December 31, 2010

Five Guys Burgers and Fries Review

While visiting my family in Maryland, we stopped for lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries during our post-Christmas gift card shopping trip. I thought I'd snap pictures of my lunch and share with you my experience at this beloved burger restaurant. Then... when I returned to Maine, I saw the headlines! How timely.


First, the fries. Their fries are great- crunchy, skin-on, salty, not greasy or limp. Always fresh and hot. Rivals Duckfat fries? Discuss. Have a fry-off in 2011.


Make my burger, mister.

Next, the burger. I ordered a Little Cheeseburger (LCB), which is plenty of food, despite being called little. (A big burger is just two patties instead of one.) And I ordered it with everything, which is ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and pickles. There are a myriad of other toppings you can order as well.


I have a lot of respect for this burger. I realize that's a weird thing to say about food, but it's not pretentious. It doesn't have effing foie gras on it, it doesn't have weird artisan ingredients (ahem, garlic jam at Nosh), but rather is made with fresh, never frozen beef, and simple, straight forward toppings.


Free peanuts while you wait!

And much has been made about how Five Guys' burgers and fries are bad for you. (And holy cow, a large order of fries has 1,464 calories and 71 grams of fat. But, a large order of fries will also serve like 5 people. The three of us split a regular and had leftover! fries!) So I do not recommend eating 5 Guys every day (M. I'm looking at you). But for a burger that you wait two minutes for, this is a pretty damn good burger.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries on Urbanspoon

December 20, 2010

Saltine Toffee Bark

Oh my. These candies are so addictive, that I don't even have a finished shot of them. They were eaten up before I could artfully arrange them and snap photos of them. But it's appropriate, I guess, since these candies aren't pretty per se, they're just delicious. Addictive even. Like, can't stop eating them until you feel sick (but you're OK with that).

And you can't get any more simple than the process. Or the ingredients for that matter. To start, cover a baking sheet with tin foil and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the foil with baking spray or rub with vegetable oil.


Spread about one and a half sleeves of Saltine crackers over the foil in a single layer.


Then, in a small saucepan, heat one stick of butter and one cup of brown sugar, while stirring to combine. Once melted, boil the sugar and butter until it boils rapidly. Let boil for one minute.


Pour the sugar butter mixture over the crackers, attempting to cover all the crackers, but not worrying about it too much. Heat in the oven for 5 minutes.


After the toffee has spread out over the crackers and is bubbling, remove the sheet from the oven. Sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips and put back in the oven for one minute.


When you pull the sheet back out, it will look the same! But the chips will be spreadable, so spread them out over the crackers. Sprinkle crushed Saltine crackers, chopped nuts, crushed peppermint or chopped dried fruit over the candies and place in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and then break into pieces. Eat (try to avoid eating them all in one sitting. OK, don't. I won't tell!).

These candies would make great gifts at the holidays, whether when visiting friends and families, as a hostess gift at a party, or for those beloved family members who have everything. Trust me, they will be asking for Saltine toffee bark year after year.

December 13, 2010

Obscure Holiday Cocktail Tasting, Vol. 2

This post, like most good nights out involving alcohol, will be well represented with photos in the beginning and then taper off into some nonsensical smears of dogs running from the room. But nonetheless, I attempt to recreate the 2nd annual Obscure Holiday Cocktail Tasting. Sometimes not so obscure, other times not so holiday. But, away we go.


First up, the Grinch. Maybe I would have drank more of this if it wasn't my third drink of the night. I figure, why waste good tolerance on something so terrible? I know that it was made using high quality liquor (Midori, Cointreau, and vodka), but it ended up tasting a bit Rikaloff-y. (Side note: did you know there's a Facebook fan page for Rikaloff vodka? Ew.)


It made ME kind of Grinch-like.

But paired with Lenora, an aged Spanish goat cheese, the burning aftertaste was less pronounced. Or rather, I stopped drinking my drink and just ate some cheese. Others didn't think this one was so bad, but I couldn't get into it.


Next up, was my favorite drink, the Ultimate Holiday. The instructions for the drink tell you to throw out all the mixers and just drink the booze, but if you actually make the drink, it's delicious.

Mix:
2 oz Orange Juice
1 ½ oz Bourbon
½ oz Lime Juice
1 splash Grenadine Syrup
1 splash Ginger Ale
and serve over ice.

Oh, yum. I could drink these all day at the beach. This drink was paired with Dutch Farmstead, which Uke picked because it paired well with Bourbon. To test it, we had to have a mini-bourbon tasting as well (and yes, the cheese went well with them).

Next, A. of Portland Food Map, introduced us to Muslum. We started with Casillero del Diablo Carmenere, a full-bodied red wine. Then we stirred in some local honey (from Tom's Honey & More), sipped, and marveled at the transformation. The honey added another layer of richness and cut the tartness of the wine. The honey also went well with the Uplands cheese paring. Really, it sounds simple, but a tablespoon of honey transformed the wine into something cozy and perfect for the holidays.


Last was a drink called the Spanish Reindeer, which started with some homemade eggnog. I followed John Meyers' recipe from the Bollard, and found it to be a little too mild. I was expecting the taste of store-bought eggnog, but better, because, well, I made it!

To make a Spanish Reindeer, simply mix in 1 oz Dark Crème de Cacao and 1 oz Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur to a glass of eggnog. The result was a little sweet, a little nutty; a nice twist on traditional nog.

The cheese pairing, much like the photos, kind of went out the window, by the end of the night. I'm sure I had some, but don't quite remember!! So again, just like last year, we come away with some favorites and some never to be repeated. My recommendation is the Ultimate Holiday at any time and the Muslum to share with friends and family around the holidays. Cheers! 

December 5, 2010

Quick Eats for a Busy Lady


I've never really been all that busy - other than of my own making with things I enjoy (i.e. a job I love or extracurriculars). But when people say they're busy, I get it now, 'cuz I'm busy. And so there hasn't been a lot of home cooked meals 'round these parts.


Jealous. That nap looks so nice. 

But I've eaten out a lot since Thanksgiving, most of it places I know are good (Po'Boys & Pickles and Otto) or places that are cheap and pubby (Gritty's, Rosie's, Ruski's). There has also been Trader Joe's frozen fish and Mandarin Orange Chicken (addictive).

So yeah, not a lot worth sharing; I'm sure y'all can relate. I hope everyone is enjoying their countdown to the holidays, with friends, never-ending to-do lists, and lots of cocktails, chocolate, and cookies. Oh, and soft socks. Be well.

November 24, 2010

Finding the Best Cupcakes in Portland, Maine, Round 1

Shannon of Edible Obsessions came up with the great idea to have a cupcake tasting since new bakeries keep popping up like mushrooms in your yard. So last Saturday night, Dawn of Appetite Portland and I headed to Shannon's house with our respective confectionery procurements (read: cupcakes).

I picked up vanilla from Katie Made Bakery, which we paired against a Madagascar Vanilla from Tulip Cupcakery (sold at Kamasoupra).


Tulip's Vanilla cupcake is shown above in the lower left. It was the clear winner, with a great vanilla flavor to the cake and moist, creamy icing. Katie Made's was a beautiful cake, but was lacked the great vanilla taste of Tulip's.

Next, we pitted the three fruit (if pumpkin is a fruit) flavors against each other. First, the big monster (see in the above photo on the right) from Scratch Baking Co.: banana cream pie. This cupcake is not only huge, it's filled with banana pudding! Scratch Bakery showed they know their baking with this cupcake, as the filling was not too sweet, the cake very moist, and the frosting light, almost like whipped cream.

Tulip Cupcakery's Pumpkin cupcake came in second, with a big pumpkin flavor in a dense, moist cake. The 158 Picket Street Cafe Apple Spice Brown Sugar with Cream Cheese frosting had a mild flavor and was more like a quick bread than a cupcake. It was not my favorite, but Scratch Bakery's cupcake was a hard act to follow.


It was about this time in our cupcake sampling that we all got a little giggly - things that were not so funny, suddenly seemed hilarious. As a child, I enjoyed eating Pixie Stix dumped into Jolt cola at sleepovers, but as I've grown up (and experienced stronger intoxicants!), I don't find myself chasing the sugar dragon anymore. But Saturday night was a different story. A dozen cupcakes and a cup of coffee, and I was high as a kite.

Anyway, the chocolate. We had three chocolate contenders: Two Fat Cats Chocolate with Vanilla icing, Rosemont Market's Chocolate Guinness, and Scratch Baking Co.'s Black Forest.

I must disclaim that I am not a huge chocolate person, so I didn't go gaga for the Chocolate Guinness cupcake. It was very good (and the sugar sillies had us sniffing our cakes to try to detect the Guinness), but it was a bit much for me. I was glad we were only taking a bite of each. But if you like flourless chocolate cake, pick up the Rosemont cupcake.

Two Fat Cats' was a standard chocolate cupcake with springy cake and good chocolate flavor, but Scratch's was the winner again. The cherry filling was tart, not cloyingly sweet like pie filling, and the chocolate cake was just spot on.


Lastly, we tried the gluten-free, vegan offerings from Cakeface. We sampled Mocha Chip Mocha, Chocolate Spice, Hazelnut Mocha, and Hazelnut Maple. I will add the disclaimer that all of these cupcakes are very good *for gluten-free cupcakes.* They don't have any texture issues and have great flavor. My personal favorite was the Hazelnut Maple since it was so strongly flavored, and I love big flavors.


It felt a little weird to throw away cupcakes, but when faced with sampling a dozen, I felt it necessary. As it was, I vibrated out of Uke's apartment thinking I never wanted to see another cupcake again. But the next day, when my blood sugar levels had stabilized, I realized I did. And I won't be able to get them out of my head until I can venture over to South Portland and visit Scratch Bakery for more of their freakishly large cupcakes.

November 23, 2010

Thai-o-rama Wrap-Up

Here's a wrap-up of all the Pad Thais eaten, Tom Kar Gais slurped, and dumplings dunked. Look to the other participants of the Thai-o-rama to find their (conflicting, I'm sure) opinions of the best of Thai in Portland. After all of those calories, what have we learned?


Best Pad Thai: Vientiane Thai
I'm sure many will disagree with me, but driving home the point that taste is subjective, opinions varied on which pad thai was the best.


Best Curry: Pom's Thai Taste
Overall, I think Pom's is the most consistent traditional Thai restaurant. There were some flops, and it is one of the more expensive Thai restaurants we visited, but it's good. And there's $1 sushi!


Best Spring Rolls: Pom's or Vientiane
Voted the best because of the use of lots of fresh herbs and big pieces of shrimp.


Best Soup: Seng Chai Thai
I didn't eat a lot of soup on this tour, but the bit I had from Uke Mochi at Seng Chai was delicious.


Best Atmosphere: Viet Bangkok—light-up lobster, anyone??

Best Overall: Boda

I am so sad I never shared with you the wonderfulness that was my meal at Boda. The food at Boda gave me a glimpse into what authentic Thai food is like. I am still haunted by the “Miang Kum Som-oh,” bite-sizes of pummelo fruit salad on betel leaves with toasted coconut, peanut, lime, ginger, shrimp, and shallots in a flavorful palm sugar dressing. SO GOOD.


Best Prices... Chiang Mai Two
As evidenced here, cheap curry.


Best "I never expected to like it": Siam Orchard
I thought I was headed for some bad Mall-style take out when I headed into this basement eatery. But I was pleasantly surprised!

And how about best salad?? I vote Chaing Mai Two, for their beef salad, although most of the salads I tried were delicious. I found you can't go wrong with a Thai salad!

November 17, 2010

Thanksgiving Turkey Talk

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. And if you're like me, you're probably wondering where you can get the best turkey (both in taste and environmental impact), while doing the least damage to your wallet. So, I present to you your four local options for purchasing a turkey next week.

Hannaford


Hannaford wins in the price department, with the cheapest turkeys at $.69/lb. These turkeys are Hannaford's store brand, and at that cheap, I can't imagine they come from a happy place.

After the store brand, there's $.99/lb Shadybrook Farms turkeys, which are not free range and could come from several locations around the country. Their website's FAQ notes that their turkeys are growth-hormone and steroid free, as the USDA prevents the use of these in poultry.

Butterball turkeys are $1.29/lb at Hannaford, and a search of their website provided no information about how the turkeys were raised. But coming from Maryland, where the Eastern Shore is filled with Mountainaire, Perdue, and Allen's chicken farms, it's not a pretty sight (or smell).

The last and most expensive option at Hannaford is their natural and organic store brand, Nature's Place ($2.49/lb). I sometimes buy this option at Hannaford, but can't decide if their flowery prose really adds up to humanely treated animals or not. Hard to say unless you see it yourself (which they won't let you do, of course).

Whole Foods Market


The turkeys options at Whole Food Market are simple: brined ($2.99/lb) or not ($1.99/lb). The birds meet WFM's Farm Animal and Meat Quality Standards, which include no animal byproducts in turkey feed and no beak trimming.

Trader Joe's


The newest kid on the block is offering brined ($1.79) and Kosher turkeys ($2.29) for the holiday. Their TJ's brand turkeys are vegetarian fed, and receive no antibiotics, hormones, or artificial ingredients. Kosher turkeys are raised according to Kashrut, and does that make them automatically humanely raised and slaughtered? I'd love to hear from someone knowledgeable on the subject.


Rosemont Market

Turkeys at Rosemont are available to order (order soon!) and for pick up on Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday. The two options are Maine-ly Poultry ($3.79/lb) and Serendipity Acres ($4.99/lb). Both are free-range, with the latter being pasture-fed.

So, from cheapest to most expensive:
1) Hannaford Brand ($.69/lb)
2) Shadybrook Farms ($.99/lb
3) Butterball ($.99/lb)
4) Trader Joe's, brined ($1.79/lb)
5) Whole Foods, not brined ($1.99/lb)
6) Trader Joe's, Kosher ($2.29/lb)
7) Nature's Place ($2.49/lb)
8) Whole Foods, brined ($2.99/lb)
9) Maine-ly Poultry ($3.79/lb)
10) Serendipity Acres ($4.99/lb)

So while I'd love to be ordering my turkey from Rosemont, the thought of a $75 turkey makes me want to cry. I will probably shoot for the middle of the price range, picking out a 12-15 pounder that wasn't factory farmed.

November 14, 2010

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

I feel like Brussels sprouts are having their moment. Last year, I became enamoured with them after roasting them like Ruth Reichl, making a gratin from Farm to Table, and having a shaved salad at Bresa. In addition to all that, the blogosphere is all a buzz with recipes for them.

Pinch My Salt's recent post about a shaved Brussels sprouts salad reminded me of the delicious salad from Bresca, so I tried it with the few remaining sprouts-on-a-stalk I had from Snell Family Farm.


I didn't add the bacon, but of course, it would be great with it. You can also add bleu cheese instead of Parmesan and Pinch My Salt was toying with the idea of apples too.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
Parmesan cheese, shaved into curls
Walnuts, chopped and toasted
Olive oil
Apple cider vinegar
Sugar
Salt and pepper

Slice your sprouts and place in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil, vinegar, a sprinkle of sugar, and a healthy grind of pepper and sprinkle of salt. Toss to combine. Add toasted nuts and serve with curls of Parm.

November 8, 2010

Chicken Noodle Kale Soup

If I were you and I was reading this, I'd think 'meh.' That's how I react to chicken noodle soup recipes. Boooooring. But this one is good, I swear. M. added parsnips, kale, fine egg noodles, and a delicious chicken broth, and it's so good. Makes for good leftovers too.


I have to admit, I'm currently in love with this Better than Boullion stuff, but it made the soup taste a little like the Lipton Noodle Soup mix. Now, I love that stuff, so I dug it. But you are forewarned; if you want a more homemade taste, you should probably use your own stock or a more mild tasting store bought one.

Chicken Noodle Kale Soup

2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 cup of cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
a lot of kale (how much is up to you, kale lover or kale liker?)
2 quarts of chicken stock, or water and chicken bouillon
3/4 cup fine egg noodles

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute a bit. Add celery and carrots, saute a bit more. Add parsnips, and you guessed it, saute. Add garlic (and saute), and then add a little water, and cover the pot to steam the vegetables. Add chicken stock or water and bouillon, cooked chicken, and cook for about 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Add kale and egg noodles, and cook until noodles are tender (about 4 minutes for us). Avoid overcooking, or fear the brown kale.

Serve with Parmesan cheese and/or Sriracha.

And yes, I realize I've already written about Spicy Kale Chicken Soup! It's that good- I must make multiple variations of it. And plus, who doesn't need lots of kale-using-up recipes for your CSA share??

November 6, 2010

BBF: Gift Edition

Between my birthday and my boyfriend's mom's trip to Italy (jealous!), I was fortunate enough to receive a lot of gifts lately. Maybe this will help you brainstorm some gifts for those you love at Christmas- since according to the Mall and Target, Christmas is right around the corner.


M.'s mom brought us some Italian first pressing olive oil and some pesto. Concidentally, my friends A&R brought us pesto from their honeymoon trip to Italy this spring. And it is goooood. M. and I made some fresh pasta and filled it with squash and goat cheese to make raviolis. Tossing the pasta in pesto made for a nice sauce.


And for my birthday, my friends all chipped in to get me a bunch of dishes and accessories for my blog! Super thoughtful- I have the greatest friends. They found two sizes of tiny cast iron skillets and these beautiful dish towels. I can see making baked eggs or individual tarts or quiches in these little pans.


And the piece de resistance- these cafeteria style, delicate, green glass plates! They found a set of 4 at a thrift shop, and I think they're the coolest things since L.A. Gear scrunchie socks (kidding). Someone commented that they're perfect for old people and picky eaters who don't like to have their foods mixed. Riiiight...

So maybe these gifts are kind of particular to a food lover or blogger, but I bet if you start thinking now about your gift recipients, you can come up with a gift as thoughtful as these!

October 26, 2010

Baked Potato Bar

At first, I didn't consider our recent dinner of baked potatoes to be "blog-worthy." It doesn't involve a recipe, it wouldn't be found in any food magazine, it doesn't require any special or new cooking skills... you get the picture. It's a baked potato, topped with everything but the kitchen sink.


But as M. and I were eating, we were so happy. We must have said at least three times, "I'm so glad I'm an adult," and I think M. giggled in anticipation once or twice. The beauty of baked potato bar is that there's no one there to tell you to not use so much butter, or to eat three bites of skin before you can be excused, or to eat your vegetables. I remember baked potatoes being a delicious treat growing up, but also a bit of a downer, because you had to eat that plain, dry skin since "that's where all the vitamins are." [@#$!* vitamins!]

Bacon, cheese sauce, butter, sour cream, chives, broccoli, hot sauce... the list goes on. Sure, we may have bills, and need to put gas in our car, and to set our alarms, but dammit, I'm going to use as much butter as I want.

October 24, 2010

Szechwan Carrot Soup

I took this Spicy Szechwan Carrot Soup to a food blogger potluck last night, hosted by Appetite Portland (thanks, Dawn and Adam!), and I was a little nervous about it. I thought it was good, but would my food critic friends??


Turns out I had no reason to fret; after all, food is intensely personal- some people are going to like what you like and some people aren't. The good thing about friends is that they'll be too polite to tell you if they don't like it anyway. But I trust that this is a good soup to bring to potlucks- it's rich but not too heavy, while flashes of heat and spice dance across your tongue.

Adam made the main dish, Proscuitto Wrapped Hake, and I highly recommend it. He used fennel, which is not included in the recipe linked here, so be sure to add it. It gave the dish great little zings of flavor throughout the braised veggies.

Szechwan Carrot Soup
Adapted from Epicurious

1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
a 3/4-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and sliced thin
1/8 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 pound carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 cup coconut milk

Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add onions and heat until translucent. Add celery, garlic, and ginger, and saute a few minutes more. Throw in the chopped carrots and chili flake, and cover with chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over medium heat until carrots are tender (about 45 minutes to an hour).

When carrots are fork tender, stir in the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth in batches in your food processor or with your immersion blender.

Suggested topping is sour cream mixed with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, but I didn't find it needed anything.

October 21, 2010

Come Closer...


Otto Pizza is moving closer to me!

Otto’s Moving to Hill – to Occupy Former North Star Cafe Site from Munjoy Hill News

Since I'm apparently obsessed with all things Otto/Enzo, I am very excited to hear that the owners are going to be opening another restaurant called '225' in the site of the former North Star Music Cafe.

And the puppy? Cuz pizza and puppies make me happy. Happy Thursday!

October 13, 2010

Butternut Squash Soup

I've been off the grid lately (while relying heavily on the *actual* grid in the form of Internet TV and Netflix), since I came down with a nasty bug. I know, it's a food blog, no one wants to hear me bitch about being sick. So I'll leave you with a soup that's good no matter your state of health, inspired by my friend Laura at Sweeter Salt.


I adapted the soup by using apples, rutabagas, and potatoes too. Next time I'll leave out the apple though, since with the leeks, it made it kind of sweet. But a lot of salty Parmesan made up for it!


Served with some of Rosemont's Foccacia (love you, Rosemont), this meal made a great light dinner and some seriously delicious lunch leftovers.

October 9, 2010

Otto/Enzo Pizzeria Review


I was so happy when Otto Pizza came to town. Before their arrival, I didn't have a good go-to slice bar in town, having been disappointed with Bill's Pizza and not loving the New York Slice Bar. But Otto changed my pizza life- I love their pizza and want to eat it all the time. OK, I'm exaggerating, but it is the perfect place to stop whenever you're out with friends on the First Friday Art Walk, out drinking, or just want to have a good, no frills dinner.


And then, to make things even better, they opened Enzo, their eat-in pizzeria. Enzo is just as big as Otto (which is to say, not very), only full of seating and a long bar, and serves their slices, whole pies, and beer, wine, soda, and water. Simple, but done well. I respect a place that has no problem doing one thing and that one thing well.


Last Saturday, when M. and I dined in, we had to snatch up the only empty seats in the place- I'm not the only local or tourist who loves it here. I ordered a cauliflower and mushroom slice (white) and a Genoa salami and tomato slice (red). M. had one cheese and one pepperoni. He's a straight-forward guy.


The pizzas were delicious, as usual- chewy crust, great combinations of toppings, sauce that M. thinks is a little sweet and I love, and flavorful cheese. We each had a glass of their house red (only $5!).

The only odd thing going on in the window seats of Enzo is the super tall barstools combined with a low bar. M. said you only notice something's functional design when it's bad, and that's what's going on here. My food was down by my knees, so it was awkward to eat and not good for posture.


But I love that Otto expanded to allow for us to linger in their beautifully decorated space. The eatery is dark and cozy, humming with fellow pizza lovers. They have vintage themed black and white framed photos displayed next to a wall where painted tiles spell out the pizza menu. And while I love standing out on the street, discarding paper plates, and folding up a slice with friends, it's also nice to be able to stay awhile.

October 5, 2010

A Tale of Two Jams (and a Butter)

I spend all of Sunday canning with my friends, making up some holiday gifts for my friends and family. (If I can bear to part with any of it, that is.) You must make this first recipe. Gift or not, this jam is SO good. My inspiration came from Stonewall Kitchen's Bellini jam. I thought 'I can make that!' So I simply substituted a cup and a half of Prosecco for some fruit in the low-sugar Sure Jell peach jam recipe.


The jam is sweet like peaches, but then has a tart finish, like Prosecco. It makes me want to go to Italy and drink Bellinis.

And a repeat from last year's jamming session, we made hot pepper jam. Oh, and be sure to use the online recipe, not the one in the package- the one in the package leaves out the sugar! So add 3 cups of sugar or else your jam will be gross.


This jam turned out prettier than last year's batch, since we made sure to use red bell peppers. The nice red flecks really make a beautiful difference. Cream cheese and Wheat Thins here I come!


And last, but certainly not least, the apple butter! Apple butter takes forever to cook down, so be sure to start it first thing. It also made a mess all over dear Kelly's stove and burned Hope once or twice with it's blurping. So be careful!

But it's worth the wait- it's so sweet and spicy. I can't think of what I'm going to use it on (other than the obvious toast), but maybe just eating it out of the jar will suffice.

September 29, 2010

How to Store Home Canned Goods

When I grow up, I want to have a cellar. It will be the perfect place to have stainless steel shelves (like from a professional kitchen) full of home canned goods- cool, dry, and dark. I'll also fill it with root vegetables and apples in the fall to use during the winter.

But until then, where do I keep my canned goods in my 500 square foot apartment?


The ideal place to store your canned goods is one that is cool (50-70 degrees F), dark, and dry. This time of year in Maine, I feel I can safely say that we've passed our 70 plus degree days (booo).

So, I keep my jars in my kitchen cabinets. The kitchen might be a little warmer than some other spots in my apartment, but I want my canned goods to be accessible. The whole point of canning is to preserve stuff you can eat, so I need to have them in the kitchen where they'll be in my mind during menu-planning and snack time (I'm looking at you, dilly beans).


While it may be tempting to line your canned goods up in the window to show off the jewel-like colors of your jams and the beautiful heads of dill in your pickles, please resist the urge. The heat from the sun will break down vitamins and nutrients in your food and can even cause them to spoil.

Most canners don't know that it's recommended to store your canned goods without the screwbands. (Wha???) After your jars have cooled and the seals have fully formed, the screwband is no longer serving any purpose. The vacuum seal is holding the lid firmly onto the jar, not the screwband!


Leaving the screwband on can actually harm the seal over time, by trapping moisture. This moisture will expand and contract with temperature fluctuations and can cause your seals to fail. The bands can also rust onto the lids, which is just a pain. So take the screwbands off after the seals have formed and store them seperately.

A great tip for storing and using your canned goods is to keep an inventory list. I'm really jealous of Putting By's canning pantry and all the beautiful things in it. She puts my little Ball boxes to shame. But her list (blog, really) helps her to know what she has and when it's time to start thinking about using it. I made a list, but then, who knows if I'll even look at it again! But it was fun to do it.

Happy canning!