By Rebecca Nemec

Right around now, I usually get a bit of that “spring fever”. As I sit at my desk at work I daydream of the sprouting corn, beans and squash in the fields. I can’t wait until the first spring harvest of salad greens. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably felt the same way each March, as the days begin to grow longer , and the buds on the trees just begin to poke through the delicate winter frost.

Having worked at The Food Project for a little over a year now, I have developed a yearning for local and sustainably produced foods throughout the year. Each time I go to the market or I head to my garden, I always want to harvest or buy everything in sight! But I’m never quite sure what to do with all of the food! It has quickly dawned on me - with the help of veteran Food Project staff - that the best thing to do with all that extra produce is to preserve it. Common sense of course, but one doesn’t always think about this option. So, next time you go to the market, community garden or farm, load
up!

Here are some quick and easy canning and freezing recipes you can use to save up that local, sustainable flavor, even during the coldest months of the year.

Raspberry Freezer Jam

Use jam on toast, crackers, or even in porridge and other hot cereals. A TFP favorite is spreading a bit of jam on a cracker and placing a slice of Vermont cheddar on top!

Makes 6 to 7 pints

3 lbs raspberries to yield 4 cups of crushed berries
6 1⁄2 cups sugar (you can decrease this if you like)
3 ounces liquid fruit pectin

Prepare berries by removing stems and caps (do not wash them). Place berries in a food processor and process for 15 seconds or until pureed. You can also mash them with a hand masher until they are pureed.

Measure berries into a 6 or 8-quart pot. Stir the sugar into the fruit and mix well. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add the fruit pectin and return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.

Remove from heat, and skim off and discard any foam using a metal spoon. Ladle the jam into a liquid measuring cup and fill the jars immediately to within 1/8 inch of the top.

Place lids on the jars and screw on tightly. Invert the jars for 5 minutes, and then turn upright. Check the seals after 1 hour to make sure the lids are curving down. Store jam in freezer for up to several months. Defrost and store in refrigerator after opening.

Dilly Beans

Dilly beans are great for a party snack, in a green salad, on a sandwich, or in a cocktail. They taste very similar to kosher or dill pickles and stay crisp and crunchy. They also add beautiful color to your kitchen pantry.

Makes 6 to 7 pints

3 1⁄2 cups water
3 1⁄2 cups distilled cider vinegar
6 tablespoons pickling, pure granulated or kosher salt
4 pounds green beans, washed and ends snapped off
8 small hot red peppers (1 to 2 per jar)
7 heads, stalks and leaves of dill plant (1 of each per jar)
7 teaspoons of mustard seeds (1 tsp per jar)
7 cloves of garlic (1 to 2 cloves per jar, depending on size)

Combine water, vinegar and salt in a 3-quart saucepan and bring to boil over high heat.

Pack beans into hot, sterilized pint jars* and divide remaining ingredients among jars. Pour boiling liquid over, leaving 1⁄2 inch headspace. Seal according to manufacturer’s directions. Process** 20 minutes in boiling water bath.

*Sterilized means to wash your jars in hot soapy water. Let air-dry. Boil rings and lids in hot water for a few minutes to kill all germs.

**Process means to place your filled jars with lids on into a hot boiling water bath.

Tomato-Apple Chutney

This chutney uses up all those culled tomatoes that you might usually use for sauces. It has a tangy flavor that will spice up any roast or other meat during the winter months.

Makes 12 pints

12 large ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
12 large green apples, finely chopped
8 medium onions, finely chopped
2 large green peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 1⁄2 quarts white vinegar
4 cups light brown sugar
2 cups golden raisins
4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup mixed pickling spices, tied in cheesecloth bag

Combine all ingredients in large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook about 1 1⁄2 hours, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick and syrupy. Remove spice bag.

Ladle into boiling hot sterilized jars and seal according to manufacturer’s directions. Cool. Store in cool, dry place.

Freezing Greens
(Including Spinach)

This is a great way to save up those greens and you can easily toss them into pastas, soups or a stir fry all year long.

Preparation - Select young, tender green leaves. Wash thoroughly and cut off woody stems. Water blanch greens 2-3 minutes.

Cool, drain and package. Seal and freeze.

Favorite Strawberry Jam

Makes 2-1/2 cups

Generations have made strawberry jam to preserve this favorite summer fruit. Traditionally, low-pectin strawberries are cooked for long periods to achieve a gel. This uses standing periods alternating with much shorter cooking times. It make a jam that retains its lovely red color and fresh flavor.

4 cups halved or quartered strawberries
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix berries and sugar and let stand for 8 hours, stirring occasionally. Place berry mixture in a medium stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add lemon juice, return to a boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 24 hours. Bring berries to a full boil over high heat and boil rapidly for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Ladle into sterilized jars and process.

by Katie Fiorella

Perusing the markets of downtown Bangkok, I encountered a multitude of new snacks, drinks, and fruits. I had assumed that the pineapples, mangoes, coconuts and papayas I had tried before had well exposed me to tropical delicacies. And, considering that these fruits are mainstays in most US supermarkets, I had presumed there would be no surprises. But when I gazed upon the large spiky outer shell that gave way to fragrant durian or caught site of the green tentacles emerging from tiny, red rambutan I was in unfamiliar territory. The Thai markets featured a full array of fruits I had never seen before, including longan (lamyai), pomelo (som-o), rambutan (ngoh), mangosteen (mangkhud), durian (turian), jackfruit (kha noon), and dragonfruit.

As a longtime fruit lover, I was thrilled to discover a new plethora of varieties. I eagerly tried each kind and found each more delicious than the last. More often than not, I could buy the fresh fruit already sliced for easy consumption; a real boon considering the removal of some shells required a machete and the shells of others had to be removed from grape-sized pieces. Even the fruits I had tried before came in new varieties. Different types of papaya and new varieties of mango, often eaten unripe, soon ascended my list of favorites as well.
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by Monica Pless

VICHYSSOISE: This is a fantastic leek and potato soup, served cold. (Coincidentally, it is a wonderfully satisfying food when you get your wisdom teeth removed and can’t eat solid foods).

INGREDIENTS:
2 leeks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup thinly sliced potatoes
2 1/3 cups chicken stock
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 1/8 cups heavy whipping cream
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Beef and Vegetable Jhun (Korean Pancake)

My holiday feasts are a collision of eastern and western cuisine when I celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my German grandmother and Korean grandfather. Bratwurst nestles next to jhun in perfect harmony, and kartoffelknodel form tidy rows alongside mounds of bulgogi. Perhaps it is weird, but my childhood palette was so accustomed to this unusual combination of dishes that I once asked a fifth grade classmate, “What?! You don’t eat Korean Pancake for Christmas?” It didn’t seem to me a ridiculous question at the time.

I will focus on the centerpiece of our holiday meals: the beef and vegetable jhun. Our family calls this Korean Pancake, and it is one of our favorite New Year’s dishes, together with mun doo. There is no greater culinary accomplishment in our family than a perfectly-executed batch of jhun. All of us in the family are self-proclaimed experts at tasting the subtle differences between one batch or another, and the preliminary taste-testing of the batches was as big an event as the eating of the final product. “A little too much salt,” we would say, or “needs a wee bit more flour.” Corrections would be administered, and the finished jhun would never fail to bring gustatory bliss and acclaim for the chef.

The best part is that almost all the ingredients can be found at your farmers’ market or vendor of local foods (compromises are unavoidable with soy sauce). (more…)

This recipe has been a part of my life and the life of my family for a very long time. However, my understanding of where this recipe came did not surface until recently. I recently returned home to visit my family and was fortunate enough to accompany my grandma, Dee, who gave me this recipe, to the Germans from Russia Museum in Fresno, California.

Here I learned that two centuries ago a group of Germans fled because of political, economic and social persecution, to Russia to an area along the Olga River. They found this area productive, especially agriculturally, as it was very similar to where they had previously come. Unfortunately, the Russian did not like these Germans very long and again, the Olga Germans, as they are called, were forced to leave and find a new home.

They did find a new home in fact, in the United States, in places like North and South Dakota, Colorado and the Central San Joaquin Valley of California, which is where I grew up. As they traveled from Europe to Russia and later to the United States, they brought along with them tasty meat and cabbage filled breads called Beerocks. Although some of my colleagues here at TFP have been skeptical as to their tastiness, I can attest that these are a hearty and tasty meal, especially when cabbage is in abundance. Go ahead try them on.

Ingredients
Filling**
2 lbs. ground beef, browned
1 large white or yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 head of cabbage, shredded
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Bread Dough***
3/4 cup water, warm (105° to 115° F)
1 package active yeast dry
2 Tbs. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup potato mashed
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 Tbs. water

Instructions
Combine water, yeast, and sugar; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, potatoes, 1 egg, and oil; beat until well mixed. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and beat for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a stiff dough forms. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Preheat oven to 350-275 degrees

In a large skillet, brown the beef and salt and pepper to taste on medium-high heat. After the beef has browned, turn the heat onto medium-low and add shredded cabbage. Let steam for 5 minutes, or until cabbage is soft, but still retains some of its firmness.

Roll out dough into large square and cut into 12 square pieces. Spoon a small portion of the beef and cabbage mixture onto each square. Fold the sides in, like an envelope, pinch the middle to seal, and place the beerock on a cookie sheet, opening face down (smooth side up). Space beerocks a half-inch apart to prevent them from touching during baking.

Bake at 350-375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

Makes approximately 12 beerocks

**You can also add shredded carrots or Monterey jack cheese.
***You can use any type of store bought bread mix