Ready or not...Wednesday is pick-up day for Cape Ann Fresh Catch

This week illustrates many of the challenges that come with belonging to a community supported fishery (CSF) like Cape Ann Fresh Catch (CAFC). Although I love eating my weekly share of sustainably-caught fish, picking it up and using it can present some logistical challenges for a mother with a busy family. As a member, once a week we receive a whole fish (or you could receive fillets) which is delivered at a specific time and location throughout northeastern Massachusetts. For me, the pick-up day is Wednesday and the time is between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm at Butter Brook Farm in Acton, MA which is about 10 minutes from my house.

Challenge #1 - conflict with the pick-up time.  Wednesday was also an early release day for the Chelmsford public schools which meant that instead of being able to use the full half day to take my son and a couple of his friends on a mini field trip, I had to arrange activities around our weekly fish pick-up. This time, it was easy enough to work around since the only real conflict was one that I was creating.

Challenge #2--sometimes deliveries get canceled and have to be made up.  As members, we agree to accept that from time to time mother nature will get in the way of a catch which will mean no fish for that week and a make-up delivery will be scheduled.  For the winter season, which started back in November and will end next week, we have had four deliveries canceled due to snow and unsafe fishing conditions.  The way CAFC decided to make up the missed deliveries was to double up during the last few weeks of the season, so this week instead of one whole fish, we received two…or rather many. The catch this week was winter flounder so we received two bags with about six fish in each. This wouldn’t be so bad except this week my husband had a business trip and tonight (now Friday) he and my son left for an overnight camp-out at the SEE Science Center with the cub scouts, so there has been no occasion to cook and eat the beautiful and very fresh fish we received.

Challenge #3 -- if you can't eat it right away, you still have to fillet it freeze it. Tonight, when I have the house all to myself and could be doing a variety of other more enjoyable, more relaxing activities, I will be filleting winter flounder and then vacuum sealing the fillets to put into the freezer for dinner on another night. Not so awful, but on my first mommy’s night off in over six weeks…after a month of the flu and my husband’s latest two-week business trip to Europe…I had hoped to enjoy a bubble bath, followed by a glass of wine and a baked potato while watching Netflix in my most comfy pair of jammies!

So, why do I do it?

Because I am committed to supporting my local economy and making sure that the men and women who go out on the boats to catch the fish that make my family’s dinner receive a fair wage for the work they do and the sacrifices they make…and most of the time it is no more inconvenient than a trip to the supermarket.

Note:   Between their first delivery in June 2009 and October 2010 Cape Ann Fresh Catch kept $1.1 million dollars here in Massachusetts. Through the CSF model, fisherman are able to receive on average 50% more for their catch than through traditional markets. (These statistics came out in a recent e-mail from CAFC to its members.)

Pizza Night

Friday night pizza night is a tradition that reaches all the way back into my childhood when my mother would bring home Pizza Hut pizza, root beer and ice cream on my father's payday.  This was a true treat as we NEVER had soda in the house and take-out pizza was a real splurge.

My husband and I continued the tradition as a way to wind down after a busy work week when it was just the two of us and we still honor this tradition with our son. 

PJ's favorite pizza is Antonio's pizza which is made right across the street from our house.  Antonio's pizza fits loosely into my definition of eating locally.  I don't know that Antonio obtains his ingredients from local sources; however, there is no chain of Antonio's pizza restaurants, just Antonio and his family making pizza and subs for people in our neighborhood.

I can't eat pizza very often.  It is one of the foods that upsets my stomach and gives me heartburn, so over the years I have experimented with making homemade pizza that is a little easier on my stomach.  Pictured above is a deep dish pizza I made last night using Bob's Redmill Gluten Free Pizza Crust.  The toppings are inspired by my favorite Antonio's specialty pizza -- the Greek Pizza which is topped with sliced tomatoes, spinach, black olives and feta cheese.  I was out of black olives, but I had a container of marinated feta cheese which we received in our winter CSA share.  We had also gotten a pound of sweet Italian sausage. Part of the sausage I planned to in Pasta e Fiagioli for Saturday night's dinner.  I had a jar of diced tomatoes that I had put up from our summer share as well as spinach that I had blanched, froze and vacuum sealed early least summer.  So these, along with a shallot became the topping for my pizza. 

I sauteed the sausage in a skillet and when it was close to being fully cooked through, I added diced shallots and the frozen spinach which was still bright green and tender (I will definitely try putting up more spinach using this method this coming spring and summer.)

I sauteed the pizza topping while the pizza dough was prepping in the oven. 

The cheeses I used to top the pizza were:  Maple Brook Farm Mozzarrella , marinated feta cheese from West River Creamery, and freshly grated pecorino romano. 

Now if you are looking for a quick meal for a week day night what I did to make this pizza would not work for you.  The pizza pictured took me an hour and a half in total time to make.  However, there are things you can make ahead so that this could be a very quick and easy weeknight or weekend meal. 

Let's start with the crust. 

Based on the recipe on the bag, the total time to prepare the crust for pizza toppings is about a half an hour to forty minutes.  The dough can be made up and refrigerated the night before.  Or you could prepare the first step, which is to partially bake the dough in the pizza pan and then refrigerate the pizza for use the following day.  I find this dough only works for deep dish as it is very sticky and I have not had much luck rolling it out.  You could try regrigerating the dough to see if it dries it out enough for rolling and shaping into a regular dough, but I have not bothered with this.  I have added additional ingredients like flax seeds or whole grain millet.

As I mentioned, while the dough was prepping in the oven, I sauteed my ingredients:  Sweet Italian Sausage, a shallot, and then finally the spinach.  You could put the spinach leaves on the pizza without sauteeing them with the Italian sausage...just use fewer leaves as too many will make your pizza wet.

Once the dough comes out of the oven, I add a layer of diced tomatoes.  On top of the tomatoes I add the pizza topping and then the cheese.  Per the directions on the package, I cook the pizza for 15 minutes at 425 degrees and then serve. 

The great thing about pizza is that it is very versatile.  You can often buy ready made pizza dough in your local grocery store.  Toppings can be anything you can imagine and are a great way to use leftovers.  Kids like helping out with toppings as well. 

Well, not my kid.  He has often told me he doesn't like homemade pizza.  He only likes Antonio's.  So, for now, I make a homemade pizza for me and Peter and then I support a local business owner by buying a small cheese pizza for PJ.  The point is to keep it simple and make it a treat!

Soup for a Snowy Day

Around 5:30 am on Tuesday morning,  I awoke to the sound of the telephone ringing.  It was a robo call from the public school announcing a snow day.  At first I rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour and then I got up and went down to our living room to watch the snow fall outside the window.

I love snow days...even though we've now had three in the space of 10 days.  Perhaps I feel this way because I no longer have to commute to work, but even back when I worked at a full-time job outside the home, I still appreciated the kind of full stop a good snow storm can provide.

As I sat enjoying the cascade of snowflakes falling outside the window, I thought about how I would now need to rearrange my plans for the day and the week.  Part of this was to decide what I would make for lunch and dinner since my son would be home and I would have additional kids to feed.  (I  provide back-up care for working mother's in my neighborhood.)  Fortunately, my freezer is still pretty well stocked with food I had preserved this summer and fall.  For lunch, I pulled out a sauce with meatballs and for dinner, squash soup.

The squash soup recipe I use and have adapted over the years comes from Dr. Andrew Weil and was published in an article in Body and Soul Magazine now Whole Living Magazine at least three or four years ago (unfortunately the issue date is not on the page of the magazine I tore out and keep in my three ring binder of magazine recipes).  This soup is one of my son's favorites.  I like the creamy texture of the soup which requires no dairy as well as the sweet, savory, spicy flavor that is so warming on a cold day. 

I have included the original recipe below though I confess that I no longer follow it.  I always use butternut squash as I find it is the easiest to peel and to get the most uniform chunks.  I tend to use whatever apples I have on hand.  This summer there were plenty of Macoun and Macs, so I believe one of these varieties is what ended up in the soup.  In addition to chili powder, I have added both dried basil and marjoram to batches I have made.  From time to time, I have added ground cumin seed which I think balances the sharp heat of chili powder with a more subtle, smokey warmth.  I also generally add cinnamon, another warming spice, that compliments the sweetness of the apples and squash. 

This year I was very fortunate to be able to make this soup using only ingredients (other than the cumin and cinnamon) which I received from our CSA.  By the time we were getting squash in our weekly share, I was making batches of vegetable broth in an effort not to waste the abundance of veggies we were receiving and unable to consume quickly enough.  Instead of chili powder, I roasted fresh chili peppers along with the squash, onions, garlic and apples.  I also included heirloom basil...the kind we received was a purplish color rather than the typical green. 


Roasted Winter Squash and Apple Soup

1 large winter squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), such as butternut, buttercup, or kabocha, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tart, firm apples (such as Macoun or Granny Smith), peeled quartered and cored
2 tablespoons olive oil
Course salt
Mild to medium chili powder
3 1/2 to 4 cups vegetable broth

Preheat over to 400 degrees F.
In a large roasting pan, combine the squash, onions, garlic, apples, and oil; toss to coat.  Generously season with salt and chili powder.  Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until the vegetables are fork-tender and lightly browned, about 45 minutes.
In a food processor, combine half the vegetables and half the broth; puree until smooth, and transfer to a medium saucepan.  Repeat with the remaining vegetables and broth.  Heat over medium-low, stirring occasionally and adding more broth if soup is too thick, until heated through.  Season with salt and additional chili powder, if necessary.  Serve immediately.

Okay, so even I can get grossed out

So, the picture to the left is what I was faced with on Thursday evening...well, we didn't really come face-to-face, I only had the tail.  Our weekly CSF share from Cape Ann Fresh Catch was Monk fish and we received a hefty tail. 

When I opened the bag to rinse off the fish, what I found was a speckled brown, headless fish with slimy skin hanging over a large hole where the head and internal organs used to be. A white spine bone, about a quarter inch in diameter, ran the length of the tail.

The recipe we received was for Monk fish Piccata which called for 1/2 inch monk fish tail medallions.  Now my mistake was that I didn't research monk fish when I discovered I was going to have to cook it.  This is one of the challenges of finding out the morning of what you'll be picking up later that afternoon.  I try to cook the fish within a day of pick-up, so that means Thursday night is fish night at our house...whether I am ready or not...and I was definitely not ready.

So, as I laid the fish tail out on the cutting board and tried to wrestle off the skin and the slimy, gelatinous membrane between the meat and the skin, I found myself wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into and whether I should just toss the whole disgusting thing right into the garbage and call for take-out.  I don't like to waste food, so I powered through.  After I got through cutting away the skin and the membrane, the flesh that was left reminded me a little of the consistency of swordfish and was about the same color and texture.

I prepared the monk fish according to the recipe and popped it in the oven.  I served it with a pilaf of pearled barley, butternut squash and kale.  Let's just say it was not my finest meal.  I overcooked the pilaf while I was fussing with the fish, so the pilaf reminded me of the gelatinous membrane I had just removed from the fish.  The squash was too mushy instead of tender and the kale had lost it's bright green color.  The fish came out of the oven tender, firm and flaky.  My medallions were probably a little larger than the 1/2 inch called for in the recipe so it took a little longer to cook.  Needless-to-say, we ate very late for a week night and I was disappointed to bring a less than satisfying meal to the table at such a late hour.  PJ took one look at the whole thing and refused to eat.  I didn't argue asking him to take three bites of pilaf and then I made him peanut butter crackers.  Peter ate two helpings of the Monk fish Piccata and commented how it reminded him a little of salmon.   I wasn't sure how I felt about the fish after my experience preparing it.  One of the difficulties I had trying to figure out whether I liked the flavor of the fish was that it was covered with breadcrumbs and Romano cheese.  The consistency of the fish held up well as medallions, but I think I would have enjoyed the fish more if it were not so heavily dressed.

Since I am committed to sticking with our CSF, I decided I'd better come to terms with monk fish as I am sure this will not be the last time I find its tail in my bag.  So, I did a little research.   

The monk fish is a bottom dweller found in Western Atlantic waters and is known by other names such as goose fish, angler, all mouth or frog fish.  Based on the photos I ran across in my Internet search, the monk fish appears to be mostly mouth and tail.  It is not attractive at all, though as I was rinsing the fish off, I thought that the tail and fins must look beautiful in the water as they were long and, other than the spines, soft and feathery.  According to Zeuscat.com,"The only edible portions of the monk fish are its muscular tail and its liver. The tail meat of the monk fish is delicious: dense, sweet, and very similar to lobster tail meat in both flavor and texture. Like many fish, monk fish is an excellent low-fat, low-cholesterol source of protein and B vitamins."

After reading that the tail meat is similar to lobster, I decided that the next time I would try a simpler preparation so that I could decide for myself...maybe a butter wine sauce with fresh herbs.  Through my research, I discovered that Monk fish can be braised, fried, steamed, broiled or grilled.  Whole tails should be braised or poached.  One blogger for the New York Times advised that to avoid having the monk fish meat become tough it needs to be kept moist when preparing. The blogger suggested a recipe to sear the tail meat and then finish the preparation in a sauce.  Jamie Oliver has a lovely recipe for monk fish in a black olive sauce with lemon mashed potatoes that I may try the next time. 

Besides how to cook the fish, I also wanted to find out if there was an easier way to remove the skin and membrane from the meat.  EHow had great instructions for removing the skin, deboning and removing the membrane.  Basically, it is pretty simple and straightforward if you have a good sharp knife. 

So, the next time I find a monk fish tail in my bag, I will be better prepared both to cook it and savor it. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the holiday that epitomizes what this blog is about...a celebration of the harvest and the abundance brought forth from the earth by a community.  Other than my mother's very delicious stuffing, all of the food you see pictured came from our CSA and was prepared by me and my mother. The meal that resulted was very simple, bountiful, highly nourishing and tasted delicious.

Our turkey was raised on the farm that grows our vegetables.  Included with our turkey at pick-up was a note providing some details about the turkey's breed, a Broad Breasted Bronze, which is believed to be the same breed the pilgrims ate for their first meal.  The  note also went on to tell us about the life the turkey had lived which had been rich in fresh air, sunshine with access to fresh water, bugs and other snacks (i.e. blueberries, strawberries, apples, greens, corn, etc.)  The result was a very flavorful, tender turkey which, according to my mother who cooked it, required no other intervention (i.e. brining, infusions of broth or basting of butter) to keep it moist.  After our Thanksgiving meal, my mom cooked the carcas down for broth.  I came home with nearly two gallons of broth (we had a 20 lb turkey) which I have since used for light soups.  A very simple one that PJ likes is with pearled barley and carrots. 

Brussel sprouts graced our plates for the first time. this holiday.  After the first time I found brussel sprouts in our CSA share, I told our farmer that I gave them a try after nearly 37 years and was pleased to say that they were sweeter and much more tender than I had remembered.  I cooked the brussel sprouts for our Thanksgiving feast using a recipe inspired by an article in Eating Well Magazine.  They were braised with vegetable broth and shallots. 

I pureed our butternut squash with maple syrup, cinnamona and some of the chili peppers we received in our CSA share. 

Pictured above is the pumpkin pie I made using the sugar pumpkin we received in our CSA box.  I consulted pickyourown.org  and  theheartofnewengland.com  for advice on how to get the pumpkin puree out of the pumpkin.  Basically, you carve the pumpkin and remove the seeds the same way you would to prepare a jack-o-lantern then I cut the pumpkin into quarters, placed them on a baking sheet, added water to the bottom of the sheet and baked at 400 degrees for about an hour.  Once the pumpkin is tender, you can remove the meat from the skin.  I then added the meat and some liquid to the food processor and pureed it.  Pickyourown.org  provided a  pumpkin pie recipe using a whole sugar pumpkin rather than canned pumpkin puree and I found a recipe for walnut pie crust.  Using walnuts adds some texture and flavor to the pie crust which I prefer over regular bland pastry.  I used fresh ginger in the pie filling instead of ground and have included both recipes with my modifications below. 


Pumpkin Pie with Walnut Pie Crust

Pie Crust

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup sugar (I used tourbinado sugar)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup walnut pieces

6 tablespoons butter, melted


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You will need one buttered, nine-inch deep-dish pie pan either a light-colored or glass pan.

Place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Place the nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse just long enough to chop the nuts finely, not into a paste. Scrape the nuts into the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Add the melted butter and combine well.

Press the mixture into the buttered pie pan making certain that the crust is evenly thick.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until it just starts to brown on the edges. Do not over bake. A light-colored or glass pan will absorb less heat than a dark one and help ensure against over baking.


Pie Filling

1   8" pie pumpkin (yielding about 3 cups of pureed pumpkin)

1 cup brown sugar

1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

2 Tbsp fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 12 oz can of evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Mix well using a hand blender or mixer.  Bake at 425 F for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Fresh Fish

Yesterday evening we had friends over for an impromptu dinner. I was making haddock which I had picked up a day earlier as our weekly share from Cape Ann Fresh Catch (CAFC). CAFC is a community supported fishery (CFS) organization along the same idea as a CSA (community supported agriculture). Through CAFC, we receive one whole fish per week delivered at a specific time and location. Members can also opt to receive only fish fillets, or alternating fillets and whole fish. We tried the alternating option during our first run since cooking fish, particularly whole fish, is new to me. I grew up in the Midwest, in a different type of food culture, so I've had to come up a learning curve. Despite this, I've really learned to love and appreciate the rewards of whole fish.

I was fortunate to have an hour to myself in the kitchen to begin dinner preparation before the other five people arrived to enjoy it. As I stood in the solitude of my kitchen rinsing the fish under cold water, I stopped to admire the beauty of the fish in my hands. The skin glistened underneath the water. The body felt smooth and firm and as I turned it over and around running my hands across the smooth skin, I could find no sign of blemish. The gills were bright red and the eyes were clear and black. This fish looked as if I had just picked it up out of the water.

As I admired the fish, I was reminded of one of the most important principles in Ayurveda, India's system for health and healing, which is to eat fresh food which is freshly prepared. Behind this principle is the belief that we get Parana, or life force, from our food. So it stands to reason that eating a fresh, healthy animal would provide more health and vitality than eating an animal that had been sitting on ice for several days. The only way I could have done better by this fish was to have cooked and eaten it yesterday right after I picked it up.

After I was done rinsing off and admiring the fish, I stuffed it with fennel fronds, lemon wedges, parsley and leeks and then rubbed the outer flesh with olive oil and put it in the oven at 375 degrees.

Over a glass of wine, I prepared the sauce I would use for the fish. This recipe comes from another blogger, Heather Atwood, who writes The Food for Thought Blog for the Gloucester Times. In her post on October 10th, she wrote about Pollock, another round fish like Haddock, and provided the following sauce recipe:

Fresh Red Chili and Parsley Sauce:

6 fresh chilies, seeded and finely chopped

1 cup chopped parsley

1 garlic clove peeled and finely chopped

course sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

juice of two lemons


Combine the chili, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover with olive oil, and then lemon juice. Let sit for ten minutes, stir and serve over fish.

The parsley in this recipe combined with the lemon juice gives this sauce a fresh, bright flavor. The chili pepper and garlic give it a spicy kick which is tempered by the olive oil. As a whole the sauce is crisp and lively, which I think brightens the subtle flavor of the haddock. My neighbor's and family really enjoyed it.

The first time I served the sauce with pollack, I combined with extra sauce to the fish cakes I generally make using the leftover fish.

Like cooking a whole chicken, you can get several other meals out of a whole fish. While I am cleaning up after our fish meal, I toss the bones, head and tail from the fish into a stock pot with white wine and fresh herbs. I use the stock for Asian noodle soups. In our house, one whole round fish generally provides an entree for our family of four (I include my Mom), a leftover meal of fish cakes and stock for at least two to three soups.

Thoughts on canning and preserving

It is my favorite kind of autumn day here in New England -- clear blue sky and refreshingly crisp air. This morning I have the windows open to air out the house. I am dressed in a sweater and warm socks and have curled up on the couch with my laptop. It is a treat to be a little chilly after so many weeks of late summer heat.

Cooler days make me think of warming foods --spicy chilies, rich stews and savory soups. Prior to logging into my blog, I was looking up chutney recipes. My favorite is cranberry-apple chutney. The flavor of this chutney reminds me of warm fires and cozy conversations with close friends. I like to enjoy this chutney with goat cheese spread on crackers, paired with a glass of red wine. My husband enjoys the Indian inspired chutneys, so I will be making both a pumpkin chutney and an onion chutney for him.

The chutneys will be the last of my preserving for the year. So, now that the bulk of my work is done, I feel it is a good time to look back and reflect on what I accomplished and learned.

The idea to can and preserve came to me back in late March. The April issues of the magazines I was reading were running articles to celebrate Earth Day. I think it was Whole Living - Body and Soul in Balance Magazine that challenged readers to be conscious consumers and to think about purchases and the life the object one was purchasing would have after one was finished using it. This made me think of our recycling bin. Next to junk mail, the items we seem to recycle most are cans and jars. I already buy milk in containers for which I pay a deposit and return when it is time to purchase more. We don't drink juice, so cans and jars for soups, tomatoes, salsas, jellies and other condiments are items which fill our recycling bin on a regular basis.

I use a lot of tomatoes in recipes for soups, stews and other dishes throughout the winter months, so I thought one way I could reduce the amount of waste I create is to preserve tomatoes in glass jars I could reuse. I set this as a goal for mid-summer when fresh tomatoes are plentiful. My husband also likes to put salsa on his eggs and we eat it for snacks and with other dishes, so I thought salsa would be another thing I could make that would reduce the size of our recycling bin.

In fact, the more I thought about the things we use, the more I got excited about the things I could preserve. When the spinach, peas and asparagus began to appear at the farm stand, I purchased a couple of books about preserving food so that I could prepare for the appearance of tomatoes. Then, I thought, well why not preserve the spinach and peas? I use both throughout the year, so I went out and purchased a vacuum sealer.

My mother canned pickles, green beans, corn and lots of tomatoes in the summer months from her vegetable garden and I remember spending many summer hours in the kitchen helping her. So, I began the growing season feeling overly confident about what I could accomplish. Other than helping my mother as an adolescent and teenager, I knew very little about preserving food. I had made a couple of attempts at preserving strawberry jam -- both times my jam failed to set. However, I had been freezing corn for years. This was very easy as I would simply make more corn on the cob than we could eat at a meal, cut the kernels from the cob and put them in freezer containers to enjoy in a chili or side dish over the winter months. Based on my experience with the corn, I thought the freezing vegetables would be my easiest bet. However, what I do know from being a consumer is that some vegetables freeze better than others. Peas and corn seem to hold up the best, followed by carrots and spinach if you are going to cook these vegetables into a soup or casserole. After that, I don't find many vegetables are good out of the freezer.

The first thing I learned about preserving is that you need to work with really fresh food. This takes planning. What I discovered first with spinach was that I needed to get the freshest possible spinach...still wet from the field, bring it home, blanch it, squeeze out the extra water and then lay it flat on cookie sheets to freeze before placing in the vacuum sealer bags. I could not buy the spinach, bring it home, put it in the crisper for a few days and then hope to freeze it. I only managed to pull this (buying the spinach and getting it processed all in one day) off once; and, I only have two small freezer bags to show for this.

I tried freezing sugar snap peas. I blanched them, put them on cookie sheets, froze them and then sealed them in the vacuum bags; however, when I pulled some out of the freezer in August for use in a salad, instead of being crunchy like they were when I first blanched them, the thawed snap peas came out slimy and limp. I decided then, that I would simply enjoy snap peas when they were fresh and in season. For this same reason, I never considered freezing asparagus. It is a springtime treat best enjoyed very, very fresh!

I was never quick enough with the shell peas, but I plan on being better at this next summer. Peas are PJ's favorite vegetable and I keep them in the freezer throughout the year, so I hope to be able to do a better job of putting those away next season.

My next attempt was strawberry jam which I felt more confident about this time around. My jam set up and tasted wonderful made with honey; however, the last time I went down to the basement to retrieve a jar of jam, I noticed that 4 of my jars spoiled. It seems the seals were not good. My question going into next season is whether I should attempt the water bath method again next summer or simply put my jam away in the freezer.

My constant companion and resource this summer has been a book called Preserve It! I hope to be able to sit down and read through it more carefully through the winter months, but it has worked very well as a reference guide. Not only did I use it to find recipes and canning techniques, it also provided guidance for storing vegetables. I learned that the best way to keep peppers and tomatoes is out on the counter vs. putting them in the crisper. I also learned how to dry and store the cranberry beans we received in our CSA share one week this summer.

I made lots and lots of tomato sauce this year (shown above) as well as salsa, but I made these and then froze them instead of using the water bath. I am overly careful about food safety, so after reading about the need for getting the acidity level just right, I was not about to try something that might spoil and make me or my family sick. With this in mind, I've decided to invest in a pressure caner for next season and plan to spend the next few months studying and planning for the next growing season. My hope is to have rows and rows of canned sauces, vegetables and other goodies lining the shelves of my basement by this time next year!