Welcome November! Not only is it my birthday month, but it’s the official start to the holiday season (IMHO).
Let’s start out with some beverages. I visited Iowa and family in mid October. I always bring back some local beers, mostly IPAs, but I also usually throw something in the cart that is a bit unusual. This time it was Mexican donut beer from Singlespeed.
I was hoping for a bit more cinnamon and spice but it’s just a good dark beer.
Moving on to less potent potables, I recently read about Sanzo sparkling waters in one of my culinary magazines. These Asian sparkling waters come in a variety of flavors: mango, yuzu, calamansi, and lycee. Yuzu and lychee are my faves. Mango is my least favorite. These are not all zero calorie drinks but that is probably why they are better than La Croix or Bubly. (But, I mean, there’s only 20 calories in one variety per can so I’ll take it.)
We had a pretty early freeze. Only two days of temps in the 20s and 30s but it zapped everything. (Of course, it’s been in the 70s and 80s since then.) I harvested herbs and made pesto and started some flavored vinegars for holiday gifts.
There’s a couple of tarragon vinegars, a basil vinegar and the dark one on the right is a spicy Italian vinegar with apple cider vinegar, basil, chile peppers, and garlic.
I harvested a ton of green tomatoes before the freeze. I made some Green Tomato Salsa Verde and some Spicy Tomato Jam (recipe below).
Spiced Green Tomato Jam
Based on Green Tomato Jam
A great way to use up those late fall green tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 3.5 lbs. green tomatoes
- 28 oz. sugar
- 3 t. prepared ginger (like a ginger paste)
- 1 large lemon, zested
- 3 T. prepared lemon juice
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1/4 t. allspice
- 1/4 t. salt
Instructions
- Sterilize jars.
- Roughly chop the green tomatoes. Place in a food processor. Process or blend into a puree. (I left a few small pieces.)
- Pour the tomatoes, ginger, and sugar into a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, and allspice and salt.
- Bring to a low boil, and simmer steadily for 30 – 60 min (until it reaches 220 degrees F.)
- Ladle into sterile jars. Wipe rims clean, and place lids and rings on the jars. Place in hot water bath and process for 10 minutes.
Yield: 7-8 half pints
This recipe tends to freak people out a bit. I think they are expecting something savory. Instead they get sweet spice.
For my curveball this week:
While I was in Iowa, my sister’s family gave me this lovely wood-turned bowl. The inside is painted with koi fish (using a layered plexiglass approach). I love it. Nephew II picked it out!
I hope you had a happy Halloween. Let’s bring on the real holidays now.
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