Tomato Chutney and Canning Tips

I finally found the easiest way to can preserves and jams.  Yay!  It is the oven method and it's way easier than the hot water bath method.  Thank you a la Alison for the tip!  I have been trying to can and preserve everything now since the summer is coming to the end.  Especially tomatoes since they are bountiful at this moment and I know that this will not last.

I decided to test out the oven method for canning with this delicious tomato chutney and it worked out perfecto!  I wanted to make chutney because you can use it in so many different things like sandwiches, dipping sauce, burgers, steaks, whatever!  This tastes like a sweet and savory tomato relish with Indian flavors.  There's nothing like fresh chutney.

Recipe
Adapted from Aarti Party
Makes 6 cups

Ingredients
6 tbs canola oil
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large red onion, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 inches ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
3 3/4 c (about 30 ounces) diced fresh heirloom tomatoes but any variety will do
4 tbs molasses
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
Warm canola oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat until nearly smoking.

Keep your lid handy.  Add brown mustard seeds and cumin seeds to hot oil and the popping begins.  Carefully swirl the hot oil around the dutch oven with a wooden spoon and place lid over the top.  Wait roughly 30 seconds. 

Turn down the stove to medium heat.  Add onions and saute for 5 to 7 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger and saute for 2 minutes longer.

Stir in turmeric, garam masala, and paprika to the mixture and saute for 30 seconds.  Add the apple cider vinegar and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the diced tomatoes, molasses, 1 tsp salt, and lots of freshly ground pepper.  Stir, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes or 'til sauce has thickened and some of the liquid has evaporated.  Season with salt and pepper if needed.

I had gorgeous heirloom tomatoes from my CSA produce box.  Aren't they so pretty?  You can use practically any type of tomato in this recipe or even canned diced tomatoes because you cook them down.  I used the heirloom tomatoes for the color and because I had them on hand.

I still haven't figured out how to cut onions without having them make my eyes tear.  If you know, please tell me!

I savor these tomatoes.  They were so good I could just eat them raw.

The molasses in this recipe is really good and smoky.  You could probably replace the molasses with brown sugar because brown sugar has molasses in it but I haven't tried it.

I loved using the Indian spices from this recipe.  There are so many fragrant colorful ones out there and it creates a fantastic aroma when you put it in a hot pan.

Almost done but the chutney has to cook down and thicken.

I'm so happy that I finally learned how to can.  Mat and I can enjoy this chutney months from now!

Canning Directions
Wash all canning jars and lids.  I hand washed them but some people prefer to use the dishwasher.

To sterilize all the jars, first preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.  On a baking pan (or baking sheet), place jars upright on it and also toss in the lids.  Put the jars and lids in the oven for at least 30 minutes.

When you take the jars and lids out of the oven, let the items cool so it is easy to handle.  Pour the preserves or jam into the jars (do not fill all the way to the top... leave a little room in there) and tighten the lids on the jars.

Place the filled and sealed jars back on to the baking pan and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  Do not overload the baking pan with too many jars. 

Take out the hot jars from the baking pan and place them in a cool, dark place to rest undisturbed.  Do not meddle with them!  The last thing you want to do it break the seal and lose all the hard work you just did.  Handle the jars once they are cool.

Favorite Kitchen Tools

I'm not a professional cook by any means but simply a home cook who learns as I go and I quickly caught on that to cook properly, you need great tools.  There are a several things in my kitchen that make it so much easier to cook and I wanted to share my favorites. 

1. Food Scale  I love this little gadget!  It may seem unnecessary to have one but it really isn't.  I use it all the time to measure ingredients that are really hard to measure accurately such as chopped vegetables, grated cheeses, meats, etc for more complex recipes.  It also allows you to convert your measurements to metric units which is really helpful too.

2. Natural Unbleached Parchment Paper  I always use natural unbleached parchment paper to bake because it makes for a really easy cleanup and I choose using it over aluminum foil.  When you cook with aluminum foil, there is always the possibility that it will leach toxins into your food.  This is definitely the OCD side of me and I know that the toxins that are leached are probably very minute amount but over time, I prefer to use materials that don't do that!  Toxins in my food...hmm.... no thank you. 

3. Calphalon Wood Corner Spoon  This spoon is super cool because it scoops from the corner of the pot.  I also always try to use wooden utensils when cooking over the stove instead of plastic because if the plastic utensils melt while in a pot or pan, the toxins from the plastic can contaminate your food.  Yes, I am one of those OCD people.  I cringe inside when I see people drinking boiling hot coffee from Styrofoam cups and stir their coffee with sugar and dry powdered cream with a plastic stirrer.  It really freaks me out when people do that on a daily basis and don't realize that they are drinking toxins every day.  Same idea with leaving bottled water in a hot steaming car.  The plastic begins to melt and the toxins go in the water.  There are several more things that irk me but I will not list them all to prevent sounding super neurotic.  My husband says that I remind him of Monica on Friends.  I don't know where he got that....

4. Nesting Bowls  I love using nesting bowls particularly when I'm trying out new recipes.  They really help me to keep organized.  I group certain ingredients together depending on when I'm adding them.  This helps to minimize mistakes because the sequence of ingredients can make a huge difference for certain recipes.  I've used them in a previous post here but mine are not as pretty. 

5. Oven Thermometer  For baking or roasting, an inexpensive thermometer is a great investment.  It really helps you bake like a pro and get the most accurate cooking temperature in your oven.  Even though you have an updated digital thermometer on your oven, it doesn't mean that it is right.  For example, I have two ovens in my kitchen.  My top oven is always 25 degrees F to 45 degrees F hotter than it says it is but my bottom oven is pretty spot on. So if your cookies keep on burning or your pot roast gets dry and crusty when you braise it in the oven, it is probably not you but the oven temperature.  You should double check it.

6. Microplane Zester  I own 4 of these myself.  I love this tool for zesting lemons and other citrus fruits.  Citrus zest is one of the best ways to add great flavor to your dish without adding fat.  I also use a coarse grater for cheeses and chocolate.  They are a must have for the kitchen.

7. Santoku Knife  I use my santoku knife 90% of the time and I have two of them in my kitchen.  The only other time I use a different knife is a serrated knife for bread or a paring knife for small items such as fruit.  It's not necessary to spend the extra money on expensive knife sets because you only really need 3 out of 14 knives.  I bought mine at Home Goods for less than $20 each.

8. Kitchenaid Mixer I bought my Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer on Craigslist for $150 and it was so worth the investment.  I use it to make cookies, bake breads, make pizza dough, whisk egg whites, and the list goes on.  It really helps alleviate your arm muscle when you are making a big batch of something.

9. Le Creuset Dutch Oven  This is also a great investment and I own two of these bad boys.  I got my red 5 1/2 quart dutch oven for $150 at Home Goods.  It is the perfect pot to make stews and soups and braise meat because the pot has such an even cooking temperature and ability to retain heat very well.  It is also great for 1 pot meals and the pot looks fab when you serve it to guests.  It can go straight from the oven or stove to the table.

10. Knife Sharpener Everyone needs one of these.  It's really hard and dangerous to cut with a dull knife.  A dull knife can easily slip when you are using it and is an accident waiting to happen.  I try to sharpen my knife whenever I see it getting dull like every month or so.  However, some people sharpen their knives as often as every other time they use it. 
 
11. Large Bamboo Cutting Board  I tried to limit this list to 10 items but I couldn't narrow it down so here is my 11th favorite kitchen tool.  I love my large bamboo cutting board because I love having a large surface area to work on.  You can even get two of these and sit them side by side to get an even bigger working area and be like one of the cool Food Network people on their tv shows. 

Lemon Juice Ice Cubes

I have lots of lemons leftover from our Father's Day BBQ (more than I know what to do with) so I figured out a way to salvage them before they go bad.  I juiced the lemons and froze the juice in a ice cube tray.  Not just any ice cube tray but a disney mickey mouse ice cube tray!  Don't ask me why I have something so random.  

I cut the lemons in half and started to juice away.  If you wanted to grate the lemons to save some of the zest, you probably could do that too and freeze it in the ice cubes.

While I was juicing, I placed a strainer over my pyrex measuring cup to catch all the seeds and poured the juice in the ice cube tray.

Now, I have fresh lemon juice to instantly add to teas, marinades, salad dressings, salt scrubs, etc.  I use lemons all the time.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.

Basil Pesto and How to Freeze It

My husband loves pesto so I love to have it on hand to add to pastas, grilled chicken, veggies, or make pesto mayo to add to sandwiches.  Making pesto is super easy.  I use a food processor to make pesto instead of a mortar and pestle for the convenience.

Recipe

Adapted from Alice Water's Recipe

Makes about 3 cups

Pick leaves from: 

   a bunch of basil, to yield about 2 cups of lightly packed basil

Roughly chop 

   2 garlic cloves

 Toast

   1/2 cups of pine nuts

Grate

  1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese

Put all the basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and salt in the food processor and pulse a couple times.

Slowly add 

   1 cup of extra virgin olive oil while pulsing mixture in food processor.

Adjust salt to taste

Please note:  If you plan on freezing the pesto, omit the Parmesan cheese.  Add when you are ready to serve the pesto.  The cheese can change textures when you freeze it and I do not recommend it.

Keep an eye on the saute pan when you are toasting the pine nuts.  They burn really easily!  I usually stand by with a spatula and stir the pine nuts around 'til they are lightly toasted.

Toasting the pine nuts give the pesto a great flavor. 

I always buy my olive oil at Costco!  I love Costco for items I use all the time like olive oil.

Since I am freezing my pesto, I did not add any cheese to it.  I put the pesto in a ziploc container and wrote a little note for myself so I know how much cheese to add when I'm ready to use it and when I made it.  I will try to use it within 2 months.