I'll take his word for it.

Summer's harvest is in full swing.  We've already put up strawberry jam, raspberry jam, Logan berry jam, and blackberry jam. Then we did cherry, plum, and apricot jams.  Even a few figs made their way through the jamming process.

Tomatoes have been turned into salsa.  Cucumbers turned into Polish, Kosher, and Auntie Faythe's refrigerator pickles.  So far, we've only canned peaches.  (Well, we ate plenty, too.)  If there are any left at Bi-Zi Farms next week, we'll make peach jam.  Then we'll probably do Tomato Basil spaghetti sauce in the next couple of weeks.

We are truly enjoying the preserving process.  The gadgets we bought have made it simple.  We don't do too much at a time.  Just a few jars in the evenings we have free.  We've tried not to do Sunday marathons - don't want to risk it losing its shine.

Today was an exception.  It's a holiday and we've already had our fun for the weekend.  So, we got up and turned a box of Honeycrisp apples into applesauce.  We were done by 11am.  Then, since we had finished early enough, we decided to make something with the bag of Walla Walla Sweet Onions that I had picked up.

As often happens, I find the most interesting ideas while cruising down a rabbit hole on YouTube. I had run across several clips of people making onion jam last year.  Linda and I even gave it a test run.  According to those who eat them (onions), it was a total success.  When I mentioned onion jam this morning, the husband was a bit skeptical.  But then, he acquiesced.  Here's how we made it.  He says it's really good.  I'll take his word for it.

Onion Jam

INGREDIENTS

8	lg Walla Walla sweet onions, chopped
1	stick (1/2 cup) butter
2¼	cups balsamic vinegar
3½	cups brown sugar

Directions

1. Sauté onion in butter until caramelized.

2. Add balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.

3. Simmer until sauce is reduced and syrupy.

4. Load into jars and can in water bath canner.

Oh, one last bit of advice.  With this many onions to chop, you might want to get yourself one of these!  Makes quick work of any chopping/dicing/mincing/slicing job.

Ten cans - well, not quite

It's been an unusually long hot summer here in the Pacific Northwest.  We've been plagued with fires in both Oregon & Washington.  Smoky/hazy skies and dry/brown landscapes have turned our usually green/fresh surroundings into California looking terrain.

Average weather in the Portland/Vancouver area is Mediterranean-like with dry warm summers and mild winters. In an average year we rarely go below 25 or above 83 degrees.  So, for us to have a really hot & very dry summer is not typical.

Soup is the last thing on my mind when temps are up above 80 degrees.  But, today is different.  It rained!  What a welcome sound and feel in the air.  And, happily, temps have dropped into the comfortable zone (at least for me).  The first soup I want to make when temperatures drop is Taco Soup.

Sheila shared her recipe for Taco Soup many years ago - she served it one of the first times we camped together at Ike Kinswa State Park on Mayfield Lake.  I loved it immediately and  just knew it would become long-term favorite.
I was right.  Let's be real...any recipe that ends with "garnish with cheese, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, & tortilla chips" is going to be a delicious!

It's a fairly simple recipe:  Gather ingredients.  Open cans. Dump contents. Heat & serve.  I use vegetarian burger when I make it.  But, you could easily substitute a pound of ground beef.

 

 

Taco Soup

 INGREDIENTS

 Sauté together:

1	onion, chopped
1	can Worthington Vegetarian Burger

 In a saucepan (fairly good sized), mix together:

1	can kidney, pinto, or small red beans
2	8oz cans tomato sauce
1	8oz can water (use the can from the tomato sauce)
1	small can sliced olives, including the juice
2	11oz cans Extra Sweet Niblets whole kernel corn
1	16oz can petite diced tomatoes, include  juice
1	pkg Taco Seasoning
1	t onion powder
2	pkgs dark brown George Washington Broth
	chili powder to taste

Directions

Bring to a boil, then add the sautéed burger and onion mixture.  Return to boil.

Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole (or diced avocado), & cilantro.

Serves 10, 20, or “the 5000”

My BFF from high school makes the best meatballs.  Well, okay, they aren’t really meatballs.  They’re the same shape as meatballs, but they’re vegetarian.  I won’t say “they taste exactly like meatballs”; that would be a lie.  In fact, since we brought up that topic, let’s discuss – shall we?

 

SIDEBAR:

I was raised a lacto-ovo vegetarian – we ate fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs, and dairy products; but not meat, fish, or poultry.  My parents made the choice to become vegetarian when they got married.  Their choice was based on their desire to live healthy – get lots of sleep and exercise, drink lots of water, avoid excessive amounts of sugar and fat, and cut meat out of their diet.

 

Many new vegetarians have a bit of a struggle when cutting meat out of their diet.  So, meat substitutes or meat-like food products often fill the void. We used commercially available meat substitutes when we could get them.  Or, we made our own.

 

Meat-ish food products can never replace or replicate the real deal.  They are different from meat.  Expecting them to be “exactly like” meat in taste and/or texture is a disappointing experience.  You have to take them for what they are – something other than meat that can give you the umami* you crave.  (Need to look up that word?  See the definition below.)

 

Now, back to my friend Debbie (my BFF from high school):

Every time I make Debbie’s meatballs (that aren't really "meat" balls) I think of the Bible story about Jesus feeding “the 5000”.  He started with a couple small fish and five little loaves of barley bread.  Yet, he managed to feed 5000 people and the disciples gathered up 12 baskets full of leftovers.  Love that story!  And, that's kind of how this recipe works; it has proportions for serving 10, 20, or 100.  I always think I'll just make enough for 10 servings.  But then, I get to doing the ingredient prep and figure "why not!" and end up making enough for the 100 servings - which feels like feeding "the 5000" by the time you're done.  It freezes well.  So then, you can have an entrée ready in no time at a later date.

I’m sure you know, but I’m going to tell you anyway… you can’t just keep doubling a recipe.  At some point along the way, it all goes sideways and the thing just doesn’t taste right.  Thus the multi-serving recipe.

The meatballs are really good.  But, it's the apricot BBQ sauce that makes this dish stand out!

Debbie’s Meatballs

INGREDIENTS

10	20	100	Serves
1¼ cups	2½ cups	12½ cups	Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing
¾ cup	1½ cups	7½ cups	pecan meal or ground walnuts
½ t	1 t	1½ T	salt
1 sm	1 lg	5 lg	onions, finely chopped
1½ t	1 T	¼ cup + 1 T	sage
¾ cup	1½ cups	7½ cups	grated Longhorn cheese
2	4	15	cloves garlic, pressed
3 T	⅓ cup	2 cups	minced parsley
4	8	40	eggs, slightly beaten

Directions

1.  Mix all meatball ingredients together.

2.  Form into walnut-sized balls.

3.  Bake in an ungreased casserole dish at 350° for 12-15 minutes.

Apricot BBQ Sauce:

10	20	100	Serves
¼ cup	½ cup	2½ cups	oil
¼ cup	½ cup	2½ cups	vinegar
¾ cup	1½ cups	7½ cups	apricot jam
½ cup	1 cup	5 cups	ketchup
2 T	4 T	1¼ cups	brown sugar
2 T	4 T	1¼ cups	finely minced onion
½ t	1 t	1½ T	salt
½ t	1 t	1½ T	oregano
dash	3-4 drops	1½ t	hot pepper sauce

Directions

1.  Mix all BBQ sauce ingredients together in saucepan on low until heated through (stir as needed).
2.  Pour apricot BBQ sauce over meatballs.
3.  Cover with foil and bake for 30-45 minutes more.

TIPS:

§ Freeze uncooked meatballs for 2-3 hours on a cookie sheet.  Then store in freezer bags or casserole dish.
§ Make BBQ sauce ahead and keep in refrigerator for months.

§ BBQ sauce yield = 2 cups (10), 4 cups (20), 5 qts (100)