curry tofu & radish chips

hi lovelies!  i made this yummy dish of curried tofu and radish chips last night!  after the mister approved it and confirmed my success by satisfactory ‘mmmmms’ i decided i should share it with you!

here’s the recipe!

p.s. if you’re not the tofu-eating kinda a family, you could easily substitute chicken or any other kind of protein.  also, the same technique for the radish chips works wonders with regular potatoes or sweet potatoes!

wrap up: {curry} {radish} {recipe} {rice} {root} {tofu}

the beginnings of fall are my favorite.  i l.o.v.e. the feelings of late summer preserving my mini harvests for the winter.  it’s all very cozy, isn’t it? last week was grape jam, this week has been all about apples.  yum yum yum.

that’s me picking these yummy apples from the tippy top of the tree! did i mention this organic apple tree is in my grandmother’s back yard?

apples apples and more apples!

we picked out a few of our favorits- that’s my mom in the green!

ingredients for one batch of apple jam:

- 7 cups of apple mixture (will explain later)

- one box of pectin (organic if you can find it!)

- 9 cups of organic sugar (double gasp)

- 1 tbs of organic butter

we made about 7 batches of jam (from about 3 bushels of apples)- so make sure to get plenty of ingredients! next is the how-to:

wash all of your apples, reeaally well, then cut them into fourths- and place them  in a big stock pot (don’t worry about the cores and seeds).

aren’t these so beautiful? just make sure to remove any bad spots- organic apples are a bit prone to worms, but hey- can you blame ‘em?

next, fill your pot with enough water to just barely cover the tops of your apples.  simmer on med-high for about 30 minutes, or until they get good and mushy (yum yum).

stew stew stew!

next, place the cooked apples into a food mill (if you have one) and turn it until all that apple goodness comes out the bottom (see below).  this leaves the seeds, cores and skins in the mill to be discarded/composted.  if you don’t have a food mill- don’t fret!  you can just place your apples in a strainer (make sure the seeds won’t fit through the holes) and whisk it around with a spoon until it sifts through the bottom.

what sifts through the bottom comes out looking much like apple sauce.  from this is what you’ll measure your 7 cups from.  place 7 cups of this apple-saucey mixture into a pot and add your box of (hopefully organic) pectin and butter.  place over high heat until it comes to a rolling boil- stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

when your mixture has come to a rolling boil, it’s time to add the sugar (yup, all 9 cups of it).  stir this until it returns to a rolling boil.  when it does, set your timer for 1 minute and stir continuously.  after 1 minute, take it off the heat.  you’re now ready to start dipping the apple jam into your sterilized jars (you did sterilize your jars, didn’t you?). click here for the know-how.

this is what our ‘assembly line’ looked like.  sterilized jars and lids to the left, jars being sterilized to the far right.  apple everything somewhere in the middle!

make sure to skim the foam off the top of your jam and then start ladeling it into your sterizlied jars.  leave 1/4″-1″ head space at the top.

tighten down the lid and you’re all done! you’ll have wonderfully delicious jam all year long!

let me know if you have any questions- and please share w/ us if you make it or have any advice!

ok.. one more picture of how pretty the tree is:

wrap up: {gladening}

my grandmother’s yard is immaculate.  apple trees, pear trees, black berries, grape vines.. you name it- she’s got it.  early this week she gave me 3 pounds of grapes and together we made grape jam- a first for both of us!

look at all of these beautiful grapes!  did i mention they were organic?

vines and vines galore..

these are her vines post-harvest, still so beautiful aren’t they?

here she is! my grandmomma- hard at work!

(that’s me in my yellow apron!)  here’s for the recipe:

- 3lb grapes

- 1 cup of water

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp ginger

- 1 box of pectin- organic if you can find it!

- 7 cups of sugar

1) wash your grapes- really well!  then separate the pulp from the skin. sorry i don’t have a pic- but it’s easy!  all you have to do is squeeze the grape and… POP! out comes the pulp (don’t worry about the seeds).  keep the skins in one bowl and the pulp in another.

that’s three generations in one kitchen!

2) cook the pulp in a big pot for about 30 minutes, just to get them really soft and juicy.  while they’re cooking, you can blend all of the skins in the blender.

3) after the pulp has cooked, place a few cups at a time into a colander (small enough to catch the seeds!) and whisk it around with a spoon  until all the good stuff sifts through- just make sure no seeds are sneaking through!  then, you can combine the sifted pulp with the blended grape skins.

remember me mentioning my bird’s nest? you can almost see it here in all it’s glory…

4) take 5 1/2 cups of the grape mixture, add 1 cup of water, 1/2 tsp of ginger, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 box of pectin.  stir together and put over high heat and bring to a boil.

5) meanwhile, make sure to sterilize your jars- click here for the know-how.

(isn’t she cute?)  6) when your mixture is boiling, add your 7 cups of sugar (i know, gasp) all at once.  bring back to a rolling boil, and then take it off the heat- it’s time to start canning!

7) once the heat is off, you can start ladling the *deeelicious jam into your sterilized jars.  leave about a 1/2″ space at the top and seal with your lid.  once they start cooling, they will all seal, and you’ll have jam all year long!  yay!

don’t worry it can get a little messy..

i thought i could finish with a pic of david with jam all over his face from our morning pancakes, but i’ll spare you.. :)

hope you all have a great weekend! and let me know if you have any questions! love, bonnie

wrap up: {gladening} {homegrown} {jam} {preserve} {recipe} {slice of organic life}

grey whale plushie

in lieu of my desperate need for a beach trip- i decided to go whale watching.  via some really talented artists!

whales in the middle

1) little whale tags 2) under the sea 3) whale notebook 4) w is for whale 5) whale watch 6) narwhal notebook

hm, i’m thinking i would like to go to new zealand.  maybe alaska?  florida?  i’ll take anything!  do you have a favorite spot to vacation?

being newlyweds, we knew we were going to have to be really careful with our money, so we cut our spending where we could. we finally realized when we were giving our dog ice cubes as treats, maybe we needed to loosen up some! so, feeling sorry for toaster (yes, TOASTER- like toaster oven, toaster strudel, hey could you put my bagel in the toaster) i decided to make him some homemade treats. they are yummy but more importantly affordable, and he loves them! here’s how:

recipe:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tb baking powder

1/2 cup molasses

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup milk

mix all the ingredients in a bowl until all the batter is smooth. place on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/4″ thick. use any shape cookie cutters you like to cut them out, then place them on a lightly greased baking pan. bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes and you’re done!

i make them in bulk and freeze the extras so refills are easy. also, you can leave the molasses out if you don’t have any. all natural and inexpensive treats- sure does beat those ice cubes!

wrap up: {dog} {recipe} {treats}