HOUSEHOLD NOTES October 2010

Edited by Anne Gray
We have some great recipes in response to our request for using the end of the summer bounty. Some of these evenings, as we go out to cover tomatoes and basil, I find myself considering the next round of fall harvest. Now there are apples and rosehips and cranberries, and, oh my, so much more. But that's all after the tomatoes and the basil, and the parsley. I do love parsley, this time of year most of all. It is the most faithful of all the herbs. It stands and waits for harvest, and if I miss some, it comes back in the spring and waits again, though not so patiently second time around.
But not everything is patient and hardy, so help yourself to these recipes, and good luck getting all the tenders in before the frost.

EASY CHEESE TOMATO PIE
Gladys Long, Wolfville, N.S.
"This pie is great! Uses a lot of tomatoes, and freezes well."

phyllo pastry
tomatoes
1/2 cup (generous) low sodium, non-fat cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
Dijon mustard
melted butter

In a greased pie plate, place a layer of phyllo. Brush with melted butter and dot with Dijon mustard. Place a second layer of phyllo at an angle to the first. Repeat melted butter and Dijon. Continue around the pie plate until there are five or six layers of phyllo.
Slice or quarter the tomatoes, depending upon the type. If you have a lot of tomatoes, use a lot. I use approximately a quart of the grape tomatoes and it isn't too much in a 9" pie plate.
Sprinkle minced garlic over the tomatoes. Dot cottage cheese over tomatoes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over all.
Fold phyllo corners over top of the tomato mixture, brush with olive oil or melted butter. Bake at 375 F for 30-40 minutes.
Let set for a few minutes, then cut and serve.

SEPTEMBER RELISH
Bonnie Whynot, Italy Cross, N.S.

2 cups chopped onions
4 cups chopped green tomatoes
4 cups chopped cucumber
2 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped sweet red peppers
1/2 cup table salt or 3/4 cup coarse salt
4 cups sugar
6 cups vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons paprika

Mix all chopped vegetables together. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of salt and let stand overnight.
In the morning drain well, pressing out all liquid. Add the vinegar, sugar, and spices and bring to a boil. Cook for one hour. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

SAUERKRAUT
Esther Geblut, Stony Plain, Alta.
"I used to cut cabbage, plus putting full heads in a clean, plastic garbage can. That way I had sour heads for cabbage rolls and I pressed the cut cabbage in between the heads. You have to cut the core out of the head before putting it in.
"Then I added a brine of one cup coarse salt to 30 cups of water, which you heat up enough to dissolve the salt and pour it over the cabbage. Put on top a clean board and rock to hold it down. This has to be left for three weeks, checking it and skimming off the water on top to prevent mold.
"I grow either Stonehead or Danish Ballhead cabbage as I like a firm, small head and their leaves for cabbage rolls.
"You can then (after three weeks) take the cabbage out and freeze or put in glass jars to seal. You can also just put the cabbage heads in a container and pour on brine for cabbage rolls with the same procedure.
"However, I came across this recipe and have tried it and like it very much."

shredded cabbage
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt (plain)
1 tablespoon salad oil
1 tablespoon vinegar

The above ingredients are for one quart. Multiply the ingredients to fit the number of quarts you want to produce.
Lightly pack one quart jars with shredded cabbage. Add the other ingredients. Pour in boiling water to fill the jars. Shake and turn the jars back and forth to mix the ingredients together. The jars must seal. Should keep rather white for a couple of years.
The cabbage is put into jars directly, no fuss or mess with a crock and fermenting.
PS. Since I've used this method for sauerkraut, I've never gone back to the crock method.

When we sent out our request for putting food away for winter, we received this response from Ruth Richman. RR De Gros Marsh, P.E.I.

"I freeze, dry, pickle, preserve, store, and can fruits and vegetables. For my tastes it totally depends on what it is and it's future use."

Fruits
apples: I make apple sauce – core, chop coarsely, cook. I leave skins on as I like them. I do add a little cinnamon but no sugar. Then I freeze it. I used to can it but I like thawed better. I put a few crab apples or rose hips in for the color.
blueberries: frozen whole; cooked into jams and bottled and stored in the cold room.
currants: frozen whole; made into cooked jelly when the time presents itself.
Black currants: frozen whole for smoothies; cooked into juice; cooked into jam, bottled and stored in the cold room.
pears: cold room for awhile; also sliced and frozen for future desserts and smoothies.

Vegetables
carrots: stored whole in a refrigerator just for them. Over the years I have stored them in dirt, sawdust, or eelgrass in the cold room but in plastic in the fridge works the best.
potatoes: cold room
broccoli, cauliflower, beans (string bean types and shell beans): freezer after a very short blanch time.
cucumbers: bread and butter pickles and mustard pickles; also a freezer bread and butter which keeps them fresh tasting.
leeks: cleaned, sliced, and frozen – ready to use.
hot peppers: dried
beans (runners, Yellow eye, Black turtle): shelled and dried
cilantro: cilantro "pesto" made and frozen; also bags of the herb frozen, ready for chopping and adding to dishes.
kale, parsley: harvested and bagged; frozen on the stem.
parsnips: left in the ground for spring harvest.
Winter squash, onions, garlic: stored on shelf in basement (not cold room)
corn: I usually eat it all but I have been known to freeze it on the cob and off, if the raccoons haven't been around to share the harvest.
basil: leaves are packed into jars with olive oil and a little salt – oh, they are good!
rest of the herbs: some get frozen and some are dried.

BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES
Myrtle Conrad, Cow Bay, N.S.

cucumbers
6 medium onions
1/3 cup salt
ice cubes
3 cups white vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
2 tablespoons mustard seeds

Wash and slice the cucumbers and onions to make about 16 cups (one six-quart basket). Put in a large pot and sprinkle with the salt. Add a tray of ice cubes to the pot and let stand for three hours. Drain.
Combine the vinegar, sugar and spices. Pour over the drained vegetables and heat to boiling. Pack in jars.


RED BEET PICKLES
Hilda Gossi, Mt. Stewart, P.E.I.

1 large pail of red beets
4 cups white 5-percent pickling vinegar
2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons pickling spice
3 level tablespoons coarse salt

Leave about one inch of green stems on the beets to avoid "bleeding." Do not damage the skin. Boil in a large kettle until tender, about one hour. Pour off the water, rinse quickly under cold water and press beets out of their skins. Slice large beets, removing greens and end.
Boil together all other ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Return the beets to the kettle, pour syrup over them, and bring to a boil.
Fill hot beets and liquid into hot, sterilized jars and close immediately. Turn upside down to seal. Let cool till next day. Check seals. Resterilize, in a hot water bath, after checking lids and clean rims of jars that failed to seal.

SWEET-HOT CHILI SAUCE
Maryann Dover, Saint John, N.B.

1/2 pound fresh hot peppers
I bulb garlic
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups cider vinegar

Chop the peppers and garlic to a coarse mix. Add the salt. Put all the ingredients in a stainless steel pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. Bottle, seal, and leave for about two weeks before eating.

It would be unfair to use all the end of season produce for things that need time before eating. If you have lots of zucchini (I know, I know), you can grate it and freeze it in one or two-cup bagsful for use later. You will think more highly of it in February than you did in August!

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE
Myrtle Conrad, Cow Bay, N.S.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour milk
2 cups grated zucchini
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup brown sugar

In one bowl, beat together the butter, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. In another bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Combine the sour milk with the zucchini. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture, mixing well. Put into a 9" x 13" pan. Top with the pecans, chocolate chips, and brown sugar. Bake in a 350 F oven for 45 minutes.

Requests

Turkey time. We have Thanksgiving bearing down on us, and the thought of leftover bird. What do you do with the leftover meat and carcass after the feast?

Slow rising breads. Who out there makes breads the slow-rise method? Please send your recipes and tips for doing it right.

Mail your recipes, household hints, and requests to Household Notes, care of Rural Delivery, Box 1509, Liverpool, NS B0T 1K0.