Love for Food

Last weekend I took a marathon canning class at Sur la Table. We managed to make and can four recipes in under two hours! I wanted to can for years but was worried I'd end up killing someone. I looked at some tutorials but it seemed all to complicated. I also didn't know what was really necessary to buy. There are an endless amount of canning products out there. When I saw this class listed I figured it was worth the cost. Once and for all I would concur canning.

Class was a lot of fun and in the end I learned that canning was not so hard after all. As long as you can things that have a higher acid level (i.e fruit, pickles) all you need is a pot of boiling water and some "cans" aka jars. The trick is to make sure you bring the water to a rolling boil and boil the lids and jars first. Next, prepare the stuff you want to fill the jar with. Follow that by filling the jar- leaving some room on the top. Poke around the bottle a bit with a skewer or knife to remove air bubbles and pop on the lid. The jars have to be processed or placed in boiling water again for as long as the recipe indicates. Take it out, let it sit and ta da you are done!

This chutney reminded me of a bruschetta topping. It was great on some Italian bread with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of cheese which was the way we ate it during class. At home, I ate it for dinner as a pizza. I used my sandwich high fiber, low calorie flat bread. Spread out some chutney on top of the bread, and than topped it with some mozzarella cheese.

What are some of your favorite things to can?

Ingredients: Makes 7 half pint jars
1 tablespoon oil
1 small diced onion
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon crushed fenugreek
1 cup coarsely chopped un-roasted cashews
1/2 dried mangoes (or other dried fruit) diced
3 pounds tomatoes, diced
3 jalapeno chilies, seeded and diced
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar

Method:

• Prepare for water bath canning. In a wide, pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute about three minutes. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek, cashews, and mangoes and saute for 1 minute.
• Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook until the veggies are tender but still hold their shape about 10 minutes.
• Ladle into jars and close jars. Boil for about 35 minutes.
• Remove the jars and do not disturb for 12 hours.
• Keeps up to one year in a cool, dry place.