amazon housewares

03 September 2014

Canning - Version 1.0

This weekend was a "labor of love" weekend in my home.

I remember watching my grandmother make jams, jellies, pie filling, and assorted vegetables during the summer.  Having fruits and vegetables from our garden or local farms year-round was perfectly normal.  Once I was on my own, convenience food became more common than fresh food.  A couple of years ago, I decided that fresh (or at least less-processed) food would be a step on my path to trying to be healthier.

Going through various cooking magazines, cookbooks, and family recipe books, I found many references to home canned food.  A long chat with my grandmother set something in motion in the back of my head.  I found myself drawn to the canning supplies at various stores.  By the end of the year, I had purchased two canning recipe books, jars of various sizes, and other supplies. I waited for the summer farmer's markets in the area to start up. Reading and re-reading the recipes became my favorite summer pastime.

This weekend, it all came together.  I canned!

4 oz jars of sugar-free strawberry jam
and 2 pints of rhubarb juice concentrate


Happiness is hearing that *ping*


Labeled and ready to share

Opening the first jar of *my* jam was a bit of heaven.  It made the best PB&J I have ever had. The rhubarb juice has been added to sparkling water, diet ginger ale, and iced tea. If you love rhubarb the way I do, it is a must-try! It will be guest starring with Prosecco for an lovely spritzer this weekend, if I have my way.

I see many more canning adventures in my future.
After I finish my rhubarb tea.

26 August 2014

Puff Pastry Heirloom Tomato Tart [Food Network Magazine]

I know it may seem a little gutsy to attempt the cover recipe from a major food magazine for my first blog post, but I never said I was shy.  Tomato season is upon us and the cover photo kept tempting me. Really, how can you resist this:

Puff Pastry Heirloom Tomato Tart 

It just screams "late summer dinner" to me.  And that is exactly what it was.

I have to confess that I had never, ever used puff pastry and was a bit intimidated.  Why I waited so long I will never know.  I used Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets, which were simple to prepare and came out beautifully.  

I changed up the cream cheese mixture a bit, since I'm not overly fond of lemons.  I omitted the lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar.  Instead I added garlic and basil, which seem like the perfect complement to anything tomato. Instead of chives sprinkled on top, I went with a bit of flat-leaf parsley. No issues with chives. I just had fresh parsley on the counter and it wanted to join the party.

This is my tart:


Plated up and ready to eat:
















Light crust, savory cream cheese spread, and bright heirloom tomatoes. What more could you ask for on one of the last weekends of summer??  This definitely goes in the success column!

25 August 2014

Welcome!

I've decided to finally learn how to cook and am going to use this blog to document my experiments - success, failure, or other!

My name is Melissa and I live in northeastern Ohio.  I've lived in or visited most of the lower 48, and am working towards seeing the rest.  The best part of traveling to a new city/state/region is experiencing the local culture through food.  There are so many wonderful things in the world to taste and my list grows longer every day.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please post away!  I love learning and look forward to hearing from folk who drop by.