Peach Chutney

Makes 1 quart

Total time: 1 1/2-2 1/2 days

This recipe for spicy, fresh chutney is adapted from "Full Moon Feast," by Jessica Prentice (Chelsea Green, 2006). It can also be made with unpeeled chopped tomatoes. It's great with roasted meats or Indian dishes.

• 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
• 1/4 cup boiling filtered water
• 8 to 10 peaches, peeled and cut into small dice
• -- Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons black or brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 4-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon powdered turmeric or one 1-inch piece fresh turmeric, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon Sucanat or rapadura (see Note)
• 1/4 cup yogurt whey (see Note)
• 4 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Instructions: Put the fenugreek seeds in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them soak overnight or for at least 6 hours.

Put the peach pieces in a large bowl. Drain the water from the fenugreek seeds and add the seeds to the peaches. Squeeze the lemon juice over the peaches.

In a small cast-iron skillet, toast the cumin, mustard and fennel seeds over medium heat until they begin to smell fragrant. Add the seeds to the peaches with the ginger, turmeric, Sucanat, yogurt whey, salt and cayenne. Stir thoroughly and taste. The mixture should be salty.

Transfer to a 2-quart jar and gently weigh down the top of the chutney so the liquid rises above the solids by filling a small, narrow jar with water and setting it inside the other jar so that it gently pushes the chutney down but allows the liquid to come to the top.

Ferment at room temperature at least overnight. If it is hot, 24 hours may be enough. If it is cool or just warm, ferment for 48 hours. Chutney can be eaten immediately or can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Note: To make yogurt whey, take 2 cups of live-culture whole milk yogurt and pour it into a colander or strainer lined with cheesecloth set above a bowl or pot. Let drip for up to 8 hours in the refrigerator. The whey will be in the bowl and the yogurt in the cheesecloth can be used like cream cheese.

Sucanat and rapadura are both types of unrefined cane sugar that can be found at natural foods stores such as Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco.

Per 2 tablespoons: 25 calories, 0 protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 268 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

(Another recipe courtesy of sfgate.com. Way to go, folks!)

Sauerkraut

Makes 3-4 pints

Total time: 2 weeks

This delicious sauerkraut is from Kathryn Lukas, adapted from a recipe in "Nourishing Traditions," by Sally Fallon (NewTrends Publishing, 2001). Lukas' general rule is to use 1.5 percent by weight of salt in proportion to the cabbage. Serve with all kinds of meats and sandwiches, or toss into salads for a crunch and a slight tang.

• 1 medium head green cabbage (about 2 pounds)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Instructions: Clean 3 to 4 wide-mouth pint jars and canning lids and rings in sudsy water.

Quarter the cabbage, then remove the core. Reserve 4 flat pieces to top each jar of the kraut. Thinly slice using a large sharp knife, mandoline or food processor.

Place in a large bowl with the caraway and 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and let sit for at least 20 minutes. Squeeze the sauerkraut, while tossing, to help break it down and release juices.

Taste the sauerkraut; it should be very salty. If needed add more salt.

Very tightly pack the sauerkraut into the jars, using a clean fist or a wooden spoon to push the cabbage down as far as it will go. Fill to no more than 1 inch from the top and cover with any juices in the bowl. If there are not enough juices to completely cover the cabbage, add a little bit of water. Cover each jar with the reserved cabbage leaf, then close the lid tightly.

Place jars on a plate in case they overflow slightly and put in a cool cupboard or pantry; the ideal temperature is 60°-64°. If liquid comes out, open the jars and add a bit more filtered water. Check and taste after 1 week then again after 1 1/2-2 weeks. If it's sour enough for your liking, refrigerate or eat immediately. Or, let sit another week or less to increase the sour flavor. Keep refrigerated.

(Recipe courtesy of sfgate.com. Thanks, guys!)

Strawberry Jam

4 c. mashed strawberries
1/2 c. sugar or to taste
2 tsp calcium water
2 tsp Pomoma's Pectin

Sterilize your canning jars and lids in a vat of boiling water. While that's on, slice, dice, food process or otherwise mash the strawberries*. Put the fruit in a pan with the calcium water that comes with Pomona's Pectin and heat over medium-high until it reaches a boil.

(If you don't have a prolific-enough patch to give you several cups of fruit at a time, you could pad it out with strawberries from the store, or add a second type of fruit (pineapple, rhubarb, mango), or just use little jars.)

In a separate bowl combine the sugar and the pectin. Add all at once to the boiling fruit and stir well. When the fruit again reaches a boil, take it off the heat and pour it into the sterilized glass jars. Seal, heat in a water bath for ten minutes, and let cool.

Jars, jars, jars!

We all know I'm cheap. I prefer to get my canning jars for free or for well under the dollar they cost me retail.

But for gift-giving it's nice to have a fancy jar. Or a jar that will pass through airport security. I decided to take a look online at what was available.

Bormioli Rocco Quattro Stagioni canning jars

SKS hexagon canning jars

Weck Deco canning jars

(although I can't tell from the website what kind of lids they use!)

Free is good

I declare canning season officially open: a friend's neighbor had two boxes of put-out lemons on his sidewalk last week. We took them all, shared them with our pal, and made 9 1/2 pints of marmalade out of the rest.

Here's last year's tally from the May 2008-April 2009 season:

• Applesauce - 20
• Jam, blackberry - 20.5
• Jam, plum - 1
• Jam, strawberry - 6
• Jam, white nectarine - 2
• Chutney, pepper - 3
• Marmalade, lemon - 9
• Chutney, fruit - 8.5
• Relish, green tomato - 3
  
• Relish, cranberry - 12
• Green Beans - 5
• Jalapeno rings - 6
• Red Pepper jelly - 3
• Tomato Sauce - 35
• Pickles, jalapenos - 2
• Pickles, cucumber - 1
• Pickles, green tomato - 7
• Pickles, zucchini - 4

Let the canning begin!

So close to canning season!

Mid-April in Northern California, and the vegetable starts, berry canes, and fruit trees are going in, waiting, waiting for summer canning season.

I bought tomato starts today—yeah, even after last year's tomato disaster. Sungolds do well, so I got more of those, and since the green tomato pickles were so well received, I figured why not plant a few full-size tomatoes? Either they ripen and we have fresh tomatoes (and more canned sauce), or they don't, and we have a new batch of pickles.

The green tomato pickle recipe we like best is one I adapted from a recipe off the Internet; here it is:

Green Tomato Pickles

4 quarts green tomatoes, quartered
1 quart sliced yellow onion
1 quart sliced red (or yellow or orange) bell pepper
2 cups serrano chiles
1 cup pickling salt

Put the pieces of tomato, onion, and pepper in a non-reactive bowl, cover with the salt and let sit for 4-6 hours (to remove excess moisture). Drain off and discard the salty water. In a pan, combine:

2 lbs brown sugar
6 cups vinegar
1/3 cup mustard seed
1 tsp black pepper

Bring it all to a boil then simmer for another 10 minutes. Pack the tomatoes, onions, and peppers into sterilized glass jars, with 1 or 2 or 3 or more chiles per jar for an extra kick. Fill the jars with the hot vinegar solution, and process in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes. Let the jars cool, then store in your pantry to enjoy throughout the year.

Speaking of pantries, I organized mine not too long ago. You can see from the list on the left that I canned about 142 pints of food last year. We have 50 left. And like I said, I'm getting ready for summer: I joined a fruit CSA. I'm scouring thrift stores for used jars. I got a bulk order of Pomona's Pectin. I tripled the amount of strawberries in the yard, and expanded the number of raised beds. Sadly, I don't think I'll get to clearing enough of the yard to put in any fruit trees.

But there's always next year.

Keeping Chickens

The San Francisco Chronicle jumps on the backyard chicken bandwagon:

Once you've had a few backyard hens, Duncan said, there is no substitute for the taste of a homegrown egg and the company of quietly clucking chickens.

Duncan has found that not only does her little hen flock supply healthful pure protein from the coop, but she also saves money.

"They pay for their own food, we get our eggs for free, and there's a little money left over," she said.

I'm already up $20.85 so far this year, thanks to those egg-laying machines, the ducks. Three days this week, I got three duck eggs from two Campbell ducks. Whoa.