Hot Pepper Jelly

It's canning season!  I love the Public Market in Rochester- I came home last week with a grocery bag full of Hungarian Hot and Jalapeno Peppers for under $5.

So far this year we've canned 6 kinds of salsa, a batch of peaches, and Garlicky green beans.  While the canning materials were out we decided to use up the hot peppers and try a new recipe- hot pepper jelly.

What do you do with it, you ask?  It can be used on fish.  Or pork.  Or with cream cheese on crackers.  Or as a dip for coconut shrimp.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups finely chopped red or green hot peppers
1 small sweet bell pepper finely chopped
1 1/2 cup white vinegar (5% acidity)
6 cups sugar
6 oz Certo pouch (Sure-Jell fruit pectin)
1 teaspoon red food coloring, optional 

DIRECTIONS

Coarsely chop peppers with seeds and place in blender with vinegar, sugar and pulse to mix well. Transfer to pot, add butter and bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Cook for 5 minutes at a steady boil. 

Quickly add Certo and coloring. Allow mixture to return to a boil and cook for 3 more minutes stirring a few times. Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Put into half pint jars and seal in water bath for 10 minutes. This should make about 7 jars with a little left over. 

VERDICT

Our first batch was the red batch(made with the Hungarian Hot peppers.  The verdict?  Delicious.  I can't wait to try it on pork!

As for the green (jalapeno) version... it's not so pretty.  But it's still good, and a LOT spicier.

CSA Summer Challenge: Garlic Scape Pesto

We're in Week 4 already!  I know, you didn't get to see what I had last week (it's all still sitting in the fridge... oops) but here's the haul for this week:

Beets & Beet Greens
Garlic Scapes
Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce
Cilantro
Spikey Lettuce

Lots of lettuce and greens again this week- so lots of terrific fresh salads for lunch time!  As for the cilantro- I just bought a bunch at Wegman's the day before so this is kind of useless. I froze it immediately to use at a later time (in guacamole, obviously!)

So that leaves the beet greens and scapes.  I think the beet greens will hold a few days while I figure out what to do with them, but after 3 weeks the garlic scapes are starting to pile up.  Turning the scapes into Pesto was the first idea since we eat it on almost everything.  So let's see how we did.

INGREDIENTS

9-10 garlic scapes, knobby seed-pods removed and discared
1/2 cup slivered almonds (I've also seen recipes using pistachios, walnuts, or pinenuts)
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Puree scapes, olive oil, and nuts.  Pulse the cheese into the mixer.  Go easy as over mixing will make the pesto gummy.

VERDICT

So... you can really adjust this recipe to suit your needs.  Some versions omit the nuts all toghether.  Others are really heavy on the cheese. Definitely play around with the ingredients and make the pesto to your liking.

Lighter Penne with Vodka Sauce

Another re-made recipe this week. I have to admit I was skeptical because I make THE BEST Vodka sauce. Now that we're trying to eat healthier we gave this recipe a shot.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp butter
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 shallots, minced
• 3 oz prosciutto, chopped
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup vodka
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 12 oz uncooked (6 cups cooked) whole wheat or high fiber penne

DIRECTIONS

In a large sauté pan heat butter on a low flame. Add garlic and shallots and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. (I disagree- heat needs to be on at least medium)

Add prosciutto and red pepper flakes and cook another minute. Add tomatoes, vodka, salt and pepper and cook on low, covered about 20 minutes. (Again, I disagree. Heat needs to be on medium or medium-high)

Add basil and half and half, mix well and cook another 5 minutes.

Serve this over pasta and top with grated cheese.

VERDICT

There's just no faking the good stuff. Without the heavy cream this sauce didn't get the nice pink hue that vodka sauce should have. And despite all the red pepper flakes I added (A LOT), there wasn't much flavor. It wasn't bad, it was just a good recipe.

On another note, this makes a LOT of sauce. I poured half into a freezer bag and stashed it in the freezer for a quick meal another night.
NUTRITION

Serving Size: 1 cup pasta, 1/2 cup sauce •Calories: 356