Daring Cooks: Apple Butter

"The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation."

I had tons of fun with this challenge. Not only was canning fun, but a bunch of our friends are also into canning right now so we made a bunch of stuff. First, Apple Butter, for the Daring Cook's Challenge. And then we made peach pepper jelly, spicy green beans, whole tomatoes and tomato sauce! And with apples coming into season soon I can see more canning in our future.

For the apple butter I used a recipe very similar recipe to the one that John of Eat4Fun suggested, with some minor changes. The apple butter turned out to be very spice tasting and very thick and spreadable. I loved the taste and it reminded me very much of Fall. We will definitely be using a lot of our apple butter this Fall and we are also hoping to cook some dinners using it as well.
I hope that some of you readers will also give canning a try (if you haven't already!) :)

Apple Butter
Makes 18 jars of various sizes
Found on RecipeTips.com

Ingredients:
4 pounds apples (Various kinds if possible)
2 cups sugar
1 cup apple cider
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 lemon, juice and zest

Directions:
1. Peel, core, and cut up the apples.
2. Combine apples with cider, sugar, salt, spices and lemon. Cook over low heat stirring frequently until the apples are soft and and the mixture becomes very thick. (Test by scooping up a heaping spoonful. The mixture should keep its rounded shape and not flatten out.)
4. Use a hand blender to blend the mixture until smooth.

Canning the Apple Butter

1. Put jars and caps in the oven on a cookie sheet, open side up, at 200 degrees F until for at least 10 minutes (but longer is ok).
2. You need a pot that will let you add the jars with 1 inch or water above them (and a rack below to the jars are not on direct heat).
3. Take jars out of oven and fill with apple butter leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
4. Put the lids on a screw tight by hand (not too tighly as the air needs to escape in the water).
5. Add jars to pot of boling water. Bring the water back to the boil and time for 15 minutes.
6. Take jars out of water and let them cool down on a dish towel. If you hear the jars popping, that's good (they are sealing).
7. Check to see if all the lids have popped. If so you can now store your apple butter.
8. Make sure to check the lid before opening the apple butter. If it is bulging, or the apple butter has changed in colour, etc, then throw it out!

Mango Summer Rolls and Thai Green Curry

I really wasn't in the mood for cooking on the day I made these. Really, I wasn't. But then I flipped through a cookbook of mine and it was love a first sight. I had to make these. Luckily there really isn't much cooking involved (since when I made these it was still pretty hot and humid outside). Though there are a lot of other steps that don't involve cooking ;)

This dinner was pretty much like eating at a restaurant. We could have paid a bunch of $$$ for this. Yes, it was that good. And I had left overs the next day and they were just as good, if not better.

The Summer Rolls were perfect. Not too much vermicelli, a nice burst of cilantro, the sweetness of the mango and the crunch of the cucumbers and peanuts made for the perfect combination. And the dipping sauce was nice and tangy. Perfect for a summer's day.

And the Thai Green Curry was also fantastic. Very fresh tasting and lot's of sauce to soak the rice in! I also loved that the red peppers were still slightly crunchy (nothing is worse then soggy red peppers!). I made it with tofu this time, but next time I would try it with chicken. I think maybe letting the sauce soak into the tofu more would make the tofu taste a bit better. I'll have to keep experimenting with it.

                            

Mango Summer Rolls

Serves 4, Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 mango, peeled and sliced (like matchsticks)

1/2 cucumber, sliced (like matchsticks)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (Feel free to obmit if you don't like cilantro)

4 oz thin rice noodles (vermicelle)

1/4 roasted salted peanuts, chopped

1 package rice wrappers (You probably won't need all of them)

Directions:

1. Boil water in a pot and turn off heat once it comes to a boil. Add rice noodles and let them soak for 10 minutes stirring once in a while.

2. Drain the noodles and run them under cold water.

3. Fill a large pan with hot water and place rice wrapper 1 or 2 at a time until pliable (takes about 30 seconds).

4. Remove rice wrapper from water and pat dry with paper towel (they are less mushy and last longer in the fridge if you do this).

5. In the lower part of the wrapper place about 2 tbsp of the rice noodles, 1 tsp of peanuts, 5-6 slices of mango, 5-6 slices of cucumber and 3-4 cilantro leaves.

6. Fold the left and right sides of the wrapper over the filling and then roll the wrapper up.

7. Repeat until you run out of filling.

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tsp Asian chili oil (Or peanut oil with red pepper flakes)

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped

3 tsp sugar

Directions:

1. Mix together and chill.

Green Thai Curry

Serves 4, Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

For chili paste:

4 jalapanos, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup boiling water

2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed

1 tsp cumin seeds

5 white peppercorns

1 tbsp lemon grass (fresh or from a tube if fresh is not available)

1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 tsp lime zest

2 shallots, chopped

For the curry:

5 tbsp peanut oil

1 block of firm tofu, pressed and cut into triangles (or you can use chicken)

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 medium red onion, sliced

1 can of coconut milk

2 tbsp maple syrup

juice of 1 lime

1/2 fresh basil (Thai basil if you can find it)

To make chili paste:

Directions:

1. Place the jalapanos in a bowl and cover with the boiling water and soak for 15 minutes.

2. Toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns over medium heat for about 2 minutes.

3. Use a food processor or mortar and pestle to grind the spices into a powder. 

4.Add the rest of the ingredients (including the water the jalapanos are soaking in) to the food processor or use a blender and grind into a paste.

To make the curry:

1. Heat 2 tbsp of peanut oil and cook the tofu over medium-high heat until golden on both sides. Put aside on a plate.

2. Heat 2 tbsp of peanut oil and saute the red pepper and onions until slightly tender. Set aside.

3. Preheat a sauce pan and cook chili paste for a few minutes while stirring. Add the coconut milk and heat up over low-medium heat while stirring.

4. Bring to a boil and add maple syrup.

5. Add tofu, red peppers and onions to the curry and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Add basil and let sit off of heat for about 5 minutes.

7. Serve with Jasmine rice.

Urban Knitting/Yarn Bombing and Miso

I have just recently discovered a new type of graffiti in Waterloo: Urban Knitting or Yarn Bombing.
Here are some examples:

I actually saw the girl knitting the one in the last picture! We were coming home from Ethel's at 11pm and she was sitting there knitting it on! :) Wish I would have had my camera on me.
I'll keep my eye's peeled for new knitted stuff.

UPDATE!: Last night I found tons of new yarn bombs! I guess keeping an eye out for them really worked! I wrote this post yesterday and wanted to post it today so I went out this morning and took pictures of the new yarn bombs that I had not seen before.

The one on the tree had a tag on it that went to this site. Zilliah explains a bit about who she is and what yarn bombing is, and she has a cute blog.
I'll continue to keep my eyes open for more :)

Also, I just bought a tub of red miso and I was trying to think of ways I could use it up. Since I've been taking salads to work a lot recently I figured I should make some miso salad dressing.
This dressing is so amazingly tasty! It's spicy, sour and salty all at the same time! It really livens up salads and you could also use this as a dip for veggies! :)

Miso Salad Dressing
Serves 1


Ingredients:
1 tbsp red miso paste
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp honey
1 tsp mustard OR 1/2 tsp wasabi

Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to a bowl or tupperware and mix well unitl smooth.
2. Add dressing to salad (or keep in fridge until ready to use).

Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding, Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy

This meal is a childhood favourite of mine. We had this at my Grandma's house for family dinners and I remember it very fondly. Unfortunately I had not had it in a very long time since my Grandma usually makes ham or turkey instead nowadays.

The reason why I remebered this dish and wanted to make it was because I had rented Gordon Ramsay's book 'Sunday Lunch' from the library and he has a recipe for this very meal in the book. Most of the recipe is pretty basic, so I didn't need to modify it too much. I used Anthony Bourdain's 'Les Halles Cookbook' for inspiration for the mashed potatoes.

It turned out better then I could ever have hoped. I had some help from Martin and Dan for the Gravy and Mashed Potatoes...because let's face it, I'm terrible at multitasking when I cook! haha
The roast beef was so tender and perfectly cooked that you hardly even needed a knife! The yorkshires were exactly as I remembered them and I ate far too many. And for once in my life the homemade gravy actually tasted good! It might need a bit more tweaking to be perfect though ;)

Make sure you read all the directions before you begin cooking, as you need to do a lot of multitasking for this meal.

Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding, Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy
Serves 4-6, Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's 'Sunday Lunch' and Anthony Bourdain's 'Les Halles'
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
1kg rib of beef, with bone
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1 and 1/2 cups plus 2 tsp of flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten
300ml milk (I used 1%)
12 tsp canola oil
4 thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and slighly crushed
1 large red onion, sliced
3 plum tomatoes, quartered
1/2 bottle of red wine
1 litre of beef stock
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
6 potatoes, rinsed and cut into small pieces with skin on
120ml of cream (I used 18%)
5 tbsp of butter (I used salted)

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 395F. Season the beef and sear it in a hot oven safe pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil to brown the beef. Transfer the beef to the oven and cook for 45 minutes for medium or 35 minutes for rare.
2. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl and add eggs and half of the milk and mix until smooth. Add remaining milk and mix and leave to rest.
3. Once the beef is cooked transfer to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 15-20 minutes.
4. Increase the oven temperature to 450F. Put 1 tsp of canola oil into each section of the muffin trays and put into oven to heat the oil.
5. When the oil is hot take the trays out of the oven and fill each section three-quarters full (It should sizzle a bit). Put trays back into oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. Do not open the oven until the time is up!!!
6. While the yorkshires are cooking take the fat and brown bits from the roast pan and put in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add thyme, garlic, onions,and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in wine and bring to a simmer. Crush tomatoes with a potato masher to get the flavours out. Pour in stock and simmer for 10 minutes until reduced by half. Put the gravy through a seive and press the vegetables to get all the flavours out. Bring gravy back to a boil. In another pan heat up the butter and add flour to make a roux. Add roux to gravy to help thicken.
7. Also while the yorkshires and gravy are cooking bring a pot of water with the potatoes to boil. When potatoes are cooked drain them and put them back in the pot. Mash the potatoes (skin on!!) and add the cream and butter. Season to taste.

Hot Wings and Blue Cheese Dip

When I was trying to come up with something for dinner I asked Martin if he had any ideas. He said he was really craving some baked potatoes with sour cream and bacon. I quickly agreed that it was a great idea and suggested we added some 'bar food' to make it a full dinner. First thing we thought of for the 'bar food'? WINGS! Of course!

Now, this isn't just any wing recipe. It's Martin's secret wing recipe. He used to work at a sport's bar so I was inclined to go with what he thought was the best way to make wings (and also because he has more experience cooking ;). These wings are tender and spicy. Just delicious! Serving some home-made blue cheese dip with carrots and celery is a great way to cool your mouth off ;)

As for the baked potato? Well I'm sure you all know how to do that! So I'll skip on that recipe :P

 Hot Wings
Serves 2 (depending on your appetite)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
9 full wings (once cut up this will make 9 'wings' and 9 'drumettes')
vegetable or canola oil, enough to cover the wings in a pot
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup of Frank's Red Hot Sauce or regular cayenne pepper sauce
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Cut chicken so you have wings and drumettes (or you can leave them whole at this point if you want and pull them apart later).
2. Heat oil in a medium pot on low heat. Add chicken once oil is heated. Make sure the chicken has enough space to not stick to other chicken. Cook for about 10-13 minutes or until cooked through. The chicken should not be too brown or crispy! This will probably take 2 batches.
3. Take chicken out and let cool down on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Once cooled down, put in freezer (I used wax paper and a ziplock bag).
4. Heat oven to 200C. To prepare the sauce combine in a medium bowl the melted butter, Frank's Red Hot Sauce and salt.
5. Take chicken out of freezer and add to the sauce bowl. Coat well with sauce and arrange them on a grill rack on a baking tray (they need to be above the baking tray to cook all over). A cooling rack for baked goods also works well. Cook for about 10 minutes (may take longer if frozen for a long time or if your oven is different). Baste with more sauce if desired.

Why do you put the chicken in the freezer? I have no idea! That's part of Martin's secret recipe! And if it makes the chicken taste this good, I won't complain! It also makes making these ahead of time easy. You can cook the chicken and put them in the freezer. All you have to do is sauce them and bake after that point. Easy, peasy!

If you want extra saucy wings, then make extra sauce.

Blue Cheese Dip
Serves 2-4
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp white vineagar
1/4 blue cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients and mix.
2. If you would like the dip to be smoother then use a hand mixer to beat it to a smoother consistency.

Serve with carrots and celery.

The blue cheese dip will get more blue cheesey in flavour the longer you let it sit in the fridge (So if you love blue cheese I would suggest making the dip the day before).