a perfect fall meal

One of the pitfalls of bringing my camera outside is that I usually take close to (or more than) one hundred photos at a time, sometimes daily...leaves, insects, webs, a beautiful light pattern, birds, or anything else that catches my eye.  This is a danger when my goal is to have a relatively balanced blog, with equal parts knitting/crafting, cooking, and nature.  Nature usually wins out in a big way, and I guiltily store my recipe shots for another week, and then another...I have been knitting, and I have been cooking, although that isn't always reflected here. 

The weather has been beautiful.  Sunny, breezy, and mid-70s during the day, and mid-50s at night.  Fall is here, and I am spending more time in the kitchen.  I recently found a local farmers market and stocked up on good local produce.  I used it to make a tasty fall-inspired meal for Todd, and I thought I'd share it quickly before it gets pushed to the back burner indefinitely.  With end-of-the-season fruits and vegetables still readily available, this is the perfect time to experiment!

The main course is a buttery galette filled with seasonal vegetables.  I took the main recipe from the always-reliable Smitten Kitchen blog and tweaked it a bit to fit our tastes.  The good thing about it is that it's easily customizable!  This galette has a pie crust base.  I recently had an older friend tell me that she's always been afraid to make her own crust.  Don't be afraid!  It doesn't have to be pretty, and homemade is always better.  Smitten Kitchen has a great tutorial here.

Late Summer Galette
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
1 onion, sliced
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced
8 - 10 basil leaves, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
handful of cheese
a pinch or two of red pepper flakes

Make dough: Whisk together your flour and salt.  Dice up your butter and quickly "cut" it into your mixture with a pastry cutter or fork.  The bits should be pea-sized.  In a separate bowl, stir together your ice water (minus the ice) and sour cream or yogurt.  Add this to your flour mixture and toss.  You may need to add a bit more liquid to obtain a mass that sticks together when you pat it.  Lay out plastic wrap, form a large ball, and secure it in the plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for about an hour.

Make filling:  Use a skillet with a lid for this one!  Take your tomatoes...I found an amazing heirloom variety.

Heat your olive oil and sprinkle in your red pepper flakes.  Add your tomatoes and cover.  Make sure your burner is on HIGH.  Roll them around until the skins split and some of the liquid cooks out.

Once they're cooked down a bit, put them in a bowl to cool off.  Using the same skillet, add more olive oil and saute your onions until they're translucent and softened, about 10 minutes.  Throw in your mushrooms and cook for another five minutes, until they release their liquid and cook down a bit.  Finally, add your diced garlic and sliced basil.  Cook for another minute and then pour this mixture on top of your tomatoes, letting it cool.

Now, take that cooled pie crust...

 ...and roll it into a rough circle.  It doesn't have to be fancy!  I spread a healthy amount of cheese in the center, and then mixed more cheese in with my vegetables.  Spoon it on top of your cheese and spread it out a bit, leaving an inch or so all around.  Then fold up the edges.

Place galette in your oven, preheated to 400 degrees.  Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Yum!

It's healthy and bursting with seasonal flavor!

For dessert, I used some late-season peaches to make a simple cobbler.  This recipe comes from How Sweet It Is and incorporates browned butter, which adds a rich nutty flavor.  Again, don't be afraid to try this technique if it's new to you.  Practice makes perfect!

Browned Butter Peach Cobbler
Very slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup flour (I used a mixture of white and whole wheat)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 cup butter (I used a tablespoon or so less to make it a bit healthier)
4 ripe peaches, peeled, de-pitted, and diced

Preheat your oven to 350 and blanch your peaches.  Blanching is a simple process that involves quickly boiling them, then putting them in cold water, so that the skin peels off easily.  Directions are here if you want to try it.  Or, you could peel them the old-fashioned way if you'd like.  Dice the peeled peaches and set aside.  In a bowl, mix your dry ingredients together.  Brown your butter (directions here if you've never done it) and let it cool a bit.  Add it to the flour/oatmeal mixture, along with the vanilla, and stir until all the liquid is absorbed.  Mix your peaches in, and pat the mixture into a greased 8 x 8  pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes and let cool completely.  Then you can dish it out!

Hey, it's not pretty, and certainly not fancy, but both dishes got rave reviews from Todd.  Although it may seem like a lot of steps, the cobbler only took about 15 minutes to throw together, and the galette (minus the pie dough waiting time) was just about 20 minutes.  Paired with a healthy side salad, this is the perfect fall meal...until those apples and pumpkins start coming in!  Stay tuned, and have a great week!

DIY Jam...Canning is "grape"!

I'm sick today. Two days ago, I had a bad sore throat and felt unwell, but yesterday I woke up at 5 a.m., felt fine, and had a wonderfully productive day. I made my husband breakfast in bed, then went back downstairs and made chili, sweet cornbread, lime meltaway cookies, and blueberry muffins. I had my sister over for lunch and had a great visit. Then, after a nap, I cleaned the house, chit chatted on the phone, and did some business work in our basement.

Today, though, my head is stopped up and balloon-like, I'm dizzy, with a runny nose, and my scratchy throat is back. However, it's a great day to be sick. The weather has turned cool, and I've put on my flannel pajamas. I have a good book, and a good knitting project. Best of all, I've had a very productive week, and finished my work yesterday, so I don't have to feel guilty about a sick day on the couch.

This has been a busy week indeed! Under the watchful eyes of the cats...

...I've been outside, dodging mosquitoes and harvesting what I could from the garden. Finally, we're getting a nice amount of tomatoes.

I have to be careful, though. Other creatures find the tomatoes and their sheltering leaves useful, like this mantis.

A yellow-striped army worm (Spodoptera ornithogalli) is in seventh heaven here. They like the tomatoes themselves, and the leaves too. A group of army worms can absolutely decimate crops in an area before taking off, en masse, to the next banquet.

I didn't see any other army worms that day, thankfully. They're destructive, but I couldn't help but admire his symmetrical markings and soft coloring.

Of course, I had to pick more bouquets. The cosmos are going to seed fast so I've got to get the flowers while I've got a chance!

I harvested other things, too. A friend with a peach tree invited me to take some home...

...and also, some of her beautiful Concord grapes. She had so many growing on her single vine that she kept heaping more and more bunches into my little bag.

I ended up with five pounds of grapes!

Five pounds is exactly the amount needed to make a batch of grape jam. Now, I've never made jam before, or canned. I have less-than-promising memories of blown jars and rusty lids in my grandma's larder. Also, I don't have any fancy equipment...the round jar-lifting tongs, the tall pots. But I tell you that with no special equipment and almost no money, I made some pretty fantastic grape jam!

Here's what you will need:

5 pounds of grapes
7 cups of sugar
a box of pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter
mason jars and lids
one or two large pots
tongs (I used Target's OXO brand)
Cheesecloth

That's not too bad, right?

First, fill your two large pots with water and bring to a boil. In batches, you'll need to sterilize your mason jars and lids by boiling them for at least 5 minutes each. I was able to fit 3 jars per pot so this didn't take much time at all! Then I set them out on a clean cloth and carefully put the lids back on top.

Next, you need to separate the grapes from the stems and wash them. Small spiders sometimes make little web nests in between the grapes, so pluck carefully!

Then, you need to mash your grapes. You can use your hands, but I used a potato masher.

Put your crushed grapes back into a pot and add a cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Let it cool and then use a cheesecloth to strain the juice. What's left behind is a pretty disgusting pile of pulp...throw that away.

Here's the quick and easy finale! Measure out 5 cups of grape juice, add your box of pectin, and bring to a boil. Stir in that bit of butter...it keeps your jam from foaming too much. Add your sugar and boil for one minute. And...that's it! Ladle the liquid into the waiting jars and seal.

One other thing. An optional step here is to give your jam a 'water bath.' It is not "preserved" in its current state...you must go one step further to ensure that no bacteria infects your jam. A water bath is easy. Bring a pot of water to a boil and gently lay your filled jars inside, and then lay them on their sides with the tongs. They should be completely submerged. Let them boil there for 5 minutes, and use tongs to remove. The jam can take up to 24 hours to completely cool and set. As it cools, you'll hear your lids pop. If you can toggle the lid centers up and down, your jam didn't seal. Either try another water bath or just stick it in your fridge and plan on eating it in the next few weeks. Your preserved jam, though, will last for months!

I got five 10 ounce jars of jam, plus one 12 ounce jar of leftover grape juice, from my 5 pounds of grapes. The whole process, from start to finish, took about 2 1/2 hours.

It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon! Of course, I had to get my rubber stamps out and make labels.

The jam isn't purple like grocery store grape jam...it's almost raspberry-colored. And delicious.

Spread on toast, it's our new favorite nighttime snack.

I really hope you give it a try this fall! I've included the recipe in easy-to-read format below. Have a great week!

Grape Jam

From multiple sources

Nearly fills 5 12 ounce jars

Ingredients and Tools

5 pounds of grapes

7 cups of sugar

½ teaspoon butter

1 box pectin

Tongs

2 big pots

At least 6 12 ounce jars

Sterilize your jars

Wash, and boil for 5 minutes each

Make the grape juice

Weigh out 5 pounds of grapes

Crush with a potato masher

Add to pot with 1 – ½ cups water and bring to a boil

Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Cool and strain the grape mixture. You’ll have about 7 cups.

Make the jam

Start a second pot boiling for your water bath.

Measure 5 cups of grape juice into pot.

Add 1 box pectin and ½ teaspoon butter.

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Once it’s you’ve got a rolling boil, toss in 7 cups of sugar. Bring back to rolling boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if applicable.

Canning and Storing

Pour liquid into prepared canning jars, leaving an inch open at the top. Wipe off threads and put on lids, but don’t screw them on too tightly. Once the water in your water bath is almost boiling, add jars and let boil for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool. As they cool, you’ll hear the tops pop. After they’ve cooled 24 hours, tap the button on top. If it toggles up and down, it’s not sealed. If it stays down, you’re safe. Jam should be good for six months.