Made-to-order Mango Salsa

 For those of us who like to put food into jars, preserving locally-grown seasonal fruits & vegetables ensures that our raw ingredients have spent the least amount of time getting from farm-to-table, and it also means money stays in our communities; a winning combination.

Sometimes, when it comes to the produce I use for preserving, I have to veer off my usual Pacific Northwest path, and buy fruit from far away. When I do, it's usually for a very good reason.

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Pork (tender)Loin + Brine H2o x 24-36 hours + Smoke x 2-3 hours = Canadian Bacon

 Pork tenderloins in the brining solution -- brown sugar gave it the amber color

I started school today. Pre-requisite English & math classes at the community college so that I can be put on the wait list for the Specialty Desserts & Breads Program at Seattle Culinary Academy. In other words, I want to become a Pastry Chef; I think it will tie in nicely with what I am already doing.

I took placement tests before enrolling in school. I scored high on my readin' & writin'. Don't ask what I got on my 'rithmatic. The title of this blog post is about as complicated as I care to get in the mathematics department!

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Pineapple~Rum Preserves with Dates & Vanilla. Mae West-style.

When Mae West said "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful" she must have been talking about vanilla beans. For me, there's no such thing as using vanilla "too much", or maybe I should say, "too often". This is my third batch of preserves in two weeks -- all different recipes -- that includes vanilla beans.

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Creating the Best Corned Beef ever. It's so easy an 8 year old could do it.

 This month's Charcutepalooza challenge called for brining beef brisket to make corned beef, and that makes me very happy. You see, I happen to have some experience in the Corned Beef Department, and I'm going to show you how simple it is to do it yourself.

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Luscious easy-to-make preserves using dried apricots!

It's raining, it's pouring...it must be March in Seattle.

I've been making bacon, brining corned beef and pickling vegetables, but what I haven't done lately is stir up a batch of sweet, flavorful lovely-to-look-at preserves or conserves, like Dried Apricot~Vanilla Bean Preserves. 

Shown here: Dried Apricot~Vanilla Conserve with Walnuts & Currants

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Les Dames d'Escoffier's "Drink - Dine - Dash Auction"

 I am thrilled to have been asked to donate a Preserving Party for the Seattle chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier's annual event, being held on March 31st, 2011.

 As Jamie Peha, the promoter of the event said "Tickets are going fast. Amazing food, one-of-a-kind auction lots. Plus the best Dessert Dash you've ever seen. It's a bidding frenzy..."

In other words, get your tickets asap!

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Orange you glad you love marmalade?

iPhone camera + being in a hurry = blurry photo

What? You don't LOVE marmalade? It's okay. I didn't like it the first 5 times I tried it either. I don't think I liked it until I was about 25 really.

I'm going to admit it: once in a while, I eat commercially-made preserves. I have to tell it to you straight. I have been known to eat and actually enjoy the mass-produced stuff now & then.

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The Charcutepalooza follow-up: Makin' bacon. 9 pounds in 9 days in 9 easy steps.

My Sweet Sorghum Bacon. The cure mixture created a beautiful "meat gloss".

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Savory Bacon, and Sweet Sorghum Bacon, sliced and packaged for the freezer.

Yes, I'm starting out by showing you the finished product. As a preserver, one of my favorite things is looking at a jar of jelly or jam, a bottle of syrup or infused vodka, or a crock of pickles or kim chi. I can now add to that ever-growing list of favorite preserved things: "a bag of sliced home-cured bacon".

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I'm busy makin' bacon for Charcutepalooza!

My Pork Belly: 22 inches long, 10" wide and approx 9 pounds. Soon to be BACON.

Charcutepalooza's tag line is "The Year of Meat. It's a challenge amongst food bloggers (across the world!) to make one stellar charcuterie project every month for one year. The competition is tough; about 300 passionate -- and some might say "obsessed" -- food bloggers battling it out to create stunning examples of cured meats. Sure there are prizes, including a trip to France. There's also the possibility of fame & glory, as well as advancing a few rungs up the "ways-to-prepare-meat" ladder in your kitchen. But I think most of us are doing it simply because it's fun. The fact that you end up with some incredibly tasty charcuterie as a result is a bonus too, of course.

I decided to slice the Pork Belly into 4 pieces, and will use 2 different cures on 2 pieces each.

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"Free Bananas" , and a whole lot more, on the Big Island of Hawaii.

"Free Bananas" stand, on the way to the Hawaiian Vanilla Company in Paauilo Makau

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Comice Pear Sauce. This sweet cinnamon-y sensation will warm you up on a chilly day.

 

 Cinnamon-y Comice Pear Sauce. Pure and simple.

Lucky me.

I have some great neighbors.

My next-door-neighbor Cynthia called yesterday, and it went something like this:

Cynthia: "Hey Brook...I got one of those Harry & David gift baskets, and I can't eat all these pears...you want 'em?"

My first thought was: Are you kidding me? but I just said "YES. Yes I do!"

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Dilly Pickled Onion Slices...it's what you get when you cross an onion and a dill pickle. I think you're gonna like it.

Dilly Pickled Onion Slices on an open-faced cheddar cheese sammy.

Julia Child said "It's hard to imagine civilization without onions."

I have to agree with her, but I might add a couple words to that sentence. For me, it's hard to imagine civilization without onions and vinegar.

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