).

Recent Garden Harvest-Salsa Anyone?

This is the State of Bird -- 2012. Venus and I haven't purchased a jar of anything containing a tomato product in God-knows-how-long. Purchases of tomato sauce, tomato paste, whole tomatoes, cut up tomatoes, tomatoes with herbs, tomatoes-infused-with-garlic, hot salsa, medium salsa, etc. haven't been on a Bird shopping list for years. This is what it means to garden. Call us snobs, and perhaps we are, but why buy any of these things when we can create an even better product and bottle it up at home?

Snobs we are. Because that's what we do. And, perhaps, it might be the reason why I haven't been blogging much as of late. August means harvest season in the Bird Back 40 -- and what a whopper of a harvest it's been. Although it's petered off somewhat, the garden will continue to produce as long as weather permits. And if the good Lord gives us the kind of weather that pays off in another 15 pint jars of lip smacking Roasted Garlic, Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Salsa, Herb-infused tomato sauce or additional quarts of whole heirloom tomatoes -- I won't complain.

Herbed Picante Tomato Sauce

Our latest project containing garden grown goodies is pictured upper left. Harvests like these were the norm during the months of July and August. And with each and every harvest of peppers, tomatoes, herbs, etc -- a tasty canning project awaited. Would it be fresh cut up tomatoes with herbs and peppers? Pickled peppers perhaps? Sliced and pickled Mucho Nacho Jalapeno peppers? It really depended upon what the garden gave us on that particular harvest day.

If there's one other hard lesson I've learned about home-canning efforts, it's this. One does not make an appointment with the garden to tackle a canning project. The garden doesn't make an appointment with you, either (next Sunday good with you? OK!). The vegetable garden tells you when it's ready. Best be prepared. Miss a day? Miss a lot. When the garden is ready, you're ready. Those fifty ripe tomatoes aren't going to sit around and wait for you forever and a day.

Whole Tomato Canning Project-Summer 2012

Although we're far short from calling ourselves master canners -- or master anything for that matter -- we've done this enough times to know exactly what kind of tools we'll need and what kind of jobs must be accomplished. Putting together a home-canned salsa -- for example -- is far more difficult than a project of whole tomatoes. A simple batch of Roasted Garlic, Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Salsa is far from simple, and requires multiple steps from roasting to peeling to chopping to processing.

Exact measurements are an absolute must for projects like these. If you're not following time-tested canning recipes to the letter, or pushing the envelope a bit, you're risking a trip to your local hospital and a stomach-pump procedure. Although a procedure like this has never been performed on yours truly, it doesn't exactly sound like a fun way to spend a Saturday night!

A Caitlin Contreras Original

Naming rights also come into play when you're tackling a project like this. Who wants to give a home-canned project a name like "tomato sauce" or just plain ol' "salsa." Why confine yourself to terms like "medium" and "hot" on the spicy scale? Why not "volcanic" instead? Or -- hold a Facebook naming contest as we recently did for our last batch of salsa. Although Dan Vierra (former Sacramento Bee garden editor and writer) was on his game with suggestions like "Cremation Mix," it was Caitlin Contreras who knocked it out of the park with her suggestion of "Almost-As-Hot-As-Venus."

The wife that is Venus approved. Caitlin's double-entendre name selection also earned her a free jar of salsa.

The payoff for all this hard work comes in the dead of winter. Grocery stores are selling rocks disguised as red tomatoes for $3 lb. or more.  Although you can pick up two or three cans of off-brand sauce for a buck, there's nothing quite like the feeling or SMELL of opening a jar of heirloom tomatoes that you processed the previous summer. That fresh-from-the-vine harvest smell and experience wafts up and encompasses an entire kitchen.

Summer's Bounty: Heirloom Tomatoes

That, my friends, is the payoff. This is what makes all that hard work worth it and more. Dinner that night will be reminder of those carefree warm summer days.

Snobbery has its rewards.

Did someone say recipes? You can find the recipe for our original Roasted Garlic, Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Salsa here. Another favorite is posted below. All have been tested and are "canning safe."

Herbed Picante Tomato Sauce

(a Sharon Howard original recipe)

NOTE: Food processor or blender required...You will also need canning equipment like this.

24 cups smooshed tomatoes whirred smoothish
4 cups chopped herbs of your choice

1 cup finely chopped jalapeno peppers (including seeds)
12 TBSP bottled lemon juice
2 TBSP coarse salt.

I use basil, oregano and parsley but you can use only one or two or three and you don't need to use equal amounts, in other words you can go 2/3 basil 1/3 parsley just DON’T increase the amount of herbs or peppers. Bill and Venus use whatever herbs they have in large amounts from the herb garden. This includes basil, oregano, sage, majoram, spicy oregano, thyme, etc.

Directions:

Fresh Garden Herbs

Add all items together and bring to a rolling boil. Lower heat to a high simmer, you want to see some action but not a full boil. After coming to the boil a foam will form, skim it off.

Place your one-pint canning jars in the dishwasher, when the jars are done so is the sauce. I generally cook about an hour, you can go longer. I don't like to cook less than an hour 'cause I want some thickening to take place while canning so it doesn't need to much cook time when I use it.

Place canning lids into a pot of hot water after washing. Bring to a simmer, but not a full boil.

Fill jars as normal. Wipe tops of jars to ensure a tight seal. Seal to finger tight with lids and rings. Hot Water Bath for 45 minutes. Or pressure can at 15 lbs. for 25 minutes.

Picking a Peck of Peppers!

Bird Pepper Crop: Bird Back 40

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?

If Peter Piper Picked a peck of pickled peppers,

Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Go ahead and say that five times fast! C'mon now! I "double-dog-dare" you to do it!

WARNING! Mouthwatering recipes ahead. Better bring a BIB to this blog posting -- because it's literally bursting with late summer goodness.

Yeah, yeah I know. The calendar on the wall reads "summer fun ends at Labor Day, son." But -- technically? We've got another ten days or so before Autumn, 2011 officially kicks in (September 23rd to be exact). Until then? I'm enjoying my summertime bounty!

California Wonder: Yellow Bell Pepper

Besides -- the weather hasn't exactly slacked off in terms of heat now has it? The heirloom tomato crops have mostly delivered a large summer crop and new fruit is already forming at the top for a much-hoped-for fall delivery. The wife that is Venus and I will enjoy fresh garden tomatoes until November if Mother Nature is in that giving sort of mood.

One crop that is indeed late this year -- but welcome just the same -- is all things PEPPERS! From Bell Peppers to Jalapeno Hot Mamas -- the Bird pepper crop is indeed "busting out" this September. It's been a long time coming -- but welcome just the same.

Like most backyard crops? Nothing really compares to a pepper harvested straight from the backyard garden. It is literally bursting with a sweet and tender juice -- and the Jalapeno peppers are at the point where they will burn the skin off your lips if you're not careful.

Mucho Nacho Jalapeno Pepper

At least -- it does seem that way.

Venus and I are somewhat partial to the Jalapeno peppers because they have a wide variety of uses in so many different summertime dishes. Fajitas aren't fajitas -- unless you got a finely sliced n' diced jalapeno pepper in the mix. Salsa isn't salsa without the bite of a Mucho Nacho Jalapeno. And nothing goes better with a big bowl of Chicken Pho (pronounced "fu" as in "fun") than a carefully sliced Purple Jalapeno.

Plus -- as noted in this blog before -- it is the only hot pepper that I know of that retains that famous heat after boiling on a stove with other ingredients for a good 30-minutes to one hour. The mighty orange Habanero turns into pipsqueak status after cooking, as do a number of other "hot" peppers that are somewhat hotter than the Jalapeno on the "burn your lips off" scientific scale.

Purple Jalapeno Pepper

So, we be partial to Jalapeno peppers. Not just one bush of them either -- but three. What we don't use in fresh cooking this year can be canned for later use. Yes, even the Jalapeno retains some heat after canning. It's not quite as strong, but it does deliver a welcome jolt in the dead of winter.

Safe to say that Venus are using peppers in just about every dish we cook this month. Besides the already mentioned Fajitas, there's the asian-inspired Green Pepper Beef. The Betty Crocker Cookbook offering of Southwest Chicken Soup is one of the best in the land IF you're using fresh red bell peppers, and plain old scrambled eggs are just boring unless it's scrambled with some sliced and diced Ancho (aka Poblano) peppers.

Peppers are make quite the meal offered raw. There's nothing quite like a summer plate of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers tossed with a little red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and a dusting of fresh or dried oregano.

Ancho or Poblano Peppers

I'm hungry already!

Venus and usually go a little overboard with our pepper plantings -- and this year is no different. We do depend on them a lot for canning efforts. Our Roasted Garlic, Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Salsa, for example, relies upon anywhere from four to six cups of roasted and fresh peppers. Canned tomato sauce is kinda boring unless you zip it up a bit with a Jalapeno or two. Get the idea?

Therefore -- it isn't all that uncommon to find anywhere from 10-15 odd and assorted pepper plants growing in the Bird Back 40. That includes the aforementioned Jalapeno peppers (three different varieties), the California Wonders (Red, Yellow, Green), Big Bertha (Purple) and usually one or two unique offerings. This year? It's the Paprika pepper -- which Venus and I will dry in some safe spot in the garage and grind into fresh paprika pepper.

Big Bertha Bell Pepper (Purple)

Who needs to blow $4 or $5 at the store for a small jar of overprocessed paprika when you can get something better at home for FREE? The numbers add up for me.

And now -- as I promised -- some pepper recipes that WILL make you drool. Remember, I warned you. Don't blame me if your computer keyboard suddenly shorts out!

SOUTHWEST CHICKEN SOUP (Betty Crocker Cookbook offering)

2 large red bell peppers

1 whole chicken breast (about 3/4 pound), skinned and boned

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (we use a tad more)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup cubed jicama

Bill's Note: Like most Betty Crocker recipes, the seasonings are catered to blander tastes. We usually double up on spices.

Red California Wonder Bell Pepper

Set your oven control to broil. Place bell peppers on rack of broiler pan with tops about 5 inches from heat. Broil peppers, turning occasionally, until skin is blistered and evenly browned (do not burn!). Remove peppers to a brown paper bag, seal tightly. Let peppers stand 20-30 minutes.

Place chicken on rack in broiler pan. Place broiler pan so top of chicken is 5 to 7 inches from heat. Broil chicken 15 minutes, turning once, until juices run clear. Cut into quarter inch strips.

Pare peppers (remove skin and seeds, but do NOT run under water). Discard skin and seeds. Place peppers and onion in blender or food processor and blend and process until smooth.

Heat pepper mixture, chicken broth, lime juice, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic to boiling in two quart saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in reserved chicken and jicama. Heat until hot.

GREEN PEPPER BEEF

1/3 cup soy sauce

¼ cup beef broth

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

¾ pound top round steak, thinly sliced (I use ground turkey)

1tsp light Sesame Oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp Ginger

2 tsp Curry Powder

2-3 green or red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips

Green or Red Pepper Beef Anyone?

Mix soy sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, minced garlic, ginger and curry powder together and set aside.

Stir fry beef strips or ground turkey with sesame oil until cooked. Add peppers and stir fry until crisp tender. Add reserved sauce and top to coat. Serve over hot rice.

NOTE: At one time this recipe also called for cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I HATE cornstarch, so I left it out. But you're free to add it right back in again (blech!).