The Happy Kitchen!

These days I seem to have a lot to be happy for! Our season has come to an end at The Tyler Place and I have been catching up on all the little things that were left by the wayside. Upon my departure from work we were able to clean out the coolers and spice racks! I came home with an amazing amount of vegetables and dry goods. There is only one catch though! My daily home kitchen workload skyrocketed! There is a food game my friend Misha played when faced with a similar challenge. If she can find a way to preserve or cook the food in a proper amount of time, she wins! If the food spoils, well..... You know! Yesterdays project was set to include making strawberry jam, pickled onion (my favorite!), avocado ice cream and tomato soup. The first item seems to be everyones favorite.... Tomato soup!

When I left work there were so many tomatoes left over! Some didn't have long to live so I rescued them, and gave them a much better fate than a slow cooler death. First, take the stems off all the tomatoes and wash using cold water.

You can be very random with the next step. Some people have to meticulously cut perfect squares. There really is no need. Once the tomatoes are cooked you'll never know! Heat a heavy pot large enough to accommodate the tomatoes, and add a splash of good olive oil.

Turn the heat up to medium/high and add the tomato.

I used twelve cups of chopped tomato for this recipe. We need to build onto this flavor by adding four cups of diced white onion,fourteen cloves and two cups of water.

When you hear the tomato water start to boil gently stir the mixture to incorporate all the flavors.

After about twenty minutes go by the rough tomato soup should be almost complete. Turn the heat off and run the mixture batch by batch through a food mill. If you don't have a mill you can use a colander or just shove the whole thing in a blender. But what fun is that?

At this point the soup is vegan friendly! You can stop there if you wish, or you can intensify the flavor a little more and improve the consistency by adding roux and spices.

Roux is equal parts butter and flour. For a batch this size I used one stick of butter and one-half cup of flour. Melt the butter in the same pot you were cooking the tomato in. When the butter is completely melted add the flour.

Cook the roux over medium heat for only a few minutes. When you're set, add about one quarter of the hot tomato soup. Whisk this pretty fast so it won't clump together.

Add the remaining soup and bring to a slow simmer for five minutes. Remember to whisk vigorously. If the soup is a little clumpy don't worry! To finish the soup add two teaspoons of salt and sugar. Put the soup into your favorite container or throw it into a bowl with some popcorn on top!

The flavors are so fresh and the texture is velvety smooth! This is the perfect fall soup! Store bought canned soup has nothing on this! This is a very simple recipe and it is very precious.

Whew! I won round one! Ian- 1 Food- 0! The next project is a little more tricky, but I feel confident! After all, who doesn't like strawberry jam? There were two whole cases of strawberries in the cooler at work that were way past their prime. You want to pick through the strawberries to ensure there are no rotten or fuzzy berries going into the mix.

For a 2.5 quart batch I used twelve cups of strawberries, six cups of sugar, six tablespoons of lemon juice and 58 grams of pectin. Once you have all of your ingredients scaled out and ready, prepare your preserving jars and lids. I place the jars inside the canner while heating to sterilize them. After I take the lids and put them in a small sauce pot and bring to a simmer.

When the water starts to boil in the canner, add all of the ingredients for the jam in a large pot over medium heat.

While this is heating be sure to stir so the bottom doesn't scorch. Bring the whole mixture up to a hard boil. Be careful, boiling sugar can be very dangerous! I can't tell you how many times I have gotten burned by molten sugar. It's one of those burns that you remember for a long time!

Boil for about five minutes, then turn off the heat. Remove the jars from the canner and dump the water back into the pot. Place the jars on a padded surface and begin filling the jars until there is .25" headspace. Be sure not to overfill.

With a damp towel wipe the rims of the jars and set the lids on top. When tightening the bans, do it ever so gently. Put them in the canner and process for ten minutes. If the water isn't boiling when you put them in, don't worry. Start the timer when it boils. After the time is up carefully remove the jam and place on a towel to rest. That's it!! This is much better than the store bought jam. The best part is, you know exactly what went into it! Nothing shady!

Since there were a few extra sterilized jars laying around it was time to make my all-time favorite! Pickled onions! While the strawberries were processing I grabbed my Japanese mandolin and sliced ten cups of red onion, scaled out four cups of red wine vinegar and sliced three cloves of garlic.

Put the red wine vinegar and garlic in a large pot and bring to a heavy boil! Be careful, this time of year fruit flies will be lining up outside trying to get in! They go crazy for my pickled onions!

After it been boiling for a few minutes add the onions and cook for five minutes.

This recipe is enough for 1.5 quarts of goodness! Fill the jars the same way you did the strawberries and put them in the canner.

This was definitely a happy day in the kitchen. I just looked at the scoreboard and it was a total blowout! Ian- 3 Food- 0 It is very satisfying to preserve your own veggies and jam. This will give you months of good wholesome food. There is so much more I can type right now! I have been at it now for a little while. Tomorrow I will give you the scoop on the avocado ice cream! Tomorrow comes sooner than you know it! The list consists of pickled habaneros, jalapenos, red and yellow peppers and sauerkraut! Stay Tuned!!

Cheers!!