fun with the canner
For Christmas J bought me a pressure canner. He said he was going to buy me a vest with a battery-operated electric heater in it, but they didn't have any in sizes less than XL so he got the canner instead. Personally, I think I'll get more use out of the canner. ;)
The first thing we made were stocks; a turkey stock with the frozen carcass from Thanksgiving, and a veggie stock with the frozen ends and peels of vegetables. The light yellow, cloudy one is the turkey, the darker clear one is veggie. There was more veggie stock, but it didn't all fit in the canner so it went in the fridge instead.
The turkey stock was made the day before and put in the fridge overnight, which made it a lot easier to defat. I do need to find a better way to strain things, though; I tried a jelly bag for some and several layers of cheesecloth for the other, and there's still some sediment left in. Maybe a coffee filter.
If you're ever needing vast quantities of vinegar, go to Costco. Coke included for size reference.
The next thing we made was jalapenos en escabeche, since J kept looking mournfully at the grocery store jalapenos and sniffling about how they weren't as good at the ones he got in Texas. There were nice fresh jalapenos at the store, so we got some.
First we (well, he) sliced up jalapenos and carrots and onions and cooked them all together with garlic . . .
. . . then simmered them with vinegar and bay leaves for a while . . .
. . . then canned them. They don't look quite as appetizing when they're that sickly army-green color, but he says they taste better than store brand. I tried a carrot and think they're too spicy, but I don't like jalapenos anyway.
The first thing we made were stocks; a turkey stock with the frozen carcass from Thanksgiving, and a veggie stock with the frozen ends and peels of vegetables. The light yellow, cloudy one is the turkey, the darker clear one is veggie. There was more veggie stock, but it didn't all fit in the canner so it went in the fridge instead.
The turkey stock was made the day before and put in the fridge overnight, which made it a lot easier to defat. I do need to find a better way to strain things, though; I tried a jelly bag for some and several layers of cheesecloth for the other, and there's still some sediment left in. Maybe a coffee filter.
If you're ever needing vast quantities of vinegar, go to Costco. Coke included for size reference.
The next thing we made was jalapenos en escabeche, since J kept looking mournfully at the grocery store jalapenos and sniffling about how they weren't as good at the ones he got in Texas. There were nice fresh jalapenos at the store, so we got some.
First we (well, he) sliced up jalapenos and carrots and onions and cooked them all together with garlic . . .
. . . then simmered them with vinegar and bay leaves for a while . . .
. . . then canned them. They don't look quite as appetizing when they're that sickly army-green color, but he says they taste better than store brand. I tried a carrot and think they're too spicy, but I don't like jalapenos anyway.