Fall

When the leaves glow with colour you know Fall is upon us, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Many people enjoy turkey as part of the holiday meal. With a waste-not, want-not attitude, I thought I’d focus on some of the ways to use the bird throughout the winter.

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Turkey Stock, Stew and Pot Pies

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Turkey Stock The turkey carcass makes a rich stock. My approach is to remove all remaining meat, empty the bird if you have stuffed it, break up some of the larger bones and place in a large stock pot or slow cooker with 2 celery stalks cut in large pieces, 2 small onions cut in 4, 3 medium carrots in large segments. A stem or two of thyme and a couple of peppercorns. Cover with water. Simmer in the stock pot for two hours or plug in the slow cooker when you go to bed on low so the stock will be ready in the morning. Strain through a sieve when cooled. Season with salt as desired. Freeze in food-grade containers with a 1-inch headspace. Or use silicone freezer flats designed for soups and stocks. The stock is put into rectangular blocks, then frozen. Pop out the blocks and vacuum seal if you are able. Otherwise, freeze the blocks in freezer bags. Turkey Stew and Pot Pies The foundation of any pot pie is really a stew. Left-over turkey combined with vegetables in a creamy sauce is perfect with or without a top.

Ingredients

• Pot Pie Foundation (aka turkey stew)
• 4 cups cooked turkey meat
• 4 cups turkey or chicken stock
• Precooking Vegetables:
• 1 bunch carrots, peeled, cut on the diagonal
• 3-4 potatoes, scrubbed, cut into small cubes
• 2 cups pearl onions peeled
• 1 cup green beans, cleaned, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Lightly cook the vegetables in simmering turkey broth for 5 minutes. Keep the broth and scoop out the veggies for later.
• Build the Base:
• 3 TBSP butter
• 1 onion diced or use leeks
• 3 celery stalks dices
• 2 cups small mushrooms sliced or cut in quarters or eighths depending on size.
• 1/3 cup flour (organic or gluten free)
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves chopped finely
• ½ tsp each salt and pepper
• In a clean pot, melt butter. Sauté onions, leeks, celery and mushrooms to let them sweat. Then add flour and stir to combine. Cook the roux for 1 minute. Gradually add hot stock stirring constantly. Then add in remaining vegetables and turkey meat. Stir until the mixture thickens.
• When the mixture is thickened, cool before freezing. Decant the stew into individual foil, glass or food-grade plastic containers, in amounts suitable for 2 or for a family. When reheating to serve, add a dash of heavy cream (1/4 cup for a full family recipe).

Notes

Topping Options There are variations on the toppings and much debate about whether a top is needed! The hot stew with a green salad is great. If serving for guests or family, top the pot pie with vented puff pastry, pie crust, dumplings or a pre-baked biscuits. Any way you choose will satisfy one or a gang.

Pressure Canning

Both the stock and turkey stew can be pressure canned for long-term storage. As low acid foods, always follow an authoritative recipe such as the “Chicken Stew” recipe (substitute turkey for chicken) in the All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving Book or Chicken/Turkey Stock in the Bernardin cookbook or online. The stew recipe uses raw turkey as the processing time is 1 hour, 15 minutes which will cook the turkey. As with all pressure canned foods, do not add any thickening agents (like flour). When ready to serve, make a roux with butter, flour and hot broth from the canned turkey stew. Then add the turkey mixture. Serve straight-up or add one of the toppings.

Thanksgiving is the time to express gratitude to Mother Nature and to those to grow and prepare our foods. Happy Thanksgiving all.

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

Plums indicate to me that Fall is here. Some varieties are available in July, but most plums are available from August to October. Foodland Ontario notes that wild plums native to North America were harvested by indigenous peoples and settlers. But European and Japanese varieties were introduced in the 1800’s. Those varieties have lineages of more than 1000 years. In our area, Mount Royal plums are a favorite. They are free-stone, have a dark purple skin and yellow interior. Great eating and canning. Although difficult to find, the tart, spicy Damson plum is also available. Both varieties I get at Oaklane Orchards on County Rd 2 south of Thornbury.

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Plum Jam with Star Anise (about 5 250 ml jars)

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In the past weeks, I’ve made many plum-related recipes. Plain plum, plum with Amaretto, Damson plum, plum and crabapple, plum-tomato-apple chutney. I prepared a plum jam adding star anise one of my favorite spices and the combination of flavours is exceptional. Star anise adds a mild licorice flavour. As the name suggests, each star has 8 points and each point has a tiny seed inside. To keep track of the star, I tied it with kitchen twine with the string long enough to attach to the handle on the Dutch oven. This just makes it easier to remove when the jam is done. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cleaned, pitted and finely chopped blue plums
• 3 cups sugar
• 3.5 TBSP bottled lemon juice
• 1 star anise

Instructions

1

Macerate the plums, sugar, lemon juice and tied star anise for 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Bring the mixture to the boil. Boil gently for about 20-25 minutes until the set point is reached. I put dessert spoons in the freezer and use one to test the sheeting of the jam on the frozen spoon beginning at 20 minutes. When set, the jam will switch from dripping off the spoon to sheeting where the drops come together in one sheet as opposed to individual drops. Plums are high in pectin, so the jam reaches the gel point quite quickly. Remove the star anise. Ladle jam into hot jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Process in a water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. Let rest for 5 minutes. Remove from canner. Let cool. Check seals. Once cool, store in a cool dark area.

Notes

Even if you’re not in the mood to make jam, try adding a star anise to baked plums for a similar yummy taste. Are you looking for an interesting twist on pickled beets? Try adding a star anise and 4-inch cinnamon stick for sweeter version of the traditional. Plums in sauces, jams, chutneys, raw or baked are delicious. Celebrate Fall with plums!

preservingwithmarta@gmail.com

Whether you have apple trees on your property, participate in a gleaning program or buy them at the local markets, Fall is apple time! Apples are perfect for jelly making because they are high in pectin which means they set up without the use of commercial pectin. Jellies are great with peanut butter (ultimate PB&J), but they are also wonderful for glazing tarts or meats. It’s always handy to have some on hand and they make super gifts.

From the National Centre for Home Food Preservation, here are three apply jelly variations.

Plain or spiced Apple Jelly

6 lbs apples washed, stems and tails removed and chopped (don’t peel or core)

4 cups water

(for a spiced version, add a cinnamon stick during the cooking time)

Apple- Cranberry Jelly

3.5 lbs apples prepared as above

½ lb cranberries

4 cups water

Apple-Blueberry Jelly

3.5 lbs apples prepared as above

½ lb blueberries

4 cups water

Step 1: Extract the Juice

Add fruit and water in a large heavy bottomed pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes until apples are soft. Pour into a dampened jelly bag or cheesecloth lined sieve allowing the juices to gently release into a bowl. Don’t press or squeeze as it will result in mirky jelly. For each recipe, the extracted juice should measure 4 cups.

Step 2: Make the Jelly

To the 4 cups of juice, add 2 TBSP bottled lemon juice and three cups of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil rapidly and cook stirring often until the jelly sets which will take 15 to 20 minutes. Check the set using the wrinkle test placing a tsp of jelly on a frozen plate and then draw your finger through the jelly. If it wrinkles it is done. Skim as necessary.

Step 3: Can the Jelly

Once the jelly reaches the set point, fill hot jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Clean jar rims. Affix lids and rings and tighten to ‘finger-tip tight’. Process jars in a water bath or atmospheric steam canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. Let the jars rest for 5 minutes before removing to a heat proof surface. Leave to cool down for 24 hours. Check seals, label, and store. Yield is about 4 250ml jars.

Step 4: Optional Uses of Pulp

Put the pulp from the jelly bag through a food mill to remove seeds and skins. This will create an apple sauce which can be frozen for use in baking or simply eaten. The apple sauce can also be dehydrated to make delicious and nutritious fruit leathers. Dehydrate at 125 for 10 to 12 hrs.

Apple jellies three ways! Simple, versatile and a great way to preserve this wonderful Fall fruit.

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

Around 500 AD, chutney was created in India. Its name comes from the Hindi word “chatni” meaning lick. Early chutney was made from fresh ingredients using a mortar and pestle, in a similar way we would make basil pesto. As preserving methods evolved, in the 17^th century the East India Company was exporting chutney to Portugal, England and beyond. Like any great food idea, chutney found its way around the world being customized by the cultures of various global communities.

Today, fresh chutney is prepared as a condiment frequently served with samosas. Preserved chutney is characterized by slow cooking of fruits, vegetables, spices, vinegar, and sugar. Chutney can be mild or highly spiced. It is excellent with curry, beside meats or even as a spread on a sandwich. The aroma of chutney cooking is amazing. Recently I made a tomato-apple chutney which sounds odd, but it was a wonderful combination of fruit with a sweet spicy and mild taste profile (Canadian Living). Today I made an apple chutney with loads of spice and quite a lot of heat. From fresh to preserved, chutney is an excellent condiment to accompany many foods.

Fresh Mint and Cilantro Chutney (Recipe below)

Please click to view Apple Chutney with Raisins and Ginger Recipe (adapted from Canadian Living) 

Three cheers to chutney – fresh, sweet, spicy, mild or hot!

Preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

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Fresh Mint and Cilantro Chutney

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Ingredients

• 2 cups cilantro 1 cup mint
• ½ roasted poblano or serrano pepper chopped
• 1TBSP roasted and chopped cashews or peanuts
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• Salt to taste
• Note: If too thick, add up to ¼ cup water

Instructions

1

Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until a pesto-like consistency. Refrigerate and/or freeze.

Nothing says approaching autumn more than grapes. We are so fortunate to live in an area where there are lots of wild grapes as well as other domesticated varieties like Concord and Coronation. Wild grapes can be found along riverbanks, beside ponds and growing up trees with their long tendrils. They are edible but eaten off the vine back a mean bitter punch, so they are best used for juicing rather than eating. Whether using foraged wild grapes or domesticated grapes, both are wonderful to preserve as juice or jelly.

Extracting juice: Steam juicers make quick work of extracting juice from fruits including grapes. But if you don’t have one, no problem. For a typical jelly batch, 3.5 lbs of grapes, washed and removed from stems will yield 10 cups of grapes. In a large pot, crush grapes with 1 cup of water and cook gently for 10 minutes. Pour the mash into a dampened jelly bag or cheesecloth lined sieve and allow the juice to naturally drip out (no squeezing!). In about 2 hours, you will have about 4 cups of juice. No interest in extracting your own juice? You can also buy it locally. Check with http://fiddleheadnursery.ca

Grapes are one of the few fruits (technically a berry) that has a natural abundance of tartaric acid. The acid binds with naturally occurring potassium forming crystals that sink to the bottom of the container. You might have seen this phenomenon in a glass of red wine. To ensure the juice you process is clear, it’s recommended that you extract the juice and let it sit refrigerated for at least 2 days. Pour the juice through a dampened jelly bag avoiding the last bits of the juice. Juice can be processed for long-term storage or frozen.

Grape jelly is the quintessential match for peanut butter in the iconic PB&J. The jelly is great with cheese or melted and used as a glaze on seared duck breast. It is also useful in baking like adding a dollop into a muffin mix before baking, topping a thumbprint cookie, or spreading over a genoise cake and rolled into a “Jelly Roll”.

The grape harvest is upon us. Gather up the family and forage along the riversides, collect grapes from friends or purchase them locally. Grapes are a gift of nature with endless possible uses.

Martha Rogers

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Grape Jelly

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Ingredients

• 4 cups of grape juice
• 1 package pectin crystals
• 5 cups sugar

Instructions

1

Mix the pectin into the juice and bring to a hard boil. Add the sugar all at once. Bring back to boil and boil hard 1 minute. Ladle into hot 250ml Mason jars. For long-term storage, process the jars in a water-bath or steam canner for 10 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before removing from the canner. For short-term storage, simply allow the jars to cool, label and store in the fridge for up to 3 months. This makes about 7 jars.

In my view all the best fruits arrive in Fall. Plums are one of them. I frequent Oaklane Orchards in the Town of Blue Mountains for Fall fruit including plums. They grow three varieties: Damson, Mount Royal and Italian. Each variety has a unique flavour profile and different uses. I like the Italian variety for baking such as in plum tarts or cakes. Mount Royal are sweetish and are very nice for canning or eating. And then, the great Damson plums!

Damson plums are a beautiful purple with green inside. They are quite tart but are amazing for jams due to the sweet-tart profile and very high pectin levels. As their name suggests, they originated in the Damascus, were exported to England by the Romans, and then introduced to North America. The plums were used for cooking and preserving but also for dyeing (take note) and to produce alcohol. Damson plums are very hard to find. They are not commercially grown in large quantities. So, when you find a source, grab the opportunity!

I’ve recently made plum and crab-apple jam (delicious), plum jam with Grand Marnier, straight-up plum, and Damson plum for those who love the tartness of this jam.

How about a quick scone, thick slice of sour dough bread, or toasted English muffin with butter and a tart Damson plum jam? It is a treat to have this jam on hand.

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Damson Plum Jam

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Serves: About 6 - 250ml jars

Note: Wear gloves. These plums weren’t used for dyeing for no reason!!!

Ingredients

• 5 cups chopped, washed, pitted plums (about 2.5 lbs)
• ¾ cup water
• 3 cups sugar (add a bit more if you like it sweeter)

Instructions

1

Add the plums and water to a large saucepan or Dutch oven and bring to a boil stirring often.

2

Simmer the fruit for 5 minutes.

3

Then add sugar and stir until it is dissolved.

4

Bring to a boil and cook until it reaches the gel point at about 218 degrees on a candy thermometer. Or watch the jam closely and it will start to thicken, and the foam will subside indicating the gel point is near.

5

Take a spoon from the freezer and test the set – the jam will sheet the spoon. Because of high pectin levels, this jam sets quickly.

6

Check at 15 minutes and go from there.

7

Once set, ladle into hot 250 ml jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace.

8

Clean rims. Affix lids and rings to finger-tip tight.

9

Process in a water bath or steam canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude. Let rest five minutes.

10

Remove from canner to heat-proof surface and cool completely.

11

Check seals, label, and store.

Previously I wrote about my favorite cranberry sauce, a recipe from Canadian Living. It is excellent using apple juice as the cooking liquid and spicing up the liquid to impart the sauce with a wonderful rich spicy-orange flavour. Whether you use this recipe to can cranberry sauce for the year, or you are making a single recipe for this Thanksgiving dinner, the principle of spicing things up can apply either way.

It is always necessary to use a liquid in which to cook the cranberries for a sauce. Apple juice, half orange juice and water, or all water. Whatever liquid you use can be spiced up to impart flavour during the cooking process. 

Thanksgiving is the time to celebrate the harvest and to give thanks to those who grow our food and to those who prepare our meals. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

www.thevalleypreservery.ca

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Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 bag cranberries washed
• 1 tsp grated orange peel
• Spice bag: In cheesecloth add 2-inch piece cinnamon, 1 star anise, 3 cloves, 2 cardamon pods or one whole allspice. Tie the cheesecloth around the spices and secure.

Instructions

1

In a small saucepan, add the spice bag to the water.

2

Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

3

Add cranberries, grated orange peel and sugar, and bring to a boil.

4

Boil for about 10 minutes.

5

Remove spice bag and cool the sauce.

6

Then refrigerate until ready to use. The addition of spices to the cooking liquid really takes the sauce from good to great!

This summer has been amazing for zucchini. As always, I’m interested in the story of food. Summer squash is the broad category of tender gourds which grow in summer. Zucchini is a member of that family, but it also includes yellow, Crookneck and Pattypan squash among others. These vegetables were brought to North America in the mid 1500s by Italians. No surprise there. They have great versatility in the kitchen.

In the last weeks I’ve canned zucchini relish & tangy and sweet zucchini & yellow squash pickles; I’ve baked and frozen several zucchini breads; I’ve made salads, grilled them, sauteed them with and without pasta; I’ve dehydrated zucchini chips and have frozen grated amounts that will be useful for an impromptu zucchini bread in winter. I’ve also given away a lot! Today, I want to focus on two recipes I’ve recently made: First is zucchini lasagna and the second zucchini pancakes. Even my husband, a staunch carnivore and one who claims to be allergic to all vegetables except corn and potatoes, thought they were good!

For the lasagna, I used my canned marinara sauce, but any tomato sauce will do. I had a few oven-ready noodles, so I threw them in, but they really are optional. The zucchini/yellow squash act like noodles. As with any lasagna recipe, there are various layers. In this case, a layer of ricotta mixture and a layer of creamed Swiss chard and leeks from the garden. Mozzarella, parmesan and off you go to a great meal now or in winter. Check out the full recipe on my webite.

So many ways to use and preserve summer squash. From stuffed blossoms, to pickles, baked goods, pasta and more, these gourds provide a year-round healthy, low-calorie vegetable for even the most vegetable-averse folks!!

preservingwithmartha@gmail.com

www.thevalleypreservery.ca

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Zucchini Pancakes

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Ingredients

• These are delicious! Freeze them for a great side-dish or even as a vegetarian option.
• 1 pound summer squash (use zucchini, yellow squash or other)
• Wash and cut squash avoiding seeds. Then weigh the 1 lb.
• Grate the squash using a large-hole box grater. Lightly salt and put it in a sieve over a bowl for at least 20 minutes. Then squeeze vigorously to remove moisture.
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/5 tsp pepper, 1/5 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup organic or gluten free flour
• 3-4 chopped green onions
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• ½ mixed herbs (I used tarragon and basil but use what the garden provides)
• 4 oz cheese (I used feta crumbled but you could substitute grated cheddar, gruyere, or any other cheese)

Instructions

1

Mix drained zucchini with all ingredients. Put a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil in the sauté pan and drop ‘batter’ by tablespoons into the hot pan. Cook about 3-4 minutes a side until brown. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with finishing salt. Serve warm or at room temperature. Or, cool completely and freeze.