Category Archives: Recipes

Canned Tomato Sauce

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  • 45 pounds of tomatoes
  • 6 cups chopped onions (I use a food processor for this)
  • 12 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar (more to taste)
  • ¼ cup coarse sea salt (more to taste)
  • Bottled lemon juice (2 tablespoons per quart jar)
  • A water bath canner

Wash the tomatoes and remove the ends and any damaged spots. Quarter them and deseed them by running your fingers down the middle and scraping out the bulk of the seeds and juice. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor or blender.

(OR, you can run the tomatoes through a food mill and save yourself a lot of time! When I’m using my food mill, I wash them, remove any bad spots, and that’s it– the machine does the rest.)

Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large pot. Add the tomatoes, pepper, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce by about one-half. If you are using very juicy tomatoes, this can take 3-5 hours.

The most important part of homemade tomato sauce is the tasting! Tomatoes greatly differ from variety to variety, so you must taste as you go.

In order to keep the ratios of high acid to low acid foods at a safe level in this recipe, you cannot increase the amount of onions or garlic you use, but you CAN increase the herbs, sugar, or salt.

Once the sauce has reduced by half and the flavor is where you want it to be, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to each pint jar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each quart jar.

Ladle the sauce into the jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Process pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes in a hot water bath canner. (Keep in mind that you may have to adjust your processing time according to your altitude.)

REMEMBER: Don’t start timing until the water has returned to a boil with the filled jars inside.

Store your sealed jars in a cool, dark place. I use this all-purpose sauce in all sorts of recipes- add basil and oregano to give it an Italian twist, or add chili powder and cumin for Mexican food.

Notes

  • Most recipes will suggest that you peel the tomatoes before you puree them. Since I despise peeling tomatoes (it’s ok for a handful, but when you’re dealing with 60 pounds of small tomatoes, it’s an utter nightmare), I always just run mine through my food mill instead. In the past when I didn’t have a food mill, I would deseed and then puree them (with the skin on). Sometimes you’ll find a bit of peel in your finished sauce, but I absolutely do not think it’s offensive at all. It’s a small price to pay to avoid the monotony of peeling a million tomatoes.
  • To make this more of an Italian-style sauce, add 3 tablespoons dried oregano and 3 tablespoons dried basil (or to taste)
  • Sugar is important in tomato sauce recipes to help cut the acidity. However, you can leave it out if you  wish.
  • DRIED herbs and spices won’t effect the ratios of this recipe at all, so you can safely remove or add them, according to your own taste.
  • My favorite tomatoes to grow for making canned tomato sauce are Roma or San Marzanos.

Fridge Dill Pickles

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  • 3 tsp. kosher, coarse or pickling salt
  • 1-2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  1. Slice cucumbers very thin (1/8″ thick)
  2. Place in 1 litre jar
  3. Add 3 tsp. salt and dill, then pour in white vinegar
  4. Close jar and give a good shake
  5. Place jar in refrigerator near the front. Shake once or twice more over the next few hours

Spiced Apple Chips

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  • apples
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. cardamom seeds, ground
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp. coconut oil
  1. Preheat oven to 160 (fan assisted)
  2. Mix spices in bowl
  3. Cover apple slices with spice mix and place onto baking trays greased with coconut oil (or use parchment paper)
  4. Bake for 45 minutes until dry

Stinging Nettle Chips

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  • 3-4 cups stinging nettle leaves
  • 2 tbsp. melted lard, tallow or coconut oil
  • sea salt, to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 300
  2. Toss nettle leaves with melted fat; spread on a baking sheet
  3. Sprinkle on sea salt to tastte
  4. Bake for 20-30 minutes until crisp, turning once halfway
  5. Cool on paper towel

Chicken with Cashews and Celery

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  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1 + 3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp. sriracha sauce
  • 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. brown sugar
  • 1 + 1 tsp. cornstarch
  • chicken
  • garlic
  • ginger
  • scallions
  • celery stalks
  • red pepper
  1. Toast the cashews
  2. Place chicken in a bowl with 1 tbsp. soy sauce and 1 tsp. cornstarch
  3. Whisk together soy sauce, fish sauce, sriracha, vinegar and 1 tsp. cornstarch
  4. Cook chicken with garlic and ginger. When almost cooked, add scallions, celery, red pepper and cashews; stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
  5. Stir the sauce and then pour over chicken and vegetables; cook until sauce appears glossy

Crunchy Skillet Pizza

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  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, or more as needed
  • 6 ounces (about 2 links) sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
  • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
  • 1 cup arugula leaves
  • 13 oz. pizza dough
  • 1 tsp. cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup tomatoes, drained and diced
  • 4 oz. mozzarella
  • grated Parmesan (optiona)
  • fresh basil (optional)

Step 1

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Place a well-seasoned 12-inch cast-iron skillet, or other ovenproof, heavy-bottom skillet, in the oven. In another large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil until shimmering. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the olives and stir to combine. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir the arugula into meat.

Step 2

Stretch dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Using sturdy oven mitts, carefully remove the very hot skillet from the oven and place it on a heatproof surface. Sprinkle the cornmeal into the skillet. Carefully place the dough on top of the cornmeal and press the dough out toward the edges of the pan, being careful not to touch the very hot skillet. It’s okay if the dough bounces back a bit. Brush the edges of the dough with the olive oil, creating a 1-inch border of oiled dough.

Step 3

Spoon the tomatoes over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with half of the mozzarella, followed by the half of the sausage-arugula mixture. Repeat with the remaining mozzarella and sausage mixture.

Step 4

Return the skillet to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the bottom of the pizza is crisp and the cheese is starting to bubble. / Let cool on a wire rack for at least 3 minutes before serving. Using oven mitts to hold the hot pan, tilt the pan over a cutting board and use a spatula to gently slide the pizza onto the board. Sprinkle with Parmesan and fresh basil, if desired, then cut and serve. NOTE: If you don’t want to use the hot-skillet method, this pie can be baked on a sheet pan. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 and bake for about 35 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the cheese bubbling.

Coconut Ginger Cauliflower Pork

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  • 5 scallions
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 cauliflower
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 2 tsp. fish sauce
  • 1-2″ ginger root
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • sesame seeds

Melt the coconut oil. Add the ground pork and cook until beginning to brown.

Grate ginger and mince garlic; add to the pork. Stir in fish sauce and cook until pork no longer pink.

Chop cauliflower and add to meat mixture.

Stir in the coconut milk and cook until cauliflower is softened, about 10 minutes.

Add chopped scallions and cook for another 2 minutes, then serve.

Curried Cauliflower Lentil Soup

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  • 2 tsp. oil
  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1.5 tsp minced fresh ginger
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces (4 cups)
  • 2-3 tsp. curry powder
  • 1 pinch cayenne
  • 4 cups broth
  • 1/2 cup red lentils
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. coconut cream (or 1/4 cup coconut milk)

Heat oil, add onion, carrots and celery and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ginger and garlic and saute for additional 2-3 minutes.

Add cauliflower, curry powder, cayenne, broth, lentils and salt. Bring to a low boil over medium heat and then reduce to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until lentils and cauliflower are tender.

Add coconut cream and blend with immersion blender until creamy.

Instant Pot Baked Beans (good)

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  • 16 oz. dry navy or pinto beans
  • 8 cups water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 8 slices bacon
  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 2/3 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp. liquid smoke (or smoked paprika)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup water

Cook beans on manual for 25 minutes; allow for natural release, then rinse and cool.

Saute bacon for a few minutes, then add onion and pepper and cook until soft. Add BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, vinegar and smoked paprika and stir.

Add brown sugar, water and beans and stir to continue.

Cook on manual for 15 minutes, then natural release.