Spiced Tomato Ginger Chutney

This is how I made it the first time (8-18-2012).  Everyone that ate it the next day loved it, so I want to make it again in little jars to give away.  A little goes a long way. It was good with sirloin steak (why I made it in the first place), but was also good with raw veggies, crackers or chips, and it would be really good with cheese too.   I used a variety of really ripe tomatoes from the garden that needed to be cut up and used immediately.

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh ginger, minced

2 pounds or 4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar, (raw turbinado)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
1/4 cayenne
1/4 cup dried cranberries

In heated oil, cook onion, garlic, ginger about 5-7 minutes until softened.
Add tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, spices, and cranberries, cook until starts to boil.
Simmer and stir occasionally until thickened, about 45 minutes.  It reduced to about 2.5 cups.
Chutney keeps 3 months in refrigerator.

Recipes I consulted to come up with my version both used twice as much vinegar as I do (red or cider) and twice as much sugar (brown or white).  They also used raisins and/or currents instead of the dried cranberries I had.  One had lemon zest, mustard seed in addition to these spices with no ginger and the other recipe had the ginger, but none of the other spices.  One recipe sauteed using olive oil, the other skipped the oil and saute step.

CANNING CONSIDERATIONS
Having reviewed a number of other chutney recipes to see if I it was safe to can my tomato chutney recipe, the only other recipe I saw that used olive oil (roasted the tomatoes and onions with 2 tsps oil) noted that this chutney could not be canned, only frozen.  However, this was also the only chutney recipe I saw that did not have vinegar, so it seemed more like roasted vegetables than chutney to me.

To be safe to can my recipe, I am going to leave out the oil and saute step and boil everything together until thick and then ladle into 1/2 pint jars and process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

I found 1 canning recipe that used as little vinegar as mine (3 cups tomatoes to 1/4 cup vinegar), so I have convinced myself that my recipe is safe to can.  It was Sun-Dried Tomato Chutney in the Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving that my niece gave me for Christmas a few years ago.

Later I made a tomato chutney using Thai spices that was fantastic but I did not write down what I used.  I did find one recipe years later, but it is not the same. http://zaikazabardast.com/2012/05/21/bruschettawiththaitomatochutney/
2015- did this version http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-tomato-chutney-100732

Beet Hummus and Eggplant Hummus

I've been making beet hummus for several years now based on inspiration from Elise at http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_hummus/.  I use twice as many beets as Elise.  The eggplant recipe is a combination of ideas from Elise and David Lebovitz. It is easy to make these 2 recipes at the same time because they both beets and eggplant can roast in the oven at 400 degrees and they use almost the same ingredients, in a food processor.  Whip up the eggplant hummus in the food processor first, scrape it into another bowl, and you may not even have to wash the processor before using it to make the beet hummus.

Beet Hummus Recipe

Roast Beets First
Preheat oven to 400 degree.  Cut beetroot from greens leaving about an inch of stem with the beets. Place 1 pound (or more) of washed beets in a roasting pan with about 1/2 inch of water and cover tightly with foil. Roast until done.  Most medium sized beets are ready 60 minutes, large beets take about an hour and half.  Let beets cool.  Slip off beet skins while running under cold water (helps minimize staining hands red. (You may want to wear gloves).  You can also roast by tightly wrapping each beet in foil and placing on oven rack.

Add to Food Processor:

• 1 to 2 lbs quartered cooked beets
• 1-2 large garlic clove, chopped
• 5 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used lime juice once by mistake and that was good too)
• 1/4 cup of tahini (sesame paste)
• 2-3 teaspoons cumin
• salt and pepper, a little 

Run processor until smooth.  Adjust lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt and pepper to your taste.
I usually use about 2 bounds of beets, but I don't increase the rest of the ingredients much or at all, and it still tastes really good.

Each pound of beets will make about 2 cups of hummus.  Freeze what you won't eat within a week in small containers.

Eggplant Hummus (aka Baba Ganoush)

Poke several japanese or globe eggplant several times with a fork (about 2 pounds raw).  If the globe eggplant are large, cut them lenthwise in half first.  Roast on cookie sheet at 400 degrees about 40 minutes until they collapse insides are very soft.  You cannot overcook eggplant, but if you undercook it, you won't be able to mash it with a fork.  You can also roast the eggplant on the grill.

Scrape cooked and soft eggplant into food processor.  Add the following ingredients and pulse until it is the consistency you like.

3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tablespoons lemon juice (or lime, which I used last time)
1/4 to 1/2 cup tahini
1 - 1.25 teaspoons coarse salt (use half if you use regular salt)
1/8 -1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/2 -1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
regular pepper if not using cayenne
1 T olive oil (or more for consistency) (I did not use any last time)
flat leaf parsley, chopped

Use any combinations of the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne that appeals to you.  Most baba ganoush recipes garnish with parsley, but I like to put the parsley right in the mix, although if freezing, I wonder if it is better to leave out the parsley.  Update:  I froze it with parsley and it was fine when it defrosted.
Eat within 3 days or so, or freeze some for later.

Holiday Biscotti

I've been making biscotti for Christmas gatherings and gifts every year since I found out Biscotti existed, sometime in graduate school I think.  After collecting and trying dozens of biscotti recipes over the decades, I keep coming back to one basic recipe (no butter, some vegetable oil, light on sugar) and then mix in whatever combination of extracts, spices, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, etc, that strikes my fancy. 

This year I made 4 batches: anise with chocolate coating, dried cranberry and almond with white and dark chocolate coating, tiny chocolate chips and almond with dark chocolate coating, and a cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves (1/4 tsp each) and candied ginger version.  This picture shows a box of 28 that will be for my in-laws. 

basic biscotti recipe by Jandee on allrecipes.com  It is simple and works every time.  Dust your hands with flour when shaping the dough and it will magically turn into 2 rolls and then just pat them to size on parchment paper.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 42

"This is a simple, no frills biscotti. My friend at work gave this recipe to me. It's quick, easy and one of my favorite Italian cookie recipes."

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup white sugar 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 tablespoon anise extract, or 3 drops anise oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2.	In a medium bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and anise flavoring until well blended. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough. Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a roll as long as your cookie sheet. Place roll onto the prepared cookie sheet, and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.
3.	Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When The cookies are cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted.

Garden's Last Day: Dec 17, 2011

It was cold, really cold, but it couldn't be put off any longer.  The last of the 2011 harvest consisted of 21 leeks, 3 big turnips, 4 small kohlrabi, and about 3-4 servings of broccoli. Also, enough turnip greens from the late planting, and a little kale that will be nice in a soup or dal. We still have some parsnips, potatoes, small beets and turnips that are really good roasted all together.  I roasted some last week with a berbere spice mixture (Ethiopean) I made a while ago and promptly forgot what was in it. It is like a sweet curry.  Mixing the roasted root vegetables with cooked red quinoa was a simple, but delicious dinner, with leftovers for lunch.

One Day's End of Garden Menu

Late October: Among other things, I harvested some turnips, beets, zucchini, garlic, parsley, thyme, mint this week.  I have tomatoes, onion, and garlic harvested earlier. We ate the turnip greens the other day, and today I made:

Roasted Turnips with Thyme and Garlic-
http://whatdidyoueat.typepad.com/what_did_you_eat/2006/01/roasted_turnips.html

Sauteed Zucchini, parmesan and mozzarela-
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/06/cheesy-zucchini-with-garlic-and-parsley.html

Sauted then Baked Eggplant, Zucchini, Green Peppers, Tomato, Onion, Parmesan

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Yummy-Vegetable-Casserole-Recipezaar

Roasted Chiogga Beets with Mint-(no raspberry vinegar though)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chioggia-Beets-with-Raspberry-Mint-Vinaigrette-232297

Sauteed Beet Greens with Garlic

I also cut up one regular turnip and a tiny buttternut squash, so I am ready to make this later this week. http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2007/03/easy-south-beach-recipes-roasted.html

I also have 4 small roasted beets ready to eat within 3 days.

Non-recipe links

Although I have cooked a great many delicious meals with food from the garden, I haven't added anything in a while.  There is not enough time in the day to harvest, decide, cook, AND take pictures AND then write about it.

I am going to try using this blog to keep track of non-recipe links to sustainable agriculture, food, garden movement type websites and blogs. 

Future Farmers - Victory Gardens
Farm Together Now
passive solar house designs

2 Excellent No-Oven or Stove Zucchini Recipes

Here are 2 easy zucchini recipes. These are especially good on a day like today when it was too hot to cook and basil or other fresh herbs were also abundant.

Raw Zucchini Salad

With a peeler or a mandoline, shave zucchini the long way into long thin slices or slice into very thin rounds.
Dressing: Grated Lemon Peel and Juice from 1 lemon (at least 2 T), 2 T olive oil, and about 4 T of fresh herbs.  I used basil and chives, but other herbs, such as mint, parsley, dill, would be good too.  You could also add sprinkle some soft cheese, like goat or gorgonzola on top, although I did not.  Instead I added all 5 orange cherry tomatoes that ripened today.

The other recipe is just as simple although the zucchini is cooked. I grilled it outside.

Grilled Zucchini and Yellow Squash with Basil Parmesan dressing

Cut squashes in half.   Spray or rub olive oil on both sides and sprinkle salt and pepper.  Cook on gas grill on both sides until softer but where it will still hold a shape when you cut it into 1" pieces after it is cooked and cooled.  The cooking time depends on how big your squash is.  A normal sized zucchini probably only takes 10 minutes on hot grill.  (my big one took 20 minutes). Discard seeds if numerous.  Sprinkle and mix in 1/3 cup shredded parmesan, 1/2 cup chopped basil,  2 T balsamic vinegar and 2 T olive oil.  (recipe from Bon Appetit found on Epicurous.com)