The Ultimate Burger Project - Ketchup

Here we are at the ketchup stage of the Burger Project. I love ketchup. So much in fact that as a child, my family would ask if I wanted fries with my ketchup. Heinz is great and with this project I am out to prove that I can do it better. So were do I start?

Tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes. I was able to get paste tomatoes locally grown at a great price. The recipe I selected calls for 1 gallon of tomato puree so after getting a bit of advice I received a 12# box.

This really was a quick project with the exception of the blanche, water-bath, peel process. I peeled and peeled and peeled....

And finally I was done. All of the tomatoes went into a 7 quart stockpot (it was really full). I let it slowly cook until the tomatoes were soft before grinding them. I could have used canned tomato puree and might actually do that this winter. For the burger project, however, I wanted it to be as "scratch" as possible. Besides, wouldn't it really be cheating to not use fresh tomatoes - especially in August!

Another cheesecloth bag of spices. I like to use the cheesecloth from Williams-Sonoma - and no it's not a sales pitch and I'm not on commission. It's such great quality it's worth it to wash with kitchen linens and air dry so you can use it again.

A few other ingredients and it all went back into the pot - again. Rather than use fresh red chili peppers, I used half the amount of dried pasillas. I'd love to make a batch and used a smoked, dried pepper - that would be a good ketchup.

Let it cook down until it "mounds" on the spoon. I am not altogether sure what that means exactly but when it looked like I though mounding would look, I pulled it from the heat.

Back through the food mill once more.

I realized too late that the recipe I chose suggested a 4 to 5 week curing process to let the flavors meld. 4-5 weeks ago, I couldn't get my hands on any tomatoes and I really wanted to make this recipe so I forged ahead. As the count down to Labor Day draws near, my ketchup will have just over a week to "cook". We'll use it anyway and crack open a jar in 4-5 weeks to compare the two. Really though, how bad can homemade ketchup be?

Tomato Ketchup
adapted from The Joy of Pickling

1 gallon tomato puree
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup dried chilis, remove membranes and seeds for less heat
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cider vinegar
1 T. pickling salt
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 T. coriander seeds
1 T. yellow mustard seeds
1 T. black peppercorns
1 T. allspice berries
1 3" cinnamon stick, broken
1/4 cup white sugar
1 /2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

In a large nonreatice pot, combine the tomato puree, onions, chili peppers, garlic, vinegar and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Add to the pot, the spices, tied in cheesecloth, and the sugars. Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring often, until thickened.

Sqeeze the spice bag to extract all its' flavors and remove. Puree the mixture in a food mill, using a fine disc, or press the mixture through a fine sieve.

Return the mixture to the pot. Bring to a boil again, and continue to boil it, stirring constantly, until it mounds slightly on the spoon.

Ladel the ketchup into pint jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Close the jars with hot 2-piece caps and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

Store the cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least one month before using.

For The Bees

Today was a busy day. Between finishing many food projects and a trip to Whole Foods, I took some time with my bees. While I am sure they weren't pleased to see me, I love nothing better than taking a quick peak when needed to check out what's going on.

With summer's end around the corner, I wanted to be sure the girls had a well stocked pantry. This was the first year for my hive so there was much work to be done early on. That coupled with weird summer weather, I decided to focus on getting them through the first year and not worry so much about a harvest.

All seems to be well - but let's be honest - do I really know what I am doing? The frames were full and capped which is all a girl can ask. I think. They've begun to hang out on the "porch" lately so the addition of a super box was probably timely. Many honey blooming plants are past prime but perhaps the goldenrod and other fall flowers will allow the girls to fill up a box or two for me.

Keep your fingers crossed for us and maybe there will be mulled mead this winter after all.

Taking A Bite Out Of Life

It's been a busy week here with school starting so there isn't much new. I do have several cool projects on the burner and I can't wait to share them.

Anyway, with all this new found freedom, I have been thinking about things to do. I have always wanted to make a life list and now seems to be an opportune time - since I finally have the time. Life lists are a good way to assess what one has done as well as give guidance as to how to proceed.

So, I am starting my life list. I figure a few things here and there scribbled down in a blank book are a good place to begin. For now, off the top of my head, I have only three.....

#1 - Go to France.

#2 - Knit a blanket for Project Linus.

#3 - Learn the Thriller dance. (yes, really and since forever)

At least it's a place to start.

And They're Off

Today was the day.

Henry is a kindergartner now - it seems like yesterday... *sigh*. He was so excited this morning and didn't waver for a moment. How can a mom cry about that? I like to think he was happy to see me at 3:30 though. Ella, a fourth grader is looking very forward to the exciting year ahead. She is running for class president. We were working on slogans tonight. How does "Don't Smella - Vote for Ella" sound? I am so proud of her courage!

The middle schoolers, Max in 6th and Jake if 7th. Max, being a man of few words, didn't say much but I know he's going to love middle school and have a great year. He starts bike club next week. Jake, started cross country last week and is proving himself to be quite the runner. The social butterfly that he is - school is a big party.

Wow, four well-adjusted, brilliant and talented kids off to school. I couldn't be any prouder.

Now if I could just figure out what to do with my time.....

My Sweet Peas

I've spent the last several days getting four kids ready for school. While the massive outlay of cash is a heavy blow the craziness of making sure everyone has everything is the worst part. Supplies, outfits, shoes, ziploc bags, ear buds (!), AAA batteries (!) and boxes of tissue. To label, not to label? It's exhausting.

My respite has been when I slip outside to my garden for my daily harvest. For a brief moment everything is peaceful. How bad can it be when you have sweet peas to cut in August? Not to mention the tomatoes, pole beans, beets, squash, chard, herbs and carrots.

The kids are excited to start school and in a few days it'll just be me and the dog. It's been a busy 13 years. Having them all in school is bittersweet. Henry is so excited to be in kindergarten, I am truly excited for him. I'll miss him dearly and still can't seem to remember that when everyone is off to school Henry and I won't be together. I am overwhelmed with what I perceive will be tons of time on my hand. This could go one of two ways. I'll be so busy, I won't know how I got through the day before or I'll be panic stricken as to what to do with all of my free time. Lord, knows I have enough to keep me busy with projects and hobbies alone but the prospect of actually accomplishing some things that seem to move from list to list is daunting, too. I think it'll all work out.

I'll enjoy my time and my sweet peas hope they will continue to bloom - in school.

Beets For My Sweets

After a many year hiatus as beet growers, we began again and have been blessed with a nice little crop from our small garden. I love beets. After harvesting about 2/3 of our little crop, I pickled them. I really love pickled beets. Through all four of my pregnancies, and still today, one of my favorite things is cottage cheese topped with pickled beets, coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Ironically, or not, I have brought into the world four pickled beet lovers. Max has suggested that we make our own cottage cheese and turn this into a full blown food project. Hmmmmm.......

I have a very distinct memory of scrubbing beets on my grandma's stoop one summer day. I bet they were destined to be pickled. Grandma was fond of pickles, too. She, and in turn my mother, made pickled eggs about Easter time. I can still see them floating in the big, bright yellow tupperware bowl. I've already promised to make them for the kids with our pickling liquid. It's been ages since I've made them. This time I know I'll have a lot of help eating them all.

I think the best part of beet prep is peeling them. I love how the skins just slip right off. The color is good, too. I never mind finishing the job with magenta tipped fingers. It makes me feel like I've really accomplished something.

A cheesecloth bag filled with aromatics goes into the pot to flavor the brine. The recipe I decided to try is from The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich. It calls for apple cider vinegar as opposed to the more harsh white vinegar and brown sugar for extra flavor.

As is typical of canning projects today, many hours of work and 3 pint jars was all I have to show. I like how tender the tiny beets are so I forgo quantity for quality. Regardless of our net product, they are our beets. From sowing the seeds, to harvesting, scrubbing and cooking it's all us. Worth every minute of time spent.

I know as I write this that when the kids remember there are 3 little pint jars of beets hidden away, they'll want to devour them immediately. I like to hoard these special jars to surprise my sweeties. Maybe on a chilly fall day that seems to be too quickly approaching....

Ice Cream For Dinner

I love to be an aunt. I have two nieces, the older 8 and the younger 5. The younger, Lily, just decided that she was ready to spend the night with us. I think it may have something to do with my promise of a fabulous dinner, that under no uncertain terms was to be divulged to mom and dad.


The first time Lauren came to stay, I suggested we have ice cream for dinner. She was delighted, as was I that something so simple could elevate me to goddess status. In keeping with my "can't do anything simply" theme, I decided to make homemade hot fudge sauce for Wednesday evening's dinner. There would be no squeeze bottle of Hershey's on this dining table. In all honesty though, it's really simple - basic ingredients that you probably have in your pantry (especially if you caught a good sale Scharffen Berger chocolate to expire in October). Super easy to put together in about 10 minutes, too.

Dinner is served. Hot fudge served table side. Of course there was caramel sauce, "magic shell" (ugh), chocolate jimmies, whipped cream and cherries, too.

I learned two things in the making of this recipe - number one it's so easy and worth it to make kids happy. Number two, photographing hot fudge with limited photography skills is a greater challenge than making it.

Chocolate Fudge Sauce
Williams-Sonoma Ice Creams & Sorbets

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 t. vanilla extract

In a medium-sized, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the cream, butter, corn syrup and confectioners' sugar. Stir with a wooden spatula until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Add the chocolate and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Remove for the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and let cool before using.