Quince Jelly

Quince Jelly, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

This is more or less the method that I use. I don't use wax and I use a bit more sugar. The resulting jelly is still a bit tart, that's what I like about it it is sweet and tart all the same time. I find it easier once I convert the measurements to metric for each 250ml of juice I add 200g of sugar.

Quince Jelly
Ingredients

* 3 1/2 lbs of quince, washed, stems removed, cored, quartered (leave skin on)
* 7 cups water
* Enough sugar to add almost a cup of sugar (about 7/8 cup) for every cup of juice (about 4 cups)

Equipment needed

* 1 wide 6 or 8-quart pan (Stainless steel or copper with stainless steel lining)
* Cheesecloth
* Metal strainer (2)
* Potato masher
* Parafin (if sealing with parafin, otherwise use lidded canning jars)
* Canning jars
* Candy thermometer

Method
First Stage of Cooking

1 Put quince pieces in a large stockpot with a thick bottom and add water (if you are eyeballing it, put in enough water to cover the pieces of quince by about an inch.)

2 Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until the quince pieces are soft.

3 With a potato masher, mash the quince to the consistency of slightly runny applesauce. Add more water if necessary. If the mash is too thick, you won't get enough juice out of it.

4 To strain the juice from the pulp, place a metal strainer over a pot. Drape 2 layers of cheesecloth over the strainer. (Can skip the cheesecloth if you are using a fine mesh strainer). Ladle the pulp into the cheesecloth. You may need to have two strainers set up this way. Let the pulp strain for 3 to 4 hours. If you aren't getting enough juice out of the pulp, you may need to mix more water into the mash.
Measure the juice and add sugar

5 Measure the amount of juice you have. Should be about 4 to 5 cups. Pour into a thick-bottomed pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Measure out the sugar - a little less than a cup for every cup of juice. Add sugar to the juice.
Second stage of cooking

6 Bring to a boil, initially stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved, so that the sugar does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Insert a candy thermometer to monitor the jelly temperature.

7 As the jelly cooks, skim off the foam that comes to the surface with a spoon.

8 As the jelly is boiling, in a separate pan, melt some parafin wax for a seal and sterilize jars for canning.

9 As the temperature rises above the boiling point of water (212°F), you will notice the consistency of the jelly/juice begins to change. When the temperature is approximately 8 degrees higher than boiling point at your altitude (anywhere from 220°F to 222°F at sea level) the jelly is ready to pour into jars.

Note that candy thermometers aren't always the most reliable indicators of whether or not a jelly is done. Another way to test is put a half teaspoonful of the jelly on a chilled (in the freezer) plate. Allow the jelly to cool a few seconds, then push it with your fingertip. If it wrinkles up, it's ready.

Canning

10 There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

11 Use a large ladle to pour the jelly into the sterilized jars to 5/8 inch from the top rim of the jar. Pour in enough melted parafin to add a 1/4 inch layer of wax. The parafin will float to the top, cool, and harden forming a seal over the jelly as it cools. (If you aren't using parafin, use canning jars with canning lids. Sterilize the lids by letting them sit in just boiled hot water for a few minutes. You will hear a popping noise as a vacuum seal is created as the jars of jelly cool.)

Makes 4-6 cups of jelly.

Simply Recipes simplyrecipes.com

Hot and Sweet Pepper Jelly

Hot and Sweet Pepper Jelly, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Been watching my Chile Peppers grow all summer with plans to make hot pepper jelly yesterday I bought the other ingredients and this morning went out to the garden to pick my peppers only to discover there were only a few small ones left all of the large ones were gone, somehow I don't think that thief had four legs. What kind of an animal would eat Cayenne Peppers. Made the jelly with what I had but it sure won't be as hot as I wanted it to be.


Submitted By: ranger1

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Servings: 48
"Enjoy this spicy treat on crackers with cream cheese. It also makes a festive holiday appetizer."
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups finely chopped red bell
peppers
1 1/4 cups finely chopped green bell
peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno peppers
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered pectin
5 cups white sugar
Directions:
1. Sterilize 6 (8 ounce) canning jars and lids according to manufacturer's instructions. Heat water in a hot water canner.
2. Place red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and jalapeno peppers in a large saucepan over high heat. Mix in vinegar and fruit pectin. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Quickly stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil, and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and skim off any foam.
3. Quickly ladle jelly into sterile jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the tops. Cover with flat lids, and screw on bands tightly.
4. Place jars in rack, and slowly lower jars into canner. The water should cover the jars completely, and should be hot but not boiling. Bring water to a boil, and process for 5 minutes.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 9/22/2010

Indoor Vegetable Growing Contest

One of my YouTube contacts is running a contest to see who can grow the best vegetables indoors and I've been having some fun with it. The contest ends October 31st and so far I have posted these three videos, showing my efforts.

Recorded August 4, 2010



Recorded September 1, 2010




Recorded September 20, 2010




Recorded September 30, 2010




Recorded October 15, 2010

Last SFG Update for summer 2010 beets, carrots, brussels sprouts, cabbage and rutabaga.

The last of my weekly updates for this year from the square foot garden. I will continue to do an occasional video from the garden through out the fall, as I harvest some of the late crops and preserve them for winter use.

Cooking on my homemade Hobo Stove

My latest fascination has been Hobo Stoves. Lots of videos on YouTube showing how to make them so of course I had to give it a try. In St. Stephen this morning and had Breakfast at Carmen's Diner I asked the waitress if they ever had anything come in large cans and within a few minutes she was back with a large can that used to have diced tomatoes in it. So I was off to the races. Shortly after I got back home I had made my first Hobo Stove and was busy cooking dinner on it.

Getting ready for the annual meeting, tomorrow, of the Maritime Provinces Chapter Canadian Company of Pilgrims

Getting ready for the annual meeting, tomorrow, of the Maritime Provinces Chapter Canadian Company of Pilgrims, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Top left Gateau Basque with the Basque Cross, top right Tarte de Santiago with Saint James Cross and bottom No Knead Rustic Bread.

Gateau Basque

From: hcorbett@garnet.berkeley.edu
Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1993 05:03:19 -0700 (PDT)

Serves 6-8. High-fat, not greasy. Prep 30 min + 1 hr wait, 40 min bake time.

Cake:
-----
200g (1/2 lb) butter
200g (1 cup) white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
300g (2c plus 1 tbsp) cake flour
Pinch of salt
Zest of one lemon (grated peel)

Creme Patissiere:
-----------------
250 ml (1 cup) milk
60g (1/3 cup) sugar
25g flour (plain or cake)
Pinch of salt
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
vanilla to taste (2 tsp)

Notes on ingredients: Cake flour here means flour with baking soda/powder
premixed. If this is not available, mix normal flour and 1 teaspoon of
powder (levure chemique - une cuillere a cafe).

Using cake ingredients:
1. Cream sugar into soft (but NOT melted) butter until smooth.
2. Add the 2 egg yolks, whole egg, and lemon peel; mix well.
3. Add cake flour gradually and stir until well blended.
4. Cover mixing bowl and keep in refrigerator for one hour.

Meanwhile, make the creme patissiere (eclair filling):(I double the amount of Creme Patissiere if not the top crust sags.)
1. Mix sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Heat milk in heavy-bottomed saucepan until very hot but not boiling.
3. Whisk hot milk into bowl of dry ingredients and beat until blended.
4. Return mixture to pan and whisk over low heat until thickened (like
pudding) - 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Add egg yolks and cook 2 or 3 minutes more, constantly stirring.
6. Remove from heat and cool, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla.

Butter and flour a regular-sized round cake pan (9 or 10 inches by 2
inches high, I think; around 25 cm by 5 cm).(I use a removable bottom tart pan.)

Assemble the gateau:
1. After the dough is hard, divide not quite equally into two parts.
2. Press larger part into bottom of cake pan, covering bottom and partway
up the sides to make a trough.
3. Spoon creme patissiere into middle of cake.
4. Working quickly, roll out (or try with your fingers) the rest of the
dough into a circle. Lay over the filling and seal at the sides with the
bottom half.

Cook at 180 C (350 F) for about 40 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Serve in wedges.
This recipe is jealously guarded by the Basques and was extricated with
difficulty and trial and error. It is THE traditional sweet in their region.

Tarta de Santiago

Recipe courtesy Pilar Sanchez

/>
Ingredients (I didn't like this pastry so I use regular pie crust.)
For the pastry:
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
Generous 1 cup flour

For the filling:
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 unwaxed lemon, peel grated
2 cups ground almonds
Pinch ground cinnamon
Flour, for rolling out
Butter, for greasing
Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
Beat together the egg, sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of warm water until light and creamy. Gradually fold in the flour until the mixture leaves the
sides of the bowl clean. For the filling, beat together the eggs and sugar until creamy. Fold in the lemon
rind, ground almonds and cinnamon. Roll out the pastry to 1/8-inch thick on a floured work surface. Line a
greased, loose-bottomed 10-inch tart pan with the pastry. Prick it all over with a fork and spoon the filling
on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 355 degrees F for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Leave the almond
tart to cool in the pan. Once cool, transfer it to a serving plate and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar
before serving. A St. James' cross template can be used, if liked.

>The New York Times No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour,(I use 450g) more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, (I now use up to 420g)and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees F.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees F. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

I have enjoyed all of the loaves that I have made using this method but I have had a problem with consistency so I have been working on a using weights for the flour and water instead of volume measures. After several tries I've settled on 450g of Flour and 375g of water. I'm also finding that I get a much better loaf using unbleached flour.

September 6, 2010 SFG Update Beets,Tomatoes,Brussels Sprouts and Free Seed

A short look around the garden lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, small beets and the Brussels Sprouts and getting bigger everyday. Three varieties of free seed if you are interested just send me a PM with your postal address and I will drop them in the post for you.




Not sure if I've ever grown a Tomato before that you only needed one slice for a sandwich, variety Big Beef, tasty too.

Hurricane Earl Campobello, NB September 4, 2010

Earl not much of a threat at least in this area.