Saveur, Food Swaps and Tasty Things

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Marisa

Saveur voting

Hello friends! I hope everyone had a lovely Easter and start to Passover. I have a number of odds and ends to share with you right now, but make sure to check back later today, as I’ll have a fun canning product review and giveaway.

Last week, I was delighted to learn that I’ve been nominated for a Saveur Best Food Blog Award. This is the third year that this site has been in the finals for one of these awards and I’m entirely honored and flattered by the nod. If you’d like to vote for Food in Jars (I’m nominated in the Best Recipe category), you can do so by clicking here.

While you’re over there, may I also suggest that you vote for Punk Domestics in the Best Group Blog category? PD is a gathering place for canners, preservers and other like-minded DIY food folks and I’d love to see them get some love.

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The fourth Philly Food Swap is taking place on Thursday, April 26 from 7-9 p.m. It’s being held at Meadowbrook Farm, which is located a little bit north of Jenkintown. It’s something of a hike from Center City (depending on traffic, it’s a 45-ish minute drive from Philly), but there’s a group setting up ride shares on the Philly Swappers Facebook page. There’s a $4 fee to help cover costs and tickets can be bought here. I’d love to see some of you local suburban folks there!

Passover goodies

On occasion, I get sent food products for tasting and review. Because of this site’s narrow focus, I’m rarely able to write about them without violating my personal sense of canning blogger ethics. However, I got a couple recently that were good enough that I’m granting myself a one-time dispensation in order to include them here.

The first box I received included a few products from Manischewitz. They are famous for their matzo, kosher juices and wine and other products designed to help Jews eat well and adhere to their dietary restrictions. Since we’re in the midst of Passover, it seems like the perfect time to mention them.

My samples included the products you see above, as well as a bag of Kosher potato chips that my husband and I ate so quickly that I didn’t manage a photo (they were light, crunchy, salty and were ideally potato-y). I had a hard time stopping myself from nibbling the Crunchies all day long (the rest have been handed over to a Passover-keeping cousin as an airplane snack) and the coating crumbs are a tasty substitute for panko. Well done, Manischewitz!

graeter's

Finally, it’s time to talk ice cream. For those of you who live in the midwest, Graeter’s ice cream is no big thing. However, for us Philadelphians, the news that Graeter’s is bringing their small batch ice cream to area stores is fantastic, indeed. This ice cream is some of the smoothest, creamiest and most wonderful I’ve had in my lifetime.

It’s quite rich, but the flavor density is such that you only need a few spoonfuls in order to be entirely satisfied by it. I do try to limit ice cream to a “sometimes food” but from now on, I know where I’ll be turning to when I need a hit of something sweet, cold and creamy.

Disclosure: Both Manischewitz and Graeter’s sent me their products at no cost to me. I was not compensated for this post and my thoughts and opinions are all mine. 

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Cookbook: Ripe

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Marisa

Ripe

This time of year, I am ready for color. Enough of the muted browns and oranges of winter. I want bright! vivid! hues! Around the mid-Atlantic, we’re still a few weeks away from the start of the vibrant season, but I’ve found a book to tide me over until the strawberries and tomatoes.

Ripe spine

Ripe was written by Cheryl Sternman Rule and photographed by Paulette Phlipot. Bursting with colors and images, it is a joy for the eyes (if you don’t believe me, find a copy and look at the pomelo on page 132). Unlike most cookbooks that rely on either seasons or recipe genres for organization, the recipes in this one are in rainbow order.

Green Pea Tabbouleh

This book isn’t just photos and recipes. Cheryl has packed it full with features on specific fruits and vegetables. Wait, scratch that. Feature is decidedly the wrong word. These are actually mediations, centered around apricots, leeks and tomatoes. If you ask me, we should all spend more time contemplating and appreciating our food.

honey spiced pears over oatmeal

Since getting my hands on the book a few weeks ago, I’ve marked nearly half the pages with little sticky flags and fully intend to spend my summer and fall cooking my through my selections. Like those honey spiced pears you see above. I can’t wait to try those over oatmeal or on yogurt.

about the author and photographer

You can find more of Cheryl’s writing over at her blog, 5 Second Rule. Paulette’s photography lives here.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Ripe for review purposes. However, my opinions are all my own. 

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Food in Jars + Raina Rose = Jam Fest 2012

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Marisa

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My sister and I are very different people. She’s incredibly outgoing and is always happy to leap feet-first into a new experience. I can be a little bit more reserved and often take some time to assess the situation before diving in.

We also have a number of things in common, including an wonderful parents, a deep love of sweet potatoes and kale, and an inability to select a conventional career. While I spend my days cooking, teaching and writing, Raina divides her time between song writing, performing and taking care of 5-month-old Emmett.

When Raina heard that I was going to be in Portland for a few days during my book tour, she made plans to be there at the same time (after all, I haven’t seen her beguiling babe since the night he was born). It just made sense for her to plan a gig while she was in town to help cover travel costs.

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Because her show at the Alberta Street Pub and my book event at Powell’s on Hawthorne are the same day, we’ve taken to calling June 16 Jam Fest 2012. As Raina put it, “you can learn how to make jam, and then later see some sweet jams.”

If you’re in Portland, we’d love to have you join us for this one-day Jam Fest. My book signing/canning chat at Powell’s starts at 2 pm and Raina’s show at Alberta Street Pub will kick off promptly at 7 pm.

I’m also teaching a canning class while in Portland, should you want to do a little hands on jamming with me. It’s on Thursday, June 14 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Kitchencru. We’ll make strawberry lemon jam and have fun.

 

 

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Preserves in Action: Whole Wheat Pesto Pasta

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Marisa

frozen pesto

Most summers, I try to make up a couple of batches of pesto for the freezer. I don’t follow any particular recipe, instead just filling my food process with basil, parmesan cheese, toasted walnuts (who can afford pine nuts these days?) and olive oil until it all tastes good.

I use it throughout the year in salad dressings, on pizzas and spooned onto soup. Rarely though, do I do what most people do, which is use it in pasta. So for some of you, what you’re about to read is going to feel a little like me suggesting that you spread jam on toast. Just go with it.

dinner made with frozen pesto

Last week, I was dealing with a flu-like aliment and an impending trip to a conference where I knew I was going to be doing a lot of eating. I was tired of take-out or soup from the freezer and wanted something uncomplicated and a bit comforting.

So I roasted a couple bundles of asparagus, pan-seared a package of chicken tenders* and melted three generous spoonfuls of pesto into some hot whole wheat angel hair pasta. It was one of those meals where between bites, Scott and I kept looking at one another and saying, “this so good!” Sometimes simple really is best.

*When I say chicken tenders, I mean those thin strips of uncooked breast meat that come from the back of the breast piece. They are the speediest thing ever.

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A Few Food Books I’ve Enjoyed

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Marisa

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Last year, when I was writing my cookbook, I couldn’t read food writing. Even keeping up-to-date with my favorite blogs was a challenge. It was all I could to keep my own thoughts pulled together and reading the words of other writers left me distracted and fragmented.

Since putting the finished touches on the draft in the fall, I’ve been reading food books and memoirs like I have a deep thirst to quench. Here are the ones I’ve particularly enjoyed lately.

Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for a Farm of One’s Own
Fans of Jenna Woginrich’s blog Cold Antler Farm will find much to enjoy in her latest book. As someone who aspires to a slightly more homesteady life, Jenna’s story of building her farm is honest and uplifting.

Eating for Beginners: An Education in the Pleasures of Food from Chefs, Farmers, and One Picky Kid
The tale of a mother who cares a great deal about food and her son who won’t eat a bite of it. Written by Melanie Rehak.

Rurally Screwed: My Life Off the Grid with the Cowboy I Love
Regular readers of Jessie Knadler’s blog, also called Rurally Screwed, will be delighted when this book hits shelves next week. It’s the story of Jessie and her husband Jake; and tells the tale of how a city girl and a country boy found love and made it work. It’s not a food book exactly, but cooking, potlucks, gardening and preserving all play solid roles. Jessie also co-wrote a terrific canning book called Tart and Sweet that came out about this time last year.

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn’t Cook from Scratch — Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods
As someone obsessed with making things at home that are often bought at the store, I’ve adored this book. Jennifer Reese has cooked her way through just about every household staple, as well as some more exotic ingredients and has an opinion about every single one. She includes entertaining anecdotes and is totally honest when it comes to offering advice as to whether to make or buy something. She also writes an excellent blog called The Tipsy Baker. You should add it to your feed reader immediately.

An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace
There have been so many words of praise for Tamar Adler and her book. Here are mine. I adored this book, because it encourages cooking and does so in a way that leaving you longing to dash to the stove. I read it while vacationing at a bed and breakfast and it was all I could do to restrain myself from asking our innkeepers if I could borrow the kitchen for an hour.

Her message is that you can make a meal out of nearly anything and that eating well is as much about creative thinking as it is about anything else. If you’ve found yourself without much culinary motivation of late, read this book. It is certain to inspire.

Amarcord: Marcella Remembers
Most people know Marcella Hazan thanks to her simple pasta sauce. It’s the one in which you combine pureed tomatoes with some butter and a halved onion and let the whole thing simmer until delicious. However, she is so much more and this book tells her story.

I’d love to hear what food books the rest of you have been reading lately. Any recommendations for me?

Disclosure: I received free review copies of Rurally Screwed and Make the Bread, Buy the Butter. I bought the rest of the books mentioned here with my own hard-earned cash. 

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Photos from the Food in Jars Flickr Pool – Kumquats and More

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Marisa

It’s been an embarrassingly long time since I pulled together a post featuring photos from the Food in Jars Flickr pool, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not an world of goodness in there. Even during these quieter canning months, so many of you have been making lovely preserves. Here are a handful of the prettiest!
kumquat-habanero marmalade

Rebecca from the blog Cakewalk made a batch of glowing kumquat habanero marmalade. Aren’t those perfect circles of sliced kumquat gorgeous!

marmalade

Sweet-tart marmalade made using green lemons by Jennifer. I love her preserving blog. It’s called Putting By and you should add it to your feed reader.

Spiced Kumquats from Cheap Beets food blog

Spiced kumquats! These pretty little guys were made by Sarah who blogs (with her sisters) at Three Clever Sisters. The recipe can be found here.

Sauerkraut

This purple sauerkraut is the work of Evan McGinnis. Proof positive that even fermented cabbage can be beautiful.

more tomatoes

Though here in Philadelphia, we’re about as far removed from tomato season as you can get, over in Australia, they’re harvesting like crazy. Here’s the preserving work of Flickr user and Aussie rastis100. Aren’t those jars and bottles terrific?

Sweet Success

Finally, a few small jars of homemade maple syrup from Susy at Chiot’s Run. The volume of gardening and food preservation work she does is so inspiring!

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Philly Farm and Food Fest

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Marisa

Hello friends! I just wanted to offer a little heads up to my Philly area folks that there’s a very cool event happening next Sunday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Called the Philly Farm and Food Fest, it’s a celebration of the local food and the people who grow, make and produce it.

There will be workshops, cooking demos, a seed swap, events for kids, as well as opportunities to meet the area’s farmers, producers and food artisans. Whether you’re an old hand at this local and sustainable food thing or someone who is still trying to figure out how it can fit into your life, there’s something for you at the Philly Farm and Food Fest.

The Fest will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 1. Tickets are $15 if bought in advance, $20 at the door. To plan your day, check out the list of exhibitors and the workshops on offer. It’s being put on by Fair Food and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. I’m certain that a good time will be had by all.

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Grapefruit Jam

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Marisa

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I have a bad habit of buying a mountain of fruit without much of a plan and then letting it sit around while I ponder and research. It doesn’t get me into too much trouble this time of year since apples, pears and citrus can store fairly well. It becomes more of a problem during the summer months, when things ripen at lightning speed.

grapefruit jam

When I came across a tower of red grapefruit priced four for $1, I bought eight, figuring they’d keep until I determined how to deal with them. I tucked the bag into the back of the fridge while I considered marmalades, curds and jellies. By the time I came back to it, more than two weeks had passed. Thankfully, grapefruit are sturdy and so they didn’t suffer too terribly in the interim.

grapefruit jam

Because the fruit wasn’t organic, I decided against marmalade (always best not to use the whole fruit if you don’t know how it was treated) and instead opted for a grapefruit jam. I was inspired by the filling I made for this citrus tart a few weeks back. I also happen to love the flavor of grapefruit and I was hopeful that it would translate well to a spreadable preserve.

grapefruit jam

When it comes to grapefruit, I’ve never been one of those people who cuts it in half, carefully dusts it with sugar and digs it with a spoon. I eat ‘em peeled and segmented, just like an orange. It’s a little messy, but truly, there’s no way to deal with a grapefruit that isn’t just a little messy.

grapefruit jam

This recipe makes two pints (or four half pints if that’s your preferred measure). It’s a little bit of work to supreme the fruit (instructions here), but once that part is done, it cooks up in about 20 minutes like so many speedier jams. Spread on a buttered English muffin, it’s delivers the grapefruit flavor nicely, without the bitterness you get from marmalade. And though I like a hint of bitter on occasion, I was entirely fine not to find it here.

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A Vintage Ball Blue Book from 1974

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Marisa

Ball Blue Book 1974

Traditional vacations don’t really float my boat. I don’t really like hot, sunny beaches (though I’m always delighted by chilly days walking along the Oregon Coast) and I don’t do any of those snow sports.

My ideal vacation involves used bookstores, junk shops and exploring new-to-me cities. Through a stroke of colossal luck, I managed to marry a guy who’s idea of heaven is several hours in a bookstore. We vacation well together.

Ball Blue Book 1974

And so, we try take a long weekend at least once a year to explore a new city or cluster of little towns through their thrift stores, book sales and the occasional museum. This last weekend, we spent three and a half days in Harrisburg, PA.

We took the tour of the state capital building, wandered through the state museum, checked out Midtown Scholar and the Atomic Warehouse and played miniature golf. Our friends thought we were crazy to vacation in Harrisburg, but we ended up having SUCH a nice time. The City House B&B was our home base for the weekend and it was a fantastic place to stay.

Ball Blue Book 1974

I found a particular treasure at one of the bookstores we visited during the trip. A copy of the 1974 Ball Blue Book. The original cover price was $1. I paid $4 and still felt like it was a steal. It is so charming and bursting with personality, which is such a difference from the impersonal voice that the current versions of this book assume.

And as you might have guessed, I love the fact that it has a pint and a half jar on the cover! Seems eerily timely, doesn’t it?

Ball Blue Book 1974

It’s filled with pictures like the ones you see above. It looks an awfully lot like the photo spreads that bloggers often post these days. We’re not nearly as original as we once thought.

Make sure to check out that nifty jar lifter, too!

Ball Blue Book 1974

I had no idea that the quilted jars only dated back to the mid-seventies, but that’s what this book seems to imply. A fun little tidbit.

As much fun as it is to flip through a vintage canning book, do remember that it’s often not safe to follow the recipes in these volumes exactly as they are written. Canning methods and processing times have evolved a great deal over the last 35+ years and it’s important to always use the most up-to-date techniques. If you find a recipe you like in a vintage book, it’s best to use it as a starting point to search out an updated version.

How to Preserve a Husband

Finally, on the last page of the book they offer a recipe for “How to Preserve a Husband.” A relic from another time, to be sure.

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An App For Making Meal Planning Easy

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Marisa

Last December, when I was back in Portland, I had the pleasure of spending an hour with a reader of this blog. Ryan gave me a tour of the Nike campus where he works and we had a really nice conversation about food writing, blogging and life.

Ryan writes the blog Spinning Cook and yesterday, he launched a meal planning iPhone app called Spinning Meals. It’s designed to make it easier to help families plan and execute weeknight meals. You select the number of meals you need and give the plate a spin. It takes into account any parameters you’ve entered and delivers multiple nights of menus as well as a weekly shopping list.

It comes pre-loaded with recipes (and Ryan is working on adding more) but you can also add your family favorites. I’ve been a meal planner for years now, ever since I realized that without a little organization, I was wasting a ton of food and spending far too much money.

If you’re looking for an app to make meal planning and grocery shopping easier, do check this one out. It’s been a labor of love for Ryan and something he designed because he saw a need. It costs $2.99 and you can get it here. There’s a quick how-to video over on his site that details how to use the app. He’s also hosting a giveaway to coincide with the launch, so click over for more information.

Disclosure: Spinning Meals, LLC gave me the beta version of this app prior to its release for review purposes. However, my opinions are all my own and I was not compensated for this post. 

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