Canning & Preserving

By Lorene Edwards Forkner, co-author of Canning and Preserving Your Own Harvest

Everything old is new again. Today preserving is enjoying renewed popularity and extending the harvest is HIP!

We are in the midst of a contemporary revival of these almost-lost kitchen arts coupled with a newfound respect for food integrity and healthful living. In a welcome departure from our recent history of fast, global, and often anonymous food, America is developing a palate and a passion for fresh, seasonal fare as well as a growing respect for the farmers and artisan craftspeople who work so hard to produce-and preserve it.

Select recipes from Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest

[ PRINT THESE RECIPES ]

Hot Chili Orange Oil

The bright orange, deeply flavored oil builds to a slow burn. It is delicious on cold noodle salads, with peanut chicken or tofu, and mixed with soy sauce for dipping spring rolls and dim sum.

Season: Any time
Yield:  2 1/2 cups
Store: Cool, dark pantry (6 months)

3 large organic oranges
1/2 cup dried hot red chili flakes
3 cloves garlic; peeled and lightly smashed
1 tablespoon fermented black bean paste
2 cups peanut or canola oil

Scrub oranges with a soft brush and mild soap to remove any vegetable wax. With a sharp vegetable peeler or paring knife, remove the bright orange zest from the fruit in large strips, avoiding the bitter white pith. Finely mince the zest.

Combine the zest with the chili flakes, garlic, bean paste, and oil in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a low boil over medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Caution: the chili fumes coming off the simmering oil are powerful; avoid direct contact with eyes or nose! Remove from heat and let stand until cool.

Store the oil with its seasonings in a glass jar, covered, at room temperature.

Lavender Lemonade Cooler

You can substitute thyme, mint, pineapple sage, or rosemary syrup for the lavender syrup. Mix things up at your next summer cocktail party by offering a variety of herbal syrups together with the rest of the makings for this refreshing cooler.

Season: Mid to late summer
Yield: Variable
Store: Serve immediately

Lavender syrup (recipe below)
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Vodka
Sparking wine, chilled
Fresh blueberries and raspberries
Sliced lemons
1 stem fresh lavender

Combine the lavender syrup with the lemon juice for a sweet/tart base. Fill tall glasses with ice; add 1 shot of vodka to each glass. Add the lavender-lemon syrup to three-quarters full. Garnish with berries, a lemon slice, and a lavender sprig and top up with sparking wine.

Variation: For an alcohol-free version, combine herbal syrup, lemon, juice, and sparkling water to taste; add garnish.

Lavender syrup:

3 cups water
1 cup fresh herbs
2 cups sugar

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from head and add the herbs; cover and steep for several hours to make a strong infusion. Strain the liquid into a nonreactive pan, add the sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar completely. Boil without stirring to thicken, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and bottle. The syrup keeps well in the refrigerator, good up to 3 months.

Lorene Edwards Forkner - freelance writer, garden designer, and food enthusiast – revels in the seasonal pleasures and broad scope of gardening in the Pacific Northwest. She is the co-author of Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest, and Growing Your Own Vegetables from Sasquatch Books. Read more of Lorene’s musings on life, work, home and garden, on her blog.