I’ve been so excited about my holiday list of my fave preserving and DIY books of 2011 that I decided to have a big ole’ cyber party on Facebook and give ’em all away!

It’s true!

I have so much to say: about the party, about the books, about how-we-gonna-have-one-of-those-holiday-cookie-parties in cyberspace?

Let me start with the books – the books that would totally be on my holiday wish list (and should be on yours!) if I didn’t already have every last one. I love these books!

Can it, Bottle it, Smoke it

by Karen Solomon is chock full of beautiful photos and clear instruction on things like plum catsup, carrot almond jam and pickled grapes. But the best part of Karen’s book is that she goes even further afield in her DIY kitchen. There’s a ‘stalk it’ section with tortilla chips, a ‘smoke it’ section with chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, and ‘munch it’ with crunchy lentil snacks. Need I say more?

The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking

Kate Payne and I go way back. I’ve been following her blog since it’s inception, and we even picked strawberries together once. Even if those facts weren’t true, I would still say that Kate has written a gem of a book. There isn’t a thing about homemaking left uncovered; hip décor on a budget, composting, environmentally friendly cleaning products, entertaining with style (while on a budget) canning, bread-baking, button-mending. She’s got the Martha gene, but cooler, much cooler. Even pilgrim me, whose had my house for quite some time now, learned a thing or ten from Kate. This book should be on your holiday gift list for anyone learning how to build a (hip) home.

Canning for a New Generation

by Lianne Krissoff has been out since 2010. I’ll be perfectly honest, it got lost in the shuffle of a gazillion preserving books that launched in 2010. But now that I finally have it in my paws, I can tell you it is definitely a cut above the rest. It delivers exactly what it promises; bold fresh flavors for the modern pantry. And, you gotta love a book that ends with a chapter entitled ‘Baked and Creamy Things to put Preserves on’.

The Urban Farm Handbook

by Annette Cottrell and Joshua Mchnichols is more than just a resource for city folk who want to take control of what they eat, it’s an inspiration. I’ve been following Annette’s blog since she began her journey in 2009 and all is can say is, wow! She did it – in the city! Yes, you can grow your own food – and a lot of it – on a little plot of city land. If you’re serious about getting closer to your food source, buy this book. But please, don’t take my word for it, you can view the first 50 pages on the urban farm handbook website.

We Sure Can!

by Sarah Hood is a fun book loaded with great canning recipes. What’s different about Sarah’s book is the spotlight she puts on the online canning and preserving community. Which, in case you haven’t noticed, has exploded in the last three years. You’ll find a short interview with yours truly and a couple of my recipes too. I’m not the only one – many of your fave canning and preserving bloggers are featured here.

Tart and Sweet

by Kelly Geary and Jessie Knadler hasn’t left my kitchen since I received a copy last spring. Like I said in April, out of the 101 recipes, there’s like 99 that I want to try. It’s been a joy to dig into this book and play with the modern flavors presented by these two talented preservers. And with a winter chapter that contains things like grapefruit honey jam and candied kumquats with cinnamon and star anise, this book is not leaving my kitchen anytime soon.

Homemade Living Series

Yes, I’m giving away Ashley English’s entire series to one lucky winner! Another one of my blogging buddies, I’ve been diggin’ Ashley’s blog since the beginning. This is a set of gorgeous hardback books – a great gift for anyone interested in small-scale homesteading. All four of the books are so well done; canning and preserving covers the classic recipes every beginner wants, and then offers up things like rhubarb and amaretto chutney. The home dairy book is one of the absolute best on the market – and has replaced my old stand-by. If you are thinking of dabbling in dairy, you want this book. While I don’t have my own just yet, keeping bees, and keeping chickens has me longing for that day. And I know I’ll be prepared, ’cause I’ve been pining over these books.

Sun pods

Shaped like an oversized grape, tastes like a very sweet lemon that can be eaten whole, peel and all, even when plucked directly from the tree.

No wonder why I love these little buggers.

Sweet Preserved Kumquats

1 & 1/2 pound organic kumquats
juice of 4 lemons (about 2/3 of a cup)
4 tablespoons sea salt
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 tablespoon black pepper, crushed
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly crushed
1 & 3/4 cups maple sugar (or a natural brown sugar like turbinado or demerara)
1/2 gallon jar

Directions:

1. Wipe each fruit with a damp paper towel, then with a dry one. Make sure they are 100% free of water as this can cause mold during the preserving process. It is a good idea to let them sit out in a warm dry place for an hour or so after cleaning.

2. Warm the maple sugar and lemon juice slowly in a small saucepan until sugar melts. Turn up the heat and boil for 2-3 minutes, just until the mixture looks slightly syrupy. Leave to cool in pan.

3. When crushing the spices, make sure the fennel and cumin still retain some shape. You don’t want to crush them to a powder. The black pepper can be crushed as fine as you like. Combine the salt and spices.

4. Slice off the button ends of the kumquats, and then slice the entire fruit in half lengthwise. If you see blatant seeds take them out. But you don’t need to dig out the very small concealed ones. Slicing the kumquats completely in half allows you to easily add the spice mixture. Just toss the whole lot together in a bowl, then transfer to a 1/2 gallon jar and pour the syrup over top.

Additional Notes

You’ll want to keep them either on a sunny windowsill or outside in the sun if you are in a warm climate. If you put them outside, be sure to bring them in at night. When making pickles like these, the timing depends on the temperature and will vary. Give it a check at the 2 week mark, and then every couple of days after that. It’s really up to you how soft you would like to let the kumquats become. I like mine still a bit toothsome, but definitely soft enough to chew freely. As the citrus breaks down, the syrup will become thicker. Once they are to your liking, store them in the fridge for a year or more. At this point they will be broken down enough to fit in a quart container. Or better yet, distribute them into even smaller containers and go through one at a time.

You can eat this anywhere you would an Indian pickle or chutney – accompanying all manner of curry, flatbreads, or mixed rice dishes. I particularly like it simply atop warmed basmati rice with a spoonful of yogurt for a quick lunch.

These may look innocent enough to you

But that’s because your eyes aren’t watering from the heat. If you’re a chile head like me, or another person I know then you might like what I’m about to tell you. I like my chiles homegrown (or local farmer grown) and I like my chiles all year ’round.

Fermenting Chiles

1/2 pound of chiles (or mild peppers if you’re more of a sweet head)
1 pint of water
1 & 1/4 tablespoons of sea salt
1 quart container

Directions:

I was in a real pickle about where to post all these amazing asparagus recipes this month.

I think I made the right choice.

Pickles, Pickles & More Pickles!

asparagus pickles – post-industrial eating, they look gorgeous! And I am so happy you are back on your feet. I think you are going to enjoy these little lovelies when you pop them open!

bloody mary asparagus – locally preserved, some like it hot, and some like it hotter (me). Love the horseradish and hot sauce additions!

last minute pickled asparagus spears – put-a-lid-on-it you are a trooper you are. Your little one is gonna love pickles I tell ya!

pickled asparagus – café del manolo as a garnish for ceaser salad! sounds like a perfect pairing! Makes me want to pickle some spears right now!

pickled asparagus – flamingo musings but I love rhubarb & fennel!! Er, nevermind…we’re talkin’ about asparagus here and it’s one of your favorites (whew!). About that recipe…what? You don’t have 22 lbs. of asparagus laying around?

pickled asparagus – nutmeg, nutmeg…love the nutmeg! (Ahem, and please see below regarding local!) 🙂

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pickled asparagus – I think you are really going to like these…the lemon adds a nice twist!

pickled asparagus – mother’s kitchen tellin’ it like it is…thanks for that link! A can jammer can never be too informed!

pickled asparagus – hip girl’s guide to homemaking, I totally dig your resourcefulness! And it’s all about a kitchen eco-system. It’s very important when trying to eat seasonally, locally, & stretching all that year round.

pickled asparagus & fiddleheads – backyard farms I absolutely love the way you fiddled with this recipe!

pickled asparagus with curry & spices – prospect: the pantry ok, I love anything curried! I am really curry-ous (had to) to know how these turned out, let us know! …oh, and talk to Joel above about floaters. 😉

spicy pickled asparagus – café Libby ya need to pack ’em in, pack ’em in, and maybe give ’em a seat belt ala well preserved. But they’ll taste just as good, so no worries!

spicy pickled asparagus – sustainable pantry thank you so much for that tip on Chinese medicine – now I have an excuse to be a sour puss! 😉 …and don’t worry, June 1st is almost here. But I am sure you will enjoy this little jar!

spicy pickled asparagus – oh briggsy! I love how you peeps put two and two together…asparagus & booze. Why not? Works for me.

tarragon pickled asparagus – notes from a country girl living in the city oh how very French of you! Tarragon she adds…for sure you are gonna love these! Let us know when you pop them open!

Apples, and quince and pears, oh my!

Below is a cornucopia of autumn delights – all put up in jars for later. Fall is my favorite preserving season. After all, apples and pears get pretty adamant about getting jarred. And quince, my new found favorite, seems to be all the rage this year around the canning blogosphere.

If you’ve been jamming the can, either at home or blogging about it…WOW! I can’t believe we are in the 11th month!

If you’ve never canned before, I hope you’ve been inspired by this group of wonderfully industrious and creative people. And if you haven’t quite mustered the gumption to start yet, I say, start here! Because applesauce and apple butter practically can themselves! So giddy up and get some pomes in jars!

Like this:

Butters & Sauces

apple thyme butter – showfood chef I don’t think you really understand how much I love jam on biscuits do you? Especially warm, flaky biscuits. I don’t appreciate being tortured nearly every time I read your can jam post. 😉

applesauce – bigger than a breadbox what could be more fun than making applesauce with a dear friend? (Making applesauce with a dear friend while drinking a crisp wine and shootin’ the shiz would be my guess…)

lazybones spiced apple butter – rufus & clementine this is quintessentially Nikki. Not that I’m sayin’ you’re lazy, just that you like to meander. I love that you got to a point to know when you can do this in canning. And then did it inexcusably!

pear and buddha’s hand butter – wine book girl this looks amazing, I really love the idea of a zesty butter!

salted caramel pear butter – knit and nosh gulp! just saying that makes my mouth water…

vanilla applesauce – toronto tasting notes I really do need to make me some straight-up applesauce, don’t I? The ‘great with hot porridge’ got me!

vanilla pear butter – market life sf your favorite thing you have ever canned? Oh my! …cognac? Oh my! Did you just step it up like, a gazillion notches? Sounds like!

At some point I opened my fridge last week and precisely 4 apples, 1 orange and 2 lemons sky-dove directly toward my toes and proceeded to spread themselves over the kitchen floor, like insurgents deftly finding their marks. There were many more behind them waiting for their signal.

I really can’t tell you exactly how I ended up with a bottom shelf loaded with citrus and a myriad of apples (not to mention the quince & cranberries) except for the fact that when I made the move back down to LIC for the winter I grabbed as many apples from local farmers as I could.

I know, I know, another one. Look, I’m not trying to hide the fact that during January and February I’m a citrus pickle making machine. Nor am I trying to hide my addiction to what I call Indian ‘sun’ pickles. Meaning pickles that are preserved – fermented actually – by allowing them to sit in the sun for a number of weeks.

I figure since I’m gettin’ in your face with a whole lotta these recipes this season, the least I can do is give you a little background info:

These citrus pickles are really not much different than the typical middle eastern preserved lemons by way of which they are preserved. In the middle eastern variety, there is always salt and sometimes spices in the mix.

In the Indian variety, there’s salt and always spices. Sometimes a lot of spices. There’s sweet chutney-like versions with sugar. And some traditional Indian citrus pickles even include oil, but those are not my favorite.

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One distinct difference between the two is the amount of salt – the middle eastern version typically has more. Because of the high amount of salt, each section is usually rinsed before eaten, and the lemon flesh is discarded or used for other purposes. Middle eastern preserved lemons are most often added to a dish; chopped and tossed in a tagine, a lentil dish, or a salad.

An Indian pickle is served as a condiment on the side of the plate, or more accurately in a little bowl all it’s own. They are most often eaten with the main curries, flatbreads, or rice dishes. They are not rinsed, but usually only a scant tablespoon will be consumed with the entire meal. Taken in little bites along with mouthfuls of the main dish, a good Indian or south Asian pickle will be powerfully salty, hot, sweet, or sour. Often more than one of these combined. And it will almost always be too intense to eat on its own.

GAP

A 2 pound batch of citrus can make enough to last a year or more. For the best keeping quality of both Indian pickles or middle eastern preserved citrus, follow these precautions:

• When making them, be sure that the peels are absolutely free of water, they must be completely dry. Water-wet peels going into a jar are pretty much guaranteed to foster mold.
• Once it has completely broken down, and for long term storage in the fridge, make sure all of the citrus is submerged in the gel-like liquid.
• A clean and dry spoon must be used to take out what will be served. Place the cap right back on, and if you go back for more, use a new spoon. If there is an uneaten portion, never put it back in the jar, just eat it later!
• When making big batches, I transfer them to smaller jars before putting in the fridge, and go through them one at a time. Doing this usually eliminates any problems as you are not going in and out of a jar for over a year.

This is my yearly lime version – hot and gingery!

Gingery Lime Pickle

8 large organic limes
juice of 3 limes (or 2 lemons)
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cayenne powder (or paprika, or 1/2 & 1/2)
1 cup julienned ginger
3 teaspoons turmeric powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder
1/2 gallon jar

Directions:

1. Wipe limes clean with a wet cloth, and then a dry. Let sit in a warm place for an hour or so to dry completely. Slice off button ends, and quarter.

2. Place one teaspoon of fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida powder in a dry skillet and toast for about 3-4 minutes, until the fenugreek seeds are just a shade darker. (If you have never smelled asafoetida powder before, don’t be alarmed, it’s supposed to smell that way). Let cool and grind in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

3. Fill the jar with limes and ginger. Add the spice powder, fenugreek seeds, salt, sugar and turmeric. Add the cayenne powder, paprika, or some mixture thereof. Or you can go for this:

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Extra hot cayenne pepper. Do take note, that though this seems like a lot of hot, it mellows out during the preserving process – and you do want a bite.

4. Pour the lemon juice into the jar. Place the cap on and give it a good shake this way and that, making sure that the spices distribute evenly around the ginger and citrus.

5. Place it in the sun, giving it a good shake once a day. If you see the cap lifting in the center from pressure, or the whole thing hisses at you when you walk by, don’t take it personally, slowly open it and release the fermentation gasses. Gently. If it’s hot outside when you make these, put them outdoors, making sure to bring them in at night. Or just keep them on a sunny windowsill.

6. This Indian pickle generally takes about 6 weeks, and sometimes up to 8 or 9. Test after the 5 week mark. Limes are usually slower to break down than lemons. You want to be able to sink your teeth into them, and your mouth should explode when you do.