Hard Choices

I love Make it from Scratch. I love the carnival. I love the variety of contributors here, and of course all you readers that have support us.

But I don't think MIFS is all that it could be. I have spread myself too thin, and been unable to give this blog the attention I would like to. That can be said about many areas of my life right now. The tragic events of this summer have forced changes and choices. We, as a family, and I, personally need to pull in, downsize, and regroup. The choices and processes have not been easy, but they are necessary.

One of the hard choices is this blog. The time has come to set it aside, indefinitely. My attention and time need to be focused elsewhere right now.

So, this is goodbye to Make it from Scratch. I plan to continue my personal blog, Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood, and will probably incorporate more recipes and the like there than I have been in recent years. A big thank you goes to our contributors, past and present. I hope you continue to visit them at their personal blogs. Thanks Jenn at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Mary at Simply Forties, Rina at Gotta Little Space, Jenn at Frugal Front Porch, and Liss at Frill in the Hills. Thanks also go to former contributors, Kellie, and Heather.

Thanks too to our readers and everyone who has participated in the carnival. Sharing ideas, recipes, and projects is what this blog is all about, and it never could have been with out the contributors and participants to this site and carnival. I wish you continued success in combining frugality and creativity.

And the winner is . . .

The winner of the Nakano Seasoned Rice giveaway is lucky number 13 - Jenny.  Jenny please email me or a leave a comment with your email so I can get your information for the prize package, or email me at makeitfromscratch at yahoo.com. If I do not hear from you by Friday, I will have to pick another winner.

Cherry Tomatoes Packed in Oil

My cherry tomatoes, in fact all of my tomatoes, did very poorly this year.  If you had better luck you're probably up to your ears in the little buggers by now.  Try this method to preserve a whole bunch of them easily and quickly!

Cherry Tomatoes
Small onions (baby or maybe pearl) or shallots
Cider vinegar or lemon juice (1-2 tablespoons per 16 oz jar)
Fresh basil, tarragon, oregano etc to taste
Coarse salt
Olive oil
Canning jars and lids

Tomatoes must be firm and ripe. If you're using another type, select the smallest ones (no bigger than a tangerine).

Wash and dry the tomatoes. Peel several of the onions or shallots.

Prepare scalded or sterilized 16 ounce jars. Fill them with tomatoes, alternating with a few onions and herbs. When the jars are filled to about one and a half inches from the rim, sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt. Add one or two tablespoons or cider vinegar or lemon juice, and cover with olive oil.

Close the jars with a very clean lid, and store them in a rather cool place (50 to 59 degrees F) (think fridge). The tomatoes will be ready to eat in two to three months and will keep for up to a year. They go well served with grains or with meat.

Ann Duran, St. Front France

From Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning

Carnival #182 - Apple Sauce

Welcome to the carnival! The Make it from Scratch carnival is your chance to share your projects. I hope you join us by linking up at the bottom of this post.

The peak of apples season is just around the corner. Depending on the variety of apples available to you, you may find them plentiful now. You can pick your own or purchase them in quantity for a good price. There are so many wonderful things you can make with apples to consume now, or to preserve for later. If your family eats applesauce like mine does, applesauce will be at the top of the to make list.

Making applesauce is very easy. It really is just cooked mushed apples. If you are making quantities to preserve, it does take a bit of time, but is a simple process. A good firm, slightly tart variety of apple make the best sauce in my opinion. Transparents are wonderful, but I usually have more Golden Delicious available to me, and that is what I use.

First quarter the apples. No need to peel or core. Place them in a large pot with enough water to cover the bottom of the pot. Cook on medium high heat. Be sure to stir periodically and to scrape the bottom. A little bit of scorching will change the flavor of the whole batch. When the apples are very mushy, they are ready to be processed.

A Sauce Master makes quick work of the apples producing a nice thick sauce and removing all the seeds and peels. If you don't have a Sauce Master, the cooked apples can also be pushed through a sieve to remove the unwanted parts. Alternatively, apples can be peeled and cored before cooking. They will cook to a mush with stirring.

Applesauce freezes and cans well. To freeze, sweeten the sauce if desired, and fill containers; freezer boxes, jars, or even recycled containers like yogurt ones work well. Be sure to leave plenty of head space (about an inch) for the sauce to expand as it freezes.


To can the applesauce, heat the sauce and sweeten if desired. Pack into clean hot jars, and put lids on. My canning book recommends 1/2 inch head space. I've found that an inch head space really works better. Jars can be sealed with a pressure canner or in boiling water. Pressure can at 6 pounds pressure, 8 minutes for pints and 10 minutes for quarts. Or process in boiling water 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.

Trouble Shooting
The biggest problem I have had with canning apple sauce is the jars oozing out apple sauce when I removed them from the pressure canner. The jars still seal. The sauce is still good, but it makes a big sticky mess. Here are some tips to help avoid that problem:

• Leave extra head space.
• Make the sauce a bit thinner.
• Let the jars cool longer in the canner. It seems to be the sudden temperature change that causes the oozing. Letting the jars cool slowly has been the best fix for the problem.
  

Need more apple ideas?
Apple Ginger Preserves
Crockpot Apple Butter
Apple Cider Vinegar
Canning Sliced Apples
Apple Pie Filling

Don't forget to enter our Nakano Giveaway. Win $35 gift card, Nakano seasoned rice vinegar, and a recipe booklet. Drawing is tomorrow.

Stephanie is a mom, homeschooler, homesteader in the hills of West Virginia. Find more of her adventures at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

LINK UP YOUR PROJECTS!

Carnival Guidelines:

Link up your recipes, crafts, garden projects, yarn creations, home improvement, or other d-i-y posts. Posts about making something, or helpful resources and tips for making things are what we are all about.


Please link directly to the post, not to home page of your blog. Kindly link back to the carnival with twitter, stumble and/or from your blog.

Homemade Ice Cream without an Ice Cream Maker?

Doing the August Daring Bakers' Challenge here in East Tennessee with most of my kitchen gadgets packed away forced me to work a little harder.  Making ice cream without any sort of ice cream maker was new to me and was surprisingly successful.  If you don't have an ice cream maker you might like to give this a try.  The result was every bit as creamy and smooth as any ice cream I ever made in my appliance.  I may never unpack it again!

I used David Lebovitz's Basic Vanilla, which follows, for inclusion in my Baked Alaska.  Feel free to use it or any custard-based ice cream recipe.

Vanilla Ice Cream

About 1 quart (1l)

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)

For a richer custard, you can add up to 3 more egg yolks. For a less-rich custard, substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream, realizing that the final texture won’t be as rich or as smooth as if using cream.

1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight. You can also chill your custard in an ice bath, which will move things along more quickly.

6. Pour your cooled custard into a stainless steel bowl or something equally durable and stick it in the freezer.

7. Here's the important part - every 30 minutes VIGOROUSLY whisk your custard.  That's right - VIGOROUSLY!  It's hard to make yourself do this because you won't want to break up the freezing ice cream, especially since you (or your kids) probably have your bowl and spoon ready!  Do it anyway.  This is what makes the ice cream smooth and creamy.  All those ice crystals need to be broken apart.  Set your timer and whisk your custard every 30 minutes or 45 minutes for the first three or four hours.  Make your kids do this part and it's even easier!

8.  After 3 or 4 hours your ice cream will be at the soft serve stage and can be eaten.  If you don't want to eat it yet, at this point you can stop whisking it and let it freeze hard.

Delicious and oh so easy!

Don't forget to rinse your pieces of vanilla bean and stick them in a cup or two of sugar to make delicious vanilla sugar!

Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar - Giveaway! *closed*

Nakano is introducing a line of seasoned rice vinegar. The new seasoned flavors include red pepper, pesto, balsamic blend, Italian herb, and the roasted garlic flavor that they sent me (along with a $50 gift card) to try the product and share it with you.

Rice vinegar is wonderful for adding a light flavor to your favorite foods with out adding fat or a lot of calories. It is also gluten free. I used the Roasted Garlic vinegar I was sent to make Summer Garden Chicken. I simply splashed it over the meat and veggies for a delicious subtle garlic flavor.

Find more great recipes and serving suggestions at their website. The Baked Goat Cheese with Tangy Pesto Spinach is something that I want to try. It would be especially good if I made my own goat cheese. (It is on the to do list.)

THE GIVEAWAY
Want to give Nakana Seasoned Rice Vinegar a try? Enter to win! The prize package includes a $25 gift card, 1 bottle of seasoned vinegar, and a coupon and recipe booklet. Do one, two, or three of the following for your chance to win. Just please be sure to leave a separate comment here for each of the options you choose.

1.      Sign up for the NAKANO SPLASH Recipe Club to receive a free monthly e-newsletter featuring great recipes and tips.


2.      NAKANO is on Facebook! Become a fan.

3.      Visit the NAKANO website then come back and tell us what your favorite Splash tip is.


A winner will be picked this Friday, September third. Good luck!

Spicy Pickled Green Beans

First time pickling green beans, over here. I think it went well...I guess we'll find out in a few months! My in laws are on vacation and told me I could harvest in the garden. I'd wanted to try simple green bean canning and since my beans are coming to an end, I'm jumping at the chance to pick some of their green beans!

Are you pickling/canning/putting anything up this year?

Spicy Pickled Green Beans
Food.com
Makes 4 pints

3 pounds green beans
4 long thin red chilies (use gloves when handling!)
3 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1/4 cup fresh dill
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup salt

Trim and remove string from green beans. Cut to fit into jars. Prepare jars, rings and lids for canning.

Bring water, vinegar and salt to the boil.

Fill each jar with beans until they are snug. Insert chilies and garlic. Divide peppercorns amongst jars. Divide dill amongst jars. Ladle the boiled pickling liquid into the jars leaving headspace. Wipe rims of jars, apply lid and screw on rings. Process in boiling water bath for 12 minutes.

Remove carefully and allow to cool to room temperature. During this cooling time, you'll hear quiet pops letting you know your jars have sealed. If by the next day, some of the jars haven't sealed, you can store in refrigerator to be eaten as soon as possible. Allow the sealed jars to sit at least one month in a cool, dark place before opening.

MIFS #182 - It is Thursday????

Welcome to the carnival! The Make it from Scratch carnival is your chance to share your projects. I hope you join us by linking up at the bottom of this post.

Apologies for the late carnival, and for my lack of contribution. This summer has taken a toll on me. Honestly, I did not even realize it was carnival day until about five minutes. So carry on with out me while I try to get it together here.


Stephanie is a mom, homeschooler, homesteader in the hills of West Virginia. Find more of her adventures at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

LINK UP YOUR PROJECTS!

Carnival Guidelines:

Link up your recipes, crafts, garden projects, yarn creations, home improvement, or other d-i-y posts. Posts about making something, or helpful resources and tips for making things are what we are all about.


Please link directly to the post, not to home page of your blog. Kindly link back to the carnival with twitter, stumble and/or from your blog.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Espresso Meringue

Serve these delicious little grownup cupcakes at your next dinner party.  They look beautiful on a buffet!

Use your mini-muffin tins.  You can find the little silver wrappers where cake decorating supplies are sold.

     Ingredients

CUPCAKES

    Vegetable oil spray

    4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

    1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for sprinkling

    1 1/4 cups boiling water

    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    1 teaspoon baking soda

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    2 sticks unsalted butter ( 1/2 pound), softened

    1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

    3 large eggs

    1/2 cup buttermilk

    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

     

ESPRESSO MERINGUE

    3 large egg white

    1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

    1 teaspoon instant espresso, plus more for sprinkling

     

directions

1.     MAKE THE CUPCAKES: Preheat the oven to 325°. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Lightly spray the paper liners with vegetable oil spray. In a small bowl, mix the chocolate and 1/4 cup of cocoa. Add the boiling water and let melt, then whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla, then slowly beat in the dry ingredients and the chocolate mixture in 3 alternating batches.

2.     Fill the muffin cups three-fourths full with the batter. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, shifting the pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then unmold them and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

3.     MEANWHILE, MAKE THE ESPRESSO MERINGUE: Mix the egg whites, confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon of espresso in a medium stainless steel bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat the whites, whisking constantly, until hot to the touch (165°). Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a whisk and beat at high speed until the meringue is stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes; if using a handheld mixer, beat for about 8 minutes.

4.     Scoop half of the espresso meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large (3/4-inch) plain tip and pipe the meringue onto half of the cupcakes. Repeat with the remaining espresso meringue and cupcakes. Lightly sprinkle the meringue with cocoa and espresso powder and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The frosted devil’s food cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container overnight.

Espresso Chocolate Jam Birthday Cupcakes

Hubby’s birthday was last week! Sadly he was on the road an unable to be here on his big day but we celebrated over the past weekend. Hubby loves peanut butter cups. Something about the combination of chocolate and peanut butter puts him in a heavenly place. For the past several years I’ve tried to incorporate his love of peanut butter and chocolate into his birthday cake. Last year’s attempt was very good but the cake was so heavy and rich. I had to swig down a whole glass of milk to cut the richness of just a small slice. Maybe it was a little too rich! This year I wanted a lighter airier version!

Time with hubby is precious since we only spend a few days together every two weeks so I cheated! I used a box mix and store bought frosting to jump start the baking process but I added my own twist. You can easily use a few of my tricks to add a little extra umph to your baked goodies regardless if you use store bought mix or if you make it from scratch!

• Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate cake mix
• Betty Crocker Whipped Cream Cheese frosting
• Strawberry jam or preserves

Prepare cupcakes per package directions EXCEPT substitute water for super concentrated brewed coffee (cooled) or simply dissolve 2 tablespoons of instant coffee into the water. All the cupcakes to cool completely!

Using a knife or small circular cookie cutter, cut a circle shape in the top of the cupcakes. Using a fork, gently insert into the side of a circle and pop out the middle section of the cupcake and set aside. Drop at least a teaspoon of jam or preserves in the middle of each cupcake replacing the the cupcake centers on top of the jam.

Pipe whipped cream cheese frosting on top allow to set and serve. You can also mix 1 part of creamy peanut butter with 2 or 3 parts whipped cream cheese frosting and pipe onto cupcakes. (Tip: I used a simple plastic sandwich bag with the corner snipped off to pipe the frosting.)

The coffee flavor offers a nice subtle complimentary flavor to the chocolate cake. Of course, if you wanted a stronger coffee taste to the cake, you can always make the coffee stronger before adding it to your cake mix. Ultimately, the cupcakes were a hit. I made several with jam filled centers, some with just plain cream cheese frosting, and others with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting. This is on the “definitely to repeat” list!

Jenn is a stay at home southern mom raising her kids in Northwestern Minnesota with her trucker hubby. She loves to cook, craft and blog. Soon she’ll be going back to school for a new adventure in Graphic Design. You can find recipes, crafts, parenting strategies, budget tips, product reviews and fabulous giveaways on her blog, Frugal Front Porch.

MIFS #181 - -Who says you can't wipe your face on your shirt?

Welcome to the carnival! The Make it from Scratch carnival is your chance to share your projects. I hope you join us by linking up at the bottom of this post.

This a post originally appeared on my blog 12/09. 
We made the switch to cloth napkins some time ago. I found some nice napkins in a clearance aisle and bought those for our dining room napkins. For the kitchen we used old baby washcloths and cut up towels. I prefer cloth napkins to paper, and love not having to buy paper napkins all the time.

Those original kitchen napkins have gotten a lot of use. It was time for something different.

My husband had several dress shirts that had various stains or small rips making them unsuitable to wear to work. I had them in a pile, not quite sure what to do with them. Then it occurred to me that they would make good napkins. I broke out the scissors and the sewing machine and got to work.

The first step was to cut up the shirt. I wasn't worried about exact measurements for these napkins. I cut squares that are roughly 10x10 inches.

Next I ironed the squares, and folded the sides over about a 1/4 inch and ironed the fold. Then it was simply a matter of sewing the folds. I used a zigzag stitch to sew it all up.


With use, I have noticed some fraying. To prevent this, I should have made my zig zag right on the edge, or folded and sewn the edges over a second time. The fraying is minimal, and it really doesn't bother me that much for these everyday use napkins, though.




The final product. Sixteen napkins were made from two shirts in a couple of hours.

I enjoy using cloth napkins. They work better, and save us money. Making them from old shirts makes them practically free. It also is a source of great amusement for my kids sitting around the lunch table. They find it hilarious that they get to wipe their face on daddy's shirt.



Stephanie is a mom, homeschooler, homesteader in the hills of West Virginia. Find more of her adventures at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

LINK UP YOUR PROJECTS!

Carnival Guidelines:

Link up your recipes, crafts, garden projects, yarn creations, home improvement, or other d-i-y posts. Posts about making something, or helpful resources and tips for making things are what we are all about.


Please link directly to the post, not to home page of your blog. Kindly link back to the carnival with twitter, stumble and/or from your blog.

Vanilla Sugar

This is a simple one but oh so good and frugal too!

Have you ever splurged and bought those expensive vanilla beans?  Sometimes your dessert is so special that it seems worth it.  Once you're done with that fancy dessert you're left with an expensive vanilla bean to throw in the trash.  It seems so wasteful but what else are you going to do with it?  That's easy, make vanilla sugar!

Make sure the vanilla bean is clean and dry.  Break it into several pieces of about 1" long.  Find a cute little container (or a small plastic bowl) and fill it with a cup or two of granulated sugar.  Insert the bits of vanilla beans, mix and put the lid on.  In two or three weeks open the lid and take a whiff.  If you like vanilla, you won't smell anything better!

Use your vanilla sugar to enhance the flavor of other foods.  Sprinkle it across sugar cookies or french toast or use it to make sugared nuts.  Have fun with it!  You'll feel better knowing that you extended the life of an expensive ingredient and created something delicious!

In a decorative jar the vanilla sugar makes a great gift!

Easy Apple Raisin Crisp

I’m going to be honest, I stole tried this recipe from Food Network’s Sunny Anderson when I had the four fellas here this summer. We had an abundance of apples and this made for a fantastically easy and fast dessert! Just about any firm apple works even though she recommends Fuji or McIntosh apples. The kids loved (LOVED) ‘em and i can’t believe it was so simple to make.

I wonder if it would be too indulgent to enjoy for breakfast one day???

Ingredients

• 2 apples (recommended: Fuji or McIntosh)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup strawberry jam, jelly or preserves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, cold and diced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oats, uncooked
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut each apple in half along its equator. Using a melon baller or spoon, cut out the core, creating a rounded hole. Rub apple with lemon juice to prevent browning. Place 1 tablespoon of jam into each hole and top with a few raisins.

Topping: in a small bowl mix together dry ingredients plus the cold butter. It’s faster and easier if you do this with your hands. Press the mixture on the top of each apple. Be careful not to press too hard or the jam will squirt out. Place in a baking dish filled with about a 1/4-inch of water. Bake until top is golden brown and apple is tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Here is a link to Sunny’s original baked apple recipe.

Jenn is a stay at home southern mom raising her kids in Northwestern Minnesota with her trucker hubby. You can find recipes, crafts, parenting strategies, budget tips, product reviews and fabulous giveaways on her blog, Frugal Front Porch.

*Be sure to check out how you can win a $25 Sam’s Club Gift card – it ends Wednesday!

Who would like to win a $60 voucher from www.cookware.com?

You?  Head on over to Frills in the Hills - there's a special giveaway just for the USA & Canada residents!  You can enter DAILY too!  Ends Friday 10am New York Time, 7am LA time...

See you there!

Roasted Applesauce

Ok yes. It's only August. Not even halfway through August yet. Not really *fresh* apple season yet - I know, I know! Bookmark this post for fall though; trust me, you want to!

Transparent apples are coming into season now however and earlier this week my Dad was given a whole lot of them. He asked me if I'd like to do something with them. A pie (hint hint) or something. Of course I said yes and after baking three little six inch pies absolutely crammed with apples, I still had six pounds left over.

I'd seen this roasted applesauce from Martha Stewart oh goodness, a while back now, and had bookmarked it to try this apple season. Thought I'd give it a trial test run with the remaining transparents, as I'd learned they do in fact make great pies and applesauce.

Well. Let's just put it this way. I doubt I'll be making applesauce in any other way, ever again. This recipe makes such a creamy, flavorful and rich applesauce! So good. And after digging around the interwebs, I learned that I could in fact can applesauce in a hot water bath so that it is shelf stable rather than taking up room in my freezer. Double win!

I had six pounds so I doubled the recipe and it turned out beautifully.

A note - if you do not own a food mill, simply chop the apples roughly as I did, then press through a large mesh strainer to remove seeds/peels/cores.

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Applesauce
Makes 8 - 1/2 cup servings
Martha Stewart

1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch coarse salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 pounds small assorted apples such as Gala, McIntosh or Fuji (about 10)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine water, sugar, lemon juice and salt in a 9x13 dish.

Scatter butter pieces over the mixture and top with whole apples. Roast until apples are very soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Working in small batches, send the apple mixture through a food mill to remove peels and seeds.

Stir in spices. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 5 days.

Carnival #180 - Pickled Pepper Rings

Welcome to the carnival! The Make it from Scratch carnival is your chance to share your projects. I hope you join us by linking up at the bottom of this post.

The hot banana peppers are looking good in the garden this year. They are big, and they are hot. Just the way we like them. The easiest way to preserve hot peppers is by pickling them.

I love having pickled hot peppers on hand to add to Mexican dishes, put on a pizza, or give a sandwich some zip.

Preparing the Peppers
It is a good idea to wear rubber gloves when working with hot peppers. Wash peppers. Discard stems. Cut in 1/2 inch thick rings. You can remove the seeds if you wish, but I leave them.


Pickling juice (enough for about a dozen large banana peppers to yield about 5 pints of pickled peppers)
6 C white vinegar
2 C water
4 cloves of garlic, crushed

Combine ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and gently boil about five minutes. Strain to remove the garlic. Keep liquid hot.

Pack pepper rings into hot jars leaving at least 1/2 inch headspace. Cover with hot juice. Wipe rim and screw lid on to finger tip tight. Boiling water process (be sure water is covering the jars) for 10 minutes (don't start timing until water is back to a boil.) Wait five minutes. Remove jars to cool. Refrigerate any unsealed jars.

TIPS
If you only have a few peppers to pickle, you can skip the boiling water bath, and just store your pickled peppers in the refrigerator.

You can use many varieties of peppers with this recipe, or even mix your peppers.

LINK UP YOUR PROJECTS!

Carnival Guidelines:

Link up your recipes, crafts, garden projects, yarn creations, home improvement, or other d-i-y posts. Posts about making something, or helpful resources and tips for making things are what we are all about.


Please link directly to the post, not to home page of your blog. Kindly link back to the carnival with twitter, stumble and/or from your blog.

Fennel, Avocado and Mint Salad with Pistachio Caper Dressing

Are you trapped in the heatwave that is the southeast this summer?  Or is it this hot everywhere?  It's brutal here and all I can think of is salad!  Try this crunchy, zesty one for a complete change of taste!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
• Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Heaping 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup drained capers in brine, minced
• 1/2 cup pistachio oil, or other nutty oil such as pumpkinseed
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced red onion (about 1/2 small onion)
• 1 medium fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, cored, and very thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 medium ripe Hass avocados
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped

Instructions

1. Place sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and pour over the tomatoes so that they are completely submerged. Allow to soak for 1 hour, then drain and slice into 1/8-inch-thick strips.
2. To make the pistachio-caper vinaigrette, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and capers in a small bowl. Slowly add the pistachio oil and olive oil, pouring them in a thin stream while whisking constantly to emulsify them. Stir in the onion.
3. Combine the sliced fennel and sun-dried tomato slices in a mixing bowl, and toss with the pistachio-caper vinaigrette.
4. Halve the avocados lengthwise and remove the pits. Peel each half and place it cut-side down on the cutting board. Slice the avocados into very thin, lengthwise strips.
5. If you’re pressed for time, you can toss all the ingredients together and serve in a salad bowl. For a prettier presentation, layer the avocado slices in a medium bowl, followed by a layer of the fennel salad mixture, and finally some of the fresh herbs. Repeat until all ingredients are stacked in the bowl, ending with a layer of fennel and herbs, about 4 layers of each ingredient total.
6. Let salad sit for half an hour at room temperature to allow the flavors to combine, then scoop onto plates.

Craisin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

We were introduced to craisin chocolate chunk cookies at The Pacific Cookie Co. during out trip to Santa Cruz, CA last month. My mother completely fell in love with them, but knew she would need to create a copycat recipe of her own since she would be leaving California soon. She did, immediately upon returning home, and here it is...

Craisin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups chocolate chunks (or about one and a half packages)
1 cup craisins
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients with a whisk.

Step 2: In a large bowl, combine softened butter and sugars by hand until smooth and creamy. To this mixture, add eggs and vanilla.

Step 3: Pour flour mixture into sugar mixture and mix by hand until smooth.

Step 4: Add craisins, nuts and chocolate chunks to dough and stir until combined.

Step 5: On a greased cookie sheet, drop 1 inch balls about 2 inches apart, and bake at 375 degrees F for 7 to 9 minutes, or until very lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Carnival #179 - Banana "Ice Cream"

Welcome to the carnival! The Make it from Scratch carnival is your chance to share your projects. I hope you join us by linking up at the bottom of this post.

A few weeks ago I found myself with an excess of bananas. Normally if I have too many bananas I will freeze a few to use for baking at a later date. The trouble this time is I already had quite a few frozen for baking, andI had a lot of bananas that need to be used. Luckily, my sister-in-law had a wonderful idea.

She told me that you could make an ice cream like treat from frozen bananas. I'm always up for ice cream. So she peeled a couple dozen bananas, stuck them in a freezer bag, and put them in the freezer.

Awhile later I pulled them out, broke them into pieces, and let the food processor do all the work. I did add a little bit of milk because the bananas were so thick my food processor was having a hard time mixing it.

The result? Creamy, cold, and delicious. And any leftovers keep well in a container in the freezer. For some ideas for variations of this simple and delicious dessert, check out the comments section in Step-by-Step Instructions for One Ingredient Ice Cream.



LINK UP YOUR PROJECTS!
Carnival Guidelines:

Link up your recipes, crafts, garden projects, yarn creations, home improvement, or other d-i-y posts. Posts about making something, or helpful resources and tips for making things are what we are all about.

Please link directly to the post, not to home page of your blog. Kindly link back to the carnival with twitter, stumble and/or from your blog.