Acupuncture of Iowa Iowa City header flower

Get The Help You Need! Call (319) 341-0031

Menu
Call (319) 341-0031

What’s Laura Cooking

Fall: Time to Can Tomatoes

, , , , , , , , ,

Last weekend I finally canned my first few quarts of tomatoes. They were slow to put on fruit and slow to ripen this year for whatever reason. I know I’m not the only person experiencing this. But in September and early October I always find myself standing at the stove with lots of steam…I’ve tried many things over my 25 years, including making salsa of various sorts, green tomato enchilada sauce, red enchilada sauce, pickled green tomatoes, bloody Mary mix, crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, tomato soup, green tomato chutney, and Indian-spiced tomato soup.

Many of these trials were temporary, but one has stood the test of time and is my only remaining canning choice: Crushed Tomatoes. I found this recipe in the America’s Test Kitchen Foolproof Preserving cookbook and it is now our favorite. The advantages are that it’s easy to fit crushed tomatoes through the neck of the jar, you can make a huge batch in an afternoon, and they work well in many different recipes.

Here’s a photographic journey of my process this year:

tomatoes in a draining rack
Tomatoes draining after being washed.
Glass jars in large pot of hot water
Jars getting sterilized in hot water
quart glass jars draining upside down on a towel
Hot jars are draining upside down and waiting to be filled
Large pot of tomatoes cooking
Large pot of crushed tomatoes boiling on the stove
lemon juice and salt
Lemon juice and salt to go in the jars before the tomatoes
Canning salt in glass jar
Canning salt in glass jar
tomatoes in jars simmering in a pot on the stove
Jars of tomatoes simmering in a pot on the stove.
Finished product Canned tomatoes
This year’s harvest in cans. Crushed Tomatoes 2024

This year I realized that if I heat the cold lemon juice a bit before putting it in the hot jars it will prevent the hot jars from cracking and breaking! This was a breakthrough.

This process is so easy: Skin the tomatoes by dunking in boiling water and then ice water. The skin will easily pull away from the fruit. Then cut each tomato in 2″ chunks and put a layer into your cooking pot. Simmer over medium high heat till they are cooked down a bit and crush with a potato masher. Keep adding tomatoes till they are all in the pot and the liquid has reduced and the entire thing is thickened a bit. Keep the tomatoes barely simmering. Then we prepare the jars by heating in the boiling water for a few minutes, then allow them to dry and cool a bit. Then each jar gets a 1/2 tsp salt and 3T lemon juice to preserve the tomatoes and prevent overgrowth of bacteria. Then each jar gets filled with the crushed tomatoes leaving a 1/2 inch gap at the top. Wipe off the edge of the glass, top with a lid and gently screw on a ring to hold the lid in place. Lower the jars, one by one, into the boiling water. Raise the level of the water in the pot to be 1″ above the tops of the jars. Simmer the jars for about an hour. Then remove and allow to cool till the lids all seal. Remove the jar rings. When completely cool mark the contents and date on the lid. Store in a cool dry place.

My next project: make green tomato chutney around October 15th when we have brought in the last of the green tomatoes and given up on allowing them all to ripen on the counter….

What’s Cookin at Laura’s house

,

This summer I have half of a CSA share and it is a LOT of veggies for the two of us. One of the most common veggies I am getting is Kohlrabi.

Have you ever seen one? Eaten one? Cooked with one?

And why would a person eat a kohlrabi?

Well I’ve ended up with 6 of them this summer and did not have the heart to put them in the compost, so I had to figure out what to do with it.

The good news is that Kohlrabi is a member of the brassica family, which includes broccoli, kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and more. You have probably heard that these are super nutrition veggies, so it is always good to add a new one to your rotation.

Here is what I’ve learned:

  • Kohlrabi is great sliced and dipped into hummus or ranch dressing. It has hardly any flavor and tastes a bit like a broccoli stem. So that is a nice alternative to chips for your next cookout. Nobody will know what it is, and it is a great neutral carrier for other yummy stuff.
  • Kohlrabi is perfect for slaw. I’ve been peeling it and shredding it, then adding other nice slaw stuff like red onion, grated carrot, and thinly sliced red pepper strips. Then just dress with lemon juice, white wine or rice vinegar, and your favorite oil with perhaps some salt and pepper or soy sauce. We are eating this a lot.
  • Kohlrabi can be roasted alone or with other favorite roasting veggies. This can be done in the oven or the air fryer. I supposed it could even go on the grill next to your other veggies. It is pretty firm so it can take some cooking.

SO, next time you are at the store and you see this strange green or red ball. Pick some up and try it.

We know that feeding our gut bacteria the widest variety of vegetables is about the best thing we can do for ourselves. SO get crackin.

Have a good summer!

Laura’s Grilled Vegetable Salad

,

Grilled Vegetable Salad is great to do after you have cooked your meat and your grill is still hot, either charcoal or gas. Can be served warm/room temperature or chilled. Makes great leftovers. If cooking on gas, have the flame medium to low. If on charcoal, the fire should be cooler

The amounts in this recipe are approximate, as you will make as much as you like. Same goes for the vinegar and lemon juice.

Grilled Vegetable Salad
  • 2-4 red, green, or yellow bell peppers, cut in 2 inch wide strips, end to end
  • 2-4 large red onions, sliced in 1/2 t0 3/4 inch slices
  • 3-4 large portobello mushroom caps, brushed clean and kept whole
  • 4-6 medium zucchini or summer squash, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices, lengthwise
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, more or less
  • 2-4 T Balsamic vinegar
  • lemon juice from 1 fresh lemon
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • optional green or black olives
  • salt and pepper
  • microplane grater to zest your lemon into really fine shreds
  • Large cookie sheet or baking tray
  • Tongs for grill
  • 4-5 Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour
  • Gas or charcoal grill
Thread each slice of red onion onto a thin bamboo skewer to keep the rings together. Don’t worry if they break up a little.
Prep your veggies and put them on a large cookie sheet.
Rub all veggies with olive oil on both sides using your fingers.
Place them on the grill and watch closely so things don’t burn. Turn them when you like. I like to keep things from getting too soft.
When done to your liking, place back on baking tray and bring in the house.
Take onions off skewers and separate the rings. Rough chop onions, mushrooms, zucchinis, and bell peppers as needed. Place all into a large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon juice over everything, as well as salt and pepper to your liking.
Finish by grating lemon zest over the whole thing and tossing. I’d add the olives at this point and taste to correct seasoning.

Healthy Quarantine Cooking with whole foods

, , , , ,

You can do healthy quarantine cooking with whole foods now. As of this writing I am industriously looking at what I’ve got in my extensive larder. I do tend to stockpile food, so finally I’m having the opportunity to use some of it. I’ve got freezers full of vegetables and meat, canned tomatoes and tomato products, every kind of gluten free flour, every kind of grains, beans and pulses, frozen fish, even frozen dehydrated tomatoes. I was raised by people who grew up in the depression and was taught to think that someday we might not have access to food, so I am a food collector.

Last week I made a casserole out of some frozen lasagna noodles I had, combined with some crushed tomatoes, some chopped green olives, chopped black olives, onion and garlic. I made up the sauce by sautéing the veggies and adding the tomato sauce and olives, seasoning with basil and oregano. I stirred in some parmesan cheese and about a cup of sautéed sausage that I had frozen after my last pizza cooking round. Stirred in the chopped thawed noodles, turned it into a greased casserole, topped with some cheese I happened to have on hand, baked at 350 for 45 min. Voila!

Yesterday I made my favorite sautéed spinach. I make this most weeks. Sautéed one chopped onion, 4 cloves of garlic put through the garlic press in olive oil. Mix in two large bags of frozen chopped or whole leaf spinach. Put on the lid and cook a bit. Uncover and add salt and pepper to taste, and a little more olive oil for richness. Cover again for about 5-10 minutes and stir until everything is mixed. Eat one cup of this stuff daily and you are getting about 3-4 cups of spinach. Great for the immune system.

Today I made my famous tortilla soup. I sautéed onion and garlic in olive oil, added chopped carrots and celery from my fridge, sautéed the bunch with a little salt and pepper till soft. Then I poured in a pint of green enchilada sauce, a quart of chicken broth, and added about 1/4 cup of quinoa grains. I allowed it all to simmer while the quinoa cooked and expanded to thicken the broth. I threw in one and a half diced red bell peppers that were in the fridge. I added more water and salt until the volume was about a gallon. Seasoned at the end with oregano, a little soy sauce, some chili powder and a pinch of cayenne. Simmer 1 minute. Done.

Going through your pantry you can find all kinds of things that have might have sat there a while and been forgotten. You can get those out and get creative. And now we have so much time to research cooking on the internet.

If you have a chance to get to the grocery store, focus on fresh vegetables that keep a while like bell peppers, organic celery, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, organic white potatoes, and frozen greens like spinach and kale and green beans that you can dump into anything. Pick up some whole grains because all the white rice is gone, and get creative with new grains like quinoa, millet, faro, and more. Be sure you have salt and pepper, onions and garlic if you can get them. Even garlic powder can be great.

Make some soup. Make a casserole. Make some glop. Enjoy it.

Cook whole foods to nourish your body and support your immune system. By combining fresh and frozen vegetables with whole grains and small amounts of meat you can make a very satisfying dish.

Choose a theme: Italian, Mexican, American (?), Asian. Use a few condiments from your fridge and spices from your larder to create the theme.

Have fun. We will get through this and be stronger for it.

Fall Vegetable Soup recipe

, , , , ,

Fall Vegetable Soup recipe

Fall is time for soup! Have you noticed that you get a hankering for soup when the weather gets colder? I’m going to show you how to whip up a quick and satisfying soup while you get ready for work in the morning. Or anytime.

Tools:
Soup Pot, preferably 6-8 quart. Or instant pot.Soup
Knife and cutting board
Big spoon for stirring

Ingredients:
Onion
Garlic if wanted
Carrot
Celery
Bell pepper if wanted
other veggies: squash, zucchini, green beans, canned tomatoes, cabbage, or whatever else you have on hand or want to eat.
Olive Oil or other oil or fat such as bacon fat, butter, or lard
a liter or quart of homemade chicken or bone broth, or canned broth or bone broth
water in equal amount to broth
salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you want (see below)
optional: rice, barley, or other grain or pasta in small pieces
optional: cooked chicken or other meat

Method:
Chop your onion, carrot, celery and optional bell pepper into 1/2 inch squares. Mince or press garlic.
Heat your oil or fat in the big pot and sauce your chopped veggies with a little salt till they are getting cooked. Throw in the garlic.
Cut up the rest of your veggies into larger chunks and drop them in with a little salt and pepper and stir them around till they get warmed up a bit.
Pour in your broth and some water to cover everything and then up to about 2-3 inches above the veggies.
Bring the whole thing to a simmer on medium high and cook on low about 10 minutes. Then add your grain or pasta if desired, and meat if desired.
Simmer the pot about another 15 minutes on medium low till grain or pasta is cooked through. Adjust the seasonings.

This is the point at which you could go in a number of directions by adjusting seasonings:

For Italian: add canned tomatoes, basil, oregano, and thyme

For Mexican: add canned tomatoes or tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, and mexican oregano

For Japanese: season with soy sauce and fish sauce.

For Thai: add a can of coconut milk,

 

Lemongrass, Kafir lime leaf, fish sauce to taste, or curry powder

Add seasonings to your liking, simmer a little longer. You could puree the whole thing before adding meat and grain. You could have just vegetables with no meat or grain. You could make it vegetarian without meat and maybe add tofu or egg for protein. The variations are endless. Look in your fridge and see what you’ve got and go for it! I hope you enjoy this Fall Vegetable Soup recipe as much as I do!